In the 2004 blockbuster film “The Day After Tomorrow,” global warming shuts down a major ocean current, leading to abrupt climate change and catastrophic impacts around the world. It seemed far-fetched then, but studies today suggest the same ocean current may be on the verge of collapsing. If it does, it could change Chicago’s weather for 1,000 years.
Northwestern University PhD student Aidan Burdick is part of a specialized research team in the department of Earth and Environmental Science. He spends his days in a state-of-the art laboratory, sifting through mud to look for fossilized flies.
In those ancient flies, he sees a thermometer…