The Alexander du Toit Memorial Lecture Series

Every two years, a speaker is invited to give a lecture in honour of one of South Africa's most historically influential geologists. The series recognises world-class research in geoscience, giving GSSA members access to both the work and the people behind the research.

Our Wandering Continents

The biennial lecture is related to the geology or natural history of southern Africa, or on a topic that contributes to our understanding of southern African geology, and is framed in the model of du Toit's seminal text, Our Wandering Continents. It is delivered at the GSSA main centre, branches, and divisions around the country, and at our partner organisations where possible.

The 2028 Alexander du Toit Memorial Lecture

Cratering a Living Planet: South Africa’s Asteroid Impact Record and the Evolution of Early Life

South Africa preserves evidence of enormous asteroid impacts, including Vredefort and impacts over three billion years old. These events caused devastating effects such as tsunamis, extreme heating and darkness, but may also have created new habitats and supplied nutrients that helped microbial life recover and evolve. Nadja Drabon, a Harvard Earth and Planetary Scientist, studies the early Earth and its habitability, using geological, chemical and chronological evidence. Her research focuses particularly on South Africa's ancient Barberton Greenstone Belt and how giant impacts shaped early environments and life.

Past Lectures

37 lectures recorded.