Professor to speak

Addressing the ever-increasing concerns about our environment, Dr. Geoffrey Seltzer, assistant professor in Syracuse University’s earth science department, is holding a seminar at Portland State University today as part of the Geology Winter Colloquium Series.

Seltzer will discuss the gradual changes in the earth’s climate since the “Last Glacial Maximum,” or the last ice age, dating back 18,000 years. Details about its causal factors, such as humidity, water balance changes and global warming, will also be addressed.

Seltzer also plans to discuss his current climate research projects at Lake Titicaca, located in the dense jungles of South America. Seltzer’s research was funded by the National Science Foundation and International Continental Drilling Program.

According to Seltzer and other researchers in paleoclimatology, the key to understanding the “Global Climate Change” requires a clear understanding of the intricacies of rate of climate change in the tropics.

Christina Hulbe, assistant professor of geology at PSU, said the ultimate goal of scientists is to gain an understanding of regional responses to climate change.

Seltzer has recently been conducting an extensive study of depleting levels of tropical glaciers at high altitudes in the South American Andes.

The seminar is being held in Cramer Hall, Room 53, today at 3:30 pm. More details are available at the geology department, or for further details, contact Hulbe at [email protected] or Scott Burns at [email protected].