A leading figure in the oil and gas industry will outline the impact that motion of the earth and sun, and solar activity has had and is having on the earth’s climate, at a lecture in Aberdeen next week.
Dr Jim Buckee, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Talisman who has a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Oxford, will explain why the earth's climate is entering a cooling period which could last until 2030 or longer.
He will provide the insight at his lecture Natural Drivers of Climate Cycles which takes place at King's College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen on Wednesday 18 February.
In his lecture - part of the new Energy Controversies lecture series hosted by the University - Dr Buckee will set out the case that cosmic rays from both within and beyond our galaxy are modulated by the solar system and directly affect the earth's climate.
Dr Buckee said: "The climate of the last few hundred years is a continuation of normal processes and can be closely reproduced as a slow temperature increase since the Little Ice Age, due to increasing solar activity, overlaid by oceanic oscillations.
"Oceanic modulations and solar cycle length analysis now indicate we are entering a cooling period which could last until 2030 or more. This will have a significant effect on the way we lead our lives, impacting negatively on areas such as food production."
Dr Buckee's lecture will begin at 6pm and will be followed by a drinks reception in the James Mackay Hall, King's College campus.
Attendance to the lecture is free and online registration is now live at www.abdn.ac.uk/energycontroversies .
The Energy Controversies lecture series brings together leading international industry and academic experts to discuss the current challenges and debates facing the energy sector.
Aimed at influencing energy and social policy at a local and national level, the series features seven public lectures and a discussion panel event.
Highly topical issues to be covered over the course of the series include:
The exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves and their decline as an energy source
- The impact of the changing political climate on the energy industry
- The concern surrounding the environmental impact of our continued use of fossil fuels
Dr Peter Jackson Senior Director for Oil Industry Activity at Cambridge Energy Research Associates and Kjell Aleklett a Professor in Physics from the University of Uppsala will be amongst the lecture speakers, providing their unique insights into critical issues high on the energy agenda.
The first lecture in the Energy Controversies series by Professor of Soils & Global Change at the University, Pete Smith, entitled Global Warming: the View of the IPCC, was scheduled to take place last Thursday (5 February), but was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
This lecture is being rescheduled and anyone who had registered to attend will be notified in due course as to the rescheduled date.
For full details of the lecture series programme and to book a free place visit www.abdn.ac.uk/energycontroversies or telephone the University of Aberdeen Events Office on 01224 273874.