EUROPROBE News 9
EUROPROBE SUMMARY REPORT TO ESF 1996
EUROPROBE is a Lithosphere Dynamics programme, concerned with the origin
and evolution of the Continents. It was conceived and has grown within the International
Lithosphere Programme and, since 1992, has been supported by the European Science
Foundation. This major venture of European geoscientists is focused on, but not confined
to Europe. It is dedicated to carrying out a new generation of major projects that will
improve our understanding of the tectonic evolution of the Earth's crust and mantle, and
the dynamic processes that controlled this evolution through time.
The character of the crust is very different in eastern and western
Europe, with a stable ancient platform dominating the east and younger mobile belts in the
west. Geophysical probing has shown that these differences extend through the lower crust
and deep into the mantle. These contrasted signatures of the lithosphere have set the
scene for many new ventures in the solid earth sciences.
Ambitious projects to investigate the whole lithosphere require close
collaboration of geologists, geophysicists and geochemists and multinational cooperation.
The interplay of modelling and theory in partnership with field studies is central to
Europrobe. The application of state-of-the-art technology is vital. To meet this
challenge, EUROPROBE receives support from the European Science Foundation for a workshop
programme to define, develop and implement a wide range of major interdisciplinary
projects; these reach in space across Europe from the Ural Mountains to the Iberian
Peninsula and in time from the Archaean to the Present.
EUROPROBE is driven by a combination of two priorities - scientific
excellence and East-Central-West European collaboration. This recipe has been anchored in
partnerships, first and foremost between individual scientists, but also between
geoscience institutions. The EUROPROBE programme has been promoted by a growing spirit of
cooperation in Europe; without this, it would have been impossible to overcome the
barriers of language and tradition that have hindered communication in past decades. For
geoscientists, direct access to the tectonic phenomena is essential; the political changes
of the last decade in Europe have greatly expanded the range of possible targets.
Although EUROPROBE research focuses on fundamental geodynamic processes
and appeals to our fascination for planet Earth and its origin and place in the universe,
the programme has considerable practical application. The tools we develop and use are the
same as those required for seismic hazard mitigation, natural resource exploration, toxic
waste disposal and many other practical things essential for management of a sustainable
environment. Several of the EUROPROBE projects have direct relevance to societal needs,
ranging from earthquake prediction in the Vrancea Zone in Romania to mineral exploration
in the Urals and Kola Peninsula and hydrocarbons in the Donets and Pechora Basins.
EUROPROBE's ESF programme has now been running for nearly five years.
Thirty-six workshops in eighteen countries have generated a wide range of collaborative
research. During 1996, EUROPROBE has held six workshops
for communicating the results of the interdisciplinary research:
 URALIDES and IBERIA |
Granada, Spain |
March 23rd-29th |
| TESZ |
Ksiaz, Poland |
April 10-17th |
| EUROBRIDGE |
Oskarshamn, Sweden |
June 8-15th |
| PANCARDI |
Lindabrunn, Austria |
September 23rd-29th |
| GEORIFT/CAUCASUS |
Gurzuv (Yalta), Ukraine |
November 1st-5th |
| SVEKALAPKO |
Lammi, Finland |
November 28-30th |
1995 witnessed the first of EUROPROBE's major coordinated ventures, the
URALIDES project's seismic transect through the southern Urals (URSEIS), with Russian,
German, American and Spanish partners. Several of EUROPROBE's projects have support from
INTAS (the International Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with Scientists of
the former Soviet Union) and other EU related programmes. Many PhD and Post-Doc projects
are involving the younger generation, laying the foundation for East-West collaboration in
the years to come.
A presentation of EUROPROBE research is in press, providing a
comprehensive overview of on-going activities. It has been prepared at the EUROPROBE
Secretariat in Uppsala, based on presentations by leaders of the projects and other
associated scientists. EUROPROBE science now involves many hundreds of geoscientists from
twenty-six European countries; the programme is promoting research that will last well
into the next century.
D. G. Gee
Chairman, Europrobe Scientific Steering Committee
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