We are organising a Summer School on Modelling Thermochronology Data (with
emphasis on low-temperature FT and (U-Th)/He methods, thermal modelling and
inversion) in Aussois, France, September 20-23.

The school is sponsored by the European Science Foundation “Topo-Europe”
Programme and the International Geoscience Programme Project IGCP-543
“Low-temperature thermochronology and its applications”.

Invited speakers at the school will teach both lectures and practical
classes. Participants are required to bring their own laptop computer, on
which modelling software will be installed during the school. Reading
material will be circulated beforehand, so all participants can come to the
summer school prepared and get the most out of it. The following speakers
have agreed to contribute to the summer school: Richard Ketcham (University
of Texas at Austin), Kerry Gallagher (Géosciences Rennes), Jean Braun
(Géosciences Rennes), Frédéric Herman (ETH Zürich).

Preliminary programme:

Sunday 20/09 – p.m.: Arrival of participants, ice-breaker and dinner.
Monday 21/09 – a.m.: Forward and inverse models of fission-track ages and
length distributions (lecture and practical class; R. Ketcham).
Monday 21/09 – p.m.: Modelling spatially distributed data (lecture and
practical class; K. Gallagher).
Tuesday 22/09 – all day: 3-D thermal modelling and predicting
thermochronological ages (lectures and practical classes; J. Braun).
Wednesday 23/09 – a.m.: Inverting thermochronological data to extract
exhumation and relief histories (lecture and practical class; F. Herman).
Wednesday 23/09 – p.m.: Closure and departure of participants

Venue:

The school will be held at the Centre Paul Langevin, a holiday and congress
centre of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) located in
Aussois (French Alps). The village of Aussois is located near Modane on the
French-Italian border, easily accessible by rail (including fast train
connections to Paris, Lyon and Turin) and close to major airports (Geneva,
Lyon, Turin, Milan). A minibus shuttle service will be available between the
Modane train station and Aussois for arrival and departure of participants.

Registration, costs and sponsoring:

The summer school can accommodate 50 students. Priority will be given to PhD
students and postdocs associated with Topo-Europe collaborative research
projects, but we expect that we can accommodate 20-30 outside students.
Thanks to the sponsoring by ESF, we are able to charge only the cost for
accommodation and meals at the centre, which will be € 400,-  per
participant (including full board from Sunday evening to Wednesday lunch). 

To register for the Summer school or for further information, email Peter
van der Beek ([log in to unmask]). IGCP will cover travel expenses for
participants from emerging and developing countries. We may also be able to
cover the accommodation costs partially or fully for these participants,
depending on the final budget. If you wish to apply for IGCP travel funding,
please contact Max Zattin ([log in to unmask]). 

Peter van der Beek
Max Zattin
Sean Willett