Western’s Huxley College Speaker Series to Host Eric Grossman April 20

Contact: Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-3520

BELLINGHAM – Eric Grossman, from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a visiting scholar at Western Washington University, will present "Ecosystem Services of Sediment to Coastal Community Resilience and Climate Change Planning in the Pacific Northwest" as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at noon on Friday, April 20 in Room 304 of the Academic Instructional Center West building on the Western campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Recent studies by the USGS and collaborators as part of the Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound Project (CHIPS) are producing sediment analysis, habitat assessments, and models of vulnerability for Large River Deltas of the Salish Sea. The goals are to provide fundamental baseline information where data are sparse and tools to help guide and prioritize large-scale estuary restoration and science and monitoring to evaluate restoration performance.

The interdisciplinary project integrates fluvial hydrologists, coastal geologists, biologists, chemists and geographers to develop decision-support tools to help resource managers implement land use and restoration plans that will sustain impending climate and population change.

This presentation will discuss results of modeling the transport and fate of sediment in order to include its value in terms of ecosystem service in decisions that mutually benefit mitigation of flood hazards along rivers, coastal erosion due to sea-level rise, while enhancing salmon and estuary recovery plans including food-webs that support valued and endangered salmon and migratory seabirds.

Eric Grossman, who has a doctorate in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaii, is a coastal and marine geologist with the USGS and a visiting scholar at WWU. He leads a project in Puget Sound studying the impacts and ecosystem services of sediment to coastal habitats in Puget Sound and a second project in Hawaii that examines the role of submarine groundwater discharge on coral reef health and community structure.

Anyone interested in this topic is encouraged to come and participate; the presentation will include a question-and-answer period. The speaker series is held by Western's Huxley College of the Environment to bring together the environmentally minded community and other interested members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

For more information, please contact the main office of Huxley College of the Environment, at (360) 650-3520.

Western’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized national leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. The College’s academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social and cultural world. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach makes Huxley unique. The College has earned international recognition for the quality of its programs.