3:30pm-4:30pm (refreshments at 3:15pm)
Bechtel Collaboratory in the Discovery Learning Center (DLC)
University of Colorado at Boulder
Sea level is a measurement of considerable interest and importance for the study of climate. Variations in sea level over long time periods provide an important observation of the current state of the climate, reflecting both the heat and mass changes in the ocean. Rising sea levels along the world’s coastlines threaten to permanently impact infrastructure and ecosystems, with millions of people potentially being displaced if the oceans were to rise two meters. Addressing and mitigating the effects of changes in sea level involves accurately determining the contributing factors and associated impacts to past, present and future sea level rise and variability. Although much of the focus on future sea level rise concerns the long-term trend associated with anthropogenic warming, on shorter timescales, internal climate variability can contribute significantly to regional sea level. Such sea level variability should be taken into consideration when planning efforts to mitigate the effects of future sea level change on regional levels. Providing such a regional assessment is a challenging task that requires expertise across a wide range of disciplines and a variety of data sources. In this talk, the problem of projecting future regional sea level rise will be introduced and the associated challenges discussed. More specifically, the talk will focus on the contribution to global and regional sea level of natural climate variability on interannual to multidecadal timescales. By estimating and removing the influence of natural climate variability, a better understanding of the sea level rise associated with anthropogenic warming can be gained, providing valuable insight into future regional sea level.
The seminar is held at the Discovery Learning Center (DLC) at the University of Colorado. Parking is free with a permit, which is provided at the seminar. The location for parking is shown in the map below.
Larger Map