“What Do Salmon, Geoducks and Trees Have in Common: Climatic Variability and Natural Resources in the Pacific Northwest” will be presented by David Peterson at 2:10 p.m. Monday, April 7 in Johnson Hall 204. Petersen is a research biologist and professor working with the United States Forest Service based in Seattle. Refreshments will be provided at 1:45 p.m.
Low-frequency climatic variability originating in the North Pacific has a profound effect on productivity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), a quasi-periodic 20- to 30-year cycle of warm/dry and cool/wet climate, is a dominant mode of variability that controls water supply, salmon populations, shellfish, tree growth, and wildfire. Because the PDO affects climate in the Pacific Northwest and much of the interior West, we now have greater predictability about resource conditions across broad spatial and temporal scales.
