DATE: July 29-31, 2008.

EVENT: A three-day workshop to examine the current state of knowledge about the impacts of climate change on Great Lakes coastal ecosystems and to develop a research strategy for assessing future impacts.

The event brings together scientists and stakeholders from across the Great Lakes region. Topics to be discussed include the likely impacts of climate change on: water levels, water temperature and ice extent; water quality and human health; fish recruitment and productivity; and aquatic invasive species.

The public is invited to attend the workshop’s keynote address at 5 p.m. July 29 in Room 1800 at the University of Michigan Chemistry Building. U-M geophysicist Henry Pollack will deliver a free lecture titled “Hockey Sticks and Politics: Science in the Arena of National Climate Policy.” Pollack is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

PLACE: The three-day workshop is in Room 1040 Dana Building, U-M School of Natural Resources & Environment, Central Campus, Ann Arbor.

SPONSORS: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), Great Lakes Sea Grant Network, NOAA Great Lakes Regional Team.

CONTACTS: Michael Quigley, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, (734) 741-2149, Michael.A.Quigley@noaa.gov.

WEB LINKS: View the draft workshop agenda >

NOTE: Registration for the event has closed, but reporters are welcome to attend; the registration fee will be waived.