Q&A with Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux

A Professor of Geography and Geosciences, Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux is also Vermont's State Climatologist, having served in that post since 1997. She was a member of both the RACC and BREE programs with Vermont EPSCoR, and was appointed to the National Academies Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in late 2022. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux took some time to answer a few questions about her illustrious career, highlighting some of her accomplishments and discussing her involvement with Vermont EPSCoR.

What was your involvement with the RACC and BREE programs at Vermont EPSCoR?

Most of my involvement with the RACC and BREE programs took the form of student mentoring, which is one of my great joys as a faculty member.

What areas of climatology research most excite you?

There are 10 sub-branches of the field of climatology. I am trained as a hydroclimatologist. I am most excited about the sub-branches of applied climatology and service climatology. They fit naturally with my role as the State Climatologist and allow me to work directly with all peoples across Vermont and beyond, sharing my research and knowledge, interpreting the latest science, helping to inform decision-making and most of all working with the next generations of climatologists and atmospheric scientists!

You have been the Vermont State Climatologist since 1997. Are there any developments in the science of climatology that particularly excited you during that time?

Having been a climatologist for over 30 years, the most exciting developments today are the integration of geospatial technologies with computer animations, data visualization and data assimilation. It is mind-blowing to be able to use tools like Science on a Sphere to explain complex and complicated three-dimensional phenomena such as Sudden Stratospheric Warming or atmospheric rivers, in ways that integrate fluxes and flows of water and energy across time and space scales in an accessible format.




How has the field of climate science changed over the past 25 years?

Climate change science is iterative and has progressed tremendously in the last 10-25 years. In particular, the field of attribution science which is the ability to tease apart an event or suite of events to determine how and by how much its characteristics have changed relative to the historical past. Another significant leap forward are the ways in which researchers are now able to better parameterize smaller scale phenomena such as cities and cloud processes in the global climate models that are used in climate projections.

You have served on the Vermont Climate Council since 2020. Could you describe your role and tell us why that council is important to the state?

The Vermont Climate Council was stood up as part of Act 153 of 2020, the Global Warming Solutions Act. I was just re-appointed by the Speaker of House as the Council member with expertise in climate change science. This has allowed me to bring the latest and cutting edge science, understanding and climate projections to bear on the deliberations of the Council, as well as on the Science and Data Subcommittee of which I am member. In 2021, I spearheaded the writing of the section of the inaugural Climate Action Plan that directly addresses the science of climate change in Vermont. Using an all-hazards approach and the 2022 NOAA NCEI Vermont State Climate Summary, we laid the baseline for observed and projected changes in Vermont. Since the adoption of the Plan, we have been working to implement its various recommendations. The presentations that I given as part of this implementation, dovetail perfectly with my role as State Climatologist. They also allow me to become even more engaged in using the lenses of the Council's Just Transitions subcommittee to work towards climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies that do no harm to peoples, communities and the land.



You were recently appointed to the National Academies Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. What excites you most about that opportunity?

The opportunity to be intersectional and to cross-pollinate cutting-edge research and methodologies through the lenses of vulnerability and inclusion. I am particularly looking forward to bringing my deep understanding of working alongside decisionmakers at all levels, to bear on how the information that we produce as scientists is actually used on the ground to inform policy and decision-making.

For those entering the field now, what is the biggest challenge facing those in climate research?

For those entering the field of climatology right now, some of the biggest challenges revolve around always staying at the forefront of our scientific understanding of our climate system and the ways in which new discoveries can help us unpack what we know as well as to discover our unknown unknowns. Our climate system is dynamic and requires a systems thinking approach in order to fully resolve all of the many interconnected pieces, changes and impacts on humans and the environment.

On the other side of that conversation, what excites you most about this field going forward?

The increased integration and sophistication of the tools, models and methodology at our disposal really allows us to create actionable science that is use-inspired, and truly becomes my goal of science in the service of society!