S.T. Lee Lecture in Arctic Studies, IARC/UAF

Peter Schlosser

Vinton Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, New York

About the S.T. Lee Lecture Series

Studying a Changing Arctic: an Oceanographic Perspective

Location: Natural Sciences Facility, Room 201
Date: November 29, 2004
Time: 2:30 p.m.

During the past decade major changes have been observed in the Arctic system including the physical, chemical, and biological subsystems, as well as the human domain. The changes have raised questions about their causes, patterns, persistence, and predictability. This talk will review changes observed in the Arctic Ocean during the intensified observing period of the late 1980s and 1990s and place them into the context of other changes observed in the Arctic. Possible links to lower latitudes will be outlined. Finally, the response of the arctic research community to the challenge of understanding these changes and assessing their impact will be addressed.

Peter Schlosser is also a Senior Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Associate Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He received an M.S. from Heidelberg University in 1981 and a Ph.D. in 1985. Schlosser's research focuses on water systems, primarily in oceans and groundwater, including problems caused by human impact. His studies of the hydrosphere utilize natural and anthropogenic trace substances such as radiocarbon, oxygen-18, radioactive hydrogen and its decay product He-3, as well as measurement of noble gases. Schlosser's ocean research concerns water circulation in the ocean surface, movement into the deep ocean, and circulation patterns within the deep ocean. This work includes linkages to climate variability and change. His groundwater flow studies concern shallow and deep aquifers, especially as they relate to past continental climate and environmental risk/impact studies. Current research is also directed toward exploration of mixing and gas exchange in river and estuary environments. Schlosser presently is Chair of the SEARCH program (Study of Environmental Arctic Change), a member of the Science Planning Group for ISAC (International Study of Arctic Change), and a member of the U.S. National Committees for the International Polar Year and the PRB Panel on Arctic Observing Network. Additionally, he serves on a variety of science steering and advisory committees.