The Oxford Colloquium is an annual bonanza of geology lectures held in the beautiful Pitt Rivers Museum. The speakers are hands-on top researchers who work at the growing edges of the science. They are nevertheless capable of reaching out to amateurs (and even beginners) such as members of our Geology Group.  This year 13 of us made the early train for Oxford, the fourth year for some. We had booked in months ago; we knew it would be a pretty full house.  Was it worth the effort? Absolutely.  Whereas none of us claimed to have understood all of every lecture (and this year at least one was pretty challenging). But we all recognized quality when we met it!

You will find brief summaries of each presentation in the Oxford Colloquium Programme 2016 on the web. Click here for more detailed abstracts.

Every lecture took us out onto the margins of Geology. 

Professor Chris Ballentine

The origin, residence and migration of carbon-rich fluids in the crust

Professor Sarah Davies

The rise of the terrestrial ecosystem: insights from the Carboniferous

Professor Chris Stringer

The origin and evolution of Homo sapiens

Jonathan Burley

(winner of the McKerrow Cup, 2016)

Glacial cycles, sea level and volcanism: Coupled oscillations

Professor Paul Upchurch

Latitudinal biodiversity patterns in Deep Time

Professor John Underhill

The use of forensic geoscience to reveal buried ancient landscapes

Professor Hazel Rymer

Volcanology and the role of the Citizen Scientist