With Jane Francis, Director of the British Antarctic Survey
Free (online) and £5 (In-person at The Geological Society, London)
The Antarctic ice sheets are massive, in some places over 4km thick, but they're not immune to climate change. New observations show that ice shelves are melting, winter sea ice is declining, and deep ocean water is warming, all of which could have a major impact on the planet.
In this talk, Jane Francis will explain the fate of the Antarctic ice sheet in a future warm world. To understand, we need to look back to a time when the Earth was much warmer, like the Pliocene era (2-3 million years ago) or even the Cretaceous era (100 million years ago). The rock record shows that ice sheets were smaller and sea levels were higher during these periods, but was Antarctica ever completely ice-free?
Jane Francis is the Director of the British Antarctic Survey, a research centre of the UK Natural Environment Research Council. She is involved with international polar organisations, such as the Antarctic Treaty and European Polar Board, and on several advisory boards of national polar programmes.
Jane is a geologist by training, with research interests in past climate change. She has undertaken research projects at the universities of Southampton, London, Leeds and Adelaide, using fossils to determine the change from greenhouse to icehouse climates in the polar regions over the past 100 million years. She has undertaken over 15 scientific expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica in search of fossil forests and information about climates of the past.
Jane was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in recognition of services to UK polar science and diplomacy. She was also awarded the UK Polar Medal by H.M The Queen, the Royal Geographical Society’s Patrons Medal and the 2022 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award for Planetary Health. Jane is Chancellor of the University of Leeds and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Event Information
The event can be watched online and in person at The Geological Society in London’s Burlington House. Established in 1807, they are the oldest geological society in the world. Their building is home to the William Smith map (the first to map the geology of an entire nation) plus artefacts discovered by palaeontologist Mary Anning.
If attending in person, you are welcome to join us for refreshments in The Geological Society’s library from 17:00 UK time, before the talk starts at 18:00. As the event is being streamed live, you must take your place in the auditorium by 17:50. The talk will last approximately one hour.
This online event will start at 18.00 UK time on 6 November 2023 and will last for approximately one hour. Access to a recording of the event will be exclusively available to ticket purchasers for the 12 months following the live event. The on-demand recording will be available to view within 24 hours of the live discussion. Eventbrite will email you a confirmation immediately after purchase. You will also receive a separate email from our virtual events platform, with a link to access the event auditorium prior to the event; please note that each link is unique and should not be shared. The event auditorium will also provide access to the other items included in your ticket. Tickets are non-transferable to any other New Scientist event. All tickets are non-refundable. New Scientist reserves the right to alter the event and its line-up, or cancel the event. In the unlikely event of cancellation, all tickets will be fully refunded. New Scientist Ltd will not be liable for any additional expenses incurred by ticket holders in relation to the event. Tickets are subject to availability and are only available in advance through Eventbrite. To secure your place we recommend you book in advance.