Climate forcing of geological and geomorphological hazards, UCL conference, 15-17 September

A conference of international researchers being held this week at UCL (University College London) will look at the prospects of contemporary climate change eliciting a response from the planet's crust, leading to an increase in numbers of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and other geological phenomena.

Journalists are welcome to attend the conference, which runs at UCL from 15 - 17 September.

Amid evidence that global warming threatens the planet in new and unexpected ways, topics addressed will include: the relationship between volcanism and climate; climate change as a trigger for earthquakes, rock avalanches, debris flows and tsunamis; and the worrying issue of gas hydrate stability and the climate connection. 

"Not only are the oceans and atmosphere conspiring against us, bringing baking temperatures, more powerful storms and floods, but the crust beneath our feet seems likely to join in too," said Professor Bill McGuire, director of the Aon Benfield Hazard Research Centre, at University College London (UCL), one of the conference organisers. "Delegates attending this multidisciplinary meeting will come away with a more detailed and better integrated view of how the Earth beneath our feet might ultimately react to unmitigated anthropogenic climate change."

Notes for Editors

1. The programme for the conference can be found at http://www.abuhrc.org/newsmedia/Pages/event_view.aspx?event=5

2. Journalists wishing to attend should contact Dominique Fourniol, UCL Media Relations, on 0207 679 9728, d.fourniol@ucl.ac.uk