[DIALOGnews] DIALOG and DISCCRS News 03/22/02
Susan Weiler
weilercs@whitman.edu
Fri, 22 Mar 2002 13:54:00 -0800
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03/22/02</title></head><body>
<div>Earth's Ice Melting Faster than Expected</div>
<div>NATO Advanced Study Institute, Ocean Carbon Cycle and
Climate</div>
<div>Funding for EPA STAR Fellowship Program</div>
<div>Summer studentships for undergrads, British Phycological
Society</div>
<div>SiMON Executive Director</div>
<div>4-YEAR Visiting Assistant Professor, Macalester (liberal arts
college)</div>
<div>Postdoctoral Positions, Ecosystem Modeling</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>****************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>EARTH'S ICE MELTING FASTER THAN PROJECTED<br>
Lester R. Brown<br>
Several new studies report that the earth's
ice cover is melting faster than<br>
projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in
its<br>
landmark report released in early 2001. Among other things, this means
that<br>
the IPCC team, which did not have the ice melt data through the 1990s,
will</div>
<div>need to revise upward its projected rise in sea level for this
century -- currently estimated to range from 0.09 meters to 0.88
meters (from</div>
<div>4 to 35 inches).<br>
A study by two scientists from the University
of Colorado's Institute of<br>
Arctic and Alpine Research shows that melting of the large glaciers on
the<br>
west coast of Alaska and in northern Canada is accelerating. Earlier
data<br>
indicated that the melting of glaciers in these areas was raising sea
level<br>
by 0.14 millimeters per year, but the new data for the 1990s indicate
that<br>
the more rapid melting is now raising sea level by 0.32 millimeters a
year,<br>
more than twice as fast.</div>
<div> The Colorado study is reinforced by a
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study, which indicates glaciers are now
shrinking in all 11 of Alaska's glaciated mountain ranges. An earlier
USGS study reported that the number of glaciers in Glacier National
Park in the United States has dwindled from 150 in 1850 to fewer than
50 today. They project the remaining glaciers will disappear within 30
years.<br>
Another team of USGS scientists, which uses
satellite data to measure<br>
changes in the area covered by glaciers, describes an accelerated
melting of</div>
<div>glaciers in several mountainous regions, including the South
American Andes, the Swiss Alps, and the French and Spanish
Pyrenees.<br>
Glaciers are shrinking faster throughout the
Andes. Professor Lonnie<br>
Thompson of Ohio State University reports that for the Quri Kalis
glacier,<br>
which is located on the west side of the Quelccaya ice cap in the
Peruvian<br>
Andes, the annual shrinkage from 1998 to 2000 was three times that
which<br>
occurred between 1995 and 1998. And that, in turn, was nearly double
the<br>
annual rate of retreat from 1993 to 1995. Thompson also projects that
the<br>
large Quelccaya ice cap will disappear entirely between 2010 and
2020.<br>
The vast snow/ice mass in the Himalayas, which ranks third in fresh
water<br>
stored, after Antarctica and Greenland, is also retreating. Although
data<br>
are not widely available for the Himalayan glaciers, those that have
been<br>
studied indicate an accelerating retreat. For example, data for the
1990s</div>
<div>show that the Dokriani Bamak Glacier in the Indian Himalayas
retreated by 20 meters in 1998, more than during the preceding five
years.</div>
<div> Thompson has also studied Kilimanjaro,
observing that between 1989 and 2000, Kilimanjaro lost 33 percent of
its ice field. He projects that it could disappear entirely within the
next 15 years.<br>
Both the North and the South Poles are
showing the effects of climate<br>
change. The South Pole is covered by a continent the size of the
United<br>
States. The Antarctic ice sheet, which is 1.5 miles thick in some
places,<br>
contains over 90 percent of the world's fresh water.<br>
While this vast ice sheet is relatively
stable, the ice shelves--the<br>
portions of the ice sheet that extend into the surrounding seas--are
fast<br>
disappearing. A team of U.S. and British scientists reported in 1999
that<br>
the ice shelves on either side of the Antarctic Peninsula are in
full<br>
retreat. From mid-century through 1997, these areas lost 7,000
square<br>
kilometers as the ice sheet disintegrated. But then within scarcely
one year<br>
they lost another 3,000 square kilometers. Delaware-sized icebergs
that have</div>
<div>broken off are a threat to ships in the area. The scientists
attribute the</div>
<div>accelerated ice melting to a regional temperature rise of 2.5
degrees<br>
Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1940.<br>
While the South Pole is covered by a huge
continent, the North Pole is<br>
covered by the Arctic Ocean. Arctic sea ice is melting fast. Over the
last<br>
35 years, the ice has thinned 42 percent--from an average of 3.1
meters to<br>
1.8 meters. It has also shrunk by 6 percent since 1978. Together,
thinning</div>
<div>and shrinking have reduced the mass of sea ice by half. A team of
Norwegian scientists projects that the Arctic Sea could be entirely
ice-free during the summer by mid-century, if not before.<br>
If this melting materializes as projected,
the early explorers' dream of a<br>
northwest passage--a shortcut from Europe to Asia--could be
realized.<br>
Unfortunately, what was a dream for them could be a nightmare for
us.<br>
If the Arctic Ocean becomes ice-free in the summer, it would not
affect sea<br>
level because the ice is already in the water, but it would alter
the<br>
regional heat balance. When sunlight strikes ice and snow, most of it
is<br>
reflected back into space, but if it instead strikes land or open
water,<br>
then much of the energy in the light is absorbed and converted into
heat,<br>
leading to higher temperatures. This is what computer modelers refer
to as a<br>
positive feedback loop, a situation where a trend creates conditions
that<br>
reinforce itself.<br>
Richard Kerr, writing in Science, says summer
"would convert the Arctic<br>
Ocean from a brilliantly white reflector sending 80 percent of solar
energy<br>
back into space into a heat collector absorbing 80 percent of
[incoming<br>
sunlight]." The discovery of open water at the North Pole by an
ice breaker<br>
cruise ship in August 2000 provides further evidence that the
melting<br>
process may now be feeding on itself.<br>
This prospect of much warmer summers in the
Arctic is of concern because<br>
Greenland, which has the world's second largest ice sheet, is largely
within<br>
the Arctic Circle. In a Science article in 2000, a team of U.S.
