The Ocean Mapping Expedition & The Winds of Change scientific program on monitoring greenhouse gases

Monday 5 Nov 2018, 18:00 → 20:30 Europe/Zurich

503/1-001 - Council Chamber (CERN)

The Ocean Mapping Expedition & The Winds of Change scientific program on monitoring greenhouse gases

Presentation to the CERN sailing club 5 November 2018 18-20pm (the talk will be in English) 

Panelists:

Samuel Gardaz

Vice-president and founding member of the Geneva-based non-for-profit organisation. Former journalist at Le Temps, former head of editorial, translation & press service at Rolex, now in charge of in charge of Public Affairs for Fondation Pacifique

Daniel F. McGinnis

Asst. Professor in Aquatic Physics. Received his PhD in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2003. Since 2014, has been an Assistant Professor at University of Geneva, Department F.-A. Forel, and head of the Aquatic Physics group. A physical limnologist/oceanographer researching carbon turnover from natural waters, greenhouse gas emissions, and response of lakes to climate change and eutrophication.

Topics:

Samuel Gardaz, 45’ (including 8’ + 20’ vidéos)

Historical background, focus on the history of « Fleur de Passion, a boat that would float » (8’ documentary)

Introduction to the Fondation Pacifique and The Ocean Mapping Expedition, spirit and philosophy, objectives, achievements, etc.

Illustration through the last episode of the series of documentaries on the expedition: 20’ episode focusing on the South-East Asian leg and the launch of The Winds of Change program.

 

Daniel McGinnis, 30-45’

Significant amounts of methane, an important greenhouse gas, are produced in natural waters and released to the atmosphere. 

However, the sources and pathways are often complicated and remain unclear. 

High rates of anaerobic methane production in aquatic sediments, combined with its low solubility, produce methane bubbles – a key emission pathway from many aquatic systems, especially shallow ones. 

This talk presents an overview of current work aimed at identifying novel methane sources, transport mechanisms, and eutrophication effects. 

This talk concludes with discussing novel measurement approaches and projects, and assessing the role of methane emissions from natural waters in a changing world.

To provide an overview of methane emission mechanisms from lakes and oceans, measurement techniques, and the potential role of aquatic methane emissions on climate change. 

 The talk details the background and importance of methane, discusses the possibility of mitigation, and provides future outlooks.

The talk then leads to The Winds of Change program and the almost 12 months results that have been collected so far from its launch in Mactan, Philippines, in December 2017, to Durban in October 2018.

 

Note: the talk will be given in English.

 

And here the associated flyers and web links :

in french : http://omexpedition.ch/pdf/Dossier-de-presse_2018-03.pdf

in English : http://omexpedition.ch/pdf/Press-Kit_2018-03.pdf