Research Interests
My overall research objective is to understand how the physical processes regulating water and carbon cycling at the Earth's surface are affected by environmental changes. I study a variety of ecosystems including lakes, wetlands, alpine tundra, forest, and grasslands. My research is based on observations made at each location using a variety of instruments, and I often use models and remote sensing to help interpret the measurements.
More Info
In addition to process-based field studies, I am also interested in how and why people recall and perceive past meteorological events. For example, how do people's recollection of climate compare to the actual observations, and what affects the accuracy and reliability of their climate memory? I'm also interested in how class size (enrollment) affects both teaching quality and students' inclass performance. I investigate this through statistical analysis of class evaluations, and surveys/interviews with faculty and students.
Recent Courses Taught
- Fall 2023 GEOG/ENVS 4201 Biometeorology
- Spring 2023 GEOG/ATOC/ENVS 3601 Principles of Climate
- Fall 2022 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Fall 2022 GEOG/ENVS 4201 Biometeorology
- Summer 2022 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Spring 2022 GEOG 3601 ATOC/ENVS 3600 Principles of Climate
- Fall 2021 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Fall 2021 GEOG/ENVS 4201 Biometeorology
- Fall 2020 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Fall 2020 GEOG/ENVS 4201 Biometeorology
- Spring 2020 GEOG 3601 ATOC/ENVS 3600 Principles of Climate
- Fall 2019 GEOG/ENVS 4201 Biometeorology
- Fall 2019 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Summer 2019 GEOG 3251 Mountain Geography
- Spring 2019 GEOG 3601 ATOC/ENVS 3600 Principles of Climate
Selected Publications
Reservoir Evaporation in the Western United States: Current Science, Challenges, and Future Needs. K Friedrich, RL Grossman, J Huntington, PD Blanken… - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2017
Ecosystem function in complex mountain terrain: Combining models and long‐term observations to advance process‐based understanding. WR Wieder, JF Knowles, PD Blanken, SC Swenson… - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2017
Estimating the Great Lakes net radiation using satellite remote sensing and merra reanalysis. S Moukomla, PD Blanken - International Journal of Digital Earth, 2017
The increasing importance of atmospheric demand for ecosystem water and carbon fluxes. KA Novick, DL Ficklin, PC Stoy, CA Williams, G Bohrer… - Nature Climate Change, 2016
Terrestrial carbon balance in a drier world: the effects of water availability in southwestern North America. JA Biederman, RL Scott, ML Goulden, R Vargas… - Global change biology, 2016
Microclimate and local climate. RG Barry, PD Blanken, Cambridge University Press, 2016
Publications updated October 2017
