It's All About Oxygen: The Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture in Planetary Geology 2026

The Department of Earth Sciences is delighted to welcome Professor Donald E. Canfield FRS from the University of Southern Denmark to deliver this year’s Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture in Planetary Geology. All are invited to attend.

Abstract

We live in a well oxygenated planet, but it has not always been this way. In this talk I will outline the history of the oxygenation of Earth, outlining some of the tools that we use to understand this history. I will explore how oxygenation has both impacted and been impacted by biological evolution. I will also explore how the history of earth oxygenation may have regulated timing of major biological innovations like the evolution of algae and the evolution of animals.

Venue

Seminar rooms

About the Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture

Inaugurated in 2013 in recognition of the support given by Mr Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky (BA Geology, Christ Church 1955) to the Department of Earth Sciences, this annual public lecture examines the fundamental questions of the origin of planets, formation and deformation and geology on a global scale.

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