On 3-7 August 2026, the Large Igneous Province-Dyke Swarm (LIP-IDC 2026) Conference heads to Nyeri, Kenya. The VIPS Blog Team interviewed the co-chairs of the Organizing Team, Professor Nicolas Mariita from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (Kenya), and Professor Richard Ernst from Carleton University (Canada) to learn more about the conference.
The theme of the conference, “Source to Resource – Exploring LIPs and Dyke Swarms”, encompasses a broad range of research areas, including rift processes, planetary analogues of LIPs and dike swarms, and implications for exploration of critical minerals.
Genesis of the Conference(s)
LIPS-IDC represents a combination of the International Dyke Swarm Conference, which held its first meeting at the University of Toronto in 1985, and the Large Igneous Province series, established in 2007. Following a successful inaugural joint meeting in Morocco in 2023, the organizing team is looking forward to the latest iteration in Kenya.
“It’s a neat opportunity, now that the series are combined, to bring people together to celebrate and share the latest developments. Both fields are fast-moving right now, and so meeting every 3 years is going to be a good thing going forward,” Professor Ernst said.
An African Conference
Professors Ernst and Mariita both recognized the significance of hosting the conference in Kenya for facilitating attendance by African researchers and students, sparking collaborations and joint studies with local researchers, and introducing international researchers to African geology. “My university is very excited to host this conference”, Professor Mariita said when discussing the prospect of facilitating connections and discussions amongst geoscientists of broad disciplines and experience.
“Kenya is a part of the world that we haven’t seen as part of either conference series,” Dr. Ernst explained while noting the unique location of Kenya on the East African Rift System. “It’s a great opportunity to continue the exploration of both fields and their links with climate change, ore deposits, supercontinent reconstruction, plume magmatism, silicic provinces and planetary analogues on Mars and Venus.”
Scientific Program
The scientific program for 2026 is designed to address both fundamental geological questions and pressing global challenges. In addition to themes including the African-Arabian LIP, dike swarms of various settings, and planetary analogues for LIPs and dike swarms, the conference devotes time towards discussions of economic geology based on
LIP processes and their implications for oil/gas, critical minerals, and aquifers. Other topics include climate change effects by LIPs, and the geotourism and geoheritage of LIPs and dyke swarms. Regarding geotourism, Professor Ernst explained how he believed geoscientists had a role to play in sharing the history of the Earth with non-geoscientists. “I think it’s something that the geoscience community can do more of so that people appreciate the history of the Earth, how it’s recorded in the rocks, and how particular rocks might record a unique history from hundreds of thousands of years ago or billions of years ago. There’s Earth history that we can preserve in geoparks and give people the opportunity to visit and learn about them,” he explained.
A new conference topic to be developed at LIPS-IDC 2026 is geothermal research, which aligns well with the research focus of the conference host, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology. “It will be interesting to see how Kenya has advanced in exploiting geothermal energy from the East African Rift Valley,” Professor Mariita noted. At the time of the interview, Professor Mariita had just reached out to a local geothermal company about visiting their geothermal plant during a conference field trip, which demonstrates the unique opportunities that this conference offers.
Field Trips across Africa
As the conference host, Professor Mariita is actively leading efforts to plan a series of field trips. These field trips will occur before, during and after the conference for conferencegoers to learn about different aspects of African geology. A pre-conference field trip traverses Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya to explore bimodal magmatism in a Kibaran LIP, rifting along the western branch of the East African Rift System, dike swarms across a Paleoproterozoic Rwenzori Fold Belt, and gold mining and exploration across the area. After the conference, a field trip across Kenya will explore the role of rifting on volcanism in Kenya, showcasing Cenozoic dyke swarms on the peaks of Aberdare, the Eburru Volcanic Centre, active geothermal fields in the Olkaria Complex, and the Longonot Volcano.
While not everyone may be able to attend field trips outside of the conference week, both organizers are looking forward to the mid-conference field trip to Mount Kenya to explore Africa’s second-highest peak. Professor Ernst described the field trips as “touching all aspects of large igneous provinces and circles back to the East Africa Rift too, so it’s a variety of items that will be put together for people to see and learn more about”.
The 13-person Organizing Team is also committed to fostering the next generation of geoscientists, with the support of organizations such as IAVCEI and IUGG. In addition to travel bursaries for students and early career researchers, the organizing team is actively looking for sponsors so they can offer awards for excellent student research to support their continued work. “We welcome students [at the conference], and there is student support is available, so please, submit your abstracts and submit your requests for student support by the deadline,” Professor Ernst said, as he encouraged everyone interested to submit abstracts and sign up.
Abstract submission for LIPS-IDC 2026 is open now and closes 31 March 2026. Travel grant applications are due on 31 March 2026. Further information on the conference can be found here.
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