Register to watch the live-stream

Public Lecture: Environment – Oceans & Climate, Monday 25 September 2017

Following the success of the University's first public lecture series in 2016, which demonstrated how our world-leading research impacts on medical policy and practice, our 2017 series focuses on environment and sustainability issues, illustrating our influence in the sector.

This exciting event, the third in our new environment public lecture series, will be live-streamed from London on Monday 25 September in London and focus on Oceans & Climate.

Keynote lectures from Professor Stephen Belcher (Met Office Chief Scientist), Martin Visbeck (GEOMAR) and Dr Eleanor Frajka-Williams (Associate Professor in Physical Oceanography, University of Southampton) will precede a panel discussion.

Joining the aforementioned speakers for the panel discussion will be leading University of Southampton expert, Professor Jörg Wiedenmann (Professor of Biological Oceanography & Head of the Coral Reef Laboratory)

The World Ocean has changed substantially over the last 60 years. The delicate balance of heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere has been broken, and the oceans are inexorably warming as a consequence of our carbon dioxide emissions. At a fundamental level, ocean warming puts a brake on the atmospheric warming that most immediately impacts global society, but this brake may start to slip due to subtle changes in ocean currents and mixing. The consequences of warming sea level, high latitude environments and ecosystems are profound, involving a range of complex feedbacks.

In this session, our experts will explore and discuss the challenges and innovative approaches used to understand and predict global ocean change. We will discuss future prospects for improved measurement and prediction, and the vital importance of coordinating limited national and international resources to maintain and develop ocean monitoring and prediction systems. With best possible knowledge thus provided, we must plan for a challenging future and engage with environmentally sustainable marine policies on a far grander scale than previously imagined.

Watch the live-stream: Public Lecture series - Oceans & Climate