The Graduate Climate Conference (GCC), now in its sixteenth year, represents a rich tradition tied to the history of the PCC. First held in 2006, the GCC has grown and evolved while remaining true to its core mission of highlighting student-led work at a conference run by graduate students for graduate students. Hosting responsibilities have alternated each year between students in the PCC at UW and students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Program on Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate.

The 16th annual Graduate Climate Conference was held on October 28 – 30, 2022 at the University of Washington Pack Forest Conference Center, the first GCC in person after two consecutive years of being held online. The event featured around 100 participants, and an unprecedented number of travel grants were offered to both U.S. and international attendees, which was made possible by generous support from the National Science Foundation, PCC, and other sponsors at UW (for a full list of sponsors, see the GCC website). This year the conference accommodated a record number of students from different fields and universities, a total of 36 different fields and 37 institutions in the U.S and abroad, a big win for interdisciplinary research on climate studies! Another important demographic aspect is that women comprised about 56% of attendees in 2022. 

The Conference featured 4 poster sessions and 5 enriching workshops summarized below. Social activities during the weekend included a Halloween costume party and hike on Mount Rainier. Meals and refreshments were provided by Pack Forest.  Responses to a post-conference survey included the following testimonials: “Thank you for all that you have done to make this conference a huge success and such a unique opportunity. I met so many wonderful, new friends and I really valued the neat experience of being with everyone for an entire weekend.” “Thank you so much, really appreciate all the work y’all put into this. It was a really great experience and opportunity.”.

Keynote Speakers: Dr. Natalya Gomez (McGill University) opened the event with the talk entitled “Ice sheets, sea level and being a climate scientist” where she explored the physics of ice sheets, what causes sea level change and its uneven patterns. Gomez’s interdisciplinary approach has been crucial to enrich the projects she is currently involved with, from reaching communities in vulnerable areas to an introductory course focused on climate crisis and action. Our first speaker inspired the audience with some good reflections of lessons on the road to tenure, such as the importance of celebrating the effort, on win or losses during the academic path. At the end, a discussion about the challenges faced in the research path and the role we could play in climate action and DEI was brought to the audience.

Our second keynote speaker, Dr. Tamara Pico (UC Santa Cruz) discussed community-based research in the climate sciences, highlighting that science and research practices in earth sciences are traditionally based in racism and colonialism. For that reason, local community action and participation are pivotal in research projects and its development, taking into account the local knowledge and what is defined as a real positive change for the local community. At the end, Dr. Pico raised  a discussion with the audience focusing on  what are the current gaps in our research field between scientists and communities, and each part of the research project is the most relevant for the community. 

Session 1, “Carbon cycle, biogeochemical cycling and ocean heat content and large scale contamination” was chaired by Shawn Wang (MIT) and Becca Cleveland-Stout (UW). Hannah Dion-Kirschner (Caltech) presented her work on soil measurements of the soil methane sink, discussing the potential capability of soil to absorb atmospheric methane. Kadir Bice (University of Georgia) studied hydrodynamic forcings and causal drivers of saltmarsh biomass in the Altamaha River estuary with time series data, highlighting the importance of saltmarshes in the environmental system. Elaina Thomas (UW) used machine learning methods to predict mixotrophic protists as sinks or sources of CO2 across the ocean based on community gene expression. Sarah Nickford (University of Rhode Island) introduced automatic sail drones to collect data on air-sea CO2 exchange in the Gulf stream region. Kristin Kimble (Brown University) discussed the coupling of sea surface temperature and ocean productivity, pointing out a surprising decoupling across the Eastern equatorial Pacific during the Pliocene. Ali Siddiqui (Johns Hopkins University) emphasized the importance of the north atlantic gyre as controls on salinity variability in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic. Noah Rosenberg (UW) worked on quantifying multidecadal variability in the North Atlantic ocean state in observations and climate models with Fourier analysis and mathematical models. The oral presentations in this session covered the interactions between different parts of the biogeochemical cycle and highlighted the earth system as an undivided whole. 

