Defense Presentation Title: Using Earth Observation Data of Different Spatial Resolutions to Quantify the Influence of Anthropogenic and Climate Drivers on Surface Water Dynamics Advisor: Dr. Mirela Tulbure, faculty fellow and professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Surface water—such as rivers, ponds and lakes—is the most accessible and renewable water source.…

Defense Presentation Title: Observed Mesoscale Surface Air Pressure Waves and In-Cloud Characteristics in the Context of Winter Storm Structures Advisor: Dr. Sandra Yuter, faculty fellow and distinguished professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Recent observations of winter storms from ground-based and aircraft-mounted instrumentation allow us to refine our understanding of…

Defense Presentation Title: Leveraging Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Advanced Landslide Analysis: From Detection to Prediction to Monitoring across Diverse Geo-Environments Advisor: Dr. Karl Wegmann, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Every year, landslides claim thousands of lives worldwide, posing a persistent threat to communities.…

Defense Presentation Title: Synthesis of Radar-Observed Characteristics, Storm Structures and Surface Snowfall Rates in 10+ Years of Northeast US Winter Storms Advisor: Dr. Sandra Yuter, faculty fellow and distinguished professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Abstract: Current numerical weather prediction models struggle to accurately predict the timing and intensity of snowfall…

Defense Presentation Title: Does Chilling Explain the Divergent Response of Spring Phenology to Urban Heat Islands? Advisor: Dr. Josh Gray, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Understanding how temperature controls plant spring phenology, the timing of plants’ spring leaf development, is critical to studying the global carbon…

Defense Presentation Title: Advancing Near Real-Time Deforestation Monitoring via Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data, Landscape Processes and End-User Contributions Advisor: Dr. Josh Gray, faculty fellow and associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: The proliferation of satellite imagery has facilitated the analysis of deforestation trends using multi-source time series approaches. This long-term…

Defense Presentation Title: Computationally Efficient Approaches to Modeling Flood Risk and River Discharge at Scale Co-Advisors: Dr. Ross Meentemeyer, Director, Center for Geospatial Analytics; Dr. Georgina Sanchez, Research Scholar, Center for Geospatial Analytics Abstract: River discharge—the volume of water flowing through Earth’s rivers—is highly variable in space and time and at its extremes can cause…

Defense Presentation Title: Linking Forests and Freshwater across the Southern Appalachian Forest Landscape Advisor: Dr. Katherine Martin, faculty fellow and assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources Abstract: Forests act as natural water towers, provisioning freshwater downstream to support aquatic biodiversity and supply drinking water, agriculture and energy. Understanding how climate change…