Lecture: Antarctic Palaeoclimate Under the Microscope

Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Pike, School of Earth, Ocean & Planetary Sciences, Cardiff University

Entry Fee

Members: Free

Visitors: £5.00

Date and Time

19:30 -

Location

Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN


Lecture Description

Antarctica is a long way from NW Europe and, as such, we don’t tend to think very much about how it could impact on our climate. Antarctica has two ice sheets: the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. These two large volumes of ice contain the equivalent of ~66 m of global sea level so, potentially, could have a large impact on the coastlines of the world (including NW Europe!) if they melted. So what is the chance of this happening? The Antarctic Peninsula is a major part of the WAIS and is currently warming at a rate of more than double the global average and many large ice shelves around the peninsula have collapsed in the recent past. However, it is believed that in many regions of East Antarctica the EAIS is expanding. In this talk we will explore the late Quaternary geological record from the coastal regions of Antarctica, focusing on the last deglaciation, to see how the Antarctic ice sheets have behaved during past periods of rapid warming. In particular, the fossil record of diatoms (marine algae) will be used to explore the large-scale interaction between the atmosphere, ice and oceans of Antarctica.


Attending via Zoom

This is a hybrid meeting: you can attend in person or join online via Zoom.

Bath Geological Society Members: Free of charge. Joining instructions and the Zoom link are sent to members by email prior to the lecture.

Visitors & Non-Members: (including members of the Geologists' Association and affiliated societies) Please book via Eventbrite to receive Zoom access (see the Entry Fee details above).

How to join: Click the Zoom link provided in your email or Eventbrite confirmation. You can join using the Zoom desktop or mobile app, or directly via your web browser without installing any software. The virtual waiting room opens approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, and attendees will be admitted before the talk commences.

For any queries about joining online, please contact [email protected].



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