Dr. Evan J. Gowan
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evangowan.bsky.social
Dr. Evan J. Gowan
@evangowan.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1.3K following 1.1K posts
I am a climate scientist, focused on paleoclimate, sea level change and the evolution of Quaternary glaciations.

I reconstruct ice sheets using glacial isostatic adjustment and ice sheet modelling. In Japan but have been all over the place. 🇨🇦🇯🇵🇦🇺🇩🇪🇸🇪
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evangowan.bsky.social
It is pretty interesting to read some of the commentary on future sea level rise from the 1950s. This was from a symposium held in the Netherlands in 1954, before many of the aspects of climate change were fully understood, including Milankovich theory and CO₂ changes. #ClimateChange #SeaLevelChange
Commentary by Mr Bennema: Dr. Pannekoek (Geolog. Survey) quotes some conclusions from Ahlmann's 1952 lecture in Washington. There are some indications that the climatic optimum in the Arctic of the past decades has passed its culmination point. This does not necessarily mean that a general glacier advance and lowering of the sealevel may be expected in the near future, the relation between climate and glacier regime being rather complex. Though some glaciers are advancing now, the majority are still retreating, and the sea-level is still rising. Prof. Florschiitz (Leiden) also mentions the continuing glacier retreat in the Eastern Alps, whereas Prof. Bakker quotes the impression of Swiss, German and Austrian glaciologists, that the maximum of glacier retreat is now past. Mr. van Weelden (B.P.M.) calls attention to Sir Edward Bullard's opinion about a deviation of the Gulf Stream towards the East by the accumula- tion of morainic material on the ridge in the Northern Atlantic, extending from Scotland to Greenland, which caused Greenland to become colder and Scandinavia warmer. Prof. Rutten (Utrecht) mentions rhythmic glacier variations in Iceland similar to those known in Greenland, and presenting a periodicity like that mentioned by Mr. Bennema. He thinks that the observations on the absence of glacier retreat in Antarctica are no reason for optimism. They only show that the recent rise of sealevel is entirely due to ice melting in the Northern hemisphere, and that, if Antarctic ice should also start retreating, the situation would be worse. There are, however, some other factors, possibly influencing climatic and sealevel changes, the study of which is recommended. They are: (1) a new calculation of the extension of Milankovitch' curve into the future, as was done by Gamow; (too much text for alt text, sorry)
November 8, 2025 at 10:11 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
Beer at the beach! The beach is not just for scientific study. 🍻
A beer by Helios Brewery in Okinawa. It is "Island beer" (島ビール). This is a session IPA. The artwork shows a spotted whale shark oriented upwards.
November 1, 2025 at 7:41 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I made it to Okinawa.
A view from a balcony in a resort looking out to sunny blue skies and the ocean. A swimming pool and beach are visible.
October 31, 2025 at 6:37 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I am always saddened when I read something like this in a paper.
The text in this image reads: Preface This report and accompanying map are the results of an inventory-type surficial geology mapping project mostly within the Precambrian Shield region of a relatively inaccessible part of north-central Manitoba. Maps were compiled on the basis of airphoto interpretation verified by selective field studies. Information given in this report concerning the nature and distribution of surficial materials and the glacial history of this region will be of value in resource development and related activities as well as those pursuits with a greater academic focus. John Netterville, whose tragic death, as a result of a car accident in February 1977, prematurely ended a promising career, contributed much to this study. His Master of Science thesis provided the basis for the stratigraphic framework proposed in this report. R.A. Price Director General Geological Survey of Canada
October 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
The eyespots on this butterfly are really vivid.
An orange coloured butterfly with four large eyespots. The smaller ones on the top part of the wings are round and blue. The larger ones on the bottom part of the wings are purple and look like they have pupils.
September 27, 2025 at 7:52 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
It is pretty prominent, though I don't know how easy it is to see from this photo.
