Goals:
(1) To understand the dynamic range (eg., abrupt climate change events, rare mega-volcanic events) and forcing of the natural climate system.
(2) To separate natural climate variability from anthropogenically forced (eg., greenhouse gases, aerosols)variability in order to better predict the impact of humans on the climate system.
(3) To develop multi-annual to longer predictions of the behavior of the climate system.
Faculty
Daniel Belknap, Hal Borns, Fei Chai, George Denton, James Fastook, Brenda Hall, Gordon Hamilton, Terence Hughes, George Jacobson, Joseph Kelley, Thomas Kellogg, Karl Kreutz, Kirk Maasch, Paul Mayewski, Stephen Norton, Dan Sandweiss
Research
Institute researchers use a variety of tools for studying paleoclimate including: ice cores, glacial deposits, lake and marine sediments, historical documents, and models.
A brief selection of Instititute paleoclimate activities follows:
United States Component of the International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition
Paleoclimate from Mt. Everest Ice Cores
Millennial-scale fluctuations of Dry Valleys lakes
Contributions:
How the Climate System Operates
Climate Change
Atmospheric Chemistry
Climate Change El Niño
Paleoclimatic and Hydrologic Changes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Response of Shorelines (and People) to Quaternary Changes in Relative Sea Level
Mountain Climate and Environmental Variability