Details

ONLINE | Four Sessions: Tuesday, October 3, 10, 17 & 24; 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Instructors: Scientists from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the North Carolina Institute of Climate Studies (NCICS). See Bios Below.

Pre-registration is Required | $45 minimum ($65 Suggested Amount) All amounts go to support conservation education and scholarships at The North Carolina Arboretum

Please Note: If you want to participate and the cost of this program is a hardship for you or your family, please pay what you can toward the suggested donation and complete the Request for Scholarship Consideration Form. We want to create openings for anyone hoping to access this valuable and critical learning opportunity through the Arboretum.

Course Capacity: 100

BRN Core | BREG Elective | NCEE Credit

The Arboretum and Adult Education host a unique learning opportunity with a dynamic team of scientists from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS) leading a four-part online series on Climate Change Science starting in early October! Learn from the scientists who collect and maintain weather observations, records and data sets used by partners, scientists and decision makers across public and private sectors the world over. Science-backed presentations along with discussion will place our local weather and climate within a global perspective, examining what drives Earth’s warming temperatures and the increasing extreme weather events such as hurricanes, while considering what the data show on trends and the effects on seasons and biodiversity.

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, or NCEI, is the Nation’s leading authority for environmental data. Scientists at NCEI manage one of the largest archives of atmospheric, coastal, geophysical, and oceanic research in the world, and provide access to thousands of climate-related products and services.

The North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies, or NCICS, is an NC State University research institute co-located with NOAA NCEI in Asheville, North Carolina. NCICS facilitates climate-related research in order to expand our understanding of the Earth system and its interactions with human activities."

• Deke Arndt is the director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which creates or maintains many of the world's weather datasets. He previously headed NCEI's Climate Monitoring team, responsible for developing indicators and providing expert analyses of the climate system.
• Douglas Rao is a research scientist with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies in Asheville. His broad research interests include satellite data analysis for climate and environmental applications. Douglas is also interested in environmental conservation and is a member of the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter.
• Jared Rennie is a Research and Certified Consultant Meteorologist for NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in Asheville. His interests include data visualization and finding ways to integrate weather and climate information with social and economic factors.
• Carl Schreck is a research scientist with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies at North Carolina State University. His research identifies the large-scale climate drivers of tropical cyclones and climate extremes on scales of weeks to months.
• Laura Stevens is a research scientist with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies at North Carolina State University. She analyzes changes in both past and future climate and has served as an author on several U.S. climate reports.
• Emma Scott is a research associate with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies at North Carolina State University. She is interested in improving satellite data quality and investigating changes to the frequency and severity of extreme events in a changing climate, including changes to heat waves, droughts, and extreme precipitation. She received her bachelor’s degree in meteorology from North Carolina State University and her master’s degree in atmospheric science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Tom Maycock works at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies and has served as a science editor for multiple U.S. and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments. His efforts focus on helping scientists communicate clearly and effectively.

Opportunities for further discussion:

Lunch & Learn - Drop in to meet and discuss climate change with NCEI & NCICS Scientists and guests on Thursday, October 19 and Thursday, November 2, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

TBD: November Adaptation/mitigation/Communication Town Hall with Deke Arndt and panelists | In Person at the Arboretum

Additional Lunch & Learn sessions, related classes, talks, and reading groups are scheduled in connection with this course and Ecology of the Blue Ridge beginning this fall and continuing through the winter. Discussions begun in class can continue with deeper consideration on adaptation and climate equity, including strategies used to prepare for a changing climate.

Registration and Participation in Online Classes through the Arboretum:

• Registration for this class will close two days before the class start date.
• Make sure you enter your email address correctly when registering.
• Access to Zoom and/or Schoology links and information will be accessible upon registration via your account's Supplemental Content section. To learn how to view this information, please use this helpful guide.

*Please add adulteducation@ncarboretum.org to your contacts to ensure our emails do not end up in your spam folder.