For over 50 years scientists have been working to understand Antarctica’s contribution to sea level. For much of this time there has been disagreement about if this massive ice sheet is even growing or shrinking. In 2012, advances in data analysis and computer modelling resulted in the first reconciled estimate of change being achieved. This lecture will explain some of the major advances that led to this reconciled estimate, which revealed that Antarctica is increasingly contributing to sea-level rise.
Professor Matt King started focusing on Antarctica during his PhD at the University of Tasmania, where he quantified multi-decadal changes in the motion of a large floating Antarctic ice shelf using surveying data. After 11 years in north-east England, he returned to the University of Tasmania in 2012 as Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Professor of Polar Geodesy. In April 2015 the Royal Society (London) awarded him the Kavli Medal and Lecture for his work that contributed to the first reconciled estimate of Antarctica and Greenland’s contribution to sea-level change. He is currently President of The Royal Society of Tasmania.
Meeting Room, QVMAG at Inveresk
RSVP by Thu Jun 22: bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au Small fee for non-members
