Elyse DeFranco, Author at DRI

Weather Whiplash is Amplifying Wildfire Risk

by Elyse DeFranco | Feb 18, 2025 | Research findings

While fires engulfed large swaths of southern California in early January, destroying more than 16,000 structures, taking at least 29 lives, and choking the air with smoke, a new study about weather whiplash was released. Co-authored by DRI’s Christine Albano, the research examined how a warming climate is creating an atmosphere more prone to extreme weather. Now, Albano and her co-authors have released a new report that applies the knowledge gained from January’s study to the recent fires, analyzing the broader climatic context that contributed to the unprecedented infernos.

New Study Traces Indigenous Population Shifts in North America Before Europeans

by Elyse DeFranco | Feb 10, 2025 | Research findings

DRI’s Erick Robinson, Associate Research Professor of Climate and Archaeology, co-authored a new study that provides insight into North America’s Indigenous communities prior to European contact. The research found that although Indigenous populations varied regionally, the continent saw a population peak around 1150 A.D. before experiencing declines, likely stemming from drought, disease, emigration and warfare. A brief recovery around 1500 A.D. was followed by a sharp decrease upon the arrival of Europeans.

Floods, Droughts, Then Fires: Hydroclimate Whiplash is Speeding up Globally

by Elyse DeFranco | Feb 6, 2025 | Research findings

DRI’s Christine Albano co-authored a new study that examines how a warming climate is creating an atmosphere more prone to extreme weather. This “hydroclimate whiplash” is evident in California’s recent weather, with winters filled with repeated atmospheric river storms driving the plant growth that the dry summers then parched, providing plentiful fuel for explosive wildfires.

What We Know About Wildfire Risk and Prevention

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 30, 2025 | Featured projects

DRI scientists conduct a wide range of research on wildfire related topics to help policymakers, fire managers, and community members navigate challenges to public safety and health. In this Q&A, a selection of our scientists answer some of the most pressing questions about the environmental conditions that lead to the most devastating blazes and offer previews into some of their most relevant research.

Volunteer Scientists Validate Rain and Snow Estimates

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 27, 2025 | Featured projects

DRI scientists Guo Yu, Meghan Collins, Monica Arienzo, and Anne Heggli co-authored a new study that examines how Mountain Rain or Snow is helping improve weather forecasting models. The citizen science project collects observations of precipitation from community volunteers across the country to further scientific understanding of the environmental variables impacting where precipitation falls as either rain or snow. This information is critical for informing avalanche forecasting, road safety, and water resources management.

DRI Internships Offer Nevada Students Experience with Research and Insight into STEM Careers

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 21, 2025 | Featured projects

This summer and fall, DRI brought twelve students from Nevada’s community and state colleges to the Las Vegas and Reno campuses for a paid, immersive research experience. Over the course of the 16-week program, students worked under the mentorship of DRI faculty members to learn about the process of using scientific research to solve real-world problems. This unique internship program welcomes all students, not only those pursuing majors in science, who are in their first or second year of enrollment at local state and community colleges.

Ice Patches on Beartooth Plateau Reveal How Ancient Landscape Differed From Today’s

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 15, 2025 | Research findings

DRI scientists Joe McConnell and Nathan Chellman co-authored a new study that examines a 6,000-year-old forest preserved in a Rocky Mountain ice patch. The research, which was led by the USGS and Montana State University, used the fossil wood to develop tree-ring based temperature estimates of the mid-Holocene period. The study can provide insight into the future elevational movement of forests under climate change, the scientists say.

Reno-Sparks Heat Mapping Project Releases Detailed Urban Heat Data

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 13, 2025 | Research findings

The summer 2024 data collection effort provides community members, legislators, and scientists with detailed maps of the region’s urban heat island. The campaign took place on August 10th, a clear and hot day for our region. The measurements and maps produced from the campaign reveal a great deal of variability across the nearly 200 square miles of our study area and between the early morning, mid-afternoon, and early evening time periods of the study.

Lead Pollution Likely Caused Widespread IQ Declines in Ancient Rome, New Study Finds

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 6, 2025 | Research findings

Lead exposure is responsible for a range of human health impacts, with even relatively low levels impacting the cognitive development of children. DRI scientists have previously used atmospheric pollution records preserved in Arctic ice cores to identify periods of lead pollution throughout the Roman Empire, and now new research expands on this finding to identify how this pollution may have affected the European population.

New Research Solves 200 Year Volcanic Mystery

by Elyse DeFranco | Jan 2, 2025 | Research findings

DRI scientists Joe McConnell and Nathan Chellman are co-authors on a new study that sheds light on a historical mystery that has plagued historians and scientists alike for nearly two centuries. Using Arctic ice core records, the team identified the volcano responsible for an enormous eruption in 1831 that caused global cooling of around 1°C, leading to crop failures and famines around the world.

Posts by Elyse DeFranco