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Dr. Sam Anderson

@sam-science.bsky.social
2.5K followers 356 following 44 posts

postdoc at simon fraser university & columbia university // thinking and writing about heatwaves, glaciers, rivers, and us // canadian 🇨🇦 // he/him #climatechange #hydrology #LGBTinSTEM 🏳️‍🌈 #transrights 🏳️‍⚧️

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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 12h
Happy new water-year! Welcome to hydrological 2027!
Mountains reflect on Widgeon CreekBraided streams on Devon Island, NU.Copper Island on Shuswap LakeReflections on Duffy Lake
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Here's (a short snippet of) the story of the forgotten heatwave of 1941 -- what happened, how it was different from modern extremes, and why it matters. Originally presented to @cmos-scmo.bsky.social. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRE...
youtube.com
Extraordinary heatwaves in 1941 and 2021 | Impacts, lessons, & surprises | CMOS 2026
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
From the US in March to Europe in May, this is what the bleeding edge of climate change feels like. It isn't just a sign of things to come -- it's what climate change *is*. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Heat waves are invisible. But we need to see them for what they are
A heatwave has shattered records in the U.S. When that happens, we have to confront the dramatic, terrifying change they signal – no matter where they’re happening
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Can't wait to chat mountains & climate & water & math at EGU in two weeks!
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
A shattered record is categorically different than a broken record, with the recent US heatwave the latest in a series of record-shattering extremes. A few of my thoughts on heat, water, and the face of climate change for @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/0cdc78b...
theglobeandmail.com
Heat waves are invisible. But we need to see them for what they are
A heatwave has shattered records in the U.S. When that happens, we have to confront the dramatic, terrifying change they signal – no matter where they’re happening
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
It turns out that 2021 wasn't a warning; it was a promise.
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 25/03/2026
Awful. Conditions just continue to worsen for Colorado's snowpack (and across many other western U.S. states), with average snow water equivalent nosediving after the historic March heatwave. (which actually continues today with more record heat!) Graphic: nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdb/basin-p...
Graph of snow water equivalent in the state of Colorado for 2026 relative to climatological statistics since the 1980s. 2026 is current a record low around peak conditions typically in March and April.
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
I can't believe we're doing this again, but...we're doing this again. Another day of record-shattering Match heat across interior West & Central U.S., w/countless March (& even some April) monthly records broken. Some locations are even breaking monthly records set...last week.
Another coolwx.com map showing locations currently breaking temperature records. There are, once again, countless in the western and central U.S.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Exactly why non-summer heatwaves matter so profoundly for water resources, especially in mountain regions where even small deviations in temperature drive large changes in where, where, and how much melt occurs.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Spring heatwaves drive enhanced early-season melt, raise risks of freshet flooding, and -- once they end -- leave basins parched as they face the impending summer. This is one type of non-summer heatwave that has outsized impacts on water resources! www.kqed.org/science/2000...
kqed.org
‘Snow-Eater’ Heat Wave Behind Big Sierra Melt Is a Look at Our Climate Future | KQED
An early spring California heat wave is feasting on what’s left of the Sierra Nevada snowpack, raising wildfire and drought concerns.
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I submitted this short film to the 2025 Polar Film Festival to express some of the experiences we had during our time on Devon Island this past summer. The Canadian High Arctic is evocative and remarkable, and I'm so grateful to have spent that time in Nunavut! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtoS...
youtube.com
DAYS ON DEVON ISLAND | Polar Film Festival 2025 | Cinematic 4K Arctic Drone Footage
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Fun update! My postdoc is continuing in partnership between @sfuscience.bsky.social and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants here in Vancouver, where I will continue to better understand the ever evolving links between climate extremes and the water we live with. Exciting updates to come!
A photo of a rocky bath down to a beach at sunset on the West Coast of Canada. Mountains across the fjord frame the ocean.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Heatwaves can be dry, or wet, or dry-then-wet, or wet-then-dry, or wet-then-dry-then-wet, or... It all depends where you are and what season it is! Our new paper dives into the cool world of heatwaves and precipitation. doi.org/10.1088/3033... @ioppublishing.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social
doi.org
On the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves - IOPscience
On the mean precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves, Anderson, Sam, Chartrand, Shawn
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 23/06/2025
Today's Climate Shift Index (CSI) is highlighting just how much climate change has made today's heat wave more likely to occur, especially for the warm nighttime temperatures. Follow along with real-time and forecast CSI global maps from @climatecentral.org at csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...
Climate shift index for June 23, 2025 across the eastern half of the United States. This is for minimum temperature and there is a level 5 change in likelihood due to climate change for most areas.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
I spend most of my time thinking and writing and researching about heat waves. Being in one reminds me why -- extreme heat cuts deep.
A map of the Northeast USA showing the forecast risk of unhealthy heat for Tuesday, June 24. High risk extends from NYC to Raleigh to Indiana.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
✨ Archive newspapers teach us about the social and physical impacts of historical climate extremes ✨ Last week at @egu.eu I presented my recent work in which I use archived newspapers across North America in addition to climate reanalysis data to reconstruct "the lost heatwave" of 1941.
A photo of myself and my research poster, titled "The Unprecedented Western North American Heatwave of 1941: Digitized Newspapers to Understand Far-Reaching Social and Physical Impacts".
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Christine Boyle @christineboyle.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Huge congratulations to @lucymaloney.bsky.social @onecityvan.bsky.social and @seanorr.bsky.social @copevancouver.bsky.social! Vancouver’s two new City Councillors!! 🥳
