Event Details

Dr Yani Najman, of Lancaster’s Environment Centre, will deliver a lecture exploring how the Himalayas formed and how geologists use information they collect to determine how our land evolved. This is the final lecture in this year’s Science and Technology ‘Impact’ Lecture Series.

In this lecture ‘How do mountain belts form? The adventures of a Himalayan geologist,’ Dr Yani Najman will explore the formation of the Himalayas.

Today the mountains of the Himalaya rise to over 8000 m. Yet sea shells have been found at the top of mount Everest, which shows that the rocks now located on the roof of the world, used to lie at the bottom of the ocean. So how did this mountain belt form, and what processes caused rocks formed at the sea bed to be pushed over 8 kms upwards? This lecture will look at how the Himalayas formed, and how geologists use information they collect in the field and lab to determine the ways in which our land evolved millions of years ago.