NASA Scientist to Discuss 'El Niño - A NASA Perspective' at Library of Congress Lecture

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Mar 16, 2016, 04:26 ET

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The public is invited to a free talk called "El Niño - A NASA Perspective" with Steven Pawson in the Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Steven Pawson is an atmospheric scientist and the chief of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. His expertise is in the domain of atmospheric transport and composition.

"The presentation will cover our basic knowledge of El Niño events and then examine the present [2015-2016] event in some detail," Pawson said. "One major focus of the presentation will be on how NASA scientists are able to combine a wide array of observations using advanced computer models, to provide a detailed analysis of the three-dimensional structure of El Niño in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The second major focus will be how NASA's current suite of modern satellite observations of the Earth enable us to build a unique picture of the global impacts of the 2015-2016 El Niño."

Pawson will describe the broad characteristics of El Niño and follow up with a view of the 2015-2016 event. He will emphasize that El Niño is natural phenomenon that is not caused by global warming and then contrast the 2015-2016 event with other big events in the past. Attendees will learn how NASA uses computer models to build up a complete three-dimensional picture of El Niño in the ocean and atmosphere. In addition, Pawson will show how NASA uses its space-based observations to build up a more complete picture of how El Niño has an impact on the global Earth system.

The Library of Congress maintains one of the largest and most diverse collections of scientific and technical information in the world. The Science, Technology and Business Division provides reference and bibliographic services and develops the general collections of the library in all areas of science, technology, business and economics. For more information, visit www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/.

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world and holds nearly 151.8 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The library serves Congress and the nation both on-site in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill and through its award-winning website at www.loc.gov.

For inquiries about this or upcoming talks at the Library of Congress, the public can contact the LOC Science, Technology and Business Division at 202-707-5664. ADA accommodations should be requested five business days in advance at 202-707-6382 (voice/tty) or [email protected].

The lecture will be later broadcast on the library's webcast page and YouTube channel "Topics in Science" playlist.

For more information visit: http://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/

For directions, visit: http://www.loc.gov/visit/maps-and-floor-plans/

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SOURCE NASA