As part of the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the Ireland-U.S. Fulbright Program, W. Berry Lyons, Professor Emeritus in The Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences and senior researcher with the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (BPCRC), has been awarded an Ireland Fulbright Alumni Award to support an international workshop in Galway, Ireland, in 2027.

Lyons, who served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Galway in 2018, competed with fellow Ireland Fulbright alumni for the award funding. The workshop, titled Climate Change Impacts on River and Coastal Waters, will be co-chaired by Dr. Tiernan Henry and Prof. Peter Croot, Lyons’ primary collaborators in Galway.

The workshop will bring together academics, scientists from national agencies, and key stakeholders to examine how ongoing climate change is affecting the water quality of Irish rivers and nearshore coastal waters. Participants will discuss emerging challenges and opportunities for managing aquatic ecosystems in a changing climate.

A primary outcome of the workshop will be a report summarizing the current state of knowledge regarding climate change impacts on Ireland’s freshwater and coastal environments. The document will provide an assessment of how rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and other climate-driven factors are expected to influence water quality and aquatic ecology across the island.

Observations collected over the past two decades show that Ireland has experienced increases in both temperature and precipitation. Climate models project that these trends will continue as global temperatures rise, highlighting the need to better understand and prepare for their effects on aquatic systems.

To learn more about the award: Fulbright 80 Alumni Project Fund Winners Announced