Source: School of Marine Sciences
Written by: School of Marine Sciences
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

River mouth systems play a key role in the interaction between continents and the ocean. Studying this interaction, the Center for Coastal Ocean Sciences and Technology (CCOST) concentrates its research on the Pearl River Mouth System in order to understand the basic transfer processes of mass and energy from the river’s drainage area to the receiving basin in the South China Sea. The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences (IMCS) at the University of Szczecin, Poland, focuses its research topics on the Baltic Sea, its southern coast and the role of the Odra River for the supply of suspended matter and the morphogenesis of the multiple system: River – Sea –Coast. Because of similarity in the research foci, the two institutes have already cooperated for years, and in continuation of the good relations of their institutes, Prof. Jiaxue Wu from the CCOST and Prof. Jan Harff from the IMSC have organized an international workshop "Evolution and Dynamics of the Pearl River Mouth System (PRMS), South China Sea" to be held at the School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University on May 23-24, 2013.

The workshop shall foster the research activities related to the interaction of the Pearl River and marine processes because the Pearl River mouth system is globally one of the key areas to study the land-ocean interaction mirroring natural and man-made driving forces. Scientists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Poland and Germany will present and discuss their latest results grouped into the sessions:
- Sedimentary Facies and Stratigraphy
- Remote Sensing in Estuaries
- Sediment Dynamics and Geochemistry
- Estuarine Dynamics and Sediment Transport
- Morphodynamics in estuaries

In a final discussion the participants plan to define advanced research topics as the base for new research concepts and projects on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary marine sciences in the coastal ocean. Selected papers will be published by a special publication of the Geological Society of London. The title of the book is River-dominated Shelf Sediments of East Asia Seas.

The organizers pay attention in particular to the integration of young scientists into the discussion. PhD students will use the stage of the workshop to present outcomes of their studies. A special poster session will shed light on the active role of postgraduate and undergraduate students in the research activities.

The week before the workshop, from May 13 to 17, 2013, was reserved for a special educational program for students and young scientists at the CCOST and the partner organization Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS). In 5 lectures and seminars Prof. Jan Harff gave an introduction to the topics:
1) Marine geology of continental margins
2) Depositional environment and sedimentary facies on the continental shelf
3) Climate change as reflected in marine sediments
4) Relative sea level change: competition of geological processes and climate variation
5) Coast and society