Carl A. Norlen

Carl A. Norlen

Research Scientist

Affiliation: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Ames Research Center

Division: Earth Science Division (SG), NASA Earth Exchange (NEX)

Email: carl.a.norlen@nasa.gov

Professional Biography

Carl Norlen is a Research Scientist with the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) at the NASA Ames Research Center contributing to the Wildfire, Ecosystem Resilience, & Risk Assessment Initiative (WERK) project in partnership with the state of California. Carl is leading the creation of fuel data sets to aid in understanding the impacts and effectiveness of California’s increased investment in fuel treatments.

Previously, Carl served as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) with the USGS National Land Imaging program and USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research station. As a PMF, Carl worked to better understand the needs of end users for Earth Observation based data, acted as a liaison for USGS to the National Space Council, and conducted research on impacts of urban fires on people and communities.

Prior to that Carl earned an MS and PhD from University of California, Irvine studying the impacts of droughts and fires on California forests, worked as a middle school science teacher in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and high school college access professional with the Upward Bound Programs at University of California, Riverside. Carl is passionate about making science actionable through meaningful and sustained partnerships with communities to advance equitable and science-based solutions to environmental problems. 

Education

Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA

M.S. Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA

Secondary Science (6-12) Teaching Credential, The New Teacher Project, USA

B.A. Biology, Studio Art (minor), Pomona College, USA

Research Interests

Impacts of climate change on ecology, biogeochemistry and human systems; Ecological theory; Disaster impacts, Land management to achieve ecological, biogeochemical, and societal goals; Remote sensing of ecosystem properties; Socio-ecological systems; Human dimensions of the earth system; Science education; Actionable science; Science decision support

Awards and Honors

A

US Geological Survey Individual Award, 2024, 2025

Presidential Management Fellow, 2023

First Place, Space Diplomacy Hackathon, National Science Policy Network, 2022

NSF Research Traineeship Fellowship, 2021, 2022

UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences Dean’s Fellowship, 2018

UC Riverside STAR Aware, 2017, 2018

Georgia Intern Fellowship for Teachers, 2014

Washington State Scholar, 2006

National Merit Scholar, 2006

Selected Publications

  Norlen, C.A., Sharma, S. & Escobedo, F.J. Socio-ecological impacts of the 2025 Los
Angeles urban fires on communities, neighborhoods, and homes. Nat Commun 17,
3941 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71376-1

Norlen CA, Hemes KS, Wang JA, Randerson JT, Battle JJ, Tubbesing CL, Goulden ML (2024) Recent fire history enhances semi-arid conifer forest drought resistance. Forest Ecology and Management, 573, 122331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122331

Wang JA, Goulden ML, Norlen CA, Bhoot VN, Coffield S, Randerson JT (2024) Rising forest exposure and fire severity from climate warming amplify tree cover losses from wildfire in California. Environmental Research Letters, 19(11), 114087. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad86cf

Hill RJ, Djokic MA, Anderson A, Barbour K, Coleman AM, Guerra AD, Hunt C, Jolly A, Long JJ, Manley KT, Montoya JL, Norlen CA, Nugent-Suratt A, Washburn K, Weber S, Welch A, Wong C, Allison SD (2024) From Ridge 2 Reef: An Interdisciplinary Model for Training the Next Generation of Environmental Problem Solvers. Plos one, 19(12), e0314755. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314755

Norlen CA, Golden ML (2023) Recent tree mortality dampens semi-arid forest die-off during subsequent drought exposure. AGU Advances, 4(3), e2022AV000810. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022AV000810
Hemes KS, Norlen CA, Wang JA, Goulden ML, Field CB (2023) “The magnitude and pace of photosynthetic recovery after wildfire in California ecosystems.” Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 120(15), e2201954120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201954120

Cutie S, Aravindan A, Norlen CA (2023) “One Small Step: Anticipatory Diplomacy in
Outer Space” Federation of American Scientists, Day One Project. https://fas.org/publication/one-small-step-anticipatory-diplomacy-in-outer-space/

Madakumbura GD, Goulden ML, Hall A, Fu R, Moritz MA, Koven CD, Kueppers LM, Norlen
CA, Randerson JT (2020) Recent California tree mortality portends future increase in
drought-driven forest die-off. Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 124040.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc719

Press Releases

Surviving a drought may help forests weather future dry spells (2023): https://www.sciencenews.org/article/drought-forests-trees-weather-future