To promote ongoing geological research, the Unesco Chair for Ophiolites Studies and the Earth Sciences Research Centre at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) recently organised an event titled ‘International Conference on Ophiolites and the Oceanic Lithosphere: Results of the Oman Drilling Project and Related Research’.

Mohammed al Kindi, a geologist and one of the participants, said, “As many as 250 scientists from over 60 countries of the world, including Oman, America, Britain, France, Japan, India and Jordan participated in the three-day conference held at SQU.”

The conference aimed to review new developments during last eight years and to promote ongoing geological research. It also presented the latest developments across a broad spectrum of earth-science professions, including chemical and biological studies on oceanic lithosphere and results of the Oman Drilling Project (www. omandrilling.ac.uk). It also aimed to exchange experiences between geologists and academics from different countries.

“More than 70 scientific presentations and about 100 scientific papers were presented at the event. The participants also visited some geological areas of Oman. SQU has been actively involved in advancing geological knowledge about Oman’s mountains and particularly the Samail ophiolite. This objective was successfully achieved during the three previous geological conferences held in 1990, 2001 and 2012, and an international workshop on CO2 sequestration in mafic and ultramarine rock in 2011.”