FIRST ANOUNCEMENT

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS OF INLAND WATERS:

CASE STUDY FOR THE CASPIAN BASIN (UPCB)

Date: 12-14 May 2018

Place: Baku, Azerbaijan

Web: http://www.upcm2018.org

CONFERENCE VENUE

The Caspian Sea, like the Aral Sea, Black Sea, Lake Urmia, and Lake Van, is a

remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea. It became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due

to tectonic uplift and a fall in sea level. During warm and dry climatic periods, the landlocked

sea almost dried up, depositing evaporitic sediments like halite that were covered by wind-

blown deposits and were sealed off as an evaporate sink when cool, wet climates refilled the

basin. One of the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change is the enclosed and inland

seas.

The climate change trends observed in these waters are generally more complex than

that characteristic for the open ocean. The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of

water on earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It is

in an endorheic basin (it has no outflows) and located between Europe and Asia. It is

bounded to the northeast by Kazakhstan, to the northwest by Russia, to the west by

Azerbaijan, to the south by Iran, and to the southeast by Turkmenistan. It is now -28 m below

the normal sea level.

Due to the current inflow of fresh water, the Caspian Sea is a freshwater lake in its

northern portions. It is more saline on the Iranian shore, where the catchment basin

contributes little flow. Currently, the mean salinity of the Caspian is one third that of the

earth's oceans. The Karabogazgöl embayment, which dried up when water flow from the

main body of the Caspian was blocked in the 1980s but has since been restored, routinely

exceeds oceanic salinity by a factor of 10.

The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and

Kyzylorda provinces) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the

south. The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to over 1,100 islands that

once dotted its waters; in Old Turkic Aral means "island". The Aral Sea drainage basin

encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been called "one of the planet's worst environmental

disasters". The region's once-prosperous fishing industry has been essentially destroyed,

bringing unemployment and economic hardship. The Aral Sea region is also heavily polluted,

with consequential serious public health problems. The departure of the sea has reportedly

also caused local climate change, with summers becoming hotter and drier, and winters

colder and longer.

In the late 1990s, Lake Urmia, in north-western Iran, was twice as large as

Luxembourg and the largest salt-water lake in the Middle East. Since then it has shrunk

substantially, and was sliced in half in 2008, with consequences uncertain to this day, by a

15-km causeway designed to shorten the travel time between the cities of Urmia and Tabriz.

Historically, the lake attracted migratory birds including flamingos, pelicans, ducks and

egrets. It’s drying up, or desiccation, is undermining the local food web, especially

by destroying one of the world’s largest natural habitats of the brine shrimp Artemia, a hardy

species that can tolerate salinity levels of 340 grams per litre, more than eight times saltier

than ocean water. Desiccation will increase the frequency of salt storms that sweep across the

exposed lakebed, diminishing the productivity of surrounding agricultural lands and

encouraging farmers to move away. Poor air, land, and water quality all have serious health

effects including respiratory and eye diseases.

As a starting point of the proposed Project by the Riparian Countries of the Caspian

Sea on a theme of “Dynamics of the Caspian Sea Water Level Fluctuations During Holocene

Until the Present Affected by the Climate Change: Impact on the Ecology and Socio-

Economics of the Region”, the aim is to increase the exchange of the international scientific

cooperation on Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, and Urmia and Van lakes. This International

Conference “Understanding the Problems of Inland Waters: Case Study for the Caspian

Basin” will take place in Baku during 12-14 May 2018.

SCIENTIFIC THEMES

1. The impact of climate change on: sea level, bio-resources, bio-diversity, marine

invasive species,  ecology and food web: past, present and future.

2. Climate and hydro-meteorological features of the basin.

3. International cooperation, socio-economical development, Industry and energy-food,

water-ecosystem nexus and the state of fishes and fisherie in the Caspian region.

4. Physical and chemical characteristics of the Caspian Sea.

5. Geology, geomorphology and paleogeography.

6. Marine geophysics, seismology, seismic hazard assessment

7. The application of remote sensing and GIS on investigation of modern climatic trends

8. Archeology and paleoarcheology of the Caspian region

9. Sustainable development, disaster and risks of the Caspian Sea Region.

10. Changing ecosystem health of Caspian Sea under multiple stressors

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Inter-Islamic Science and Technology Network on Oceanography (INOC)

Institute of Geography of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (IG ANAS)

ORGANIZATION CCOMMITTEE

Chair:

Ramiz Mammedov (Oceanography)

Co-Chair:

Mustafa Ergun (Geosciences)

Rauf Qardashov (Oceanography)

Committee members:

Erdeniz Özel (Geophysics)

Amir Aliyev (Oceanography)

Ferda Imanov (Hydrology)

Zabit Allahverdiyev (Hydrology)

Yelena Tagiyeva (Paleontology)

Meherrem Hasanov (Meteorology)

Elnur Safarov (Oceanography)

Asif Oruclu (International Relations and Diplomacy)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Iskandar Abdullaev (Environment)

Nazim Abdullaev (Marine Sedimentology, Basin modeling/analysis, Geology and

Geophysics)

Arsen Adalbert (Space Oceanography/Remote Sensing)

Kurbaniyazov Abilqazi (Sustainable Education)

Elmira Aliyeva (Sedimentology and Paleogeography)

Orhan Altan (Remote Sensing)

Alexandre Hedjazi Babak (Global Governance & Urban Sustainability Transition)

Michele Casanova (Archeorient)

Jon Marco Church (Water Resources Management)

Jean-Francois Cretaux (Space Hydrology)

Namık Çağatay (Marine Geology)

Günay Çifçi (Marine Geophysics)

Mustafa Ergun (Marine Geosciences)

Rauf Gardashov (Oceanography)

