On December 19th, 2018, the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) held its second ‘Climate Day’. About 30 students and teachers from Mandeok High School and Dongrae Girls High School participated in the afternoon program, which offered a mixture of lectures, hands-on experiments and discussions. The main purpose of ICCP’s Climate Day is to disseminate climate knowledge to the next generation and to raise scientific curiosity among high school students.
Axel Timmermann’s introductory lecture on ‘Global warming, sea level rise and ocean acidification’ was followed by a more in-depth review of ocean acidification by Dr. Eunyoung Kwon, associate project leader of ICCP. To get a better understanding of the effects of CO2 on ocean acidification, the students conducted an experiment in which they were able to observe drastic color changes of an acid-sensitive dye in a glass of water, as CO2 seeped into it from a piece of dry ice.
Hands-on Experiments by Dr. Eunyoung Kwon, associate project leader of ICCP 
Axel Timmermann, Director of ICCP, giving a lecture on ‘Global warming, sea level rise and ocean acidification’
Thereafter, Dr. Muyoung Heo, ICCP’s supercomputing manager, and Dr. Sunseon Lee, an assistant research fellow in our center, gave a presentation on the role of supercomputers in climate research. Students heard for the first time about ICCP’s new supercomputer Aleph, which ICCP scientists will start using in 2019 for cutting-edge climate research.
The Climate Day came to a close with a lively Q&A session among students and ICCP scientists discussing issues related to global warming, ice ages and societal responsibilities.
Addressing and resolving future environmental challenges, such as Global Warming and Ocean acidification requires a basic level of scientific literacy. ICCP will continue to play a key role in disseminating climate knowledge to the general public and the next generation. ICCP is committed to improving the public awareness for science.