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May 13, 2008
Cafe Scientifique: "Have we Underestimated the Carbon Dioxide Challenge?" Dr. Roger Pielke Jr.
6pm at The Redfish, 2027 13th St. Come at 5:30 p.m. for refreshments. More information at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research site.

Throughout The Year at CIRES
Distinguished Lecture Series
Our Distinguished Lecture Series showcases outstanding scientists and systems thinkers who take imaginative positions on challenges in environmental sciences. For more event information, see our list of local seminars and lectures and our event archive.

News Headlines

Learn about Greenland Field Season
It's field season at Swiss Camp on the Greenland ice sheet, where CIRES Director Konrad Steffen and other researchers study climate change and ice melt. Dan Grossman's documentary Meltdown: Inside Out explores research at Swiss Camp and investigates climate change effects in the Arctic and other parts of the world. Listen, learn online.

59% Chance of Record Low Arctic Sea Ice in 2008
New calculations by CIRES affiliate Jim Maslanik and CU's Sheldon Drobot indicate the record low minimum extent of sea ice across the Arctic last September has a three-in-five chance of being shattered again in 2008 because of continued warming temperatures and a preponderance of younger, thinner ice. In January 2008, a team led by Maslanik and involving CIRES and NSIDC's Julienne Stroeve concluded there had been a nearly complete loss of the oldest, thickest Arctic sea ice. The team calculated that 58 percent of the remaining Arctic sea ice was thin and more vulnerable to melt. [ source: News & Events ]

Upward and Outward - New Video for Students
How does the Tibetan Plateau affect climate patterns from the location of giant dust storms to the timing of monsoons? Follow the scientific investigation through the eyes of the researchers -- posing questions, planning investigations, gathering and interpreting evidence. In "Upward and Outward: Scientific Inquiry on the Tibetan Pleateau," a new 20-minute teaching documentary by CIRES Outreach, students learn that real research isn't just done in a beaker; it's messy, creative and fun. The film aligns with state and national standards on science as inquiry and is suitable for high school and college science students and general adult audiences.

Regional monitoring needed for heat-trapping CO2
Monitoring Earth's rising greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the one currently in place, according to a new research commentary appearing in the April 25 issue of Science by CIRES researcher Malinda Marquis and NOAA's Pieter Tans. While the current observation network can measure CO2 fluxes on a continental scale, charting regional emissions where significant mitigation efforts are underway -- like California, New England and European countries -- requires a more densely populated network, the authors said. Regional measurements are also critical for evaluating carbon offsets and credits. [ source: News & Events ]

Quotables

Roger Bilham on the Central China Earthquake
The high death toll from Monday's earthquake in China is largely a result of poor building practices, CIRES' Roger Bilhman told the Rocky Mountain News ("CU researcher: Massive killer quake to come"). Bilham talked about future earthquake risks and also noted that many homes in developing countries are not reinforced to withstand earthquake tremors.

What's the Forecast?
Colorado's high country can expect more storms and maybe snow throughout May, CIRES' Klaus Wolter told the Summit Daily News ("Still snowing"). While higher elevations have dodged the dry conditions that often come with La Nina, other areas of Colorado, including the northeastern plains, have not been as lucky.