2015 AGU Chapman Conference on California Drought: Save the Date
7 April 2015
*Media Advisory*
IRVINE, CA — What’s really causing California’s epic drought? Is it linked to climate change or not? How are urban water managers responding to mandatory rationing, and are the restrictions enough? Do we have adequate prediction and monitoring tools, and how can they be improved? How is the drought affecting wildlife and ecosystems? Top researchers, water managers and policymakers will explore the latest findings and fast-moving policy in Irvine, California, 20-22 April at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Chapman Conference on California Drought. This conference is supported by the University of California Irvine and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
WHAT:2015 AGU Chapman Conference on California Drought: Causes, Impacts and Policy
WHERE: National Academies’ Beckman Center on the campus of the University of California, Irvine.
WHEN: 20-22 April 2015
TOPICS: California is in its fourth year of drought, affecting the holders of more than 36,000 water rights that serve 30 million people and irrigate over 5,680,000 acres of farmland. Following the lowest snowpack ever recorded in the state and with no end in sight, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on April 1 ordered cities and towns across California to cut water use by 25 percent – a first in state history. At this conference, national researchers and state water managers will explore drought monitoring and prediction, seek to better understand the drought’s impacts on the water supply and ecosystems, discuss possible links to climate change, and identify policy and management solutions to enhance California’s resilience. The conference aims to highlight key research gaps and produce a road map for future work. Visit the Chapman Conference on California Drought website for the full program.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS: Jeanine Jones and Michael Anderson of the California Department of Water Resources; David Feldman and Amir AghaKouchak of UC Irvine; Martin Hoerling, Roger Pulwarty and Andrew Wood of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration; Jay Famiglietti of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and UC Irvine; Claudia Faunt of the U.S. Geological Survey; Roger Bales of UC Merced; Daniel Swain of Stanford University; Bill Hasencamp of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; and A.G. Kawamura, grower and former California secretary of agriculture.
MEDIA REGISTRATION: Media registration is now open. Members of the news media including print, broadcast and online journalists, as well as public information officers, may register online in advance by clicking here. Registrants will receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all of the scientific sessions of the meeting. AGU’s press registration eligibility requirements are available here. Members of the news media can also register on-site at the meeting. Additional information about on-site media registration will be included in a future media advisory.
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Peter Weiss, +1 (202) 777-7507, [email protected]
UC Irvine Contact (on-site media contact):
Janet Wilson, +1 (949) 824-3969 or +1 (213) 880-8948, [email protected]