AUSTRALIAN FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE, 2008

The Shine Dome, Canberra, 21-22 February

Discovering the dynamics of Earth's environment: Geochemical perspectives from ancient climates
by Dr Andrea Dutton

Andrea Dutton has an arts degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts, USA and a PhD in geology from the University of Michigan, USA. She is currently a Research Fellow in the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University studying paleoclimate and paleoceanography using a variety of elemental and isotopic geochemical systems. Her work embraces a wide range of topics including sea level change, temperature and seawater salinity reconstruction, paleoecology, and meteoric water composition. One focus of her research is the study of ancient greenhouse climates and rapid climate events to better understand the dynamics of the climate system over sub-annual to million-year timescales.

Dr Andrea Dutton was unable to attend the symposium.

From a modern perspective, climate change refers to a long-term shift in expected weather patterns and climate normals such as temperature and precipitation. From a paleoclimate perspective, climate change is – for lack of a better word – normal. Interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, land, biosphere, and even the solar system are all implicated in dictating the ever-changing climate on Earth. To determine if, how, and when our present climate changes, we must understand how anthropogenic climate change differs from natural climate variability, and how the Earth will respond to rapid climate change. I will focus on what we have learned about ancient greenhouse climates and rapid warming events that occurred early in the Cenozoic Era, and how continuing research aims to improve our understanding of this climatically dynamic interval. Ultimately, these lessons from the past will inform us with regard to our current climatic path and the decisions we must make in the years to come.