Programme of Indoor Meetings 2016 - 2017

Wednesday 12 October 2016 at 19:00

The geology of the Indian Himalayas: a view from our new Manchester student fieldcourse - Dr John Nudds, University of Manchester

Saturday 19 November 2016 at 10:00 - The Broadhurst Lectures: The Climate History of the Earth

The Climate Archives of Caves and Stalagmites - Prof Dave Mattey, Royal Holloway, University of London
Glaciers and Climate Change - Prof Michael Hambrey, University of Aberystwyth
Ice Ages of Early Earth - Dr Catherine Rose, Trinity College Dublin
Climate Modelling - Prof Alan Haywood, University of Leeds
On the topic of the influence of climate change on the Permo-Triassic mass extinction (title to be confirmed) - Prof Richard Twitchett, Natural History Museum


Saturday 10 December 2016 at 13:30 - Recent Discoveries in British Palaeontology

The Incredible Ichthyosaurus: a reassessment of a British Jurassic Icon - Dean Lomax (University of Manchester)

Dinosaurs from Wales - Cindy Howells (National Museum Wales)

Digital techniques for understanding ancient life - Dr Russell Garwood (University of Manchester)

Populating a post-extinction world: the resurgence of vertebrate diversity in the early Carboniferous - Prof Jenny Clack (Cambridge University)

Saturday 21 January 2017 at 13:30 - Rare Earth Elements: vital commodities

The Geology of Rare Earths - Prof Frances Wall, University of Exeter

Using a Life Cycle Assessment for rare earth production - Robert Pell, University of Exeter

Rare earths in the real world - from separation plant to market - Suzanne Shaw, Roskill (leader in international metals and minerals research since 1930)

Abstracts and speaker biographies - Word / PDF

Wednesday 8 February 2017 at 19:00 - AGM followed by Presidential Address

New Zealand geology is not just volcanoes and earthquakes - Jane Michael, MGA President

Wednesday 8 March 2017 at 18:30 - Joint meeting with Manchester Geographical Association

Faulty Communications: Seismic Hazard in Istanbul - Prof Iain Stewart, Plymouth University

This meeting was cancelled


Wednesday 29 March 2017 at 19:00

Protecting the Geological Heritage of Greater Manchester - Dr Christine Arkwright

Most people have heard of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), which have legal protection as nationally important biological and geological sites, but perhaps not as many know about Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites (RIGS). Although not as legally binding as SSSIs, a RIGS designation does give some protection in planning law to examples of the local geology, thus helping to conserve the geodiversity of that area.

Within the Greater Manchester area there are huge depths of sedimentary strata from Carboniferous to Triassic in age, including many examples of plant and animal fossils, sedimentary features, tectonic structures and surface geomorphology, all of which is your local geological heritage. This talk will explain how the GMRIGS Group is trying to protect that for future generations, our progress up to now and plans for the future.