The Heat is On: Climate Change in the Yellowstone Ecosystem

Date: February 12, 2009 

Location: Big Sky, Montana

Description:

Keynote Speaker

Cathy L. Whitlock, Professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University

Presentation Overview

Human-caused climate changes are projected to warm the planet about 40 times faster than normal. Alarmingly, the western United States is warming faster than the global average. Our region is already experiencing shorter, warmer winters, earlier spring snowmelt, and hotter summers. With more than 20 years studying environmental change in the Yellowstone region, Dr. Whitlock will provide a fascinating look at these changes and how they are affecting the ecosystem around us.

Speaker Bio

Cathy Whitlock’s research, described in over 100 scientific papers, focuses on the ecological consequences of past climate change, and the long-term linkages between fire, vegetation, and climate. She has been a Professor of Earth Sciences at Montana State University since 2004 and before that she was at the University of Oregon. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 inspired her group to look closely at the layers of charcoal in lake sediments and consider their potential use as a record of past fire. The Yellowstone findings of the last 20 years have led to the development of new analytical approaches and refinement of fire history interpretations around the world. Her current research extends from the western U.S. to Patagonia and New Zealand, answering important questions about climate and fire in the past and pointing toward patterns that might occur in the future. Whitlock has also helped build a global network of paleofire researchers, and she is a member of the advisory board for NOAA’s International Multiproxy Paleofire Database.

This is the first lecture of a four lecture series.

Location: Big Sky Community Library at Ophir School, Big Sky, Montana

Time: 7:00 pm

Co-Sponsored by:

Big Sky Institute
Big Sky Chamber of Commerce

For more information, contact Danielle Blank, Senior Outreach Coordinator of NPCA's Yellowstone Field Office at 406.222.4478 or dblank@npca.org.