A Tale of Two Oceans: Climate Change and the Future of the Arctic and Antarctic Marine Ecosystems
ARPICO and PHILIPPE TORTELL PRESENT:
A Tale of Two Oceans: Climate Change and the Future of the Arctic and Antarctic Marine Ecosystems
a talk by Prof. Philippe Tortell
The polar waters of the Arctic Ocean are experiencing significant impacts of global climate change, including warming, sea ice loss, and altered circulation patterns and biological productivity. At the other end of Earth, Southern Ocean waters surrounding Antarctica, are responding quite differently to on-going climate change. Understanding the similarities and differences between these two polar regions is critical to better understanding the future trajectory of the world’s oceans, and their role in modulating global climate. This requires innovative ways to collect scientific information in some of the world’s most remote locations, and new partnerships with coastal communities. In this presentation, Philippe Tortell will describe some of the approaches used by oceanographers to characterize the physical, chemical and biological properties of the polar oceans, and discuss why the Arctic and Antarctic regions are likely to experience very different responses to current and future climate shifts.
Philippe Tortell is a Professor of Oceanography at UBC, and Head of the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Over the past three decades, he has conducted oceanographic research expeditions around the world, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, measuring marine productivity, optical properties and the concentration of dissolved ‘climate-active’ gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. He uses a range of observational tools to characterize the interactions between ocean physics, chemistry and biology, seeking to understand patterns of natural variability in marine ecosystems and their responses to on-going climate change. He has worked with a number of organizations across Canada to help share the results of his work with broad public audiences, and has edited four popular books, including Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet, and Heavy Metal: Earth’s Minerals and the Future of Sustainable Societies. Dr. Tortell received his Bachelors degree in Biology at McGill University, and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University.
REGISTRATION
Please register online via EventBrite at https://ataleoftwooceans.eventbrite.ca/
June 19, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Museum of Vancouver - History Room - 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC, V6J 3J9
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