IGCP 512 held its inaurgural meeting on August 27, 2005 in Aberystwyth, Wales, during the IAS conference on Glacial Processes and Products. The broad purpose of this project is to bring together scientists from many countries and subdisciplines in the earth sciences with the common objective of making a global synthesis of the Neoproterozoic (1000 to 541 million years ago) glaciations. The ambitious aim of this synthesis is to constrain, to the extent possible within the project's 5-year time frame (2005-2009), the duration, timing, global correlation, areal distribution, causes, consequences, and related ore genesis of the these glaciations. This project serves as a vehicle for organizing field workshops and meetings, stimulating collaborative research, and publishing a new book on the Neoproterozoic glacials, with overviews on key stratigraphic successions from around the world, all written in a consistent and concise format. IGCP 512 is also charged with making a recommendation to the Precambrian Subcommission of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) on how to further subdivide the Neoproterozoic time scale, beyond the recently ratified Ediacaran Period (635 - 541 million years ago).

The purpose of this website is to serve as a forum for the exchange of data and ideas between IGCP 512 participants and as a source of information for all parties interested in the Neoproterozoic glaciations. The website is in its early stages and will no doubt expand significantly in scope. Input and contributions from project participants and other visitors is encouraged.