Arctic-glaciology conference looks to next generation

Karlee Prince came to the International Arctic Workshop and the Northeast Glaciology Meeting on UB’s Downtown Campus with research that could improve predictions of sea level rise.

The UB Earth sciences PhD student presented findings showing that sea levels around the Greenland Ice Sheet did not always behave as expected following the last ice age — data that could help refine projections and guide resource allocations under a warming climate. 

She’s exactly the type of person the event’s keynote speaker, Richard Alley, said he envisions retiring a few decades from now, having finally set the world on the path to a sustainable future.

“Our students today are the first generation in all of human history that knows they can do it,” Alley, a renowned climate expert and National Medal of Science recipient, told the crowd before concluding with a final thought for Prince and other young scientists in the room: “Stay with us. We need you.”

Hope for the next generation was a main theme of last week’s International Arctic Workshop and Northeast Glaciology Meeting. The joint session of the two conferences provided an intimate setting for graduate students to get feedback and encouragement from some of the world’s leading climate experts.

One of the event’s organizers, Elizabeth Thomas, associate professor of Earth sciences, knows the value of such a conference well. The first talk she ever gave as a graduate student was at an Arctic Workshop held in Iceland and attended by pioneers in the field like Raymond Bradley, John Andrews and Gifford Miller. 

“A friendly, low-stress environment that still offers good feedback and the ability to rub elbows with Richard Alley and other leaders is incredibly valuable for students,” Thomas said.

Another way the conference centered students was its affordability. Support from the Department of Earth Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the RENEW Institute and the Center for Geological and Climate Hazards allowed presenting students to attend for free, while nonpresenting students paid a fee of just $20. 

“I want to express appreciation for all the campus institutions that helped make this conference accessible,” said Jason Briner, professor and associate chair of the Department of Earth Sciences. “I think it’s really important that we keep this sort of small conference, nurturing environment alive. We’re trying to continue that for the next generation.”

Protecting future generations — at a reasonable cost — was a major part of Alley’s talk. He said economic tools, such as Bill Nordhaus’ Nobel Prize-winning integrated assessment model, show that relatively small investments today can prevent far greater climate costs in the future.

“Basically every single application of these techniques now gives the same answer: We are hurting the economy because we are underinvesting in heading off the damages of climate change,” said Alley, the Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences at Penn State University. 

He noted that protecting major coastal cities such as New York, San Francisco and Houston from sea level rise could cost on the order of $200 billion. But what if, for just 1% of that cost — a few billion dollars — scientists could determine the exact dimensions of such defenses, or whether they’re even necessary in the first place?

Uncertainty in sea level rise, Alley said, should motivate doing more to head off climate change — not less.

“No economist says we should wait because we’re not certain. They say, ‘We’re not certain, so until we get this sorted out, we should do more,’” he said.

Alley laid out his vision for a world powered by clean energy, where solar and wind meet most of our needs, advances in materials science reduce the need to extract resources from the planet, iron batteries help stabilize the grid, and cars run on sodium batteries.

“There are these win-win things all over the place that are going to save money and build something that’s better — something that’s more resilient, more broadly based and helps more people,” he said. “I just think that’s a vision that is worth carrying forward.”

Alley’s talk was offered as part of RENEW’s “Catalyzing Conversations” series. 

“In addition to his award-winning contributions to ice core analysis, sea level rise and our understanding of climate dynamics, Dr. Alley has helped broaden public understanding of climate science by presenting clear, engaging explanations of global warming, as well as practical energy solutions,” said Diana Aga, director of RENEW and SUNY Distinguished Professor and Henry M. Woodburn Professor of Chemistry. 

Alley’s talk was held in the same lecture room where Prince and other students got a chance to present earlier in the day. That provided plenty of motivation for Prince. 

“It reminds us that what we do contributes to a larger community who are also thinking about the same things — including people who are very successful,” she said. “It really gives you a lot of drive to continue your work so you can see where it takes you and what you can do with it.”