Grandfather Mountain, Nature on a Whole Different Level

APPALAIR LECTURE AT GRANDFATHER SEPTEMBER 23

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN, NC – The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation and Appalachian State University are co-sponsoring a special lecture September 23 at Grandfather Mountain in conjunction with the opening of AppalAIR, the Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research Group at ASU.

Dr. David EasterlingDr. David Easterling, chief of the Scientific Services Division at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC, will present on "Observed and Projected Climate Change." The lecture is open to the public and is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Grandfather's Nature Museum Auditorium.

Dr. Easterling received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987 and served as an Assistant Professor in the Climate and Meteorology Program, Department of Geography, Indiana University-Bloomington from 1987 to 1990. In 1990 he moved to the National Climatic Data Center as a research scientist, was appointed as Principal Scientist in 1999 and then as Chief of Scientific Services in 2002.

Dr. Easterling has authored or co-authored more than 60 research articles in journals such as Science, Nature and the Journal of Climate. His research interests include the detection of climate change in the observed record and particularly changes in extreme climate events.

AppalAIR is an interdisciplinary air quality and climate research initiative that satisfies the data needs of the state and the region. The overriding goal of the project is to develop AppalAIR as an intensive interdisciplinary research and teaching program for exploring atmospheric processes. This involves subjects such as air pollution formation and transport, the relationship of pollution and natural aerosols sources to a changing climate and their impacts on regional ecosystems, weather and climate.

Grandfather Mountain is a perfect partner for AppalAIR due to the unique natural laboratory, the proximity to Appalachian State University, the institutional support through the Naturalist program and the ongoing education programs and research activities on the Mountain.

"The lecture on September 23 will highlight the many ways that ASU and the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation have been working together over the past several years and how the collaborative relationship will be strengthened in the coming years," said Dr. Baker Perry, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at ASU.

The 1 p.m. lecture will be open to the public. There is no cost for the lecture but those attending must pay regular admission for Grandfather Mountain. More information on Grandfather Mountain can be found at www.grandfather.com and additional details on AppalAIR are at http://appalair.appstate.edu.

Return to News Release Archive index page
Photos, Virtual Tours & More…Get the Monthly NewsletterTell Us About Your ExperienceSend an E-card to a Friend