Dr. Walton is a postdoctoral researcher in UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. His primary interests are regional climate change and the downscaling of climate change information to high resolution. He has developed robust, efficient downscaling methods that capture the key physical processes in the region of interest. His current work focuses on best practices for the downscaling of climate model information. He is also focusing on understanding how downscaling can add value to our understanding of regional climate change. Dr. Walton holds PhD in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from University of California, Los Angeles.
Recent Articles
Finding climate answers through a Sierra Nevada haze
A new study shows that temperatures in the Sierra Nevada could rise up to 10 degrees, threatening ecosystems, California's water supply—and increasing the risk of wildfires.
Projects
Developing Metrics to Evaluate the Skill and Credibility of Downscaling
Within the climate science community, a variety of techniques are used to "downscale" information from global climate models and produce fine-scale projections of future climate, but the relative strengths and weaknesses of these techniques are not well-understood. In this project, we are comparing downscaling techniques and establishing best practices.
Climate Change in the Los Angeles Region
The most comprehensive study of climate change in LA to date, the Climate Change in the Los Angeles Region Project was conducted by Center for Climate Science Faculty Director Alex Hall and his research group between 2010 and 2015. Dr. Hall and his team developed a novel method for bringing global climate model projections to high spatial resolution, creating neighborhood-by-neighborhood projections of future climate over the greater Los Angeles region under different scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Change in the Sierra Nevada
Using an innovative technique to produce high-resolution future climate projections, our team is answering key questions about the fate of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, a critical natural resource that not only supports an iconic ecosystem but also provides freshwater to millions of Californians.