Graduation Ceremony 24
Monday 14 December 2015 at 1630hrs – Jesuits Church Valletta
Graduation Oration
Dr Pauline Galea (Faculty of Science)
Dear Colleagues and Graduands
It is a particularly happy occasion for me to address this gathering today, and I would like to thank
the University Senate for the opportunity. For one thing, I am representing a brand new department
within the Faculty of Science, the Department of Geosciences, and I am proud to congratulate our
very first batch of graduates - Master in Applied Oceanography - and to note that we already have a
number of other postgraduate students that are well on the way to being the next such graduands.
The idea of such a department has been on the backburner of the University for as long as I can
remember. In fact, during my first year Physics course, in the early seventies, we were probably one
of the first groups to have lectures about geophysics and the then relatively recent theory of plate
tectonics. Since then, the discussion about setting up an Earth Science department has ebbed and
waned, and it took a courageous decision by our Dean to finally take the step forward. The
Department is already one of the largest in the Faculty of Science, this year celebrating its 100th
anniversary, and already fulfilling an important role in observing and understanding our terrestrial,
marine and atmospheric physical environments, and the interactions between them.
By their nature, the Earth Sciences embrace multi- and inter-disciplinarity. As an example, the ocean
floor can be regarded as an interface between geology, geophysics, geochemistry, marine biology,
oceanography and a host of other disciplines, and thus presents a wonderful opportunity for
embarking on multidisciplinary research projects, including technology and informatics. This is our
vision for this exciting new venture and its role in the University. Having been brought up on a strict
diet of mathematics and physics, interdisciplinarity was not really an element of my tertiary
education, and that of many of my colleagues. Doing multidisciplinary research is not without its
difficulties and challenges. Scientists in different disciplines often have very different ways of
looking at problems and of doing research, and what makes a physicist tick may do absolutely
nothing for a biologist, leading to potential problems in communication. However the opportunities
and advantages are wide-ranging. Looking at a scientific problem through novel viewpoints may lead
to better understanding and new developments, new scientists will be trained to think in less
confined spaces and the egocentricity of traditional disciplines will hopefully give way to increased
collaboration and respect .
I would like to talk today about some aspects of the Geosciences and how they impact our lives. Our
planet is truly special and unique in the solar system and further afield. Besides providing us with all
the resources necessary for humankind to exist and evolve, it is a constant source of scientific
challenges and exciting discoveries. Although direct physical exploration can merely scratch the
surface of the planet, a vast range of signals and data allow geoscientists to construct what we
believe to be ever-more detailed models of what the earth is made of, inside and out, and its
physical behaviour. Terabytes upon terabytes of data are collected from thousands of seismographs
covering the surface, continuously capturing earth vibrations as they travel through the interior,
bouncing off internal boundaries and sampling every nook and cranny of the planet. A fraction of
this data is processed to provide high resolution insights of what lies below. Orbiting satellites
photograph and measure the planet from space providing bird’s eye perspectives. Research vessels
explore the deep ocean floors and continental shelves in great detail. Our rocks, water, ice and
atmosphere are sampled, monitored and studied to give us clues about how the planet has evolved,
and where it might be going. Indeed there is a relentless quest to unfathom the nature and
evolution of our home planet. The more we learn, the more we appreciate its complexity, its nonlinearity and all too often its unpredictability. From the incredibly complex motion of the liquid
metallic core, which could cause the earth’s magnetic field to flip polarity at any (geological) time, to
the delicate balances between ocean circulation, climate and anthropogenic processes, the
parameters are so numerous that it is no wonder that our scientific description of the planet appears
to change over the span of decades. It is a constant voyage of discovery in ever-increasing detail,
made possible of course by the parallel exponential increase of computing power.
The dynamism and unpredictability of the planet, however, underlie one of the most important
aspects of the geosciences – geohazards. Around 400 natural disasters occur over the globe every
year – floods, storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and extreme temperature events. It is
estimated that natural disasters cost the world around 100 billion dollars a year in economic losses
(UNISDR), 80% of which are due to weather-related hazards. An average of 216 million people are
affected by natural disasters every year, while the average annual death toll over the past decade
stands at around 100,000 people, 60% of which result from earthquakes. Economic losses (as
reported at the year of occurrence) show an upward trend over the past two decades. Part of this is
due to an increase in intensity of climatic events in recent years, however, destructive geological and
climatic processes are as old as the planet – it is the high degree of urbanisation, the development of
megacities and the growth of urban centres in vulnerable areas that are causing hazards to have
such a greater impact on society. Risk is the product of natural hazard with exposure and
vulnerability.
Geoscientists are today increasingly burdened with the issue of social responsibility. Geohazards
have huge economic and social implications, and it is therefore natural for society to expect
geoscientists to provide explanations, answers and decisions, be it about climate change, extreme
weather, earthquake activity or tsunami. The management of natural disasters must be a concerted
effort between science, national authority and society. Top scientists at the “Tokyo Conference on
International Study for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience” earlier this year called on
governments and policymakers to ensure greater engagement with science and technology, and to
put evidence-based disaster risk reduction and the building of disaster resilience at the heart of their
strategies for sustainable development. The Sendai Framework, adopted this year in Sendai, Japan
and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June, gives a clear goal to be achieved by 2030. In the
words of Margareta Wahlstrom, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster
Risk Reduction, this involves “the substantial reduction of losses to lives, livelihoods, health and
assets of communities and countries, to look at multi-hazard management of disaster risk across all
sectors and to focus on not just the reduction of existing risk but the prevention of new risk” .
