Presentations
A General List of Destination Lectures per Region (can be customized)
Northern Europe and Baltic
• UK geology – a geology that changed the world (series of 2)
New thoughts on how the diverse geology of this small island has had such an influence on the rest of the world
• Iceland – a land of fire and ice (series of 3)
A country literally being torn apart by the rifting of the Atlantic Ocean; its volcanoes and glaciers forming destructive volcanic ash clouds, a new take on Icelandic noir!
• Vikings – some surprising facts of their exploration feats
From Vinland in North America to Russia, the Black Sea and Constantinople
• The Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland – a geological legend
A portal into both geological and mythological history
Mediterranean
• The Golden Fleece – fact or fiction?
Gold mining in Spain 2000 years ago and a brief history of gold mining
• Vesuvius – a ticking time bomb
Pompeii buried, Herculaneum burned to a cinder; and modern Naples potentially under threat
• Santorini – the myth of Atlantis?
One of the world’s most beautiful volcanic islands with the eruptions of recent millenia creating an ever-changing geography
• Mediterranean Archaeology – radio-carbon dating turned on its head
How a scientific revolution reversed the thinking on the spread of civilization
North America
• Alaska / Yukon gold mining – call of the wild
From the pioneering gold rush days to modern gold mining
• Volcanoes of Hawaii – a hot spot on the move
Basaltic lavas – deadly but at least slow
• Volcanoes of the Pacific North West
Crater Lake, Oregon; and Mt St Helens, Washington State – explosive mass destruction
• Grand Canyon – not just a tourist destination
Every geologist’s dream – 2 billion years of rock strata and the merits of both the South Rim and the North Rim
• Bristlecone Pine – the oldest living thing
Turns archaeological thinking on its head!
South America
• South American Andes – volcanoes, mines and alpacas
Plate tectonics, hidden mines and the mysteries of high altitude life on the alti-plano
• Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle (series adapted to itinerary)
His discoveries in Patagonia, Chilean Andes and the Galapagos
• Glaciers of South America
The Chilean Lake District and the Beagle Channel
• Peru – a study in diversity
La costa, la sierra, la selva; and pre-Inca history too
• The Falklands – or to some, still Las Malvinas
Their natural and military history; from ‘Fortress Falkland’ to cruise ship destination, penguins and all!
• Super-continents – their formation and break-up
N. Argentina, Uruguay and SE Brazil – joined at the hip with Africa
• Brasil – its natural resources (series adapted to itinerary)
From diamond and gemstones to gold mining in the Amazon and environmental issues facing Brazil
• Rio de Janeiro and its harbour
The unique geology that gave rise to Sugar Loaf Mountain
Pacific and Oceania
• Captain James Cook and the Pacific
The sheer daring of his voyages
• Easter Island and Pitcairn Island – 2 isolated outposts
Unique Pacific islands, both with enigmatic histories
• Volcanoes of Hawaii – a hot spot on the move (series of 2)
Basaltic lavas – deadly but at least slow
• Sub-sea mining in the SW Pacific.
Black and white smokers, ore deposits in the making – or just a dream?
• New Zealand – geology writ large!
An active landscape of volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers and vertical weetbix
• Australian gold mining – Eureka!
From the early gold rushes in Kalgoorlie and Ballarat to modern large scale mining.
General
• Climate Change – a left field approach
Why man is now a player on the stage
• Whisky on the rocks
The science of whisky distilling from the rocks, the water, the peat to the shape of the stills – the makings of a good wee dram.
Note that all lectures are supported by many original photos and with a list of suggested background reading, both fact and fiction.
Cruise Experience
Viking Orion Aukland NZ Dec 2022
Majestic Princess – LA to Sydney 24 Sep 2022 Cnx’d due to flood emer. at home.
Sky Princess Baltic Aug 2020 11 day
Celebrity Eclipse Dec 2019 Buenos Aires Cape Horn
Azamara Pursuit – Feb 2019 – Santiago to Buenos Aires, Special Interest Lecturer (Geology/natural history:
‘In the Wake of Charles Darwin’)Azamara Pursuit.
Feb- Mar 2019 Santiago to Buenos Aires, Special Interest Lecturer (Geology/natural history: ‘In the Wake of Charles Darwin’
Diamond Princess April 2019 Japan
Note: Alan is a seasoned cruiser having amassed over 300 days in the last 7 years, including assisting my wife, Kerrie-Anne Riles, who is a Craft Instructor on Celebrity and Princess.
