Hurricanes, floods, and fires, oh my: predicting extreme weather and hazards from days-to-decades is a data-intensive undertaking that is also of tremendous societal interest. We use enormous amounts of data from our best observational estimates of the state of the climate systems and a large suite of state-of-the-art climate models to make these prediction and quantify the uncertainty in these predictions. However, many decision makers and even sponsors challenge us “reduce” the uncertainty beyond that which is scientifically justifiable. This Dialogue will seek participants’ input/critiques on how we ought to confront this challenge based on some examples from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and others.

“Forecasting the Weather: Safety, Ethics and Really Big Data” is part of the monthly Dialogues in Research Ethics series by the University of Miami Ethics Programs.

Join us on Friday, November 6, 2020, at 11:00 AM via Zoom to hear IDSC Deputy Director, Benjamin “Ben” Kirtman, PhD. Dr. Kirtman is also a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami‘s Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), Director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmosphere Studies (CIMAS), and Director of IDSC’s Earth Systems research focus area. He was a coordinating lead author of the most recent IPCC report and leads UM efforts to inform operational hazards predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Click here to join | Meeting ID: 984 0440 5312 | Passcode: 099933

This event is free and open to the public. Since 1992, the Dialogues in Research Ethics series has provided an opportunity for UM faculty, staff, students, visitors, and members of the community to exchange ideas about ethical issues in a format designed to emphasize discussion and debate. For more information, phone UM Ethics Programs at 305-243-5723, or email ethics@miami.edu.