Fire and Ice—Climate Changes of the Past…and Future?
The Third Elisabeth and Henry Morss Jr. Colloquium
WHAT
Fire and IceClimate Changes of the Past...and Future?
A public debate on the lessons from a previous warm interval in Earth’s climate history
The Third Elisabeth and Henry Morss Jr. Colloquium
WHEN
Tuesday, January 30, 20074:30 to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE
Redfield Auditorium
Corner of School and Water Streets, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
WHY
The time was 400,000 years ago, and Earth was just out of one of the worst ice ages in its history. The planetary rhythms were much the same as they are todaythe shape of Earth’s orbit was nearly circular; the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere paralleled those of modern times; temperatures may have been warm enough for a section of the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse and raise sea level. The climate system was quite stable for many years, before plunging into another ice age. But all the while, there was a key difference: no human influences on the environment. By examining ancient sediments and ice, earth scientists are working to figure out what this interval in our geologic past can tell us about our future. Join scientists from four continents as they debate the lessons from a previous warm period in Earth’s history.
WHO
Dr. William Ruddiman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Dr. Dominique Raynaud, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Geophysique de l’Environnement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France)
Dr. George Kukla, Special Research Scientist, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
Dr. Paul Hearty, Principal Fellow, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong (Australia)
Dr. Marie-France Loutre, Institut d'Astronomie et de Géophysique Georges Lemaître Universite Catholique de Louvain Belgium)
Dr. Jerry McManus, Associate Scientist, Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The event is free and open to the public.