Climate model simulations and paleoclimate proxies are two tools that enable an understanding of the climate history of the Earth. When utilized together, they form a powerful paradigm for understanding past changes. Proxies are the only physical link to the past conditions on Earth, and models “fill in the gaps”...
A synthesis of over 2000 paleoclimate proxy records is performed via a data assimilation framework that expands upon previous efforts by implementing a suite of physically-based proxy system models, and which provides the first example of an observationally independent, multi-seasonal (DJFM, JJAS) paleoclimate reanalysis. This methodology is contrasted against previous...
Uncertainties in general circulation model (GCM) representations of marine boundary layer (MBL) shallow cloud cover contribute substantially to the spread in model predictions of future climate. Further uncertainties in GCM output arise from an incomplete understanding of cloud-aerosol interactions. For example, the Fifth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on...
Noise is an environmental issue uniquely harmful to public welfare but essential to a well-functioning modern economy. Given the prevalence of noise especially in urban soundscapes, noise pollution has been recognized as a negative externality and an environmental stressor and thus has become an issue in public policy. Yet, as...
Transpiration (T), or the evaporation of water through plant stomata, plays a critical role in climate and biophysical processes at the earth’s surface. While T makes up a majority of the terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) flux on a global scale, the partitioning of ET is variable and remains elusive. Because photosynthetic...
An increase in anthropogenic activities since the industrial revolution, primarily due to burning of fossil fuels and changes in land cover, has resulted in a steady increase in the global mean atmospheric CO2 concentrations. While there is unequivocal scientific evidence on global warming and its multidimensional impacts on natural and...
Climate change impacts everyone’s food and water security. Increasing global temperatures accelerate the hydrologic cycle and consequently impact the water resources for billions of people worldwide. Countless models have been developed to represent various components of the hydrologic cycle at various spatial and temporal scales. These are often validated against...
Mountainous headwater streams make up ~80 % of stream length globally and are strongly connected with catchment hillslopes and riparian areas, which can influence water quantity, quality, and availability for downstream uses. Accordingly, effective management of headwater streams and riparian zones to maintain desired ecosystem services downstream is critical, particularly...
Cloud reflectivity is a function of cloud liquid water content and droplet number concentration. Since cloud droplets form around pre-existing aerosol particles, cloud droplet number concentration depends on the availability of particles that can serve as cloud condensation nuclei. Given constant liquid water amount, increased availability of cloud condensation nuclei...
Small molecule drugs have been instrumental in our fight against diseases, beginning when some of the earliest ancient cultures used plant remedies to treat illnesses. More recently, the skill of isolating and characterizing the active ingredients within bioactive plants and microbial extracts has led to the isolation and design of...