February 5th - Supercontinent

'Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of our Planet'

Dr. Ted Nield, editor of Geoscientist
BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath at 7.30 p.m.
Free to members of Bath Geological Society
£4.00 for visitors who are most welcome

The shifting continents of the Earth are heading for inevitable collision. Two hundred and fifty million years from now, all the landmasses on this planet will come together in a single, gigantic supercontinent. That future supercontinent will not be the first to form on Earth, nor will it be the last. Each cycle lasts at least half a billion years, making it the grandest of all the patterns in nature. It is scarcely a century since science first understood how Pangaea, the supercontinent that gave rise to the dinosaurs, split apart, but scientists can now look back into the Earth’s almost indecipherable past to reconstruct Pangaea’s predecessor, and predict the shape of the Earth’s far-distant future. Ted Nield will tell the astounding story of how that science emerged (often in the face of fierce opposition), and how scientists today are using the most modern techniques to draw information out of the oldest rocks on Earth. It also reveals the remarkable human story of the Atlantis-seeking visionaries and madmen who have been imagining lost or undiscovered continents for centuries. Ultimately all supercontinents exist only in the human imagination, but understanding the Supercontinent Cycle represents nothing less than finally knowing how our planet works.
Toppings will have a stand with Ted Nield's books for sale.
The author will be available for signings.