Environment & Climate

Environment & Climate Science – Scientists spearheading climate analysis

By March 18, 2019 No Comments

Environment & Climate Science: The pioneering scientists who are spearheading global climate research, analysis & action.

“As a child of the 1970’s, I spent some considerable time with my Grandmother & my Aunts tending to the allotment’s or gardens they so dearly loved. I witnessed, muddy handed, the seasons change, the seasonality of the vegetables which came out of the earth, or were picked from trees or bushes. I revelled in the delicious autumnal fruit crumbles, drenched in vanilla laden custard, the sprout trees freshly cut for the Christmas table & the crisp fresh peas popped from their pods in mid- summer.

I now live in a world whereby I see Daffodils waving their golden yellow heads, while my Christmas tree glints it’s twinkly lights! Strawberries & other soft fruits are in my supermarkets 365 days a year & for too many summers, the ground has been so scorched, that I have lost the fruits & vegetables I have grown in my garden due to excessive heat.” Katy-Jane Mason

The signals & signs of advanced climate change are all around us. Like it or not, the planet & the environment is becoming warmer & warmer & the battle to reduce Co2 & GHG emissions has gained dramatic traction over the past few years. Sadly, in the UK particularly, the financial wrench & perpetual debates surrounding the UK attempt to leave the EU, has meant that environmental & climate related topics needs & actions, have very much taken a back seat. However, despite the political issues facing the UK, Climate Change & the need to make substantial & far reaching changes to our efforts, has not gone away.

In light of this, we look to the scientists who are monitoring, researching & analysing data in relation to Climate Change. Many senior scientists contributed to the latest ground breaking IPCC report last year, which shook the world with its candid warnings about the need to keep the planet to 1.5’C. The IPCC, having existed for 30 years, has produced detailed assessments of the state of the climate every six or seven years. The authors are all scientists who have been nominated by governments and international institutions. In the latest IPCC reporting cycle, there were 86 lead authors from 39 countries, of which 39% are female.’ (1)

The international women’s day theme ‘Balance for Better’ has resonated around the world; it has also posed questions about how we can still encourage women into the sciences & create a balance in what is still regrettably seen as a male dominated sector.

Carbon Brief recently interviewed Dr Kate Marvel.

‘Dr Kate Marvel is an associate research scientist at Columbia University and the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. She received a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge in 2008 and has worked at the Carnegie Institution, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Stanford University. Her research focuses on climate modelling and clouds. She writes the Hot Planet column for Scientific American and in 2017 gave a TED Talk on clouds and climate change.’ (2)

 

Dr Kate Marvel is an associate research scientist at Columbia University and the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

Dr Kate Marvel is an associate research scientist at Columbia University and the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

Dr Marvel has begun to make the shift into Climate Sciences after being a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford, working on science policy & realising that she wanted to combine her Physics background, with something which would make a difference to the world. When she approached the eminent climate scientist Steve Schneider at Stanford University to discuss her idea, he in no uncertain terms questioned her merits & it was then she knew it was definitely the direction she wanted to take. “I remember I went to go to talk to Steve Schneider, who was a very famous climate scientist at Stanford at the time, and he just looked at me and was like, “what, are you stupid?” I think that was when it really clicked that this was something that I could do.” (2)

Despite Dr Marvel’s outstanding & exceptional educational & scientific achievements; she is still not immune from negativity in the scientific community because she is a woman. As she says in the Carbon Brief interview, just because she doesn’t physically come up to the stereotype some hold as the representation of a scientist who just happens to be female; she is therefore not taken seriously, questioned about her research & methods & deemed ‘stupid’ by her peers.

“You get a lot of push back. You get a lot of people calling you stupid. You get a lot of people calling you uninformed in ways that I think that maybe they wouldn’t say to somebody who looks more like the stereotypical view of the scientist. The flip side of that is there are a lot of phenomenal women out there. Really amazing scientists, really amazing communicators, so you’re not alone and you do feel like you have this unbelievable community of people that you trust and respect and really look up to. And that’s kind of been a positive. “Dr Kate Marvel speaking to Carbon Brief, October 2018.

