University of Ottawa
May 25-27, 2011The organising committee for GAC-MAC® Ottawa 2011 is pleased to present its logo, its banner and its motto - Navigating Past & Future Change - for this upcoming meeting.
Ottawa 2011's motto - Navigating Past & Future Change - highlights this meeting's commitment to exploring both the scientific and the societal aspects of Earth Science. One of the earliest historical navigation instruments found in the vicinity of Canada's National Capital is reputed to be Samuel de Champlain's astrolabe. Champlain, who first surveyed the Ottawa River in 1613, is commemorated by a statue that stands in one of Ottawa's parks, his outstretched arm reaching to the river, holding his astrolabe ... upside-down.
The astrolabe, a symbol of Ottawa, was the historical equivalent of the modern GPS, so prevalent in modern Earth Science endeavours. In our logo, we have chosen to represent Champlain's astrolabe for its historical value, while recognising that, as astrolabes go, this one is lacking much that might be required by the proficient navigator, even in 1613.
The single arm of Champlain's astrolabe is set to 45N degrees, Ottawa's latitude. The astrolabe sits on the surface of the Earth, underlain by grey layers that develop a waviness with depth. These layers symbolically represent several geoscience elements: the layering of a supracrustal sequence (e.g. the Ordovician limestone that underlies the Ottawa Valley) and folded strata; the waviness, heraldic symbol for water, also represents groundwater, as well as the lacustrine and marine realms of geoscience; it can also represent seismic waves, as well as other aspects of modern geophysics. Above the ground, the Earth as a planet is symbolised by lines of longitude and latitude on a blue background - the "blue" planet. The all-encompassing blue circle that surrounds the other elements symbolises both the oceans and the atmosphere.
With the symbology of this logo, Ottawa 2011 intends to signal the openness and inclusiveness of this GAC-MAC® meeting to all Earth Science disciplines and endeavours.