National Science Week
and
Winter Public Lecture Series in Physics
ABSTRACT:
The
International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 is the largest internationally
coordinated polar research effort in the past 50 years. It will include
research and observations in both the Arctic and Antarctic and will explore
the strong links these regions have with the rest of the globe. IPY
2007-2008 will initiate a new era in polar science and involve a wide range of
research disciplines, from geophysics and ecology to social science and
economics. It is a truly international endeavour with over 160 endorsed
science projects with a strong interdisciplinary emphasis that have been
assembled from the ideas of researchers in more than 60 countries. It also
includes nearly 60 projects addressing education and outreach objectives. This
talk will present a broad overview of the scope of science that will be
undertaken during IPY 2007-2008, focussing in particular on four key issues
that emerge as requiring urgent attention:
·
The polar regions are presently changing faster than any other regions of the
Earth, and that change is particularly evident in widespread shrinking snow
and ice.
·
Processes in polar regions have a profound influence on the global
environment, particularly weather and climate system, while the polar
environments are themselves impacted by processes at lower latitudes.
·
The Arctic is home to more than 4 million people, and these communities face
large and rapid changes in their natural environment and in their natural
resources and food systems.
·
Within the polar regions lie important scientific challenges yet to be
investigated and unique vantage points for science.
SPEAKER PROFILE:
Ian Allison is a glaciologist who has
been involved in Antarctic science for nearly 40 years. He is leader of
the Australian Antarctic Division’s Ice, Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate
program and a researcher within the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems
Cooperative Research Centre. Ian is co-chair of the committee guiding
the International Polar Year 2007-2008, a coordinated interdisciplinary
research program taking place in both the Arctic and Antarctic between March
2007 and March 2009 and involving more than 60 nations. He was also a lead
author of the chapter in the recent IPCC report on climate change that dealt
with changes to snow and ice. Ian is a Fellow of the AIP; he used to ski
but finds that increasingly difficult with diminishing snow; he has only
briefly visited, and has never undertaken research in, the Arctic.
This is the third lecture in this year's
Winter Public Lecture Series in Physics. The series started in 2002 and is
held in honour of Alexander and Leicester McAulay, two renowned Physics
professors, who were inspiring teachers and did
significant research at the University of Tasmania during the early years.
Further information is available from Dr. John Humble, ph. (03)62262396
e-mail: John.Humble@utas.edu.au or Dr Elizabeth Chelkowska, ph. (03)62262725,
e-mail: Elizabeth.Chelkowska@utas.edu.au. The School of Mathematics and
Physics is co-organising the lecture.
ALL WELCOME