Quaternary – the last 2.6 million years of Earth history (click here for more detailed definition)
Hindsight – knowing what to do after the event
The 2012 Annual Discussion Meeting of the Quaternary Research Association, entitled Quaternary Science & Society, focused upon:
- The way in which observations of past environmental change can serve as “hindsight” with regard to the consequences of ongoing and predicted environmental and climatic change, and
- How scientists might best communicate scientific method and research findings effectively beyond academia, e.g. for policy makers, geoscience professionals and the general public.
Given the nature of this meeting it seems like an ideal subject for the first report on this blog. I will not cover details of all the talks here; however I hope to capture the key themes and highlight a range of interesting examples from this wide ranging and high quality scientific meeting. I will also try and provide links to external sites with further information on projects/researchers where appropriate.
Ecology of the past 