South Australian Museum - North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000

Palaeo Forum

Abstract: 

Join the South Australian Museum in celebrating the 10th anniversary of Palaeontology Week with an exceptional Palaeo Forum featuring renowned international guest palaeontologists. 

• Dr Philip Currie - Professor and Canada Research Chair, Dinosaur Palaeobiology, University of Alberta, Canada. 
• Dr Diego Garcia-Bellido Capdevilla - Facultad de Ciencias Geologicas, University of Madrid, Spain.
• Dr John Long - Vice President, Research and Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, USA.

Moderated by Dr Paul Willis, Director, Royal Institution of Australia.

*Please note Dr Benjamin Kear will no longer be attending this forum. 

Dr Catherine Kemper

Curator and Senior Researcher, Mammals

South Australian Museum

Abstract: 

The South Australian Museum has benefitted from many years of cooperation with other organisations in describing and documenting South Australia's mammal biodiversity. Hear about some of these successful partnerships and the impact they have on research and biodiversity in the State. 

Professor Suzanne Miller

Director

South Australian Museum

Abstract: 

Ancient stone artefacts can tell amazing stories of royal lineages, patronage and trade. The extraordinary carvings on ancient monuments and grave slabs tell part of the story, but the rocks from which the monuments are carved contribute greatly to the tale. This is the science of Geoarchaeology.

Explore some of the legends, myths and realities of the Romans, Picts and Medieval Lords of Scotland. 

Dr Jim Gehling

Senior Research Scientist, Palaeontology

South Australian Museum

Abstract: 

Reg Sprigg, who first discovered and realised the importance of the Ediacara fossils in the Flinders Ranges, would have been rpoud to have known that his discovery led to the formal designation of a "golden spike", as the international reference for the base of the Ediacaran System and Period in the rocks of the Flinders Ranges National Park in 2004.

Professor Barry Brook

Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change

Director of Climate Science, the Environment Institute

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide

Abstract: 

The 21st century conservation challenges facing mega-biodiverse regions of the planet (such as South- and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Neotropics), are enormous. For millennia, much of the habitat of these regions was only lightly modified by human endeavour, yet now it is experiencing rampant deforestation, logging, biofuel cropping, invasive species expansion, and the synergies of climate change — drought, fire and sea level rises. 

Although small-scale conservation management might assist some species and habitats, the broader sweep of problems requires big thinking and some radical solutions. Given the long lead times between progressive economic development and stabilisation of human populations size and consumption rates, we argue that 'technological fixes' cannot be ignored if we are to address social and fiscal drivers of environmental degradation, and associated species extinction in rapidly developing and highly populated regions. 

The pursuit of cheap and abundant 'clean' energy from an economically rational mix of nuclear, geothermal, solar, wind and hydrogen-derivated 'synfuels' power, is fundamental to this goal. This will permit pathways of high-tech economic development that include intensified (high energy-input) agriculture over small land areas; full recycling of material goods; a transition from fossil fuel use for transport and electricity generation; a rejection of tropical biofuels that require vast areas of arable land for production; and a viable alternative to the damming of major waterways for hydroelectricity. 

Rational approaches that work at large scales must be used to deal with the ultimate, rather than proximate, drivers of biodiversity. 

Reg Sprigg at Arkaroola

Dr Reginald Claude Sprigg AO was a South Australian interested in geological surveys, mining and conservation.

He took geology classes at the University of Adelaide where he was taught by Sir Douglas Mawson who said that Sprigg was his best ever student. 

In 1944 Sprigg was seconded to the South Australian Geological Survey to reactivate the Radium Hill Uranium mining field, and to regionally map the Mt Painter Uranium field. 

In 1946 he discovered the world's oldest fossils, dating back to 560 million years. These fossilised animals are now internationally recognised as the Ediacara fossils. These characterise the newly defined Ediacaran Period on the geological timescale. 

In the early 1960s he established Beach Petroleum (now Beach Energy), and founded the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in 1963. 

He was vested an Officer of the Order of Australia and awarded Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his work in petroleum exploration and environmental conservation in the 1980s. 

Reg Sprigg died in December 1994 and his ashes were scattered at Arkaroola.

Sponsors

The Sprigg Lecture Series is made possible by the generosity of our major sponsor Beach Energy and supported by Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and Bundaleer Wines.