Session 2, “Environmental Management & Agriculture / Ecoclimate & Biological Responses to Climate Change / Hydrology and Geomorphology” was chaired by Rebecca Lima (Kansas State University) and Bryony Pruxley (University of Oklahoma). Covering the session’s first topic, Lunia Oriol (UMich) analyzed scenario planning as a decision support tool for climate change adaptation and uncertainty management. Tayler Schillerberg (Auburn University) used machine learning to understand global crop failures as a result of  agroclimate conditions such as precipitation and frost occurrences and field conditions. In the Ecoclimate & Biological Responses to Climate Change topic, Juliette Jacquemont (UW) presented on corals’ metabolic responses to future climatic conditions based on insights from the natural laboratory of Bouraké, New Caledonia, pointing out the possibility of adaptation. Ciara Willis (MIT) studied decadal-scale changes in the Georges Bank ecosystem using nitrogen trends, with evidence from bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses of fish scales. Discussing the last topic, Hydrology and Geomorphology, Ariel Greenblat (Simon Fraser University) examined Nitrate Variability due to Heavy Rain Events in the North Alouette Watershed, British Columbia, showing nitrate variability as a result of both natural and anthropogenic activities. This session emphasized the possibility and the importance of environmental management. 

Session 3, “Polar Climate / Climate Change in Sensitive Regions”, was chaired by Ankur Mahesh (UC Berkeley). Covering the first  topic, Zac Espinosa (UW) discussed the interannual variability of Arctic summer sea ice area, which had different trends of predicted interannual variability of the Southern Ocean. Ellen Koukel (UW) adopted a community-focused approach to the Arctic climate change, exploring the delayed ice freezing and sea surface temperature locally at Kivalina, AK. In the topic of Climate Change in Sensitive Regions, Richelle Moskvichev (University of Hawaii) used sea level rise and waves to model the shoreline-change of Hawaii’s beaches, which could potentially affect an increasing number of populations over time. This session drew attention to how sensitive regions and people in sensitive regions could be affected by climate change. 

Session 4, “Climate variability, from seasonal to orbital timescales / Proxy development”, was chaired by Mariya Galochkina(MIT). Discussing the first topic, Ray Zammit (Cardiff University) examined land-ocean interactions over Western North Africa following the Middle Miocene (13.8 Ma) climate transition, using oxygen isotopes to estimate temperature and salinity. Jessica Jagliadi (UC Santa Cruz) studied how Antarctic subglacial precipitates recorded the response of ice sheets to suborbital Southern Ocean warming based on Calcites in the sediments. Claire Jasper (Columbia University) presented her work on quantifying Antarctic iceberg rafted debris through the Pleistocene, using neural networks to detect iceberg rafted debris from X-ray images. Covering the proxy development topic, Ruth Tweedy (Columbia University) studied how n-alkane chain length distributions could be used as a paleo-vegetation proxy in eastern Africa to estimate the number of C3 and C4 plants and thus paleoecology. Presentations in this session highlighted potential methods to study the earth system in the past and indications for the climate of today. 

Session 5, “Clouds, Radiation, and Climate Sensitivity & Atmospheric Chemistry ,” was chaired by Bryony Puxley (University of Oklahoma) . Discussing the first topic, Clouds, Radiation, and Climate Sensitivity, Hrag Najarian (University of Oklahoma) presented Cloud-Radiative feedbacks within the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), showing that simultaneous moistening by different clouds contributes for maintaining the enhanced phase of the MJO. Salva Rühling Cachay (UC San Diego) introduced the ClimART dataset, based on the Canadian Earth System Model, which uses present, pre-industrial and future climate conditions data. Cachay discussed challenges and what has been done regarding the use of the ClimART dataset to emulate Atmospheric Radiative transfer with Machine Learning approaches. In the Atmospheric Chemistry session topic, Alexandra Catena (University at Albany) discussed hydrogen sulfide emission and methane and spatial variability of emissions at two large landfills in New York State. The results showed that variability in emission between landfills can be related to the facility design, landfill age, ph levels and other factors. Overall, the research presented in this session explored the role of atmosphere controlling climate conditions, innovative methodologies for climate modeling as well anthropogenic changes that impact those conditions.

