摘要
Introduction Since its inception in 1878,the International Geological Congress(IGC)has grown progressively in size and stature to become the largest global geoscience meeting,attracting thousands of delegates from over a hundred countries.The International Union of Geological Sciences(IUGS)is the scientific sponsor of the IGC,which is generally held every four years and is sometimes referred to as the Geoscience Olympics,given that quite a few congresses have been held in the Olympic month and year.That is the case for the 34^(th) IGC,which is being hosted by the Oceania region(Figure 1)in Brisbane,Queensland,Australia,during 5–10 August 2012(www.34igc.org).
