Sea Level Changes: the Science of a Changing World

Hosted by: Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham City, UK

Tuesday, 5th January to Friday, 8th January 2010

From multiple Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycles to perceptions and predictions of future scenarios, changes in sea level reflect the complex interactions and consequences of our transient Earth – Climate system and, more recently, society. The 2010 QRA Annual Discussion Meeting will address these interactions through themed sessions that aim to explore the different spatial and temporal scales of sea-level change.

The conference format will comprise two full days and one half day of presentations on four themed sessions, each introduced by at least one invited paper from World leaders in the field who will provide a summary of our current state of knowledge and the uncertainty of what we don’t know or understand.

Keynote speakers who will be presenting at the conference include:

Professor Dick Peltier talking on modelling sea level: global to local scales
Professor Kurt Lambeck talking on resolving ice-sheet and sea-level interactions
Dr Mark Siddall talking on Quaternary sea-level changes and implications for the future
Professor Colin Murray-Wallace talking on Quaternary sea-level changes
Dr Jason Lowe talking on future sea-level rise and implications for UK coastlines

There will also be an evening “"Any Questions" style session on “"Sea level science and society: effective communication of our research", with a panel comprising academics and the media to answer questions from conference delegates.

The conference will be hosted by the Geography Department at Durham University, in Durham City in the North East of England, a spectacular cathedral city with an amazing heritage. Narrow cobbled streets wind their way around the rocky peninsula to the majestic Norman cathedral and castle. The cathedral and castle not only dominate the skyline, they are also a designated a World Heritage Site.

Conference Organisers

Ian Shennan - ian.shennan@durham.ac.uk
Antony Long - a.j.long@durham.ac.uk
Dave Roberts - d.h.roberts@durham.ac.uk
Sarah Woodroffe - s.a.woodroffe@durham.ac.uk