November 12, 2014, Wednesday - A Sip of Science at Aster Cafe

Time: 5:30pm

Location: Aster Cafe (River Room) 125 SE Main Street

November Sip of Science - Drying out: the future of water in the West with Gordon Grant, USDA Forest Service

The noted sage Yogi Berra once said: “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Despite this warning, it is clear that the availability and distribution of water will look very different in 50 years than it does today. While this is likely to be particularly true for regions where water is already scarce, such as the dry American Southwest, it’s also true for regions where water is currently abundant – such as Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest.  This talk will focus on what we’ve learned over the past 15 years about where water is likely to be in the western U.S., what factors control its availability and likely changes in the future, and what we can do about it.  Drawing on recent studies in hydrology and geology as well as large integrated assessments of river basins in the Pacific Northwest, this talk will explore the uncertain and at times paradoxical future of water in the West.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Gordon Grant is a Research Hydrologist with the USDA Forest Service at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis, Oregon, and also Courtesy Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University He began his career with the research branch of the Forest Service in 1985 with the overarching goal of advancing understanding of how stream networks, watersheds, and entire landscapes respond to changes in streamflow, sediment transport, and wood entrainment. Over the course of his career he has studied diverse drivers of fluvial regimes, including responses to natural disturbances such as fire and volcanic eruptions, changes in forest land use, effects of dam construction or removal, river restoration, climate change, and the intrinsic evolution of geomorphic systems.

RSVP for Sip of Science  No cover; food and drink available for purchase.

A SIP OF SCIENCE bridges the gap between science and culture in a setting that bridges the gap between brain and belly.  Food, beer, and learning are on the menu in a happy hour forum that puts science in context through storytelling.