It is a great pleasure for us to announce that the 2nd  International Symposium on the Geology of the Black Sea Region which was for the first time organized jointly in 1992 by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) of Turkey and TMMOB Chamber of Geological Engineers, shall be held on October 5-9, 2009. The symposium will cover the geology of the circum-Black Sea Regions and the Black Sea itself.

          The geological studies in the Black Sea region starting in the 19th century have accelerated in the 1970's. In the last ten years the Black Sea region has also gained increasing importance in the exploration of oil and mineral deposits. However, the national character of most of the geological research, the lack of communication between geologists of the circum-Black Sea countries, use of different geodynamic models have necessitated international meetings to discuss its geology. Apart from increasing hydrocarbon potential, the Black Sea region has significant metallic ore deposits, industrial raw materials and faces major environmental problems in terms of landslides, floods and earthquakes.

         The Symposium on the Geology of the Black Sea Region aims to discuss the earth science related problems of the region and provide a forum for the presentation of new geological studies and geodynamic models. It is opportune that the Symposium will take place in the International Year of Planet Earth (http://yearofplanetearth.org), ratified by the UN General Assembly in 2005. It follows the first meeting on the geology of the Black Sea region, which was held in 1992 in Ankara.

        We invite all earth scientists working or interested in the geology of the Black Sea region to attend the Symposium.