BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:"\;When Antarctica was green: Fossil plants reveal Antarctica' s climate history"\; - Professor Jane Francis\, Professor of Palaeocli matology\, of the University of Leeds DTSTART:20120328T170000Z DTEND:20120328T180000Z UID:TALK36814@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Beverley Larner DESCRIPTION:Professor Jane Francis\, Professor of Palaeoclimatology\, of t he University of Leeds will give this special lecture to commemorate the c entenary of the 1912 Scientific Expedition led by Captain Scott to Antarct ica. \n\nSpecial access will be available to the Scott Polar Research Inst itute's Exhibition "These rough notes: Captain Scott's last expedition" fr om 5.00pm to 6.00pm prior to the start of the lecture. A complimentary dri nks reception to follow on after the lecture\, will take place in the foye r to the lecture theatre for all attendees.\n\nThe museum visit\, lecture and drinks reception are open to all who are interested\, no booking requi red. \n\nAbstract of talk\n\nAlthough the polar regions are currently cove red in ice and snow\, life was very different at high latitudes under past warm climates millions of years ago – the polar regions were green. Fos sil plants (leaves\, wood\, pollen\, seeds and flowers) preserved in rocks from Antarctica show that the continent was once covered in lush green fo rests that flourished in warm humid climates\, despite the extreme polar l ight regime of continuous summer sunlight and long dark winters. Migration of warmth-loving floras into high latitudes occurred during times of extr eme warmth\; for example\, during the Cretaceous (~90 million years ago) t ropical species migrated as far south as Antarctica. The last Antarctic fo rests survived as dwarf tundra shrubs in the Beardmore Glacier region\, on ly 300 miles from the South Pole\, even as the ice sheets spread across th e continent about 12 million years ago. Antarctic plant fossils contain a rich store of palaeoclimate information about past polar environments and provide us with a window into life at high latitudes in our future warm wo rld.\n LOCATION:Bristol-Myers-Squibb Lecture theatre\, Department of Chemistry END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR