Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
October 3: Antarctica in Changing Climate
Dan Lubin, Ph.D.
The melting of the great Antarctic ice sheets has been a significant contributor to sea level rise following Greenland. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has a unique mechanical instability that could potentially result in rapid collapse if the earth’s climate warms steadily throughout the 21st century. This lecture discusses the atmospheric aspects of climatic change in Antarctica. We will learn about several field programs that have revealed how large-scale atmospheric circulation brings warm air and moisture over Antarctica and how local thermodynamic effects cause and sustain surface melting over the great ice sheets and ice shelves.
November 14: How Coral Reefs Adapt to a Changing Ocean
Beverly French, Ph.D.
The origin of corals is estimated to have occurred 400 million years ago, though they only first appear in the fossil record 240 million years ago. Coral reefs have survived millions of years of severe environmental disturbances, including mass extinctions. Today coral ecosystems are considered among the most vulnerable due to climate change. Warming oceans and the resulting acidification are among the many challenges that modern corals face. Dr. French will discuss her work in French Polynesia and the Palmyra Atoll. She explains how corals function now and predicts how stresses such as climate change may affect their future existence.
Speaker Bio
Presenter: Dan Lubin is a research physicist at Scripps Oceanography, who found Scripps to be the ideal institution for pursuing his scientific goals and realizing his skills as a field researcher. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Northwestern University, two M.S. degrees in Geophysical Sciences and Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of Chicago, a Ph.D. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago and an M.A. from the US Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies.
Presenter: Beverly French is a postdoctoralscholar and science fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She has a B.A. in English and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh. She studied the community ecology of coral reef fishes and accompanying organisms for her doctorate in Dr. Stuart Sandin’s lab at Scripps.