Greg Pederson, Ph.D.
Greg Pederson is a research scientist working primarily on the role of climate variability in driving changes in water resources, and other biological and physical components of mountainous ecosystems in western North America.
Research Interests
Of particular interest is the magnitude of low-frequency hydroclimatic variability and its implications for drought risk, as well as the climatic drivers associated with observed changes in mountain snowpack, streamflow, glaciers, and forest disturbance events. Understanding the time intervals and spatial scales over which these processes operate requires a long-term perspective, and for that I rely on proxy records primarily from tree-ring and lake sediments along with instrumental and modeled climate records. Recent and ongoing studies have addressed the susceptibility of natural resources to climate variability and change, and sought to apply both the modern and paleoclimatic records to present day resource management problems.
Current Research Projects Include:
- Drivers of Drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin [DOI Southwestern CSC]
- Multi-century perspectives on current and future streamflow in the Missouri River Basin [NSF P2C2]
- Reconstructions of Columbia River flow from winter and summer precipitation sensitive proxies in the Northwestern U.S. with implications for 21st century flow [CSC and CLU]
- A Broader view of North American climate over the past two millennia: Synthesizing paleoclimate records from diverse archives [USGS Powell Center]
- Holocene climate variability in Alaska from relict wood [DOI Alaska CSC]
- Holocene climates of the Northern Rockies from relict wood emerging from ice patches [CLU]
- Megadroughts and uncertainty in Upper Colorado River flow low-frequency variability [CLU]
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Watershed Management & Ecohydrology. 2010. University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources.
M.S. Environmental Science. 2004. Montana State University
B.S. Ecology and Evolution in Botany & Zoology. 2000. Michigan State University
Affiliations and Memberships*
Greg is affiliate faculty with the Earth Sciences department and the Institute on Ecosystems (IoE) at Montana State University.
Science and Products
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) growth and defense in response to mountain pine beetle outbreaks
1200 years of Upper Missouri River streamflow reconstructed from tree rings
Streamflow reconstruction in the Upper Missouri River Basin using a novel Bayesian network model
An integrated framework for ecological drought across riverscapes of North America
Risks of hydroclimatic regime shifts across the western United States
Changing station coverage impacts temperature trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Identifying major avalanche years from a regional tree-ring based avalanche chronology for the U.S. Northern Rocky Mountains
Placing the Common Era in a Holocene context: Millennial to centennial patterns and trends in the hydroclimate of North America over the past 2000 years
Hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin
Investigating runoff efficiency in upper Colorado River streamflow over past centuries
Evidence that recent warming is reducing upper Colorado River flows
Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin
Science and Products
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) growth and defense in response to mountain pine beetle outbreaks
1200 years of Upper Missouri River streamflow reconstructed from tree rings
Streamflow reconstruction in the Upper Missouri River Basin using a novel Bayesian network model
An integrated framework for ecological drought across riverscapes of North America
Risks of hydroclimatic regime shifts across the western United States
Changing station coverage impacts temperature trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Identifying major avalanche years from a regional tree-ring based avalanche chronology for the U.S. Northern Rocky Mountains
Placing the Common Era in a Holocene context: Millennial to centennial patterns and trends in the hydroclimate of North America over the past 2000 years
Hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin
Investigating runoff efficiency in upper Colorado River streamflow over past centuries
Evidence that recent warming is reducing upper Colorado River flows
Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government