The epic stories of our planet’s 4.54-billion-year history are written in strata―ages-old remnants of ancient seafloors, desert dunes, and riverbeds striping landscapes around the world. In this debut work, science writer Laura Poppick decodes strata to lead us on a journey through four global transformations that made our lives on Earth possible: the first accumulations of oxygen in the atmosphere; the deep freezes of "Snowball Earth"; the rise of mud on land and accompanying proliferation of plants; and the dinosaurs’ reign on a hothouse planet
Poppick introduces us to the researchers who have devoted their careers to understanding the events of deep time, including the world’s leading stegosaur scientist. She travels to sites as various as a Minnesotan iron mine that runs half a mile deep and a corner of the Australian Outback where glacial deposits date from the coldest times on Earth. Ultimately, she demonstrates that the planet’s oceans, continents, atmosphere, life, and ice have always conspired to bring stability to Earth, even if we are only just beginning to understand how these different facets interact.
A work in the tradition of John McPhee, Strata allows us to observe how the planet has responded to past periods of environmental upheaval, and shows how Earth’s ancient narratives could hold lessons for our present and future.
Laura Poppick will present the highlights of the history of the earth from what rock strata tells us, as well as some details about local geology.
Held at the Lovell Brick Church for the Performing Arts.
Registration Required.
About the Speaker:
Laura Poppick is a science and environmental journalist based in Maine. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, Wired, Audubon, National Geographic, Science and other publications. She has been listed as a finalist for the National Association of Science Writers Science in Society Journalism Award and the Maine Literary Awards Short Works Competition in Nonfiction, among others.
Laura has taught writing classes and workshops for students of all ages, including at Bates College, InsideClimate News’ Institute for Environmental Journalism, the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, The Telling Room, and elsewhere. She is a graduate of the Science Communication Program at UC Santa Cruz and has a B.S. in geology from Bates College. Before finding her way to journalism, she worked as a lab manager for the Princeton University Earth History Group.