September 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
evangowan.bsky.social
Yesterday, our cruise passed by Suwanosejima, a very active volcano, as can be seen. A few hours after we passed, there was an earthquake swarm, the largest measuring magnitude 4.7! #volcano
A picture taken from a schooner (visible on the left) of Suwanosejima. A large cloud is coming out of the volcano.
September 18, 2025 at 2:35 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
My home for the next 10 days!
A picture of me, with a schooner in the background.
September 15, 2025 at 3:06 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
Gneiss.
An outcrop of felsic gneiss, with a toonie for scale.
September 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
evangowan.bsky.social
I remember playing on this glacial erratic when I was a kid. There are some holes drilled in it. I assume someone wanted to blow this up, but was only partially successful. Not a good candidate for cosmogenic dating, lol.
A granitic boulder with some sunglasses on it for scale. Two holes are visible in the boulder.
August 29, 2025 at 1:24 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
In Canada, farming.
A picture of me driving a tractor. I am wearing a New Holland hat, aviators and a Rush shirt.
August 27, 2025 at 5:31 PM
evangowan.bsky.social
I am in Kikaijima (southern Japan) right now. I found some huge fossil corals today!
A picture of me pointing to another large coral fossil that exceeds my height. A picture of me pointing to a fossil Porites coral to my right.
August 10, 2025 at 7:38 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I was planning to do yard work on Thursday, but now I am not so sure. If the forecast holds, it will be the hottest temperature ever recorded in Kumamoto (the previous record was 38.8°C, which happened last year).
The daily weather forecast for the next few days in Kumamoto, with daily high temperatures forecast to be between 37 and 40°C for the next 5 days, and nighttime lows between 24 and 28°C. On Thursday, the predicted high is 40°C. The icons show a blazing sun in a red colour background.
July 29, 2025 at 7:42 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
My great friend Nick (@stalagnick.bsky.social) took this picture of the credits of the new documentary series, BBC Human. They made use of my paleotopography reconstructions in this series!
July 23, 2025 at 12:36 PM
evangowan.bsky.social
Maybe appropriate, I waited out a sudden thunderstorm at Starbucks while reading a dissertation by Claire Williamson on the role of coffee shops in Japanese society. #Japan #coffee elischolar.library.yale.edu/ceas_student...
In the foreground is a Starbucks Dark Mocca Frappuccino on a table. In the background you can see an open area with rain coming down.
July 8, 2025 at 10:24 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
Unfortunately the weather was not great when I went here last month, but you can still see the columnar basalts at the base of this picture I took of the Shin Aso Ohashi Bridge.
A picture looking northward of the Shin Aso Ohashi Bridge. Looking down, there is the gorge where the Shirakawa River flows. The columnar basalt is encasing the more distant of two support pillars of the bridge that are visible. The gorge is the location of a major strike slip fault that ruptured in a major earthquake in 2016. The old bridge that went over the gorge was destroyed in a landslide. This new bridge ("shin" means "new" in Japanese) is a marvel of engineering, designed to accommodate several meters of strike slip movement if another earthquake happens. The construction was not without controversy, as they damaged the columnar basalts, which are part of the Aso Geopark. They did not consult with the geopark officials before constructing the bridge and the damage was unnecessarily high.
July 4, 2025 at 6:29 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
Let me tell ya.
July 2, 2025 at 10:24 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I am enjoying the Japan Geoscience Union conference! My presentation is tomorrow.
A picture of me in a photo shoot spot at the conference.
May 29, 2025 at 7:44 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
What do you mean? Heninngsmoen's name appears in the subhead.
Headline states: Still publishing research articles at nearly 102 years old Subheadline states: The first time she participated in fieldwork was in the 1940s, the last time was in 2020. And soon, another research article will be published with geologist Kari Egede Henningsmoen listed as one of the authors.
May 22, 2025 at 7:43 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
Vestfold is an area in southern Norway where sea level is falling as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment. 10,000 years ago, sea level was over 60 m higher than now!
