Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Speaker
Professor Sarah Gille, Daniel Cayan, Ph.D., and Andrew Thompson, Ph.D.
Coordinator
Jim Brown
How the Ocean and Atmosphere Communicate:
Measuring Air-Sea Interactions From Space
April 24: Professor Sarah Gille
The ocean fuels major storm systems such as
hurricanes and atmospheric rivers. Interactions
between the ocean and atmosphere are critical to
the Earth’s weather and climate. Measurements
of the air-sea exchange are routinely collected in
only a few places across the planet, using ships,
buoys or autonomous systems. In the future,
satellite missions have the potential to provide
global-scale measurements that could advance our
understanding of rapidly evolving weather systems.
This talk will discuss several satellite concepts,
including Professor Gille’s current project, ODYSEA
(Ocean Dynamics and Surface Exchange with the
Atmosphere), which is currently being proposed for
NASA’s Earth System Explorer program.
Heat, Flood, Drought and Fire Threats
as Weather and Climate Change in Southern
California
May 8: Daniel Cayan, Ph.D.
Climate changes are unfolding rapidly over the
globe as CO2 and other emissions of greenhouse
gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.
Some of the costliest effects of these human-driven
alterations in the Earth’s environment will occur
in the form of amplified severe weather and other
climate-impacted events. Based upon history,
observational evidence, and regional and global
climate models, southern California is experiencing
a colorful bouquet of high impact extremes. In
this discussion we will survey likely climate-driven
increases in weather and climate risks to southern
California’s people, infrastructure and overall
environment.
The CalCOFI Program: Monitoring and
Managing the California Marine Ecosystem Since
1949
May 29: Andrew Thompson, Ph.D.
Implemented in the 1940s, the California
Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations
program (CalCOFI) is one of the longest-running
marine monitoring programs in the world. It tracks
the spawning dynamics of hundreds of species of
fish; fluctuations in marine mammal, sea bird and
invertebrate populations; as well as changes in
physical oceanography. This lecture will describe the
history and evolution of the CalCOFI program and
detail how it has helped to evaluate the efficacy of
marine protected areas off southern California. It will
also provide examples of some emerging studies that
use advanced technologies to provide insight
on fishery dynamics and ecosystems using
CalCOFI data.
Measuring Air-Sea Interactions From Space
April 24: Professor Sarah Gille
The ocean fuels major storm systems such as
hurricanes and atmospheric rivers. Interactions
between the ocean and atmosphere are critical to
the Earth’s weather and climate. Measurements
of the air-sea exchange are routinely collected in
only a few places across the planet, using ships,
buoys or autonomous systems. In the future,
satellite missions have the potential to provide
global-scale measurements that could advance our
understanding of rapidly evolving weather systems.
This talk will discuss several satellite concepts,
including Professor Gille’s current project, ODYSEA
(Ocean Dynamics and Surface Exchange with the
Atmosphere), which is currently being proposed for
NASA’s Earth System Explorer program.
Heat, Flood, Drought and Fire Threats
as Weather and Climate Change in Southern
California
May 8: Daniel Cayan, Ph.D.
Climate changes are unfolding rapidly over the
globe as CO2 and other emissions of greenhouse
gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere.
Some of the costliest effects of these human-driven
alterations in the Earth’s environment will occur
in the form of amplified severe weather and other
climate-impacted events. Based upon history,
observational evidence, and regional and global
climate models, southern California is experiencing
a colorful bouquet of high impact extremes. In
this discussion we will survey likely climate-driven
increases in weather and climate risks to southern
California’s people, infrastructure and overall
environment.
The CalCOFI Program: Monitoring and
Managing the California Marine Ecosystem Since
1949
May 29: Andrew Thompson, Ph.D.
Implemented in the 1940s, the California
Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations
program (CalCOFI) is one of the longest-running
marine monitoring programs in the world. It tracks
the spawning dynamics of hundreds of species of
fish; fluctuations in marine mammal, sea bird and
invertebrate populations; as well as changes in
physical oceanography. This lecture will describe the
history and evolution of the CalCOFI program and
detail how it has helped to evaluate the efficacy of
marine protected areas off southern California. It will
also provide examples of some emerging studies that
use advanced technologies to provide insight
on fishery dynamics and ecosystems using
CalCOFI data.
Speaker Bio
How the Ocean and Atmosphere Communicate:
Measuring Air-Sea Interactions From Space
April 24: Professor Sarah Gille
Sarah Gille is a professor in the Oceans
and Atmospheres Section at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. She received a B.S. from Yale
University and a Ph.D. from the MIT-Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program.
Her research interests include climate science,
air-sea interactions, satellite oceanography and
high latitude ocean processes. She has received
numerous medals and awards for her work.
May 8: Daniel Cayan, Ph.D.
Daniel Cayan is a Research
Meteorologist at the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. He received his Ph.D. in
oceanography from UC San Diego in 1990 and has
been employed by Scripps since 1971. For decades
he has pursued the effort to better understand
climate variability and change over western North
America. He has contributed to a large body of
California climate assessments. He is a fellow of
the American Geophysical Union.
May 29: Andrew Thompson, Ph.D.
Andrew Thompson has been a
Research Fish Biologist at the NOAA Southwest
Fisheries Science Center since 2009. The
overarching theme of his research is to better
understand why the distribution and abundance
of aquatic species vary through space and time.
During his career he has examined these issues
in the settings of Appalachian streams, urbanized
Los Angeles streams, coral reefs and the California
Current Ecosystem (CCE). His studies focus on
using larval fish and invertebrates collected to
elucidate dynamics of the CCE. He holds a Ph.D.
from UC Santa Barbara.
Measuring Air-Sea Interactions From Space
April 24: Professor Sarah Gille
Sarah Gille is a professor in the Oceans
and Atmospheres Section at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. She received a B.S. from Yale
University and a Ph.D. from the MIT-Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program.
Her research interests include climate science,
air-sea interactions, satellite oceanography and
high latitude ocean processes. She has received
numerous medals and awards for her work.
May 8: Daniel Cayan, Ph.D.
Daniel Cayan is a Research
Meteorologist at the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography. He received his Ph.D. in
oceanography from UC San Diego in 1990 and has
been employed by Scripps since 1971. For decades
he has pursued the effort to better understand
climate variability and change over western North
America. He has contributed to a large body of
California climate assessments. He is a fellow of
the American Geophysical Union.
May 29: Andrew Thompson, Ph.D.
Andrew Thompson has been a
Research Fish Biologist at the NOAA Southwest
Fisheries Science Center since 2009. The
overarching theme of his research is to better
understand why the distribution and abundance
of aquatic species vary through space and time.
During his career he has examined these issues
in the settings of Appalachian streams, urbanized
Los Angeles streams, coral reefs and the California
Current Ecosystem (CCE). His studies focus on
using larval fish and invertebrates collected to
elucidate dynamics of the CCE. He holds a Ph.D.
from UC Santa Barbara.
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