CGS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the
geosciences. It provides access to elements that are essential to the
professional growth of earth scientists at all levels of expertise and
from all sectors: academic, government, business, and industry. Through
CGS, geoscientists are offered an opportunity to interface with public
policy makers, and to take an active role in hightening societal
awareness of the importance of the geosciences to environmental
challenges. Academics and professionals in the fields of mineralogy,
paleontology, petrology, volcanology, sedimentology, applied geology,
and geochemistry are all welcome to become members of the Czech
Geological Society. An outreach program is targeted also at non-professionals
who take interest in any of these disciplines. CGS is a member of the
Czech Council of Scientific Societies and the Association of European
Geological Societies (AEGS). Through the Czech National Geological
Committee, CGS is also linked to the International Union of Geological
Sciences. CGS takes an active role in various programs of international
professional associations, such as IAGOD and IGCP.
The Czech Geological Society has currently 670 members. Apart from
individual membership, collective and honorary membership may also be
granted. CGS members may become involved in the activities of one of its
regional branches, or in the work of specialized groups. The Czech
Tectonic Group, founded in 1996, belongs among the most active ones. The
Czech Tectonic Group holds annual meetings that can boast an ever
growing attendance not just by Czech geoscientists, but also those from
Poland and Slovakia.
The Society's primary activities are organizing scientific meetings
and lecture series, publishing scientific literature and organizing
field excursions open to general public. Over the past four years, CGS
co-sponsored the following international conferences: MAEGS-10 (10th
Meeting of the Association of European Geological Societies; 1997),
Tourmaline (1997), and Granite Pegmatites - Mineralogy, Petrology &
Geochemistry (1998). Twice a year, all members of the Society receive a
Bulletin with up-to-date information on seminars, exhibitions,
excursions and mineral shows to take place both in the country and and
elsewhere in Central Europe, new books and films, and a social chronicle.
Detailed information on the forthcoming events can be obtained also from
the CGS web site (www.natur.cuni.cz/cgs/).
The Journal of the Czech Geological Society
(JCGS) is the flagship of Society's publishing activities. Its contents
are abstracted in international bibliographical databases (e.g.,
GeoAbstracts by Elsevier). Started in 1955, JCGS enlarged its format and
changed graphical lay-out as of 1993. In recent years, there is a
tendency to publish exclusively English-written papers, very often as
two double issues per year. In addition to regular issues, Special
Issues of JCGS are published, containing Proceedings of selected
international symposia, such as Evolution of Variscan and Comparable
Palaeozoic Fold Belts, Prague 1994; Thermal and Mechanical Interactions
in Deep Seated Rocks, Prague 1995; MAEGS 10 - Challenges to Chemical
Geology, Karlovy Vary 1997; (UN)COUPLED, Amsterdam 2000. Of the single-topic
issues, the one dedicated to the 200th birthday anniversary of Joachim
Barande (Vol. 44, 1-2, 1999) and the mineralogical & geochemical
issue dedicated to Pavel Povondra (Vol. 45, 1-2, 2000) were hugely
successful. Noted members of the international paleontological community
contributed to the Havlíček Issue (Vol. 46, 2001). In February 2001,
the Czech National Geological Committee analyzed the present status of
individual geoscience journals in the country where only the Geophysical
journal (dopln spravne jmeno prosim) has a measurable impact factor, and
arrived at the conclusion that in case of JCGS there is a strong
potential for achieving inclusion into the SCI rankings as well.
Recently, we have initiated negotiations with our partner institutions
aimed at a merger of suitable Czech geoscience journals.
The new Executive Committee of CGS wishes to continue to act as a
catalyst in organizing lecture series, seminars and international
conferences. Our members are not only accomplished professionals, we
would be happy to address also young people interested in any one of the
truly wide spectrum of earth sciences. Apart from specialized activities,
one of our primary goals is to assist educators in increasing the
awarenes of the most recent developments in such exciting fields of
research as plate tectonics, cosmogeochemistry, environmental geology
and global change, by general public. Therefore, we have initiated a
lecture series tailored for audiences with no special background in
geosciences. Similarly, our regular field excursions are sought after by
non-specialists, because all explanations are put in a broader context,
and that is something they can enjoy. At the same time, overly
specialized topics are to find a platform within the individual working
groups of CGS.
The current fast development of many geological disciplines calls for
narrower specialization, but, on the other hand, it becomes imperative
for research workers to follow new findings in related fields and keep
track of the general re-focussing in earth sciences at large. Therefore
CGS has started a graduate-level course on The Frontiers of Modern
Geoscience, co-sponsored by Charles University, Prague. We plan to
publish full-length texts of these lectures on our web site. We are
about to renew the traditional format of discussion panels where two
experts holding opposing views of a particular issue in earth sciences
would have an opportunity to formulate their arguments face-to-face.
These meetings, again, will be open to general public.
CGS has co-organized a Seminar in Brno to honour Professor J.
Sekanina, its distinguished member (100-year birthday anniversary,
September 2001). CGS is also helping to open a nature trail around Brno
by providing geological expertise for particular sites. At present, CGS
is considering co-sponsoring an international conference on the role of
light elements in rock-forming minerals, to be held in 2003.
Clearly, the spectrum of activities of the Czech Geological Society
will grow and become more satisfactory in a direct proportion to the
number of its active members. We welcome all initiatives by our
memberhip, we strongly believe in the value of personal contacts and
communicating within the earth science community, and will gladly
welcome those who choose to join our Society here and now.
