Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science

David P. Retchless

Associate Professor
Joint Appointment, TAMU Dept. of Geography
Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science

E-mail: retchled@tamug.edu

Phone: +1 (409) 741-7130

Fax: +1 (409) 740-4429

Ocean and Coastal Studies Bldg., Office 361

Google Scholars Page

Learn more about David P. Retchless

Get To Know David P. Retchless

What in your life drew you to your current field of study?

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.

What do you hope your students gain from studying or working with you?

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.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family camping, hiking, and biking. I am also a bit of a weather nerd.

Publications

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.

Presentations

January 7-11, 2018: “Testing Augmented Reality Tools for Communicating Storm Surge and Encouraging Preparedness: A Survey of Texas A&M at Galveston Students.” Presentation at the American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.

April 5-9, 2017: “Map and augmented reality views of storm surge flooding: Methods for evaluating effects of perspective on risk perceptions and engagement.” Presentation at the Association of American Geographer’s Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

October 20, 2016: “Effects of map and augmented reality views of flood risk on concern about climate change.” Retchless, D., Presentation at the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO.

March 29 - May 2, 2016: “Understanding Local Sea Level Rise Risk Perceptions and the Power of Maps to Change them: The Effects of Distance, Detail, and Doubt.” Presentation at the Association of American Geographer’s Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

March 29 - May 2, 2016: Discussant for “Risk Perception and Resilience Planning” session. Association of American Geographer’s Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

March 29 - May 2, 2016: Berhardt, J., J. Shinn, and D. Retchless. Organizers for “Interdisciplinarity in Graduate Training in New Institutional Landscapes” session. Association of American Geographer’s Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.

October 14, 2015: “Sea Level Rise in Sarasota Bay.” Digital map poster presentation at the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

Grants and Fellowships

December 2017 – December 2018: Texas General Land Office. "Evaluating the Effects of a Coastal Spine: National-Level Economic Ripples and Effects on Flood Insurance." PI Wesley Highfield, co-PIs Ashley Ross-Wootton, Leonard Waterworth, Meri Davlasheridze, Samuel Brody, William Merrell Jr, and David Retchless, allotted 14% credit. Total award $1,594,189. Submitted October 2017.

May-August 2017: Texas A&M University at Galveston Texas Comprehensive Research Fund. “A Survey on Natural Hazard Literacy.” PI Ashley Ross, D. Retchless co-PI. Texas A&M University at Galveston. Total award $8,000. Submitted April 2017.

May-August 2017: Texas A&M University at Galveston Texas Comprehensive Research Fund. “Acquisition of high-resolution bathymetric and topographic surveying technology (HydroLite-DFX) for teaching and research.” PI Pete van Hengstum, co-PIs Wes Highfield and David Retchless. Total award $15,450. Submitted April 2017.