Preface: Outline of IGCP 516

Abstract

The International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) has progressed since 1972 under the sponsorship of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). As one of the IGCP projects, IGCP 516 entitled "Geological Anatomy of East and South Asia: Paleogeography and Paleoenvironment in Eastern Tethys" was established as a successor project to 'Geodynamics of Gondwana-derived terranes in East Asia: 1998-2002' (IGCP 441) in 2005. In IGCP 441 and its preceeding projects (IGCP 224 and 321), our knowledge on the break-up of Gondwana and the basic geotectonic framework of East Asia expanded significantly. Participants in these projects have indentified the basic scenario for the rift-drift-amalgamation history of the main Gondwana-derived terranes including the timing of rifting and collision of the main continental fragments. The fundamental purpose of IGCP 516 is to gain insights into the paleogeography and paleoenvironment of the eastern Tethys. The framework of geodynamic processes has been established as mentioned above but the identification of, and interrelation between, terranes are still controversial. Knowledge concerning some terranes is also insufficient. To accomplish this purpose, the geological anatomy of East and South Asia, as well as Southeast Asia, has been investigated by IGCP 516 participants vigorously. Exchange of geological data and information among participants took place at the international symposia of IGCP 516 held in Tsukuba, Japan in 2005, Manila, the Philippines in 2006, Delhi, India in 2007, Bangkok, Thailand in 2008, Kunming, China in 2009 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2010. The participating countries and regions were Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and USA.