Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Seminar Series

In-person: Fitts-Woolard Hall 2331

Virtual seminar link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/92010077484?pwd=aFlOQmp5dHVKMmNnK0w0Qi9hREJWdz09

Abstract: Extreme weather events are costly, deadly, uproot people from their homes, and can have devastating effects on human life, health and the economy. They are also a natural part of variability in our climate and play a role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The purpose of this talk is to quantify the impact of extreme events on regional carbon, energy and water budgets. Using high-resolution land-surface hydrology models, plant hydraulics models, and predictive phenology models, we simulate how vegetation canopies respond to changes in atmospheric and soil conditions as a result of extreme events. Specific applications of the coupled hydrology-phenology modeling framework include understanding the sensitivity of montane cloud forests to changes in microclimate, assessing the role that vegetation water use strategies play in the evolution of flash drought events, and quantifying the impacts of wildfires in humid climates on the carbon and energy budgets. A key finding is that the magnitude of the change in the carbon cycle as a result of these extreme events are similar, while the governing processes may be vastly different. This work highlights the need to understand how vegetation processes modulate carbon, energy, and water fluxes towards the goal of managing and maintaining healthy ecosystems.

Biography: Lauren Lowman is an Assistant Professor in the Engineering Department at Wake Forest University and has served in this role since 2018. She received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a focus in Hydrology and Fluid Dynamics from Duke University, and a B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University. Her research investigates how extreme events affect overall ecosystem health, productivity, and sustainability using numerical models, geospatial data analysis, and field experiments. She is passionate about developing and sharing inclusive teaching practices in STEM fields and received a 2020 Engineering Unleashed Fellowship from the Kern Family Foundation to support this work (hiddenSTEMwfu.edu | @hiddenSTEMfigs on Twitter & Instagram).