DEEP TIME, GLOBAL
CHANGE AND
AND YOU
7 BILLION
THE PAST AS A GUIDE TO THE FUTURE
A David and Cecilia Ting Endowment Fund Lecture Series
January 30, - March 13, 2014
Magnitude 9 - How We learned That The Largest
Earthquakes on Earth Happen on Our Coast
Presented by Dr. John Clague, Professor and Canada Research Chair in
Natural Hazards Research, Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Thursday, February 27, 2014, 7:00 pm,
Room 1900, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings
Abstract:
Evidence discovered by Canadian and U.S. scientists over the past 30 years has shown that the largest
earthquakes on Earth occur at our doorstep, off the British Columbia coast. These giant “subduction”
earthquakes are comparable in size to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake (magnitude 9.2) that killed 230,000 people
in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (magnitude 9.0) that claimed over
16,000 lives in Japan. Although no such earthquake has happened along our coast since Europeans first arrived
in the late 1700s, the geologic record shows that 20 such earthquakes have happened in the past 10,000 years,
most recently in AD 1700. In this presentation, I describe how scientists found and interpreted the geological
and biological evidence of these earthquakes. I also review the likely effects and impact of the next “Big One” on
Vancouver, Victoria, and cities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Bio:
John Clague is Shrum Professor of Science at Simon Fraser University. He was educated at Occidental College
(BA, 1967), the University of California Berkeley (MA, 1969), and the University of British Columbia (PhD, 1973).
Clague worked as a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada from 1975 until 1998. In 1998 he
accepted a faculty position in Department of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University, where he is currently
the Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazard Research. He is Director of the Centre for Natural Hazard Research at SFU. Clague has published over
200 papers in 45 different journals on a range of earth science disciplines, including glacial geology, geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, and
natural hazards, and has consulted for several private-sector firms and government agencies. His graduate students are currently conducting research
on natural hazards and late Holocene climate change in western Canada. Clague’s other principle professional interest is improving public awareness
of earth science by making relevant geoscience information available to students, teachers, and the general public. He gives frequent talks to school
and community groups and is regularly called on by the media to comment on a range of earth science issues. Clague has written two popular books
on the geology and geologic hazards of southwest British Columbia, and a textbook on natural hazards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,
former President of the Geological Association of Canada, and Past-President of the International Union for Quaternary Research. He is recipient of the
Geological Society of America Burwell Award, the Royal Society of Canada Bancroft Award, APEGBC’s 2001 and 2005 Innovation Editorial Board Awards,
the Geological Association of Canada’s (GAC) 2006 E.R.W Neale Medal, and GAC’s 2007 Logan Medal and 2012 Ambrose Medal. He was the 2007-2008
Richard Jahns Distinguished Lecturer for the Geological Society of America and Association of Environmental and Engineering Geology.
Deep Time, Global Change and You is a series of free public lectures and discussions by leading thinkers on how paleoecology can shed light on the
consequences of ecosystem disruptions. It is not news that our global environment is currently in a period of rapid and dramatic change, with uncertain longterm consequences. Scientists working in the area of “paleoecology”, the study of past environments and communities of plants and animals, can contribute
insights into the long prehistory of natural changes on earth, and shed light on likely future consequences of ecosystem disruptions. Over the long history of our
planet, many changes, ranging from continental drift and sudden climate shifts, to wildfires and the recent rise of civilizations have altered our ecosystems, and will
continue to do so. How such disturbances have shaped our present environment, and how they might change it in the future is the focus of this series.
Upcoming Lectures and Discussions:
March 6, 2014, What if Extinction is Not Forever? A Molecular Paleontologist’s View of De-extinction
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, USA
March 13, 2014, Maintaining Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st Century
Dr. Anthony Barnosky, Professor, Integrative Biology and Curator, Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Reservations:
As seating is limited, reservations are recommended: www.sfu.ca/reserve
Contact:
For more information, contact lauriew@sfu.ca
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Sponsors:
Faculty of Environment, SFU
Faculty of Science, SFU
David and Cecilia Ting Endowment, Lifelong Learning, SFU
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