East Bay Science Cafe: Storms & Megafloods | Albany

Submitted by the Event Organizer

CANCELLED: East Bay Science Cafe | Albany

> EVENT UPDATE: This event is no longer taking place.

The East Bay Science Cafe is an informal forum for discussing interesting and relevant scientific issues and is held on the first Wednesday of every month at Cafe Valparaiso in Albany.

Join a casual evening of conversation with members of the scientific community presenting different topics each time and encouraging audience questions during and after the event.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Storms & Megafloods | CANCELLED: East Bay Science Cafe | Albany

Atmospheric river storms are responsible for most of the largest historical floods in California and many western states, as well as megafloods found in the geologic record, that recurred every 100 to 200 years. The only megaflood to strike the American West in recent history occurred during the winter of 1861-62. Although many western states experienced their worst floods on record that year, California bore the brunt of the damage. This deluvial disaster turned enormous regions of California into inland seas for months, and took thousands of human lives. The costs to the state were devastating: one quarter of California’s economy was destroyed, forcing the state into bankruptcy.

Today, the same regions that were submerged in 1861-62 are home to California’s fastest-growing cities. Although this flood is all but forgotten today, important lessons from this catastrophe can still be learned.

B. Lynn Ingram is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley. She studies past climatic and environmental change in California and other locations around the Pacific Rim.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.