7 December 2006

NSIDC Scientist to Participate in Press Conference

Senior Scientist Mark Serreze will participate in a press conference on Monday, December 11. He will discuss recent changes in Arctic sea ice and the system as a whole. The press conference will take place at the American Geophysical Union conference, but off-site reporters may call in to participate.

Arctic warming and its impacts

Monday, 11 December
1000h Pacific Standard Time (PST)

New research is taking aim at understanding the linkages within the Arctic system as a whole, and of the Arctic's connections with the broader Earth system. Scientists representing the largest group of arctic researchers in the U.S.--ARCUS--will present news of recent and significant findings. Changes in the Arctic are linked to one another, with potentially magnified cumulative effects. As warming continues, impacts will become more apparent and widespread. Among the key changes underway are increasing air temperatures, diminishing sea ice, warming and thawing permafrost, expansion of woody shrubs across the tundra, melting Greenland ice sheet, and increased discharge of freshwater from Arctic rivers into the oceans. While many of these changes have already been documented, it is their recent persistence, interactions, and coherence that underpins an emerging science that considers the Arctic system as a whole.

Participants:

Larry Hinzman: Professor and Deputy Director, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA;

Mark Serreze: Senior Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental
Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;

Charles Vorosmarty: Research Professor, Director, Water Systems Analysis Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA.

AGU Session U21D/U22A/U23A/U24A

Location and call-in information:

Press conference takes place at the AGU in Room 232 Moscone South, 747 Howard Street, San Francisco, California.

Reporters who cannot attend the meeting may listen in and ask questions:

From the United States and Canada, call toll-free: 888-481-3032
From rest of the world, call (not toll-free): +1 617-801-9600
When prompted, enter this code: 115139

Interviews:

If you are not present at the press conference and would like to interview Mark Serreze:

On Monday: Please call the press room at +1 415-348-4440 and leave a message for Stephanie Renfrow, PIO, OR Mark Serreze with your name, a preferred interview time, and phone number. We will be checking messages several during the day.

On Tuesday-Wednesday: Please leave a message for Mark at +1 303-579-3335; he will be checking messages several times per day.

Thursday-Friday: Call NSIDC at +1 303-492-6199 and arrange a time.

More information on briefing:

http://www.arcus.org/arcus/media/