ESSC: Earth System Science Center

2010 News and Events

Polar Bears, Climate Change, and How Each of Us Can Help
ESSC director Dr. Michael Mann recently appeared in this webcast for Polar Bears International (starts at 0:38). Panelists are Dr. Steven C. Amstrup, Dr. Michael Mann, Raine Maida, Chantal Kreviazuk, and George Stroumouboulopolos.

Penn State provides processing power for new international "weather-at-home" experiment
A new project by the U.K. Met Office and the website climateprediction.net kicks off this week. The program is expanding on the existing "Weather@home" project where anyone with a computer and internet access can contribute to climate research. ESSC scientist Dr. Chris Forest has set up one server at Penn State with another on the way to help store and process the data generated.
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Dr. Michael E. Mann: Get the anti-science bent out of politics
ESSC Director Dr. Michael Mann's recent op-ed in the Washington Post remarks on the scientific implications from recent attacks on climate science by politicians.
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NSF Awards Major Climate Change Education Grant to Consortium
The National Science Foundation has awarded a Climate Change Education grant to a consortium of zoos, universities, and other institutions. This group, led by the Chicago Zoological Society, includes the Earth System Science Center.
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Forest selected as a lead author for IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
ESSC scientist Dr. Chris Forest has been selected to be one of the lead authors in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He will be working on Chapter 9 of Working Group I: "Evaluation of Climate Models." Dr. Richard Alley, another ESSC scientist, will be working as a review author of Chapter 13 in Working Group I: "Sea Level Change."
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Wildlife study says summer heat waves to rise locally
Ed Perry of the National Wildlife Federation appeared with ESSC director Dr. Michael Mann and others to present the latest update to the Federation's regional outlook titled, "More Extreme Heat Waves: Global Warming’s Wake Up Call."
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Greenland ice sheet faces 'tipping point in 10 years'
The Guardian reports on testimony before Congress by ESSC scientist Dr. Richard Alley and other notable scientists. Alley noted that a rise in temperature between 2C and 7C could result in the loss of Greenland's ice sheet and a notable rise in sea level.
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Image Credit: NASA/Earth Observatory

Interviews with ESSC Director Michael E. Mann
Dr. Michael Mann gave several interviews recently about the final findings of two lengthy investigations into his conduct and that of his colleagues. Both recent reports revealed that nothing improper was done by either Mann or his colleagues.
Listen to the BBC News interview >>
Watch the Clean Skies interview >>
Watch the CNN interview >>
Watch the Climate Science Watch interview >>

ESSC Director responds to RA-10 Investigation findings
Penn State's RA-10 Investigation into Dr. Michael E. Mann has concluded. He responds, "I am pleased that the last phase of Penn State's investigation has now been concluded, and that it has cleared me of any wrongdoing. These latest findings should finally put to rest the baseless allegations against me and my research." Mann was also cleared by the investigation by an independent British panel.
Read entire statement >>
Read RA-10 Final Report >>
Read The Daily Collegian article about the Muir Russell report >>
Read the editorial in The New York Times >>

Mann and Kozar release 2010 Atlantic hurricane season prediction
ESSC director Dr. Michael Mann and graduate student Michael Kozar have recently released their prediction for the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November. Mann and Kozar predict an extremely active season due to warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and projections of near-neutral or slightly cool ENSO conditions.
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Image Credit NASA/VisibleEarth

Climate Scientists Claim 'McCarthy-Like Threats,' Say They Face Intimidation, Ominous E-Mails
ABC News correspondent Dan Harris reports on e-mail and other threats that climate scientists have received recently at the hands of those looking to chill the discourse on climate change. ESSC director Dr. Michael Mann is interviewed for the story.
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Mann gives presentation at PennFuture's Pittsburgh Global Warming Conference
On May 2, ESSC director Dr. Michael Mann presented a synopsis of the latest climate change research at the Pittsburgh Global Warming Conference. This presentation can be viewed in its entirety here [mp4].
Read more [bottom half of page] >>

Ancient leaves help researchers understand future climate
Graduate students Aaron Diefendorf and Kevin Mueller have recently published a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looking at signature of carbon in fossilized plants. They hope studying two natural non-radioactive isotope of carbon from past warming events can reveal clues into possible ecological responses to future climate change. Diefendorf's advisor, ESSC scientist Dr. Kate Freeman, is a co-author on the publication.
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Mann interviewed on ABC's Nightline
ABC's Nightline devoted some of their coverage on Earth Day to the controversy between the beliefs of television weather forecasters and meteorologists and the research of climate scientists. Dr. Michael Mann concedes that climate scientists have not typically had the visibility and influence of a broadcast meteorologist, and scientists should do a better job of representing their work in the public discourse on climate change.
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Watch video below, courtesy of abcnews.com:

Tiny shelled creatures shed light on extinction and recovery
Post-doctoral associate Shijun Jiang and ESSC scientist Dr. Timothy Bralower, along with several colleagues including ESSC scientist Dr. Lee Kump, have published a new study in Nature Geoscience looking at both the extinction of nannoplankton at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and the subsequent recovery of the marine ecosystem.
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Freeman wins Guggenheim Fellowship
ESSC scientist Dr. Katherine Freeman was selected to receive one of 180 Guggenheim Fellowship Awards for 2010. These awards reward recipients' exceptional work. Dr. Freeman plans to use the funds to continue her work studying the relationship between carbon from plants and water in past hot climates.
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Alley elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
ESSC scientist Dr. Richard Alley has been chosen to be a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). He was elected in recognition of his contributions to research and outreach in climate change. Alley is a leading expert in glaciology and is well-known for his research using ice cores from Greenland and West Antarctica.
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Probing Question: How fast are the polar ice sheets melting?
ESSC scientist Dr. Sridhar Anandakrishnan tackles this question in the latest edition of "Probing Questions" from Research/Penn State. DeLene Beeland reports on Anandakrishnan's description of the changing polar climate.
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Reality Check on Old Ice, Climate and CO2
Andrew Revkin in his DotEarth Blog in the New York Times, reports on potential misinterpretations of Dr. Richard Alley's work on Greenland Ice Cores. The report includes Dr. Alley lengthy response and description of what ice core research reveals about Earth's climate.
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ESSC Director Mann comments on Penn State RA-10 Inquiry
ESSC Director Dr. Michael Mann has issued the following statement regarding the recent Penn State Inquiry: "I am very pleased that, after a thorough review, the independent Penn State committee found no evidence to support any of the allegations against me."
Read the entire statement here >>
Read the Penn State Live press release >>
Read the RA-10 Inquiry Report (PDF) >>