Towards Estimating Marine Ecosystem Impacts of Climate Intervention
Dr. Cheryl Harrison, an expert in biophysical ocean modeling, explores the complex relationship between climate intervention and marine ecosystems. In her seminar, she shows how different climate interventions impact various scales of oceanic processes, including biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, particularly in the context of climate change and extreme climatic events.
—Cali Pfleger, PhD Student, Bren School
Email events@bren.ucsb.edu to request access to a recording of this talk.
AN H. WILLIAM KUNI FELLOWSHIP SPEAKER
ABSTRACT
Climate intervention (geoengineering) is broadly defined as deliberate large-scale manipulation of the environment to counteract anthropogenic global warming. Geoengineering is rapidly receiving attention as a possible way to maintain global temperature below critical thresholds as we fail to meet our emission reduction targets. Examples of proposed geoengineering techniques include stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening, and marine carbon dioxide removal. Here I will review key concepts and uncertainties in climate intervention and how we go from Earth system models to ecosystem impacts. Then I will report on current research on how solar radiation management might affect ocean temperature, biogeochemistry, and primary production. I will also show preliminary results of projected impacts to marine heatwaves, fisheries, and coral reefs. We will end with a question and answer and general discussion of the issues surrounding climate intervention.
BIO
Cheryl Harrison is a biophysical ocean modeler and assistant professor in the Department of Ocean and Coastal Science and the Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University. She is Earth system model coordinator for the Fisheries Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP), part of the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISIMIP), and a member of the Climate Intervention Biology and Community Climate Intervention Strategies working groups. She has had positions at University of Colorado Boulder, University of California Santa Barbara, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Oregon State University, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her research interests include physical and biogeochemical ocean modeling, marine ecology, fisheries, climate change, geoengineering, and applied mathematics.