Simon Donner

Professor

Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Department of Geography

Degrees: PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.E.M, Duke University
B.Arts.Sc. McMaster University

Contact Information

Email: simon.donner@ubc.ca
Office phone: 604-822-6959
Office location: Department of Geography, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia
Website: Simon Donner
Twitter: @simondonner

Research Unit

Climate and Coastal Ecosystem Lab

Research Interests

I am a climate scientist focused on helping the world prevent and prepare for climate change. My research program lies primarily at the intersection of climate change science, marine science, and policy. The specific research areas evolve over time in response to advances in climate change knowledge and to real-world events. Prospective students and post-doctoral researchers should check my personal web site for current and planned areas of work, as well as for guidance for applicants.

Biography

I grew up in the diverse city of Toronto where even in the dead of winter, I was often packed in a baby carriage and left outside to sleep. Since then, I have been interested in the human, societal, and environmental impacts of climate and climate change. Today, I am an interdisciplinary climate scientist and professor at the University of British Columbia, where I teach and conduct research at the intersection of climate science, marine science, and policy. I hold appointments in UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Geography Department, and Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. I am also a member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which advises the federal government on pathways to eliminate climate-warming emissions.

Being a scientist and a professor at a public institution, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to engage my curiosity about the world for a living. With that opportunity, comes responsibility. I regularly volunteer to translate climate change science for the public and policymakers via government hearings, community events, radio and television appearances, and sometimes, by filming videos about climate change while cycling to work.

Due to a lifelong love of watersports, my spouse says I’m like an aquatic plant – I need sun and water to thrive. After the start of the pandemic, we dipped into the cold ocean near our Vancouver home every day for over a year.

Teaching

GEOB 102 Our Changing Planet: Climate and Ecosystems
GEOG 312 Climate Change Science and Society
GEOB 400 Global Biogeochemistry

Selected Publications

Google Scholar

DONNER, S.D., KANDLIKAR, M. and WEBBER, S. 2016 ‘Measuring and tracking the flow of climate change adaptation aid to the developing world’ Environmental Research Letters 11(5), 054006 DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/11/5/054006

BUGLASS, S., DONNER, S.D. and ALEMU, J.I. 2016 ‘A study on the recovery of Tobago’s coral reefs following the 2010 mass bleaching event’ Marine Pollution Bulletin 104(1-2), 198-206 DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.01.038

DONNER, S.D. 2015 ‘The legacy of migration in response to climate stress: learning from the Gilbertese resettlement in the Solomon Islands’ Natural Resources Forum 39:191-201 DOI 10.1111/1477-8947.12082

LEONG, D.N.S. and DONNER, S.D. 2015 ‘Climate change impacts on streamflow availability for the Athabasca Oil Sands’ Climatic Change 133(4), 651-663 DOI 10.1007/s10584-015-1479-y

DONNER, S.D. 2014 ‘Finding your place on the Science-Advocacy continuum’ Climatic Change 124(1-2), 1–8 DOI 10.1007/s10584-014-1108-1

BANHOLZER, S. and DONNER, S.D. 2014 ‘The influence of different El Niño types on global average temperature’ Geophysical Research Letters 41(6), 2093–2099 DOI 10.1002/2014GL059520

DONNER, S.D. and WEBBER, S. 2014 ‘Obstacles to climate change adaptation decisions: a case study of sea-level rise and coastal protection measures in Kiribati’ Sustainability Science 9(3), 331-345 DOI 10.1007/s11625-014-0242-z

DONNER, S.D. and MCDANIELS, J. 2013 ‘The influence of national temperature fluctuations on opinions about climate change in the U.S. since 1990’ Climatic Change 118(3-4), 537-550 DOI 10.1007/s10584-012-0690-3

DONNER, S.D. 2012 ‘Sea Level Rise and the Ongoing Battle of Tarawa’ EOS, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 93(17), 169-70 DOI 10.1029/2012EO170001

CARILLI, J., DONNER, S.D. and HARTMANN, A. 2012 ‘Historical Temperature Variability Affects Coral Response to Heat Stress’ PLoS-One 7(3), e34418 DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0034418

DONNER, S.D., KANDLIKAR, M. and ZERRIFFI, H. 2011 ‘Preparing to manage climate change financing’ Science 334, 908-909 DOI 10.1126/science.1211886

DONNER, S.D. 2011 ‘Making the climate a part of the human world’ Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 92(10), 1297-1302 DOI 10.1175/2011BAMS3219.1

DONNER, S.D. 2011 ‘An evaluation of the effect of recent temperature variability on the prediction of coral bleaching events’ Ecological Applications 21(5), 1718–1730 DOI 10.1890/10-0107.1

DONNER, S.D. 2009 ‘Coping with Commitment: Projected thermal stress on coral reefs under different future scenarios’PLoS ONE 4 (6), e5712, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005712

DONNER, S.D., KUCHARIK C.J. (2008) ‘Corn-based ethanol production compromises goal of reducing nitrogen export by the Mississippi River’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105 (11), 4513–4518, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0708300105

DONNER SD, KNUTSON TR, OPPENHEIMER M (2007) ‘Model-based assessment of the role of human-induced climate change in the 2005 Caribbean coral bleaching event’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104 (13), 5483-5488, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0610122104