Late last month, . Devastating floods hit communities in the Gulf Coast and Southern Appalachia. The storm .

As relief efforts begin to put the pieces back together, many . Was this unprecedented storm a freak occurrence or a new precedent?

Albert Kettner is the associate director of INSTAAR and the director of the DFO Flood Observatory (formerly the Dartmouth Flood Observatory). Since he took over the observatory in 2019, . His observations are built on the foundations laid by INSTAAR Senior Research Scientist Robert Brakenridge, who founded the observatory in 1993.

According to Kettner’s data, extreme floods like the ones that hit Appalachia last month have become more common in the 21st century. 

It’s not the case that the world is getting wetter, in fact many places are becoming more arid. Rather, really big floods, which were previously rare, are happening more often. 

According to Kettner, the reasons behind this are hard to parse out. In some cases, it could be that warmer air temperatures allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture. In other cases, extreme flooding might be driven by urban infrastructure that lacks adequate drainage. Most of the underlying causes of catastrophic floods boil down to two categories: climate change and human changes to the landscape.

“Flooding is both a derivative of precipitation and the area where that precipitation is landing,” Kettner explained. 

, so too will patterns of extreme weather. Amidst this uncertainty, tools like the DFO Flood Observatory can also help humanity better respond to natural disasters. Kettner has leveraged his expertise in flood tracking to create inundation maps for the in the past. He hopes to foster more collaboration between aid organizations and the observatory in the future. 

If you have questions about this story, or would like to reach out to INSTAAR for further comment, you can contact Senior Communications Specialist Gabe Allen at gabriel.allen@colorado.edu.

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Albert Kettner

Albert Kettner, associate research professor and associate director of INSTAAR, has stepped into the role of acting director of INSTAAR as of July 10.

Kettner will provide leadership as our previous director, Merritt Turetsky, returns to faculty to focus on her research, teaching, and public engagement.

Turetsky’s dedication and guidance as director of INSTAAR have been instrumental in steering the institute through challenging times, including the unprecedented difficulties posed by the pandemic. Her unwavering commitment to promoting equity and inclusion within the institute has been instrumental in making positive change.

The Research & Innovation Office will be coordinating with INSTAAR leadership to guide the process to appoint an interim and then a permanent director.

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