La Caixa

Keith Alverson will deliver this paper on occasion of the presentation of the book Global Climate: Current Research and Uncertainties in the Climate System, edited by Xavier Rodó and F. A. Comín. Keith Alverson holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He is also executive director of the IGBP-PAGES International Project Office.

Throughout the twentieth century, global warming was measured at different planet locations, but these instrumental data offer only a limited perspective as to its nature and cause. On the one hand, the fact that instrumental measurements mainly cover the period of industrialisation makes it difficult to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic effects. On the other hand, this type of recording does not reflect the long-term variations that the models and paleodata indicate as inherent in the climate system. Progress will be made with the carrying out of statistical analyses over long periods, thanks in part to paleorecords, such as snow accumulations, and a deeper understanding of the relevant climactic and ecosystematic processes.

All this will be dealt with by Keith Alverson, executive director of the IGBP-PAGES International Project Office, a Swiss organisation devoted to in-depth study of environmental variability on Earth.

Tuesday 29 October 2002 at 7:00 PM

Location: Science Museum of Fundació ”la Caixa” in Barcelona
Provisional location
Paseo Sant Joan, 108. 08037 Barcelona

Admission free of charge. Seating is limited.
www.fundacio@lacaixa.es