Greg Pederson, Ph.D.
Greg Pederson is a research scientist working primarily on the role of climate variability in driving changes in water resources, and other biological and physical components of mountainous ecosystems in western North America.
Research Interests
Of particular interest is the magnitude of low-frequency hydroclimatic variability and its implications for drought risk, as well as the climatic drivers associated with observed changes in mountain snowpack, streamflow, glaciers, and forest disturbance events. Understanding the time intervals and spatial scales over which these processes operate requires a long-term perspective, and for that I rely on proxy records primarily from tree-ring and lake sediments along with instrumental and modeled climate records. Recent and ongoing studies have addressed the susceptibility of natural resources to climate variability and change, and sought to apply both the modern and paleoclimatic records to present day resource management problems.
Current Research Projects Include:
- Drivers of Drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin [DOI Southwestern CSC]
- Multi-century perspectives on current and future streamflow in the Missouri River Basin [NSF P2C2]
- Reconstructions of Columbia River flow from winter and summer precipitation sensitive proxies in the Northwestern U.S. with implications for 21st century flow [CSC and CLU]
- A Broader view of North American climate over the past two millennia: Synthesizing paleoclimate records from diverse archives [USGS Powell Center]
- Holocene climate variability in Alaska from relict wood [DOI Alaska CSC]
- Holocene climates of the Northern Rockies from relict wood emerging from ice patches [CLU]
- Megadroughts and uncertainty in Upper Colorado River flow low-frequency variability [CLU]
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Watershed Management & Ecohydrology. 2010. University of Arizona, School of Natural Resources.
M.S. Environmental Science. 2004. Montana State University
B.S. Ecology and Evolution in Botany & Zoology. 2000. Michigan State University
Affiliations and Memberships*
Greg is affiliate faculty with the Earth Sciences department and the Institute on Ecosystems (IoE) at Montana State University.
Science and Products
Northern Hemisphere modes of variability and the timing of spring in western North America
The unusual nature of recent snowpack declines in the North American cordillera
Climate change links fate of glaciers and an endemic alpine invertebrate
An 1800-yr record of decadal-scale hydroclimatic variability in the upper Arkansas River basin from bristlecone pine
Climatic controls on the snowmelt hydrology of the northern Rocky Mountains
A century of climate and ecosystem change in Western Montana: What do temperature trends portend?
Potential economic benefits of adapting agricultural production systems to future climate change
Climate and terrestrial ecosystem change in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and upper Columbia basin: Historical and future perspectives for natural resource management
Paleo-perspectives on climate and ecosystem change
Long-duration drought variability and impacts on ecosystem services: A case study from Glacier National Park, Montana
High resolution tree-ring based spatial reconstructions of snow avalanche activity in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
Science and Products
Northern Hemisphere modes of variability and the timing of spring in western North America
The unusual nature of recent snowpack declines in the North American cordillera
Climate change links fate of glaciers and an endemic alpine invertebrate
An 1800-yr record of decadal-scale hydroclimatic variability in the upper Arkansas River basin from bristlecone pine
Climatic controls on the snowmelt hydrology of the northern Rocky Mountains
A century of climate and ecosystem change in Western Montana: What do temperature trends portend?
Potential economic benefits of adapting agricultural production systems to future climate change
Climate and terrestrial ecosystem change in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and upper Columbia basin: Historical and future perspectives for natural resource management
Paleo-perspectives on climate and ecosystem change
Long-duration drought variability and impacts on ecosystem services: A case study from Glacier National Park, Montana
High resolution tree-ring based spatial reconstructions of snow avalanche activity in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government