The University of Cape Town invites you to an inaugural lecture by Professor Marcello Vichi.

Professor Marcello Vichi from the Department of Oceanography will present his inaugural lecture titled Fifty degrees of separation. Why Antarctica and the polar regions matter for Afrika. 

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are remote and separated entities to Afrika. Very few people are aware that South Africa is one of the first signatories of the Antarctic Treaty, and that the Mother City is one of the five gateways through which expeditions depart for Antarctica.

Polar regions are major climate regulators, and the Southern Ocean is an essential component to absorb the excess heat and carbon accumulated in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, hence reducing the adverse effects of climate change.

This lecture will take you through a journey towards the sea ice and the continental Antarctic ice sheets. Along the way, it will explain why these components of the Earth system matter for our livelihood, and why Afrika must become a relevant actor in polar sciences.

About our speaker

Marcello is Full Professor at the Department of Oceanography and director of the Marine and Antarctic Research centre for Innovation and Sustainability (MARIS).

His research interests are linked to interdisciplinary earth system processes, embracing coupled physical-biogeochemical modelling of the global ocean; observations, simulation and parameterization of sea-ice dynamics and biogeochemistry; Antarctic policies and infrastructures; climate change impacts on marine and sea-ice ecosystems; and interdisciplinary process studies in coastal and shelf seas.

He was chief scientist on three scientific expeditions of the icebreaker SA Agulhas II in the winter Antarctic sea ice. He is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa.