Michael Dettinger

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.

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Over the years, I've been: 

• physical-sciences team leader for DOI-DOD ecosystem planning in the Mojave Desert (way back in the 1990s),

• founding member of the CIRMONT Western Mountain Climate Sciences Consortium,

• co-editor of the 2008 and 2016 State of Bay-Delta Science reports,

• research advisor for USGS Surface-Water Discipline,

• member of the USGS Global Change Science Strategic Planning Team, 

• lead author of the Water Resources chapter of the 2013 National Climate Assessment,

• convening lead author of California 4th Climate Assessment Sierra Nevada Region Report,

• Chair of AMS Water Resources Committee 2015-2019,

• 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 27,000 times (>13,000 since 2015).

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Photo: Lamoille Cyn, Ruby Mtns, Nevada

PROFESSIONAL HONORS

SENIOR SCIENTIST, US Geological Survey

2015-2019

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD, California Extreme Precipitation Symposium

for "scientific contributions [that] have informed public decisionmaking resulting in increased public safety from floods and droughts"

2020