US Kate Cullen July´s 2018 report from Valdivia US Student 2018 Kate Cullen´s july report from Valdivia in Chile.

This month I focused on various writing projects, including a new article for the World Resources Institute on glacier retreat in Andean cities and a blog I’m developing on community-based climate change adaptation around the world. We had our last set of lectures for the class I’m auditing called Terrestrial Climate Systems. Otherwise, I’m working on a glacier-climate project for that class, finishing up a small project for my advisor, and moving forward on my Fulbright enhancement seminar paper.

I had the chance to talk with a researcher based in Valdivia named Marcela Marquez, who studies how the wine industry is impacted by climate change. I also had a great meeting with Paola Matus who is the Sustainability Project Director at the Fundación Chile to talk about a project they have to model Chile’s future water availability. I also attended a seminar called “Seminario Huella de Agua: modelo para el uso más sostenible del recurso hídrico” that the Fundación Chile and Swiss government organized this month.

I’m looking forward to a meeting I have scheduled this Wednesday with Alexis Segovia at the glacier research office within the DGA of the Ministry of Public Works. I’m also going to visit the Atacama desert later this month, which I’m very excited for as well.

I published an article with the World Resources Institute on how cities in the Andes are adapting to heightened water stress from the loss of glacier reserves. You can read it here: http://thecityfix.com/blog/4-andean-cities-adapting-glacier-retreat-preserve-water-security-kate-cullen/.

I’m also about to launch a blog highlighting stories of how various communities I’ve met through my travels, including in Chile, are adapting to climate change. I’m excited that this project is finally getting off the ground and the feedback from colleagues and friends here in Chile has been really helpful in the process.
Also see her report on glacier retreat in Chile: http://latinamericanscience.org/chile-drought-resilience-climate-change.