Museum of Science and Industry

Dr. Ross D. Powell

Board of Trustees and Distinguished Research Professor of Geology
Northern Illinois University

I have been studying the polar regions for over three decades and have seen with my own eyes the rapid and dramatic changes currently affecting these areas. The same rapid changes we see happening in these sensitive polar regions today will soon be evident elsewhere in the world. But by the time it becomes noticeable, it will likely be too late to stop the effects. I am concerned about the world we will be leaving my kids, and all others’, and the problems we will have left them to face.

By studying glaciers and ice sheets where they interact with the sea, my findings are contributing to the understanding about how these massive bodies of ice will behave during continued global warming. It is helping in the predictions needed for estimating future rates and amounts that sea levels will rise. These estimates have significant ramifications, not only for coastal areas, but also for entire nations in deciding on how to spend and allocate resources, and potentially redistribute entire populations.