Wed 15 Oct 14:00: Atomic Quantum Sensors for Seismology
Quantum technologies have been rapidly developing over the past two decades. They are now at a stage of maturity where quantum sensors, which utilize quantum systems and their properties for sensing, are being deployed in the field and provide an unprecedented level of sensitivity and precision for measuring accelerations, rotations, and gravitational gradients. In addition to these field deployable sensors, an international effort is pushing for very large-scale instruments with applications in fundamental physics, searching for ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves in an unexplored frequency domain. In this seminar I will introduce one variant of quantum sensors based on ultra cold atoms: atom interferometry. The current state of both mobile and large-scale atom interferometers will be presented, and we will explore their applications for Earth Sciences, specifically seismology, as well as their limitations. This novel instrumentation provides an exciting path forward in terms of multi-disciplinary research bridging geophysics and fundamental physics through the portal of quantum mechanics.
- Speaker: Jeremiah Mitchell, University of Cambridge
- Wednesday 15 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Wolfson Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Wednesday Seminars; organiser: Alice Turner.
Mon 10 Nov 12:00: Formation and importance of copper-gold-iron deposits in back-arc environments
Copper and iron are arguably the most essential minerals for global development because they are essential for energy systems, data centers, defense applications, consumer goods, and manufacture and deployment of low-carbon electricity generation, transmission and storage, and vehicle electrification. Back-arc environments host iron oxide-copper-gold and iron oxide-apatite deposits that are important sources of their namesake metals, as well as rare earth elements, uranium, phosphorus, silver, cobalt, bismuth and niobium that are economically important byproducts in some deposits. I will discuss how these deposits form and exploration strategies to discover new deposits.
- Speaker: Professor Adam Simon, University of Michigan
- Monday 10 November 2025, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: Department of Earth Sciences, Tilley Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Department of Earth Sciences Seminars (downtown); organiser: .
Fri 05 Dec 16:00: Has the Thermal Structure of Cratonic Lithosphere Changed Through Time?
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Zachary Sudholz
- Friday 05 December 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 28 Nov 16:00: Building a general-purpose finite-element solver to study convection in porous media
Abstract not available
- Speaker: George Poole
- Friday 28 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 28 Nov 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: George Poole
- Friday 28 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 05 Dec 16:00: Title: Has the Thermal Structure of Cratonic Lithosphere Changed Through Time?
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Zachary Sudholz
- Friday 05 December 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 17 Oct 16:00: Paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic significance of the Icelandic Plume
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Nicky White ( Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge)
- Friday 17 October 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Thu 30 Oct 11:30: Particle-driven convection
Particle-driven convection occurs when a dense particle-laden layer settles into a layer of clear fluid. This can drive a variation on the classical Rayleigh-Taylor instability, where particles induce the density difference between the two fluids. Variants of this instability occur in many geophysical flows, such as the undersides of volcanic ash clouds, sediment-laden river outflows, and the dynamics of droplets in clouds. This talk will present some new experimental results of Rayleigh-Taylor instability occurring between a particle-laden and fresh-water layers. I will also present some preliminary results that examine the effect of adding salt to the lower layer. For this second case, the initial stratification is stable, but becomes unstable due to particle settling.
- Speaker: Megan Davies Wykes (University of Cambridge)
- Thursday 30 October 2025, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
- Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.
Mon 13 Oct 18:00: The Bushveld Intrusion: Geology, Petrology and Mineral Deposit formation
Bushveld is one of the largest magmatic events on the planet. Containing ~6.5km of layered ultramafic and mafic rocks, it is home to the largest ore deposit of the world This talk will cover its geology, petrology and mineral deposit formation.
The Sedgwick Club is the oldest student–run geological society in the world, and we organise talks about all aspects of Earth Sciences every Monday of term.
- Speaker: Professor Wolfgang Maier, Cardiff University
- Monday 13 October 2025, 18:00-19:00
- Venue: Harker 1 lecture room, Department of Earth Sciences, Downing Site.
- Series: Sedgwick Club talks; organiser: Candela Gil.
Thu 06 Nov 11:30: TBC
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Professor Joe Howe, University of Lincoln
- Thursday 06 November 2025, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
- Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.
