Earthwatch volunteers monitor Global Warming
Earthwatch Institute, Maynard, MA, 17 April 2006 -Confused about extreme weather? Wondering how global warming will change your world? Roll up your sleeves and get involved. Volunteers are needed to assist Earthwatch-supported scientists discovering the effects of climate change around the globe.
Dozens of ordinary citizens can join international teams heading into the field this year to study such varied regions as Arctic tundra, foothills of the Himalaya, coral reefs, glaciers, Portugal's coast, and the rainforests of Australia. Data from these expeditions will bring the serious impacts of climate change to light.
"With almost a quarter of the Earth's landmass affected by permafrost, there are dire implications for everything from pipelines to hydroelectric dams to coastal communities and transport corridors," said Dr. Peter Kershaw of the University of Alberta. "Add to this the impact on northern ecology-enhanced nutrient cycling, tree-line migration, polar bear den sites, etc.-and we have a very 'interesting' story that will probably play out in our lifetime."
Volunteers on Earthwatch's Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge project can help Kershaw monitor changes in snow pack and permafrost in Churchill, Manitoba and Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories. Kershaw leads one of many Earthwatch projects delving climate change.
In tropical waters Earthwatch volunteers help study the dramatic changes to coral reefs. In Jamaica and Belize, Dr. James Crabbe explores the impact of extreme weather patterns like tropical storms on coral recruitment. In the Bahamas, John Rollino (Earth Tech) and colleagues are investigating the causes of coral bleaching and coral diseases.
On the other side of the world, in Queensland, Australia, volunteers are led by Dr. Stephen Williams who studies changes in the distribution of rainforest creatures due to climate change. His preliminary findings suggest many of these animals are threatened with extinction if current trends continue.
Of course some of the most anticipated changes from global warming will be at the top of the world, the Earth's ice caps and glaciers. Dr. Andrew Russell of Keele University and colleagues are leading Earthwatch teams into the Iceland's glacial landscape and Alaska's Bering Glacier, the largest alpine glacier in North America, to examine glacial events.
Climate change will also have effects on plant and animal populations and their ecological relationships. In the Himalayan foothills near Darjeeling, Sumita Sircar and Sindhu Veerendra (Institute of Forest Productivity) are investigating how climate change can alter the pollination ecology of tropical orchids, the pinnacle of flowering plant evolution. And in Portugal, volunteers are helping Dr. Rob Thomas (Cardiff University) learn how climate change is affecting ocean productivity, by studying migrating storm petrels, Europe's smallest and most enigmatic seabird.
"This project will give team members a unique insight into the extraordinary life story of this tiny bird," said Thomas, principal investigator of Earthwatch's Storm Petrels over Portugal project." As well as being fun and often exciting work, the research is important because it provides information from the marine world about the key ecological question of our time-how will the natural world be affected by climate change?"
While millions of Americans will hear more about global warming on Earth Day, Earthwatch expeditions give people a chance to do something about the critical issues facing our planet.
Earthwatch Institute is a global volunteer organization that supports scientific field research by offering members of the public unique opportunities to work alongside leading field scientists and researchers. Earthwatch's mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. The year 2006 marks Earthwatch's 35th anniversary.