Over 100 people turned out on January 14, 2021 for the third installment of the American Avalanche Association’s digital seminar series. January’s talks featured the relationships between avalanches and climate change. We were fortunate enough to hear from:
- Ben Hatchett, Assistant Research Professor, Atmospheric Science, at the Desert Research Institute at the University of Nevada Reno who presented on the theme of climate/weather linkage trends in the western US and associations with loading by atmospheric river events, which are projected to become stronger in a warming climate.
- Christoph Mitterer, researcher and forecaster with the Avalanche Warning Service Tyrol in Innsbruck, Austria and the University of Innsbruck, will discuss wet snow avalanches (and avalanches in general) in a changing climate.
- Pascal Haegeli, Assistant Professor of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, presented research completed with Bret Shandro and Patik Mair using a new approach that uses avalanche problem information published in public avalanche bulletins, for gaining insight into the relationship between atmosphere-ocean oscillations and avalanche hazard in western Canada.
Watch a recording of the seminar below:
Video not working? Watch it here.
Check out the first and second seminars in our series.
The next seminar, Effective Avalanche Communication with the Public and Media: Leveraging Expertise and Factual Information, will be held via zoom on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:30 PM MST. The seminar will feature two speakers:
- Dr. Tom Nichols, an expert in using factual information to communicate, is a professor at the US Naval War College and at the Harvard Extension School, and is also a Senior Associate of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. He is the author of eight books, the most recent of which, The Death of Expertise (Oxford University Press), examines why people mistrust established knowledge and how this damages society and democratic stability. Dr. Nichols will help us understand how, as experts, people who are knowledgeable about avalanches can best communicate to the public.
- Amy David is a professional skier and outdoor adventure athlete. During summer months, she guides wilderness backpacking trips for Sawtooth Mountain Guides and is the Retreat Director and lead guide for And She’s Dope Too world-wide women’s collective. She is the owner and founder of Action Inspired Productions curating multi-media content as the writer, producer, and on-camera talent telling inspiring stories connecting people and the planet. Ms. David will discuss how to best communicate about outdoor topics to the public at large.
A3 members should keep an eye on their email for more details and for the Zoom creds needed to log in to the seminar. We hope you’ll join us for what promises to be an important evening of professional development.
Photo by Greg Rosenke via Unsplash
