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Benjamin L. Preston

 

Scientist, Environmental Sciences Division

Deputy Director, Climate Change Science Institute

Lead, Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Science Research Theme

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 

Benjamin L. Preston is a senior research scientist in ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division where he conducts research on the societal impacts of climate change and the role of adaptation in reducing climate risk.  His research involves the development of empirical and process models as well as the application of geographic analysis tools to estimate climate impacts and, in particular, characterize the many interactions between climatic and socioeconomic change.  Preston is also  the Lead for the Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability Analysis research theme within the Climate Change Science Institute.

 Preston received a BS in biology from the College of William and Mary and a PhD in environmental biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he also minored in public policy.  He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow with the Carolina Environmental Program at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he developed his interest in applications of geographic information systems to investigate spatial and temporal relationships among environmental pressures and outcomes. Preston’s interest in making science relevant to decision-making then drove him to Washington, DC where he worked as a senior research fellow at the Pew Center on Global Change.  He later moved overseas to join Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization where he was a research scientist with the Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research. 

 Preston has contributed dozens of publications to the scientific literature on climate change impacts, adaptation and environmental assessment, and he has served as an expert peer-reviewer for a broad range of academic journals in the environmental sciences.  He is also a lead author for Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report.

 

Email: prestonbl@ornl.gov

Phone: 865-574-6496

 

Publications by this Member

Biblio Citation
Jones, R., & Preston B. (2010).  Adaptation and Risk Management.
Kinrade, P., Justus M., Grey S., Preston B., Benedyka S., Skinner Z., et al. (2008).  Impacts of Climate Change on Settlements in the Western Port Region Climate Change Risks and Adaptation.
Kinrade, P., Preston B., Macadam I., Fisher T., Whiteoak K., Wiedemann N., et al. (2008).  Impacts of Climate Change on Settlements in the Western Port Region People, Property and Places.
Preston, B., & Jones R. (2008).  Screening Climatic and Non-Climatic Risks to Australian Catchments. Geographical Research. 46, 258–274.
Preston, B., & Jones R. (2008).  Evaluating sources of uncertainty in Australian runoff projections. Advances in Water Resources. 31, 758–775.
Preston, B. (2002).  Hazard prioritization in ecological risk assessment through spatial analysis of toxicant gradients.. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 117, 431–45. Abstract
Preston, B. (2004).  Observed winter warming of the Chesapeake Bay estuary (1949-2002): implications for ecosystem management.. Environmental management. 34, 125–39. Abstract
Preston, B. (2002).  Spatial patterns in benthic biodiversity of Chesapeake Bay, USA (1984-1999): association with water quality and sediment toxicity.. Environmental toxicology and chemistry / SETAC. 21, 151–62. Abstract
Preston, B. (2007).  Chapter 6 Application of climate projections in impact and risk assessments. Change. 108–123.
Preston, B. (2002).  Indirect Effects in Aquatic Ecotoxicology: Implications for Ecological Risk Assessment. Environmental Management. 29, 311–323.
Preston, B. (2006).  Risk-Based Reanalysis of the Effects of Climate Change on U.S. Cold-water Habitat. Climatic Change. 76, 91–119.
Preston, B., & Jones R. (2008).  A national assessment of the sensitivity of Australian runoff to climate change. Atmospheric Science Letters. 208, 202–208. Abstract
Preston, B., & Kay R. (2010).  Managing climate risks in human settlements. (Jubb, Imogen, Holper, Paul N., Cai, Wenju, Ed.).Greenhouse 2009 Conference. 183–196. Abstract
Preston, B., & Stafford-Smith M. (2009).  Framing vulnerability and adaptive capacity assessment: Discussion paper. CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship Working Paper No. 2.
Preston, B., & Westaway R. (2010).  A critical look at the state of climate adaptation planning. (Holper, Paul N., Cai, Wenju, Ed.).Greenhouse 2009 Conference. 207–219. Abstract
Preston, B., & Shackelford J. (2002).  Risk-based analysis of environmental monitoring data: application to heavy metals in North Carolina surface waters.. Environmental management. 30, 279–93. Abstract
Sheehan, P., Jones R., Jolley A., Preston B., Clarke M., Durack P. J., et al. (2008).  Climate change and the new world economy: Implications for the nature and timing of policy responses. Global Environmental Change. 18, 380– 396.
Smith, T. F., Brooke C. C., Preston B., Gorddard R., Abbs D., Mcinnes K., et al. (2007).  Managing for Climate Variability in the Sydney Region. Journal of Coastal Research. 2007, 109–113.
Smith, T. F., Preston B., Gorddard R., Brooke C. C., Measham T. G., Withycombe G., et al. (2008).  Mapping Climate Change Vulnerability in the Sydney Coastal Councils Group.
Smith, T. F., Preston B., Gorddard R., Measham T. G., Withycombe G., Beveridge B., et al. (2008).  Regional Workshops Synthesis Report: Sydney Coastal Councils’ Vulnerability to Climate Change: Part 1. Synthesis.
Preston, B., Westaway R., & Yuen E. (2010).  Climate adaptation planning in practice: an evaluation of adaptation plans from three developed nations. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. 1-32. Abstract
Jones, R. N., & Preston B. L. (2011).  Adaptation and risk management. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 2(2), 296 - 308.
Measham, T. G., Preston B. L., Smith T. F., Brooke C. C., Gorddard R., Withycombe G., et al. (2011).  Adapting to climate change through local municipal planning: barriers and challenges. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change.