What has Geodiversity ever done for us? Answers from a coast near you! (lecture)

Dr Jim Hansom, University of Glasgow

Geodiversity is a relatively new term that has not captured the recognition that Biodiversity currently enjoys. Ask in the street about geodiversity and you are likely to get a blank response at best, and an “aye right” at worst. The myriad ways in which a healthy biodiversity supports us is well understood, yet without geodiversity there would be no biodiversity, since all life depends on the variety of surface environments provided by rocks, landforms and the processes that form them. With an enhanced rate of climate change now upon us and surface processes and ecosystems increasingly in a state of flux, we need to publicise the value of geodiversity to science and society. Using examples from the coastal zone, this presentation aims to show how an understanding of coastal geodiversity can help society better adapt to changes that are under way and may increase in the future.

The lecture will be preceded by the signing of Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter on behalf of Glasgow University and by the society’s annual general meeting.