Director of ESSIC Invited to Speak at Sandia Lab's Climate Change and National Security Speaker Series

Director of ESSIC Invited to Speak at Sandia Lab's Climate Change and National Security Speaker Series

Antonio Busalacchi is the director of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) at the University of Maryland, a professor and the former chief of the NASA/Goddard Laboratory for Hydrospheric Processes. Sandia National Laboratories invited Busalacchi to present in the Climate Change and National Security Speaker Series. This series was established for experts from a variety of backgrounds to present on the extent and causes of the Earth's climate change.

Busalacchi's presentation was entitled, "Climate Research in Service to Society," which described the extensive collection of climate data over the past thirty-two years. This data was coordinated by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).

He also focused on the work of a committee of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), of which Busalacchi is a co-chairman. This committee analyzes national security issues in regard to climate change for United States naval actions. This committee was briefed by the supreme allied commander of the United States European command, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and members of the National Intelligence Council.

Naval forces experience climate change first-hand. They are facing extreme temperatures, melting ice, rising sea water levels, more intense and more frequent storms, more droughts, flooding, declining availability of potable water due to increased salinity and significantly increased traffic in Arctic areas due to melting ice. “We need increased and enduring education in the developed and developing world so we can mitigate these effects,” claimed Busalacchi.

For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com/articles/u-s-navy-experience-shows-climate-alterations-invited-speaker-at-sandia-labs-says#.T3pFuOo9X14.twitter

April 2, 2012