Victoria Metcalf has provided an abstract for her climate change talk on 25 February 2015 and several links.
Slides of Victoria’s climate change talk 25 Feb 2015 (PDF – 8MB)
Talk Synopsis for Climate Change
With a research focus on Antarctic marine life and seven expeditions to the Antarctic in the capacity of either a research scientist or a cruise director, I will give an overview of climate variation using Antarctica as an example and outline the basics of anthropogenic global warming. I will outline current problems, largely pertaining to climate change and including ocean acidification that scientists are tackling through studies in the giant natural laboratory of Antarctica. Prepare for some interactive discussion.
Abstract
Analysis of the scientific research conducted into climate change indicates with 99.999% certainty that the current level and RATE of temperature rise is predominantly due to anthropogenic factors. Antarctica is a pivotal continent with respect to our global climate and ocean circulation and can be described as the global powerhouse. However, Antarctica has not always been icy and cold- its climate has varied over time. Understanding this past climate and its relationship to CO2 levels helps us understand natural climatic variation vs. manmade forcing as well as what impacts major changes in the Antarctic icesheet will lead to in terms of sea level, weather and ocean currents worldwide.
Ocean acidification is often described as the other CO2 problem. It is related to global warming but is having more immediate and perhaps more drastic effects. The lowering of pH of the oceans is and will have profound impacts on marine ecosystems and human wellbeing as a result. It is important to note that there are many stressors acting on physical and biological systems at the same time. Understanding the impacts of these stressors is challenging due to the complexity of the systems under study.
Tackling such global large scale issues requires individuals to consider what their values are, what they are willing to change and compromise to improve the outcomes for future generations.
Links
Cartoons
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2008/jul/23/climatechange.scienceofclimatechange
Videos & Info
Milankovitch cycles
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/ice-age-cycles
Climate Change
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/way-forward-climate
http://sustainabilityhub.com/climate/ The 10 best videos on climate change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWOrZQ3L-c
http://www.climatecommunication.org/ -LOTS OF GOOD VIDEOS AND INFO ON THIS SITE
http://www.climatecommunication.org/climate/the-problem-800k-years-video/
http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/ IPCC reports
Ocean acidification:
http://youtu.be/Wo-bHt1bOsw Animation- excellent basic NGO video
http://youtu.be/5cqCvcX7buo OA documentary
http://youtu.be/IZj0PLRb9No Short science video
http://youtu.be/Pie0bETip9o NIWA video
http://www.epoca-project.eu/ especially the FAQs
http://www.iaea.org/nael/page.php?page=2260 OA-ICC website
