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Daniel E. Horton

Associate Professor, Co-chair of Adapt Initiative, Trienens Institute, Seminar Director, Nemmers Host

Ph.D. Geological Sciences; University of Michigan
B.S. Atmospheric Science; Texas A&M University
B.S. Physics; Tulane University
Curriculum Vitae

Research

Professor Horton leads the Climate Change Research Group (CCRG) at Northwestern University. The CCRG uses numerical models, environmental observations, statistical analyses, and machine learning techniques to ask questions pertinent to Earth’s atmosphere and climate, and their intersection with people, places, and things. The CCRG studies an array of subjects across diverse spatiotemporal scales, including (i) extreme weather events, (ii) near-term meteorological, societal, and health impacts of anthropogenic climate change, (iii) the co-benefits and tradeoffs of green infrastructure and transportation, and (iv) the distribution of climate and air quality impacts across society. 

Teaching

EARTH 102: First-year writing seminar: Sustainability and Social Justice
EARTH 210: Earth Systems Science & Climate Chang
EARTH 340: Physics of Weather & Climate
EARTH 343: Earth System Modeling
EARTH 450: Advanced Topics in Atmospheric Science

Selected Publications

C. Li, F. Batibeniz, Y. Wang, Y. Fang, P. Ray, G. Koren, M. Apple, J. Mao, M. Shi, L. Li, S.P. Vasu, M. Tewari, D.E. Horton, S. Moon & Y. Quilcaille (2026) The critical role of soil moisture in compound hazards, Nature Geoscience, doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-01936-z

K. Shlipak, S.F. Camilleri, V.A. Lang, A. Montgomery, J.L. Schnell & D.E. Horton (2026) Ambient air quality and health impacts of PM2.5 from U.S. residential wood combustion, Science Advances, doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz0189

P.M. Graffy, B.W. Barrett, D.E. Horton, A.N. Kho & N.B. Allen (2026) Critical temperature thresholds for identifying vulnerability to heat-related excess cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, Journal of the American Heart Association, doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.125.046117

V.A. Lang, S.F. Camilleri, A. Montgomery, M.A. Visa, J.L. Schnell, M. Janssen, Z.E. Adelman, S.C. Anenberg, E.A. Grubert & D.E. Horton (2025) Watts-to- wheel comparison of the air quality, health, and equity impacts of light- v. heavy-duty vehicle electrification in the U.S. Midwest, Environmental Research: Health, doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/ae16c8

C. Li, A.L. Handwerger & D.E. Horton (2025) Mixed hydrometeorological processes explain regional landslide potential, Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115912

B. Yanites, M.K. Clark, J.J. Roering, A.J. West, D. Zekkos, J.W. Baldwin, C. Cerovoski-Darriau, S.F. Gallen, D.E. Horton, E. Kirby, B.A. Leshchinsky, H.B. Mason, S. Moon, K. Barnhardt, A. Booth, J.A. Czuba, S. McCoy, L. McGuire, A. Pfeiffer & J. Pierce (2025) Cascading land surface hazards as a nexus in the Earth system, Science, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp9559

V.A. Lang, S.F. Camilleri, S. van der Lee, G. Rowangould, B. Antonczak, T.M. Thompson, M.H. Harris, C. Harkins, D. Tong, M. Janssen, Z.E. Adelman & D.E. Horton (2025) Intercomparison of modeled urban-scale NOx and PM2.5 vehicle emissions – implications for equity assessments, Environmental Science and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c09777

S.F. Camilleri, G.H. Kerr, S.C. Anenberg & D.E. Horton (2023) All-cause NO2-attributable mortality burden and associated racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S., Environmental Science & Technology Letters, doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett3.c00500

A. Montgomery, M.I.G. Daepp, M.I. Abdin, P. Choudhury, S. Malvar, S. Counts & D.E. Horton (2023) Intraurban NO2 hotspot detection across multiple air quality products, Environmental Research Letters, doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf7d5

M.A. Visa, S.F. Camilleri, A. Montgomery, J.L. Schnell, M. Janssen, Z. Adelman, S.C. Anenberg, E. Grubert & D.E. Horton (2023) Neighborhood-scale air quality, public health, and equity implications of multi-modal vehicle electrification, Environmental Research: Infrastructure & Sustainability, doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/acf60d

S.F. Camilleri, A. Montgomery, M.A. Visa, J.L. Schnell, Z. Adelman, M. Janssen, E. Grubert, S.C. Anenberg & D.E. Horton (2023) Air quality, health and equity implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles, Nature Sustainability, doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01219-0

C. Li, G. Yu, J. Yang & D.E. Horton (2023) Toward improved regional hydrological model performance using state-of-the-science data-informed soil parameters, Water Resources Research, doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034431

R.D. Harp & D.E. Horton (2023) Observed changes in interannual precipitation variability in the United States, Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104533

A. Montgomery, J.L. Schnell, Z. Adelman, M. Janssen & D.E. Horton (2023) Simulation of neighborhood-scale air quality with two-way coupled WRF-CMAQ over southern Lake Michigan-Chicago region, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037942

R.D. Harp & D.E. Horton (2022) Observed changes in daily precipitation intensity in the United States, Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099955

L. Yang, N. Zerega, A. Montgomery & D.E. Horton (2022) Potential of breadfruit cultivation to contribute to climate-resilient low latitude food systems, PLOS Climate, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000062

C. Li, A.L. Handwerger, J. Wang, W. Yu, X. Li, N.J. Finnegan, Y. Xie, G. Buscarnera & D.E. Horton (2022) Augmentation of WRF-Hydro to simulate overland flow- and streamflow-generated debris flow susceptibility in burn scars, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2317-2022