|
Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau
Sandra Laursen
CIRES Outreach scientist,
and Roz Dauber, filmaker
25 April 2008, 10:30 AM
RL-2 Room 155/153 (directions)
The Tibetan Plateau is the biggest region of high terrain in the world - as big as the entire western United States, and with an average elevation higher than the tallest peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Its tallest mountains pierce the upper atmosphere, and its bulk alters patterns of wind and rainfall around the Earth. "Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Plateau" is a 20-minute educational documentary film recently completed by outreach scientist Sandra Laursen and filmmaker Roz Dauber, in collaboration with CIRES fellow Peter Molnar and colleagues. The film follows an international team of geoscientists as they conduct research on the Tibetan Plateau. The scientists seek to answer questions about the geology of the plateau: How did the Tibetan Plateau grow to be so large? Was it uplifted all at once or in stages? What geophysical processes deep underground caused the plateau to rise? They also want to understand how the plateau interacts with the atmosphere: How has the growth of the Tibetan Plateau affected climate patterns in China-from the location of giant dust storms to the timing of monsoons-and the rest of the world? A team of experts in geology, meteorology, geochemistry, geo-physics, and paleoclimate has come together to answer these questions. They go into the field to map geologic structures and collect rock samples, analyze rock samples in the laboratory, and build computer models to simulate the plateau's impact on climate. They travel in remote regions of Asia, hike up mountainsides, and invent new instruments. They record observations in the field and in the lab, read and write scientific papers, and argue about their discoveries.
Targeting high school and college science students, the film shows the process of science as seen through the work of an international team of scientists as they conduct interdisciplinary research on the Tibetan Plateau. We'll watch the film and discuss how it can contribute to school curricula and public understanding of science. Copies are available to faculty and TAs teaching introductory science courses to attend, and to CIRES personnel as an outreach tool.
Cookies and lemonade provided by CIRES.
|
