The last time carbon dioxide was so plentiful in our planet’s atmosphere was in the Pliocene era, around 3 million years ago. Life on Earth was dominated by giant mammals; humans and chimps had shared their last common ancestor. Although the sun’s force was about the same, the sea levels were 15 metres higher and Arctic summer temperatures were 14 degrees higher than the present day.

Come to this meeting to hear about the climatic conditions in the Pliocene, how we know this, and what it tells us about our modern climate. If the effects of human-induced climate change are slow to act, or a tipping point is yet to be reached, what does the science tell us to expect?

Please register for the event on the RMetS website.

• Meeting Chair – Prof Martin Siegert, Grantham Institute

14.00: Welcome

• Prof Martin Siegert, Grantham Institute

14.05: The Pliocene: an accessible example of a world in equilibrium with 400 ppmv CO₂?

• Prof Alan M. Haywood, University of Leeds

14:40: Antarctica during the Pliocene: dynamism, stability and sea level

• Prof Dan Lunt, University of Bristol

15.15: Evidence of Pliocene Antarctic ice mass loss from offshore sediments

• Prof Tina van de Flierdt, Imperial College London

15:50: Refreshment break

16.20: Environment on Antarctica from the fossil record

• Prof Dame Jane Francis, British Antarctic Survey

16.55: What the Pliocene can tell us about the world we are heading toward: The polar ice sheets and sea-level rise

• Prof Rob DeConto, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

17.30: Informal panel discussion, chaired by Prof Siegert

17:55: Meeting Close

Please register for the event on the RMetS website.