Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecture

October 28, 4:45pm - 6:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics Auditorium Room 110

“Climate Change: What Could Happen and What Can Earth’s Past Tell Us?”

Dr. Bette L. Otto-Bliesner Senior Scientist National Center for Atmospheric Research,Climate and Global Dynamics, National Center for Atmospheric Research

“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” This bold statement from the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is based on many observations, including increases in global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising sea level.

In this presentation, we will explore the evidence for climate change over the last century and the role of human actions. We will also consider the increasing array of impacts expected over the next century and beyond as greenhouse gas emissions continue to disrupt the Earth system. These include longer droughts and other changes to precipitation patterns, increasing acidity of the oceans and loss of coral reefs, and melting from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets contributing to greater sea level rise.

These future changes will be put in the perspective of Earth’s past. Evidence from natural recorders of climate such as tree rings and ice cores tells us about past warm periods and their causes, about megadroughts lasting decades or longer, and about sea level much higher than present.

Dr. Otto-Bliesner was a lead author for "Chapter 6, Paleoclimate," of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. She serves as chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Past Global Changes (PAGES). She also worked on the writing of the National Academy of Sciences report on "Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Past 1000-2000 Years: Synthesis of Current Understanding and Challenges for the Future" and on the 2008 American Geophysical Union Position Statement on the "Human Impacts on Climate."

This lecture will be presented in cooperation with the University of Hawai‘i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). Both Sigma Xi members and non-members are welcome.


Event Sponsor
School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Mānoa Campus

More Information
956-3151

Share by email