Future Meeting: 13th International Symposium on Fossil Algae

The 13th International Symposium on Fossil algae of the IFAA (International Fossil Algae Association) will be held in Le Castella (Calabria, southern Italy). The scientific topics will cover any aspects of calcareous algae and microbialites, including evolution, present-day and past biogeography, stratigraphic significance, paleoecology, and sedimentogenic role. Because of the central role of calcareous algae in the global carbon budget, especially welcome are contributions aimed at the identification and delimitation in space and time of marine habitats dominated by calcareous algae, across latitudinal gradients and in different (paleo)environmental settings.
The Symposium is organized by the University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, in collaboration with the Crotone Province, managing the Marine Protected Area of “Capo Rizzuto”, the Museum Pélagos, and the Aragonese Fortress of Le Castella, where all scientific sessions will be held.
The interplay of the Pleistocene uplift of the Calabrian Arc and the late Quaternary eustatic oscillations generated a flight of well-developed marine terraces that are preserved in the Crotone Peninsula, where fossiliferous successions rich in red calcareous algae crop out. Le Castella is located on the Ionian coast, within reach not only of the Pleistocene marine terraces, but also of the Vrica GSSP for the Calabrian stage, which are the destinations of our post-symposium field trip.