Mark Clifford Serreze | |
---|---|
Born | 1960 |
Alma mater | University of Colorado Boulder |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Geography, Climatology |
Institutions | Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, National Snow and Ice Data Center |
Thesis | Seasonal and interannual variations of sea ice motion in the Canada basin and their relationships with the Arctic atmospheric circulation (1989) |
Doctoral advisor | Roger G. Barry |
Mark Clifford Serreze (born 1960) is an American geographer and the director (since 2009 [1]) of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a project of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. In 2019, he was named a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geography. [2] Serreze is primarily known for his expertise in the Arctic sea ice decline that has occurred over the last few decades due to global warming, a topic about which he has expressed serious concern. [3] He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications.
Serreze grew up in Maine, and credits its frequent snowy weather as an inspiration for his interest in studying ice. [4] He received his PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1989. [1]
In 2007, Serreze said that given the increasingly rapid rate at which Arctic ice has been melting, he thought it was "very reasonable" to expect the Arctic to be ice-free by 2030. He also blamed the decline primarily on anthropogenic global warming. [5] Serreze became well known in 2008 when he described the state of Arctic sea ice as being in a "death spiral", and said it could disappear in the summers within several decades. [6] Also that year, when contacted by the Associated Press, Serreze described the state of Arctic sea ice as being at a "tipping point," after which sea ice will plummet rapidly and added that 2007's then-record low sea ice levels were due in part to wind currents and other weather conditions as well as global warming. [7]
In regards to Antarctic sea ice extent, Serreze noted in an interview 2012 that it has been known for years that Arctic sea ice vanishes first, and thus it is not a surprise that observations do not show big reductions and Antarctic sea ice doesn't disprove global warming. [8]
Serreze is a keyboardist, singer, and songwriter for the rock band The Hobbled Neurons, which released the album "Einstein's Bender" in 2023. [9]
In 2006 he was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Global Warming: What You Need to Know. [1]