PRESENTATIONS                                                                                                                                                                  

These presentations are thought-provoking and richly illustrated. Each lasts for 40-60 minutes.

Professor Carter will also prepare modified or alternative presentations, including shorter talks, which are
tailored to particular occasions or to the interests of particular audience groups.

One man, two drill-rigs ..... and climate change
The contribution made to our understanding of climate change by the Serbian mathematician Milutin Milankovitch, and studies based on deep sea mud (ODP) and polar ice (Greenland, Antarctica) cores.

Global Warming - Cool Science or Hot Air?
What every citizen should know about climate change, with especial regard to the importance of understanding (i) rapid climate swings and (ii) climate change over longer, geological time scales.

Rivers under the sea: evolution of the global ocean circulation system and its importance for climate control
Today, major flows of deep, cold water pass into the Pacific Ocean as part of a global circulation system, fluctuations in which play a controlling influence on Earth's climate. The history of this system is preserved in sediment mud drifts which tell of the development of glaciation in Antarctica, in mid-latitude mountain ice caps, and of ancillary oceanographic changes.

The magic money machine ($6 out for every $1 in): Australian membership of the Ocean Drilling Program
An analysis of the outstanding scientific results and the value for taxpayer's money which were delivered by Australia's membership of the international Ocean Drilling Program. Including the history of the GBR and changes in Australian and Antarctic climate over the last 65 million years.

The Great Barrier Reef is Doing Just Fine, Thank You
The Great Barrier Reef understood as a dynamic earth system in its natural context - the GBRscape. An analysis of naive "Taj Mahal" management techniques, and a critical assessment of the threats, if any, that are posed to the reef tract by human activity.

Cyclones, and sea-level change as controls on Queensland coastal erosion and GBR health
Sea-level is currently rising in Townsville and falling in Cairns. An analysis of the implications of this fact for coastal flooding, erosion and reclamation. An examination of the effect of cyclones and sea-level change as agents which affect the health of both coastal and reef regions in Queensland.

Sediment nourishment of the Queensland coastline and the Great Barrier Reef
The Tully River is alleged to exhibit the strongest evidence for declining water quality amongst GBR catchments. This evidence is assessed. It is then shown that, contrary to received wisdom, water quality in Great Barrier Reef waters has been little affected by human activity. Sediment delivery to the coast is an environmental good.

Science funding and science communication: the roles of applied R&D, blue skies research and serendipity
A critical discussion of the ways in which public scientific research is currently funded in Australia, including international comparisons. What roles should (and do) the media play in communicating science to the public. How to handle the interminable "frisbee-science" provided by research agency public relations departments.