Four ACCAP Webinars Announced
Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)
Incorporating Drought Information into Wildland Fire Management Applications: Recent Research and Tool Development in California and Nevada
Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute & Western Regional Climate Center
Monday, 12 August 2019
11:00 a.m. AKDT
The Emerging Risk of Algal Toxins in Western Alaska
Vera Trainer, NOAA Fisheries and Rick Thoman, ACCAP
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
10:00 a.m. AKDT
August 2019 National Weather Service Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing
Rick Thoman, ACCAP
Friday, 16 August 2019
12:00 p.m. AKDT
What is an Atmospheric River and How do Alaska National Weather Service Forecasters Monitor these Impactful Wvents on Communities and the Hydrologic Cycle?
Aaron Jacobs, NWS Juneau and Martin Ralph, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
11:00 a.m. AKDT
The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) announces four upcoming webinars. All webinars will be available online.
Upcoming webinars include:
Incorporating Drought Information into Wildland Fire Management Applications: Recent Research and Tool Development in California and Nevada
Dan McEvoy, Desert Research Institute and Western Regional Climate Center
Monday, 12 August 2019
11:00 a.m. AKDT
Despite a clear link between drought and wildfire, there is currently a lack of information for stakeholders at the regional and local levels for improved wildfire risk management using drought early warning information. Fire managers and other specialized fire professionals, such as Incident Meteorologists, will increasingly need to effectively use drought information in forecasts of fire behavior at fire incidents, and in long-term planning (i.e., seasonal fire potential outlooks) as the climate continues to warm along with shifts in the timing and duration of fire seasons. This presentation will highlight recent efforts to incorporate drought-wildfire linkages into the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System. Research finds that drought indices which are both multi-scalar and incorporate evaporative demand are most strongly correlated to fuel moisture and key results will be presented. Testing of the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) was conducted by Predictive Services in Northern California during the 2018 fire season and feedback will be summarized. Finally, Dan will summarize web tools that have been developed (and some that are still in development) to access EDDI, other drought indices, and remote sensing data (often with global coverage) that can potentially benefit wildland fire management in Alaska. This will focus on EDDI tools developed at NOAA’s Physical Science Division and Climate Engine (app.climateengine.org) developed jointly between the Desert Research Institute and University of Idaho.
This webinar is jointly sponsored with the Alaska Fire Science Consortium and will use their webinar platform.
For more information about this webinar, including registration and instructions on how to join, go to:
https://accap.uaf.edu/webinar/EDDI
The Emerging Risk of Algal Toxins in Western Alaska
Vera Trainer, NOAA Fisheries and Rick Thoman, ACCAP
Tuesday, 13 August 2019
10:00 a.m. AKDT
Algal blooms are not uncommon in the oceans around Alaska, but only rarely are they harmful to people. Along the shores of the Gulf of Alaska, harmful algal blooms are a known hazard. However, in western Alaska, the oceans have historically experienced fewer impacts from the kinds of algae that produce paralytic shellfish and domoic acid poisoning. This presentation will provide an overview of algal toxins and their impacts and a review of the recent changes in ocean climate that now make this a potential hazard for the coasts of western Alaska.
For more information about this webinar, including registration and instructions on how to join, go to:
https://accap.uaf.edu/webinar/HABS
August 2019 National Weather Service Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing
Rick Thoman, ACCAP
Friday, 16 August 2019
12:00 p.m. AKDT
The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. Rick will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools, and finish up the Climate Prediction Center's forecast for September 2019 and the late fall/early winter season. Feel free to bring lunch and join the gathering in person or online. This presentation is available in-person in Room 407 in the Akasofu Building on the University Alaska Fairbanks campus in Fairbanks, Alaska.
For more information about this webinar, including registration and instructions on how to join, go to:
https://accap.uaf.edu/webinar/august-2019-national-weather-service-alas…
What is an Atmospheric River and How do Alaska National Weather Service Forecasters Monitor these Impactful Events on Communities and the Hydrologic Cycle?
Aaron Jacobs, National Weather Service Juneau and Martin Ralph, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Wednesday, 21 August 2019
11:00 a.m. AKDT
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have the ability to transport large amounts of water vapor from the tropics poleward into the upper latitudes that can have positive and negative effects on the environment and society. For example, ARs events can cause dangerous flooding, debris flows, and large amounts of snowfall but at the same time can be beneficial to the environment, especially areas that are in a drought. More than 20 years of research have increased our understanding of the dynamics of ARs. At the same time the improved remote sensing and better numerical weather prediction has given forecasters increased ability to monitor atmospheric rivers, although forecast challenges associated with ARs remain. This talk will review what is known of ARs, how forecasters monitor these events, what type of impacts they can have on communities of Alaska, and ongoing research particular to Alaska.
For more information about this webinar, including registration and instructions on how to join, go to:
https://accap.uaf.edu/webinar/Atmospheric_River