Rising sea levels due to global atmospheric and oceanic warming could severely impact low lying cities, potentially flooding major cities such as Abu Dhabi and New York, according to David Holland, Director of the Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science at NYU.
Holland will be presenting a scientific research program that has been designed to clarify and predict how the melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will affect the future sea level over the present century and beyond. The NYU Abu Dhabi Institute event titled "Future Sea Level Projections in New York and Abu Dhabi" is part of ongoing series held by the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute linking the leading cosmopolitan cities of New York and Abu Dhabi in their battle with climate change. The event will be held on Sunday, April 11 in Al Mamoura Auditorium in Abu Dhabi starting at 6:30pm.
"The Environmental Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) recently released a report on climate change highlighting the concerns for the UAE coastal environ and in particular the impacts of a range of possible future global sea level change projections on the region," Holland said.
"In my research and in my presentation I outline the specific scientific issues that need to be addressed and resolved in order to arrive at specific, credible projections of global sea level change in the present century," he added.
NYUAD Faculty Director Philip Kennedy said: "With Abu Dhabi looking to be a leader in environmental sustainability, we're pleased that the NYUAD Institute is able to provide a forum for environmental leaders in the region and around the world to discuss these critical issues."
The event is part of a series of public events organized by the NYUAD Institute in an effort to provide an open forum for dialogue and exchange of ideas within the Abu Dhabi community. The NYUAD Institute was founded in 2008 as a research arm to the recently launched NYUAD campus, which will be opening its doors to its first year of accepted students in September 2010.