ICMG24 – The 15th International Conference on Military Geosciences, Somerset West, South Africa
The approach from the ICMG 2024 Organising Committee is to bring in new elements compared to previous conferences held in the north. This will be the first international hybrid conference in military geosciences to attract (in-person and virtually) military geoscientists from around the globe. In addition, invitations will be sent to various national and international higher institutions and military organisations to attract a wider audience (aimed at geography practitioners and students).
Date: 10 - 14 June 2024
THEME: Unmasking the change and continuity in the nature and character of military operations
Location: The Conference will be held from Monday 10 June to Friday 14 June 2024, at the
Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, South Africa. The Conference is being organized on behalf of the
Faculty of Military Science,
Stellenbosch University, and the
International Association for Military Geosciences (IAMG).
"Situated at the foothills of the Helderberg mountains, Somerset West is situated in the Hottentots Holland area close to Stellenbosch, about a 30 minute drive from Cape Town. Somerset West was named after an English governor of the Cape Colony during the 1800s, Lord Charles Henry Somerset, with the suffix 'West' being added to differentiate it from Somerset East, another South African town in the Eastern Cape.
Somerset West lies within easy reach of several beaches bordering the Atlantic Ocean and lying within False Bay. The nearest, the beach at Strand, approximately 6 km from the centre of the town, is popular with families and holidaymakers.
Somerset West is home to the wine farm, Vergelegen, an impressive 18th century farmhouse built in Cape Dutch style. The farm is now owned by a subsidiary of the large mining company Anglo American, who have restored the farmhouse to its original magnificence and continue to produce some of South Africa's best wines there."
Themes: We seek abstracts that link a wide range of military activities within a broad span of geological, geographical, archaeological, suitability, historical, and spatial analysis. A period in the conference will be allocated to the conflict in the UKR. Examples include (additional examples can be viewed at the
International Association for Military Geosciences IAMG) website:
- Engineering Geology
- Hydrogeology
- Geospatial Sciences
- Geophysics
- Climatology
- Environmental Science
- Cognate disciplines
- Warfare and geologyStellenbosch UniversityStellenbosch University
- Military response to predictive climate change
- Beyond warfare: Pandemics to providing vital resources
- Terrain Analysis
- Historical Geography
- Geomorphology
- Land Management
- Military tourism
- Naval geography
- Environmental issues of military activities
- Geospatial intelligence
- International security: borders to natural resources
- Archaeology
Abstracts: The final submission deadline is 31 March 2024.
We anticipate the publication of two volumes of peer-reviewed papers presented at the conference which will be published in the second quarter of 2025. One volume will be through a special issue for
Scientia Militaria – a peer-reviewed scholarly journal by the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University. The second will be a book publication by
African Sun MeDIA, with the theme: Military geosciences: the Russian/Ukraine conflict.
Post-Conference Excursion: Coastal Geology and Military History: A post-conference tour will run from 15 June to 20 June. The excursion will begin in Somerset West and end in Cape Town. For more information, navigate to the Field Trip Agenda tab.
Conference Committee:
- Dr Ivan Henrico (Chair)
- Prof Hennie Smit (Day-to-day activities)
- Dr Babalwa Mtshawu (Day-to-day activities)
- Cdr (Prof) Jacques Bezuidenhout (Excursions)
- Dr Rikus Le Roux (Excursions)
- Lt Col (Dr) Susan Henrico (Accommodation)
- Dr Evert Kleynhans (Publications)
- Ms Anri Delport (Publications)
- Dr Mhaka Khoza (IT)
- Mr Wayne Dalton (IT)
- Maj M.L.A Matjane (PG student)
- Capt P. Mayoyo (PG student)
- SLt S. Mbatha (PG student)
- SLt W.W. Mashaba (PG student)
- Lt L. Matiwane (PG student)
- Prof Eric McDonald (President of the IAMG)
- Lt Col Drew Craig (Secretary of the IAMG)
