When
Where
Seminar Format
Available via Zoom webinar. Contact the department to subscribe to the email list (zoom link provided in announcement).
Abstract
In recent decades, most parts of the Middle East have experienced an increasing trend in climate-related hazards, such as floods, prolonged droughts, dust storms, heatwaves and wildfires. I will present the driving mechanisms and impacts associated with select extreme events and their future projections in the region. In particular, the contribution of atmospheric rivers to flood and dust transport will be shown. Then the record hot and dry conditions in 2021 that sparked widespread protests across the region will be discussed. Finally, future projections of the compound climate extremes in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin will be presented, along with their potential implications for transboundary water conflicts in the coming decades. I will also offer a decision-making framework that shows the interconnections between climate hazards, their causes, and actions for short- to long-term planning.
Bio
Dr. Amin Dezfuli, Senior Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center [Email: amin.dezfuli@nasa.gov | Google Scholar | Research Gate]
Dr. Amin Dezfuli is a Senior Research Scientist working at the NASA Space Flight Center and University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has a B.S. and M.S. in water engineering, both from Iran, and a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the Florida State University. His research focuses on climate change and extreme events, their causes, and impacts, mainly over the Middle East and Africa. He uses in situ, radar, and satellite-based observations, as well as climate models, to explore a range of climate-related applications, such as droughts, atmospheric rivers, floods, transboundary water conflicts, health risks, dust storms, wildfires, and bird migration.