Venue: University of Leicester, Leicester Website: www2.le.ac.uk/institution/nsew/tectonics
The modern conception of Plate Tectonics has been in existence for about 50 years, with the ‘plate tectonic revolution’ taking place in the 1960’s when a new generation of researchers, some of whom will be speaking at the Seminar, took up the mantle of Alfred Wegener from 45 years before. These pioneers unveiled to a mostly sceptical scientific community that the Earth’s lithosphere is made up of moving plates, whose unpredictable wanderings continually modify the morphology of the Earth’s surface. Our seminar takes a reflective view of those early days, the controversy and disbelief, then focuses on the advancement of plate tectonics in the 21st Century.
The story begins with the tectonic setting of the early Earth, moves on to the discoveries and nature of processes impinging on the continents, mountains and oceans, and concludes with the interaction between the processes of plate tectonics and life on the planet.
If you are interested in writing a report on this event for the East Midlands STEM Partnership NSEW STEM Student Journalist competition, please contact Hannah Benson on
hannah.benson@themarketingdivision.co.uk