PORT ANGELES —―Robert Steelquist of the Olympic Coast National Sanctuary will talk about possible effects of climate change on the North Olympic Peninsula coast in “Our Changing Ocean” at Peninsula College’s Studium Generale program Thursday.
His presentation will begin at 12:35 p.m. in the college’s Little Theater. It is free and open to the public.
Steelquist has been for 19 years the education and outreach coordinator of the sanctuary, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or Noaa.
His address will be based on recent analysis carried out by Washington Sea Grant and the sanctuary.
Effects he will examine include:
■ Changes in ambient air and sea-water temperature.
■ Changes to the pH level in ocean waters that affect organisms.
■ Possible localized sea level rise.
■ Shifts in major storm tracks that could influence the intensity of those storms.
■ Changes in ocean upwelling.
■ Changes in dissolved oxygen in coastal areas.
■ Changes in rainfall patterns affecting river flooding.
Steelquist is a Peninsula College alum, naturalist, educator and author of books on the Olympic Peninsula, among others.
He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Evergreen State College in environmental studies, concentrating in communications and environmental policy.
For more information on other upcoming Studium Generale programs and events, see www.pencol.edu or www.facebook.com/PeninsulaCollege.