Greg Pederson

Greg Pederson
Research Scientist
Big Sky Institute
USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

M.S. 2004, Montana State University, Environmental Science
B.S. 2000, Michigan State University, Ecology and Evolution in Botany & Zoology

Room 232E AJM Johnson Hall
Montana State University
(406) 994-7023
gpederson@montana.edu

Greg Pederson Bio

My research is focused primarily on climate variability and its role in driving biological and physical components of mountainous ecosystems of western North America. In addressing these issues I use instrumental and tree-ring based records of climate to assess the time intervals and spatial scales over which these processes operate. Of particular interest is the influence of interdecadal climate regimes, long-term temperature trends, and ocean-atmosphere teleconnections in driving glacier mass balance fluctuations and forest disturbance events. Several recently completed projects (and collaborations) provided estimates of fluctuations in glacier mass balance for the northern U.S. and Canadian Rockies over the past 300 years. Other studies have addressed the susceptibility of natural resources and ecosystem services within national parks and protected areas to climate variability. See publications for PDF copies of peer reviewed articles on these topics. A mostly complete list of manuscripts in press, in prep, or under review may be found in a downloadable PDF version of my C.V. I am happy to send along copies of these manuscripts depending upon the publication status of the article.

Currently, multiple projects are nearing completeion, and several new research projects are just getting underway. Two projects with manuscripts currently in prepariation and nearing submission include 1) High resolution, tree-ring based spatial reconstructions of snow avalanche activity in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, and 2) An analysis of patterns and trends in western Montana 20^th century temperature change using long-term daily, montly, and seasonal meteorological station data. Products for both projects will be available soon, and the western Montana temperature analysis project will include an extensive, interactive on-line resource summarizing results, explaining analysis methods, and serving an archive of data-based graphics - for the region and on a station-by-station basis.

Newly initiated projects continue on with the theme of further utilizing and developing 20^th century instrumental/ observational records, and tree-ring based proxy climate records. The central research goal of each of the four new studies is to develop a greater understanding of current and historic changes in water resources as driven by mountain snowpack, temperature, and summer drought. The four new projects are as follow: 1) A pilot study on the feasibility of producing spatial reconstructions of snowpack (or Snow Water Equivalent, SWE) for Western North America, 2) a millennial length reconstruction of Colorado river flow at Lee's Ferry using methods designed to extract ultra low-frequency variability from tree-ring records, 3) developing both past and future estimates of hydrologic mass contribution of glaciers in the Wind River Range of Wyoming to the base flow of the Missouri River, and 4) an in-depth study of changes in the variability and timing of snowmelt, and the impacts on hydrologic resources and timing of peak flow of the major river systems within the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. Ultimately, the research products and information provided by these studies will supply water resource managers with greater information on variability and trends in hydrologic resources. The data will also allow for further research into linkages between winter snowpack and ocean-atmosphere teleconnections, a greater understanding of how precipitation influenced glacier dynamics throughout the Little Ice Age, and investigation of other climate driven ecological impacts such as forest fires and widespread beatle outbreaks.

This work is interdiciplinary and would not be possible without the collaboration of friends/collogues, and the institutions they work for. Funding is critical as well, and has largely been provided by 1) the U.S. Geological Survey - Norther Rocky Mountain Science Center (NRMSC), 2) the Nationtional Science Foundataion (NSF) Geography and Regonal Science, and Earth System History programs, and 3) The Big Sky Institute at Montana State University.

Mostly though, if I’m not working on these projects, I’d rather be skiing, floating a river, or biking.

