Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences

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Latest geological insights into the Říp Hill volcano

Research by Czech geologists od the Institute of Geology CAS, Charles University, Masaryk University and VŠB_Technical University Ostrava revealed that the legendary landmark of Říp Hill is a remnant of a volcanic eruption that occurred over 26 million years ago. This hill, cocated near the zone of significant Tertiary volcanic activity (Ohře Graben), was formed during a subsurface explosion of the so-called maar volcano. The eruption was triggered by the contact of rising magma with groundwater. The sudden conversion of water into steam caused an extreme build-up of pressure, leading to a powerful explosion. A crater was formed on the surface, later filled with lava. This solidified lava lake, spaed by erosion, now forms the main body of the hill. The research was also contributed by two high school students within the Open Science program of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Institute of Geology participating in the development of new methods

Institute of Geology participating in the development of new methods
Together with the CEITEC VUT team (Brno University of Technology) and other partners, our colleague Tomáš Hrstka participated in the presentation “Towards geological applications utilizing Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy”. Being given at the CEITEC Workshop on Multi-scale Imaging, held on April 1 2025 in Brno, the presentation unveiled the potential of advanced analytical methods of laser spectroscopy (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy – LIBS). Specifically, an industrial application for the determination of the amounts of lithium and other critical elements in ores was demonstrated. The method benefits from a wider project developing innovative methods of preparation and analysis of mineralogical/petrological samples for the study of geological processes and environmental monitoring. This research, also supported by the Strategy AV21 – Dynamic planet Earth programme, provides a new look at processes of the origin of rocks and ore deposits and a potential optimization of their nature-friendly processing. The photo shows a sample of a lithium ore together with an LIBS-generated elemental map of the same sample, showing the distribution of lithium and other elements in the ore.

a link for the text CEITEC Workshop on Multi-scale Imaging: here

Nomination of a paleontological congress at the Ambassador Awards Evening

The event called XV International Palynological Congress & XI International Organization of Palaeobotany Conference in Prague, the organization of which was significantly contributed by the Institute of Geology represented by Jiří Bek (Chairman), Jana Votočková Frojdová (Secretary General) and Marcela Svobodová (in the position of the Organizing Committee member), was nominated for an award in the category “Congress of the year 2024 below 500 participants”. The awards were granted at the 14th annual “Ambassador Awards Evening“ – a ceremony held by the Prague Convention Bureau under the auspices of the Capital of Prague and the City Mayor in appreciation of those who have significantly contributed to the development of congress industry in Prague. Although our team missed the award, the nomination still poses a great success arising from extensive work for the scientific community.

Čeština

Jiří Bek elected Vice-President of international palynological body again

Jiří Bek was elected the Vice-President of the International Federation of Palynological Societes (IFPS), which unites over 3500 members from all over the world. Palaeopalynology and actuopalynology focus on modern and fossil palynomorphs (especially spores and pollen) and significantly contribute to stratigraphy, palaeontology (definition of stratotypes), archaeology, melissopalynology, forensic sciences (police investigation) and research into human allergies in medicine. Jiří Bek is the only palynologist who was elected the IFPS Vice-President for the second time.

Čeština

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