This discrimination is being combatted through leadership programmes such as the pioneering work of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. In a recent CNN interview, Anne Hidalgo recognises & applauds the astonishing work Christiana Figueres, former head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat alongside Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) did in getting more than 190 nations to sign the Paris Agreement in 2015. Anne Hidalgo, being a member of the C40 Network, recognises that in it’s inception, the network only had a 4 female mayors represented, which has now become 21. (3)

One thing which is evident through Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s report, is the recognition that we still need more women in the sciences, engineering & the climate related industries; as research has proven that women are more likely to act on their research, analysis & understanding of climate change & have a greater concentration of those ready & willing to act as part of a global ‘call to action’; rather than a reliance on extensive research reports not being acted upon at Government level.

An example of the way in which actions are generated by women in the Climate Change forum, is the hornet’s nest that Greta Thunberg opened at COP24 & how this young female environmentalist’s ‘call to action’ has affected millions of young people around the world to demand more from their leaders & governments. When the truth be told, it is their future which currently looks very bleak with the current climate change trajectories presented by the IPCC report & the scientific communities.

Dolphin N2 have looked at the ways in which Rwanda are cultivating a culture of Climate Change related industry & sciences to combat the indicators they already have of the affects on their environment & in particular in farming.

As part of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS-NEI), they are inviting female scientists to apply for a Fellowship Program for Women in Climate Change Science (WiCCS). This programme is being spearheaded by AIMS-NEI to vastly increase women’s participation & contribution to a more sustainable societal response to climate change. (4)

The first cohort of women recognised by the Fellowship Programme are Dr. Nana Klutse from Ghana, Dr. Jessica Nosizwe Paula Thorn, a South African national living in the United States and Dr. N’Datchoh Evelyne Toure from Ivory Coast. (4)

Dr. Jessica Nosizwe Paula Thorn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Colorado State University, USA investigating participatory modelling of social-ecological systems. She is an active member of the Global Environmental Facility, contributor to The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity reports; and teaches university courses. (5)

Dr. Jessica Nosizwe Paula Thorn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Colorado State University, USA investigating participatory modelling of social-ecological systems.

Dr. Jessica Nosizwe Paula Thorn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Colorado State University, USA investigating participatory modelling of social-ecological systems.

During her fellowship tenure, which will be hosted in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse will investigate the dynamics of extreme climate of Africa and the impact of extreme climate under global warming. It is her hope that climate science research will be given attention by African governments. (5)

Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse will investigate the dynamics of extreme climate of Africa and the impact of extreme climate under global warming.

Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse will investigate the dynamics of extreme climate of Africa and the impact of extreme climate under global warming.

Dr. N’Datchoh Evelyne Toure current research involves investigating the potential changes in climate extremes over West and Central Africa at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming using regional climate model (RegCM).  As a Fellow, her research will assess the impact of climate change on extreme rainfall and temperature patterns over Cote d’Ivoire in the context of the Paris agreement. (5)

Dr. N’Datchoh Evelyne Toure current research involves investigating the potential changes in climate extremes over West and Central Africa at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming using regional climate model (RegCM). 

Dr. N’Datchoh Evelyne Toure current research involves investigating the potential changes in climate extremes over West and Central Africa at 1.5°C and 2°C global warming using regional climate model (RegCM).

All of scientists have been recognised because of their scientific knowledge, academic achievement & their ability to make a vast impact on the research & ‘call to action’ needed to make changes, in this case to the African nations. However, the opportunities awarded to these scientists are in recognition of the simple fact that their specialisms can & will have an active impact on our global understanding of climate change & it’s impact & help us build a much greater understanding of how we can move forward & make some semblance of change for a sustainable future for the human race.

Written by Katy-Jane Mason on behalf of Dolphin N2. 

  1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45653099
  2. https://www.carbonbrief.org/carbon-brief-interview-dr-kate-marvel
  3. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/08/opinions/climate-change-women-mayor-anne-hidalgo-paris-agreement-intl/index.html
  4. https://www.nexteinstein.org/research/aims-nei-fellowship-program-for-women-in-climate-change-science/
  5. https://www.nexteinstein.org/blog/2018/05/15/aims-announces-first-cohort-of-women-in-climate-change-science-fellows/