Our own Probus member Dr David McVeigh presented an illustrated talk about ‘How Britain Became and Island’. The story started 225 million years ago when all earth’s floating land collided to form one mass – Pangea. How the continents were formed to the present day was show in a fascinating time frame video slowing down to 200 years per second for the latest 50,0000 years. The picture was time stopped to reflect on the last 10,000 years to ponder on key points in Britain’s isolation from continental Europe with the formation of the North Sea and the English Channel.

40,000 years ago we were covered in a huge ice sheet with temperatures of -50°C. There was a connecting land mass of Doggarland where the North Sea is today. As the ice cap melted, sea levels rose. The river Rhein flowed east to west where the English Channel is now. Mankind migrated north overland with climate changes (retreating Ice Age) as evidenced by early cavemen dwelling in local Kents Cavern. About 8,200 years ago there was a catastrophic 5 metre tsunami created by a 250 mile subsea land slide off Norway (The Storegga Slide). This flooded 75% of Doggarland over some 45 miles of lower ground levels so quickly everything and everyone was swept away. This event was evidenced by quite recent human artifacts being dredged up by fishermen and divers found submerged villages. There was a double whammy as about the same period, the Laurentide Ice Sheet a huge mass in Northern Canada was also melting causing a 5 metre rise in sea levels in less than 10 years, drowning the valleys which separated Britain from Europe. It was interesting to see the time frame video fast forwarded should the present ice cap melt produced a further 5 metres rise in sea level which would obliterate most of Belgium and Denmark with Cornwall and Devon as separate islands and Birmingham would be the only unflooded major city in England. Interestingly, similar if not the same events caused the creation and flooding of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and maybe Noah’s flood?

The vote of thanks was given by our speaker finder, Chris Inch.

Posted by Press Officer Rick Purnell