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Tags: Department of English

Distinguished Research Professor Kelly Dawe in the department of genetics is principal investigator on a new project to sequence the genetic diversity of the world's largest cash crop: When the human genome was first sequenced in 2001, the project focused on a single individual. Since that time, several new genomes have been assembled and additional genetic data have been generated for thousands of individuals, producing a more complete picture…
The University of Georgia will host a viewing party of the solar eclipse on August 21. Professor Marshall Shepherd uses his Forbes column to underscore a crucial point about the rare event: Intuitively, I think most people understand that we have seasons because the Earth is tilted on its axis as it rotates around the sun. We are currently in northern (southern) hemisphere summer (winter) because that hemisphere is tilting toward…
Some timely and informative new research from geography faculty and graduate students on aspects of the erratic weather seen recently: Much of the flood-inducing rainfall that has pummeled California over the last month flowed into the region via a river in the sky. But these so-called atmospheric rivers, which transport large quantities of water vapor poleward from the tropics, can wreak havoc in the Southeast as well. University of Georgia…
Expert voices and new research had Franklin faculty featured in the media on a range of subjects from climate change to the 'love hormone' to the discovery of a Spanish fort on the South Carolina coast. A sampling (only through July!): Just a few more bites: Defining moderation varies by individual, study finds (Michelle vanDellen, psychology) – ScienceDaily You can't lose weight with moderate eating – Times of India Study reveals that eating "…
Clear skies and warmer weather in northern Greenland from this high-pressure system resulted in record setting surface temperature and meltwater runoff in the northwest. With less summer snow falling and melting underway, northern Greenland's reflectivity also decreased and the water absorbed more heat from the sun, further increasing melting.  It is unclear whether this set of circumstances will continue to hold true this summer, or in…
Water, food and energy are inextricably linked. All three sectors impact one or both of the others. Improving water, energy and food security on a global level can be achieved through a nexus approach that integrates management of these resources across geographies and sectors. Having the data to do this, however, is a challenge.   Dr. Marshall Shepherd, director of UGA's atmospheric sciences program and the Georgia Athletic Association…
In new stories about history, art, climate, psychology and the environment, Franklin faculty provided key insights in media from around the world. A sample from the past month: Examining Hurricane Patricia. Marshall Shepherd, professor of atmospheric sciences, was asked if the storm’s media coverage was over-hyped. “Are you kidding me? How can you over-hype a record-shattering hurricane, packing EF-5 tornado winds, and approaching a major…
The urban heat island effect describes how the spatial configuration of cities, the materials in them (such as asphalt), lack of vegetation and waste heat can modify temperature. A new study from reseachers in the department of geography using a new method for calculating urban heat island intensities clarifies the conflict on whether urban density or sprawl amplify these effects more: It also provides a ranking of the top urban heat…
From flooding in Texas and the Confederate Flag to the discovery of an ancient Qu'ran, Franklin College faculty were widely quoted on a wide range of subjects over the summer. A sampling: Millennials: Apathetic or Empathetic? – R&B article quotes Brian Haas, an assistant professor in the Behavioral and Brain Science Program NPR reporter explores John Ross story and the art of the protest – Chattanooga Times Free Press quotes Jace Weaver,…
Special treat from the folks at the Athens Science Cafe tonight beginning at 6 pm at the Foundry: Marshall Shepherd talks about communicating weather and climate: "Zombies, Sports, and Cola: What does it mean for communicating weather and climate?" led by Dr. Marshall Shepherd from the UGA Department of Geography. Dr. Shepherd is the director of the UGA Atmospheric Sciences program and is a Georgia Athletic Association…
Statistical techniques like downscaling allow climate researchers to peer across extraordinarily large amounts of different kinds of data to give us a better idea of what to expect in terms of the broader changes in the climate and how those may translate into recurring weather events in the future. Researchers from the department of geography recently published an unequivocal new study: More tornadoes will be commonplace by the year 2080 as a…
Athletic Association Professor of Social Sciences and director of our atmospheric sciences program Marshall Shepherd was a guest of Raphael Miranda on MSNBC this week, talking about extreme weather, new satellite technology for forecasting and the polar vortex, among other subjects. Great job, Dr. Shepherd.    
Reflecting the need to understand the complexity of weather and climate issues today The Weather Channel is launching a new talk show, "Weather Geeks," featuring our own Marshall Shepherd as host: “One of the greatest aspects of my involvement with AMS and our community as a whole is the opportunity to hear the best minds in our field discuss the most pressing issues in weather,” said Shepherd. “Our vision is for Weather Geeks to be a weekly…
Atheltic Association Professor Marshall Shepherd was a guest on CBS' Face the Nation yesterday. He not only represented UGA extraordinarily well, as usual, he also made a great deal of sense talking about weather and climate:     The blog Living in the Real World offered some thoughts and critiques on Shepherd's interview: [Dr.] Shepherd makes navigating such interviews seem deceptively easy. The reality? The questions come fast,…
 
