Person with short white hair wearing a black blazer and white collared shirt. View of a planet Earth hurricane from space. Two scientists standing next to a monitor displaying earth climate modeling. Scientist Margaret Torn collecting soil samples in a field. A flux tower in a brown field with clouds above. A tropical forest with a mountain in the background. View of atmospheric measurement instruments in front of a Colorado mountain. Three scientists taking carbon soil measurements in a forest. Small green plant growing in a burned landscape. A colorful kite flying over a scientific field site. Palm trees blowing in extreme wind. View of a planet Earth hurricane from space. Dark-haired scientist in a polo and jeans kneeling in a field with various instrumentation Smiling person in a blue, gingham patterned shirt

Charles Koven is a staff scientist in the Climate Sciences Department and modeling lead in the NGEE-Tropics project. His research focuses on the relationship between climate change and Earth’s carbon cycle.

 Jennifer Holm, a brown-haired person wearing a white collared shirt, smiles for a headshot against a gray background.

Jennifer Holm is a research scientist in the Climate and Ecosystem Science Division and a collaborator in the NGEE-Tropics project. Her research focuses on modeling terrestrial ecosystems, with an emphasis on tropical forests.

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Michael F. Wehner is a senior scientist in the Computational Research Division researching the behavior of extreme weather events in a changing climate, especially heat waves, intense precipitation, drought, and tropical cyclones.

 Uprooted or broken trees in the Amazon. Person with short dark hair wearing a dark collared shirt against a gray photo drop background.

Tropical forests are crucial for sucking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But they’re also subject to intense storms that can cause “windthrow” – the uprooting or breaking of trees. A new study finds that more extreme thunderstorms from climate change will likely cause a greater number of large windthrow events in the Amazon, which could impact the rainforest’s ability to serve as a carbon sink.

As another atmospheric river impacts California on January 4th and 5th — with more rain forecast after that — Michael Wehner, a senior scientist in the Computational Research Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, discusses how climate change is increasing the rainfall from these drenching storms and how people can better prepare. Wehner uses observational data and advanced computer modeling to understand the behavior of extreme weather events in a changing climate, especially heat waves, intense precipitation, drought, and tropical cyclones.

We hear about climate models all the time, but how many of us know how they actually work? In this episode, we peel back the curtain, discussing where these models came from, what they can do amazingly well, and their current limitations. And our guests talk about what it’s like for them, personally, when their work is doubted, minimized, or politicized. After all, climate scientists find themselves in the hot seat a lot more often than other scientists. Today’s guests are experts not only in the science itself, but with staying cool under pressure, communicating their science with the public, and laughing off the negativity.

 Spring snowmelt in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the California Sierra Nevada. Digital traffic sign reading Excessive Heat High Fire Danger Use Caution. Hurricane scientific figures. View of Earth from space. Scientist looks over plants in the EcoPOD. CPU desktop with the contacts facing up lying on the motherboard of the PC. the chip is highlighted with blue light. Technology background