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A chat with Dr. W. Berry Lyons
Berry Lyons has conducted climate change research on every continent. The internationally known geochemist’s work is focused on the geochemical evolution of closed-basin water and ecological systems, particularly how climate changes affect Antarctic polar desert ecosystems. His research on semi-arid closed-basin lakes in Australia, Antarctica and the Great Basin has yielded clear details of climate change during the past few thousand years.
“We use paleo-hydrological records to show how lakes respond to changes in climate and vegetation,” he said. “How landscapes and lakes reacted to climate change in the past will help us understand what’s going to happen in the future.”
Lyons traces the origins of his work in the Antarctic from his days as a professor and the director of the hydrologic sciences program at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1990 to 1993. “My students and I published several papers on the river systems in Northern Nevada – the Truckee, Carson and to some extent, Walker – rivers, and the aquatic geochemistry of the region,” he said.
He returns to Reno in October to speak on comparisons between closed-basin lakes in both warm and cold deserts at the International Symposium on Terminus Lakes. The symposium explores the latest research on closed-basin lakes in the western United States and world wide; and highlights research from the two-year Walker Basin Project.
The problems associated with closed-basin lakes around the world are not dissimilar, Lyons said. “What’s learned at Walker Basin could have implications in similar areas. Comparative studies can have translations to other parts of the world.”
Lyons encourages anyone interested in desert aquatic and closed-basin systems to attend the symposium. “The people speaking at this event will be really focused on how ecosystems are impacted by different processes [including] water extraction and anthropogenic (human) activities,” he said. “There are very few symposia and professional meetings geared toward this specific topic. For a primer on terminal lake systems, this is a good meeting.”
For more information on the symposium, visit www.nevada.edu/symposium.
Berry Lyons, Ph.D., director, Byrd Polar Research Center and professor at The Ohio State University, will lead the session on international terminus lakes research. He is an internationally recognized geochemist who has conducted research on all seven continents. His lake research focuses on semi-arid, closed basin lakes in Australia, Antarctica, the northern Great Plains and the Great Basin in the U.S.
