Day 4: Policy, Microplastics, and Paleoclimatology

July 3rd, 2019

Day 4: Policy, Microplastics, and Paleoclimatology

by Audrey Dickinson

We spent most of our Wednesday presenting on climate change and learning about microplastics and environmental policy. Though these subjects are ostensibly why we are all here, the most engaging lesson took place beyond our quaint classroom at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Shane the paleoclimatologist was kind enough to bring us inside the ice core lab: the freezing room in Scripps where samples of ancient ice are stored and analyzed. 

Audrey and her research group "Heat" present the
environmental and economic implications of climate change.

Before we toured the lab, Shane gave a short presentation describing his work analyzing the history of the Earth. It was incredible to learn how paleoclimatologists test tiny bubbles of gas trapped in ice and examine patterns of layering, then use this data to make inferences about the composition of the atmosphere and temperature of the planet in the past before we began recording such readings. This information is immensely important to modern climate scientists, since we need to confirm that our current climate crisis is really an anomaly and not just an upswing within the bounds of natural fluctuations. Once we learned the basics of paleoclimatology, we made our way to the lab. I wrapped myself in a borrowed jacket and prepared for the most extreme conditions of my life. Normally, I can hardly tolerate 60 degree weather; -25 was out of the question! I managed to hold it together while we looked at a storage container and examined ice core samples. The gas contained in those cores once floated over a radically different world, untainted by anthropogenic emissions. Though I appreciated the fascinating science, I was definitely relieved when we left the icebox and returned to the hallway. 

It was so interesting to see the wide scope that “science” encompasses. We love to collectively imagine scientists poring over microscopes and data tables, but this experience reminded me that equally valid scientists are camping in freezing temperatures and painstakingly operating a drill for years on end as part of critical research. I quickly realized that I, however, was not cut out for that sort of field work. It’s rather unnerving to have your nostrils freeze. As much as I respect the scientists working in Greenland and Antarctica, I think I’d prefer to work in a place where I can go outside without staring death in the face. Living in San Diego may have shaped this intolerance for cold, but I’m certainly not complaining!

Audrey braving the cold to hold a piece of
20,000 year old ice core.