Research

Coming soon

Research Publications

Publication PDFs

COMPLETE LISTING OF PUBLICATIONSJournal & Book Publications

Graumlich, LJ, GT Pederson, T Kipfer, CJ Caruso, DB Fagre. In prep (2007). 20th Century temperature data indicate the “Last Best Place” is heating up. Fronteers In Ecology and Evolution
Pederson, GT, C Whitlock, E Watson, BH Luckman, and LJ Graumlich. In press (2007). Climate change and ecosystem history. D Fagre and T Prato (Eds.) In: Sustaining Rocky Mountain Landscapes: Science, Policy and Management of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, RFF Press, Washington D.C. (Likely publication date: April 2007)
Watson, E, GT Pederson, BH Luckman, and DB Fagre. In press (2007). Glacier mass balance in the northern U.S. and Canadian Rockies: paleo-perspectives and 20th century change. B Orlove, BH Luckman, and E Wiegandt (Eds.) In: Darkening Peaks, University of California Press, Berkley, C.A. (Likely publication date: ??? This publication is excessively slow)
Reardon, BA, GT Pederson, CJ Caruso, and DB Fagre. In press (2007). Spatial reconstructions and comparisons of historic snow avalanche frequency and extent using tree-rings in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. In review.
Pederson, GT, BA Reardon, CJ Caruso, and DB Fagre. 2006. High resolution, tree-ring based spatial reconstructions of snow avalanche activity in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Proceedings of the 2006 International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW), October 1-6, Telluride, CO.
Pederson, GT, ST Gray, DB Fagre, and LJ Graumlich. 2006. Long-duration drought variability and impacts on ecosystem services: A case study from Glacier National Park, Montana USA. Earth Interactions. Volume 10(4): pg 1-28. Article ID:10.1175/EI153.1 http://earthinteractions.org/
Gray, ST, LJ Graumlich, JL Betancourt, and GT Pederson. 2004. A tree-ring based reconstruction of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation since 1567 A.D. Geophysical Research Letters, 31, No. 12, L12205 10.1029/2004GL019932 http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Pederson, GT, DB Fagre, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2004. Decadal-scale climate drivers for glacial mass balance in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Geophysical Research Letters 31, L12203 10.1029/2004GL019770 http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Pederson, GT, 2004. Long-term perspectives on Northern Rockies climatic variability from tree rings in Glacier National Park, Montana. M.S. Thesis, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, pp. 93
Campbell, DR, NM Waser, and GT Pederson. 2002. Predicting patterns of mating and potential hybridization from pollinator behavior. The American Naturalist, 159(5): 438-450
Pohl, K, MD Therrell, J Santiago Blay, N Ayotte, JJ Cabrera Hernandez, SD Castro, E Cornejo Oviedo, JA Elvir, M Gonzales Elizondo, D Opland, J Park, GT Pederson, S Bernal-Salazar, L Vasquez-Salem, J Villanueva Diaz, and DW Stahle. 2003. A cool-season precipitation reconstruction for Saltillo, Mexico 11th North American Dendroecological Fieldweek, Climatic Reconstruction Research Group, Saltillo, Mexico, August 2001. Tree-Ring Research, 59(1): 11-19

Published Abstracts Oral Presentations:

Pederson GT, ST Gray, JJ Shanker, DB Fagre, and LJ Graumlich. 2007. A novel tree-ring based approach for reconstructing records of long-term snowpack variability in western North America [abstract] In: INQUA Journal, Quaternary International; July 28-August 3, Cairns, AU.
Gray ST, GT Pederson, and AG Bunn. 2007. Hydroclimatic variability in the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA since 900 AD [abstract] In: INQUA Journal, Quaternary International; July 28-August 3, Cairns, AU.
Gray ST, GT Pederson, and AG Bunn. 2007. Millennial-scale reconstructions of regional hydrology from the Upper Colorado River Basin, USA [abstract] In: 2007 Meeting of the Association of American Geographers; April 17-21, San Francisco, CA.
Pederson GT, ST Gray, JJ Shanker, DB Fagre, and LJ Graumlich. 2007. A novel approach for improving records of long-term, multi-scale snowpack variability in western North America [abstract] In: 2007 Meeting of the Association of American Geographers; April 17-21, San Francisco, CA.
Graumlich, LJ (presenter), ST Gray, GT Pederson, DF Fagre. 2006. Climate change and ecosystem services: defining the modern currency of Quaternary Science. [abstract] In: 2006 American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) Program; August 18-20, Bozeman, MT.
Fagre, DB (presenter), GT Pederson, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2006. Teleconnections through space and time: Glaciers, water and the West. [abstract] In: 2006 American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) Program; August 18-20, Bozeman, MT.
Watson E (presenter), BH Luckman, GT Pederson, and B Yu. 2005. Comparing tree-ring proxies of environmental variability in the Canadian Rockies. [abstract] In: 2005 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers; May 31-June 4, London, Ontario.
Pederson GT (presenter), DB Fagre, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2005. Fire and Ice: Understanding the Legacy of the Little Ice Age for Contemporary Landscape Patterns and Processes in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA [abstract] In: 2005 Meeting of the Association of American Gographers; April 5-9, Denver, CO.
Watson E (presenter), BH Luckman, GT Pederson, and RJ Wilson. 2005. Environmental changes in the southern Canadian Rockies from multiple-tree ring proxies. [abstract] In: MTNCLIM 2005; Mar 1-4, Chico Hotsprings, MT.
Betancourt J(presenter), G McCabe, M Palecki, ST Gray, LJ Graumlich, and GT Pederson. 2004. Historic and climatic context for multiseasonal, multiyear, and multibasin droughts. In: Forest Health Monitoring Working Group; February 10, Sedona, AZ.
Graumlich LJ (presenter), GT Pederson, DF Fagre, ST Gray. 2004. Mountain systems, persistent drought and the vulnerability of ecosystem services: A case study from Glacier National Park, USA. [abstract] In: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting; Dec 13-17, San Francisco, CA.
Pederson GT (presenter), DB Fagre, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2004. Glacial extent of the past and present: Linkages between local and regional decadal-scale climater drivers of glacial dynamics in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. [abstract] In: WENGEN Workshops on Global Change Research - Mountain Glaciers and Society: Perception, Science, Impacts and Policy program; October 6-8, Wengen, Switzerland.
Gray ST (presenter), LJ Graumlich, and GT Pederson. 2004. Linking low-frequecy climate variability, ecosystem structure and hydrologic processes in the Rocky Mountain West. [abstract] In: Tree Rings and Climate; Sharpening the Focus; April 6-9, Tucson, AZ.

