Participating are the College of Marine Science, US Geologic Survey, FL Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, USF St. Petersburg, USF Tampa, National Ocean and Atmospheric Association’s National Marine Fisheries Service and Eckerd College.
[image-1], Associate Director of the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR), part of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, starts of the series at 1:30 pm Wednesday. He’s an expert in instrumental records, following the tides for the last century.
[image-2], Fellow of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) and expert in Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, has pictures and stories about his observations of the polar ice caps melting in Greenland and Antarctica. His talk begins at 3:15 pm.
[image-3], from the National Center for Atmospheric Research, starts Thursday afternoon at 1:30 pm, addressing bleached coral reefs due to acidification caused by CO2 releases from fossil fuels and deforestation. Kleypas is focused on informing policy makers to help them understand that as pH in saltwater declines, it reduces the ability of coral and other organisms to build their skeletons and shells.
[image-4]Not from Boulder Colorado is Dr. Tim Killeen, assistant director for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation. Here‘s what he said to the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee last March:
“I wish to make three simple but fundamental points:
1. The science of Earth's climate and climate change has advanced to the point where we now understand the basic drivers of the natural and man-made changes in the Earth's climate system - this is a supreme accomplishment of modern science and the scientific method;
2. We stand poised to expand that understanding and to begin to develop the detailed knowledge policy makers require for effective decisions that will surely shape our world for generations to come;
3. The U.S. scientific and engineering community can and must retain world leadership through our intellectual and technological capabilities to continuously improve predictions of climate changes on the temporal and spatial scales relevant to human endeavors.”
The US Geologic Survey and the College of Marine Science USF St. Petersburg will present the lectures at the Karen Steidinger Auditorium, College of Marine Science- 100 8th Ave SE, St Petersburg FL 33701. The St. Petersburg Times has sponsored this event for thirteen years. USF Associate Professor Ben Flowers has been organizing it for ten. His research focus is the role of ocean circulation in past global climate changes.
If you can’t make it, the talks will be available on the CMS website by next week. Call 727-553-1130 with questions.
