Major world science meetings in New Zealand for first time
Major world science meetings in New Zealand for the first
time
7 AUGUST 2014
2000
leading international scientists coming to
Auckland
World Science Week New
Zealand
24 August – 3 September
2014
Supported by the Royal Society of New
Zealand
and the Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment
AUCKLAND:More than 2,000 of the world’s leading scientists, researchers and government science advisors are coming to New Zealand for an interrelated series of international science summits in Auckland from 25 August to 3 September 2014. All these international science summits are taking place in New Zealand for the first time.
Running concurrently with the scientific meetings is a series of public events around science topics, with some of the world’s foremost experts sharing their insights.
A number of these sessions focus on climate change. At one session, five world-leading scientists will discuss the melting ice sheets and implications this has for sea level rise. An award-winning New Zealand documentary on the topic will also screen one night. How climate change can influence pandemics will be explained by one of the world’s top experts in the field. The effect climate change and other factors can have on future food for the planet will be discussed at the last session by a panel of eminent scientists.
Two other sessions focus on Antarctica from a different perspective: One will share the practical logistical issues of supporting science in Antarctica with the audience, while the other will focus on the groundbreaking astronomy conducted from the South Pole.
Sir Peter Gluckman, Science Advisor to the
Prime Minister, will lead a session outlining how New
Zealand punches above its weight in the world of
science.
Public lecture programme
•Sunday 24 August, 11.00am: Wizards on
Ice
How organisations supporting scientific research
in Antarctica overcome the immense logistical challenges of
operating in such a harsh environment.
•Monday 25
August, 7.00pm: Science – New Zealand’s place in the
world
New Zealand-led initiatives are now providing
a blueprint for international collaboration in
science.
•Tuesday 26 August, 7.00pm:
Melting Ice, Rising Sea
The impact melting ice caps
can have on sea level rise, includes geostatic rebound and
ocean currents, with specific reference to the New Zealand
coastline.
•Wednesday 27 August, 7.00pm: From the
Big Bang to Tomorrow
Astronomical observations from
the giant IceCube and other observatories in Antarctica is
revealing echoes of the Big Bang and provides clues about
the future of our planet.
•Thursday 28 August,
7.30pm: Thin Ice – the Inside Story of Climate
Science
A special screening of the internationally
awarded New Zealand documentary Thin Ice, at the
Victoria Theatre, Devonport. Introduced by producer Prof.
Peter Barrett.
•Friday 29 August, 7.00pm: Pandemics
& Climate Change
Climate change can have a
significant impact on the incidence and severity of
pandemics in the future. The world’s foremost experts
explain what might lie in store for us.
•Saturday 30
August, 12.00 noon: Future Food for the Planet
The
soil literally feeds the world, but is itself being
depleted. Food security is essential at a time of climatic
change.
Speakers include:
•Dr
David Carlson, Director World Climate Research Programme,
Geneva.
•Prof Nils Stenseth, global authority on
pandemics and climate change.
•Prof Jonathan Bamber,
geographer who discovered a mega-canyon beneath the Central
Greenland ice sheet.
•Prof Bryan Storey, New Zealand
geologist who researches evolution of the Earth System
through time.
•Prof Rob DeConto, paleoclimatologist who
applies ice sheet models in both hemispheres to future
climate scenarios.
•Prof Stephen Nortcliff, soil
scientist studying organic amendments in soils, including
ways of using waste to feed soil.
•Dr Steve Rintoul,
leading authority on the circulation of the Southern Ocean
and how it affects global climate systems. Also coordinating
lead author on the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The full public programme is available on www.worldscienceweek.org.nz
International
science meetings
The international science meetings
include:
•The 31st triennial General Assembly of the
International Council for Science (ICSU). Established in
1931 and based in Paris, ICSU represents more than 121
national science academies and 31 scientific unions. 31
August – 3 September
•The 6th biennial Open
Science Conference of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic
Research (SCAR), an interdisciplinary committee of the
International Council for Science. With more than 1000
attendees, it is by far the largest international gathering
of Antarctic scientists. 25 August – 3
September
•The 4th biennial United States - New
Zealand Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology
Cooperation (JCM). 25 –26 August
•The
Science and Diplomacy Symposium, focusing on how scientists
can input into foreign affairs. 27
August
•Inaugural Science Advice to Governments
conference involving the world’s most eminent science
advisors. 28 – 29 August
•The 2nd APEC Chief
Science Advisors and equivalents meeting, a forum for
informal discussion on the science and policy interface
amongst science advisors to the highest level of government
within APEC economies. 30
August
ENDS