Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and the Cambridge Public Library welcome Lisa S. Gardiner—science writer, geoscientist, educator, and author of Tales from an Uncertain World: What Other Assorted Disasters Can Teach Us about Climate Change—for a discussion of her book Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival.
Ticketing
RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of Reefs of Time and pick it up at the event. Lisa S. Gardiner will sign copies of her book after the presentation.
Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.
About Reefs of Time
How fossilized reefs hold clues to the survival of corals in the Anthropocene
With rising global temperatures, pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification, and other problems caused by humans, there’s no question that today’s coral reefs are in trouble. As predictions about the future of these ecosystems grow increasingly dire, scientists are looking in an unlikely place for new ways to save corals: the past. The reefs of yesteryear faced challenges too, from changing sea level to temperature shifts, and understanding how they survived and when they faltered can help guide our efforts to help ensure a future for reefs.
Lisa Gardiner weaves together the latest cutting-edge science with stories of her expeditions to tropical locales to show how fossils and other reef remains offer tantalizing glimpses of how corals persisted through time, and how this knowledge can guide our efforts to ensure a future for these remarkable organisms. Gardiner takes readers on an excursion into “the shallow end of deep time”—when marine life was much like today’s yet unaffected by human influence—to explore the cities of fossilized limestone left behind by corals and other reef life millennia ago. The changes in reefs today are unlike anything ever seen before, but the fossil record offers hope that the coral reefs of tomorrow can weather the environmental challenges that lie ahead.
A breathtaking journey of scientific discovery, Reefs of Time reveals how lessons from the past can help us to chart a path forward for coral reefs struggling for survival in an age of climate crisis and mass extinction.
Bio
Lisa S. Gardiner is a science writer, geoscientist, and educator. She is the author of Tales from an Uncertain World: What Other Assorted Disasters Can Teach Us about Climate Change. Her writing has appeared in leading publications such as the Atlantic, Hakai Magazine, and Scientific American.
Masking Policy
Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.
