Tuesday 28 August at 6pm

Ballroom, Napier Conference Centre, Marine Parade Napier

Professor Colin Wilson FRS FRSNZ Victoria University of Wellington

2017 Rutherford Medal winner for research into understanding large, explosive supervolcanoes and the hazards they pose.

All Welcome. Free Admission. Please register: royalsociety.org.nz/events

Aotearoa New Zealand sits astride the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates and is subject to tremendous natural forces. Usually experienced as earthquakes, Kiwis also need to keep in mind that Lake Taupō was created by the world’s most violent volcanic eruption within the last 50,000 years! Colin Wilson has gathered many accolades for studying volcanoes, and in particular, supervolcanoes. He likens his work to that of a crime scene investigator, piecing together the dual puzzle of why such cataclysmic explosions occur and why they are joined by much smaller eruptions. His aim is to forecast volcanic phenomena with enough warning so that communities can respond. But although Colin is digging deep in the Earth’s crust to find the triggering mechanisms, volcanic systems are not letting their secrets go easily…

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