Climate Change in the San Juans Presentation

Thursday, July 31, 7 p.m., San Juan Island Grange

— from Julia Vouri —

Learn how climate change is affecting weather in the San Juan Islands and throughout the region today and tomorrow in a presentation by University of Washington Research Meteorologist and Washington State Climatologist Dr. Nicholas Bond, Ph.D. at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 31 at the San Juan Island Grange.

Dr. Bond will discuss the basic science behind climate change, and its implications for the weather in and around Washington State. “How will global climate change play out in our neck of the woods?” said Dr. Bond. “What kinds of changes in the weather are occurring now, and anticipated over future decades? I welcome a dialogue on these fascinating and important questions.”

This presentation is the fifth free program in The Climate Action Imperative: Understanding Impacts & Making Choices, a summer/fall speakers’ series featuring eight experts on Climate Change—from oceanographers to botanists, biologists to meteorologists. The series provides a current look at climate change and what actions are warranted by individuals as well as by our state and nation. For information about Dr. Bond’s program and the series, call 360-378-2240, ext. 2227 or 360-378-6690 or visit our web sites at www.nps.gov/sajh or www.madrona.org.

The focus of Dr. Bond’s research is on the weather and climate of the Pacific Northwest, and the links between the climate and marine ecosystems of the North Pacific. Additional research involves the collection and analysis of low-level atmospheric observations over the ocean, based on special field measurements from moored buoys and aircraft. Notable examples have involved documenting the effects of the terrain along the U.S. West Coast on land-falling storms during the winter. As part of the Climate Variability and Predictability program, Dr. Bond is also studying air-sea interactions in the western sub-tropical Pacific.

A majority of Dr. Bond’s current work is under the umbrella of the Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigation. Here the focus has been on the variability in climate and atmospheric forcing of the Bering Sea, and topographical effects on coastal winds in Alaska. The results from this work are being applied to issues related to the marine ecosystems in Alaskan waters, with a special emphasis on the impacts of climate.

Dr. Bond received his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from University of Washington. He is currently Research Meteorologist for the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean. As Washington State Climatologist, he collects and interprets climate data, and spends a large portion of his time traveling around Washington State, speaking with and giving talks to the general public regarding the past, present and future weather and climate of the region.
As with all talks in the series, Dr. Bond’s presentation will be followed by a discussion.

Series co-sponsors are: San Juan Island National Historical Park, Madrona Institute, San Juan Islands Conservation District, The League of Women Voters of the San Juans, San Juan Island Library, San Juan Nature Institute, San Juan County Marine Resources Committee, Northwest Straits Foundation, Stewardship Network of the San Juans, Washington State University Extension Service, San Juan Island Grange #966 and the Agricultural Resources Committee of the San Juan Islands.

The next scheduled speaker is Rebecca Lofgren, Physical Scientist and Glacier Monitoring Technician for Mount Rainier National Park, National Park Service. The program is scheduled at 7 p.m., August 7 at the San Juan Island Library.