Carolina experts available to discuss natural disasters affecting California and Hawaii
Experts at UNC-Chapel Hill are available for interviews on various angles around natural disasters impacting California and Hawaii.
Experts at UNC-Chapel Hill are available for interviews on various angles around natural disasters impacting California and Hawaii. Researchers can discuss topics including:
- El Niño’s impact on storm development
- How warmer ocean water creates stronger storms
- The influence of climate change on the character of extreme weather events
- Geological aspects of earthquakes
Experts:
To speak with any of the experts, please email mediarelations@unc.edu or call 919-445-8555.
Chip Konrad
Climatologist and geography professor Chip Konrad has expertise in a variety of topics including climatology and meteorology, including heavy precipitation, tornadoes, hurricanes, cold air outbreaks, heat waves and winter weather. He currently serves as the director of NOAA’s Southeast Regional Climate Center, which provides operational climate service programs and expertise in climate science for the southeastern United States.
Hans W. Paerl
Hans W. Paerl is a distinguished professor of marine and environmental sciences at the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences. Paerl’s research specializes in water quality, eutrophication, harmful algal bloom and food web dynamics of freshwater and marine ecosystems — locally, nationally and internationally.
Kevin Stewart
Kevin Stewart has extensive knowledge of the geological aspects of earthquakes. He has expertise in geology including researching structural geology such as faults and cracks in the Earth’s crust. Stewart’s recent research examined the 5.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Sparta, North Carolina in 2020.
