From heat waves to drought, the fingerprints of climate change are all over recent extreme weather events. But what about hurricanes? Was the historic 2017 hurricane season (Harvey, Irma, Maria, etc.) a result of climate change? Can we expect more years like 2017 in the future? Will hurricanes be more common in New England? It turns out these are difficult questions to answer. This presentation will discuss why attributing changes in hurricanes to climate change is so challenging, and highlight what steps researchers are taking to better understand this critical connection.

Christopher Skinner is a climate scientist and assistant professor in the Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is interested in the ways that climate and weather shape society and ecosystems. Examples of his research include: understanding how climate change contributed to the establishment of Ancient Egypt; how human emissions of greenhouse gases will impact future air quality; and how plants interact with the atmosphere to create their own weather. He approaches all of these topics by combining observational data with numerical models of the earth system. Before joining the faculty at UMass Lowell, Chris was a research scientist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He received his PhD in Earth System Science from Stanford University and a BS in Atmospheric Science from Cornell University.

--PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Meeting via email.--