October 14, 1998
Prospects for Predicting El Niño and its Consequences
Professor Mark Kane, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Professor Kane, who produced one of the first models to successfully predict an El Niño event, will discuss the prospects for improving forecasting of such climatic events, and the global consequences of such predictions. He will also discuss the factors that limit the accuracy of current forecasts: inherent limits of predictability, model flaws, and gaps in the observing systems.
October 21, 1998
Ocean Circulation, the Achilles Heel of our Climate System: Will Man-Made CO2
Upset the Current Balance?
Professor Wallace S. Broecker, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia
University
Professor Broecker, an expert on the controls of oceanic and atmospheric CO2 and the author of How to Build a Habitable Planet, will discuss how during the last glacial period, Earth's climate underwent frequent, large, and abrupt global changes. The record in ancient sedimentary rocks suggests that similar abrupt changes have plagued Earth's history.
October 28, 1998
The Global Warming Debate: One Scientific Perspective
James E. Hansen, NASA / Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York
Dr. Hansen is one of the first scientists to warn of the danger of global warming due to an increase in atmospheric CO2. He will focus on questions such as: is global warming occurring? How has scientific understanding of global climate change advanced in the past two decades? To what extent is climate change noticeable to people? What is the science underlying these issues?
November 4, 1998
The Significance of Rapid Climate Change Events
Professor Paul A. Mayewski, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space,
University of New Hampshire
An expert on paleoclimatic records in ice cores, Professor Mayewki will discuss how ice cores recovered from Summit, Greenland, provide a new view of climate change over the last glacial cycle (approximately 110,000 years). These cores contain evidence that may lead scientists to improve predictions of future climate change by investigating the natural change in atmospheric circulation as well as the greenhouse gases involved in heating and cooling the Earth.
All lectures are Wednesday nights from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. For tickets and information, call the Museum at 212-769-5200. Fee: $30 for the series ($27 for members) or $12 per lecture ($10 for members) Discounts are available for student groups of four or more. Call Nat Johnson at 212-769-5176.
For press inquiries call the Department of Communications at 212-769-5800.