Tsutomu SodaSODA Tsutomu: As a Doctor of Science (Geography) from Tokyo Metropolitan University, Soda studied tephra identification within Quaternary research in Japan under the doyens of tephrochronology, MACHIDA Hiroshi and ARAI Fusao. His research extends thrughout Japan but focusses on Gunma Prefecture, having established Gunma’s natural history in the Quaternary and cooperating with archaeologists to research the history of natural hazards in this active volcanic area. He is a major tephrochronologist for archaeology in Japan, formerly with the Palaeoenvironment Research Institute Co, Ltd., but now running his own Institute of Tephrochronology for Nature and History, Co. Ltd., in Maebashi, Gunma. He teaches physical geography at Maebashi Institute of Technology since 1997 and lectures at Waseda and Gunma Universities. His research papers include contributions to the History of Gunma Prefecture (Gunma Pref., 1990), Kazanbai Kokogaku (Kokon-shoin, 1993), Kokogaku noTame no Nendai Sokuteigaku Nyumon (Kokon-shoin, 1999), and the Manual of Kankyo Kokogaku (Doseisha, 2003). Read More Read Less