Thu 16 Oct 11:30: A multilayer model for multiscale flows of thin (and not-so-thin) films
We recently proposed a model able to describe both “thin films” and “thick films” [1] both in the context of large-scale geophysical flows and down to lubrication scales . In this presentation, I will give an overview of the principal properties of this multilayer, semi-discrete approximation of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with a free-surface and its theoretical and practical connections with previous classical film models.
[1] Popinet, S. (2020). A vertically-Lagrangian, non-hydrostatic, multilayer model for multiscale free-surface flows, Journal of Computational Physics, 418, 109609.
- Speaker: Stephane Popinet, Sorbonne University
- Thursday 16 October 2025, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
- Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.
Tue 28 Oct 17:00: SPECIAL PUBLIC SEMINAR - Challenges of Energy Transition
Ten years ago the Paris COP conference heralded an exceptional meeting of minds to tackle climate change, backed by science, and soon embraced by industry. Much has been achieved, particularly in electrification through the explosive growth of renewables & EVs. However, the optimism that hit a high water mark perhaps 5 years ago, risks stalling in much of the world as the reality of displacing and decarbonising 600 exajoules per annum becomes clear. The reasons lie in the complex intersection of, inter alia, technology, investment economics, policy, human behaviour and geopolitics. It also reflects society’s wider drift from science based consensus, to tribal polarisation played out for social media. How might we recover momentum, and what can we learn from sectors and countries which are succeeding? What does this mean for companies operating in the energy transition, and how might academia play its part?
Jon has recently left bp, where since 2014 he was at the heart of their transition activities; founding their EV charging business, leading their global academic relationships, and running their external advisory committee for technology. This builds on a career in disruptive business & technology innovation at QinetiQ, ICI and Schlumberger. He will offer a personal perspective based on the highs, lows and learning from a decade at the frontline of humanity’s greatest challenge.
- Speaker: Dr Jon Salkeld
- Tuesday 28 October 2025, 17:00-18:00
- Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
- Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.
Wed 03 Dec 17:30: Unprecedented changes on the physiology of Antarctic organisms over the last centuries
tbc
- Speaker: Simone Moretti, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
- Wednesday 03 December 2025, 17:30-19:00
- Venue: Latimer Room, Clare College.
- Series: Quaternary Discussion Group (QDG); organiser: sr632.
Ancient flight may explain dispersal of giant flightless birds
Flightless birds such as ostriches, emus, rheas, and kiwis inhabit far-flung corners of the Southern Hemisphere, but how did these grounded birds spread so far and wide? New research sheds light on the mystery, showing they had ancestors that could likely fly across oceans. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and...
Tue 21 Oct 12:00: Cambridge Zero: maximising Cambridge’s contribution towards a zero-carbon world through research, education, policy & innovation
Cambridge Zero exists to maximise the University of Cambridge’s contribution towards achieving a resilient and sustainable zero-carbon world. We are harnessing the full range and breadth of the Collegiate University’s capabilities, both in the UK and globally, to develop solutions that work for our lives, our society and our economy. We do this by enabling, integrating, and accelerating climate activities related to education, research, policy and innovation, across the whole University. We work in a co-ordinating and supporting role across the full academic lifecycle; connecting, convening and engaging the full breadth of the greater University community (i.e. the University, Colleges and related institutions). In this talk, we will present the ways in which Cambridge Zero can support you, with a specific focus on our Research and Education programmes. Please come with any questions and ideas for ways we can work together. There will be plenty of time for discussion.
- Speaker: Dr Eric Mackie, Head of Research Engagement, Cambridge Zero
- Tuesday 21 October 2025, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: Department of Earth Sciences, Tilley Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Department of Earth Sciences Seminars (downtown); organiser: Ali Mashayek.
Fri 07 Nov 16:00: Large-scale drivers and spatial variability of extreme sea level on the European Shelf
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Lisanne Blok
- Friday 07 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Tue 04 Nov 12:00: Mixing and melting: turbulence in the ice shelf/ocean boundary layer
Ice shelves, the floating extensions of ice sheets, play an important role in sea level rise by buttressing the grounded ice. Ice shelf collapse and the loss of this buttressing support can lead to increase discharge of grounded ice, evidenced by the collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002. The fate of Antarctic ice shelves is a significant source of uncertainty in global projections of sea level rise.
