September 7, 2023, by Alex McCarrel

The Sitka Sound Science Center welcomes Deanna Nash as this month’s Scientist in Residency Fellow (SIRF). Dr. Nash’s research focuses on improving our grasp of meteorological conditions during extreme precipitation events throughout the world. Her fellowship is funded by the Kutí Project, a National Science Foundation’s Coastlines and People program. The Sitka Sound Science Center’s SIRF program provides four weeks for scientists to have time to work on their research and to engage with a breadth of the community in a variety of ways.

Deanna is a postdoctoral researcher for the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. She grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and received her BA in Geography and Environmental Studies (2014) from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She spent two years interning at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), while obtaining her MA in Geography (2017) from California State University, Los Angeles and received her Ph.D. (2022) in Geography from the University of California Santa Barbara.

 

As an Atmospheric Scientist, her research focuses on improving understanding of meteorological conditions during Atmospheric Rivers that result in extreme precipitation and increase the risk of landslides and floods. She uses multi-source data (e.g., weather models, satellite observations, and ground observations) and Python to visualize weather conditions during extreme Atmospheric Rivers in many different mountainous regions of the world, including Southern California, High Mountain Asia, Western Colorado, and Southeast Alaska. When she isn’t coding for work, Deanna enjoys reading fantasy novels, practicing yoga, playing video games with her husband, Ryan, and walking everywhere with her dog, Gurgi. Besides the community events listed below, Deanna is excited to explore local geological marvels, as well as connect with community members and students while in Sitka.

Mark Your Calendars!

• The Morning Interview – Tune into KCAW 104.7 FM on Friday, September 8^th @ 8:15 AM
• Natural History Seminar with Kitty LaBounty – In partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast, a seminar about Deanna’s research studying Atmospheric Rivers in SE Alaska (registration info TBA) on Wednesday September 13^th @ 7:00 PM
• Weather Walk & Talk with a Scientist – Join Deanna on a community hike at Thimbleberry/Heart Lake trail to learn about our local weather patterns, extreme precipitation events, and how to ID clouds on Saturday, September 16^th @ 10:00 AM

Follow @sitkascience or email Alex McCarrel at amccarrel@sitkascience.org for more information. Deanna can be reached directly at dnash@ucsd.edu.