Seminars and Colloquia

Most seminars and colloquia at NASA/GISS are presented during the academic year, September through May.

Informal Lunch Seminars take place on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. about twice per month, mostly during the academic year (Sep.-May). As of 2023, these events are usually "hybrid", i.e., they are presented in person at GISS but may be attended remotely by obtaining connection details from the event host. In the past, these events were most often presented by NASA/GISS or Columbia Climate School scientists, but since 2020, many research collaborators from other institutions have contributed.

GISS staff also organize a Tuesday morning (11 a.m.) series of Sea Level Rise seminars (YouTube), presented by scientists from numerous research institutions. This seminar is entirely "virtual" and occurs two or three times per month, year-round.

Other special seminars may occur depending on the schedules of visiting scientists.

Schedule

Following are upcoming seminars, workshops and other events of interest to GISS staff and to our research partners. Please note that due to security regulations, as described elsewhere on this page, presentations on the GISS premises are not open to the general public.

Please consult with the event host/contact for connection details if you wish to remotely join any event marked as "Virtual" or "Hybrid".

This event listing was last updated 2023-10-02. All times shown are New York City local.

October 3, 2023
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — Virtual
Sea Level Rise Seminar
Topic: Meltwater features in Greenland and Antarctica and their roles in biogeochemical cycling
Speaker: Melisa Diaz (Univ. Colorado)
More info: Abstract
Host/Contact: Patrick Alexander

Sea Level Rise Seminar
Speaker: Melisa Diaz (Univ. Colorado)
Title: Meltwater features in Greenland and Antarctica and their roles in biogeochemical cycling

This is an on-line, virtual presentation only. Please consult with event host Patrick Alexander for connection details.

Abstract:
Over the last two decades, anomalous warming events and climate change have drastically altered coastal and periglacial regions in Antarctica and Greenland. For example, in 2001 the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica experienced unprecedented glacial melt, resulting in physical and ecological changes to the environment, some of which have persisted in the two decades following. In Greenland, about 60% of mass loss from the ice sheet over the last few decades is a result of increased summer melt and runoff, which has altered coastal food webs. Changes in the production, storage, and residence time of liquid water in polar regions has important implications for biogeochemical cycling. This talk will focus on two systems as case studies: first, what are believed to be the southern-most Antarctic dry valley lakes at ~85°S, and second, an ice-dammed ice-marginal lake in Greenland. These two systems demonstrate the dynamic nature of glacial meltwater in polar regions and how changes in meltwater abundance and storage can influence resource-limited systems.

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October 4, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Topic: Learning Cloud Processes Across Scales Using Data-Driven Reduced Order Modeling
Speaker: Kara Lamb (Columbia Univ.)
More info: Abstract
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio

GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Kara Lamb (Columbia Univ.)
Title: Learning Cloud Processes Across Scales Using Data-Driven Reduced Order Modeling

This is hybrid presentation. Please consult with event host Maggie DeLessio for connection details if you wish to virtually attend.

Abstract:
Clouds are challenging to represent in climate models because they involve complex, non-linear processes that extend from the submicron scale to the kilometer scale. Recent data-driven approaches developed in the context of scientific machine learning are promising methods for deriving consistent representations of cloud processes across different scales. I will talk about a couple of recent studies applying these methods to cloud processes, both at the microscale and at the macroscale. Representing cloud microphysical processes in large scale atmospheric models is challenging because many processes depend on the details of the droplet size distribution (the spectrum of droplets with different sizes in a cloud). I will discuss how data-driven reduced order modeling can be used to learn predictors for microphysical process rates in bulk microphysics schemes in an unsupervised manner from higher dimensional bin distributions, by simultaneously learning lower dimensional representations of droplet size distributions and predicting the evolution of the microphysical state of the system. I will also discuss how these methods can be used to parameterize cloud spatial organization at the mesoscale in climate models, using simulations from a global storm resolving model that resolves deep convection. Learning a parameter for cloud spatial organization significantly improves the prediction of the precipitation in climate models, and almost entirely explains precipitation stochasticity at the sub-grid-scale.

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October 10, 2023
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
BUFFET III Workshop
Host/Contact: Linda Sohl
October 11, 2023
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
BUFFET III Workshop
Host/Contact: Linda Sohl
October 11, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Gernot Wagner (Columbia Business Sch.)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio
October 17, 2023
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
CERES Science Team Meeting
More info: Web Link
Host/Contact: Sabrina Hosein
October 18, 2023
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
CERES Science Team Meeting
More info: Web Link
Host/Contact: Sabrina Hosein
October 19, 2023
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
CERES Science Team Meeting
More info: Web Link
Host/Contact: Sabrina Hosein
October 20, 2023
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.— Hybrid
GEWEX Meeting
Host/Contact: Sabrina Hosein
October 25, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Mathieu Ratinsky (LATMOS)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio
October 31, 2023
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — Virtual
Sea Level Rise Seminar
Topic: Dams, Sea Level Rise, and Coastal Impacts
Speaker: Viven Gornitz (NASA/GISS)
Host/Contact: Patrick Alexander
November 1, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar/Discussion
Topic: Contrasting opacity in dynamical climate modeling with that in machine learning
Speaker: Ryan O'Loughlin (CUNY/Queens College)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio
November 15, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Ogochukwu Enekwizu (Brookhaven Nat'l Lab)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio
November 29, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Assia Arouf (Columbia Univ. / GISS)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio
December 5, 2023
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. — Virtual
Sea Level Rise Seminar
Topic: Sea Level Variability in Tide Gauges and Climate Models
Speaker: Christopher Little (AER)
Host/Contact: Patrick Alexander
December 6, 2023
1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.— Hybrid
GISS Lunch Seminar
Speaker: Monisha Natchiar (Univ. Exeter)
Host/Contact: Maggie DeLessio

Special Events

BUFFET III Workshop

Oct. 10-11, 2023. For information, contact Linda Sohl.

CERES Science Team Meeting

Oct. 17-19, 2023. For information, see the CERES events page.

NASA/AOS-GEWEX Convection Workshop

Apr. 22-5, 2024. For information, contact Gregory Elsaesser.

+ Past Meetings & Workshops

Security Note

Federal regulations require that visitors to NASA/GISS arrange in advance for a building pass. Persons planning to attend a GISS seminar or colloquium held on-site at the institute should contact the event host several days in advance of the event for assistance.

Persons who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents and who may be planning a visit to GISS require that special arrangements be made. Please co-ordinate with your GISS host on this at least three weeks before your visit.

Due to implementation of the REAL ID Act (2005), a passport, state driver's license or state identification card is required for admittance to the GISS premises, which is considered a federal facility. If you do not have a state-issued license or ID that is considered REAL-ID compliant, we urge you to obtain one before one is required to enter a federal facility. Enforcement of this requirement was delayed due to the COVID pandemic and is now expected to begin in May 2025.

All visitors can expect to have their bags searched upon entry to GISS. This may include having to answer questions about personal items, including any medication the visitor may be carrying.