QRA Annual Discussion Meeting 2026

The 2026 Quaternary Research Association (QRA) Annual Discussion Meeting (ADM) is being hosted at the University of Brighton.

The theme of the ADM is 'The Quaternary: Past Human and Environment Dynamics'.

Reconstruction of processes, feedback rates and magnitude of past environmental, climate and landscape change over timescales from millions of years to the recent past is of paramount importance to better understanding both present and future environmental, climate and landscape changes in for example, glacial, periglacial, riverine, coastal, marine and dryland environments. Within such environments, humans also have evolved over millennia - from the Pleistocene hominins to the extraction and use of raw materials (e.g. gold, iron) during the Bronze-Iron Age, as well as the ritual significance to rivers and other water bodies and, most recently, our evolution into an environment characterised by anthropogenic climate change. This ADM will bring together, and make links between, past environments and the ways in which humans engaged with landscapes and environments from the past to the present. 

We welcome contributions related to the broad theme of Past Human and Environment Dynamics, which can include, but are not limited to the following areas:

• Using the palaeo-record to predict present and future environmental, climate and landscape changes.

• Using modern analogues to inform palaeo-reconstruction.

• Past human and/or past environment dynamics from micro- to macro-scales, over millennia to the recent past.

• Human interactions with, and impact on, landscapes and environments.

• How Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) can be embedded into Quaternary science through current good practice and future improvements.

We aim to bring together experts from a range of diverse fields within Quaternary science from both environmental and archaeological backgrounds, as well as those exploring EDI issues and solutions in the Quaternary sciences. Research is likely to include, for example, (geo)archaeology, geomorphology, sedimentology, stratigraphy, relative and absolute age dating, proxy reconstruction, geochronology, new analytical methods and numerical modelling. Research presented at this ADM will (i) disseminate cutting-edge methods and breakthrough results; (ii) highlight areas of uncertainty, knowledge gaps and where future research is necessary; and (iii) offer opportunities for networking and collaboration among academics, industry and government.

Summary Schedule:

• 5th January: Early-career and mid-career workshops; oral and poster presentations; Wiley keynote speaker; icebreaker event.

• 6th January: Oral and poster presentations; JQS 40th Anniversary Celebration; QRA keynote speaker; QRA Annual General Meeting and prize giving; conference dinner.

• 7th January: Oral and poster presentations; EDI session and discussion.

• 8th January: One-day field trip to Birling Gap and Black Rock.

Abstract submission deadline: 10th November 2025. 

Early Bird registration deadline: 30th November 2025.

Registration closes: 8th December 2025 at 12pm (midday).

Organising committee: Lorna Linch, David Nash, James Cole, Nick McGlynn, Benjamin Boyes, Julian Murton, Harold Lovell, Clare Boston, Mark Hardiman, Matt Pope, Letty Ingrey, Alice Dowsett, Danni Pearce. 

Contact: QRA2026@brighton.ac.uk