3 Years of Winter

What’s the connection between volcanoes, climate change and Frankenstein? And when will Victoria erupt? A talk by Monash University’s Dr James Driscoll.

“It was a dark and stormy night…” in fact it was a hot and tropical April in 1815, prior to the terror that would engulf the inhabitants of Sumbawa, Indonesia. In this gothic tale that weaves art and Science, Dr James Driscoll will focus on the geological and climatic catastrophe that created the conditions for the writing of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley, three years later and half a world away. We will also explore the science of catastrophic volcanic eruptions and comment on the present volcanic hazards of Victoria.

About our speaker:  Dr James Driscoll commenced his geological career in London in 1998 where he spent two years working for an oil and gas reservoir engineering consultancy. In late 2000, he emigrated to Australia and joined the Victorian Geological Survey based in Melbourne, working in regional geological work, petroleum prospectivity assessments, and marketing of Victoria’s geological assets. James joined the geothermal consultancy Hot Dry Rocks in 2008 where he undertook numerous geothermal assessments both in Australia and overseas. James is currently at Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere & Environment (EAE) where he lectures in sedimentology and basin analysis.