Please Note: This is a hybrid program. If you register to attend online, you will receive the zoom link in your email. 

There is an abundance of misconceptions surrounding the science of climate change due, in part, to a sea of misinformation. This barrier to understanding the significance of the climate change problem is both because of holes in our secondary education as well as intentionally misleading information designed to create doubt which yields a false sense of security and delayed action. Unfortunately, this delayed action has led to an increasing climate crisis we face today. While the impacts of the climate crisis are multifaceted, our scientific understanding has increased sufficiently that we have growing confidence in likely future outcomes not only for increased temperatures and sea level rise, but also for extreme events and water availability, quantity, and quality. As such, we will provide an overview of the changing climate system with a focus on impacts to the hydrologic cycle in New England and the risk of increasing extreme events.

About our Presenters: 

Doctor Jeffrey Basara

Dr. Jeffrey Basara is a Professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and serves as the Chair of the Department of Environmental, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. His research is focused on the complex, integrated processes across weather, climate, water, and ecosystems with specific attention directed toward precipitation extremes and associated impacts such as droughts, flash droughts, floods, and flash floods. He also studies the evolution of severe and extreme weather such as heat waves, cold air outbreaks, and cascading events. Dr. Basara received a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Purdue University and both a M.S. and Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. He is a Kavli Fellow of the United States National Academy of Sciences and has received multiple research awards including the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Under Secretary’s Award in 2019 from the USDA.

Professor Lori Weeden

Lori Weeden teaches many of the introductory courses for students pursuing a degree in Environmental Science, Meteorology, or Sustainability at UMass Lowell. She also teaches courses to non-science majors covering environmental science, natural disasters, forensic geology, and climate change. She is the self-proclaimed curator of the department sand collection and serves as the EEAS Associate Chair for Undergraduate Programs and the Chair of the Kennedy College of Sciences Curriculum Committee. Lori received a BA in Studio Art from the University of Texas, a BS in Environmental Science from UMass Lowell, and her MS in Geology and Geophysics from Boston College. She is currently working on a Leadership in Education PhD where she is exploring the history of Earth science education in the United States.

Paid for by the Marjorie Scoboria Lecture Fund