Screenshot of Vancouver byelection results showing Sean and Lucy each with more than 30,000 votes, way ahead of the rest.
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
molly taft @mollytaft.com · 04/04/2025
do you or someone you know work at noaa and are dealing with the AWS contract debacle? i'd love to talk to you :) signal mollytaft.76, you can speak anonymously
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Headlines from The Globe and Mail in 1941 feel highly relevant in the modern day, too.
Newspaper headline from The Globe and Mail in July 1941: "Farm betterment / Tariff ups living cost of farmers"
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 31/03/2025
From #TDOV last year: "For the same reasons that trans people celebrate trans visibility .. so too do anti-trans actors fear it for awakening another person who questions or challenges the traditional heteronormative, sexist, racist version of capitalism we live in." xtramagazine.com/power/identi...
xtramagazine.com
Who’s afraid of trans visibility? | Xtra Magazine
OPINION: On International Transgender Day of Visibility, we must call out Canada’s right for weaponizing the triumph of our visibility
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
On cascading extremes in climate and politics, through my experiences in the Canadian High Arctic last summer. Check out my latest in The Globe and Mail here: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/0cdc78b...
theglobeandmail.com
On an island carved by climate extremes, I came to better understand our own polarization
The fractures in our social and political fabrics are, in some ways, not unlike the landscape of Devon Island, in the High Arctic: torn open and deepened by extremity, unhidden and cascading
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I submitted this short film to the 2025 Polar Film Festival to express some of the experiences we had during our time on Devon Island this past summer. The Canadian High Arctic is evocative and remarkable, and I'm so grateful to have spent that time in Nunavut! www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtoS...
youtube.com
DAYS ON DEVON ISLAND | Polar Film Festival 2025 | Cinematic 4K Arctic Drone Footage
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Today I learned that the southernmost point of Nunavut -- Stag Island -- is deep in James Bay. This means that Nunavut extends further west than Alberta, further east than New Brunswick, near the North Pole, and further south than Edmonton. The geography of this country is amazing. 🇨🇦
A map of Canada, pointing out the location of Stag Island, the southernmost part of Nunavut. Stag Island is further south than Edmonton, AB, and nearly as far south as Calgary, AB.
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 02/02/2025
Canada standing strong 🍁🇨🇦
CANADA spelled out using Landsat images. Source: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/YourNameInLandsat-main/
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
After becoming increasingly enmeshed in the wildfire world, you start to notice things about the way we've systematically altered our relationship with the natural environment in a way that has increased the risk of destructive fires. And then you stop being able to unsee them.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Hi! An introduction to my new followers: 1. I research how heatwaves impact rivers and water systems 2. I got into climate science because I love glaciers and snow, and I think it's nice when we have water to drink 3. I write about climate, water, and us ❄️🔥💧☀️
A mountain river flows in the Canadian RockiesAn outflow of ice from the Illecillewaet Glacier, in Glacier National Park, British ColumbiaA headline from an op-ed in The Globe and Mail: "Glacier's are Western Canada's best friends. We'll need them against climate change -- just as much as we'll need each other"
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Reposted by Dr. Sam Anderson
KinarNicholas.bsky.social @kinarnicholas.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Hydrology Paper of the Day @sam-science.bsky.social on how extreme temperature events affect hydrology, streamflow, and glacier ablation in the context of climate change: British Columbia and Alberta, Canada; CNN-LSTM machine learning; and numerical experiments to explore processes and sensitivities
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Heatwaves aren't always dry -- and it turns out that the precipitation characteristics of North American heatwaves vary strongly in space and time. Come learn more at the Global Environmental Change online poster session at AGU! #climatechange #earthscience #heatwave #AGU24
Maps of North America, showing how heatwave conditions are either wetter or drier than normal conditions.  Results are shown in terms of both frequency of precipitation, and precipitation amount, for each season.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
#arcticscience #dronephotography #climatechange #fieldwork
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 31/10/2024
From this summer's fieldwork on the remarkable Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic: three short videos, on the theme of "Water, Landscapes, and Us". Part 1: Water www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVg7...
youtube.com
Devon Island: Water
YouTube video by Sam Anderson
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 09/02/2024
Water management links local and federal interests. Federalism -- through finance, policy, and geography -- has long been key to reshaping the water landscape in Alberta. Here are some of my thoughts for The Globe and Mail at a moment of jurisdictional crossroads in the Prairies.
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Our federation helped make Alberta rich in water. Now, that dam is breaking
Albertans seeking sovereignty forget that the province’s agricultural success is a gift of pan-governmental cooperation – something they can’t lose sight of, in the face of serious water shortages
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 08/12/2023
Glaciers, heatwaves, and machine learning come together in our new paper, out today! agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #hydrology #machinelearning #earthscience
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 05/10/2023
Ice-wedge polygons in the Arctic reshape the landscape and its functioning -- perhaps surprisingly, Canadian cities have behaved in a similar way. A fun piece to write and think about, but the main point is: "we would do well to see ourselves in once-frozen lands: perhaps then we will finally act."
theconversation.com
How Arctic landscapes and Canadian cityscapes share a similar pattern
While a seemingly remote and unfamiliar landscape, the Arctic shares many surprising similarities with contemporary Canadian cityscapes.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 02/10/2023
*waiting intensifies*
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 26/09/2023
Hi BlueSky! To introduce -- I'm Sam 👋 I love rivers 💧 I love glaciers 🧊 I do not love climate change 🥵 I do not love heatwaves 🔥 In my postdoc I'm thinking about how all of the above interact 🤔 #hydrology #earth-science
Aerial photo of a river meandering around a log jam, with sandy banks, and lush trees.  Morning sunlight casts long shadows of the trees.
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