A free public lecture hosted by The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute will examine the findings of a coral reef geochemistry expert who found global warming had already exceeded 1.5 degrees.

Emeritus Professor Malcolm McCulloch, from UWA’s Oceans Institute, will share findings from his recent study published in Nature Climate Change at WA Maritime Museum on Monday 22 April.

Researchers extracted 300 years of ocean temperature records preserved in the calcium carbonate skeletons of marine sponges and discovered global warming had increased by 0.5 degrees more than previously estimated.

The study found industrial-era warming began in the mid-1860s, consistent with that expected from historical records, but more than 70 years earlier than suggested by records from ship-based measurements of sea surface temperatures.

“This work wasn’t easy and new approaches to interpreting the temperature information were required,” Professor McCulloch said.

“We are still in the process of convincing traditionalist that there are other smart ways to get past records of surface ocean temperature, prior to our now highly advanced sampling and measurement platforms.”

UWA Oceans Institute Director Professor Christophe Gaudin said the public lecture would be followed by a Q&A session, with an expert panel assembled to discuss the topic.

Professor Gaudin, moderator of the Q&A session, will be joined by panel members Kate Chaney, Federal Member for Curtin, UWA’s Professor Petra Tschakert, from Geography and Global Futures at Curtin University, and Dr Bryson Bates, former Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO.

The lecture is from 6pm to 7.30pm on Monday 22 April at the WA Maritime Museum, NWS Shipping Theatre. For more information and to register for tickets click here.