Gregory S. Okin

About

Gregory S. Okin is a faculty member associated with the UCLA Department of Geography, holding the Alexander von Humboldt Chair. His research focuses on the interdependence of humans and the environment, aligning with the department's tradition of exploring the biophysical and social sciences. The department's endowment, established through a donation by Henry J. Bruman, supports research, student activities, and programming that emphasize this integrative approach. The department has a history of distinguished scholars, including the founding Chair, Denis Cosgrove, a cultural geographer known for studying the meaning of landscape in Europe, and Eric Sheppard, a political economic geographer with interests in globalization, urban theory, and environmental justice. The department also hosts annual Humboldt Lectures featuring prominent geographers and scholars who address diverse topics related to geography, environment, and social issues.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Geology
• Geography
• Ecology
• Physics
• Remote sensing
• Meteorology
• Physical geography
• Oceanography
• Astrobiology

Selected publications

• The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation: An Earth Science Imaging Spectroscopy Mission

  IEEE Aerospace Conference · 2020 · 183 citations

  The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, EMIT, is planned to operate from the International Space Station starting no earlier than the fall of 2021. EMIT will use visible to short wavelength infrared imaging spectroscopy to determine the mineral composition of the arid land dust source regions of the Earth to advance our knowledge of the radiative forcing effect of these aerosols. Mineral dust emitted into the atmosphere under high wind conditions is an element of the Earth system wi…

  DOI

• The season for large fires in Southern California is projected to lengthen in a changing climate

  Communications Earth & Environment · 2022 · 77 citations

  Abstract Southern California is a biodiversity hotspot and home to over 23 million people. Over recent decades the annual wildfire area in the coastal southern California region has not significantly changed. Yet how fire regime will respond to future anthropogenic climate change remains an important question. Here, we estimate wildfire probability in southern California at station scale and daily resolution using random forest algorithms and downscaled earth system model simulations. We project…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Characterizing spatial variability in coastal wetland biomass across multiple scales using UAV and satellite imagery

  Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation · 2021 · 72 citations

  Abstract Coastal wetland biomass is an important indicator of wetland productivity, carbon storage, health, and vulnerability to climate change. The ability to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) in wetlands at ecologically relevant scales is complicated by the spatial variability inherent to patterns in wetland vegetation and the biogeomorphic processes that help create them. Remote sensing provides an approach for mapping wetland biomass, but the spatial resolutions of satellite and airborne im…

  DOI

• Quantifying uncertainty for remote spectroscopy of surface composition

  Remote Sensing of Environment · 2020 · 61 citations

  DOI

• Biological invasions and climate change amplify each other’s effects on dryland degradation

  Global Change Biology · 2021 · 59 citations

  Climate models predict that, in the coming decades, many arid regions will experience increasingly hot conditions and will be affected more frequently by drought. These regions are also experiencing rapid vegetation change, notably invasion by exotic grasses. Invasive grasses spread rapidly into native desert ecosystems due, in particular, to interannual variability in precipitation and periodic fires. The resultant destruction of non-fire-adapted native shrub and grass communities and of the in…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Distribution and Dynamics of Belowground Carbon in Savannas

  NSF · $222k · 2007–2011

• Collaborative Research: A potential new dust source in the southern hemisphere: Reactivation of the Kalahari dunes

  NSF · $352k · 2012–2017

• Collaborative Research: Quantifying Feedbacks between Groundwater Decline, Wind Erosion, and Ecological Change in Desert Vegetation

  NSF · $43k · 2007–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Paolo D’Odorico

  University of California, Berkeley

  60 shared

• Abinash Bhattachan

  38 shared

• Debra P. C. Peters

  Agricultural Research Service

  37 shared

• Kebonye Dintwe

  University of Botswana

  31 shared

• Carlos Pérez García‐Pando

  Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

  30 shared

• N. M. Mahowald

  Cornell University

  27 shared

• Brandon T. Bestelmeyer

  New Mexico State University

  24 shared

• Jeffrey E. Herrick

  24 shared

Labs

• Alexander von Humboldt ChairPI

Education

• Ph.D.

  California Institute of Technology

Awards & honors

• Blackman Award
• FOG Scholarship
• Alexander von Humboldt Chair
• Humboldt Day
• Humboldt Lecture