PUBLIC LECTURE: Lecturesaurus: Where did the dinosaurs go?

Dinosaurs ruled the planet for hundreds of millions of years. So what dramatic change occurred nearly 66 million years ago to cause their mass extinction? Perhaps the shower of dust from an asteroid impact blocked out the light from the sun. Perhaps volcano emissions resulted in a change in climate. There is much debate over these topics, and at this lecture, geochronologist Dr Fred Jourdan will guide us through the myths and facts. He will discuss evidence for such volcanoes and asteroid impacts, as well as studies of other mass extinctions, and show us how several factors probably contributed to the dinosaurs’ demise. Fred is a Senior Research Fellow at the John de Laeter Centre of Mass Spectrometry and Department of Applied Geology at Curtin University. He is also the Director of the Western Australian Argon Isotope Facility, dedicated to dating Earth processes using argon geochronolology. Fred uses chemistry to study large volcanic provinces and impact events, in order to discover their relationship with mass extinctions. This lecture is part of a series of public lectures in which local scientists will provide insight into some of the fascinating research in the world of palaeontology and extinct animals. The lecture series coincides with Scitech’s current feature exhibition Explore-a-saurus, and each lecture will include time before and after the lectures to step back in time and walk amongst the dinosaurs.

Date: Monday 24 September Time: Doors open 6.00pm, lecture 6.30-7.30pm Location: Lotterywest Science Theatre, Scitech Cost: $5 per person, or free to Scitrekkers. The fee includes time in Scitech’s Explore-a-saurus exhibition which will be open before and after the lecture (6pm-8pm) Bookings recommended by following the link.