Lecture to explore ancient shorelines, sea level change
March 11, 2016
The Science for Alaska Lecture Series will present a bonus lecture during the upcoming Arctic Science Summit Week.
Julie Brigham-Grette will speak on “Coastal bathtub rings: What ancient shorelines tell us about future sea level rise,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 17, in the Borealis Ballroom at the Wedgewood Resort. Brigham-Grette is a professor of quaternary and glacial geology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Coastal bathtub rings are the ancient shorelines that have left distinctive marks showing the changes in sea level during the ice ages. The shorelines recorded natural global warming as well as the northward migration of marine ecosystems and the extent of sea ice.
New research shows a number of critical transitions in the evolution of the Northern Hemisphere climate, according the record left by coastal deposits along the coasts of Alaska and Chukotka. This understanding will help scientists understand how ongoing sea level rise will change shorelines today.
The Science for Alaska Lecture Series is hosted by the Geophysical Institute and sponsored by the Triplehorn family. It is free to the public.
CONTACT: Lea Gardine, 907-474-7664, lagardine@alaska.edu