Dr Julian Paren has spent much of his life in the harsh environment of the Antarctic examining climate information buried deep in the ice, writes Dick Ahlstrom
What is it like to camp for 500 days in the world's deep freezer? What can Antarctic ice tell us about the Earth's climate thousands of years ago? And what can it tell us about changes in the climate today?
These and other questions about one of the world's last great wildernesses will be answered at the next Irish Times/Royal Dublin Society Science Today lecture which takes place on November 26th. The speaker is the leading Antarctic scientist and environmental lecturer, Dr Julian Paren, who has made 10 visits to this great continent.
The event is part of the ongoing series of Science Today lectures jointly organised by The Irish Times and the RDS in an effort to promote greater public understanding of science. As the annual demonstration lecture, it is particularly suited to a student audience and student groups are invited to apply for tickets for Dr Paren's talk.
Dr Paren has devoted his life to the study of ice and the Antarctic environment. His work at the Scott Polar Research Institute formed the basis of an important technique used today to recover climate information from ice cores. It allows scientists to unlock the climate secrets hidden in ancient ice brought up from the bottom of the Antarctic ice sheet.
He joined the British Antarctic Survey in 1976 and remained there until his retirement from the Survey in 2002.
He continues work as a part-time tutor for the University of Cambridge and as an associate lecturer for the Open University in the Earth Sciences faculty.
His talk will describe what it is like to live and work in some of the world's lowest temperatures in a land perpetually blanketed by ice and snow.
He has a great deal of experience, camping for 500 days in remote areas as a glaciologist and travelling overland by snowmobile and sledge.
He will also explain what we have learned and continue to learn from the ice about out planet's climate history and more recent human-induced climate change. He will describe how important it is for the Antarctic ice reserves to survive if the world is not to see a cataclysmic sea-level rise in the coming decades.
His talk will be accompanied by a striking collection of pictures that show in great detail what Antarctic scientists face on a daily basis. The images will show how bleak and yet how beautiful this harsh environment can be.
The Irish Times/Royal Dublin Society Science Today demonstration lectures are particularly geared to interest students, and for this reason they are held during school hours. Tickets are available for anyone who has an interest in the topic under discussion.
The lecture takes place on Wednesday, November 26th, during the school day, at a time to be confirmed. Tickets for the lecture cost 1 and teachers may accompany student groups of 10 for free. All tickets must be pre-booked. Bookings may be made by contacting Annette McDonnell at the RDS, tel: 01-2407217, or by e-mail at: Annette.McDonnell@rds.ie