Max Torbenson

My research mainly revolves around past and current environmental change, with a focus on hydroclimatic variability and extremes during the past 1,000 years. To study these topics for periods prior to instrumental measurements, I rely heavily on proxy data in the form of tree rings. A basic yet very important component to tree-ring studies (or dendrochronology) is fieldwork, which has taken (and continues to take) me to many fascinating parts of the world.

Recent work has included both “conventional” climate reconstructions (for places across North America and Europe, as well as for parts of Asia and South America) and testing assumptions that underlie the broader paleoclimate science. Ultimately, my goal is to make proxy data as useful as possible for answering increasingly pressing questions faced by today’s society, including in the context of water resources and natural risk management.