Undiscovered origins

The Greeks thought that the northern world needed a southern landmass to retain the Earth’s balance. This “Unknown Southern Land” was later discovered as Antarctica, which remains the most unexplored region on Earth. With examples from his own field investigations, Martin will describe how the view of Antarctica as a cold and lifeless continent has been transformed by a new appreciation of its changing dynamics that is crucial in our global environment.

How did life originate on Earth? This remains one of the biggest scientific questions yet to be answered. Billions of years ago, comets, asteroids, and meteorites heavily bombarded the Earth. Zita will argue that these extra-terrestrial encounters contributed to the origin of life on Earth and possibly elsewhere in our solar system.