Structural geologist to give inaugural lecture

MEDIA RELEASE

1 October 2013 

Structural geologist to give inaugural lecture

Rock movement and deformation in the Earth’s crust will be the focus of Professor Tim Little’s inaugural professorial lecture at Victoria University on Tuesday 8 October.

Professor Little will be discussing the diverse processes that can accommodate motion in rock. In the upper part of the earth’s crust, faults slip suddenly during earthquakes. At deeper levels, a slower and steadier process of rock flow prevails. In some active mountain belts, such as the Southern Alps, uplift has been so rapid that rocks from the lower crust—or even from mantle depths—have breached the surface, providing a rare window into otherwise enigmatic flow processes.

Part of this talk will examine the geological record of prehistoric earthquakes on active faults near Wellington. 

Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh says Victoria University’s inaugural lecture series is an opportunity for professors to share insights into their specialist areas of study with family, friends, colleagues and the wider community.

“Inaugural lectures are also an excellent way for the University to celebrate and acknowledge our valued professors,” says Professor Walsh.

Professor Little is a structural geologist in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences. His research record has made a substantial contribution to his School’s ranking as national research leader in its discipline. He has received 26 research grants since taking up a position at Victoria in 1992, including, most recently, one from the Marsden Fund to investigate how ultra-deep (high-pressure) metamorphic rocks in Papua New Guinea have rapidly ascended to the Earth’s surface.

Inaugural lecture–Professor Tim Little

‘From the top and bottom: A structural geologist’s views of active plate boundary deformation’

Tuesday 8 October 2013, 6pm

Hunter Council Chamber, Level 2, Hunter Building, Gate 1 or 2, Kelburn Parade, Wellington.

RSVP by Friday 4 October. Phone 04 463 6390 or email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz with ‘Little’ in the subject line.

ENDS

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