WATERLOO - A leading glaciologist and winner of Britain's prestigious Queen's Polar Medal will give a public talk next week at the University of Waterloo on how climate change is melting the world's glaciers.

Tavi Murray, who heads the glaciology research group at Swansea University in South Wales, will deliver an address entitled Warming Climate, Melting Ice: What is our Future?, on Wednesday, May 21, starting at 3:30 p.m. in the humanities theatre, J. G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities. The event is free and open to the public.

As glaciers and ice sheets retreat far more rapidly than scientists had previously predicted, top global experts such as Murray question what awaits the world in the future. She believes that attention must now turn to understanding the real impact of melting ice on sea levels, glacier hazards and water supplies and the effectiveness of proposed solutions. There are currently far more questions than answers.

"What should we really be doing in order to address the changes that are occurring," asks Murray. "The biofuels-versus-food debate shows that a well-intentioned solution can create other problems. Scientists, policy makers and others need to begin a real dialogue before we start making changes that could impact the world."

Murray, who holds UW's 2008 TD/Walter Bean Professorship in the Environment, will talk about glacier dynamics and the impact of climate change on glacier stability, sharing her startling findings and experiences in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Internationally recognized as an expert on climate change and the stability of glaciers, Murray will examine whether it is already too late to reverse glacial melting in one of the most fast-changing parts of the Earth.

"One of the key issues that Professor Murray and her research group at Swansea are trying measure is the past and future rise in sea-level as a result of the melting of glaciers and ice sheets," says Tony Endres, a UW professor of earth and environmental sciences. "They are also seeking to understand the processes driving the present rapid and dramatic changes observed in glaciers and the instabilities inherent in glacial systems."

Murray, based in the geography department at Swansea's school of the environment and society, has conducted extensive research and fieldwork on glacial responses to climate change in the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions. Her research focuses on fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams, together with glacier instabilities.

In 2007, she was awarded the Queen's Polar Medal for outstanding achievement and service to the United Kingdom in the field of polar research.

Only the eighth woman to be honoured with the medal, established in 1857, her award was for both Arctic and Antarctic research. Murray joins a distinguished list of about 4,000 recipients, which includes Antarctic explorers Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton.

The TD/Walter Bean professorship attracts top international research professors on the environment to UW to give public lectures, teach classes and meet with professors and students. Murray will teach courses at UW in the fall, after spending five days on the Waterloo campus in May.

"Professor Murray's visit is especially timely given the recent headlines announcing the break in Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf," says Terry McMahon, dean of the faculty of science. "Her research on the effects of climate change is critically relevant to the future sustainability of our Arctic regions. The faculty of science is privileged to welcome professor Murray to the University of Waterloo."

The professorship is named after the late Walter Bean, who was president of Waterloo Trust until its merger with Canada Trust in 1968. UW's faculties of engineering, environment and science are responsible for planning and organizing the annual professorship, with the faculty of science organizing and hosting this year's lecture.