Inaugural Lecture by Professor Richard Levy

Global climate is changing, and our planet’s surface temperature is fast approaching an increase of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial values—the ‘Paris target’. Antarctic Ice Sheet melt and changes in global mean sea level are a clear indicator of this warming climate, with impacts worldwide. But local factors including land subsidence or uplift also cause changes in relative sea level that drive shoreline shifts. How do we know how much sea level will change along our extensive coastline as time passes? Can global efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions slow down or stop Antarctic Ice Sheet melt? Or have we crossed an irreversible climate threshold that will cause sea level to rise by multiple metres over coming centuries? What do communities need to know now to avoid maladaptation and what can the science community do to help make this knowledge available and useful?

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Levy will take us on a journey to uncover remarkable geological records from Antarctica that offer insight into the drivers of ice sheet change through time. He will discuss work that connects knowledge from our deep south to sea level science, and will share examples of outreach activities that bring this critical information to communities in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Register: vuw.eventsair.com