Poster Presentations:

Pederson, GT, BA Reardon, CJ Caruso, and DB Fagre (presenter). 2006. High resolution, tree-ring based spatial reconstructions of snow avalanche activity in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Proceeding of the 2006 International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW), October 1-6, Telluride, CO.
Watson, E, GT Pederson, BH Luckman, and DB Fagre. 2006. Evaluating the potential for snowpack reconstruction in interior British Columbia and the Northern U.S. Rockies using Larix Lyallii (Subalpine Larch). MTNCLIM 2006 program; Sep 19-22, Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood, OR.
Pederson, GT, LJ Graumlich, TK Kipfer, CJ Caruso, and DB Fagre. 2006. 20th century temperature data indicate that the “Last Best Place” is heating up. MTNCLIM 2006 program; Sep 19-22, Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood, OR.
Reardon, BA, DB Fagre, GT Pederson, and CJ Caruso 2006. Climate influences on, and interannual variability of, natural avalanches in three avalanche paths in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. MTNCLIM 2006 program; Sep 19-22, Timberline Lodge, Mt Hood, OR.
Graumlich, LJ, T Kipfer, GT Pederson (presenter). 2006. Ecological informatics links science and society at the Big Sky Institute, Montana State University. DLESE Data Services Workshop, May 15-17, Tucson, AZ.
Gray, S.T., GT Pederson, DB Fagre, LJ Graumlich, JL Betancourt. 2005. Disentangling the Climate/Growth Signal of Millennial Pinus Chronologies from the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP11A-1430.
Pederson, GT, ST Gray, C Woodhouse, T Kipfer. 2005. The Past Climate Variability and Impacts Clearinghouse: Linking New Users to Paleoenvironmental Resources. Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP11A-1432.
Reardon, BA, DB Fagre, GT Pederson, CJ Caruso. 2005. Climate Influences on Large-Magnitude Natural Snow Avalanches in John F. Stevens Canyon, Montana. Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract GC33A-1248
Pederson GT (presenter), E Watson, BH Luckman, DB Fagre, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2005. Tree-ring based estimates of glacier mass balance in the Northern Rocky Mountains for the past 300 years. [abstract] In: MTNCLIM 2005 program; Mar 1-4, Chico Hotsprings, MT.
Pederson GT (presenter), DB Fagre, ST Gray, and LJ Graumlich. 2004. Linking regional decadal-scale drivers of snowpack to local summer drought: A paleo-perspective on glacier mass balance in Glacier National Park, Montana. [abstract] In: Tree Rings and Climate; Sharpening the Focus; April 6-9, Tucson, AZ.
Pederson GT (presenter), DB Fagre, and LJ Graumlich. 2003. Do trees tell the same story as glaciers? Reconstructing drought in Glacier National Park, Montana since AD 1540. [abstract]. In: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting program; Dec 8-12, San Francisco, CA.

Fun Stuff

Under Construction...I really do get out and do fun sutff...