Pint of Science

Staff and students from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences have taken part in the first Pint of Science festival in Cardiff.

Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation that brings brilliant scientists to local pubs to discuss their latest research and findings. Audiences don't require any prior knowledge, and this is a great opportunity for them to meet the people responsible for the future of science. This global festival runs over a few days in May every year. The 2017 festival in the UK covered nearly 450 events run across 26 cities.

PhD students and academic colleagues from varied disciplines across Cardiff University took part in the first Cardiff-based festival, both as organisers and speakers. The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences contributed three events to the Cardiff line-up.

At the first event “Impacts of past and present rises in CO2”, Professor Paul Pearson, Dr David Reynolds and Professor Carrie Lear talked about human-induced climate change and the warming of the planet. They explored the impacts on life in our oceans today and the effects that past high CO2 levels had on the Earth’s climate millions of years ago.

The second event of the week focused on tropical marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. Dr Jocelyn Curtis-Quick and Dr Phil Renforth discussed why the biology and chemistry of our marine ecosystems are rapidly changing, before going on to explore the possible methods that could help protect some of our most beautiful ecosystems.

“Shaking and sliding: How the Earth moves” concluded the School's events. Dr David Thompson and Dr Claire Earlie explored how slight changes in the environment are recorded, and how they may lead to storm-battered coastlines and earthquake-stricken cities.