![Harbor seals rest on calved ice from Aialik Glacier in Alaska.](https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2019/10/n20868587/jcr:content/image.img.cq5dam.thumbnail.500.500.jpg/1572020637838.jpg)
Medill Reports: Glaciers are like global thermometers
UC geology professor Thomas Lowell explains his glacier research to a national climate conference
The world's glaciers grow and retreat in a synchronous way, according to University of CIncinnati geology professor Thomas Lowell, who spoke at a recent climate conference.
UC geology students explore a glacier in Alaska in 2002. Photo/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative Services
Lowell, a professor in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, addressed the Comer Climate Conference in Wisconsin about his work studying glaciers around the world.
He told Medill Reports Chicago the global retreat of the world's glaciers from climate change will lead to observable sea level rise.
"I'm interested in past climate changes and their interactions with glaciers," Lowell said.
"Glaciers are fun things to play on and fun things to visit. But they're also a sensitive indicator of climate," he said. "Glaciers are very sensitive to change so they're the canary in the coalmine."
Lowell has taken his students on field trips to places like Alaska and Iceland to study glaciers.
"I did an exercise in Iceland where we looked at glaciers and then students were told to look for where the glacier was the year they were born," he said. "Then I'd have them walk to see how the glacier changed in their lifetime."
Featured image at top: Harbor seals rest on ice floes calved off the nearby Aialik Glacier in Alaska. Photo/Michael Miller
Become a Bearcat
Apply online or get more information about undergraduate enrollment by calling 513-556-1100. Learn more about UC's many undergraduate and graduate programs.
UC Magazine
Read about a UC Geology student trip to Alaska to study glaciers in UC Magazine.
UC geology professor Thomas Lowell stands in front of Exit Glacier in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula in this 2002 file photo. Photo/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative Services
Related Stories
How to keep birds from flying into your windows
![Yahoo! News icon](/content/dam/refresh/uc-news/news-icons/dark/yahoo.png)
July 3, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences professor Ron Canterbury tells the Indianapolis Star that simple steps can prevent birds from strike windows around your home or business. Yahoo! News shares the story.
Meet UC’s Miss Ohio
July 1, 2024
UC biomedical science student Stephanie Finoti credits UC for helping to prepare her for the Miss Ohio Scholarship Pageant. She will represent Ohio in the national competition in January.
UC alum credits journalism program with early success
June 26, 2024
Zachary Jarrell came to the University of Cincinnati in 2019 to pursue a degree in statistics. In 2023, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Journalism. For many undergraduates, the journey through college rarely takes the expected track. Detours happen, and majors change. When plans switch up, it can be helpful to a student’s success to find support. For Jarrell, it was the people he worked alongside in the journalism department who helped him on his journey. It has left a lasting impression on his life so far, guiding him to multiple internships as an undergraduate, real-world experience in prominent news outlets, and eventually a successful career in the highly competitive field of journalism.