Session 6, “Extreme Events and Tropical Convection Dynamics”, was chaired by Lin Yao (UC Davis).  Taylor Grace (University of Oklahoma) discussed the different heat wave definitions and applied statistical analysis to find the best definition for the Southern Plains. Holly Mallison (University of Illinois) discussed changes in hail and associated processes in a future climate. The results showed an increase of hail during cold season storms that will tend to be more severe. The final presenter, Lily Zhang (UW), analyzed the land surface influence on precipitation using dry down potential energy during convection and evaporation. Zhang focused on examining the influence in the lower atmosphere in terms of precipitation, convection, during periods of soil moisture drying down. Using satellite imagery, the results showed spatial and temporal trends that link convective development to soil moisture content and evaporation. Together, the research presented in this session emphasized the need to understand extreme weather conditions and how climate change in future scenarios will change the behavior of extreme events. 

Session 7, “Urban Design and Climate Policy & Solutions/ Social Impacts of Climate Change”, was chaired by Lauren Hunt. In the last session of GCC, Rachel Green (UC Santa Barbara) analyzed drivers of internal displacement caused by climate in Somalia, Africa. Drought, flooding events as well as social indicators, such as conflict, food security were used in a spatial gravity-type modeling, which focused on people’s mobility flow. Claire Burch (University of Oklahoma) discussed how energy sector involvement and political ideology impacts support of climate change policy in Oklahoma. Employment in gas and oil has a significant impact in the support of support but not prominent. Overall, the results showed that political ideology, such as the continued trend of conservatism, was the most impactful in the probability of opposition support. Hari Prasanna Das (UC Berkeley) wrapped up the oral presentations presenting the potentials and challenges of machine learning for smart and sustainable buildings. In all, this session explored the human-environmental interaction under climate change, focusing on the social impacts, such as human displacement, and in the development of climate change policies.

The poster sessions were held after the oral presentations and served as an opportunity for participants to have deep conversations on specific topics. Poster session A had 17 presentations on topics including urban design and climate policy solutions, social impacts of climate change, tropical dynamics and convection, clouds, radiation, and climate sensitivity, and atmospheric chemistry. Poster session B had 18 presentations on environmental management and agriculture, ecoclimate and biological responses to climate change, polar climate, and climate change in sensitive regions. Poster session C had 20 presentations on biogeochemical cycling, carbon cycle, ocean heat content and large-scale convection, and hydrology and geomorphology. Poster session D had 17 presentations on extreme events, climate variability, from seasonal to orbital timescales, and proxy development. 

Workshop A, “Data Visualization” was led by William Kumler (UW) where attendees had the opportunity to learn and practice through exercises the general rules of data visualization. Kumler emphasized the importance of full understanding of your dataset and storytelling for clear and engaging graphs. “Machine Learning Skills for Climate Application” was introduced by Salva Rühling Cachay (UC San Diego) and Lingwei Meng  (Princeton University), where they walked the attendees through some exercise and pros and cons of machine learning – it was good at dealing with questions with a lot of data but the mechanism poorly understood and bad at explaining the data. 

Workshop B, “Making grad school applications more accessible via peer mentorship” was carried by Shawn Wang (UW) and Ciara Willis (MIT). Wang and Willis discussed the JP

Applicant Support & Knowledgebase (ASK) program, a project that mentors students in the process of graduate school application. The speakers discussed the graduate admission process and applications that often benefit small professional and privileged groups through networks. The idea of the workshop is to share approaches that can facilitate effective peer-to-peer support for underrepresented students during the application process in graduate school. “Designing effective and inclusive outreach for K-12 students” was led by Hannah Dion-Kirschner (CalTech) and Claire Burch (University of Oklahoma). The speakers shared their experience in the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program funded by NSF that focuses on connecting academia with K-12 students and educators through engineering research. Attendees could discuss what role should outreach play in academia and considerations regarding facilitating and joining outreach programs. “Social responsibility of Earth scientists” led by Valentina Castañeda (Purdue) included a discussion about vulnerable communities being less prepared to cope with climate change and how to contribute to the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM.

Written by: Celeste Tong (UW – Department of Atmospheric Sciences) and Rebecca Lima (Kansas State University – Department of Geography and Geospatial Sciences)