James J. McCarthy

James J. McCarthy is a Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard and was President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from Feb 2008-Feb 2009.

McCarthy is Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography and former Master of Pforzheimer House. He is also Acting Curator of the Malacology Department in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

His studies address factors that regulate the processes of primary production and nutrient supply in upper ocean, approached using controlled laboratory studies and field investigations. Study sites range from near shore to the open ocean. Recent and current field research sites include the North Atlantic, equatorial Pacific, and Arabian Sea.

He is on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment.

Quote from Science News February 2009 interview: The Maldives and Kiribati highlight a hidden challenge for coping with climate change\global Warming. It's not just about slowing the emissions of greenhouse gases. It's also about figuring out what to do for localities threatened with the possibility of extinction from [rising ocean waters. "They are like the canary in the coal mine in terms of the dramatic impact of climate change on a whole civilization of people" "They didn't cause the problem, but they will be among the first to feel it." The 2007 IPCC report took an extremely conservative approach to potential sea level rise, focusing on thermal expansion. It estimated that sea level increases could range from 0.2 to 0.6 meters by 2100. Experts cautioned, however, that these numbers were highly uncertain and probably underestimated the potential change. The IPCC analysis did not take into account the unexpectedly rapid rate of melting and decay of polar ice sheets, particularly in Greenland, that has been observed recently, or the prospect of accelerated breakdown of polar sheets in the future. "That's not something that was anticipated".

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