The conference was a great success - thank you to all the participants and contributors. This page summarises what happened. You can access a detailed list of the talks and abstracts on the programme link.

Following the success of the special session on this theme at the 2001 International Fluvial Conference in Nebraska, we are hosting a two-day meeting devoted to the problems of dryland river sedimentology and geomorphology, with application to interpreting the subsurface for hydrocarbon exploration and production.

We have planned two days of talks and discussion, with NO parallel sessions, preceded by one day of core workshop, and followed by some local field trips and social activities (e.g. castles, distilleries). We anticipate a broad audience, mixing academics with industry "end-users", geomorphologists with sedimentologists and hydrologists. Through an informal and relaxed meeting, we aim to stimulate discussion and challenge received wisdom, a process we hope will be aided by the invitation of a small number of keynote speakers.

Geomorphologic studies have shown that dryland rivers are truly distinctive, in flow magnitude, uniformity and duration, in sediment production and character, and in channel behaviour. Yet recognition of ancient dryland river environments is still premised on a tiny number of original field studies of dryland systems. Concepts and models have been built, and spread through the literature, that are based on inappropriate science and a limited appreciation of dryland systems. The consequence is misidentification of dryland environments, and an almost complete inability to be able to recognize, correlate and model such environments in the subsurface.

This meeting is intended to stimulate more work on dryland rivers. We need integration of geomorphological with sedimentological studies of modern examples, re-evaluation of ancient examples, and regional studies to understand the evolution and sedimentary record of dryland settings. If there is sufficient interest, and manuscripts are forthcoming, we shall publish a selection of the presentations in book format.

Oral and Poster presentations - Day 1
08:30  Registration and Coffee
09:15  Welcome and Introduction
09:25 - 12:50  Talks and discussion, plus coffee break
12:50 - 14:10  Lunch, posters and discussion
14:10 - 17:50  Talks and discussion, plus coffee break
17:50 - 19:00  Posters and drinks
19:00 Conference Dinner (supplementary charge)

A primary aim of this meeting is to have a thorough discussion of dryland rivers and their sedimentology, out of which we might all get a clearer picture of the certainties and uncertainties. To aid in making this happen, we have invited a number of keynote speakers not only to review present and past developments, but to be provocative about where we should be moving in our science.

Oral presentations of current research will be scheduled in 20-minute intervals. The general format is 15 minutes talk and 5 minutes of questions. Additional question and discussion time is being scheduled prior to each refreshment break.

Poster presentations will be also be on display in the same room where we take lunch and have the end-of-day drinks.

Fairly few posters have been submitted, so we have some space if anyone wishes to bring along a poster or other display material to promote discussion. Please give us advance warning so we can make sure we have adequate display stands available. Email to ***coded***

One of the main applications of this meeting is to improve interpretation of the subsurface for the exploration and management of water and hydrocarbon resources. Borehole core is one of the best sources of information from the subsurface. Yet correct identification of lithofacies and determination of sediment geometry and architecture is far from easy, and can be especially difficult for the sediments from drylands.

This one-day workshop is a two-way challenge: (1) to those who work on the modern and outcrop - to look at a variety of types of dryland sediment in core and see if they can offer insights to those struggling to interpret this core; (2) to those involved with subsurface interpretation - to demonstrate the complexities and highlight issues requiring more research.

The workshop will be informal. There will be several capable persons on hand to explain the material (as well as they can) and to guide discussion.

The workshop will take place at the Hays Business Services core store at the Kirkhill Industrial Estate, Dyce, out by the airport. We will provide transport from the University to the core store, and back. Assemble at 09:00 at the front (Geology end) of the Meston Building. Lunch will be provided at the core store. It is the costs of the transport and refreshments that force us to have to levy an additional charge for this workshop.

We will have for inspection a range of material including fluvial channel and floodplain, lacustrine and aeolian facies, from:
- Triassic (Cormorant Group) from the Beryl and Tern Fields (N. North Sea);
- Lower Permian (Rotliegend) of the southern North Sea;
- Triassic from the Alwyn Field, northern North Sea;
- Upper Devonian from the Clare Field, west of Shetlands.

We are most grateful to the oil companies who are sponsoring this workshop by making the core available, and covering the costs of core pulling and the inspection rooms. The companies helping us out are: Conoco UK, BP Exploration, Shell Expro UK, ExxonMobil Production UK, and TotalFinaElf Exploration UK. Such a workshop would not be possible without the efforts of several staff in each of these companies. We much appreciate the practical and moral support they have provided to us.

Please note that we may have to limit numbers attending this workshop due to space and safety constraints at the core store. We therefore urge you to register early to avoid disappointment, as places will be allocated in order of receipt of fully-paid registration.

Latest News: Due to low demand for the Castles Trip and the Highlands Trip, on Saturday 10th August we will be running just the trip to the Moray Firth Coast.

• Moray Firth Coast: Hopeman aeolian sandstone (with dinosaur footprints) and Burghead Beds fluvial succession (both Permo-Triassic age);

For those who will be still around on the Sunday 11th August, we will try and arrange a trip to sample the local Highlands culture.

We invite you to join us for a sumptuous conference dinner in the evening of the first day of talks. If there is sufficient demand, we will hold it in the baronial-style Elphinstone Hall of the University, next to the historic King's College. You will be welcomed by a Scottish piper and entertained by Celtic music while indulging in some traditional Scottish fare (don't panic, no haggis!).

The conference is to be held on the main campus of the University of Aberdeen, the King's College campus. The oral presentations will be held in Lecture Theatre 1 at the front of the Meston Building, immediately beneath the Geology Department. Posters and coffee breaks will be in the Department (room 118) just two minutes walk away, up one floor. The campus will be quiet at this time, as it is in the middle of the undergraduate student summer vacation.

To see a map of the campus >click here< - The Meston Building is labelled 21. If you click on the building on the map, you will get more information about it.

[Apologies - on an earlier map, and this web page, Meston Bldg was labelled 16]

For information on how to get to Aberdeen and to the University >click here<

The University of Aberdeen was founded over 500 years ago, in 1495. Aberdeen is now dominated by the oil industry, but it has had a long and varied history.

We have arranged for a limited number of rooms to be available for our conference in the King's Hall Executive Accommodation building at the centre of the Kings College campus of the University in Old Aberdeen, a few minutes walk from the meeting venue. (The hall is shown at the very bottom of the web page campus map below the building labelled "8".)

This hall has single and twin rooms each with en-suite shower room. Please note that all rooms are non-smoking rooms. This hall is specifically for visiting guests - it is NOT student accommodation. Click on the picture (right) to get more details of the rooms. The rate for these rooms is very competitive. Because numbers are limited, they will be allocated in order of receipt of full registration payment.

There is also plentiful accommodation in Aberdeen City of a wide range of types and prices. We cannot make bookings for you, but the Tourist Office website has full information and a booking service.