Climate Matters: Scientist Stories
Scientists describe what climate change means to them, their work and their world.
Dr. Hanno Meyer and Francisco Fernandoy (PhD student)
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Germany
The Antarctic Peninsula region is attracting global scientific attention because of its accelerated trend of warming compared to the global mean, in both its atmospheric and oceanic temperatures. The Peninsula is losing its ice cover at rates of dozens of cubic kilometers per year. However, the processes causing this behavior (either natural, human-caused, or both) are still poorly understood. That is why this region of the world requires our urgent attention.
Our work here involves understanding snow, firn, and ice conditions, both locally and regionally. We conduct research in the areas of glaciology and isotope geochemistry, to better understand how these conditions are related to climate change. This research, in part carried out on the Antarctic Peninsula, will help to expand climate records beyond meteorological records.
[Photos: AWI Potsdam, Germany.]
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