Sometimes, the most interesting discussions occur over a beer or a glass of your favorite vino. (Bonus points if you can remember what was said the next morning!) That’s the concept behind Suds & Science, a monthly event that brings scientists face-to-face with the general public in a neighborhood bar. Each session kicks off with a short and enlightening presentation, after which the floor is open for discussion between the audience and the speaker. We cover a wide variety of topics that can range from the science of beer to superhero physics to the genius of genomes. We invite you to come sit back, sip your favorite beverage and participate in the discussion. Suds & Science puts the fun and spirit(s) back into learning.

January 2019: How Healthy are our Winters? In the western United States, water stored as mountain snowpack is a critical source of freshwater for society and is fundamental to healthy mountain ecosystems. During years of heavy snowfall and deep mountain snowpack, freshwater streams are filled with rapidly flowing water, reservoirs remain full and our mountain ecosystems are healthy. Conversely, years with poor snowpack are associated with unfilled reservoirs, stressed and dying forests and a prolonged fire season. As the planet continues to warm, theory and computer model simulations show that mountain snowpack should decline over the 21st century, although detection of such trends in historical observations has been limited by the available data.

Join Dr. Amato Evan, professor of atmospheric and climate science at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in a discussion of rising temperatures, mountain snowpack and the impact on our mountain ecosystems and communities. Dr. Evan will present a new analysis of historical observations of mountain snowpack to show that the effects of global warming are already being “felt” in the western United States. We will discuss the characteristics and consequences of declining snowpack and attempt to address the question, “How healthy are our winters?”