We have two BCCR seminars on coming Monday, 19th September,
Monday, 19th September at 14:15 pm, Dr Katherine Crichton will give a BCCR Seminar titled "Seasonal climate drivers of productivity in Arctic Peatlands", and on the same day,
Monday, 19th September at 15:15 pm, Caroline Wainwright will give a BCCR Seminar titled "Rainfall Seasonality over East Africa; Recent Variability, Model Representation and Future Projections".
– Please find the abstracts below.
BCCR seminar I: "Seasonal climate drivers of productivity in Arctic Peatlands" - Dr Katherine Crichton
Dr Katherine will present remotely through ZOOM and, additionally the seminar will be projected in the Bjerknes lecture room (4th floor, room 4020)
Time: Sep 19, 2022 02:15 PM Paris
Abstract:
Changes in plant cover and productivity are important in driving Arctic soil carbon dynamics and sequestration, especially in peatlands. Warming trends in the Arctic are known to have resulted in changes in plant productivity, extent and community composition, but more data are still needed to improve understanding of the complex controls and processes involved. I summarise some recent work looking at changes in Arctic peatland productivity since 1985, using Landsat satellite data, and present results of productivity response to seasonal climate drivers.
The Speaker:
Dr Katherine holds an Undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering, and a Master’s degree in Climate Change and Risk Management. She did her PhD from University of Grenoble in Paleoclimate Modelling, where she worked on focus on the role of permafrost carbon in glacial terminations. Postdoc: Modelling the ocean carbon cycle: Cooling since the middle Miocene and testing the "Metabolic Hypothesis". Cardiff University, UK. Current Postdoc: "ICAAP": Increased Carbon Accumulation in Arctic Peatlands, University of Exeter, UK.
BCCR seminar II: " Rainfall Seasonality over East Africa; Recent Variability, Model Representation and Future Projections " - Caroline Wainwright
The seminar will take place in the Bjerknes lecture room (4th floor, room 4020) – in addition, there will be the possibility to join on zoom.
Abstract:
The seasonal cycle of precipitation is of key societal importance in East Africa, impacting sectors including agriculture, health and energy. Recent declines in the long rains are linked to changes in seasonal timing, with an earlier end of the season linked to changes in the Arabian Heat Low. Generally, climate models exhibit biases in representing the seasonal cycle of precipitation over East Africa, with a wet bias during the short rains. The representation is found to be improved when using convection-permitting simulations. Future projections indicate increased precipitation during the short rains, and a later end to the short rains. Recent heavy rainfall during the January-February dry season is found to be linked to a ridge-trough pattern in the Mediterranean.
The Speaker:
Caroline is a Research Fellow, based at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College, London. Her research is on topics relating to seasonal rainfall patterns over Africa. She completed her PhD at the University of Reading, during which she developed a methodology for quantifying the seasonal cycle and analysed future projections of changing precipitation seasonality over Africa. Since then, she has worked on a range of projects, including research on rainfall seasonality (including recent trends and model representation) over East Africa, sub-seasonal to seasonal forecasting over East and West Africa, and changing climatic suitability for cocoa growth across Africa and South America (in collaboration with Mars-Wrigley confectionery). Previously, she completed her BSc in Mathematics with Geography at the University of Exeter and an MSc in Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate at Reading.