IODP-MI/JOI Large Igneous Province Workshop; Coleraine, United Kingdom, 22-25 July 2007 Catastrophic massive volcanism and contemporaneous environmental change have punctuated Earth history for at least the past 3.5 billion years. Geodynamic and magmatic processes associated with large igneous province (LIP) formation interact with crustal structure and tectonic setting to produce various expressions of LIPs, the most common of which are oceanic plateaus, magma-dominated divergent continental margins, and continental flood basalts. Environmental and biotic perturbations simultaneous with LIP formation include climate changes, mass extinctions, accelerated evolutionary rates, oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), and variations in ocean chemistry. Exploring these relationships promises exciting science.