Park Williams

Dr. Park William's research aims to understand the causes and consequences of hydrological extremes such as drought. Much of his research focuses on hydroclimatology in its own right, and much also aims to improve understanding of how hydrological extremes affect life on earth (bioclimatology). Questions that he finds especially interesting involve the effects of human-caused climate change on the hydrological cycle, ecological systems, and humanity through extreme events such as heat waves, wildfires, and flooding.

As part of the Western Fire & Forest Resilience Collaborative, Park and others are developing a computer modeling framework to simulate the complex interplay between fire and forest ecosystems of the western US. This modeling is allowing us to understand how and where anthropogenic climate change and land management have affected western US forests and fire to date as well as how fire and forests are likely to continue changing in the future under various climate and land-management scenarios.