Education
McGuire studied at University College London and Luton College of Higher Education, now the University of Bedfordshire and has a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology from University College London (1980).
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book
Waking the Giant: How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes
(Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Tem...)
Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Temperatures were down six degrees; ice sheets kilometres thick buried much of Europe and North America and sea levels were 130m lower. The following 15 millennia saw an astonishing transformation as our planet metamorphosed into the temperate world upon which our civilisation has grown and thrived. One of the most dynamic periods in Earth history saw rocketing temperatures melt the great ice sheets like butter on a hot summer's day; feeding torrents of freshwater into ocean basins that rapidly filled to present levels. The removal of the enormous weight of ice at high latitudes caused the crust to bounce back triggering earthquakes in Europe and North America and provoking an unprecedented volcanic outburst in Iceland. A giant submarine landslide off the coast of Norway sent a tsunami crashing onto the Scottish coast while around the margins of the continents the massive load exerted on the crust by soaring sea levels encouraged a widespread seismic and volcanic rejoinder. In many ways, this post-glacial world mirrors that projected to arise as a consequence of unmitigated climate change driven by human activities. Already there are signs that the effects of climbing global temperatures are causing the sleeping giant to stir once again. Could it be that we are on track to bequeath to our children and their children not only a far hotter world, but also a more geologically fractious one?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199592268/?tag=2022091-20
Waking the Giant : How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes(Hardback) - 2012 Edition
(Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Tem...)
Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Temperatures were down six degrees; ice sheets kilometres thick buried much of Europe and North America and sea levels were 130m lower. The following 15 millennia saw an astonishing transformation as our planet metamorphosed into the temperate world upon which our civilisation has grown and thrived. One of the most dynamic periods in Earth history saw rocketing temperatures melt the great ice sheets like butter on a hot summer's day; feeding torrents of freshwater into ocean basins that rapidly filled to present levels. The removal of the enormous weight of ice at high latitudes caused the crust to bounce back triggering earthquakes in Europe and North America and provoking an unprecedented volcanic outburst in Iceland. A giant submarine landslide off the coast of Norway sent a tsunami crashing onto the Scottish coast while around the margins of the continents the massive load exerted on the crust by soaring sea levels encouraged a widespread seismic and volcanic rejoinder. In many ways, this post-glacial world mirrors that projected to arise as a consequence of unmitigated climate change driven by human activities.Already there are signs that the effects of climbing global temperatures are causing the sleeping giant to stir once again. Could it be that we are on track to bequeath to our children and their children not only a far hotter world, but also a more geologically fractious one?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016TA58EC/?tag=2022091-20
Bill McGuire
Edit ProfileCareer
His main interests include volcano instability and lateral collapse, the nature and impact of global geophysical events and the effect of climate change on geological hazards. He began lecturing in Geology at the West London Institute of Higher Education in the 1980s, former home of well known television geologist Iain Stewart. He was then appointed Reader at Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education (now the University of Gloucestershire), and made it into the university sector in the 1990s when he was appointed Professor of Geohazards and Director of the Aon Benfield University College London Hazard Research Centre at University College London.
The centre is funded by the insurance industry.
He relinquished the Directorship in 2011. He contributed to the IPCC summary report on extreme weather and disasters (2011).
McGuire is regarded as a United Kingdom expert on geological disasters including supervolcanoes, impact events, tsunamis and earthquakes. He described Tokyo as "the city waiting to die", referring to its placement on a prominent geological fault that could result in a highly damaging earthquake.
McGuire"s main research sites are the Canary Islands, Mount Etna, and the Yellowstone National Park supervolcano in Wyoming.
In his latest book, Waking the Giant, he argues temperature change brought about by global warming could release pressure from melting ice caps (through post-glacial rebound) and trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, as well as increased landslides resulting from heavier rainfall. McGuire has appeared on many television shows including Horizon, one of the BBCs most popular and successful "Science & Nature" programmes, Countdown to Doomsday on the Sciences Fi Channel, and Decoding the Past ("Earth"s Black Hole") on The History Channel.
Works
book
-
Waking the Giant: How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes
(Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Tem...)
-
Waking the Giant : How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes(Hardback) - 2012 Edition
(Twenty thousand years ago our planet was an icehouse. Tem...)
-
Waking the Giant: How a changing climate triggers earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes
Membership
He was a member of the United Kingdom Government’s Natural Hazard Working Group, established by Prime Minister Tony Blair following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In 2010 he was member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), to address problems following the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.
