Polar Marine Biologist to Give UA’s Darden Lecture on Climate Change

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A University of Alabama at Birmingham author and polar marine biologist will present “Lost Antarctica – The Ecological Impacts of Climate Change on the Antarctic Peninsula” as the 14^th Annual William Darden Lecture Thursday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. in the Biology Building, room 127 on The University of Alabama campus.

A book signing will follow in the auditorium foyer at 7 p.m. Dr. James B. McClintock’s lecture is free and open to the public.

McClintock, an endowed professor of polar and marine biology at UAB, will discuss the consequences of global climate change.The Antarctic Peninsula is considered by many to be the most rapidly warming region on the planet, and extensive research has been done there on shrinking sea ice, declining populations of sea creatures, and other signs of climate change.

McClintock has published more than 200 scientific publications and co-authored several books focusing on this region. His latest book, “Lost Antarctica: Adventures in a Disappearing Land,” was published in 2012.

McClintock is a nationally recognized expert on Antarctica, having traveled to that continent in 14 field expeditions. In 1997 a piece of land near Explorers Cove in Antarctica was named McClintock Point in honor of his work in the area.

The Darden Lecture Series honors Dr. William Darden, professor emeritus of biological sciences and a former chair of UA’s department of biological sciences. The lecture brings prominent biologists to campus to address environmental and humanitarian problems. Darden was on the UA faculty for 31 years. Ilouise Hill of Montgomery established the lecture in his honor.

The Darden Lecture Series is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.