Michael Town (he/him)
Affiliate Assistant Professor
Research Scientist - Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen
Office: University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Email: [javascript protected email address]
Website: https://www.uib.no/en/persons/Michael.Stephen.Town
Interests: Surface energy budget, Stable boundary layer, Snow pack processes, Clouds, Polar meteorology, Stable water isotope,Mountain meteorology, Avalanches, Education Equity
My climate research efforts have historically focused on polar regions. I have used remote sensing and in situ field observations to retrieve cloud occurrence and examine the surface energy budget in stable boundary layers. I have also used advanced modeling and machine learning techniques to simulate the energy and isotopic content of the near-surface snow. As part of the SNOWISO project I will improve stable water isotope climate interpretation on different time scales. I will use the surface energy and mass budgets, local meteorology, and near-surface snow processes to further our understanding of how the stable water isotope record represents present day climate, either locally or regionally. I will then apply this first-principles, physical understanding to snow and ice core records of the past.
My education efforts have been focused developing an equitable teaching methodology in which students learn real-world skills by solving real-world problems. This effort has many facets including (but not limited to):
1) a focus on educators collecting and learning from equity-relevant data in their classrooms,
2) curating data sets and collaborations that draw the outside world into the classroom,
3) putting students at the center of the problem-solving, learning, and celebrations.
Highlights from these education efforts are:
1) An autonomous temperature array network deployed and analyzed by students on Mt. Baker, WA, USA
2) Student assessment of operational trends in Northwest Avalanche Center forecasts,
3) Analysis of microclimates in Seattle, WA USA.