Professor of geography and president of the American Meteorological Society J. Marshall Shepherd will join weather and climate experts in a White House discussion on the 'Polar Vortex' at 2 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 10: "We the Geeks: ‘Polar Vortex' and Extreme Weather" will be a conversation with leading meteorologists, climate scientists and weather experts about why temperatures dipped to such frigid lows this week, how weather experts turn raw…
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Science rolls out its fifth assessment report this week, Athletic Association Professor and president of the American Meteorological Society J. Marshall Shepherd weighs in on the need for common sense on climate change: For me, the hat with the ball from the IPCC report is that it continues to affirm that our planet is warming, and humans are a significant contributor to the warming. Andrew Dessler,…
As we enter the height of hurricane season, forcasters have a new model to improve their work. Newly upgraded supercomputers of NOAA’s National Weather Service are now more than twice as fast in processing sophisticated computer models to provide more accurate forecasts. The scientific data and insights that these newly upgraded supercomputers will provide are essential to help government officials, communities, and businesses better understand…
With all the usual caveats about the difficulty for complex issues to break through the media preferences for fragmentation and drama, extreme weather and climate conditions are forcing their way into the national discussion. On the CBS Sunday morning show 'Face the Nation' this week, UGA's Marshall Shepherd was among the panelists. WFOR's Chief Meteorologist David Bernard, Climate Central's Chief Climatologist Heidi Cullen, TIME Magazine's…
The devastating tornado that hit the Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday has rightly taken up a lot of media oxygen over the last few days. The attention means faculty members in geography John Knox and especially current president of the American Meteorological Society J. Marshall Shepherd have been on call, non-stop. A sampling for Shepherd alone, just in the past two days: Huffpost Live, XM Sirius B. Smith Show NPR Science Friday on Friday.…
Easy access to precise weather information, the beauty and accuracy of real-time satellite imagery in particular, almost seems commonplace at this point. But that doesn't mean the system providing that data is secure in today's world of tight budgets. In National Georgraphic news, professor J. Marshall Shepherd speaks to the strains on an aging system and explains the problems with replacing it: a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (…
Professor and director of the UGA Atmospheric Sciences Program in the department of geography Marshall Shepherd will testify before a U.S. Senate Committee this morning. Per the AMS blog: The Senate Committee on Environment and Infrastructure, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer, has already lined up a session on the “Latest Climate Science” for this morning, at 10 a.m. EST. The blue-ribbon panel of invited experts providing testimony includes AMS…
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides public-access data confirming “average temperature in the United States for 2012 was ... 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, and 1.0 degree above 1998, the previous warmest year” in the United States. It is also well-documented that over the last several decades, we have experienced far more record-high temperatures than record-low temperatures. Up to the early…
How do we understand the potential of a megastorm like Sandy, currently battering the East coast of the U.S.? Geography professors Marshall Shepherd and John Knox explain in an Op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Advances in numerical weather forecasting during the past several decades have extended our ability to see into the future. In September 1938, before all of these advances, a hurricane devastated Long Island and much of New…
The student chapter of the UGA American Meteorological Society welcomes weekend 'Good Morning America' meteorologist Ginger Zee to campus on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in room 102 of the Miller Learning Center: Zee is the Emmy Award-winning weather anchor of the "Good Morning America" weekend edition, which is broadcast from the ABC News studios in Manhattan, N.Y. She also reports on weather-related topics from around the country during the…

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