UB experts available to discuss climate science at AGU Fall Meeting

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Climate scientists from the University at Buffalo will be available to discuss the latest research in their field at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco from Dec. 9-13.

The researchers can be reached via email (contact information listed below), or through Douglas Sitler in UB Media Relations at 716-645-9069 or drsitler@buffalo.edu.   

In recent years, the UB Department of Geology has grown its climate change research group, with a focus on glaciology, the study of glaciers and ice sheets. The UB RENEW Institute (Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water Institute) is also highly engaged in climate change research.

UB climate scientists who will be on-site for the AGU Fall Meeting include:

Beata Csatho, PhD
Professor and Chair of Geology
University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences
bcsatho@buffalo.edu

Research areas: Using satellite data and aerial surveys to monitor the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, IMBIE/IMBIE-2, ICESat-2

Csatho’s research focuses on using remote sensing to monitor how ice sheets and glaciers are changing on Earth. One goal of this work is to improve predictions of future ice loss and sea level rise. She has conducted extensive research on both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

Csatho is a member of the ice sheet mass balance inter-comparison exercise (IMBIE-2) collaboration. She has also worked with NASA on satellite and aerial missions that study the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. From 2011-14, she led the Science Definition Team for NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2), and she is currently a Science Team member of NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission.

Jason Briner, PhD
Professor of Geology
University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences
jbriner@buffalo.edu

Research areas: Paleoclimatology, history of the Greenland Ice Sheet, Arctic field research

Briner studies the history of climate and ice in the Arctic, with a focus on the Greenland Ice Sheet. In 2017, he organized a National Science Foundation-funded workshop that brought scientists from around the world to Buffalo to discuss the stability of the ice sheet and what kinds of research on the ice sheet should be prioritized.

Each year, Briner brings students to Greenland or other parts of the Arctic to conduct field work. His team collects geologic evidence, such as samples of boulders and lakebed mud, that provide clues about how ice sheets and glaciers fluctuated in size during periods of ancient warming or cooling. Understanding how ice on Earth responded to climate events in prehistoric times could lead to improvements in models that predict future ice loss and sea level rise.

Kristin Poinar, PhD
Assistant Professor of Geology
University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences
UB RENEW Institute
kpoinar@buffalo.edu

Research areas: Ice sheet modeling, ice dynamics, interactions between ice flow and liquid water

Poinar uses computer modeling to understand how Earth’s ice sheets are shrinking and contributing to sea level rise. She investigates how ice and water move and interact within glaciers, and how these processes affect a glacier’s health and flow speed and the rate of a glacier’s decline. Much of her work focuses on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Elizabeth Thomas, PhD
Assistant Professor of Geology
University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences
ekthomas@buffalo.edu

Research areas: Paleoclimatology, geochemistry, precipitation and climate, Arctic field research

Thomas is a paleoclimatologist and geochemist. Her research aims to understand how changes in Earth’s climate have impacted precipitation patterns in the Arctic and other parts of the world over the past several hundred thousand years.

Each year, Thomas brings students to Greenland or other parts of the Arctic to conduct field work, with the goal of learning how ice sheets and plant life may react to rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns. Closer to home, she is examining the history of lake effect snow in Upstate New York. She has also conducted research on areas affected by the Asian Monsoon.

Stuart Evans, PhD
Assistant Professor of Geology
University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences
UB RENEW Institute
stuartev@buffalo.edu

Research areas: Atmospheric science, dust and dust storms in the climate system, precipitation and climate

Evans is an expert in atmospheric science. His research focuses on dust — not household dust, but tiny particles of ground-up minerals or clay that reflect heat or light in the atmosphere.

He models how dust can affect climate, including precipitation and drought, in different parts of the world and on Earth as a whole. He has studied some of the dustiest places on the planet, including the Sahara and the Sahel in Africa.

Csatho, Briner, Poinar, Thomas and Evans will all be presenting on their recent research during the AGU Fall Meeting. For information on their presentations, search the AGU Fall Meeting’s Scientific Program.