Kristen Averyt

Last updated
Kristen Averyt
Alma materStanford University
Scientific career
Thesis Strontium and calcium in marine barite  (2004)

Kristen B. Averyt is a climate scientist known for her work on water resources and climate change. As of 2024 she is the executive vice president of the American Geophysical Union.

Contents

Education and career

Averyt received her bachelor's degrees in chemistry and marine science from the University of Miami. She has a master's degree from the University of Otago where she was a Fulbright Fellow who studied chemistry. She earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2004 and then worked as a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow. [1] Averyt moved to Colorado where she served as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Western Water Assessment program. She then became the associate director for science at the University of Colorado Boulder. [2]

Work

Averyt early research examined elemental ratios in marine barite. [3] [4] She was a lead author on the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, [5] which she worked on while she was in Colorado. [1] She was one of the scientists who shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with Al Gore. [6] Her work on water resources in the western United States includes explorations of water use by power plants [7] [8] and conditions leading to water stress. [9] [10] From 2017 until 2019 [11] Averyt was the named president of the Desert Research Institute, making her the first woman to hold this position. [12] Subsequently, she moved to the University of Nevada Las Vegas and concurrently worked for the state of Nevada on climate policy and as a climate advisor to Governor Steve Sisolak. [13] In 2023 Averyt was appointed by the White House to serve on issues surrounding drought in the western United States, [14] a position she held until January 2024. [15] In 2024 she was named executive vice president of the American Geophysical Union. [16]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global warming potential</span> Potential heat absorbed by a greenhouse gas

Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index to measure how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas would absorb over a given time frame after it has been added to the atmosphere. The GWP makes different greenhouse gases comparable with regard to their "effectiveness in causing radiative forcing". It is expressed as a multiple of the radiation that would be absorbed by the same mass of added carbon dioxide, which is taken as a reference gas. Therefore, the GWP has a value of 1 for CO2. For other gases it depends on how strongly the gas absorbs infrared thermal radiation, how quickly the gas leaves the atmosphere, and the time frame being considered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific consensus on climate change</span> Evaluation of climate change by the scientific community

There is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that the Earth has been consistently warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, that the rate of recent warming is largely unprecedented, and that this warming is mainly the result of a rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by human activities. The human activities causing this warming include fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and land use changes such as deforestation, with a significant supporting role from the other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide. This human role in climate change is considered "unequivocal" and "incontrovertible".

Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloud condensation nuclei</span> Small particles on which water vapor condenses

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCNs), also known as cloud seeds, are small particles typically 0.2 μm, or one hundredth the size of a cloud droplet. CCNs are a unique subset of aerosols in the atmosphere on which water vapour condenses. This can affect the radiative properties of clouds and the overall atmosphere. Water vapour requires a non-gaseous surface to make the transition to a liquid; this process is called condensation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal pollution</span> Water temperature changes resulting in degraded water quality

Thermal pollution, sometimes called "thermal enrichment", is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. Thermal pollution is the rise or drop in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. Thermal pollution, unlike chemical pollution, results in a change in the physical properties of water. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. Urban runoff—stormwater discharged to surface waters from rooftops, roads, and parking lots—and reservoirs can also be a source of thermal pollution. Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Svensmark</span> Danish physicist and professor

Henrik Svensmark is a physicist and professor in the Division of Solar System Physics at the Danish National Space Institute in Copenhagen. He is known for his work on the hypothesis that fewer cosmic rays are an indirect cause of global warming via cloud formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic methane emissions</span> Release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic

Arctic methane release is the release of methane from Arctic ocean waters as well as from soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic. While it is a long-term natural process, methane release is exacerbated by global warming. This results in a positive climate change feedback, as methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. The Arctic region is one of many natural sources of methane. Climate change could accelerate methane release in the Arctic, due to the release of methane from existing stores, and from methanogenesis in rotting biomass. When permafrost thaws as a consequence of warming, large amounts of organic material can become available for methanogenesis and may ultimately be released as methane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar radiation modification</span> Reflection of sunlight to reduce global warming

Solar radiation modification (SRM), or solar geoengineering, is a type of climate engineering in which sunlight would be reflected back to outer space to offset human-caused climate change. There are multiple potential approaches, with stratospheric aerosol injection being the most-studied, followed by marine cloud brightening. SRM could be a temporary measure to limit climate-change impacts while greenhouse gas emissions are reduced and carbon dioxide is removed but would not be a substitute for reducing emissions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic lightning</span> Lightning produced by a volcanic eruption

Volcanic lightning is an electrical discharge caused by a volcanic eruption rather than from an ordinary thunderstorm. Volcanic lightning arises from colliding, fragmenting particles of volcanic ash, which generate static electricity within the volcanic plume, leading to the name dirty thunderstorm. Moist convection currents and ice formation also drive the eruption plume dynamics and can trigger volcanic lightning. Unlike ordinary thunderstorms, volcanic lightning can also occur when there are no ice crystals in the ash cloud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratospheric aerosol injection</span> Putting particles in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight to limit global heating

Stratospheric aerosol injection is a proposed method of solar geoengineering to reduce global warming. This would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect via global dimming and increased albedo, which occurs naturally from volcanic winter. It appears that stratospheric aerosol injection, at a moderate intensity, could counter most changes to temperature and precipitation, take effect rapidly, have low direct implementation costs, and be reversible in its direct climatic effects. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that it "is the most-researched [solar geoengineering] methodagreement that it could limit warming to below 1.5 °C (2.7 °F)." However, like other solar geoengineering approaches, stratospheric aerosol injection would do so imperfectly and other effects are possible, particularly if used in a suboptimal manner.

