WHOI Scientists Offering Timely Global Change Talks at Science Meeting
January 1, 2008
Three senior scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will offer cautionary looks at the past and future of global climate change at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston. Lloyd Keigwin, a geologist who specializes in the ocean’s role in past climate changes, will discuss “The Arctic’s Role in Abrupt Climate Change Since About 12,000 Years Ago” on February 15. Keigwin’s research has led him to gather sedimentary evidence for past climate from the floors of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans. Biogeochemist Scott Doney has conducted extensive research on the effects of excess carbon dioxide on the global oceans. At the AAAS meeting, he will describe how CO2 and acid rain impact the seas in a talk entitled “Surface Ocean Acidification and Carbon Cycling.” Doney’s presentation is part of the session “Strange Days on Planet Ocean,” which will be held on February 17. On February 18, WHOI marine chemist Ken Buesseler will discuss “Advances in Our Understanding of Iron Fertilization in the Oceans: What Comes Next?” Buesseler has participated in several iron fertilization experiments and recently convened an international, interdisciplinary colloquium on the subject. Environmental engineers have proposed spreading slurries of dissolved iron into the oceans in order to promote the growth of marine plants and combat rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society, and its meeting usually attracts about 10,000 participants to share science across disciplines and to promote effective communication between policymakers, researchers, and the public. The theme of this year’s AAAS meeting is “Science and Technology from a Global Perspective.”
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Waterfall on upper Muliolo Stream, north coast of Savai?i, Samoa. (Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)