Revelle Lecture at Scripps: Overturning Assumptions on Ocean Circulation

WHAT: Susan Lozier, a physical oceanographer at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, will present "Overturning Assumptions: Past, present, and future concerns about the ocean's circulation," in the West Coast version of the 16th Roger Revelle Annual Commemorative Lecture.

Lozier will examine the crucial role that ocean circulation plays in the Earth’s climate system by sequestering anthropogenic carbon dioxide and heat in the deep ocean. New research is uncovering the mechanisms that control the overturning strength and how it may change in the decades ahead. 

• THE PRESENTATION IS FREE AND THE PUBLIC IS INVITED •

WHEN: Tuesday, May 19, 2015, 3 p.m.

WHERE: Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment (Scripps Seaside Forum); 8610 Kennel Way, just north of El Paseo Grande on the Scripps campus in La Jolla.

BACKGROUND:

Lozier is a physical oceanographer with an interest in large-scale ocean circulation, particularly a phenomenon known as meridional overturning circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean. She received her PhD from the University of Washington in 1989 and joined Duke University in 1991. She was the recipient of an NSF Early Career Award in 1996, was named an American Meteorological Society Fellow in 2008, a Distinguished Professor in 2012, and a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2014. She currently serves as the president-elect of The Oceanography Society and is the international lead for the OSNAP (Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program) ocean observing system.

The Revelle Lecture, part of the Scripps Distinguished Lecture Series, was created by the Ocean Studies Board to honor former Scripps Oceanography Director Roger Revelle for his contributions to ocean sciences and his dedication to making scientific knowledge available to policymakers. Revelle Lectures are given on both West and East coasts. Lozier delivered the lecture on March 4 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Roger Revelle (1909-1991) was director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1951 to 1964. He was one of the nation’s most prominent oceanographers, a pioneer of climate change research, and a world leader in the application of science and technology to help solve problems in developing countries. Long associated with the University of California, Revelle’s vision and energies led to the establishment of the UC San Diego campus in 1960.

Related Image Gallery: West Coast Revelle Lecture: Overturning Assumptions