Author: Andi

Andi Kolari

Professor Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223 Seminar

11/22/2021

Research Description

The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of how climate change will impact the Earth past the year 2100 if no climate action is taken. By analyzing patterns in climate change, and years of pre-existing data, scientists were able to analyze the impact of climate change in multiple distinct areas. They identified tangible impacts to vegetation and human well being. Based on these results, they were able to then analyze the impact this would have on society directly, such as ensuing food shortages, necessary human migrations, and others. The scientists analyzed these societal factors throughout many different regions.

 

Abstract and Research vs Article

The abstract and research actually have quite a different focus than most of the article. The abstract does what one expects an abstract to do. It gives a very brief overview of what goal the scientists were trying to accomplish. In the case of this experiment, the goal was to identify impacts of climate change on Earth by the year 2500. They explained this, and their results, and that is essentially the entire abstract. Part of the reason for their goal was to stress the importance of taking climate action, by showing the radical changes between now and 2500 if no action is taken. As such, the scientists behind this study did something extremely novel. Using the data they collected, they created analyses of individual regions across the globe. Then, after conducting these analyses and reaching conclusions on what these areas would look like, they actually passed their data on to artists, who then created artistic representations of what the data suggested the individual regions would look like by the year 2500, as to really motivate people to take action on climate change. The article primarily focuses on these artistic interpretations, only occasionally focusing on the raw data. Since the art is so much easier for an average person to digest, the article focuses on that, only devoting a few sentences to explaining how the scientists did it, and the numerical/analytical results of the experiment. Likewise, the differences between the actual research itself and the article are very similar. The research paper is composed of five sections, not including introduction and conclusion. Of these 5 sections, none are entirely devoted to the art. In fact, the art is only present in section 5, and exists only to enhance the individual regional analyses conducted by the scientists. In contrast, the art really is the entire focus of the article. The job of the research is to be research, and as such, it is held to extreme scrutiny. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, whether that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. In contrast, the article really is more focused on the art, and conveying the message that action must be taken on climate change, using this fusion of art and science as a tool to do so, but mostly focusing on the art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources Cited

• Lyon et al. Climate change research and action must look beyond 2100. Global Change Biology. Published online September 24, 2021. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15871.
• Gramling, Carolyn. “How Will Climate Change Reshape the World by 2500?” Science News, 18 Nov. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/climate-change-projections-2500.

 

Andi Kolari

Professor Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223 Seminar

11/08/2021

Research Description

The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of how climate change is impacting the height of the troposphere. From 1980 to 2000, the height of the tropopause increased, though it was unclear if these changes in height could be used as a benchmark to predict changes in height after 2000, as those changes were not consistent with models predicting change after 2000. The scientists completed their objective using meteorological balloons to measure the height of the troposphere in the northern hemisphere, ultimately concluding that changes in the height of the troposphere were consistent with changes from 1980 to 2000.

 

Abstract vs Article

The abstract is much more in depth than the article. The abstract is extremely brief. It describes the goal of the research article as analyzing the change in the earth’s tropopause height over a 20-year period. It very, very briefly describes how they did it. It describes what they found, and it describes what they believe to be a potential cause, and compares the data to pre-existing data from 20 years . In contrast, the article is somehow even more brief. All the article does is state that the tropopause is rising because of climate change and that is literally it. It says the tropopause has risen about 200 meters over 40 years, includes a few quotes from one of the researchers, and that is it. It’s an extremely brief article that only really restates the conclusion of the research, and a very shortened version at that.

 

Research vs Article

Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article, as there is almost nothing to the article. The article really is just a restatement of the conclusion of the study, while the research is an actual report on the study. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. A research journal will be held to the upmost scrutiny. The researchers will exhaust every resource available to them to ensure that they conducted a proper scientific experiment and their findings are true and valid. The larger scientific community will hold their findings to extreme scrutiny to ensure that the science is ethical and accurate. They are actually conducting a scientific study, and reporting it to the scientific community. In contrast, the article really is just a restatement of the conclusion for wider audiences beyond academia.

 

Sources Cited

• Meng et al. Continuous rise of the tropopause in the Northern Hemisphere over 1980–2020. Science Advances. Published online November 5, 2021. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8065.
• Kreier, Freda. “Earth’s Lower Atmosphere Is Rising Due to Climate Change.” Science News, 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-lower-atmosphere-rising-climate-change-troposphere.

Andi Kolari

Professor Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223 Seminar

10/17/2021

Research Description

The aim of this research was to attempt to conduct an analysis of the earth’s reflectance. The earth reflects a portion of the sun’s light back into space. Roughly 30% of it. Using ground based light measuring instruments, scientists were able to examine the amount of light reflected from the moon, as the sun’s light is reflected off of earth, and then partially reflected off the moon back to earth. Using this method, scientist were able to measure that the Earth was reflecting about .5% less light over a 19 year period from 1998 to 2017.

