U of U Grad Student Researches Factors in Order to Understand Climate Change

By Fiona Marcelino

Paul Staten, University of Utah atmospheric sciences graduate student.

Average global temperatures are increasing and 2000-2009 was recorded as the warmest decade worldwide.

Increases in global temperatures have researchers concerned about future climate changes and their effects on the environment.

University of Utah atmospheric sciences graduate student, Paul Staten, is studying large-scale atmospheric circulation change. His interest lies in climate changes over long periods of time and understanding why these changes happen.

Staten’s research proves to be important in understanding the processes of climate change and is critical in estimating vulnerabilities and how future climate change will impact human health, society and the environment.

“We currently have a good picture with CO2, but once you get to smaller scales, that’s what we still have to work out,” said Staten. “We can make projections, but understanding how accurate we are requires better knowledge of climate change factors.”

Staten equates his research to a room of children. One moment the room may be quiet then next, it’s full of noise. His focus is deciphering the cause of the noise be it a specific child, the addition of a new child to the room, or one child’s influence on another.

“There are so many factors involved, and when climate changes, it’s a combination of all these factors and figuring out the combination can be hard. My job is to understand why and what causes specific changes,” said Staten.

Scientists have found that changes in climate have lead to ice sheets melting, a rise in ocean levels and snow melting sooner, which could lead to more extreme weather conditions that could put entire ecosystems in danger.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s research has well established that these changes are happening and will continue to do so. The trick is to understanding what causes these changes.

“It’s important to understand the climate change processes that are responsible for all this. Then, we can look at future projections better and why global warming causes specific changes,” said Staten.