Talks

given by Prof. Jonathan Blundy (Royal Society Research Professor, University of Oxford)  Abstract: The transition to Net Zero will place unprecedented demand on natural resources requiring some new thinking about where to find them and how to extract them. In this talk I will explore the potential for magmatic systems, such as those beneath volcanoes, […]

given by Helen Gordon, (University of Hertfordshire & author of Notes from Deep Time). An exploration of the world of deep time and what it means to be human within the context of 4.5 billion years. From stratigraphers, volcanologists and palaeontologists to writers, artists and semioticians, this talk will draw on a series of conversations […]

given by Dr. Tim Yates, (Technical Director, Building Research Establishment, Garston. Doors open at 7:15pm, tea & coffee available, talk starts at 7:45pm. Many will be familiar with Neil MacGregor’s ‘A history of the world in 100 objects’ that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made. This talk is on a much smaller […]

given by Dr. Cat Hirst (Senior Engineering Geologist, COWI, Glasgow) From shallow mine workings to deep basement rocks: A tour of UK low temperature geothermal resources Catherine M. Hirst1, Sally Jack1,2 1COWI UK Ltd, Fifth Floor, 310 St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RG. 2University of Strathclyde, 16 Richmond St, Glasgow, G1 1XQ, UK. The UK has […]

given by Prof. Mike Benton (Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Bristol) Twenty-five years ago, the first feathered dinosaur was reported, Sinosauropteryx. There has been a revolution in dinosaur palaeobiology since then, driven by thousands of amazing specimens from China plus new analytical methods. In 2010, we were among the first to develop a new analytical […]

Talk by Professor Stuart Harker, Retired. Southern Oman has one of the oldest working petroleum systems in the world with source rocks, reservoirs and productive traps in the Huqf Supergroup (520-600mya).  There are superb world class outcrops of these sediments exposed along the Indian Ocean coast and in the inland salt diapir province.  Reservoirs range […]

Talk by Professor David Bridgland, University of Durham. Hertfordshire would seem to be the only one of the Home Counties to have been abandoned by the Thames during the Quaternary.  It was squarely on the Thames course prior to southward diversion of the river ~450,000 years ago, the result of Britain’s most extensive glaciation.  The […]

Dr. Douwe van der Meer, CNOOC International, Uxbridge Abstract: Recent exploration efforts in South American passive margin basins, such as the Guyana-Suriname Basin, have yielded significant success with over 10+ Bboe discovered, primarily within the late Cretaceous play/mega-sequence. Most recently the Southern Atlantic margin, spanning Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, has also garnered industry attention, particularly […]

Dr. Jamie Standing, Imperial College London Abstract: Historically, engineers viewed the London Clay (LC) Formation as uniform, homogeneous and rather uninteresting.  Chris King's seminal work provided a much deeper insight into the characteristics of the LC and how it can be split into divisions, based on the depositional history of the formation and the microfauna present. […]

Talk by Dr. Emma Nicholson (Liu), University College London Abstract: “Open vent” volcanoes are persistently active and maintain an unbroken connection between shallow magma reservoirs and the atmosphere. These volcanoes are true natural laboratories, providing an unparalleled window into the subsurface physical and chemical processes that control volcanic activity. Open vent volcanoes sustain large volcanic […]

Talk by Dr. Ruth Siddall (University College London) Abstract: The talk will introduce the history, techniques and materials used in the decorative art of pietre dure (hard stone work). Almost every stately home and museum has a table-top or other object decorated with pietre dure and yet the craftmanship and materiality of the technique has […]

Talk by Dr. Andrew Rushby, Birkbeck College, University of London Abstract The climates of terrestrial planets are affected by their host star, the properties of their atmospheres, as well as any land, ocean, and icy surfaces, in predictable but also complex ways. I will provide a short introduction to the novel climatologies of tidally-locked (synchronously-rotating) […]