For Immediate Release

Global climate change is amplified in the Earth’s polar regions. As a result, Alaska’s land and waterscapes are rapidly transforming, affecting people and industry of the Far North. Much of our state’s transformation is related to alterations in the hydrological cycle. Freshwater in the Arctic is in flux, and this will affect the way people live, both physically and socially.

In a lecture on Monday, Lilian Alessa, associate professor of biology and geography at the University of Alaska Anchorage and affiliate faculty at the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF, will explore how people can cope with an altered environment, including addressing several misconceptions about the drivers and outcomes of climate change. 

“A Different Season: People in a Changing Climate” is part of the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series. The weekly public lectures, coordinated by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, present the latest scientific findings relevant to all Alaskans. The free, one-hour lectures begin at 7:15 p.m. Mondays in the Wendy Williamson Auditorium on the UAA campus. The Imaginarium will give educational demonstrations before each lecture. All ages are welcome.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Information on all lectures and presenters in the 2007 Science for Alaska Lecture Series can be found online at http://www.scienceforalaska.com.

CONTACT:
Lilian Alessa, UAA Biological Sciences Department: (907) 786-1507
Amy Hartley, Geophysical Institute Information Officer: (907) 474-5823
Melissa Hart, Geophysical Institute Public Relations Assistant: (907) 474-7853