About the Council

The Circum-Pacific Council is an international, non-governmental, tax exempt association of earth scientists and engineers who represent industry, academia, government and other organizations and institutions. The Council was founded in 1972 by Michel T. Halbouty, who say the need form improved international communication and exchange of information about the geology and natural resources of the Pacific Basin and surrounding land areas.

Council Mission

The Council's goals include: improving knowledge of earth resources and damaging geologic hazards in the Pacific Region; increasing collaboration among geologists, hydrologists, biologists, oceanographers and related scientists; and disseminating earth-science information through maps, publications, symposia and workshops.

Operations

The Council operates under an international Board of Directors to organize regional panels or other groups to compile, integrate, analyze and disseminate geospatial data. Leading scientists, their colleagues and students are encouraged to participate in Council activities. The Council seeks to work with other organizations that share the same scientific goal.

Activities

Over the past quarter century, the Council has sponsored five Pacific-wide conferences, six regional symposia and a dozen workshops in different countries; compiled and published over 60 regional geoscience and resources maps with accompanying explanatory booklets, and organized a geospatial data project in East Asia. The Circum-Pacific Map Project initially focused on compiling geologic, tectonic and resources data. It subsequently was broadened to include geohazard and environmental data and extended to cover the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The Council has published 16 volumes in its Earth Science Series and five volumes of conference transactions.