Teacher Turtle lives in the toasty tropical waters, referred to as the Pacific "warm pool," off the coast of Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia. She is one of eight species of sea turtles worldwide, all of which are threatened or endangered. Humans and climate change are the major threats to her survival.

She has gained some of her climate knowledge from the indigenous island peoples who have been fishing and subsisting in this environment for thousands of years. They know how to read the winds, waves, and clouds for important weather information that may affect their lives.

Recently, Teacher Turtle has become concerned about rising sea temperatures and global warming. She has seen evidence of widespread coral bleaching and more frequent and intense ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation) storm patterns. Fortunately, she met the right bunch of people to answer her questions - the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program scientists who are studying climate change right there in her Tropical Western Pacific ecosystem.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ARM Program has been gathering data for climate research and weather prediction over the last decade. Three island sites in the Tropical Western Pacific and Australia (as well as sites on the North Slope of Alaska and the Southern Great Plains in the United States) are host to ARM meteorological instruments and scientists who spend their time improving global climate models.

For more information on sea turtles, please visit the following links:

• The Regional Impacts of Climate Change
• Sea Turtles: Families Cheloniidae & Dermochelyidae
• Information on Sea Turtles and Threats to Their Survival
• Turtle Trax: A Page Devoted to Marine Turtles
• Sea Turtle Restoration Project
• Caribbean Conservation Corporation: Links to Other Sites of Interest
• Arbec Turtle Conservation
• Wildlife Search: Sea Turtle Information Links

Back to Meet Our Friends.