1. What does Lonnie Thompson study? 2. What is the name of the tropical ice cap
ID: 119967 • Letter: 1
Question
1. What does Lonnie Thompson study? 2. What is the name of the tropical ice cap that Dr. Thompson first visited in 1974? 3. Why was working at that site considered dangerous in 1974? 4. What region is referred to as Earth’s “third pole” in this article? 5. Why was getting to and working at the third pole such a challenge? Briefly explain 2 reasons. 6. Why was a TPE headquarters established in Columbus, far from any glacier being studied? (Hint: It is not that this glacial region has influence on our climate.) 7. Many found the cold, snowy weather during the 2014 and 2015 winters to be a challenge. Please read the following article and answer the questions below. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/10/what-the-massive-snowfall-in-boston-tells-us-about-global-warming/ a. How much did heavy precipitation increase in the Midwest (including Ohio) in the 1958-2012 time period? b. Complete the rule of thumb credited to Kevin Trenberth of NCAR: For every 1 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature, atmospheric capacity for water vapor….. c. Apply your answer to part b to explain why we should expect more snow as the atmosphere warms in the coming years.
Explanation / Answer
Lonnie Thompson (Lanyard) was born July 1, 1948 in Gassaway, West Virginia. He was raised on a farm near Gassaway, W.Va. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Marshall University, where he majored in geology. He subsequently attended The Ohio State University where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in geology. In the 1970s, he was the first scientist "to retrieve ice samples from a remote tropical ice cap, such as the Quelccaya ice cap in the Andes of Peru, and analyze them for ancient climate signals." He created the ice core research program at Ohio State while still a graduate student there. In regards to the dedication required to attain this ice, one author writes:
In his efforts to obtain ice cores, Thompson has spent an enormous amount of time at elevations above 5,500 meters. High-altitude climbers typically tackle a peak by spending time in a series of camps at lower elevations to acclimatize and then making a final rushed push for the summit. But Thompson and his loyal band of colleagues, students and mountain guides spend literally months at a time working at altitude... Thompson and his colleagues have managed to drill into tropical glaciers with nothing more to rely on than a combination of modest funding, low-tech equipment, ingenuity and sheer muscle power. Because the thin air at high altitudes precludes the use of helicopters, all of the drilling equipment and supplies must be carried up and down the slopes by yaks, mules, horses or humans...
—Mark Bowen, Thin Ice
For comparison, the Everest lower base camp is at 5,380 m (17,700 ft) and the upper base camp is at 6,500 m (21,300 ft). (The mountain itself is 8,848 m (29,029 ft).) Rolling Stone magazine says that there is no person in the world who has spent more time above 18,000 feet than Lonnie Thompson.
His observations of glacier retreat (1970s–2000s) "confirm that glaciers around the world are melting and provide clear evidence that the warming of the last 50 years is now outside the range of climate variability for several millennia, if not longer." In 2001, he predicted that the famed snows of Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro would melt within the next 20 years, a victim of climate change across the tropics. Return expeditions to the mountain have shown that changes in the mountain’s ice fields may signal an even quicker melting of its snow fields, which Thompson documented had existed for thousands of years. Thompson and his wife both served as advisers for the Academy Award-winning 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore, Jr., and some of their work was referenced in the movie.
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