Speaker: Dr. Bryan Mark
Seminar Title: Evaluating transformations in mountain watersheds with diminishing ice
Abstract: Accelerating melt of mountain glaciers and permafrost is paradigmatic of climate change. While satellite remote sensing technology has facilitated efforts to quantify the scale of these ongoing changes, assessing ongoing processes of environmental transformation in downstream watersheds calls for integrated field and modeling studies. There is much more going on than a change in stream hydrology. In this talk I will highlight ongoing efforts within our Glacier Environmental Change research group to evaluate changes and impacts in diverse mountain watersheds of the Peruvian Andes, Great Basin of Nevada, and Hindu Kush Himalaya. We couple multi-scalar observations of glacier volume change, hydrology, meteorology, water quality, and land use with socioeconomic perceptions of and responses to environmental change. We have demonstrated the utility of mixed methodologies of physical and social sciences in international partnership, innovative but sustainable technology, embedded sensors, as well as open-sourced modeling and data exchange. I advocate for creative educational capacity building in maintaining networked measurements to inform adaptation strategies and evaluating risks for all end users.
Host: Demian Gomez and Yanlan Liu
