This event is hosted at Ground Control in Wenatchee.

Come join Wenatchee River Institute for Science On Tap! This casual, free event is a great opportunity to gather, socialize, and learn about an exciting science topic from a member of our community. No prior science knowledge necessary! Speakers will give a talk on their latest research or a science topic they are passionate about, with some time afterwards for discussion or Q&A. Presentations start at 7pm – arrive early to grab a drink and get a seat!

Presentation: How aerosols are slowing climate warming

Description: Particulate pollution in the atmosphere increases the amount of sunlight reflected by our planet, currently reducing climate warming by about 0.5deg celsius globally. As we are cleaning up the air this cooling effect is declining, contributing to an acceleration in the rate of climate warming. A critical issue in climate science right now is that we don’t know how much cleaning up particulate pollution will contribute to warming in the coming few decades. Come learn about this important but less-talked-about influence on our climate, and about an idea being discussed around how we might reduce climate warming by leveraging this climate-cooling influence of particles in the atmosphere.

Presenter: Sarah Doherty is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Washington, focusing on studies of how particles in the atmosphere (‘aerosols’) affect climate. She was a lead author on the 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment, Editor for the 2018 and 2022 Scientific Assessment of the Ozone Layer, and is currently the Program Director for the UW’s Marine Cloud Brightening research program.