JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2020

Presentation information

[E] Oral

U (Union ) » Union

[U-25] Special session for a Borderless World of Geoscience after COVID-19 (Challenges for the future)

Mon. Jul 13, 2020 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Ch.1

convener:Hodaka Kawahata(Atmosphere Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo), Robin Elizabeth Bell(Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory), Alberto Montanari(University of Bologna), David Laurence Higgitt(Lancaster University College at Beijing Jiaotong University, Weihai, China), Chairperson:Hodaka Kawahata(Atmosphere Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo)

5:09 PM - 5:24 PM

[U25-05] Contribution by JpGU to the future global development of Earth and Planetary Science – by overcoming COVID-19 -

*Hodaka Kawahata1 (1.Atmosphere Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo)

The origins of the JpGU trace back to joint meetings held by 5 societies concerned with Earth sciences in Japan in 1990, when the first Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting (WPGM) of AGU was held in Kanazawa, shortly after the Japanese Association of Earth and Planetary Science Societies (JAEPSS) was formed. Closer relationship started to develop between AGU and JAEPSS through participation in biennial WPGM meetings. The chemistry of crossing the disciplinary borderlands and national borders seems to have worked to gain support from the communities. We share common cause with AGU in promoting Earth and space science in fundamental ways. And then JpGU was established in the fall of 2005 as the organization to represent all the Societies within Earth and planetary sciences in response to the renovation of the Science Council of Japan. It started as a general juridical person, Japan Geoscience Union on December 1, 2009 and developed to be as a public corporation 2 years later in 2011. In 2017, JaGU and AGU held its first joint Meeting in Chiba. Currently 51 societies with the total member of 13,000 join JpGU and around 8,000 participants attend annual meeting of JpGU at Makuhari Messe, Chiba in May. We aim to promote research activities, provide a platform for communications among the members, coordinate internationally, and reach out to the public by representing earth planetary science societies in Japan. Especially JpGU supports international discussion and exchange that contributes to moving forwards the leading of science and will help invigorate the global Earth and planetary science community.

Investments in Earth and Planetary science research and education have greatly benefited the economic well-being of nations by understanding of distractive environmental hazards, sustainable use of resources, safer and healthier environment for a changing world. Scientists and their partners from many countries has worked together, share ideas and data, which has established the international network of a variety of cultures. This will be vital in confronting the challenges facing humanity and the Earth in the coming years and decades. In particular, Japan is a country prone to various geo-hazards and it is necessary for us to make vital contributions in understanding and overcoming these calamities.

JpGU has concluded MOU with AGU, EGU and AOGS to promote mutual collaboration and exchange in information and co-organization of scientific conferences and to foster mutual cooperation. In addition, policymakers can maximize the positive impacts of Earth and Planetary science for economies, health, sustainability and security around the globe by investing in scientific research. This time JpGU-AGU will have a joint meeting 2020 "For a Borderless World of Geoscience". We firmly believe that the advancement and dissemination of Earth and Planetary science will contribute to the well-being of the humankind and sustainable environments. We will make further global progress through open and transparent scientific collaboration and clear and timely science communication globally.

Due to the global spread of the Corona virus and outbreak of COVID-19, JpGU-AGU 2020 is held as a virtual format using the internet. Even if we overcome the corona infection, we will encounter a new world without getting back where we started from. We would like to highlight some of the science-influenced phenomena caused by COVID-19: the relationship of panedemic infection with science, global cooperation, open science, Society (Economic crises against long-term issues), and Dystopia. We hope that the new corona epidemic will be an opportunity for all human beings to understand that global disruption poses a serious danger, as is clear from the case that everyone should cooperate in the development of vaccines.


The Corona virus problem may be a significant opportunity for us to think about current status of our world and future direction.