Year of Water 2016
Après Mud, le déluge: After the glories of mud in 2015 we are ready for a whole year devoted to our new theme of Water, writes Flo Bullough.
Throughout 2016, we will be exploring the different and varied ways in which geology and water interact and the importance of these links to people and the environment. The importance of water – as solid, liquid or vapour - to geological processes cannot be overstated. Water is essential to rock-forming processes including sedimentation and dewatering, understanding groundwater, glaciation, ocean chemistry, palaeoclimate, geological hazards– the list goes on!
Important links between geology, water development and sustainability also underpin several of the recently announced UN Sustainable Development Goals and discussions at the recent COP 21 summit in Paris.
A key component of the Society’s communications work is to improve understanding (among decision-makers, students, and the wider public) of how the subsurface contributes to people’s lives. We do this through meetings and lectures, outreach initiatives, education projects and written policy resources.
We are highlighting the interconnectedness of geology and water in 2016 through a mini-series within the (London Lectures) on the theme of Water. Topics will include tsunamis, groundwater and water on Mars, as well as a broad overview of this extraordinary substance.