Members and friends joined the Branch Council at the Holt Planetarium on Monday 8 December for a small celebration at the start of the festive season. This was prior to the evening lecture by Hamish Campbell.
This was also an opportunity to recognise the support for lectures we receive from the Holt Planetarium, and the staff at the National Aquarium who between them host most of our events. Thanks especially, Gary and Carol.
Hamish Campbell, here to support the fascinating Dinosaur Footprints exhibition at The National Aquarium of New Zealand, delivered a virtuoso performance on topics far wider than merely the dinosaur record. Anyone who has heard Dr Campbell speak on radio or TV will attest to the clarity with which he communicates to a lay audience.
By the end of its ninety minutes, his talk, and his answers to the many questions from the audience ranged across the origins of the land masses that make up modern New Zealand and neighbouring islands, the tectonic plates and faults that determine its seismicity, the geology evident at its surface (including fossil discoveries), through to evidence of climate change and its likely future consequences.
Preceded by festive drinks and nibbles, this lecture brought the year to a fitting and entertaining close.
GNS Science Geologist, Greg Browne
Greg Browne at the National Aquarium, Wednesday 5 November
Dinosaur Footprints – a story of discovery is on display at the National Aquarium until 11 January 2015.
GNS Science Geologist Greg Browne talked of his fascinating discovery of the first dinosaur footprints to be found in New Zealand. Which way were the dinosaurs were heading and how were the footprints preserved?
The Royal Society of New Zealand undertook a major review of the rapidly changing New Zealand population, and the implications of this for the economy, social cohesion, education, and health. Its purpose was to promote informed discussion of the implications of the 2013 New Zealand Census for understanding the changing nature of New Zealand society.
Our Futures: Te Pae Tāwhiti brought together data and analysis from the 2013 census and other sources, together with input from a wide range of researchers, to provide evidence-based pointers to the future of New Zealand society. It covers seven key themes: diversity, population change, tangata whenua, migration, households and families, regional variation, and work.
More information here>
The presentation was delivered by Professor Paul Spoonley.
Distinguished Professor Spoonley is one of New Zealand’s leading academics and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He joined the Massey staff in 1979 and was, until becoming Pro Vice-Chancellor in October 2013, the College’s Research Director and Auckland Regional Director. He has led numerous externally funded research programmes, including the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s $3.2 million Integration of Immigrants and the $800,000 Nga Tangata Oho Mairangi. He has written or edited 25 books and is a regular commentator in the news media.
In 2010, Professor Spoonley was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of California Berkeley and in 2013, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Goettingen. He was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand Science and Technology medal in 2009 in recognition of his academic scholarship, leadership and public contribution to cultural understanding and in 2011, his contribution to Sociology was acknowledged with the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand’s scholarship for exceptional service to New Zealand sociology. In 2013, he was given the title of Distinguished Professor, Massey University’s highest academic title.
The Hawke’s Bay Astronomical Society invited our members to join their 2014 Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lecture by Dr Tamara Davis.
Dr. Davis is the Future Fellow of the School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia. She is a cosmologist who spends her time investigating why the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
Dr. Davis was part of the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey, which made one of the largest ever maps of the distribution of galaxies in the universe, and uses supernovae to measure the properties of “dark energy”. She’s an avid science communicator and has a knack for turning complex concepts into everyday language.
Observations of the universe over the last few decades have thrown us some curve balls. We thought we had the basic picture — the universe is expanding, and all the structure we now see formed thanks to gravity out of little over-dense clumps in the hot, dense, early universe. Well that was all true, but we’ve realised that that’s not the end of the story. There’s a dark side to the universe that we don’t usually see, and it seems that everything we thought we knew makes up only 5% of the universe. Dark matter and dark energy make up the rest….
In this talk I’ll explain why we are so certain of such a seemingly ludicrous proposition, and what we can hope to learn by studying these wild and wonderful phenomena.
Entry is by gold coin donation and seating is on a first come, first served basis
Emeritus Professor Gerry Carrington presented the recent Royal Society of New Zealand paper on a Green Economy for New Zealand. The good numbers attending showed the interest in this topic and in our region.
Gerry is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Otago, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand. He is a trustee of the National Energy Research Institute and the Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust.
In 2009, Gerry was awarded the “Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Energy Award” by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and was noted by the judging panel as being “a leader of change based on academic principles” and “an educator of future generations of energy specialists.” He is also the founder of the National Energy Research Institute (NERI), an independent, research evidence-based organisation that strives to be a ‘thought-leader’ of the energy sector.
The United Nations Environment Programme proposes a Green Economy as an effective response to a number of linked global concerns: income disparity, population growth, green-house gas emissions, and atmospheric and freshwater pollution. Facing the future: towards a green economy for New Zealand suggests that NZ can respond to these issues and achieve economic, social and environmental benefits by becoming a green economy, which is: low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive.
A key message of the talk is drawn from the Global Risks 2014 report: “collaborative multi-stakeholder action is required as businesses, governments, or civil society alone do not have the tools and the authority to tackle systemic risks”.
The Royal Society of New Zealand says environmental problems are beginning to threaten social and economic well-being and that New Zealand would benefit from a move to a green economy.
In Facing the future: towards a green economy for New Zealand, the Society highlights research on the resource and consumption challenges facing New Zealand and the rest of the world, and the opportunities for dealing with them. It concludes that New Zealand can have a number of economic, social and environmental gains by accelerating its move to a green economy.
Human consumption growth over the last century has had significant effects on the global environment, such as reduced water quality, loss of biodiversity and a changing climate. These environmental changes are not good for long-term sustainability and well-being. The panel agrees that New Zealand can avoid adverse consequences for the economy, society and the environment if it reconsiders its direction of development.
New Zealand has several targets for reducing national net greenhouse gas emissions, including a 50% reduction by 2050 compared with 1990. However, recent modelling by the Ministry for the Environment indicates that by 2040 New Zealand’s net GHG emissions are expected to be 51% higher than the 1990 baseline.
A green economy is defined by the United Nations Environment Programme as being resource efficient, low carbon and socially inclusive. The Society says New Zealand is well positioned to become a green economy with its many natural advantages, such as extensive renewable energy sources. We also have many opportunities to increase our resource efficiency, which means improved productivity. Many businesses and organisations are already aiming for sustainability. Communities are working together for change, and innovators and entrepreneurs are ready to grasp the opportunities of a greener economy.
The paper identifies a number of barriers that need to be overcome, such as the perception there are trade-offs between being economically competitive and being sustainable, and that a green economy might lead to a lower standard of living. Raqher, there is growing recognition of alternative indicators better suited than GDP for capturing the quality, quantity and sustainability of economic activity.
The aim of the paper is to encourage the discussions that will help shape a sustainable future. Becoming a green economy will require action and collaboration across all sectors of society. It’s good that we are already seeing this happen.
The paper was authored by a Royal Society of New Zealand panel chaired by Emeritus Professor Gerry Carrington FRSNZ. The Panel members were: Professor Geoff Austin FRSNZ, Dr Sea Rotmann, Professor Ralph Sims CRSNZ, Dr Janet Stephenson, Professor John Boys FRSNZ, Professor Les Oxley FRSNZ, and Dame Anne Salmond CBE FRSNZ.
Chris Bromley is a senior geothermal researcher and geophysical consultant at GNS Science, with 35 years of international experience, including resource assessments, geophysical exploration, and environmental studies of geothermal fields and mineral deposits in 8 countries.
Chris is currently the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Geothermics, Chairman of the IEA Geothermal Implementing Agreement, a member of the IPGT Induced Seismicity Working Group, and heads international geothermal environmental-effects research.
Renewable energy will be crucial for the long-term future of all mankind. In New Zealand, we are relatively fortunate, in that renewable geothermal energy is already a major contributor (18%) to base-load electricity supply and industrial direct heat demand. Decades of well-focussed applied research has given us a global technological advantage in developing and utilising all types of geothermal resources, through cost-effective and environmentally benign strategies.
Gazing into the crystal ball, what additional future use could we make of our geothermal resources? Should we attempt to develop say 3 GW(e) of surplus cheap geothermal power in the hopes of exporting it to Australia by cable or fully electrifying our transport sector, or should we develop say 10 GW(th) of hot water resources to establish large district heating schemes and attract more energy intensive industry?
To address these questions we need to be confident that our geothermal resource use will be sustainable, and utilisation won’t cause unwanted adverse environmental effects, or detract from our significant geothermal tourism assets. This requires better calibrated simulation modelling of long-term reservoir behaviour, adaptive management to facilitate flexible injection and production strategies, and more-advanced monitoring of reservoir behaviour in order to inform the adaptive decision-making process.
