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BEND - Charles Rosenfeld, a professor of geosciences at Oregon State University and an expert in natural hazards assessment and management, will discuss El Nino events at the First Monday Lecture Series on Monday, Dec. 2, at OSU-Cascades Campus in Bend.

The presentation, "Living With El Nino: Lessons Learned from the 1982-83 Event and its Legacy," will begin at 7 p.m. in Hitchcock Auditorium on the campus of Central Oregon Community College. It is free and open to the public.

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation event of 1982-83 was the strongest such event observed in nearly 100 years, experts say.

"This climatic gremlin wreaked havoc along Oregon's shoreline and triggered localized flooding and areas of extreme drought in its wake," Rosenfeld said. "Another El Nino event is clearly under way this year. Aside from weather peculiarities, what else might these events affect in the Pacific Northwest?"

Rosenfeld is an expert in applied physical geography, remote sensing, natural hazards assessment and other aspects of geography. He has done research on volcanic hazards in the Cascade Range, drought management in West Africa, shoreline erosion, and storm-induced "mass wasting events" in Oregon and elsewhere.

Rosenfeld also serves as a major general in the Army National Guard, where he is currently assigned as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Forces in Korea. He was the principal scientist for remote sensing during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, and at the time briefed President Carter and other political leaders on the event.

The First Monday Lecture Series is a free monthly lecture on various topics of interest and designed for the general public. Sponsored by the OSU-Cascades Campus, it has now been offered in Central Oregon for three years.