Florida State University

LOCATED IN TALLAHASSEE, in the southern part of the state, Florida State University (FSU) has been involved in global warming and climate change research since the early 1960s. In conjunction with the geological sciences division of FSU, the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation established the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility (AMGRF) to serve as a curatorial and research center. The AMGRF was originally planned as a resource for analyzing deposits from the Antarctic continental shelf that had been collected by U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers as part of early deep freeze expeditions under the auspices of the U.S. Navy Hydrographie Office.

Today, the AMGRF is home to one of the largest collections of marine sediment cores in the entire world, and is the only American repository for Antarctic marine sediments, containing more than 12.4 mi. (20,000 m.) of deep-sea core sediment and more than 5,000 kg. of dredge, trawl, and grab samples. Additionally, AMGRF provides access to approximately 1.7 mi. (3,000 m.) of rotary-cored geological material obtained by Antarctic drilling programs. Ongoing projects include the Cape Roberts Project, a cooperative study of paleoenvironmental changes in the Antarctic involving the United States, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; Shaldril, a consortium of American scientists engaged in ship-based diamond coring along the continental margin of Antarctica; and Antarctic Geological Drilling (ANDRILL), a multi-national drilling project composed of scientists from the United States, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom that seeks to obtain stratigraphie records of historical paleoenvironmental changes in Antarctica.

In spring 2007, scientists at AMGRF hosted a multinational workshop to tell key researchers about mounting evidence on the connection between changes to Antarctic ice and global warming. Attendees at the conference included scientists involved in ANDRILL who were responsible for removing the core, and scientists, students, drillers, and educatiors from the United States, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. During the event, scientists were able to study a new core that had been obtained by drilling 4,214 ft. (1,284 m.) below the sea floor located beneath the Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf, which is the largest floating ice body anywhere in the world. The new core contained sediments dating as far back as 10 million years, offering evidence that the shelf had been engaged in an advancing and retreating cycle for the past 5 million years in response to climate changes. The Ross Ice Shelf is believed to have broken off from the larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is predicted will collapse totally as a result of global warming. If such an event occurs, sea levels could rise as much as 20 ft. (6 m.), creating a worldwide catastrophe.

FSU is home to the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS), which conducts research into agricultural forecasting, air-sea interaction, ocean and coupled air-sea modeling, climate change and prediction, climate variability, and statistical studies. COAPS is also involved in predicting the social and economic consequences that arise from variations in ocean-atmospheric conditions. Funding for the COAPS program comes from a number [Page 417]of national government agencies, and working grants, annually total approximately $3 million. COAPS researchers are engaged in cooperative efforts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Applied Research Center, the Research Vessel Data Center, the SAMOS Initiative, the Florida Climate Center, the Southeast Climate Consortium, and the HYCOM Consortium.

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