Public Lectures - Lent term 1999
All lectures are at 8.00 p.m. in the Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Road. They are open to all who are interested, and seats will be reserved, on request, for Friends of the Institute.
Farthest North. The Duke of Abruzzi's North Pole expedition, 1899-1900
Saturday, 30 January
Maria Pia Casarini-Wadhams, Scott Polar Research Institute
Polar Centenary Lecture Series No. 2
Luigi Amedeo di Savoia-Aosta is best known as pioneer of the famous Abruzzi Ridge on K2 and first to climb Mount St. Elias, but on his one polar expedition he also bettered Nansen's Fram record achieving 86º34' North. This lecture celebrates the expedition's 100th anniversary.
Ice and fire - desolation and abundance
Saturday, 13 February
John Smellie, Senior Vulcanologist, British Antarctic Survey
In 1997 the speaker led an expedition to the South Sandwich Islands. These seldom visited bleak and desolate volcanic islands hold significant clues to crustal evolution. Using photographs taken by himself and Pete Buckrout, the talk will focus on the initial scientific results as well as showing stunning images of the dramatic landscape and the wildlife.
Antarctic oasis: under the spell of South Georgia
Saturday, 27 February
Tim and Pauline Carr
The speakers have been South Georgia's only full-time inhabitants since moving there six years ago after a lifetime of ocean cruising. In this talk the speakers will describe their unique way of life and their enduring fascination with the island, its wildlife and history.
Arctic Siberia: wilderness and devastation. The beauty and horrors of life in Noril'sk
Saturday, 13 March
Olga Toutoubalina, Scott Polar Research Institute
This illustrated lecture will provide an insight into life in one of the coldest cities in the world, well-known in the West for the great environmental problems associated with its copper and nickel industry but equally notable for the natural beauty of much of its surrounding region. The talk will include an account of the speaker's research into the the potential of satellite images to monitor such extreme environments.