Future Meeting: The 175th anniversary of the Maastrichtian Stage – a celebratory conference

In the summer of 1849, Professor André Hubert Dumont of Liège (Belgium) first used the phrase ‘système maestrichtien’, while doing geological mapping in the Belgium/Netherlands border area near Maastricht. In the three decades that followed a wealth of stratigraphical and palaeontological data were published. In fact, the same may be said about recent progress in these fields. New information on the type Maastrichtian, including a chemostratigraphical analysis, clearly shows that interest in this latest Cretaceous time slice is still very much alive and kicking. Thus, the time is right to organise a celebratory conference, commemorating the 175th anniversary of the stage, for participants to discuss recent progress and outline future research in an informal setting. A special issue of the periodical Netherlands Journal of Geosciences (Cambridge University Press), covering various aspects of the Maastrichtian, will also be presented. Two days of oral and poster presentations, an icebreaker party and dinner, plus a full day of fieldwork at two localities in the area are scheduled.