Monday 12 October 2026
Climate Change in the Aire Valley
– the last 300 million years
By Rob Knipe
Outline: Climate change is often seen as a modern crisis. But the land beneath our feet has experienced climate change on a scale far beyond anything we have seen in human history. Over the last 300 million years, the Aire Valley has been buried beneath tropical seas, covered by vast forests, baked by extreme heat and buried beneath ice. The landscape around us has been transformed again and again as the climate, seas and continents have shifted.
The rocks and fossils left behind are clues to this extraordinary story. They reveal how Yorkshire’s climate and landscapes have changed—and offer insights into what the future might hold. Join me on a journey through 300 million years of climate change, from tropical seas and ancient forests to glaciers, the world we know today, and even where the Aire Valley may be in 200 million years in the future.
Speaker: Rob Knipe is an Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Leeds, where he enjoyed a distinguished academic career spanning around 35 years. His research has taken him from the detailed study of rocks and faults to some of the bigger questions about how the Earth works and how we use its resources. His contribution to geology has been recognised with a number of major awards, including the William Smith Medal of the Geological Society of London and, more recently, the Sorby Medal of the Yorkshire Geological Society. Since retiring from full-time academia, Rob has continued to share his enthusiasm for Earth science and the environment.
He is a trustee of Climate Action Ilkley, where he is involved in local action on climate change and the sustainable use of resources. He also helps run the Ilkley Library of Things, encouraging reuse and sharing within the community. Rob is particularly interested in bringing science to a wider audience. He runs guided walks and tours exploring the connections between landscape, geology, culture and history, helping us see the familiar landscapes around us in a very different way.
Venue: The New Headingley Club, 56 St Michaels Road, LS6 3BG
Time: Room opens 7:30, talk begins promptly at 7:45pm
Entry: Donation please for room hire and expenses: £4 at the door
Café Scientifique Headingley is a programme run under the auspices of the Headingley Development Trust
– see http://headingleydevelopmenttrust.org.uk
Our next online meeting will be:Our next online meeting will be:Monday 25th January at 7.30
“The Promise of Gravitational Waves” by Sue Bowle