Meredith Swallom, a 4th year PhD student supported under Project 2 of CLIMBS’ Paleo-Perspectives initiative, won top honors in the Lightning Talk competition at the 2025 John P. Wyatt, M.D. Environment and Health Symposium on April 22nd. Her talk, “Drainages, Dams, and Downpours: What Makes a Flood?”, explored how past and present landscape changes may have shaped the severity of flooding in Eastern Kentucky in July 2022. Swallom specifically examined the North Fork watershed of the Kentucky River, where natural topography and human infrastructure collide in complex ways. Her models incorporate legacy modifications such as mountaintop removal and channel narrowing, and contemporary interventions like bridges and road culverts, interact with extreme precipitation.
In alignment with Project 2, part of Swallom’s broader project is to integrate Holocene paleo-flood records with cutting-edge geomorphic and atmospheric models, including increased precipitation projections from the latest IPCC climate models, to anticipate future flood susceptibility. Ultimately, her focus is as much community-oriented as it is scientific, which is a microcosm of CLIMBS’ mission. How can scientist work with local communities to better adapt, prepare, and respond to climate hazards? Congratulations to Meredith!
