Connecting Over Climate
To mitigate the far-reaching effects of climate change, scientists aren’t working alone, and they’re not working in silos.
The scientist-authors of this month’s opinion are candid about it: “Glacier Intervention Research Isn’t Just for Glaciologists,” according to Kenneth D. Mankoff, Christina Hulbe, Sławek Tulaczyk, Francesca Marzatico, and Tiffany Morrison. Research investigating methods to combat Antarctica’s glacier mass loss and the resulting sea level rise “must be codesigned in partnerships involving not only scientists,” the authors write, “but also current and future rights holders and stakeholders in harm’s way.” The opinion presents potential approaches to glacier intervention, as well as some of the social, economic, and ethical implications to be weighed when studying them.
Meanwhile, in “How Volcanologists Can Improve Urban Climate Resilience,” a geologist and an urban sustainability expert outline how volcanologists have developed approaches to practical challenges they face, such as responding in real time to rapidly compounding disasters and the need to alert communities about events that are outside the scope of their prior lived experience. Authors Jonathan Fink and Michael Armstrong then explain how these same approaches can support municipalities in adapting their infrastructure to climate change. The pair further suggest that a conference bringing together city strategists and scientists to share best practices might support greater resilience.
Such cross-cultural cooperation might also include firefighters and first responders, as climate change redefines fire seasons (“How Much Did Climate Change Affect the Los Angeles Wildfires?”). It may also include conservation agencies, as scientists keep making discoveries about the advantages of natural features, such as how the pristine shores of Aldabra Atoll have consistently defied the encroaching Indian Ocean (“A Seychelles Shoreline Resists the Rising Seas.”)
The challenges of climate change aren’t siloed, and neither are the solutions. Scientists are increasingly realizing this and forging new connections to make progress—and you can too!
—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief
