The University of the Philippines Visayas will host the lecture entitled: Perspectives on Multi-facet Impacts of Global Warming to the Hydrosphere and Cryosphere on November 19, 2019 at the UPV Iloilo City Campus Auditorium from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

The World Expert Lecture Series or WELS is a program under the University of the Philippines Office of International Linkages, a unit under the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. 

For this series, WELS has invited Dr. Thian Yew Gan to share his expertise on the impacts of global warming to the hydrosphere and cryosphere. Dr. Gan is a professor of civil and environmental engineering of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. 

Dr. Gan specializes in water resources, hydrology, cryosphere, remote sensing, and environmental impact of climate change.

The “cryosphere” is the frozen water part of the Earth system, as stated by the National Oceanic Service, National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration of the US Dept. of Commerce. 

The NOAA further explained that cryosphere composes “places on Earth that are so cold that water is frozen solid. These areas of snow or ice, which are subject to temperatures below 32°F for at least part of the year.”

The term “cryosphere” comes from the Greek word, “krios,” which means cold.

The “hydrosphere”, on the other hand, is defined by National Geographic Society’s Resource Library as the “total amount of water on a planet” and it “includes water that is on the surface of the planet, underground, and in the air.”

Apart from the lecture proper, Dr. Gan is also expected to attend numerous activities and meetings while in Iloilo. 

Dr. Gan has published around 126 Journal Papers and he has authored books. In 2011, Dr. Gan together with Roger Barry published a 472 page book entitled: Global Global Cryosphere, Past, Present and Future. In 2018, Dr. Gan released another one entitled: Enhancing the Resiliency of Canadian Prairies Against Future droughts Under Possible Impact of Climate Warming, in Resilient Systems, Resilient Communities. 

The Ilonggo audience will have the rare opportunity to listen to this lecture. The topic is intended to further deepen public understanding of scientific concepts that has become a buzz in global discourse on climate change.

Dr. Gan will talk about the global energy balance, greenhouse effects and examples of observed changes to the hydrosphere and cryosphere. He will also discuss the the impacts of climate change on the future of global climate and what are its possible implications and changes on hydrology, water resources and cryosphere. 

The lecture series is being organized by the UP Visayas School of Technology. Expected to attend are students, academics, government agency officials, civil society and non-government organizations, youth and environmental protection groups, and climate change activists and campaigners. 

Photo of Dr. Thian Yew Gan was lifted from https://www.google.com/search?q=Photo+of+Dr.+Thian+Yew+Gan