Cal State Fullerton Experts for: El Niño, Climate Change and Natural Disasters | Newswise
As you prepare stories regarding El Niño, landslides, extreme weather events, climate change and natural disasters, the following experts are available:
Oceans and Atmospheric Rivers
Joseph Carlin, professor of geological sciences and expert in marine geology at Cal State Fullerton, is interested in how coastal environments change or respond to extreme events, such as El Niño. He can speak on El Niño from an ocean perspective, a recent geologic perspective and how El Niño might compare to other recent events.
Carlin said: “The specific impacts of El Niños are difficult to anticipate because these are such complex ocean-atmosphere events. Further, what we may expect based on past El Niño events may not even apply anymore thanks to how our climate has changed over the past decades. It is almost like we thought we had the answers to the test, only to realize the questions have changed.
While El Niño gets all the attention when it comes around every few years, sometimes the most devastating weather we experience in California are from other meteorological events, like atmospheric rivers, that can occur more frequently but with less fanfare.”
Contact: [email protected]
https://www.fullerton.edu/geology/people/?itemID=4140-ac80-d31e253
CA’s Past Atmospheric Rivers and Wildfires Are the Present
Geological sciences professor Matthew E. Kirby’s research is in paleoclimatology, or the study of Earth’s past climate. He can comment on the implications future climate changes have on droughts, floods, strong atmospheric rivers and wildfires.
Kirby said: “What a lot of people do not know is that El Niño is highly variable. As a result, it is a mixed bag in terms of how much precipitation California receives during any given El Niño. I’d bet on above average precipitation this winter with the possibility of some significant storms. Prepare for potential flooding. Clean out your gutters, make sure your backyard drains are clear and have an emergency plan in case you are stranded or flooded.”
Contact: [email protected]
https://www.fullerton.edu/geology/people/?itemID=4140-ac80-d31e341
Modern Water Policy Management : How Trees Can Tell Us About Link Between Past and Present
Trevis Matheus, associate professor of geography and the environment at Cal State Fullerton, studies paleoclimatology and can discuss the links between past climate and today’s climate. Matheus studies tree rings to examine past droughts and snowpack more than 500 to 1,000 years in the past. This data helps inform policies involving water management and puts current climate change into context.
Contact: [email protected]
https://geography.fullerton.edu/faculty/index.html?itemID=444d-96a0-d31e144
Natural Hazard Mitigation, Landslides, Debris Flows and Earthquakes
Binod Tiwari, professor of civil and environmental engineering and chief research officer at Cal State Fullerton, is an expert in floods, landslides and coastal erosion. Tiwari can discuss natural hazard mitigation, specifically on landslides, mudslides, debris flows, post-fire cascading hazards, and earthquakes.
Tiwari said: “Our disaster memory is short-lasting, and we generally forget the negative impact of natural disasters to our community within a year of devastation. As such, documentation and dissemination of the lessons learned from past disasters are key to protect the community from future disasters. Engaging the scientific community to predict the occurrence of future natural extreme events and associated potential damages from those disasters — based on the lessons learned from the past — is an important aspect of disaster preparedness.”
Contact: [email protected]
https://experts.fullerton.edu/expert?SubjectID=78&ExpertID=948