PhD Student – Hazards
Stony Brook University | School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Jackson Parker (he/him) is a Massachusetts native currently living in Long Island, New York, as he pursues his PhD in Atmospheric Science at Stony Brook University. He received a B.S. in Geoscience with minors in Atmospheric Science and Environmental Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2022.

 

Tell me a little bit about your path to CHEER. When and how did you get involved with the Hub? How long have you been a part of the team?

My involvement in the Hub began when I started graduate school in the fall of 2022. My advisor, Brian Colle, led – and still leads – the hazards thrust and was looking for a student to do research in this realm of the Hub. However, my interest in hazards started before CHEER. When I was an undergraduate at Hobart and William Smith, I did a comprehensive case study of the Cedar Rapids Derecho as an independent study during my senior year. In the summer of 2021, I was a research intern at the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies. During that stint, I analyzed global trends in lighting stroke density using a ground-based detector network. In a lot of ways, my research for CHEER is uncharted territory for me, but I do have experience using statistical methods and global datasets to analyze high-impact weather events.

 

How would you describe your role in the Hub (e.g., thrust(s), research area(s), etc.)? What projects are you currently working on?

The hazards thrust is working on the best way to combine a variety of tools that simulate different weather conditions (e.g., rainfall, storm surge, wind) created by hurricanes. We are merging these data into one combined dataset that can be used for applications by the other thrusts, such as the government or economy thrusts, to make the connection to human-related impacts. Along with other hazards thrust members, I am trying to broaden our understanding of some of the input datasets and tools upon which the framework is built in order to validate our methods.

For instance, our thrust needs to look back at hurricane data stretching back thousands of years, but we only have data from storms that made landfall – or happened to have a ship near it – before the satellite era. That’s only 40 years of reliable data, which is not sufficient for statistical analysis. To solve this problem, we are using several peer-reviewed datasets to represent thousands of years of hypothetical storms. These datasets are created by algorithms that simulate a large number of possible storms that have not happened but could have occurred before record keeping began. This information allows our thrust to plausibly extend the historical record to determine how likely or unlikely certain storm events may be in the current climate and in the future. 

At the same time, I’m also looking toward potential future hurricanes. Right now, I am attempting to link hurricane hazards to a different method for studying future hurricanes. This method, called pseudo-global warming, involves imposing large-scale changes in the climate system on a controlled regional climate simulation (usually representing current conditions) by modifying the boundary conditions. For example, I will “place” a historical hurricane, such as Florence or Helene, in a plausible future climate scenario as predicted by a climate model. If we use the hazards thrust’s modeling framework to simulate other hazards, such as storm surges and rainfall, we can compare how the storm’s conditions will change if it reoccurs. This allows us to compare methods within the hazards group and improve the quality of the output data to be used by other thrusts. 

 

What is it like working with the CHEER team members (faculty, students, postdocs)? With whom do you work closely?

Most of my work is done within the hazards group, but I have had the chance to meet and talk to members of other groups during the in-person all-researcher meeting and other virtual meetings. Besides my advisor, Brian Colle, I work closely with Brian Blanton and Gowri Shankar, who work at RENCI, specifically on storm surge modeling and synthetic tropical cyclones.

There is never a dull moment when talking with people on the hazards thrust and the Hub overall. Our conversations often challenge my preconceived notions about academic collaboration and make me rethink my understanding of certain topics, such as equity, climate change concerns, and disaster relief. This is definitely one of the greatest benefits of working on an interdisciplinary team.

 

What have been some of your favorite parts of CHEER? What have been your Hub highlights? These might include site visits, working with specific faculty, publications, conferences, and so on.

My favorite part of CHEER so far has been meeting members of the Hub at the in-person meeting and learning more about individuals’ research and the framework overall. I am most looking forward to interacting with Hub members at the 2024 American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in December. I’m also looking forward to participating in site visits in Eastern North Carolina during the Hub’s all-team meeting this spring.

 

How has your time in the Hub changed or influenced your work? How do you think this experience has prepared your career? 

My time in CHEER has been especially valuable to me because it’s my first experience working on a shared interdisciplinary project between so many universities. One of the greatest surprises so far is understanding all of the complexities of different parts of the project, especially those far outside of my area of expertise. Working at the Hub has also given direction to the research I will be doing for my PhD. I’m still narrowing down my exact focus, but my research will likely be at the intersection of climate, hurricanes, and hazards.

 

Tell me a little bit about what is next for you. What are your next steps in or outside of the Hub? Do you have any specific career plans? What are you most excited about?

I honestly haven’t put that much thought into what comes after I complete my degree, but the unknown of my career path is also what I’m most excited about. I expect to work in several fields in my professional life, so my future plans are constantly evolving. I could be interested in the insurance/finance side of meteorology, the more technical development side, or even the human aspect, like teaching and presenting.

 

What do you like to do for fun outside of work? Is there anything about you that might surprise readers?

Outside of work you will often find me traveling, fly fishing, and playing the guitar. Readers would be surprised that I was once on track to be a professional musician, I met President Joe Biden twice, and I was struck by lightning when I was younger!