Noah Diffenbaugh Explained

Noah Diffenbaugh
Birth Name:Noah S. Diffenbaugh
Birth Date:23 July 1974
Birth Place:Santa Cruz County, California, U.S.
Nationality:American
Fields:Earth sciences, climatology
Workplaces:Stanford University, Purdue University, University of California, Santa Cruz
Alma Mater:B.S. Stanford University (Earth Systems, 1997), M.S. Stanford University (Earth Systems, 1997), Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz (Earth Sciences, 2003)
Thesis Title:Global and regional controls on Holocene environments
Thesis Url:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236007480_Global_and_regional_controls_on_Holocene_environments
Thesis Year:2003
Doctoral Advisor:Lisa C. Sloan
Academic Advisors:Paul Koch, Patrick J. Bartlein
Doctoral Students:Daniel Swain
Known For:climate change, science communication
Awards:James R. Holton Award from the American Geophysical Union, CAREER award from the National Science Foundation
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Partners:)-->
Website:Stanford Profile page

Noah S. Diffenbaugh (born 23 July 1974) is an American climate scientist at Stanford University, where he is the Kara J Foundation Professor of Earth System Science and Kimmelman Family Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and an affiliate at the Precourt Institute for Energy.[1] From 2015-2018, he served as editor-in-chief of the peer-review journal Geophysical Research Letters (published by American Geophysical Union). He is known for his research on the climate system,[2] [1] including the effects of global warming on extreme weather and climate events such as the 2011-2017 California drought.[3] [4]

Scientific research

Diffenbaugh received his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2003. His dissertation was entitled “Global and regional controls on Holocene environments”.[5] His dissertation focused on understanding regional climate change in paleoclimate periods and in modern periods. His dissertation introduced the hypothesis that as vegetation responds to changes in climate, those changes could impact coastal ocean systems by altering the atmospheric pressure patterns that drive coastal winds.[6]

In 2004, Diffenbaugh began a faculty position at Purdue University.[1] While at Purdue, he published first results of high-resolution regional climate simulations for large continental areas, including the United States, Europe and India, which enabled analysis of the role of fine-scale climate processes in extreme events.[7] [8] [9] [10] These high-resolution climate model simulations also enabled analyses of potential impacts of climate change on a suite of systems, including premium winegrapes, corn pests, and snowmelt runoff.[11] [12] [13]

In 2009, Diffenbaugh moved to a faculty position at Stanford University.[1] He continued his work on the dynamics and impacts of fine-scale climate change,[14] and also began working in the emerging area of “extreme event attribution”.[15] This work culminated in the publication of a new, generalized framework for testing the influence of global warming on individual extreme weather and climate events.[4] [16]

The extreme event for which Diffenbaugh is most well known is the 2011-2017 California drought.[3] From 2014-2016, Diffenbaugh's research group published three widely cited papers analyzing the drought and the role of global warming.[17] [18] [19] These studies analyzed the role of high temperature in amplifying the effects of low precipitation, as well as the role of the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, a term coined by Diffenbaugh's then-Ph.D. student Daniel Swain to describe the large area of persistently high atmospheric pressure that blocked many storms from reaching California for much of the drought.[20]

At Stanford, Diffenbaugh also began collaborations to quantify the economic impacts of climate change. This work has included quantifying the economic damages associated with different levels of global warming (including the levels identified in the UN Paris Agreement),[21] as well as the role that global warming has played in shaping economic inequality between countries.[22]

Science communication

Diffenbaugh is active in science communication.[23] He has served on a number of government science panels, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,[24] the United States Climate Change Science Program,[1] and the California Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group.[25] He has provided testimony to the United States Congress[26] [27] and the California State Assembly.[28] He was also a member of the What We Know panel of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[29]

Diffenbaugh has written a number of opinion articles. These include op-eds in The New York Times about extreme climate events such as the 2011-2017 California drought[30] and Hurricane Harvey,[31] and the process of climate science.[32] He has also written for the public on the importance of peer review, including a Top 10 list of reviewer comments that Diffenbaugh stated came from papers on which he was the first author.[33]

Diffenbaugh frequently speaks to the public about climate change.[1] In 2011, he was a Google Science Communication Fellow.[34] He was an early adopter of Hangouts On Air, through which he conducted open discussions about climate change with the public.[35] [36]

