HS Geology Club program to focus on climate change

The Hot Springs Geology Club will hold its January meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, 200 Whittington Ave.

The program, "Connections, Juxtapositions and Weak Links: Geologic and Other Mechanisms Driving Climate Change and Sea Level Rise," will be presented by fellow club member, retired environmental geologist George Maxey, who teaches geology and earth science part-time at National Park College.

"Generically, it was called global warming and blamed entirely on the burning of fossil fuels resulting in the release of CO2. Once predicted consequences did not materialize it was called 'Climate Change.' Is there a direct connection to sea level fluctuation and climate change?" a news release said.

"Global sea level has fluctuated approximately 310-420 meters in the last 550 million years according to studies by Exxon-Mobil and Hallam based on seismic stratigraphy analysis, revealing a succession of shallowing and deepening cycles. Current sea level fluctuations correlated to increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this talk, global warming will be examined, then compared to previous sea-level trends and possible contributors for paleo transgressive/regressive events," it said.

"Currently, there is concern that the CO2 produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels will trap insolation causing global warming and consequently melt the ice caps with a corresponding sea level rise on Earth. Should the paleo contributors like sea level change be ignored, in favor of global warming due solely to greenhouse gasses?"

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