|
NSF PA/M 01-33 - September 4, 2001
Susan Solomon, Polar Meterologists to Discuss Antarctic
Weather's Historic and Global Impacts
New book on the death of explorer Scott uses NSF
weather station data
From the tragic death of British polar explorer Robert
F. Scott in the early 20th century to the successful
evacuation of Dr. Ronald Shemenski from the National
Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
early in the 21st, weather has played a key role in
the history of Antarctic exploration and scientific
discovery.
In her new book, "The Coldest March", Susan
Solomon, whose research into the underlying causes
of the Antarctic ozone hole that earned her international
recognition and a 1999 National Medal of Science,
cites new data to argue that bad weather, not poor
planning, was the major factor in Scott's death. This
newest data was collected by a series of weather stations
deployed by Charles Stearns and a team of NSF-funded
researchers at the University of Wisconsin.
Shortly before the 2001 Antarctic research season gets
underway, involving hundreds of U.S. researchers,
a panel of NSF-funded meteorologists will join Solomon
and Stearns to discuss the findings in the book, which
will be released in the U.S. this month, and how NSF's
weather data helped Solomon to reach her conclusions.
Panelists also will discuss the difficulties of predicting
and modeling the weather on the Earth's southernmost
continent, the role that forecasting played in the
Shemenski evacuation, the need to understand polar
weather cycles and how developing models of Antarctic
weather can help add to our understanding of global
climate.
Panelists will also briefly discuss scientific highlights
of the 2001 research season.
Who: |
Susan Solomon, senior scientist at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Aeronomy Laboratory;
Charles Stearns, professor emeritus of
meteorology, University of Wisconsin;
Arthur Cayette, SPAWAR Systems Center,
Charleston, S.C.;
David Bromwich, polar meteorology group,
Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State
University;
Jordan Powers, the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
|
What: |
Antarctic Weather prediction, modeling
and historical impacts |
When: |
1:00 p.m. EDT
Monday, September 10, 2001 |
Where: |
Zenger Room
National Press Club
14th and F Streets NW, Washington D.C.
Metro Center |
For more information contact:
Peter West (703) 292-8070/
pwest@nsf.gov
Editors: For B-roll, contact Dena Headlee (703)
292-8070/dheadlee@nsf.gov
This event will be Webcast at: http://www.ConnectLive.com/events/nsf
|
|