General Information:

The Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of the Tokyo Institute of Technology is pleased to announce a Workshop on Geophysical & Geochemical Constraints on Early Planetary Dynamos, to be held 15-19 September, 2015 at Kawaguchiko Lake (at the foot of Mt. Fuji, a World Heritage Site). [Arrive/ depart from Tokyo 9/15 & 9/19; workshop 9/16 - 9/18 in Kawaguchiko Lake]

Our motivation for hosting a workshop specifically on the problem of early planetary dynamos arises from recent attempts to push back our knowledge of primary magnetic fields in the Solar System. There is a vigorous debate in the paleomagnetic community concerning the reliability of magnetic remanence data from the rocks hosting the terrestrial zircons of Hadean and Archean age, as well as the existence of early magnetic fields of Moon and other terrestrial planets during the first billion years of the solar system. This workshop will be an opportunity for in-depth consideration of all sides of this topic, ranging from dating and understanding possible magnetic mineral inclusions in ancient zircons themselves, and possibly other mineral systems, to the general problem of maintaining a convecting dynamo in early-formed planetary cores, as well as the instruments and techniques of paleomagnetism that are being applied in an attempt to push back our knowledge of magnetic fields early in the history of the Solar System.

Venue:

Wakakusa no Yado Maruei, a hotel onsen (hot spring) located at Kawaguchiko Lake, at the foot of Mt. Fuji. See the following web page for more details:

http://www.japanican.com/hotels/ShisetsuDetail.aspx?st=4258004

Address: 498 Kodachi, Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi, Japan

Onsen hotel rooms will be shared, 4 people in each room, but other arrangements are possible. Food will be Japanese, vegetarian options are available upon request in advance. Please contact us if you have any particular rooming preferences.

September climate at Lake Kawaguchiko is moderately cool, with an average temperature near 12˚C, and typical high/low of 17˚C/7˚C. Elevation is 860 m, and rain falls in about a third of the days in September.

Registration fee at Conference Venue:

~ JPY 50000 [final # tbd depending on exchange rate fluctuations; 1 $ US is currently ~ 124 JPY, reimbursed for invited participants], which includes accommodation, meals, and coffee at the venue, in addition to ground transportation to/from the hotel, and excursions to the lava tubes and the flanks of Mt. Fuji. Please consult with us if you plan to attend only a portion of the workshop.

NOTE: All attendees must pay fees directly to the hotels upon arrival (at the venue and the Oimachi hotel before/after], as it is the payment for your room. The hotels accept cash and credit card.

We will contact you directly regarding presentations and scheduling. There will be a poster session on Thursday night, if you wish to bring a poster please contact us so that we can ensure there will be sufficient space.

Lodging and Transport to/from Narita Airport:

Our chartered bus to the meeting venue will start from, and return to, the campus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Meguro, Tokyo, Japan, with a possible earlier stop near the hotel at Oimachi Station. The bus will depart at ~ 11:00AM from Tokyo Tech on the morning of Sept. 16^th, please arrive early to avoid delays. We suggest staying at one of the local hotels near Oimachi station (a 10 minute express train ride to the Tokyo Tech campus in Ookayama, Meguro, Japan. The cost is ~JPY12,000 (~$100 US) per person per night, breakfast included.) Reservations can be made by the ELSI staff (Ms. Asako Sato). Please note: payment for the workshop itself is to be made to ELSI staff by cash upon arrival of the workshop venue; invited speakers will receive cash reimbursements, depending upon who books the flights (ElSI or personally).

Preliminary Schedule and Program:

September 15:
Foreign participants arrive at either the Nikko Narita Hotel, or the Viainn, Oimachi.

September 16:
8:00 : The bus leaves from the Nikko Narita Hotel for Oimachi
10:30 : The bus leaves from the Viainn Oimachi hotel, for the Tokyo Tech campus.
11:00 - 11:10 (sometime between): Arrive Tokyo Tech (Ms. Asako Sato would like to finish the administration with participants in the bus.)
11:15 : Leave Tokyo Tech
~13:00 : Arrive Maruei Wakakusa-no-yado, check in and lunch.

Thursday, September 17:
8AM : Breakfast

Friday, September 18:
8AM : Breakfast

10:30 : Leave Wakakusa-no-yado
11:00 : Arrive Saiko Bat Cave, brief excursion
12:00 : Leave Bat Cave
13:30 : Arrive Mt. Fuji #5 and lunch (http://mtfuji-jp.com/mtfuji-5th-station/)
15:00 : Leave Mt. Fuji #5
17:30 : Arrive Tokyo Tech
18:00 : Arrive Viainn Oimachi, with the bus continuing to the Nikko Narita hotel.

Invited Participants (confirmed):