A forum on Deep-Time Extreme Climates and Biodiversity Changes was held at Nanjing University International Conference Center from March 29 to 30.

The Forum was jointly organized by Nanjing University, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS, and Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS.

Hu Jinbo, Nanjing University’s CPC secretary, met with some of the participants.

Speaking on behalf of the organizers were Tan Zhemin, Nanjing University’s executive vice president, and Duan Xiaonan, director of the Division of Earth Sciences, Bureau of Frontier Science and Education, CAS.

Pofessor Tan Zhemin, executive vice president of Nanjing University, delivers a speech

Duan Xiaonan, director of the Division of Earth Sciences, Bureau of Frontier Science and Education, CAS, delivers a speech

Hou Zengqian, a CAS academician, gives a keynote speech

Even in the early stage of preparation, this forum received broad attention and support from experts and scholars.

Twenty-five renowned geoscience scholars from China, UK and USA attended the forum and delivered keynote speeches.

Fourteen CAS academicians and more than 200 experts and scholars from at home and abroad participated in the forum.

Also, nearly 1,000 people participated and watched the forum online. The forum won positive response and continuous praise from researchers in the same field.

Wang Pinxian, a CAS academician and professor of Tongji University, gives a keynote speech

James Zachos, an academician of the US National Academy of Sciences and professor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, discusses with scholars after giving his speech

The forum discussed the relationship between extreme climate change and biodiversity evolution in deep time, near time and modern time from the perspectives of paleontology, geochemistry, geochronology, ecology, oceanography, atmospheric science and other disciplines.

It also discussed how to bridge the boundaries between ancient and modern, sea and land, cold and hot, and long and short time scales when exploring the relationships between extreme climate, environmental variability, and biodiversity evolution.

It provided a platform for interdisciplinary exchange on a habitable Earth.

Shen Shuzhong, a CAS academician and professor from Nanjing University, delivers the closing speech

At the closing ceremony, CAS academician Shen Shuzhong, a major organizer of the forum, proposed:

“While our research on the Earth system is based in China, we should develop extensive international cooperation."

“We should understand the evolutionary history of the Earth from a broader perspective such as the universe, so as to achieve original achievements from data to mechanisms, from phenomenon description to mechanism exploration."

In the future, he pointed out, the intersection and integration of Earth system science and the fine study of the evolutionary processes of numerous organisms and environments during geological history will provide a reference for the development of present and future biodiversity research.