New York

New York City

10025

Professor

Columbia University

American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, International Society of Catastrophe Managers

Climate Change and Extreme Weather - Harnessing Climate Change Data
Climate change is expected to exacerbate flooding, hurricanes, prolonged drought periods, shifts in precipitation patterns, and extreme heat conditions. Social, ecological, and economic vulnerabilities to such weather events exist worldwide. Adam begins with a foundational understanding of weather patterns for the audience to better understand the patterns of extreme weather and their connection to climate change. Adam focuses on understanding the risk to society from extreme weather events and climate change.

Climate Change and the Intersection with Politics- Social Responsibility
Scientists do science, pass along the results to decision-makers, and better societal outcomes result. This is the model that scientists are historically taught, implicitly or explicitly, and it still conditions our thinking. Yet in the case of climate in particular, history has proved it patently false. The climate problem, at this point, is primarily political, not scientific. Adam will argue that we climate scientists still haven’t fully absorbed this truth, but that we should, particularly if we want to maximize our chances of making a positive difference in the world. A corollary is that, although climate adaptation efforts (because of their diversity, locality, and extra-climatic dimensions) still need plenty of new climate science, mitigation doesn’t – so, for example, while research to reduce uncertainties in estimates of Earth’s equilibrium climate sensitivity remains worthwhile for many reasons, it is mostly irrelevant to the real-world problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the near future. Should these arguments change the way we do our work or structure our careers, and if so how? I have no simple or unique answers, but I will argue that the question is worth asking, and sketch some possibilities.

Risk Science
The Columbia University Extreme Weather and Climate Initiative have developed a tool to better predict extreme weather event impacts.
As an atmospheric scientist with expertise in extreme weather events and climate, Adam works with colleagues in the reinsurance industry to quantify disaster risk.
Sobel’s research spans basic and applied prediction and risk assessment, and uses observations, theory, and numerical simulations with models spanning a hierarchy in complexity.

Adam H. Sobel is an Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor at Columbia University. Adam H. Sobel studies weather and climate, with a focus on extreme weather events. Phenomena include tropical cyclones, intraseasonal variability, precipitation, severe convection, and climate change. He has developed novel methods for essential mechanisms and understanding the connections between weather and climate. Sobel was featured in the 2012 NOVA documentary "Inside the Megastorm" about Hurricane Sandy, and later published the book Storm Surge: Hurricane Sandy, Our Changing Climate, and Extreme Weather of the Past and Future (2014).

Adam Sobel has numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications and has been featured on CNN and The New York Times. Adam is a subject matter expert; his expertise is valued by news outlets as well as testifying to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee about linking global warming with increasingly extreme weather.

Atmospheric scientist | extreme weather and climate | author | podcaster
Adam is able to bridge understanding between climate science data and how that data and predictions relate to society and other disciplines. Adam is able to use analogy and concrete examples to convey the risks of extreme weather events to society. As the director of the Columbia University Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate Change, Adam continues to research and explore how these issues impact our world.

Book: Storm Surge
Podcast: deep-convection

Flexible: Full refund up to 3 day prior to event, except fees (travel and service)