SEG Emphasizes Its Unique Contribution in Call for Action to Address Climate Change

TULSA, Okla., Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) highlights several ways its community can address climate change in an update and expansion to its official position about it released today.

SEG, the premier global professional society for applied geophysics, supports its stakeholders in academia, government, and industry who seek to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions. SEG's statement emphasizes the essential roles geophysicists play in carbon sequestration, monitoring of large ice masses, exploration for minerals used in wind and solar energy systems, geothermal energy exploration, and water-resources management in the position statement posted on its website and forthcoming in the March issue of The Leading Edge.

"Preservation of our planet and contribution to society are among SEG strategic pillars of our geophysical community's engagement with the world," said SEG President Maurice Nessim. "We bring a unique perspective to the conversation. Our relevance and leadership are elevated as we amplify our focus on critical energy and environmental challenges."

SEG has joined nearly 200 other scientific societies worldwide and the U.S. National Academies of Science in affirming the position of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that has concluded that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are extremely likely to be the dominant cause of observed climate warming since 1950.

SEG's position, replacing a briefer and less-specific statement issued in 2017, is supported by citations to seminal works as well as recent studies in climate science. The statement affirms the Society's support for members engaged in geophysical research, publication, and open dialog on climate change and its impacts.

The statement was developed by a Climate Change Task Force led by John Bradford, an SEG past president, along with David Lumley and Maria Angela Capello, current SEG Board of Directors members. Bradford is Vice President for Global Initiatives and Professor of Geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines. Lumley is a Professor, Cecil and Ida Green Endowed Chair in Geophysics, and Director of the Seismic Imaging and Inversion Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas. Cav. Capello is a distinguished geophysicist with extensive industry and professional-society experience and is the lead author of the "Geophysical Sustainability Atlas: Mapping geophysics to the UN Sustainable Development Goals," which appeared in the January 2021 issue of SEG's publication The Leading Edge.

The SEG Board adopted the position statement in a unanimous vote during its January 2021 meeting.

The statement is available on SEG's website at https://seg.org/About-SEG/Climate-Change

About SEG
The Society of Exploration Geophysicists is committed to connecting and inspiring the people and science of geophysics. With more than 13,000 members in 116 countries, SEG provides educational and technical resources to the global geosciences community through publications, books, events, forums, professional development courses, young professional programs, and more. Founded in 1930, SEG fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, characterization of near surface, and mitigation of earth hazards. For more information visit www.seg.org.

SOURCE SEG