Russian representation in the Commission for the Geological Map of the World

Since 1956, Russian geologists have been taking an active part in the work of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World, being the leaders of its subcommissions. Among them are specialists from the A.P. Karpinsky Russian Geological Research Institute (VSEGEI), the Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the I.S. Gramberg Russian Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World Ocean (VNIIOkeangeologiya).

*The Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) is an international non-profit association governed by French law. It is responsible for the compilation, coordination, preparation and publication of small-scale geological thematic maps for scientific and scientific-educational purposes for the globe, continents, large regions and oceans. CGMW has joined the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) and is recognized by UNESCO as a non-governmental organization (NGO) (from the official website https://ccgm.org/).*

The Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW) was founded as an independent structure in 1913 at the 12th International Geological Congress in Toronto. Currently, the CGMW includes 16 Subcommissions - nine continental (for individual continents or large regions of the Earth) and seven thematic (for the scientific content of geological maps).

In the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW), there are three Subcommissions, led by Russian geoscientists. These are the Subcommission for Tectonic Maps (founded in 1956 on the initiative of the USSR Academy of Sciences), for the USSR (since 1996, for Northern Eurasia, founded in 1960 on the initiative of the USSR Ministry of Geology), and for the Antarctic (founded in 1964; from 1974 to 1978 and since 1991 has been working under the guidance of specialists from VNIIOkeangeologia).

Currently, the leaders of the Russian Subcommissions are as follows:

– the Subcommission for Northern Eurasia is headed by O.V. Petrov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, CGMW Vice-President since 2004, VSEGEI General Director, and Dr. S.P. Shokalsky, Sub-Commission Secretary General since 2004, Head of VSEGEI Department;
– the Subcommission for the Antarctic is headed by Dr. G.L. Leichenkov, CGMW Vice-President since 2008, Head of VNIIOkeangeologia Laboratory);
– the Thematic Subcommission for Tectonic Maps is headed by Academician A.I. Khanchuk, Subcommission President since 2018 (Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief Advisor to VSEGEI) and Dr. I.I. Pospelov, Subcommission Secretary General since 2000, Leading Researcher, GIN RAS and VSEGEI.

Currently, in the Bureau of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World, Russia is represented by five (out of 35) members, who head the three Subcommissions. This allows influencing the tactics and strategy of the Commission for the implementation of international projects on geological mapping.

Russian members of the Bureau take part in all events held under the auspices of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World. Among them are Bureau meetings and General Assemblies, which are held every two years and at which the Subcommissions’ leaders give reports on the work done. The Bureau meetings and General Assemblies are held during the International Geological Congresses and between geological congresses every two years at the CGMW headquarters in Paris.

February 2006, Paris. CGMW Bureau members after the meeting


February 2018, UNESCO, CGMW General Assembly. Russian members of the CGMW Bureau at the exhibition of geological maps

The Subcommission for Northern Eurasia is the leading subcommission in the CGMW for compiling geological maps for the former USSR, adjacent water areas and neighboring states, and also takes part in the compilation of geological and tectonic maps for Asia, the Arctic and the entire globe.

The Subcommission for Tectonic Maps is a leading subcommission in the CGMW for the development, compilation and preparation for publication of tectonic maps of continents and the globe. At present, both of these Subcommissions are working in close partnership, combining the efforts of VSEGEI specialists, organizations of the Federal Agency on Mineral Resources (ROSNEDRA) with scientists from the Geological Institute and other institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Under the leadership of the Subcommission for Northern Eurasia, in cooperation with geological surveys of China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea, the work, which commenced in 2002 on the compilation of geological, tectonic (together with the Subcommission for Tectonic Maps), metallogenic and energy resources maps under the international project Atlas of Geological Maps of Central Asia and Adjacent Areas, scale 1:2,500,000, was finalized in 2008. The Tectonic Map of the Atlas was compiled under the auspices of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World and was recognized as successful in reflecting the structure of the Central Asian (Ural-Mongolian) mobile belt. The Atlas was successfully demonstrated at the 33^rd International Geological Congress in Oslo (Norway, 2008).

The compilation and publication of the extended version of the previous project entitled the Atlas of Geological Maps of Northern, Central and Eastern Asia and Adjacent Areas, scale 1:2,500,000, including four maps - geological, tectonic, metallogenic and energy resources, was finalized in 2014 in the framework of the ongoing international cooperation of the five countries. The Tectonic Map of the Atlas and the Explanatory Note published thereto (Tectonics of Northern, Central and Eastern Asia) were also created under the auspices of the CGMW. It was included into the Commission's catalog and presented on its website. In 2016, this map was warmly welcomed by the scientific community at the 35^th International Geological Congress in Cape Town.

