Dr W. Reville delivering his speech

Past Lectures

Professor Dr. W. Reville of University of Co. Cork.
Lecture at the Dinner of the "Spring Weekend" at Cork. - May 2008

After the meal, a short lecture on the environment was very well presented by Professor Dr. W. Reville of U.C.C.  This raised several points that had brought into question some of the cases brought forward by the Green Lobby. While he did not say we could do as we please and throw all caution to the wind, he made it clear we should keep things in perspective. Yes, we must consider the environment in our day-to-day activities, but we must not let it blinker our views.

Dr. Reville commenced with a short section on acid rain, which at one stage, as we all knew, had been the number one item. some years ago with the 'Greens'. One does not hear about it now, Why? At the same time Britain was known as the "Dirty Man of Europe". This was due to the amount of pollution that we were pumping into the atmosphere, from the likes of coal-fired-power stations.  This then drifted across the North Sea and was deposited on Norway, basically making the lakes in southern Norway acidic and therefore making then unable to sustain fish life. At the same time, Mr. Gummer, the UK Minister for the Environment, acquired rather a derogatory name from the Norwegians.

Dr. Reville brought our attention to an investigation, several thousand of miles away, concerning a similar situation in the USA. This investigation cost several million dollars. What they found was that, up to the end of the nineteenth century, in the areas where these lake were "in America", a policy of slash-and-burn was being used to clear land. At the commencement of the twentieth century, this was made illegal. This therefore reduced the amount of alkaline material considerably in the surrounding areas. Therefore, the runoff waters entering the lakes, as time went by, contained less-and-less alkaline material, with the effect that the acidic level rose to such a height, that fish life could no longer be sustained.

It is quite possible that the fish had been transported to these lakes by birds passing through from lakes which sustained fish life. This would be fish eggs being snagged in the plumage of, say, migratory birds. Once human intervention was reduced, the acidic levels in these lakes rose. The fish being deposited in them could not survived. To me, it seems that the same situation applied in Norway.

The next point which Dr. Reville questioned was 'What happened to the hole in the ozone layer'. When did one hear, or see, an item on it, on TV, or see an article in a newspaper? Next came global cooling; now we have global warming.

One thing I concluded, and have done so throughout my life, especially while studying and researching at a higher educational level, has been to consult as many sources as possible and always double check your facts. The key message of the lecture for me was 'do not go accusing people of things before you know the facts.' We do not want to end up looking like the Norwegians, do we?

Peter Williams - Region 08

 

Signposts to the Future?
The Jean Posthuma Memorial Lecture

'I am sorry for the delay in letting you in but we are having problems with the alarms.' A small number of AOUG members had arrived early at the OU Regional Centre at Foxcombe Hall, a few miles outside Oxford. The caretaker was addressing us as we waited in the rain to gain access for the Jean Posthuma Memorial Lecture to be given by Helen Cragg, winner of the AOUG Foundation 2006 Bursary.

Alarms seemed to be the watchword for the day as the title of Helen's lecture was 'Climate Change: are fossil leaves signposts to the future?' After a hot drink we settled down as the speaker explained that part of the studies for her doctorate involved the very detailed study of the Cretacious period of history which covers from 144 to 65 million years ago (according to my dictionary this period in characterised by the emergence of flowering plants and the dominance leading to extinction of dinosaurs).

Helen explained that during this time land masses such as those of America and Africa were splitting apart. Fossil leaves and sediments were trapped in layers of rock together with pollen grains. Much study has been carried out and the locations of fossils today can be related to where they were originally deposited both in time and geographical location.

Through the assistance of her supervisor, Bob Spicer, the OU Professor of Earth Sciences, and his contacts, Helen was able to study, photograph and draw a vast collection of beautifully preserved fossilised leaves which had been discovered at a former KGB cell in northern Russia, near the North Pole. Permission could not be given for the removal of the 252 leaves preserved in rocks. Helen described how she delineated thirty individual characteristics to describe each leaf. By examination of marine fossils found at the site above and below the leaf layer, very accurate dating was possible to establish when the leaves originally fell.

Scientific analysis suggested various mean temperatures at that time although other experiments on other sediments, such as bauxite, show that Helen's model could be wrong. Her findings are fully backed by Bob Spicer although another leading expert in this field, Professor Valdes, disagrees with her findings. The speaker, in conclusion, stated that present day models may well be underestimating future temperature ranges although it could not be denied that polar regions are showing that polar regions are showing the effect of global warming.

After a fascinating talk we enjoyed some hospitality and we met the local Regional Director, Celia Cohen, who had so kindly allowed us to use her Regional Centre. The main purpose of the day being over, a number of our members adjourned to a local hostelry for a meal. Many thanks are due to all the persons involved in the day's activities, particularly David Ogilvie who arranged the venue and speaker.

Ramsey Hertzog - Yorkshire - 07