Brett Buzzanga

About

I'm an Earth Scientist focused on the coast. Currently, I hold a joint research position at UCLA and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory I work primarily with satellite data to better understand sea-level dynamics. Using radar and laser altimeters, I measure oceanic changes, and with InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar), I study coastal vertical land motion, which can exacerbate the impacts of sea-level rise. I'm a member of the NASA Sea-Level Change Team, the ICESat-2 Science Team, and the ARIA and OPERA projects. Additionally, I'm a developer of the RAiDER software library for InSAR tropospheric corrections.

More broadly, I'm interested in the interplay between science and society, particularly how human actions have shaped and continue to influence the climate—and how the climate, in turn, shapes human behavior. To explore this, I use large-scale modeling experiments to assess the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and examine the opportunities and risks of climate interventions. I've written essays exploring these dynamics and illustrate them with music projects that blend science and art. Overall, I strive to create insights into the complexity amongst us to help enable a healthy relationship between people and planet.

I hold a PhD in Oceanography and a Master's in Earth Science, both from Old Dominion University. I did my undergraduate work at Rutgers, where I studied Political Theory. I can often be found in the ocean.

© Brett Buzzanga