International Geological Correlation Programme

The International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) was founded in 1972 at the 24th International Geological Congress in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The goal was to create an ambitious global program of scientific collaboration between working scientists, rather than between governments. From the beginning, the program has operated as a joint enterprise of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The IUGS serves as a scientific guide, while UNESCO handles operational and administrative matters.

Simply stated, the goals of the IGCP are to obtain answers to interrelated theoretical and practical geological problems through international cooperation. Examples include:

• To develop better methods for finding and assessing resources;
• To develop a better understanding of the way geologic events affect human activities;
• To develop a better understanding of the processes, events, and correlations in order to solve problems of resources and the environment; and
• To standardize terminology and procedures in research and to develop new methods of correlation.

The IGCP funds unsolicited proposals from scientists working in any major field or subfield of the earth sciences to support international collaboration aimed at obtaining answers to interrelated theoretical and practical geological problems. Once an IGCP project has been accepted, it is open for anyone to join in its activities. Projects are selected by peer review, and the progress of each project is assessed by fellow scientists. Funds granted to accepted projects can be used only for communication, not for research. Funds for research must be raised in the country where a project member resides or works

The name of the programme has been changed into International Geoscience Programme.

The Netherlands is through the Technical University of Delft involved in IGCP Project 481: CASPAGE, Dating Caspian Sea Level Change. This project aims to establish a precise Caspian sea-level curve for the recent geological past. This can help in understanding the pace of global change in the northern hemisphere in the past, and to improve prediction of future Caspian sea-level change and its environmental consequences.

Links

The IGCP page on the website of UNESCO.

Website of IGCP Project 481: CASPAGE.

Stamp catalogue

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 15 July 1986

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last revised: 1 July 2009