Taken separately, each of these regional investigations presented convincing evidence of positive feedback and accelerating change. These climate scientists with whom we talked spoke of their observations and models of global heating in the regions that each of them were investigating. And we talked of our own concern about the way the ocean life was disappearing as the surface waters warmed. Later in the day we heard from Peter Cox and Richard Betts about the way that the great tropical and boreal forests were changing as the world grew hotter.
While there we talked with a range of scientists some were concerned with the melting of ice floating on the Arctic Ocean, others with Greenland’s vanishing glaciers, and still others concerned with global heating in the tropics. It is a place of excellence and an important part of the IPCC. My first intimation that we might be on the brink of disaster came in May 2004 when my wife Sandy and I visited the UK’s primary climate research centre, the Hadley Centre. Sadly, even the most pessimistic of the climate prophets of the IPCC panel do not appear to have noticed how rapidly the climate is changing. Inevitably the conclusions of the report need constant revision in the light of real climate change. The report itself speaks of the real possibility of severe climate change but it is written in properly cautious scientific language and gives the impression that global heating is serious but the worst consequences are avoidable if we take appropriate action now. Most of you will know by now the main conclusions of the greatly respected Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s, 2007 report and I am sure that we all are proud that they were awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize together with Al Gore. This is a draft copy of the lecture delivered to a public meeting of the Royal Society, 29 October 2007. Other Events: To hear about our other events, subscribe to Linnean News. This talk is online and Zoom login details will be sent out two hours before the event start time. She is the author of Beasts Before Us: The Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution, and The Earth: A Biography of Life. Elsa gives regular public talks for all ages, and has written about science for The Guardian and BBC Science Focus among others, as well as appearing on podcasts, radio and television. She studies Jurassic fossils from the Isle of Skye, and is especially interested in the origins and evolution of mammals. She is currently a research fellow at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, and associate researcher at National Museums Scotland. She will unravel their myriad surprising connections, revealing how even the smallest organisms can have a fundamental impact on climate, soils, and the pattern of life itself.ĭr Elsa Panciroli (she/her) is a Scottish palaeontologist and writer fascinated by the natural history of our planet. In this event, palaeontologist Dr Elsa Panciroli will explore some of the incredible organisms that have lived on our world, and explain why they are special to the story of evolution. A unique combination of factors has resulted in the stunning complexity of ecosystems we see around us today. The Earth has lived a dazzling 4.6 billion years, and is the only planet in our solar system supporting complex animal life.