Around 800 seismologists from Europe and other parts of the world gathered in Malta between the 2nd to the 7th of September to present their latest research and engage in discussions about the theory, applications and implications of earthquakes and their effects.
The 36th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission was hosted by the University of Malta, through the Department of Geosciences, and was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. Such a meeting is held every two years in a different European city.
This year's had a record participation and was deemed a great success for the number of high-level presentations, grouped into 42 separate sessions and a daily poster session in the Sacra Infermeria Hall. This was one of the largest conferences ever hosted by the University of Malta.
The scientific sessions covered such themes as seismic hazard assessment, induced and triggered seismicity, seismic tomography, historical seismology and macro seismology, the physics of earthquake sources, tsunami hazard, seismic risk to cultural heritage sites, earthquake risk, communication and mitigation, earthquake engineering, and many others. Keynote lectures were delivered every morning by internationally renowned experts in various fields.
During the week preceding the Assembly, the Peter Bormann Young Seismologist training course was held for 45 international participants at the University Residence, Lija. The theme of the course was Array Seismology, and lectures and practical sessions were delivered by an international faculty, which included staff from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation in Vienna, who sponsored a number of African students to attend the course and General Assembly.
The ESC Council is made up of the Executive Committee and the titular members of all participating European countries. The Council meeting on Thursday 6th September elected the new Executive Committee, which now includes Dr Sebastiano D'Amico from the Department of Geosciences.
The next General Assembly will be held in Corfu, Greece, in 2020.