More than 350 enthusiastic audience members from the campus and surrounding community gathered for the world premiere of “The Arctic Expedition,” on December 5th at the UCI Student Center Auditorium. Following the documentary about climate change research in the arctic region, a lively panel, with expert faculty from both the Biological Sciences School and School of Physical Sciences, tackled questions about research impacts and global warming challenges facing the arctic. Then, attendees participated in a meet-and-greet reception with filmmaker Anthony Christopher.

The film, in cooperation with Anthony Christopher Productions and a part of the Allergan Foundation Series in Modern Biology, is an 87-minute documentary that followed the 330-foot Canadian Coast Guard ice cutter Amundsen during a 15-month research voyage.  During three visits to the vessel, filmmaker Anthony Christopher documented the work of this state-of-the-art floating laboratory with the participation of 250 scientists from 26 countries.  Completed in March 2014, the film examines the direct impact of global warming on the Arctic region itself as researchers from many disciplines worked side by side to accumulate unprecedented data as a group.  The panel discussion featured Biological Sciences School faculty member Professor Kathleen K. Treseder, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; School of Physical Sciences faculty members Professor Adam C. Martiny, Earth System Science and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Professor Eric Rignot, Earth System Science.