Abstract vs Article

The article is much more in depth than the abstract. The abstract is extremely brief. It describes the goal of the research article as analyzing the change in the earth’s reflected light over a 19-year period. It very, very briefly describes how they did it. It describes what they found, and it describes what they believe to be a potential cause. There is also a “plain language summary”, which is essentially the same thing but with less scientific jargon. In contrast, the article is actually much more in depth. The article does everything listed above, though in slightly more depth. In addition, it provides its own alternate theories for the findings of the researchers. The article proposes that the decrease in reflection is the result of the warming of the eastern Pacific, which has reduced low-lying cloud cover, which in turn decreases the earth’s reflectiveness. The article proposes that this could also be the result of the melting of the polar ice caps, which also reflect a significant amount of light. Additionally, the article talks more about the implications of this research. Specifically, the implications regarding climate change, as the decrease in light reflection will continue to contribute to the warming of the earth.

 

Research vs Article

Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article. While the article gives a relatively deep description of what was discussed in the research, the actual study goes far more in depth. As an example, the article simply explains that the researchers conducted an analysis of the amount of light the earth reflects by observing the reflected light the moon reflected back to us. In the actual research journal, the authors explain that there are multiple problems with just measuring this quantity, such as the changing moon phases, seasonal changes, etc. As such, they had to meticulously account for all of these different parameters which could have thrown off what it was they were trying to calculate. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. A research journal will be held to the upmost scrutiny. The researchers will exhaust every resource available to them to ensure that they conducted a proper scientific experiment and their findings are true and valid. The larger scientific community will hold their findings to extreme scrutiny to ensure that the science is ethical and accurate. An article like this on the other hand, is not held to such scrutiny. It exists to provide the general public with an easier to digest version of the science, so it is far less in depth.

 

 

 

 

Sources Cited

• R. Goode et al. Earth’s albedo 1998-2017 as measured from earthshine. Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 48, Sept. 8, 2021. doi: 10.1029/2021GL094888.
• Perkins, S. (2021, October 13). Earth is reflecting less light. it’s not clear if that’s a trend. Science News. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-reflection-light-dim-earthshine-moon-solar-radiation.

 

 

Seminar Science News

 

Andi Kolari

Professor Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223 Seminar

9/25/2021

Research Description

The aim of this research was to attempt to conduct an analysis of how Polynesia came to be inhabited. According to the article, “Polynesian voyagers settled islands across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean within about 500 years” (Bower, 2021). By analyzing the genetic data of modern-day Polynesians, researchers were able to create a timeline of how Polynesia came to be inhabited.

Abstract vs Article

The abstract of the scientific research, and the actual article are actually quite similar in terms of how in depth they are. The journal’s abstract gives a very brief look at the findings of the actual research. One sentence is given explaining the objective of the research, another to a very brief description of what the researchers actually did, another sentence explaining the current consensus on the matter, and a few more sentences explaining the findings of the research. The article is effectively the same thing, with slightly more details. The article similarly explains that the objective of the study was to establish a timeline of how Polynesia was inhabited, though it goes a bit more in depth explaining the current scientific consensus. Another interesting difference between the abstract and the article is that the article also makes reference to a source whose findings can potentially contradict the research, though it is not definitive. The abstract has no such information, as it is designed to provide a very brief synopsis of the data.

 

Research vs Article

Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article. While the article gives very brief descriptions of what was discussed in the research, the actual study goes far more in depth. As an example, the article simply explains that the researchers conducted a DNA analysis. The research however, provides an in depth explanation of the DNA they analyzed, what the results of their analysis were, how they obtained these results, and how these results led to their ultimate conclusion. Every conclusion they reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, or some kind of supplemental research conducted by an alternate source which the researchers used to enhance their findings. In the research, everything is presented to the reader, which makes sense, as a scientific report would be held to the upmost scrutiny and would be peer reviewed, leading to the researchers providing in depth explanations to ensure there is absolutely no ambiguity in their research. In contrast, the article is most definitely not up to such scrutiny, so everything can be presented in a form that is easy to digest and can be taken at face value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources Cited

• Ioannidis et al. Paths and timings of the peopling of Polynesia inferred from genomic networks. Nature. Vol. 597, September 23, 2021, p. 522. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03902-8.
• Bower, B. (2021, September 22). DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled. Science News. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dna-genetics-how-polynesia-settled-migration-islands-pacific-ocean.