A city landscape shrouded in a red haze.

Floods, Droughts, Then Fires: Hydroclimate Whiplash is Speeding up Globally

DRI’s Christine Albano co-authored a new study that examines how a warming climate is creating an atmosphere more prone to extreme weather. This “hydroclimate whiplash” is evident in California’s recent weather, with winters filled with repeated atmospheric river storms driving the plant growth that the dry summers then parched, providing plentiful fuel for explosive wildfires.

Landscape that includes people standing on a large ice sheet with hills and dark clouds in the distance.

Ice Patches on Beartooth Plateau Reveal How Ancient Landscape Differed From Today’s

DRI scientists Joe McConnell and Nathan Chellman co-authored a new study that examines a 6,000-year-old forest preserved in a Rocky Mountain ice patch. The research, which was led by the USGS and Montana State University, used the fossil wood to develop tree-ring based temperature estimates of the mid-Holocene period. The study can provide insight into the future elevational movement of forests under climate change, the scientists say.

Cows grazing in a green meadow with mountains in the distance.

Western Agricultural Communities Need Water Conservation Strategies to Adapt to Future Shortages

Relying on water storage won’t be enough to make up for declines in future water availability under a changing climate, new study shows. Beatrice Gordon, lead author of the study and sociohydrologist and postdoctoral researcher at DRI, says the research is needed to inform water management at the local level, where most decisions are made.

Bea Gordon with her dog hiking in the snow.

Meet Bea Gordon, Ph.D.

Beatrice, who also goes by “Bea,” is an interdisciplinary hydrologist with a deeply embedded concern for water availability born from her childhood on a Wyoming ranch. She is focused on working with communities in rural Nevada to understand their needs for effective climate adaptation.