Changes in arctic water cycle affecting northern people

Submitted by Melissa Hart
Phone: (907) 474-7853
02/02/07

For Immediate Release

Global climate change is amplified in Earth’s polar regions. As a result, Alaska’s land and waterscapes are rapidly transforming, affecting people and industry of the Far North. Much of our state’s transformation is related to alterations in the hydrological cycle. Freshwater in the Arctic is in flux and this will affect the way people live, both physically and socially.

In a lecture on Feb. 6, Lilian Alessa, associate professor of biology and geography at the University of Alaska Anchorage and Affiliate Faculty at the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF, will explore how people can cope with an altered environment, including addressing several misconceptions about the drivers and outcomes of climate change. "A Different Season: People in a Changing Climate"? is the fourth installment of the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series. The weekly public lectures, coordinated by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, present the latest scientific findings relevant to all Alaskans.

The free, one-hour event begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Westmark Gold Room. All ages are welcome.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Information on all lectures and presenters in the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series can be found online at www.scienceforalaska.com.

CONTACT:
Lilian Alessa, UAA biological sciences department: (907) 786-1507
Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute information officer: (907) 474-5823
Melissa Hart, Geophysical Institute public relations assistant: (907) 474-7853