CREST Scientists at the AGU 2014 Fall Meeting

Posted on January 12, 2015

CREST Students and Faculty gathered this year in San Francisco to present their work at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) annual fall conference held from December 15th through 19th. The meeting is held in San Francisco Moscone Center every fall and many Earth and Space scientists prepare diligently to showcase their projects. The AGU Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. The best geophysical scientists meet there to discuss the latest discoveries and critical challenges in this field. One of the most fascinating discoveries this year was the detection of methane on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. NASA’s scientists are still contemplating the origin of methane gas on Mars because its presence suggests the possibility of life there.

This year 9 professors from CREST attended AGU and presented their research findings to participants
from around the world. Early career scientists and students learned many new relevant things about innovative tools and approaches emerging in the field of Earth and space sciences. The meeting was also a great opportunity for them to exchange opinions and network with distinguished and well-known scientists.

Professors representing CREST at the meeting included Naresh Devineni, James Booth, Zhengzhao Johnny Luo, Hansong Tang, and Brian Vant-Hull. They not only presented their research but also chaired and convened the AGU’s sessions. They covered topics ranging from draught risk assessment and extreme precipitation in climate models to testing sensitivity of extratropical cyclones. Dr. Devineni presented work on resilient climate adaptation strategies with a focus on draught forecasting and risk assessment. Dr. Booth discussed extratropical cyclones and their effect on high wind events in the northeast region of the United States. This research can contribute to cyclone pattern prediction and help better forewarn extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy. US authorities estimated that Sandy caused nearly $50 billion in damage, making it the second-costliest weather event to hit the
United States. Dr. Luo’s interests lie in the field of satellite remote sensing of clouds and hurricanes and at the conference he provided new insights into Convective Dynamics and Convective Cloud Vertical Structures.

CUNY Environmental Crossroads Initiative scientists also attended the event including Charles Vorosmarty and Kyle McDonald. Dr. Vorosmarty was a convener of the session titled “Ecosystem Services Preservation as a Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation.” He shared his expertise and compelling insights on climate change and water management. Dr. McDonald and his PhD Student Katherine Jensen presented several abstracts describing how optical remote sensing can enable more accurate identification of malaria outbreaks in East Africa and therefore improve prediction rates and preventative measures.

Climate change is important to all of us and our CREST team did their part to contribute to the next steps science can take to monitor and prepare for extreme weather conditions that will inevitably come with this change. The AGU is a great platform for networking, professional development and showcasing the research capabilities of CREST faculty and budding next generation scientists - our students. We look forward to AGU 2015!