[Coral-List] UMiami Sea Secrets 2022 Lecture Series TONIGHT - Beauty and Peril in the Red Sea

[University of Miami Rosenstiel School]

Join us tonight for the first in our 6 part lecture series:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sea-secrets-lecture-series-2022-with-sam-purkis-phd-tickets-212651405077

Sam Purkis, Ph.D., Professor at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and
Atmospheric Science

Beauty and Peril in the Red Sea

Termed a maritime rift, the Red Sea is unique on the modern Earth and an
excellent analog to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean as the supercontinent
Pangea broke up beginning about 200 million years ago. Rifts represent a
perfect natural laboratory in which to study plate movements, and because
the deep, narrow basins that they produce represent a rare biosphere. The
coral reefs which inhabit the Red Sea, for instance, are remarkable in
their diversity and resiliency to climate change. The Red Sea’s beauty is
balanced by peril, however. The steep sides of the rift basin are fragile,
seismically active, and submarine landslides can spawn tsunamis as large as
those of Earth’s most powerful earthquakes. Whereas the arid coastline of
the Red Sea was sparsely inhabited in antiquity, it is now urbanizing
rapidly, and there is compelling urgency to understand the natural hazards
that accompany Earth’s only maritime rift basin.

Dr. Purkis’ research currently focuses on fundamental questions about the
health and resilience of coral reefs. In particular, the role that spatial
self-organization plays in their patterning and architecture. Beyond better
understanding the processes that sculpt reefs, his work also strives to
develop pragmatic tools for ocean conservation - from satellite and
aircraft observation, marine acoustics, GIS, carbonate geology, coral reef
ecology, software development, and mathematical simulation. Dr. Purkis has
authored three books and more than 120 publications.

***This lecture is going to be virtual only due to current University COVID
restrictions***

Sincerely,

Josh Coco, Ed. D.
Assistant Dean, Rosenstiel School
Tel: (305) 421.4002
Fax: (305) 421.4711
Direct: jcoco at rsmas.miami.edu

University of Miami
RSMAS Campus – 105C
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149-1031