In 2017, Diffenbaugh was the faculty moderator for Stanford University's Three Books Program, in which all incoming first-year undergraduate students are sent three books over the summer, and the authors come to campus for a panel discussion during New Student Orientation.[37] Diffenbaugh selected the theme of “Sustainability and Equity”, and assigned Salvage The Bones by Jesmyn Ward, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, and The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert.[38] About choosing the books, Diffenbaugh said, "Once you begin to examine the relationship between people and the environment, it becomes clear that the big global challenges for this generation lie at the intersection of sustainability and equity – the two are inextricably linked."[37] At Stanford, he teaches a course called "The Global Warming Paradox" that examines this challenge.[39]

Personal life

Diffenbaugh discussed his upbringing in a 2017 interview on the science podcast Forecast.[40] Diffenbaugh grew up at Mount Madonna Center, an intentional community in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California that was founded in 1978 by Diffenbaugh's parents and other students of Baba Hari Dass. He attended Mount Madonna School from kindergarten through high school, graduating in 1992.[40] [41]

Diffenbaugh attended college at Stanford University, where he was a member of the varsity men's volleyball team.[42] After college, he returned to Mount Madonna Center for three years.[40] During that time, he taught high school science and coached volleyball at Mount Madonna School, before entering graduate school at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he describes struggling to find a sense of scientific confidence and direction.[40]

Diffenbaugh and his wife Polly Diffenbaugh live on the Stanford campus, and have three children.[3] He is the grandson of computer pioneer Erwin Tomash,[43] and brother-in-law of novelist Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Selected publications

Journal articles

Book chapters

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Noah Diffenbaugh's Profile . profiles.stanford.edu . en . 2017-08-29.
  2. Web site: Noah Diffenbaugh . kate.callahan . 2012-08-22 . Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment . en . 2017-08-29.
  3. Web site: 'New normal': Scientists predict less rain from here on out . Fagan . Kevin . 2015-04-18 . San Francisco Chronicle . 2017-08-29.
  4. Web site: Stanford scientists test links between extreme weather and climate change . Than . Ker . 2017-04-24 . news.stanford.edu . en . 2018-10-09.
  5. Global and regional controls on Holocene environments . 2003PhDT........77D . Diffenbaugh . Noah Suresh . 2003 .
  6. Could CO2-induced land-cover feedbacks alter near-shore upwelling regimes? . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 101 . 1 . 27–32 . 10.1073/pnas.0305746101 . 14691256 . 314132 . 2004 . Diffenbaugh . N. S. . Snyder . M. A. . Sloan . L. C. . 2004PNAS..101...27D . free .
  7. Web site: Climate model forecasts dramatic changes in U.S. . Purdue University News Service . 10 October 2018.
  8. Web site: Reduced greenhouse gas emissions required to avoid dangerous increases in heat stress, researchers say . Purdue University News Service . 10 October 2018.
  9. Web site: Purdue study projects weakened monsoon season in South Asia . Purdue University News Service . 10 October 2018.
  10. Web site: Research forecasts increased chances for stormy weather . Purdue News Service . 12 October 2018.
  11. Web site: Kay . Jane . Now's the time to cellar wine . SF Chronicle . 10 October 2018. 2006-07-11 .
  12. Web site: Purdue study suggests warmer temperatures could lead to a boom in corn pests . Purdue University News Service . 10 October 2018.
  13. Web site: Study: Future snowmelt in West twice as early as expected; threatens ecosystems and water reserves . Purdue University News Service . 10 October 2018.
  14. Web site: CAREER: Dynamics and Impacts of Fine-Scale Climate Change . National Science Foundation . 10 October 2018.
  15. Web site: Explaining Extreme Events of 2012 from a Climate Perspective . docs.house.gov . 10 October 2018.
  16. Quantifying the influence of global warming on unprecedented extreme climate events . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 114 . 19 . 4881–4886 . 10.1073/pnas.1618082114 . 28439005 . 5441735 . 2017 . Diffenbaugh . Noah S. . Singh . Deepti . Mankin . Justin S. . Horton . Daniel E. . Swain . Daniel L. . Touma . Danielle . Charland . Allison . Liu . Yunjie . Haugen . Matz . Tsiang . Michael . Rajaratnam . Bala . 2017PNAS..114.4881D . free .
  17. Web site: Causes of California drought linked to climate change, Stanford scientists say . Stanford News Service . 10 October 2018. 2014-09-30 .
  18. Anthropogenic warming has increased drought risk in California . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 112 . 13 . 3931–3936 . 10.1073/pnas.1422385112 . 25733875 . 4386330 . 2015 . Diffenbaugh . Noah S. . Swain . Daniel L. . Touma . Danielle . 2015PNAS..112.3931D . free .
  19. Trends in atmospheric patterns conducive to seasonal precipitation and temperature extremes in California . Science Advances . 2 . 4 . e1501344 . 10.1126/sciadv.1501344 . 27051876 . 2016 . Swain . Daniel L. . Horton . Daniel E. . Singh . Deepti . Diffenbaugh . Noah S. . 4820386 . 2016SciA....2E1344S .
  20. Web site: The extraordinary California dry spell continues: 2013 will probably be the driest year on record . Weather West: The California Weather Blog . 10 October 2018. 2013-12-13 .
  21. Burke . Marshall . Davis . W. Matthew . Diffenbaugh . Noah . Large potential reduction in economic damages under UN mitigation targets . Nature . 557 . 7706 . 10.1038/s41586-018-0071-9 . 2018 . 549–553 . 29795251 . 2018Natur.557..549B . 43936274 .
  22. Diffenbaugh . Noah . Burke . Marshall . Global warming has increased global economic inequality . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . May 14, 2019 . 116 . 20 . 9808–9813 . 10.1073/pnas.1816020116 . 31010922 . 6525504. 2019PNAS..116.9808D . free .
  23. Web site: Communicating Science Seminar at 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting . 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting . 10 October 2018.
  24. Web site: Working Group II AR5 Author Teams . IPCC . 10 October 2018.
  25. Web site: Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group . California Natural Resources Agency . 2018-10-09.
  26. Web site: H5574 Congressional Record September 17, 2013 . Congressional Record . 10 October 2018.
  27. Web site: Hearing on Creating a Climate Resilient America May 23, 2019 . House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis . 23 May 2019 . 1 August 2019.
  28. Web site: Assembly Select Committee on Water Consumption and Alternative Sources Hearing of 11-17-2015 . California Digital Democracy . 10 October 2018.
  29. Web site: What We Know . AAAS . 2018-10-09.
  30. News: A Wet Winter Won't Save California . The New York Times . 10 October 2018. 2015-09-18 . Diffenbaugh . Noah S. . Field . Christopher B. .
  31. News: Hurricane Harvey Was No Surprise . The New York Times . 10 October 2018. 2017-08-28 . Diffenbaugh . Noah S. .
  32. News: How We Know It Was Climate Change . 2017-12-29 . The New York Times . 2018-10-09. Diffenbaugh . Noah S. .
  33. Web site: Stuff My Reviewers Say . Diffenbaugh . Noah . eos.org . 19 September 2016 . en . 2018-10-09.
  34. Web site: Making sense of science: introducing the Google Science Communication Fellows . google.org blog . 10 October 2018.
  35. Web site: A Climate Scientist Braves the Wilds of YouTube . New York Times Dot Earth Blog . 10 October 2018. 2012-11-29 .
  36. Web site: Talking Climate, Online in Real Time . KQED Science . 29 June 2012 . 10 October 2018.
  37. Web site: Stanford's Three Books program prompts students to think about sustainability and equity . Kubota . Taylor . 2017-06-22 . news.stanford.edu . en . 2018-10-09.
  38. Web site: Need Some Smart Summer Reading? Grab the 3 Books Stanford Is Having All Freshmen Read . 2017-06-22 . Inc.com . en . 2017-08-29.
  39. Web site: The Global Warming Paradox . Introductory Seminars for First-Year Students . 10 October 2018.
  40. Web site: Noah Diffenbaugh . Forecast Pod . 2018-10-09. 2017-01-11 .
  41. Web site: The Connection 2012-2013 . Mount Madonna School . 2018-10-09.
  42. Web site: Noah Diffenbaugh . Volleyball Worldwide . 2018-10-09.
  43. Web site: The Connection 2012-2013 . Mount Madonna School . 2018-10-09.

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