Julian D. Olden – The Conversation

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February 25, 2026

Extreme weather is transforming the world’s rivers. We need new ways to protect them

Jonathan Tonkin, University of Canterbury; Julian D. Olden, University of Washington; Julian Merder, University of Canterbury; Julia Talbot-Jones, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Thibault Datry, Inrae

Rivers support billions of people but are among the least protected parts of nature. A major review shows what needs to be done as climate change accelerates.

The January 2019 collapse of a dam in Brumadinho, Brazil, sent mining tailings and mud over the landscape for miles, destroying this bridge and killing 300 people. Andre Penner/AP

February 24, 2020

Mine waste dams threaten the environment, even when they don’t fail

Christopher Sergeant, University of Montana and Julian D. Olden, University of Washington

Dams built to hold enormous quantities of toxic mining waste have a long history of spills. Decisions in the Pacific Northwest threaten three free-flowing rivers there.

After 48 hours of frantic effort, Brazilian rescue workers have called off their search for survivors at a collapsed dam in Minas Gerais state. AP Photo/Leo Correa

January 29, 2019

Dam collapse at Brazilian mine exposes grave safety problems

Julian D. Olden, University of Washington; Jean Vitule, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR); Paulo dos Santos Pompeu, Federal University of Lavras; Thiago B. A. Couto, University of Washington, and Thiago Vinicius Trento Occhi, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR)

Nearly 1,800 Brazilian dams are at risk of failure, according to the government. Fixing them is expensive – but ignoring aging dams can have considerable social, economic and environmental costs.

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