Lovanov-Rostovsky Lecture 2026: It's All About Oxygen


About the Lobanov-Rostovsky Lecture Inaugurated in 2013 in recognition of the support given by Mr Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky (BA Geology, Christ Church 1955) to the Department of Earth Sciences, this annual public lecture examines the fundamental questions of the origin of planets, formation and deformation and geology on a global scale.

We live in a well oxygenated planet, but it has not always been this way. In this talk I will outline the history of the oxygenation of Earth, outlining some of the tools that we use to understand this history. I will explore how oxygenation has both impacted and been impacted by biological evolution. I will also explore how the history of earth oxygenation may have regulated timing of major biological innovations like the evolution of algae and the evolution of animals.