Page 7 - Southwell School Chronicle December 2018

GARY WILSON, BMUS, BSC (HONS) PHD AOLD BOY 1977-1979
ntarctica, the world’s southern-most continent, is second home to Southwell old boy, Professor Gary Wilson, who has been leading
international research expeditions there for nearly 30 years. Gary, a geophysicist and paleoclimatologist, is currently the Statutory Professor of Marine Science at the University of Otago. He is also a Research Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, where
he lectured before returning to New Zealand in 2002.
Term 3 saw Gary, Kate and their sons base themselves in Hamilton for a portion of Gary’s sabbatical. Adam, their youngest son, experienced a term at Southwell, his dad’s old school. Older son, Jacob, attended St Paul’s Collegiate for a Tihoi adventure.
During the Wilson’s time here, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to listen to Gary speak at our Chairman’s Dinner. He also spoke to our students about the challenges and impact of a warming world.
Gary’s research interests lie in the area of marine geology and the geological record of ocean and climate change. The waters of the Southern Ocean
and Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands are of particular interest to Gary. His work has demonstrated the global impact of melting ice sheets and highlighted the increasing urgency for action. He has won a number of international awards for his research. This year Gary was elected to the
vice presidency of the international Scienti c Committee on Antarctic Research by more than 40 countries.
Gary is currently completing his 30th trip to the Antarctic. During this expedition he is based at the Siple Coast, about 850km southeast of Scott Base, near the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest oating body of ice. The team of New Zealand scientists will travel across the Ross Ice Shelf and will do a seismic survey using 300kg of explosives. The survey will be used to
generate a 3-D image of the sea oor and the layers of strata beneath it. The information collected will be used to help identify the conditions that lead to the retreat of glaciers and sea level rise.
Gary believes that Kiwis need to care about our neighbouring white continent, as changes will potentially have a greater impact on us than on major continental land masses like
Europe and North America. There is also the responsibility to value and protect a precious part of the planet that has no one government to speak for it on the global stage.
A committed educator, Gary, trains undergraduate and graduate students at Otago University. He also serves on the board of the Sir Peter Blake Trust, helping develop environmental leaders from schools across New Zealand.
SOUTHWELL SCHOOL
OLD BOY FEATURE
Gary Wilson, pictured left, above, and here with John Kerry, former US Secretary of State
Photos supplied
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