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Faculty Speaker Series: Rachel Stanley, Frost Associate Professor in Environmental Science; Associate Professor of Chemistry

Antarctic Ice: Past and Present

Antarctica, the remote 7th continent, is covered by ice sheets that can be 2 miles thick. Icebergs, caused by calving glaciers, dramatically rise out of the water around Antarctica. The ice, both on land and sea, provides crucial habitat to penguins and seals that call this beautiful but harsh landscape home. Wellesley Alumnae saw these gorgeous ice formations first-hand during a January Alumnae cruise to Antarctica. Antarctic ice is threatened by climate change. Glaciers are melting faster, releasing water that causes global sea level to rise. This same ice that is being threatened also holds a key to unlocking the past; it contains ice bubbles that provide detailed records of what past climates on the earth have looked like over the last 800,000 years. In this talk, Professor Rachel Stanley will share photos and stories of ice, seals, and penguins from the Wellesley Alumnae cruise, discuss climate change and its effect on Antarctica, and share how climate scientists are like detectives with major clues about global warming coming from Antarctic Ice.

Apr 2, 2023 02:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)