Fakhraddin Gadirov (Geophysics)

Hadi Gerivani (Marine Geophysics/Geodesy/Seismology)

Magsad  Gojamanov (Marine geophysics and Geodesy )

Harun Güçlüsoy (Marine Protection/Biology)

Homayoun Khoshravan (Marine Geology and Coastal Management)

Ferda Imanov (Hydrology)

Siamak Jamshidi (Oceanography)

Sergey Jilchov (Socio-economist)

Ahmet Kideyş (Marine Biology)

Andrey Kostyanoy (Oceanography)

Catherine Kuzucuoğlu (Geography)

Hamid Alizadeh Ketek Lahijan (Marine Geology)

Sergey Lebedev (Geophysics/Sea Level)

Suzanne Leroy (palynology, past climate, water level changes)

Joanna Lhuillier (Archeorient)

Kaveh Madani (Environmental System Analysis)

Ramiz Mammedov (Oceanography)

Catherine Marro (Archeorient)

Marjan Mashkour (Archeozoology / Archeobotanique)

Ahmetkal Medeu (Geography)

Ali Mehdinia (Marine Pollution)

Sergei Monaxov (Sea Level/Coordinator of CASPKOM)

Mohuddin Munawar (Ecology)

Mohammadreza Allahyar (Coastal Engineering and Infrastructure Development)

Gökdeniz Neşer (Marine Transport)

Harun Özdaş (Marine Archeology)

Münir Öztürk (Botany/Ecosystem)

Masim Petrov (Aral Sea Expert)

Shavkat Rakhmatullaev (Freelance Expert)

Rodrigo Abarca del Rio (Climatology, Geodesy and Surveying, Hydrology)

Sassan Saatchi (Biology/Remote Sensing)

Said Safarov (Climatology, Meteorology, Atmosphere Physics and Radio-Meteorology)

Javid Safarov (Thermodynamics)

Mamed Salmanov (Microbiology)

Stefano Vignudelli (Remote Sensing/Satellite Altimetry)

Tamara Alekseevna Yanina (Sedimentology)

Vincent Olivier (Geomorphology)

Özdoğan Yilmaz (Geophysics)

Nasser Hadjizadeh Zaker (Oceanography/Coastal Engineering)

Igor Sergeyevich Zonn (Caspian Expert)

PROGRAM OF THE CONFERENCE

Shall be announced soon

REGISTRATION FORM AND FEE

participation Early Bird Regular Onsite

Researcher (full registration) 100 USD 150 USD 200 USD

Student 65 USD 95 USD 125 USD

Accompanying person 75 USD 100 USD 125 USD

EXHIBITION

Hotel Holliday Inn during the Conference days 12-14 May 2018

Exhibition in the framework of the International Conference “Understanding the Problems of Inland Waters: Case Study for the Caspian Basin” will take place in Baku during 12-14 May 2018 will provide an opportunity for companies and other commercial entities to demonstrate research, share solutions, and showcase their products.

For additional information and price policy please contact to UPCM2018 Organization Committee.

E-mail: e_safarov@hotmail.com,

LOCATION

Holiday Inn Baku | Keykab Khanim Safaraliyeva Street 5,

AZ1010, Baku – Azerbaijan

Phone: +994 12 599 1100 | Fax: +994 12 599 1101 | Mobile: +994 55 409 1144

Email: zuleykha.huseynova@hi-baku.com  Web: www.holidayinn.com

IMPORTANT DATES

Early Registration: 01.February.2018

Last day of Registration: Day of the Conference

Last Day of Submission of Abstract: 15 March 2018

SPONSOR Have confirmed their support:

British Petroleum (BP Azerbaijan)

International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG)

Economical Cooperation Organization Science Foundation (ECOSF), 

Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of Organization of Islamic

Cooperation (COMSTECH)

LIGHTHOUSE SpA

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)

INCI Group of Companies (OFISAIT)

Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAS)

Research Center on Oceanography for West Asia (RCOWA)

CASPIAN GEOMATICS Ltd

Rubikon Geosystems LLC 

AZDynamics

AzerCOSMOS

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism

On going negotiating:

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources

The Ministry of Emergency Situations

Azersu OSC

UNDP (within the framework of Kura II project)

TOURS

Will be announced

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION

The Scientific Committee of the “International Conference - Understanding the Problems of Inland Waters: Case Study for the Caspian Basin” invites abstract submissions for oral and/or poster presentations. The submission process ends on 15 March, 2018. Please download an extended abstract form from here http://www.upcm2018.org/abstract-submission.html.

In order to avoid loss of abstracts by any reason and getting confirmation of delivery of your extended abstracts in time, we strongly recommend send your extended abstracts to the both of listed mails:

Prof., Dr. Mustafa Ergun: mustafa.ergun@deu.edu.tr Mr. Elnur Safarov: e_safarov@hotmail.com

Terms and conditions, guidance for Poster presentation will be announced at http://www.upcm2018.org/ very soon.

Authors whose abstract has been received and successfully processed will receive an acknowledgement regarding the receipt and status of their contribution (Oral/Poster presentation). Notifications of acceptance will be given starting 20 April, 2018.

COMMUNICATION DETAILS

INOC Network Centre Institute of Geography of ANAS

DEU/DBTE Baku Bulvari No: 32 115, Avenue H. Javid,

35340 Inciralti-IZMIR / TURKEY BAKU, AZ1143; AZERBAIJAN

Tel: +90 232 279 15 22 Tel: +994 55 448 76 61

Web: www.inoctr.org and/or www.upcm2018.org

Mustafa Ergun: mustafa.ergun@deu.edu.tr

Harun.Guclusoy: harun.guclusoy@deu.edu.tr

Elnur Safarov: e_safarov@hotmail.com