February 11, 2025
Mark Clifford Serreze and Ray Arnaudo
DCFR Global Speaker Series
Speakers: Mark Clifford Serreze and Ray Arnaudo
Date: February 11th, 2025
Time: 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Usual Central Denver Location (Please register for location details)
Description of Event
How are nations like China and Russia leveraging the thawing Arctic for economic and military advantage? Will the Antarctic Treaty withstand increasing pressures, or are we on the brink of a massive international land grab? What is the Antarctic “doomsday glacier,” and why does its melting pose a global threat?
Join us for an enlightening evening with two leading experts as we unpack the critical intersections of science, climate, and geopolitics at our planet’s poles. These regions, critical to Earth’s climate systems, are warming at an alarming rate, triggering unprecedented challenges and opportunities. These changes not only threaten global sea levels but also have the potential to reshape the world order, with significant impacts on security, economics, and sustainability.
In this special two-part program, Mark Clifford Serreze is the Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), and he will set the stage by delving into the science of climate change, providing a vivid picture of what is happening to the Arctic and Antarctic and why it matters for the planet’s future. Our second speaker, Ray Arnaudo, former State Department official on ocean and polar affairs and President Emeritus of the Polar Society, will then explore the geopolitical implications, from the opening of new trade routes to the race for resource exploitation and military positioning, as well as opportunities for collaboration in preservation and research.
Agenda of Event
5:00 ~ Cocktails and networking
5:30 ~ Start dinner seating.
5:35 ~ Brief welcome by DCFR President Rob Lantz, Introduction of Mark Clifford Serreze by Bart Alexander
5:40 ~ The Arctic and Antarctic Under Pressure
6:15 ~ Audience questions
6:30 ~ Dinner service starts
7:00 ~ Introduction of Ray Arnaudo by Bart Alexander
7:05 ~ Global Politics and Security at our Changing Poles
7:40 ~ Audience questions
7:55 ~ Ending Announcements by DCFR President Rob Lantz
8:00 ~ Event Ends
Bio of Speakers
Mark Clifford Serreze is the Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a project of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. In 2019, he was named a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geography. Mark is primarily known for his expertise in the Arctic sea ice decline that has occurred over the last few decades due to climate change, a topic about which he has expressed serious concern. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Mark grew up in Maine, and credits its frequent snowy weather as an inspiration for his interest in studying ice. He received his PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1989. Mark is also a keyboardist, singer, and songwriter for the rock band The Hobbled Neurons.
Ray Arnaudo is a retired State Department official and former Senior Scholar at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, with over forty years
experience in international environmental and science policy affairs. He is the President
Emeritus of the American Polar Society. Ray is a member of the National Science
Foundation’s Polar Affairs Advisory Committee and the U.S. Advisory Committee on
Antarctic Names. Ray previously served in the US State Department in senior
positions in ocean and polar affairs, including Head of the U.S. Antarctic Treaty
Secretariat, Director of the Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs, and lead Arctic and
Antarctic negotiator during the formative period of polar cooperation during the 1980s/
90s. In recognition of his polar efforts, there is a small mountain peak in Antarctica near
the Beardmore Glacier named Mt. Arnaudo. Ray received his B.A. degree from
Stanford University and his M.A. from the John Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies, and served in the U.S. Army. He is a native San Franciscan and
married to Rose Gottemoeller
*Please visit our Global Affairs Speaker Dinenrs page to learn about our policies.
