The formal opening of the conference was by Åse Gornitzka, Vice-Rector at UiO, who welcomed the participants. Others who spoke were Brit Lisa Skjelkvåle, Head of Department at the Department of Geosciences and chair of the NGWM20 Organizing Committee, as well as President of the Geological Society of Norway; Øystein Nordgulen.
An opening lecture "Carbon and life – an intertwined history" was helt by Dag Hessen, IBV and chair of the CBA - Center for Biogeochemistry in Anthropocen/UiO. A surprising and good musical element was performed by the Studentorchesteret Biørneblæs.
Fully-packed conference
With over 550 registered and in addition a significant number of participants registered on the opening day, the conference is completely packed and has perhaps close to 600 visitors. The program is comprehensive with over 300 academic lectures. In addition, there are plenary talks, discussions and workshops. There is also a very extensive title list with poster presentations, all presented on the lower floor of UB, Georg Sverdrup's house.
The conference is an arena for all disciplines in geosciences, and aims to contribute to knowledge sharing, networking, inspiration and professional fulfillment. Here, geovitres from all parts of society meet - academia, research institutes, industry, government, the school administration and others.
34th Nordic Geological Winter Meeting, 8-10. January 2020 - NGWM20 was organised by the Geological Society of Norway with contributions from the Department of Geosciences, the NHM and the Science Library, University of Oslo.