Lecture: Fossils of the UAE and Northern Oman by Valerie Chalmers

TIME: Refreshments from 7pm, lecture from 7.30pm

VENUE: Salon 1, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

LECTURE TITLE:  Fossils of the UAE and Northern Oman by Valerie Chalmers

LECTURE SUMMARY:

A brief discussion of the rock formations and stratigraphy of the Oman mountains will be followed by a detailed look at the different types of fossils found in the UAE and Northern Oman with particular reference to echinoderms, rudists and ammonites. Mention will also be made of Miocene fossils from Abu Dhabi and visits to the Saiq Plateau and the Ibri Anticline in Oman.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: 

Valerie Chalmers has lived in Dubai for 40 years. She taught biology to advanced level at the Latifa School for Girls for 19 years and retired in 2006.  Her interests in plants and fossils stem from her plant ecology courses and one-year geology course which formed part of her B.Sc Special Honours Degree in Botany from King's College, London University.  She furthered her interests when she joined the Ladies Ecology Group in 1980 and started to collect both UAE plants and fossils.  She is a founder member of the DNHG and is currently vice-chairman, secretary and plant and fossil recorder. 

For many years, Valerie has regularly taken fossils which she has collected to the Natural History Museum in London for identification.  Members of the Palaeontology Department, notably Dr Andrew Smith and Dr Noel Morris, both now retired, helped with the identification of her collections and maintained close links with her.