Dr. Sam Anderson

Dr. Sam Anderson

@sam-science.bsky.social

postdoc at simon fraser university & columbia university // thinking and writing about heatwaves, glaciers, rivers, and us // canadian πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ // he/him #climatechange #hydrology #LGBTinSTEM πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ #transrights πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ

2.5K followers357 following44 posts

Can't wait to chat mountains & climate & water & math at EGU in two weeks!

Sjoukje de Lange@drsjoukje.bsky.social

Only two more weeks till the #EGU26! Wanna know what our group is up to? I nicely summarised it for you. See you then! 🀩 With @sam-science.bsky.social, Shawn, Jonas and Grace!

It turns out that 2021 wasn't a warning; it was a promise.

Nahel Belgherze@wxnb.bsky.social

As the first reanalysis data become available, I think I can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that the March 2026 heatwave will go down as the most anomalously extreme heat event ever observed at any time of year in the southwestern U.S.

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

Awful. Conditions just continue to worsen for Colorado's snowpack (and across many other western U.S. states), with average snow water equivalent nosediving after the historic March heatwave. (which actually continues today with more record heat!) Graphic: nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdb/basin-p...

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

I can't believe we're doing this again, but...we're doing this again. Another day of record-shattering Match heat across interior West & Central U.S., w/countless March (& even some April) monthly records broken. Some locations are even breaking monthly records set...last week.

Exactly why non-summer heatwaves matter so profoundly for water resources, especially in mountain regions where even small deviations in temperature drive large changes in where, where, and how much melt occurs.

Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social

Amid the historic and ongoing record heatwave (which will continue for at least another week in this region), Colorado River Basin snowpack has unfortunately taken an unprecedented March nosedive. Given the pre-existing water crisis, this is a highly alarming trajectory.

Spring heatwaves drive enhanced early-season melt, raise risks of freshet flooding, and -- once they end -- leave basins parched as they face the impending summer. This is one type of non-summer heatwave that has outsized impacts on water resources! www.kqed.org/science/2000...

kqed.orgβ€˜Snow-Eater’ Heat Wave Behind Big Sierra Melt Is a Look at Our Climate Future | KQEDAn early spring California heat wave is feasting on what’s left of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, raising wildfire and drought concerns.

Heatwaves can be dry, or wet, or dry-then-wet, or wet-then-dry, or wet-then-dry-then-wet, or... It all depends where you are and what season it is! Our new paper dives into the cool world of heatwaves and precipitation. doi.org/10.1088/3033... @ioppublishing.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social

doi.orgOn the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves - IOPscienceOn the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves, Anderson, Sam, Chartrand, Shawn

✨ Archive newspapers teach us about the social and physical impacts of historical climate extremes ✨ Last week at @egu.eu I presented my recent work in which I use archived newspapers across North America in addition to climate reanalysis data to reconstruct "the lost heatwave" of 1941.

Not only did this event foreshadow the globally-unprecedented heatwave that engulfed Western North America 80 years later in 2021, but it is a stark reminder of the long scars carved by climate extremes.

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

do you or someone you know work at noaa and are dealing with the AWS contract debacle? i'd love to talk to you :) signal mollytaft.76, you can speak anonymously

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

From #TDOV last year: "For the same reasons that trans people celebrate trans visibility .. so too do anti-trans actors fear it for awakening another person who questions or challenges the traditional heteronormative, sexist, racist version of capitalism we live in." xtramagazine.com/power/identi...

xtramagazine.comWho’s afraid of trans visibility? | Xtra MagazineOPINION: On International Transgender Day of Visibility, we must call out Canada’s right for weaponizing the triumph of our visibility

Today I learned that the southernmost point of Nunavut -- Stag Island -- is deep in James Bay. This means that Nunavut extends further west than Alberta, further east than New Brunswick, near the North Pole, and further south than Edmonton. The geography of this country is amazing. πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

After becoming increasingly enmeshed in the wildfire world, you start to notice things about the way we've systematically altered our relationship with the natural environment in a way that has increased the risk of destructive fires. And then you stop being able to unsee them.

Hi! An introduction to my new followers: 1. I research how heatwaves impact rivers and water systems 2. I got into climate science because I love glaciers and snow, and I think it's nice when we have water to drink 3. I write about climate, water, and us ❄️πŸ”₯πŸ’§β˜€οΈ

Dr. Sam Anderson reposted

Hydrology Paper of the Day @sam-science.bsky.social on how extreme temperature events affect hydrology, streamflow, and glacier ablation in the context of climate change: British Columbia and Alberta, Canada; CNN-LSTM machine learning; and numerical experiments to explore processes and sensitivities

Dr. Sam Anderson@sam-science.bsky.social

Glaciers, heatwaves, and machine learning come together in our new paper, out today! agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #hydrology #machinelearning #earthscience

Heatwaves aren't always dry -- and it turns out that the precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves vary strongly in space and time. Come learn more at the Global Environmental Change online poster session at AGU! #climatechange #earthscience #heatwave #AGU24

Water management links local and federal interests. Federalism -- through finance, policy, and geography -- has long been key to reshaping the water landscape in Alberta. Here are some of my thoughts for The Globe and Mail at a moment of jurisdictional crossroads in the Prairies.

theglobeandmail.comOpinion: Our federation helped make Alberta rich in water. Now, that dam is breakingAlbertans seeking sovereignty forget that the province’s agricultural success is a gift of pan-governmental cooperation – something they can’t lose sight of, in the face of serious water shortages
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What's really interesting is if mean temperatures are warmer, these responses change differently than the underlying streamflow -- with implications for how we think about heatwave-driven flooding in spring!

Ice-wedge polygons in the Arctic reshape the landscape and its functioning -- perhaps surprisingly, Canadian cities have behaved in a similar way. A fun piece to write and think about, but the main point is: "we would do well to see ourselves in once-frozen lands: perhaps then we will finally act."

theconversation.comHow Arctic landscapes and Canadian cityscapes share a similar patternWhile a seemingly remote and unfamiliar landscape, the Arctic shares many surprising similarities with contemporary Canadian cityscapes.

Hi BlueSky! To introduce -- I'm Sam πŸ‘‹ I love rivers πŸ’§ I love glaciers 🧊 I do not love climate change πŸ₯΅ I do not love heatwaves πŸ”₯ In my postdoc I'm thinking about how all of the above interact πŸ€” #hydrology #earth-science

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