RAL/CGD JOINT SEMINAR: Anticipating 21st-century Snowmelt Extremes
1:00 – 2:00 pm MDT
Dr. Alan Rhoades
Dr. Alan Rhoades is a Hydroclimate Research Scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Area who uses climate models to assess how mountainous water cycle processes are influenced by climate change, how those changes could influence water resource management, and how the scientific community can better help water managers preemptively adapt to these changes. Alan was born and raised in the California Sierra Nevada and received his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at the University of California, Davis. Outside of work hours, Alan enjoys trail running, backpacking, bouldering, keeping up with his dog child, Luna, and nature photography. For more information on Dr. Rhoades' research, please visit www.alanrhoades.com
Abrupt snowmelt, whether through rain-on-snow or snow-eater heatwaves, can increase the risk of midwinter and spring flooding, accelerate the onset of snow drought during late spring and early summer, and alter water availability later in the year. My research aims to understand the drivers of extreme snowmelt events, largely through the use of physics-based modeling, to help water managers and flood planners proactively, rather than reactively, respond to their changing characteristics in a warmer world. In this talk, I will showcase recent research that utilizes both cutting-edge modeling approaches (e.g., regionally refined Earth system models) and operational forecasting modeling approaches (e.g., National Weather Service SNOW-17 model) to identify how snowmelt-driven flood events have and continue to respond to warming.