The intricately interlinked chains of the climate system

Speaker: Aditya Narayanan

Venue : HSB 209

Date : 2nd November 2018

Time : 5.15 p.m.

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produces, among others, reports on the physical scientific aspect of the planet's climate. The last report in 2013 was a monumental collaborative effort involving hundreds of authors from over thirty countries and citing over 9,000 scientific publications. In my talk, I will walk you through the summary of the IPCC 2013 report, while highlighting some of the fascinating and intricately interlinked chains in the climate system. I'll begin with the polar seas, which are my area of interest, and move through the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and terrestrial processes which are important components of the climate system. I will talk about processes that take place across various length and time scales, from the millimetre to the ocean basin scale, and from weeks to millenia. I will also show some climate based artwork and talk about how climate science is something that we should all participate in as it deals with the ultimate public commons, the planet itself.

Reading material: IPCC 2013 WG1 , summary for policy makers

About the speaker

Aditya Narayanan is a physical oceanographer working with Prof. K Murali in the Dept. of Ocean Engg. His primary interests are in the Southern Ocean and the coastal seas around the Antarctic continent.