Climate Science Champions Season 3: Adam Terando, Research Scientist (AD)

Research Ecologist Adam Terando helps people understand how climate change may affect their communities and ecosystems by using mathematical models to “downscale” large global climate models. 

Global climate models use physics to model atmospheric processes, allowing scientists to predict how climate change may affect future temperature and precipitation patterns. Yet due to limitations in computing power and time, these models are often at very large spatial scales. This can make it difficult to make climate predictions for small, localized areas, as global models may only give one number for an entire island or national park containing many different ecosystems. Adam Terando, Research Ecologist with the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, uses a process called “dynamical downscaling” to generate climate model results at small, local scales. This helps managers to understand how climate change can impact different landscapes, elevations, and topographies under their care. Learn more about Adam and his work.