33rd Annual Huggins Science Seminar

33rd Annual Huggins Science Seminar presents Dr. Paul Hoffman.

MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2011, 7:30pm HUGGINS SCIENCE HALL ROOM#10

Who's Afraid of Snowball Earth?The Ultimate Climate Catastrophes and their Place in the History of Life.

Convergence between geological observations and state-of-theart climate modeling, plus a growing awareness of an active hydrology beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet substantiates the theory that the continents and oceans froze over from pole to pole during two periods of late Precambrian time, and that both periods were abruptly followed by warmest-ever greenhouse climates. Similar convergence between the fossil record, theoretical evoluntionary biology, and molecular phylogenetics of living organisms places the co-option of genes enabling multicellularity in animals within the realm of the same late Precambrian climatic instabilities.

Paul Hoffman PhD, FRSC

Dr. Hoffman has been on both sides of a false dichotomy: continuity versus abrupt change in geological history. At the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa, his extensive field work and synthesis demonstrated that the Earth's internal dynamics, expressed by plate tectonics, changed remarkably little over billions of years. Later, as a professor at Harvard University, he led a team of adverturous field geologists that convinced a wide spectrum of scientists to take the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis seriously.

Dr. Hoffman lives in active retirement in Victoria, BC, where he substitute teaches at the University of Victoria. His research is acknowledged by major awards from the European Union of Geosciences, Geological Society of London, American Geophysical Union, Geological Society of America, Geological Society of Namibia, Geological Association of Canada, and te Royal Society of Canada. He is a Foreign Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of many learned societies.

The Huggins Science Seminar was established in 1972 on the initiative of Acadia graduate, Dr. Charles Huggins, Nobel laureate and former Acadia Chancellor.

Reception to follow in main floor lobby of Huggins Science Hall.  All are Welcome to Attend!

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