Forty-five years in climatology-a personal odyssey

• Published in: The Canadian geographer 2008-03, Vol.52 (1), p.5-21
• Main Author: ROUSE, WAYNE R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic discipline; Climate change; Climatologists; Climatology; Environment; Environmental impact; Geography; Hydrology; Interdisciplinary research; Rivers; Universities; Weather
• ISSN: 0008-3658; 1541-0064
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0064.2008.00198.x

This article presents a personal perspective on an academic and research vocation spanning a period of over 45 years. It starts with my early involvement in geography and climatology and terminates with my recent experience in a large interdisciplinary research venture. The presentation highlights, with specific examples, the importance of mentors. Also emphasized is the indispensable input of colleagues and graduate students to successful research endeavours. Most of my career has been centred on McMaster University, and I naturally draw on my experiences there. There have been great changes in the research world over the past few decades. Although the number of faculty and graduate students at McMaster remained relatively constant, the research output per person more than doubled. This is attributed in large part to the accelerating technological advancements in our ability to measure and our ability to process and manipulate data. In the environmental sciences, this has revolutionized the spatial and temporal scope of the scientific questions that can be addressed. Such major changes have stimulated a marked trend towards interdisciplinary research that has evolved from mainly wishful talking to active pursuit in a search to understand complex environmental interactions. Important among these is gaining insights into the processes and feedbacks driving climate change, whether natural or anthropologically induced. Equally important is gaining an understanding of the potential impacts resulting from climate change. My perception of my successes, failures and near misses divides chronologically into three periods that cover research in the early years, research in the central subarctic and research in the Mackenzie River Basin. Quarante‐cinq ans en climatologie – une odyssée personnelle Cet article propose un regard personnel sur une carrière universitaire et en recherche échelonnée sur plus de 45 ans, de mes premières contributions à la géographie et la climatologie à mes expériences actuelles au sein d'un projet de recherche interdisciplinaire. L'importance du rôle des mentors est illustrée par des exemples. Le concours indispensable apporté par les collègues et les étudiants des cycles supérieurs au succès des démarches de recherche est également souligné. La majeure partie de mes expériences professionnelles s'est déroulée à l'université McMaster et c'est pourquoi il est naturel pour moi d'y faire référence. De grands changements ont bouleversé le mond