Chemical oceanographer and Caltech professor Dr. Jess Adkins to discuss “The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change”

Event part of MIT’s John Carlson Lecture Series and the Aquarium’s free fall lecture series: Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.

WHAT: Dr. Jess Adkins, chemical oceanographer and Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), is tackling the topic of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in his upcoming lecture, “The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change.” This in person event, which is part of both the John Carlson Lecture Series and the New England Aquarium Lecture Series, is presented by the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT and the New England Aquarium with the generous support of the Lowell Institute. It will be held at the New England Aquarium’s Simons Theatre and will also be livestreamed on Zoom.

With the burning of fossil fuels, the human race is conducting an experiment of unprecedented magnitude. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is warming the planet, and we are not sure how this will turn out. Even as we move to electrify the economy and leave fossil fuels behind, we must find ways to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. Reducing CO₂ emissions alone is no longer enough. Hear how a project that started with the basic science question of ‘How quickly do corals dissolve when the ocean acidifies?’ turned into a possible way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at scale.

WHEN: Thursday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with exhibits from MIT students and climate scientists in the Simons Theatre lobby.

WHERE: In-person at the New England Aquarium’s Simons Theatre, 1 Central Wharf, Boston, and virtual via Zoom.

HOW: Register here for the free lecture. Advance registration required. The John Carlson Lecture Series communicates exciting new results in climate science to the general public. Free of charge and open to the general public, the lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT and the New England Aquarium with the generous support of the Lowell Institute.

WHO: Dr. Jess Adkins is the Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science in Caltech’s Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. As a chemical oceanographer, Adkins focuses on geochemical investigations of past climates using corals, sediments, and their interstitial waters; rate of deep ocean circulation and its relation to mechanisms of rapid climate changes; metals as tracers of environmental processes; and radiocarbon and U-series chronology. After completing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Haverford College, Adkins earned his PhD studying chemical oceanography, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Adkins joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 2000.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pam Bechtold Snyder – psnyder@neaq.org, 617-686-5068