The 8th QRA International Postgraduate Symposium was held by students from the schools of Geography (SED) and Earth Sciences (SEAES) at the University of Manchester during 25th to 28th August 2009. Almost forty students from across Europe came together to participate in presenting their forefront research and to discover the wide array of research being undertaken in the Quaternary postgraduate community. Many delegates met on the Tuesday evening for a civilised meal out at Odder, followed by a few drinks. The following morning, with a few sore heads from the night before, we headed out into the field for a day of introductions, discovery and understanding with Dr Jeff Blackford and James Backhouse from the SED.
The symposium was kicked-off with a fieldtrip to two sites just south of Manchester, in north Cheshire. Luckily for us the weather seemed to be holding-out, but even so, us students were not fooled/convinced, especially with the knowledge of a peat bog visit, and so out came the wet weather gear! A short walk brought us to Lindow Moss, a large exposed area of peat bog, currently exploited for horticultural purposes and best known for the ‘Lindow Man', an Iron Age man found in the bog. After Dr Blackford enlightened us with the history of the site and the findings from within it, we had the opportunity to investigate an exposed section of preserved raised mire, enabling a detailed look at Holocene deposits and to have a go at inferring the environmental history through group discussion. Another interesting task involved using a Russian corer and gouge corer to delve beneath the peat unit to try and find the undiscovered lake sediments thought to exist below. It was a race against time between groups to try and obtain a core of lake sediments. Unfortunately it was not to be that day and so the search continues.
In the afternoon, a short distance further south brought us to our second field study site, a working quarry at Dingle Bank. Once we'd got dressed up in our safety gear of hard hats and high-vis jackets, we traipsed down into the quarry to observe the exposed sands and gravels. Ironically, this site was visited during the first ever field meeting of the Quaternary Field Study Group (now the QRA) in 1964. Through OSL and TL dating it is thought that the oldest sediments are at least 90,000 yrs BP. Dr Blackford guided us through the current thinking of a fragmented layer full of tree-trunk remains, theorised to be a beaver dam. We were able to see evidence of cross-bedding, ice-wedge structures, laminations, organic horizons and gravel beds, and discussion amongst the group set about uncovering the order events in creating this stratigraphy. Unfortunately, the rain marked the end of our day in the field and we hurried back to mini-buses, where the conference organisers ingeniously supplied us with cakes.
That evening, the official opening of the conference and registration of participants was held in the Williamson Building on Oxford Road, where a drinks reception welcomed us together. Once the administrative tasks were done, we headed down Oxford Road for Indian cuisine, on the well known ‘curry mile' followed by a drink or two in a local pub.
During the following two days, fascinating oral presentations kept us captivated through a diverse range of subject areas from palaeoarchaeology to palaeolimnology, and from sedimentology to palaeoecology.
Towards the end of the first day of oral presentations, Professor Jamie Woodward from the SED gave the Keynote Speech, providing us with motivation and advice for future research through examples of his work in the Mediterranean. A poster session followed, where authors were required to give a brief introduction to their research before going on to display and defend their posters. It was also an opportunity to have informal discussions amongst members about the day's presentations and to discover shared interests.
In the evening, the conference meal was held at the award winning Choice Bar and Restaurant in the beautiful setting alongside Castle Quay. The food was delicious and the atmosphere superb; it was an opportunity to relax and get to know people beyond their research. The night was rounded off in true style at a 70s disco where everyone enjoyed a bit of a boogie!
On the last day, we continued to be captivated further with a variety of presentations on Quaternary studies being carried out by young, fresh postgraduate researchers. It was great to see how enthusiastically people spoke about their projects and it was a fantastic way to share their ideas among peers - an excellent way to build self-confidence. Unfortunately, the symposium was drawing to a close, but there was just enough time to make some crucial decisions about the venue for next year's symposium and to present the awards for the best oral and poster presentations. Congratulations to joint winners, Ewan Woodley (Swansea University) and Alistair Seddon (University of Oxford) for the ‘Best Oral Presentation', Clare Boston from Queen Mary, University of London for winning the ‘Best Poster Presentation', and to the Geography Department at Exeter University who will be hosting the event next year (to be coordinated by Tom Roland). It was also time for Lorna Linch (Queen Mary, University of London), after two years, to hand over her duties as one of the postgraduate representatives. Elected in replacement was Helen Cockerton from Swansea University to join Gunnar Mallon (Southampton University) as representatives for the postgraduate community.
On behalf of all the postgraduates and the QRA, we would like to thank Rose, Debs and Rajasmita for all their hard work in creating a fantastic postgraduate symposium at Manchester University this year and we look forward to welcoming new and existing members at the 2010 symposium in Exeter.
Helen Cockerton
Swansea University