Small-scale turbulence in the ice shelf/ocean boundary layer beneath ice shelves transports warm waters towards the ice, thereby influencing melting. Parameterizations of mixing and melting in the ice shelf/ocean boundary layer are relatively crude, but the physics at play are intricate and fascinating. Beneath sloping ice shelves, the relatively buoyant melt water flows up the slope and is deflected by the Coriolis force. At the same time, stratification associated with fresh meltwater suppresses turbulence and mixing.
I will discuss previous and ongoing work combining simulations and observations of turbulence and mixing in ice shelf/ocean boundary layers. The work spans a range of conditions from cold water ice shelves where tides dominate the melting signal, to warm water ice shelves where buoyancy-driven currents and extreme ice topography result in very complicated flow. In between I will discuss the role of diffusion when relatively flat ice shelves are exposed to warm waters.
- Speaker: Professor John Taylor, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 04 November 2025, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: Department of Earth Sciences, Tilley Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Department of Earth Sciences Seminars (downtown); organiser: Ali Mashayek.
Tue 28 Oct 12:00: Antarctic glacier geophysics - uncovering ice sheet evolution
Six decades of radioglaciology in Antarctica, through multi-sensor airborne geophysical surveys, has led to a ‘first-order’ depiction of Antarctic subglacial topography – an essential input to numerical ice sheet modelling. Deeper inspection of recently-collected geophysical data has also uncovered evidence for past glaciological, hydrological and geological changes in Antarctica. In this talk, I will showcase recent advances in our understanding of Antarctic evolution that have been gained from such assessment; showcasing evidence of Pliocene ice sheet retreat, the preservation of pre-glacial surfaces and the break-up of Gondwana. I will also explain that our knowledge of subglacial Antarctic remains limited and how the ‘next generation’ of ice sheet bed measurements could lead to improved projections of global sea-level rise.
- Speaker: Professor Martin Siegert, University of Exeter
- Tuesday 28 October 2025, 12:00-13:00
- Venue: Department of Earth Sciences, Tilley Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Department of Earth Sciences Seminars (downtown); organiser: Ali Mashayek.
Wed 26 Nov 17:30: Meltwater, meteorites, and volcanoes: the elusive cause of the Younger Dryas Event
Near the end of the last deglaciation, as increasing Northern Hemisphere insolation was driving gradual warming, the northern hemisphere experienced a pronounced 1,300-year cold reversal known as the Younger Dryas Event. This period corresponds approximately with Greenland Stadial-1, the final stadial before the onset of the Holocene. Despite over a century of research, the origin of the Younger Dryas Event remains unresolved. The leading hypothesis, proposed in the 1980s, suggests that a meltwater pulse disrupted North Atlantic oceanic circulation, triggering widespread cooling. In 2007, an alternative theory emerged, proposing that a bolide either impacted or exploded above the Laurentide Ice Sheet, initiating not only the Younger Dryas Event but also numerous other global changes, including the extinction of North American Pleistocene megafauna and the rise of agriculture in the Middle East. More recently, volcanic activity has gained attention as a plausible trigger. This talk will explore these competing hypotheses, ranging from the conventional to the extraordinary, by evaluating the supporting evidence, strengths, and limitations of each, including insights from recent studies.
- Speaker: James Baldini, Durham University
- Wednesday 26 November 2025, 17:30-19:00
- Venue: Latimer Room, Clare College.
- Series: Quaternary Discussion Group (QDG); organiser: Emily Kraus.
Wed 08 Oct 14:00: Steps Towards Forecasting Cascading Mountain Hazards
Landslides, debris flows, and avalanches, are fast-moving, high-impact phenomena that threaten nearly 8% of the global population. Forecasting them is essential to reducing human and economic losses, but two major challenges still remain: identifying where initial slope failure will occur and predicting their runout once triggered. In this talk, I will present work on spaceborne offset tracking to detect precursory motion before failure and neural network emulators for fast, single-phase geophysical flow modeling to efficiently propagate uncertainty into flow predictions. Together, these approaches are key steps towards forecasting cascading mountain hazards.
- Speaker: Lorenzo Nava (University of Cambridge)
- Wednesday 08 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Wolfson Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Wednesday Seminars; organiser: Adriano Gualandi.