Jim Steenburgh

Dr. Jim Steenburgh is Professor and Chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah. His research focuses on the weather and climate of the western United States, with an emphasis on mountain precipitation and wind systems, including lake-effect storms. He received the 2001 Outstanding Teaching Award from the College of Mines and Earth Sciences and the 2002 Outstanding Service Award from the National Weather Service for his “outstanding service to the weather support group for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.” In 2007, he led the preparation of the climate science report for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change (BRAC).

Abstract: Dirty Little Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth and the Future of the Great Salt Lake

Jim Steenburgh and Tom Painter, University of Utah

How will the Great Salt Lake be influenced by future climate change? This talk examines recent global and regional climate change, the range of 21st century temperature and precipitation projections produced by current climate models for Utah, and potential implications of climate change for the Great Salt Lake.

There is more to this story than just carbon dioxide as snowpack and runoff in the Great Salt Lake basin are also influenced by other anthropogenic effects, including dust and pollution deposition on the snowpack. Regional climate prediction for Utah is in its infancy, but could be advanced with improved environmental monitoring and the development of a comprehensive hydrometeorological modeling system for the Great Salt Lake Basin.

Owens Lake clay playa by Patrick Weber 2006

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