Please visit the current Ting series
Continuing Studies in Science and Environment at Simon Fraser University invites you to a series of free public lectures and discussions by leading thinkers on how paleoecology can shed light on consequences of ecosystem disruptions.
It is not news that the our global environment is in a period of rapid and dramatic change, with uncertain long-term consequences. Scientists working in the area of “paleoecology”, the study of past environments and communities of plantsand animals, can contribute insights into the long prehistory of natural changes on earth, and shed light on likely future consequences of ecosystem disruptions. Over the long history of our planet, many changes, ranging from continental drift and sudden climate shifts, to wildfires and the recent rise of civilizations have altered our ecosystems , and will continue to do so. How such disturbances have shaped our present environment, and how they might change it in the future is the focus of this series.
The scope of some talks will begin in what geologists call “Deep Time”, about 56 million years ago at the beginning of the Eocene epoch, when the earth experienced several sudden extreme warming events that ushered in a “Greenhouse World” with forests in the high Arctic and high overall biodiversity of plants, insects, and mammals. Others will focus on the Pleistocene epoch or “Ice Ages” and postglacial times to explore rapid extinction events of mammals, the role of fires, how climate and vegetation changes have interacted with aboriginal cultures of British Columbia, and what natural hazards we will need to deal with in the future. New research tools such as ancient DNA analysis are also contributing to novel ways to help us reconstruct past environments, and make calculated predictions about the future.
A
new term is gaining wide acceptance, to mark the time
starting about 300 years ago when the industrial
revolution began a rapid release of fossil carbon into
the atmosphere. During this new epoch, when the role of
humans became a dominant factor in altering the global
environment, change has accelerated dramatically.
Welcome to the “Anthropocene”.
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January 30, 2014 Global
Warming 56 Million Years Ago & What It
Means For Us Scott Wing's interview on CBC's Early Edition
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February 20, 2014 The
Human Footprint In The Pacific Northwest: From
The Deep Past To The Present |
March 13, 2014 Maintaining
Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st
Century |
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February 6, 2014 Global
Biodiversity and Climate: What Fossil Insects
Tell Us
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February 27, 2014 Magnitude
9 - How We Learned That The Largest
Earthquakes on Earth Happen on Our Coast |
Series Moderator: Dr. Arne Mooers, Professor of Biodiversity, Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada |
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February 13, 2014 A
Long View of Fire, Climate, and People:
Perspectives From The Paleoecological Record |
March 6, 2014 What
If Extinction Is Not Forever? A Molecular
Paleontologist’s View Of De-extinction Read
the article on De-extinction
and Dr. Shapiro's work in Metro. Watch Beth Shapiro's TED talk on De-extinction. |
Welcome
and Opening: Dr.
Jonathan Driver, Vice-President, Academic, and
Professor, Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
will open the series on January 30, 2014. Contact
lauriew@sfu.ca |
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Location: All lectures take place at 7:00 pm at Simon Fraser University Vancouver at Harbour Centre, Room 1900, 515 W Hastings, Vancouver, BC. |
Sponsors Simon
Fraser University |
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Cost: Lectures are free and open to the public. As seating is limited, reservations are recommended: http://www.sfu.ca/reserve |
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