Boreholes provide data for 3D models of reservoir properties, and a means of directly monitoring various parameters of interest (eg. pressure, temperature, fluid chemistry). Geophysics monitoring and exploration (eg. gravity, resistivity, micro-earthquake activity, seismic velocity tomography, and ground deformation) offer more indirect information on resources. Integrated interpretation with geochemistry and hydrothermal alteration processes is the key to better conceptual understanding, improved simulation models of reservoir behaviour, and more astute reservoir management.
Chris Bromley was a lead author of the geothermal chapter of the IPCC renewable energy report (SRREN), a reviewer of EGS projects for the US-DOE, and keynote/invited speaker at 14 international meetings.
In New Zealand, he peer reviews operational management of several geothermal fields and provides technical advice to regulators. He has published 88 refereed papers, 103 others, and 184 consulting reports; he has presented at 73 conferences, and convened five international workshops on induced seismicity, sustainability, global geothermal potential, geothermal innovation and environmental mitigation.
For information about Ferdinand Hochstetter, see the Geoscience Society of New Zealand site.
7:30pm, Thursday, 17 July 2014, National Aquarium of NZ, Marine Parade, NAPIER
The Charles Fleming Lecturer for 2014 was Dr Mike Joy of Massey University, Palmerston North. Dr Joy was awarded the Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement in 2013.
Dr Joy suggested New Zealand’s freshwaters – our lakes, rivers and groundwater outside of the conservation estate – are in a perilous state, and given the inertia from regulators their future looks bleak.
This lecture was presented in association with The Royal Society of New Zealand as one of a series of ten “2014 Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement” lecture presentations.
The 140th AGM of the Hawke’s Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand was held at 7.00 PM, 26 June at the Holt Planetarium, Chambers St, Napier.
The meeting was chaired by Jeff Reid, the Immediate Past President as President Dan Bloomer (among others) was unable to be present.
Minutes of the 139th AGM had previously been circulated to members. These were unanimously accepted as a true record.
The President’s report was read and approved. It included special thanks to the Secretary and Treasurer and to Lloyd Beech who retired from Council during the year. The Branch offered many high quality lectures during the year, and has continued to develop links with others groups such as IPENZ and the Astronomy Society, and with the National Aquarium, Holt Planetarium and their respective staff. During the year, Council reinforced its mission to encourage the community to cherish science, technology and culture. We have determined a particular role with school students and have explored a number of initiatives to encourage them in following science and technology careers. The full President’s Report was sent to all Branch members.
The Treasurer’s report showed the Branch to be in good financial health. The accounts had been independently reviewed, previously circulated to members and were accepted as accurately indicating the financial position of the Branch.
The following were elected unopposed to serve the Branch for the 2014-5 year:
A new Accounts Reviewer remains to be appointed.
Annual Subscriptions remain at $20
The meeting closed at 7:20pm to be followed by a presentation by Elf Eldridge, Victoria University
The Hawke’s Bay branch, in collaboration with Victoria University of Wellington, hosted a visit to Hawke’s Bay by Elf Eldridge, a Senior Tutor at the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Victoria University.
Elf is currently doing a PhD with the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, where he is using a device called the qNano, produced by a Christchurch-based company, to look at the characteristics of tiny invisible particles that can be found everywhere in nature (similar to viruses and bacteria). In his role at Victoria, Elf’s time is split between visiting schools and working with students and teachers to encourage more students to consider engineering and computer science as a career, and supporting currently enrolled students with their studies.
Elf’s talk gave a broad introduction to the field of nanotechnology, what it is, why it’s important and how a number of New Zealand researchers are leading their field in (literally!) understanding the tiny. He discussed his own research around the detection of nanoparticles in a variety of different media and how that relates to environmental and health concerns. Elf also tackled some of the bigger questions that commonly haunt the area, including “What about Grey Goo?” and “Why are New Zealand taxpayers funding research into this field?”. Finally, Elf provided a glimpse into some of the pressing issues around being a science PhD student in New Zealand, and relate how institutes like MacDiarmid are attempting to address these and to make New Zealand a place where talent wants to live.
The Branch thanks Elf and Victoria University for his presentation, and also for his three days spent exciting students in local schools and promoting science and technology careers.