Matthew Hurteau
@mhurteau.bsky.social
Forest ecologist studying forest-fire-climate interactions. www.hurteaulab.org www.firescenter.org
Northern Hemisphere #wildfires & long-range smoke transport between 1-31 July 2026 + 1 August 5-day forecast. Visualised with #CopernicusAtmosphere Fire Emissions Watch app apps.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/fire-emissio... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social @ecmwf.int
Did my first turquoise inlay. The wood is honey locust.
If your house is being impacted by smoke, these are easy to make, inexpensive, and effective. engineering.ucdavis.edu/news/science...
Science in Action: How to Build a Corsi-Rosenthal Box
Learn how to build a Corsi-Rosenthal box. The device was created to provide significant reduction in the amount of virus-laden, aerosol particles that are in the air. Follow along as Dean Richard L. C...
engineering.ucdavis.edu
I’m looking to recruit a postdoc to join my research group at University of Iowa to work on disturbance ecology and biodiversity! Start date flexible, lots of opportunity for skill development, collaboration, and mentorship. Will review applicants in mid-August! Link: gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
Opportunities
BIG NEWS! The Jones Lab will be relocating to the School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability (SEES) at the University of Iowa in Fall 2026. Our work on disturbance ecology and conservation sc…
gavinmjones.com
New paper in Fire Ecology: what actually makes a wildfire "extreme"? Current definitions rely on rigid thresholds that don't hold up across ecosystems. We argue for judging fire behavior, ecological outcomes, and social impacts against historical baselines. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Roadmap for the future of extreme wildfire events - Fire Ecology
Background Extreme wildfire events (EWEs) represent a growing threat globally, posing substantial risks to ecosystems, human communities, and infrastructure. Despite increased recognition of their eco...
link.springer.com
Today, the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, it’s important to reread the (brief) text of that revolutionary document. It was neither the start, nor the end of the Revolution, but the legal justification to end the unjust imposition of the crown. www.archives.gov/founding-doc...
Declaration of Independence: A Transcription
Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum). The spelling a...
archives.gov
I helped my grandfather plant some black walnuts in the early 1990s. It was time to thin, so I took some down last week. Turned the end of this little one into my first live edge bowl.
Every time a scientific journal asks if I'm a robot when I'm trying to view and article I really want there to be a box I can check that says: Sort of, but I really want to read this article.
Yesterday Dani Owen’s successfully defended her thesis on Pika in Glacier NP, advised by @ecologyofgavin.bsky.social and then we celebrated. She knocked it out of the park!
I just want to point out that temperatures over land (where we all live) have warmed over twice as fast as ocean surface temperatures. The latest update through 2025 is... not great 🥴 Graphic created by www.columbia.edu/~mhs119/Temp...
The day started way too early, but I managed to get to the shop after wrapping up my work. Just started turning bowls and really enjoying it. Cherry and ambrosia maple.
Dani Owens, my first (!) graduate student (co-advised w/ @mhurteau.bsky.social) is defending her MSc thesis on June 9. Dani’s work on pikas in Glacier National Park has been impressive in so many ways. Come see what she has been up to, and what comes next!
Every dollar spent on forest fuels treatment saves about $3.75 in wildfire damages, according to new research from UC Davis that analyzed nearly 300 wildfires across the western United States. 👉 Read the full study at: bit.ly/ForestFuelUCD #WildfireResilience #ForestHealth #PrescribedFire
Forest Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Spread, Prevent $2.8 Billion in Damage
A UC Davis study finds every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves $3.75 in wildfire damages.
bit.ly
Happy to see this 272 cm DBH sugar pine survived the Garnet fire. Raking around the tree and inside the fire scar were important.
What is with the latest generation of every POS software making you burrow one mor level in to find what you need. IOS app updates, one more level. MS word spell corrector, one more level. Enshitification is real.
The Hummingbird Fire has been burning Iron Creek Mesa and adjacent areas for several days. There have been as many as 5 fires in the past 50 years in the blue circle. I look forward to getting back in there to see the fire effects.
I just read an article that referred to musicians and artists as ‘content creators’ and people like me who enjoy music and art as ‘consumers’. Gross. Clearly that author has never been to a concert or art museum. You cannot consume an experience.
April will finish around the 9th warmest on record in Albuquerque, but amazingly it still wasn't as warm as March was. #NMwx
Our new report from the @nationalacademies.org has just been released! We describe the need and potential structure for a Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events for improving knowledge into their frequency and potential magnitudes www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DEL...
A Synthesis Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events
Floods, droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, other extreme environmental events pose persistent and growing risks to ecosystems, infrastructure, and human life. A deeper understanding of the timing and s...
nationalacademies.org
Yesterday we had the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Mexico Reforestation Center. Phase 1 will be able to grow 1 million seedlings/yr. We’ve got more fundraising to do to build out the remaining capacity, but I’m proud of how far we’ve come since 2020. We have a great team.
Wildfires can convert naturally occurring chromium-3 into the carcinogen chromium-6, which can contaminate groundwater for years, writes @thatsmohrlikeit.bsky.social www.hcn.org/issues/58-4/...
Wildfires transform soil, turning a nutrient into poisonous chromium-6 - High Country News
New research shows how severe blazes can transform a harmless trace metal into a carcinogen.
hcn.org
These are from Iron Creek Mesa, which is the direction the Hummingbird Fire is heading. This is the result of 50ish years of policy and management to restore fire to the system.
The Hummingbird Fire on the Gila NF has grown with the high winds. Suppression efforts are focused on structures in Willow Creek. The other map is from a paper by @kgwillson.bsky.social showing all of the fire activity in the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness.
This is a perfect example of a fire where we should NOT risk human life to suppress. This area has seen lots of fire. This fire will probably clean up a bunch of heavy fuel from the W-B. Upwind of this fire are a whole bunch more fire footprints.
Grant Tosterud@granttosterud.bsky.social · 3mo agoA wildfire has been burning in the Gila since April 22. The lightning caused Hummingbird Fire is currently at 25 acres and growing because of severe drought and difficulty getting to the fire. It's also burning through the Whitewater-Baldy fire burn scar from 2012. #NMFire #NMwx
How can records of the past inform our understanding of extreme events? Join the National Academies on April 29 for a webinar releasing a new report on a proposed Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events Register: events.nationalacademies.org/46602
Functions and Criteria for a New Center for Paleoenvironmental Records of Extreme Events: Report Release Webinar
Register for this event from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
events.nationalacademies.org
My favorite latest edition to the peer review process is when you submit a review and then the journal sends a survey on your reviewer experience. If they really want that back, they need a 14 day deadline and to send 17 reminder emails.
“Why should I care about Svalbard way up there in the Arctic?” 1.) The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is the global “doomsday” vault for human food security. With climate change warming the Arctic 4Xs faster than the rest of 🌎🌍🌏, this seed vault is at risk. www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth...
The world's biggest 'doomsday vault' has now been opened. Here's what's inside | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Scientists are racing to protect the world’s seeds from natural disasters and war. But what happens when those disasters come early?
sciencefocus.com
Ketil Isaksen@ketilisaksen.bsky.social · 4mo agoSvalbard is thawing in April, and it’s not supposed to. 2026 ground temperatures at 0.2m depth in Svalbard spiking to 0°C in April, far exceeding the 1998-2025 median and maximum
