Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder professor of geography, will discuss snow and water security concerns at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 12 at the Massari Theatre at Trinidad State Junior College (TSJC).
The program, “Save Our Snow: Water Security in Colorado and the West,” is open to the public. Water security is critical to the economy of Colorado and other western states. Snowmelt runoff from high-elevation mountains provides most of the usable water in Colorado.
“I'll explain why mountains are ‘water towers,’” Williams said. “I will walk the audience through strategies to predict future climates in the Colorado Rockies and how changes in climate may change our snow resource. We will evaluate whether we'll have snow to ski on in the future and how these changes may affect water availability, water quality, and ecosystem processes.”
Williams is a fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), lead scientist on the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research program, and co-director of the new Colorado Water and Energy Research Center at CU-Boulder. He was recently elected as a fellow in the American Geophysical Union, one of only 57 scientists selected worldwide.
Tickets for the event are $4 for adults and $3 for seniors and children. They can be purchased at the door the evening of event or in advance at the Trinidad Community Foundation, 134 West Main Street in Suite 24, or Curiosities, 305 West Main Street. TSJC students and faculty may attend for free with a school identification card. All proceeds will benefit the TSJC Upward Bound Classic Program.
The April 12 event is part of the series called CU in the Community, which is jointly sponsored by Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad Community Foundation, Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, Trinidad Times Independent, CU-Boulder Office for University Outreach, and LearnMoreAboutClimate.colorado.edu. LearnMoreAboutClimate is a public, web resource that localizes climate change for Coloradans and offers current research, educational videos, tools for educators, and more. For more information about the CU in the Community series, email outreach@colorado.edu.