Wednesday, September 21
Cindy Van Dover, “Gold Rush: Discovery of Gold Deposits in the Deep Sea and the Extraordinary Animals that Live on Them”
McCrary Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
As one of the original explorers of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, Van Dover’s research focuses on the complex ecosystems that thrive in the absence of sunlight. Hydrothermal vents are the sites of accumulated sulfide deposits that contain precious metals that are increasingly mined. Van Dover cautions that the practice can disrupt vent ecosystems similar to the damage done by terrestrial mining.