News:Mid-conference field trip of the 9th Hutton Symposium

This is the third day of the 9th Hutton Symposium. After two days of intensive keynote presentations, it is now time to relax for the mid-conference field trip. Nanjing, well known as the ancient capital of the six dynasties of China, not only has a rich culture and history, but also diverse igneous and sedimentary records.

The participants of the mid-conference field trip were separated into two groups and visited two sites, one at the Gaozi pluton and one at the Yanziji Cliff. At the Gaozi pluton, Prof. Jian-Sheng Qiu gave a short presentation about the well-exposed medium- to coarse-grained granodiorite and the mafic microgranular enclaves in the granodiorite. Evidence of solid–melt interaction was observed and discussed, including the occurrence of enclaves with spheroidal–ellipsoidal shapes and xenocrysts from the host granodiorite within the enclaves. The geologists had hot and stimulating debates on the origin of microgranular enclaves, several hypotheses and interpretations on their origin were discussed on site.

At Yanziji Cliff, Professor Yuan-Feng Cai and Prof. Xiu-Mian Hu gave a short introduction on the tectonic background, the distribution of volcanoes, and the development of the river systems  in China. Yanziji Cliff, which is located near Yangtze River, contains the Late Cretaceous Pukou Formation comprising conglomerates, volcanic conglomerates, and sandstone. The participants ate lunch at Yanziji Cliff, enjoyed the scenary, and took photos in front of the stone tablet written by Emperor Qianlong in 1751.

                                                  Written by Zi-Man WU，Chang-Zhi WU 

                                 edited by Chang-Zhi WU and M. J. Brzozowski