MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact: Alan Buis (818) 354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

News Release: 2004-205 August 18, 2004

Free Talks Focus on Link Between Carbon Dioxide and Climate

It's an important greenhouse gas, and a fundamental building block for
food, fiber and life on Earth. It's also the principal human
contribution toward climate change. It's carbon dioxide, and it's the
focus of a pair of free, public lectures to be held at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena on Thursday, Aug. 19, and at
Pasadena City College on Friday, Aug. 20.

Dr. Charles Miller, deputy project investigator for NASA's Orbiting
Carbon Observatory mission at JPL, will speak about "The Orbiting
Carbon Observatory: Understanding Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and its
Impact on Climate Change."

Increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have raised
concerns about the impact of human activities on Earth's climate.
Precise ground-based measurements collected since the 1970s indicate
that only about half of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere
by fossil fuel combustion has remained there. The land and oceans have
apparently absorbed the rest. However, ground-based measurements are
not adequate to determine how or where this absorption is occurring.
These uncertainties compromise our ability to predict future
atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations or their effect on the
climate system.

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory, a two-year mission targeted for
launch in October 2007, will enhance understanding of Earth's carbon
cycle and climate. It will provide the first global, space-based
measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with the precision and
resolution needed to identify and monitor the human and natural
processes responsible for absorbing and emitting this gas. These
measurements will advance our understanding of the processes
regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide, enabling more reliable
forecasts of climate change.

Miller is a research scientist in the atmospheric chemistry research
element at JPL, responsible for managing the Orbiting Carbon
Observatory science team. He holds bachelor of science degrees in
chemistry and history from Duke University, Durham, N.C., and a
doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of California,
Berkeley. He previously served as a National Research Council
research associate in the chemical kinetics and photochemistry group
at JPL and as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at
Haverford College, Philadelphia. He was appointed deputy principal
investigator of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission in 2001.

Both lectures begin at 7 p.m. Seating is on a first-come,
first-served basis. The Thursday lecture will be webcast live and
will also be available after the event on the JPL Web site. The
lecture at JPL, located at 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, off the Oak
Grove Drive exit of the 210 (Foothill) Freeway, will be held in the
von Karman Auditorium. The Friday lecture will be held in Pasadena
City College's Vosloh Forum at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. For more
information, call (818) 354-0112. Information on the von Karman
lecture and webcast is available at

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/aug04.cfm .

The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for
NASA.

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