M.S. Geography, Penn State University, 2011
B.A. Liberal Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2004
Associate Professor
Joint Appointment, TAMU Dept. of Geography
Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science
The confluence of several factors drew me to this field: A life-long interest in weather and climate; a late-discovered but strong passion for making beautiful and useful maps; a focus on risk perception and communication; and the recognition of an urgent need for better tools to communicate the significant meteorological and climatological risks to life on the Texas coast.
I hope my students come to appreciate that maps and geospatial software are not just analytical tools, but are also powerful means to communicate, educate, and persuade.
GEOG 665: GIS-Based Spatial Analysis and Modeling
MARS 210: Marine Geography
MARS 325: Introduction to GIS
MARS 481: Marine Science Senior Seminar (Co-Professor)
MARS 625: GIS Modeling for Coastal Resources
Retchless, D. 2017. “Understanding local sea level rise risk perceptions and the power of maps to change them: The effects of distance and doubt.” Environment and Behavior, doi: 0013916517709043.
Hesse, A., R. Hedberg, J. Shinn, D. Retchless, D. Baldwin, J. Bernhardt. 2016. “Preparing Geographers for Interdisciplinary Research: Graduate Training at the Interface of the Natural and Social Sciences.” The Professional Geographer.
Mason, J. S., D. Retchless, A. Klippel. 2016. “Domains of Uncertainty Visualization Research: A Visual Summary Approach.” Cartography and Geographic Information Science.
Retchless, D. and C. Brewer. 2015. “Guidance for Representing Uncertainty on Global Temperature Change Maps.” International Journal of Climatology. DOI: 10.1002/joc.4408.
Retchless, D. 2014. “Sea Level Rise Maps: How Individual Differences Complicate the Cartographic Communication of an Uncertain Climate Change Hazard.” Cartographic Perspectives 77:17-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.14714/CP77.1235
Retchless, D., N. Frey, C. Wang, L. S. Hung, and B. Yarnal. 2014. “Climate extremes in the United States: recent research by physical geographers.” Physical Geography 35 (1):3-21.
Retchless, D. 2014. “Communicating climate change: spatial analog versus color-banded isoline maps with and without accompanying text.” Cartography and Geographic Information Science 41 (1):55-74.