Jessica Donovan
On November 18, I attended a lecture on the Ice Sheets and Climate Change at 285 Mercer Street, at 12:30 pm. David Holland, who works for the Center for Atmosphere-Ocean Science at Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences here at NYU, was the presenter. This event was educational but also activist, because Holland was really stressing the threats of ice sheets melting due to climate change. About twenty five people attended; most were professors at NYU in the science departments or other adults working in similar studies. I was among the four or five students there.
Holland started the lecture with a power point presentation. He focused on a time scale of one hundred years, looking forward to what our world will look like then. Holland stated that most major land developments are on coastlines, and change in sea level will greatly disturb or destroy many cities in the world. The ice sheets Holland focuses on as the main concern are found in Greenland and Antarctica.
Holland, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has observed the world has warmed particularly in the polar regions. The key statement released from the IPCC is that most of the warming of the past fifty years is very likely (90%) due to increases of greenhouse gases.
One of the main problems of controlling sea level change, according to Holland, is that we cannot predict it. There is not tool that tells us how sea levels will change over the next hundred years. However, there are computer models that make predictions about what U.S. coastlines will look like in the next century. In the last century alone, sea level has risen one foot and is continuing to accelerate.
Sea levels change because of heat or water added to oceans, expanding and rising water levels. The melting of ice sheets is the main contributor to sea level change. The world’s two largest ice sheets are found in Greenland and Antarctica. Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland is one of the fastest moving glaciers today. Ilulissat means “among the icebergs,” but today the name is beginning to lose its meaning. The rate of collapse has been rapidly increasing since 1997.
Holland has been to Greenland to observe and study the melting glaciers. There, Holland studied the current rates of the melting of the glaciers and the impact it has on Greenland and the world. During his presentation he showed us a clip from the Lehrer Newshour in which he made an appearance, reporting from Greenland. Holland a crew of other scientists measured the ocean temperatures with probes dropped from helicopters into the water from thousands of feet above. The ocean temperatures showed a drastic increase since 1997. Holland had access to temperatures from 1997 and previous years due to the temperatures recorded by fishermen. Greenland fishermen kept thermometers on their fishing nets over the past decades. These recorded temperatures are evidence that the ocean temperatures around Greenland have steadily been increasing since 1997. Holland could not predict if these temperatures would ever go down, but he suggested it is only going to worsen.
Ilulissat’s fishing industry is beginning to fail due to the change in the ice streams and temperatures, which are affecting marine wildlife. The recent temperature change in the waters surrounding Greenland is because of winds and currents that have shifted warm water to the coasts. The Coriolis Effect is responsible for diverting the majority of the warm water away from Greenland, but still some warm water reaches the coasts and begins to melt the ice sheets.
Although Holland focused his presentation mainly on Greenland, he also mentioned the glaciers that are in danger in Antarctica as well. The Pine Island Glacier expands most of the continent and is changing rapidly. If the entire ice sheet which covers Antarctica melts, the world is in for a catastrophe. Alaskan glaciers are also on their way out, too. The melting of these glaciers will at .7 meters to the sea level.
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Holland blames the media for misguiding the public about the glaciers receding. Using the metaphor of Chicken Little, he claims the media is seeing, hearing, and assuming things they don’t know. Chicken Little thought the sky was falling; the media thinks the world’s only problem is global warming and climate change. He showed us various covers of magazines, such as Time, National Geographic, and Newsweek with false cover titles. Holland says that these magazines and other forms of the media are not concentrating on the important issues of today. Instead of drawing attention to the melting glaciers, global warming and carbon dioxide emissions are the main focus. But glaciers and ice sheets melting, Holland stresses, will have so much more impact on the world if the sea level continues to rise inch by inch.
The rising of sea level is a threat to many megacities in the world which are located on coastlines, New York City included. If the glaciers in Greenland, Alaska, and Antarctica melt into the ocean, sea level will rise by at least several meters and islands and coastal cities will be flooded.
The IPCC released a statement saying that anthropenic forces are likely responsible for the circulation changes that are associated with the melting of the ice sheets. Holland agrees with this and emphasized we act now to save what is left of the ice sheets rather than later. Without any proactive efforts, the ice sheets will melt away along with many global cities.
This event really opened up my eyes. I had no idea that the state of glaciers is so severe. I now know that if the glaciers disappear, a significant portion of our Earth will too. I understand that the ice sheets need to be protected and stopping global warming will help, but there is nothing I can do, as one individual, to help. Saving the ice sheets and protecting the Earth is a project everyone needs to do together.
Holland’s lecture gave valuable information to the audience, but unfortunately there were not enough people there to watch. If Holland’s presentation reached more people, there would be a better understanding of this environmental crisis. However, the presentation did move everyone there, including myself. Holland gave a convincing argument and really knows his stuff. To improve this event and spread the knowledge, Holland should continue to show his presentation to larger groups. To broaden its impact, more people need to see his compelling presentation. If more of the public were given this information, there would be less ignorance and more people willing to make a change.
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Overall, I liked Holland’s lecture. His incorporation of a powerpoint slideshow made it easier to follow. He was very successful in capturing the viewers’ attention. I learned about something I would not ordinary learn about, in such depth. I would definitely go to see him speak again.