A good example of interaction and scientific cooperation is the participation of two Russian CGMW Subcommissions in such a major international project as the International Geological Map of Asia - IGMA-5000, performed by the Subcommission for South and East Asia (China Academy of Geological Sciences) in the years 2005-2013. The project manager, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the People's Republic of China, Ren Jishun, managed to attract more than 100 specialists from 20 countries to compile this map, including the CGMW management, both Russian Subcommissions, and the Subcommission for the Middle East. The Subcommission for Northern Eurasia was responsible for compiling the Russian part of the map with its water areas (Group I), and the Subcommission for Tectonic maps, for the Central Asian and East Asian parts of the map (Group III).

The successful completion of the International Geological Map of Asia - IGMA-5000 made it possible to return to compiling the International Tectonic Map of Asia - ITMA-5000 based on the published geological map, which was supported by the CGMW management.

In 2018 and 2019, both Russian Subcommissions, together with the Subcommission for South and East Asia, at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, began the implementation of the ITMA-5000.

In October 2018, during the bilateral Sino-Russian workshop, main problems of compiling the tectonic map were discussed and an action plan of the three Subcommissions on the creation of a common legend and individual map layouts was outlined. This version of the legend was prepared by the Second Workshop in Beijing in November 2019, which was held with the participation of the CGMW President, Dr. M. Poubellier, and representatives from six countries. During the workshop, the general legend ITMA-5000 was developed, and it was adopted as the basis for compiling the tectonic map.

October 2018, Beijing. Participants of the First ITMA-5000 Workshop


November 2019, Beijing. Participants of the Second ITMA-5000Workshop

In 2019, the Tectonic Map of the Arctic (TeMAr) and the Explanatory Note to it with scientific substantiation of map contents was published in Paris with the support of the CGMW. The international scientific community was constantly informed about stages of its compilation, starting with the first workshop at VSEGEI in April 2010.

April 2016, Vienna. Participants of the TeMAr Workshop


April 2017, Vienna. Informal TeMAr Workshop

The ten-year process of compiling the map showed that the Tectonic Map of the Arctic is an excellent example of scientific cooperation not only in the Commission, where key roles were played by the Subcommission for Northern Eurasia, as the coordinator of the project, the Subcommissions for Tectonic Maps, for North America, but also with leading specialists from geological surveys of countries conducting regular scientific geological exploration in the Arctic.

In 2019, the Tectonic Map of the Arctic and the Explanatory Note to it (in Russian) were prepared and published at the VSEGEI Cartographic Factory.

The Subcommissions on Northern Eurasia and Tectonic Maps, having experience in compiling small-scale tectonic maps, were invited by CGMW President Manuel Pubellier (project manager) to participate in the IGCP667 project - World Map of the Orogens. .

June 2019, Paris. CGMW President M. Pubellier, CGMW Vice-President for Northern Eurasia RAS Corresponding Member O.V. Petrov and President of the CGMW Sub-Commission for Tectonic Maps Academician A.I. Khanchuk discuss the Legend to the World Map of the Orogens

About 25 specialists from 10 countries take part in the map compiling. This project will have to reflect on the world map all the main stages of the continental crust formation from the Archean to the Recent as a result of orogenic processes. During this time, several workshops have been held: the first one in Paris in December 2018, then the informal workshop in the premises of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World in June 2019, and finally the second workshop in December 2019 at the Royal Museum of Central Africa, Brussels. To date, eight time slices in the history of the Earth's orogens evolution from the Archean to the Cenozoic have been compiled, which will become the basis for compiling a single map of the orogens. For us, participation in this project is of great importance due to the new initiative of the CGMW Subcommissions for Northern Eurasia and Tectonic Maps.

By the 36^th International Geological Congress (March 2-7, 2020, New Delhi), proposals have been prepared for the new CGMW international project Tectonic Map of the World, scale 1:35M, which will be announced at the CGMW Bureau members meeting (March 2) and the CGMW General Assembly (March 4). Much time has gone since the compilation and publication of the previous Tectonic Map of the World (1982 - 15M map, 1984 - 45M map). Huge material accumulated for almost 40 years compels us to compile a new Tectonic map of the Earth, which would reflect not only the surface structure of the Earth's crust, but also the information on geophysics of various depths, which will allow studying the Earth in its complex evolution process.

The CGMW Sub-Commission on Antarctica is engaged in preparing materials for the second edition of the Tectonic Map of the Antarctic, scale 1:10,000,000 (Authors: G.E. Grikurov and G.L. Leichenkov, VNIIOkeangeologia). The first edition of this map was published in 2012 by the Commission for the Geological Map of the World (CGMW). At the same time, an explanatory note to the map is being prepared for publication.