Portland State Magazine, Spring 2021

“We can’t reverse temperature changes or relative humidity,”McEvoy says, “but there are some creative and efective solutions that would reduce the likelihood of an igni- tion—from a cigarette butt, campfre, piece of equipment, powerline, whatever it is—that coincides with some of these really severe weather events we’re forecasting in the future.” McEvoy’s research shows that increased messaging about wildfre danger, coupled with ignition management scenarios like shutting of power lines before a large storm, could reduce human-caused ignitions by approxi- mately 75%. “It ’s helpful for us to be able to quantify what to expect so we can prepare for it.” ANDREW FOUNTAIN, professor emeritus of geology and geography, studies another aspect of the changing climate—the efect on glaciers. He is currently working with the U.S. Forest Service to remap all of the glaciers in the western United States. He’ll use that information to get a more accurate picture of not only how glaciers are changing, but also how fast. One of the biggest issues impacting glaciers is the trend toward more winter rain and less snow. “Tat doesn’t nourish the glaciers. And it reduces our winter snowpack,” Fountain says. Snowpack acts like natural water storage in the Northwest, releasing its supply in the spring and early summer. Reduced snowpack also leads to more glacier melt because glacier ice is exposed to sunlight sooner and begins melting earlier. Fountain’s research shows that the larger glaciers on Mount Hood lost 30-40% of their area between 2000 and 2018. Looking at the Tree Sisters, the larger glaciers lost 20-50% of their area. “Glacier change is very tangible evidence of climate change. You can talk about warm temperatures or more or less precipitation, but that’s qualitative in terms of our experience,” he says. “Te glacier used to be here and now it’s over there.Tat’s tangible for everyone.” Tis knowledge is vital because it’s import- ant to understand how much of the Earth’s water is being stored on land. Most glacier ice melt occurs in August and September after the seasonal snow has melted away, maintaining streamfows in the hottest, driest parts of the summer.Te agriculture on the north side of Mount Hood is a benefciary of this process. “During the Ice Age, a lot of ice was stored in the landscape and the ocean levels were lower. Now we’re melting the ice of the land, putting it in the ocean, and the sea levels are rising,” Fountain says. “Tis research is part of the global efort to understand how much water is being lost from glaciers and contribut- ing to sea level rise.” GLEASON, the eco-hydro-climatologist, is studying how to mitigate widespread impacts by using fre to maintain snowpack levels. “Forests with more open areas tend to accumulate more snow,” she says.Tat could mean that targeted use of fre, to burn out underbrush and create more open areas, might Professor Emeritus Andrew Fountain has been remapping the glaciers of the western United States. Everywhere he goes, glaciers are disappearing. These photos show Mount. Hood’s White River Glacier in 1902 versus 2018. SPRING 2021 // 13