The Keynote Address at the 2023 ESS Research Gala will be delivered by QRC’s own Bretwood Higman! The Keynote Address will take place during normal seminar time during the week of the ESS Gala, Thursday April 6th from 3:30-4:30pm, Johnson Hall, room 102.

Read more about the ESS Research Gala

Title: Lessons of Cassandra: Geohazard Mitigation and Climate Uncertainty

Abstract: Are geohazard scientists modern day Cassandras — cursed to predict disasters but unable to mitigate them? Thousands of scientists have spent their careers surveying the grim aftermath of giant tsunamis, sending mud flows through giant flumes, and building computer models to predict how the next earthquake will unfold. Hundreds of millions of dollars and many decades later, our understanding is better than ever. However, despite this progress, recent disasters look more like tragic missed opportunities than scientific triumphs. In Alaska, we are grappling with the emergence of large paraglacial landslides that may be increasing dramatically with climate change. I lay out examples of real world hazard mitigation efforts from subduction zone earthquakes and the recent Tonga eruption. These include obscure clues with significance that was only recognized too late, huge public investments that failed to protect, as well as communities that responded quickly and effectively to disaster. I’ll lay out questions researchers and community stakeholders in Alaska are asking about paraglacial landslide hazards, and how we hope we can do better. What is needed to get ahead of the next climate disaster?

Bio: Hig (Bretwood Higman) is a geologist who lives in rural Alaska and runs the small nonprofit Ground Truth Alaska. He received a PhD in Earth and Space Sciences in 2007 from the University of Washington, Seattle where he studied the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In the intervening years he’s been studying geologic hazards in Alaska, helping advocate for renewable energy, building trails, and trekking thousands of miles through wilderness with his family.