The seabed tends to be viewed as an 'alien' space, and yet in various ways it is part of our daily lives. 90% of internet traffic is carried by fibre-optic cables running along the ocean floor, and a significant proportion of the oil and gas we burn for energy is extracted from the seabed. On the horizon is deep-sea mining for the metals required (it is claimed) for decarbonizing the global economy.

In this seminar, which brings together scholars from the sciences, politics, and the humanities, we discuss the future of (human relations with) the seabed by exploring its place in the cultural imagination, in global security, in likely conflicts over territory, and in mitigating anthropogenic climate change.

The seminar talk will be given by Dr Laurence Publicover from the department of English. He will then be joined for a panel discussion followed by a Q&A with Professor Tim Edmunds (School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies) and Dr Kate Hendry (School of Earth Sciences).

There will be an option to submit questions that you would like answering ahead of time when you register here. Please note that the deadline for submitting questions to the panel will be a week ahead of the event so that they have time to prepare answers.

Please note, this event will be recorded.

Register for this FREE event.