The transient climate response to cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide (TCRE) is the ratio of the globally averaged surface temperature change per unit carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate and vegetation interactions in the Arctic</span>

Changing climate conditions are amplified in polar regions and northern high-latitude areas are projected to warm at twice the rate of the global average. These modifications result in ecosystem interactions and feedbacks that can augment or mitigate climatic changes. These interactions may have been important through the large climate fluctuations since the glacial period. Therefore it is useful to review the past dynamics of vegetation and climate to place recent observed changes in the Arctic into context. This article focuses on northern Alaska where there has been much research on this theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Brauman</span> American scientist

Kate A. Brauman is an American scientist who uses an interdisciplinary tool set to examine the interactions between land use change and water resources. Brauman is the lead scientist for the Global Water Initiative at University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate target</span> Policy for emissions reductions

A climate target, climate goal or climate pledge is a measurable long-term commitment for climate policy and energy policy with the aim of limiting the climate change. Researchers within, among others, the UN climate panel have identified probable consequences of global warming for people and nature at different levels of warming. Based on this, politicians in a large number of countries have agreed on temperature targets for warming, which is the basis for scientifically calculated carbon budgets and ways to achieve these targets. This in turn forms the basis for politically decided global and national emission targets for greenhouse gases, targets for fossil-free energy production and efficient energy use, and for the extent of planned measures for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beate G. Liepert</span> Climate meteorology physicist

Beate Gertrud Liepert is a research scientist at Columbia University, as well as in North West Research Associates, Redmond and a lecturer at Seattle University. Her research focuses on climate variability: inter-annual changes, centennial time scales, the water and energy cycles.

Environmental impact of cannabis cultivation includes all the environmental issues which occur as a result of cannabis cultivation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Texas</span> Climate change in the US state of Texas

The climate in Texas is changing partially due to global warming and rising trends in greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2016, most area of Texas had already warmed by 1.5 °F (0.83 °C) since the previous century because of greenhouse gas emissions by the United States and other countries. Texas is expected to experience a wide range of environmental impacts from climate change in the United States, including rising sea levels, more frequent extreme weather events, and increasing pressure on water resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulina Jaramillo</span> Colombian-American engineer

Paulina Jaramillo is a Colombian-American engineer who is Professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). She serves as Director of the Green Design Institute. Her research focuses on energy system sustainability and climate change. She was selected as an Andrew Carnegie Fellow in 2020.

Joeri Rogelj is a Belgian climate scientist working on solutions to climate change. He explores how societies can transform towards sustainable futures. He is a Professor in Climate Science and Policy at the Centre for Environmental Policy (CEP) and Director of Research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment, both at Imperial College London. He is also affiliated with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He is an author of several climate reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a member of the European Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change.

References

  1. 1 2 "AMS Council Candidates". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 102 (6): 557–566. 2021. ISSN   0003-0007. JSTOR   27214437.
  2. "Kristen Averyt". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  3. Averyt, Kristen B.; Paytan, Adina (2003). "Empirical partition coefficients for Sr and Ca in marine barite: Implications for reconstructing seawater Sr and Ca concentrations". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 4 (5): 1043. Bibcode:2003GGG.....4.1043A. doi:10.1029/2002GC000426. ISSN   1525-2027.
  4. Averyt, Kristen B.; Paytan, Adina (2004). "A comparison of multiple proxies for export production in the equatorial Pacific". Paleoceanography. 19 (4). Bibcode:2004PalOc..19.4003A. doi:10.1029/2004PA001005. ISSN   0883-8305.
  5. Solomon, Susan; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. (2007). Climate change 2007: the physical science basis: contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-88009-1. OCLC   132298563.
  6. "Colorado scientists share in Nobel win". The Denver Post. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  7. Averyt, K; Macknick, J; Rogers, J; Madden, N; Fisher, J; Meldrum, J; Newmark, R (2013-03-01). "Water use for electricity in the United States: an analysis of reported and calculated water use information for 2008". Environmental Research Letters. 8 (1): 015001. Bibcode:2013ERL.....8a5001A. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015001. ISSN   1748-9326.
  8. Kollipara, Puneet (2011-11-16). "Report: Power plants taxing nation's freshwater supplies". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. A11. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  9. Averyt, K; Meldrum, J; Caldwell, P; Sun, G; McNulty, S; Huber-Lee, A; Madden, N (2013-09-01). "Sectoral contributions to surface water stress in the coterminous United States". Environmental Research Letters. 8 (3): 035046. Bibcode:2013ERL.....8c5046A. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035046. ISSN   1748-9326.
  10. Yates, D; Meldrum, J; Averyt, K (2013-12-01). "The influence of future electricity mix alternatives on southwestern US water resources". Environmental Research Letters. 8 (4): 045005. Bibcode:2013ERL.....8d5005Y. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045005. ISSN   1748-9326.
  11. McAndrew, Siobhan (June 17, 2019). "Desert Research Institute president resigns after two years on job". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  12. McAndrew, Siobhan (2017-01-28). "DRI may get its first female president". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp.  , . Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  13. Lochhead, Colton (2022-08-24). "Sisolak names 3 drought advisers". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  14. Stokols, Eli; Egan, Lauren (January 18, 2023). "They can't quit Joe". Politico.
  15. Ward, Myah; Egan, Lauren; Johansen, Ben (January 26, 2024). "Living between two nightmares". Politico.
  16. Union, American Geophysical (2024-05-07). "AGU announces Kristen Averyt, Ph.D., as new EVP, Science". From The Prow. Retrieved 2024-05-09.