MSI Public Lecture Series

The Arctic continues to see large changes in climate as documented by the warmest air temperatures in four centuries, a shrinking ice-cover, unprecedented rates of glacial retreat, increasing river discharge, thawing of permafrost, and a growing season that has lengthened by several days per decade. These combined observations strongly suggest that the Arctic is undergoing a profound transformation. Only in the last decade have scientists realized the full extent of this change and it's magnitude. In this talk, Dr. Ken Dunton, a biological oceanographer at UTMSI, will provide an overview of the Arctic system and the rush by scientists to understand the ramifications of recent changes to both the environment and the indigenous cultures of Alaska. Dr. Dunton will draw on his own observations from 27 years in the Arctic and recent expeditions by scientists from his lab on the U.S. Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healy. He will address the possible ecological effects of these changes and how scientists are trying to predict the long term impacts of climate change in both the Arctic as well as the rest of the globe.

The free lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in the Visitor Center of the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, and the public is invited to attend.