Schweppe Lecture Series

Dr. Cynthia H. Pilskaln
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

Thursday, April 6, 2006, 7:00 PM, Visitors Center Auditorium

"Three Seasons South: An International Antarctic Research Odyssey"

Conducting research in the Antarctic is at the same time a significant challenge and an immense privilege as it is one of the truly most unique and awe-inspiring places on the planet.  The miles of ice covering the Antarctic continent, and the ocean sediments surrounding the continent, hold an immense amount of information about our past climate and how the planet has responded to climate variation.  Meteorites found cradled in the ice at the base of mountain glaciers tell stories of the evolution of our solar system, and the amazing light show put on by the Aurora australis throughout the dark polar winter provides data on the Sun’s activity.  The ocean region surrounding the Antarctic continent is appropriately called the Southern Ocean and it is one of the most biologically productive marine systems in the world.  Over the past decade, recognition of this fact has led to large international oceanographic research programs focused on understanding the role of the vast and remote Southern Ocean in the global cycling and marine uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide.  Based on her three research expeditions to East Antarctica and the Southern Indian Ocean, Dr. Pilskaln will present a visual tour of Antarctica while discussing the significance of Southern Ocean processes to carbon cycling and the impact of global warming-induced climate change on polar regions.

Dr. Cindy Pilskaln, Senior Research Scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, is an oceanographer specializing in the field of particulate biogeochemistry and sedimentation dynamics.  She received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Harvard University in 1985 and has held professorships and research scientist positions at Duke University, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the University of Maine.  In 1989 she received the ‘Innovative Use of New Technology Award’ from The Oceanography Society, and in 1993 she was awarded the ‘Woman of the Year and Maritime Woman Explorer Award’ from the State of California, with both awards citing her research involving remotely operated vehicles.  Dr. Pilskaln has worked in all the major oceans of the world as well as the Black Sea, the Rift Valley Lakes of East Africa, Lake Baikal in Siberia, and the Antarctic.

The free lecture will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Visitors Center of The University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas, and the public is invited to attend. Dr. Pilskaln's visit to the Marine Science Institute is part of the Laura Randall Schweppe Endowed Lecture Series in Marine Science.