Abstract
Ecological research, particularly at macroecological scales, is often predicated on delineating the effects of abiotic conditions on biological processes and systems. Despite advances in climate science, much of contemporary ecological research still relies on climate data products which have long been superseded. There exists a considerable wealth of novel products which outperform legacy data products in accuracy, temporal resolution, and provision of uncertainty metrics and climate variable diversity. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a workflow through which to integrate these improved data into our analyses. In this seminar, I will present an overview of available climate data sets, their characteristics, shortcomings, and potential for use in ecological research applications. Following from this overview I will elaborate on how to overcome current roadblocks for adoption of improved climate data sets and present a set of suggestions for how to change our view and use of climate data products.
Erik Kusch
Advisor & Data Steward & Statistical Consultant
In my research, I focus on statistical approaches to understanding complex processes and patterns in our environment using a variety of data banks. I do so by creating bespoke, reproducible, and efficient data hanbdling pipelines.