The Society’s 156th Annual General Meeting and the 1312th Ordinary General Meeting were held in the Gallery Room of the State Library of NSW on 5 April. An audience of approximately fifty people heard an excellent lecture titled “Reconstructing ancient oceans, sea-level fluctuations, the deep carbon cycle and biodiversity” delivered by Professor Dietmar Müller FAA FAGU, Professor of Geophysics at the University of Sydney, and the winner of the RSNSW Clarke Medal for 2019.

His lecture presented a fascinating journey through geological time, reconstructing ancient oceans that have little resemblance to the oceans we know today. The ocean models, which are validated with fossil data, show that modern ocean biodiversity, which is at its highest level ever, was achieved through the long-term stability of the location of so-called biodiversity hotspots. These studies also emphasise that, if current trends continue, projected diversity loss can take millions of years to recover, arguably beyond our own existence as a species.

Some images from that occasion are available at this link for viewing and downloading. The recording of this presentation is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel.