ABOUT ME
I am a research hydrologist and climatologist, recently retired from the U.S. Geological Survey, a Visiting Researcher for Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and a Distinguished Visiting Researcher at the Desert Research Institute. I research the hydrology, climate, and water resources of the West, focusing on regional surface water and groundwater resources, hydroclimatic variability, and climate-change impacts. For contracting purposes, I have recently established a one-person LLC, called Michael Dettinger Climate Science, LLC.
Over the years, I've been:
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physical-sciences team leader for DOI-DOD ecosystem planning in the Mojave Desert (way back in the 1990s),
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founding member of the CIRMONT Western Mountain Climate Sciences Consortium,
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co-editor of the 2008 and 2016 State of Bay-Delta Science reports,
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research advisor for USGS Surface-Water Discipline,
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member of the USGS Global Change Science Strategic Planning Team,
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lead author of the Water Resources chapter of the 2013 National Climate Assessment,
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convening lead author of California 4th Climate Assessment Sierra Nevada Region Report,
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a member of the Standing Review Board for NASA's Surface-Water/Oceanographic Topography (SWOT) mission.
I've authored and co-authored 150+ scientific articles and chapters in scholarly journals and books, 30+ government reports, and 80+ other reports in less formal outlets. My work has been cited in the scientific literature more than 26,000 times (>12,000 since 2015).
Photo: Lamoille Cyn, Ruby Mtns, Nevada
EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL HONORS
Hydrology FELLOW,
American Geophysical Union
"for insightful, societally relevant research in understanding how climate and weather affect the variability of hydrologic systems”
2014-present
1973-1977
University of California, San Diego
BA Physics, Summa cum Laude
Atmospheric & Hydrospheric FELLOW, American Association for the Advancement of Science
"for seminal contributions to the understanding of the hydroclimatology of the Western US”
2018-present
SENIOR SCIENTIST, US Geological Survey
2015-2019
1977-1979
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS Civil Engineering (Water Resources)
1990-1997
University of California, Los Angeles
MS & PhD Atmospheric Sciences
CLIMATE SERVICE AWARDS,
California Department of Water Resources
2007, 2014
VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW AWARD
"for physical-science leadership in multiagency DOD/DOI Mojave Ecosystem Planning"
1996
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD, California Extreme Precipitation Symposium
2020
