Call for Papers:
Special Session to be held at the annual meeting of the Association of
American Geographers (AAG)- "The changing cryosphere: Implications for
recent climate and environmental changes"
March 4 - 8, 2003
New Orleans, Louisiana
Details on the New Orleans Meeting can be found at the AAG web site:
http://www.aag.org/ (clicking on the "Annual Meeting" link)
Colleagues,
Below is a call for participation in a special session to be held at the
annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, March 4 - 8,
2003 in New Orleans. Given the continued scientific and public interest
in the response of the Earth's ice and snow cover to the recent and
continued warming, Jason Box and I plan to organize the second annual
Special Session on "The changing cryosphere: Implications for recent
climate and environmental changes." We will be seeking co-sponsorship
from the Climate and Mountain Specialty groups. At the 2002 AAG, we had
about 20 participants, enough for 5 exciting sessions.
We plan a 'wrap up' panel discussion, similar to last year, with several
presentations and then an open discussion. To guide the discussion, we
are considering asking regional specialists to give a brief synthesis of
such changes, but certainly another focus could be considered. Your
comments and/or suggestions regarding a significant or urgent scientific
issue for the panel discussion are invited.
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, President of the Cryosphere Specialty Group,
Co-organizer (thompson.4 [at] osu.edu)
Jason Box, Byrd Fellow, Co-organizer (box.11 [at] osu.edu)
CALL FOR PAPERS
We plan to organize a special session at the 99th Annual Meeting of the
Association of American Geographers (AAG) to be held in New Orleans, LA,
March 4-8, 2003. This session is sponsored by the Cryosphere Specialty
Group (we anticipate co-sponsorship by the Climate and Mountain
Specialty Groups).
Proposed session title:
The changing cryosphere: Implications for recent climate and
environmental changes
20th century warming is well documented and the cryosphere, consisting
of ice in all its forms, may serve as a bellwether for the increasing
human impact on the climate system. One of the most evident changes is
the accelerating retreat of mid-latitude and tropical ice fields. In
fact, cryospheric observations alone provide nearly unequivocal evidence
of 20th century warming. Research reveals that Arctic sea ice is
thinning, permafrost thicknesses are diminishing, some Antarctic ice
shelves are disintegrating, many lake and river ice covers are freezing
later and breaking up earlier, and the southeastern part of the
Greenland ice sheet may be thinning. In some regions the amount and
distribution of seasonal snowfall have become more variable. Other
consequences of the retreat of glaciers and ice caps is the likely loss
of critical archives of the Earth's climate history, sea level rise, and
hydrologic impacts.
We invite submissions covering all aspects of the cryosphere including
polar ice sheets and ice shelves, alpine glaciers and ice caps, sea ice,
permafrost, river and lake ice, and seasonal snow cover. Papers that
examine the nature of cryospheric changes and their potential linkages
to 20th century warming, explore the climatological controls on the
cryosphere, and employ data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center
(NSIDC) are also encouraged.
Please contact Ellen Mosley-Thompson and Jason E. Box if you plan to
submit a paper. Due to summer travel obligations please copy both Ellen
and Jason to ensure your inclusion in the special session. Our contact
information is below.
Note that registration and abstract submission are only available from
the AAG web site. Also, special sessions can only be requested after
session presenters have individually registered for the meeting and
received their Participant Number. The registration deadline is
September 30, 2002, so please e-mail us your Participant Number and
presentation title no later than Wednesday, September 18 to allow enough
time for us to submit the special session!!
Details on the New Orleans Meeting can be found at the AAG web site:
http://www.aag.org/ (clicking on the "Annual Meeting" link)
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Professor of Geography
Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center
The Ohio State University
108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Road
Columbus OH 43210
ph (614)-292-6662; - 4697 (fax)
email: thompson.4 [at] osu.edu
Jason E. Box, Byrd Fellow
Byrd Polar Research Center
The Ohio State University
108 Scott Hall, 1090 Carmack Road
Columbus OH 43210
ph (614)-247-6899; 614-292-4697 (fax)
email: box.11 [at] osu.edu