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.