The left plot shows a map of the Vestfold area in southern Norway where there are data constraints on paleo sea level. The right plot shows this data as well as as calculated sea level (black lines) for this area. Paleo sea level is constrained to be a bit over 60 m higher than present around 10,000 years ago, and the data also shows the gradual drop in sea level after that to the present. On the bottom shows the references, with Henningsmoen's name highlighted.
May 22, 2025 at 2:58 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
The weather forecast in my home province of Manitoba this week is really wild. a 35°C swing in just 5 days!
A screen capture of the Environment Canada seven day forecast for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Today (Tuesday May 13) has a forecast high of 35°C. By contrast, the night time lows on Friday and Saturday are expected to be 0°C, with a daytime high on Saturday of just 5°C.
May 13, 2025 at 12:48 PM
evangowan.bsky.social
I couldn't make it to #EGU25, but make sure to check out Andy Wickert's poster on the routing of rivers and reconstructions of lakes during the LGM using the PaleoMIST topography reconstruction.
Text showing the details of the EGU presentation by Andy Wickert. Title: Reconstructing North American rivers and lakes during the last deglaciation Authors: Andrew Wickert, Kerry Callaghan, and Evan Gowan Time: Wed, 30 Apr, 10:45–12:30 (CEST) location: Hall X3 | X3.92 Abstract: Starting ~20,000 years ago, the North American Ice-sheet Complex receded. As it did, its meltwater formed proglacial lakes, altered water tables, and flowed through rivers to the sea. These waters in turn shaped the landscape and altered ocean circulation. Here we reconstruct the spatially resolved pattern of lakes, wetlands, and river discharge using an updated modeling approach. We reconstruct the Laurentide Ice Sheet using ICESHEET v2.0, which prescribes a basal stress field and mapped ice margins to produce maps of steady-state ice thickness. After accounting for glacial isostatic adjustment and past climate, we simulate groundwater and surface-water distributions using the Water Table Model (WTM) v2.0.1. Following this reconstruction, we map water routing to the ocean, including river discharge and passage through proglacial lakes. We compare these findings against the dated timing of fluvial aggradation, often driven by ice-sheet-derived sediment supply, and incision, which occurs when river discharges remain high but lakes trap incoming sediment.
April 28, 2025 at 6:23 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I have updated the plot for timing of the peak in the cherry blossom season (満開) for Kyoto. 2025 was tied with the third earliest blooming, happening on March 27. The timing of the peak of the cherry blossoms is getting earlier, as a result of warmer temperatures in February and March.
A plot showing the number of days after the start of the year the peak in the Kyoto cherry blossoms happened. This plot goes back to the year 1500. The timing of the peak of the blossoms is indicated by a cherry flower symbol. A red lowess smoothing curve shows the trend in timing of the peak. The timing of the peak in the blooming is getting notably earlier. Prior to the 1900s, it happened in mid-April (105 days after the start of the year), but now it is happening closer to the start of April (91 days after the start of the year).
April 10, 2025 at 9:44 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
I updated my annual average temperature plot for Kumamoto, Japan to include 2024. Kumamoto is warming at a rapid pace, and 2024 was by far the warmest year on record, beating the previous record in 1998 by a whopping 0.7°C! If it goes any higher, I will need to expand the y-axis. Data from the JMA.
An x/y plot showing the annual average temperature (as dots) for since 1900. There are three trend lines plotted. The blue trend line is for the overall trend from 1900 to 2024. The green trend line is for 1900 to 1980. The red trend line is for 1980 to 2024, and is extrapolated to 2040. The red line is notably steeper than the green line. The record high temperature dot for 2024 is notably higher than any previous year.
April 10, 2025 at 7:47 AM
evangowan.bsky.social
In my own modelling, you can see the calculated sea level from this area does not match the sea level data. I assume this discrepancy is because my assumptions on ice volume distribution are incorrect, but it is not easy to figure it out because there is also a dependence on the Earth structure.
March 21, 2025 at 2:41 AM