Dr. Jennifer Francis will speak about “Wacky Weather” and her climate change research at the Mattapoisett Library on Wednesday, March 27th at 6:30 pm. The free program is co-sponsored by the library and the Mattapoisett Land Trust.
Extreme and unusual weather has been increasing all around the northern hemisphere. This presentation will discuss how various aspects of climate change may be playing a role, including the record Arctic melt in 2012.
Jennifer Francis was born and raised in Marion. She earned a B.S. in Meteorology from San Jose State University in 1988 and a PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington in 1994. As a professor at Rutgers University since 1994, she has taught courses in satellite remote sensing and climate-change issues, and also co-founded and co-directed the Rutgers Climate and Environmental Change Initiative. Presently she is a Research Professor with the Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences and studies Arctic climate change and Arctic-global climate linkages. During the 13 months from July 2009-July 2010, her family of four spent a year sailing through Central America. She and her husband, Peter Francis (also a Marion native), circumnavigated the world in a sailboat from 1980-1985, including Cape Horn and the Arctic. Jennifer, Peter, and their two children (Holly and Tucker) moved back to Marion in June 2009 after living in California, Seattle, and New Jersey.
The library is located at 7 Barstow Street in Mattapoisett and is accessible to all.