August 21st 2008

Day by day our planet keeps warming. The rhetoric keeps flying - in the media, in politics, in science and among ourselves. Our icecaps are a crucial part of the weather system and pivotal in driving ocean currents and sustaining sea life. What will happen to us when the ice breaks, melts and the Earth warms even more? Presented by two outstanding UTS scientists, this not-to-be missed public lecture looks at the role the poles play in keeping our world working and what the implications will be if we must live on an ice-free Earth.

Associate Professor Peter Ralph
Professor Ralph is a marine botanist who leads a cluster of climate change researchers at UTS. Professor Ralph and his team are examining the impact of climate change on the micro algae that support vulnerable ecosystems including coral reefs, the Southern Ocean and Antarctic sea-ice. Over the past 15 years he has worked with seagrasses, freshwater macrophytes, macroalgae and terrestrial plants, with the scale of work ranging from whole organisms to cellular to biochemical processes.

Professor Greg Skilbeck
Greg Skilbeck is Professor of Earth Sciences and acting UTS Dean of Science. His main research focus is on past climate variability using the sedimentary record from coasts and oceans, with a special emphasis on the El Niño phenomenon. He has participated in several research cruises during the past 15 years investigating patterns of marine sediment deposition arising from atmosphere, land and ocean interaction in the climate system. He is currently an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) project leader on the use of radioisotopes in the study of El Niño.

Resources

• flyer (PDF 52k)
• presentation slides (PDF 5 MB)
• audio recording (MP3 30.9 MB)

UTSPEAKS: is a free public lecture series presented by UTS experts discussing a range of important issues confronting contemporary Australia