The Columbia Climate School and Scandinavia House invite you to a reception and conversation on sea level change.
Changes to the world’s ice sheets and sea levels are reshaping the places we call home. From flooding and intensifying storm surge risks in New York City to dramatic shifts along the coasts of Greenland and the Nordic region, rising and falling seas deeply affect our infrastructure and cherished landscapes.
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the Columbia Climate School’s powerhouse research hub, is at the forefront of tracking sea level change. Its scientists study the past to understand long-term climate patterns and make accurate projections for the future, providing essential insights for coastal planning, policy, risk assessment, and community preparedness.
In this special Earth Month program, Scandinavia House is proud to partner with the Columbia Climate School to bring this research directly to you. We invite you to join us, bring your questions, and engage with leading earth and climate experts, Lamont Professor Jacky Austermann and Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Jacqueline (Jacky) Austermann is an Associate Professor at Columbia University and part of the Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics Division of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. In her research, she studies sea level changes ranging from millions of years ago to the modern and future to understand ice sheet stability and its implications on coastlines. Austermann also works on geodynamic and plate tectonic problems dealing with plate driving forces and dynamics of the Earth’s deep interior.
Alexis Abramson is Dean of the Columbia Climate School and a Professor of Climate. A leading expert in sustainable energy technology, she focuses broadly on thermal transport, from designing nanostructured materials to addressing building energy efficiency. Before joining Columbia in 2025, she was dean of Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering. Abramson also recently served as a Technical Advisor to Breakthrough Energy Ventures, launched by Bill Gates. During the Obama administration, she held the position of Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office. Abramson holds engineering degrees from Tufts and a PhD from UC Berkeley.
