Session ID: 123204  
Session Title: T016. ILP: 40 years of international lithosphere research 
Section: Tectonophysics 
Virtual Only Session (selected by primary convener during session submission): No 

Session Converners:

Mian Liu (University of Missouri Columbia), 

Hans Thybo (University of Oslo, Istanbul Technical University), 

Qin Wang (Nanjing University)

Session Description:

The Earth’s lithosphere plays the central role in most geological processes. Established in 1980 as a joint research program of the IUGS and IUGG, the International Lithosphere Program (ILP) has been an important platform for international collaborations in understanding the nature, dynamics, origin and evolution of the lithosphere. Over the past 40 years, ILP has sponsored more than 70 programs of lithosphere research. On the other hand, recent years have seen rapid growth of observational data and analytic methods in lithosphere studies. To face the growing challenges in the 21st century, multi-disciplinary and international studies of the lithosphere is more important now than ever. In this session we welcome all studies of the composition, structure, evolution, and dynamics of the lithosphere, especially studies that involves multidisciplinary and international collaborations.