Join ARCS OC on this field trip to UCI to attend the Distinctive Voices series Lecture

Ice sheets, sea level rise, and solutions

Presented by Eric Rignot, University of California, Irvine

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center, 100 Academy Way, Irvine

The ice sheets and glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica have been responding sooner and more strongly to climate change than anticipated. Combined with the melting of glaciers and ice caps around the world, we are currently on a trajectory to raise global sea level by more than 1 meter by the end of the century versus 20 cm in the previous century. The potential exists, however, for multiple meters of sea level rise beyond 2100, but that largely depends on whether humanity acts sooner on the climate system or later. In this talk, I will review our current understanding of the rapid changes taking place in Greenland and Antarctica, what physical processes are driving the retreat of glaciers, how they relate to human activities, and what this means for the upcoming decades and century of sea level change. This review is based on a wealth of direct observations from above and below, combined with conceptual and numerical models and basic physics. I will discuss the concept of irreversible retreat and what it means for specific sectors of Greenland and Antarctica where dramatic changes are already taking place. The presentation will end with a discussion of adaptation strategies to regional sea level, including in Southern California, and more importantly what mitigation strategies should be put in place to preserve our coastlines, the World's glaciers and Antarctica for future generations.

Reservations

Tickets are free but limited—online reservations are required.
Please join the Distinctive Voices e-mail list to receive announcements when reservations open 1 week prior to each event.