Moreover “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”, which places an increased onus on the
scientific community to intensify their observation of the Earth and its systems. The academic
pursuit of knowledge about our planet must form an integral part of this goal. Risk minimisation
from geohazards requires a sound understanding of how the various spheres of the Earth behave
and interact. Earth observation programmes and international projects are being given increasing
priority. The Department of Geosciences has long been contributing to this goal through its various
monitoring programmes – seismic, atmospheric, oceanographic and seafloor observation and
monitoring has been going on for several years, and the department has built up a considerable
tradition and expertise in such monitoring systems, providing a valuable national service.
Unfortunately, despite diligent monitoring and data analysis, certain behaviour of the Earth remains
inherently unpredictable, and this is often difficult to explain to the public at large. A painful
example of this is the case of the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009, when the uncertainty in the face of
this unpredictability was interpreted as scientific negligence or incompetence, and ultimately led to
criminal proceedings against a number of seismologists for failing to predict the earthquake. To the
scientific community this was, of course, an unacceptable accusation. However, from the point of
view of a community brought to its knees by the disaster, the frustration is perhaps understandable
– why, when millions of euros are invested in research, in a country which boasts one of the most
advanced seismic networks in Europe, and state-of-the-art research facilities and institutes, are
scientists still so helpless in preventing or predicting such disasters? In the face of human tragedy,
the mathematical formulation of hazard in terms of probabilities of occurrence seems woefully
inadequate. However small that probability might have been, the only concern of a disaster-struck
community is that it happened, and why the losses could not have been prevented. In the wake of
the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Ali Ismael-Zadeh, secretary general of the International Union of
Geodesy and Geophysics, commented “What am I doing as a scientist with my mathematical
models, if 200,000 people lost their lives within a few minutes?” Unfortunately, while climatic and
weather events are more directly observable, the prediction of earthquakes and related hazards
remains an elusive goal. The Earth continually takes us by surprise. Japan, one of the most
advanced nations in earthquake preparedness, had calculated a maximum possible earthquake of
not more than magnitude 8, yet was overwhelmed by an earthquake several times more powerful,
and a resulting killer tsunami. So is there nothing we can do? Disaster risk prevention and
management relies on two major pillars – sound scientific knowledge and preparedness. While
short-term hazard prediction may not always be possible, knowing about a hazard, be it storm,
flooding, heat wave or earthquake, and failing to take adequate preparedness measures is not
excusable. Here the interdisciplinarity of the geosciences, as well as their social dimension is
fundamental. In the case of earthquake hazard, the late Nicolas Ambrasey’s famous phrase
“Earthquakes do not kill people, buildings do” still resonates every time we witness a disaster – Haiti,
Nepal, Afghanistan, and countless other examples. I like to rephrase this statement as a more
positive corollary “Seismologists cannot save lives, good buildings can”. This emphasizes the need
for close cooperation between geoscientists, the civil engineering community and national and
planning authorities. This applies to all natural hazards – they cannot be adequately managed
without a strong degree of multiple disciplinarity. Thoroughly understanding and mitigating against
one particular hazard often requires the input of scientists, engineers, historians, archaeologists,
social scientists, urban planners, etc.
When dealing with geohazards and risk, it is fundamentally important that the knowledge we gain
through observation, interpretation and scientific research is not confined only to academic
publications, but is imparted to policy makers in an effective manner. Scientific knowledge and
experience needs to be translated into tools for life saving and damage mitigation measures. On the
other hand, the authorities need to understand and support such research activities in a consistent
and practical manner. It is perhaps time to rethink about the kind of relationship and collaboration
between the University and the national authorities with regard to Earth monitoring programmes,
and acknowledge this particular role of the University in today’s society. Geohazards will always be
with us, and no country is immune. It is easy to fall into the trap of saying “It will never happen
here” and all too often, action only begins to be taken after it does happen there.
At this point, please allow me to be a bit nostalgic about the history of seismology at our University.
I am particularly happy to have been chosen to give this talk at this particular venue, because very
few of you will know that just round the corner from this church, in the old University campus in St.
Paul’s Street, was installed one of the earliest seismographs in the world, whose recordings, dating
from 1905, are still treasured at the Department of Geosciences, and which formed part of a select
global network of some tens of instruments (as opposed to the tens of thousands of instruments
installed today). Among these were many important recordings of large global earthquakes that
have been scanned and digitised for research purposes. My own career in seismology started with
the installation of a bulky seismograph in a war shelter in the University grounds at Tal-Qroqq, which
entailed daily visits, holidays included, to replace a 24-hour photographic paper, take it up to a
photographic darkroom in the Physics department (today the office of Kris Zarb Adami) and develop
it in chemicals, every single day. The only reward was the occasional emergence of the image of a
perfectly recorded earthquake that occurred on the other side of the planet. It was difficult for
people to understand why I got so excited about it! Today, from the comfort of my office or my
home, I can observe on my screen what hundreds of instruments all over the world are recording, in
real time.
Finally, a word to today’s graduands. Since it is customary to finish off with a few words of advice, I
would like to advocate a seemingly forgotten and old fashioned virtue – the virtue of humility. Being
humble does not mean letting everyone walk all over you, or not making your voice heard. By all
means, aim high, showcase your talents and develop your best skills. But always be ready to
acknowledge that however much you have learned, you still know very little. Give time for ideas to
mature, and consider that an issue may be looked at from other angles, and other people’s
perspectives, and that there may be others who may contribute their knowledge to a problem. Be
ready to listen to everyone and to learn from everyone – even the lowliest person has something
important to teach. Humility makes better persons, better colleagues and better leaders.
I congratulate you all and augur that, whatever career you choose, you will derive satisfaction from
facing any challenge with enthusiasm, sincerity and professionalism. Good luck.