On Thin Ice: Global Impact of Climate Change in the Arctic

The Arctic is warming at rates three times faster than the global average. The melting of ice sheets and glaciers increases concerns about global sea-level rise, while the thawing and degradation of Arctic permafrost soils may release large amounts of greenhouse gases, potentially causing additional warming. Although changes in the Arctic may impact the global climate system, thus affecting societies all over the world, our knowledge of the ongoing transformations in this environment remains limited.

A better understanding of the Arctic region is needed for scientists to predict future changes and develop mitigation and adaptation strategies. To this end, researchers study climate archives such as ocean and lake sediments and permafrost to find clues about how past changes in Arctic climate affected the environment.

In this Transatlantic Tandem Talk Prof. Dr. Janet Rethemeyer from the University of Cologne, Germany, and Dr. Jannik Martens, UoC alumnus and researcher at Columbia University, will be discussing about:

• Current frontiers and open questions in Arctic research, seeking to illuminate past climate changes and the potential impact of permafrost thawing on the global climate system
• Recent Arctic field expeditions and their findings
• International collaborations between the University of Cologne and leading US-based institutions to tackle a topic that affects us all

Following the Transatlantic Tandem Talk was a virtual tour through the core repository of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in NYC which houses over 20,000 sediment cores from across the globe.