scientists<br>
from NASA reported that the vast Greenland ice sheet is starting to
melt.<br>
Greenland is gaining some ice in higher elevations in its northern
reaches,<br>
but it is losing much more at the lower elevations along its southern
and<br>
southeastern coasts. This huge island of 2.2 million square<br>
kilometers -- three times the size of Texas--is experiencing a net
loss of 51<br>
billion cubic meters of ice each year, which is raising sea level by
0.13<br>
millimeters per year, according to the NASA team.<br>
The team also reports that the melting there
appears to be accelerating<br>
because the ice sheet on its southern and eastern edges has thinned by
more<br>
than a meter a year since 1993. If all the ice on Greenland were to
melt, it<br>
would raise sea level by 7 meters (23 feet), but even under a high<br>
temperature rise scenario, it could take many centuries for it to
melt<br>
completely.<br>
The accelerated melting of ice, particularly
during the last decade or so,<br>
is consistent with the accelerating rise in temperature that has
occurred<br>
since 1980. With the IPCC projecting global average temperature to
rise by</div>
<div>1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5 to 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
during this<br>
century, the melting of ice will likely continue to gain momentum.<br>
Our generation is the first to have the capacity to alter the
earth's<br>
climate. We are also, therefore, the first to wrestle with the
ethical<br>
question of whether the capacity to change the planet's climate gives
us the</div>
<div>right to do so.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>***************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div> NATO ADVANCED STUDY INSTITUTE</div>
<div>"THE OCEAN CARBON CYCLE AND CLIMATE"</div>
<div> 5th-16th August 2002</div>
<div>Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey</div>
<div> This intensive summer school aims to
introduce participants to<br>
recent developments in understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and
its<br>
connections to climate change, encompassing observational
developments,<br>
interpretations of new data, and advances in mechanistic
understanding<br>
through modeling. It is intended primarily for students pursuing
research<br>
towards a Ph.D. and young scientists at postdoctoral level.
Participants</div>
<div>will be accepted from a variety of backgrounds. Full or partial
financial</div>
<div>support will be available for applicants, especially those from
NATO</div>
<div>Partner and Mediterranean Dialogue Countries.<br>
The format of the ASI will be a series of
lectures covering the following</div>
<div>themes:<br>
i. Observations of the current biogeochemical state of
global oceans,<br>
ii. Ocean ecosystems; their characterization, biogeochemical
role,<br>
and quantification,<br>
iii. Interactions between the carbon reservoirs of the oceans,
atmosphere<br>
and terrestrial biosphere,<br>
iv. Global ocean circulation and its implications for
biogeochemical<br>
cycles,<br>
v. Carbon cycle and climate feedbacks,</div>
<div>vi. Modeling the global carbon cycle.<br>
=46OR MORE DETAILS AND UPDATED INFORMATION PLEASE SEE</div>
<div>http://puddle.mit.edu/~mick/NATO-ASI/ASI.html<br>
If you would like to participate please contact Mick Follows<br>
(mick@plume.mit.edu) or Temel Oguz (oguz@ims.metu.edu.tr) with a<br>
brief (1 page) statement of your educational background,
current</div>
<div>position and scientific interests by May 15th 2002.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>****************************</div>
<div>FUNDING FOR EPA'S STAR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM</div>
<div>Submitted by DIALOGer Marie Delorenzo</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000">By now most of you
have heard that the EPA STAR FELLOWSHIP is on the Brink of extinction.
After some research, here are the FACTS:</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000">-In 2002, the EPA
STAR FELLOWSHIP was funded at $9.7 million.<br>
-In the Presidents 2003 budget request to congress, he is asking for
$0.00.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000">-The 2003 budget is
still being negotiated so there IS STILL TIME TO ACT.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000">WHAT YOU CAN DO IN
DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE<br>
1. Write a personal letter to your Senators.<br>
2. Call your Senators and representative.<br>
3. Print out and mail a copy of the sample letter that
follows.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000">4. Do all of the
above.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000"> &nbs=
p;
A quick way to get a hold of your representative is to call the
Capitol at 202-224-3121 and ask for your representative.<br>
SAMPLE LETTER:<br>
Dear Senator,<br>
The President's 2003 Federal Budget request
to congress eliminates the EPA's funding for graduate student research
in the environmental sciences. The EPA STAR program provides highly
motivated doctoral students with three years of funding to pursue
research on topics ranging from understanding the effects of
biodiversity and global warming on our National Parks, to developing
effective biological control agents for managing agricultural
pests.<br>
Funding graduate student research has a long
tradition in this country and on a science per dollar basis is the
most effective way to get results. Graduate students are more
productive per dollar earned than any other segment of the scientific
community.<br>
If future graduate students are not provided
the same level of support, not only will we lose this important source
of scientific productivity, but also we will fail to train the next
generation of scientific leaders.<br>
The amount of money required to fund this
program is little more than a tenth of a percent of the EPA's total
budget. Cutting this program will eliminate a key training path for
future environmental experts.<br>
I hope that as one of our nation's leaders
you will work to ensure the viability of this small but highly
effective program by reinstating the funds necessary for its
continuance.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman" color=3D"#000000"><br>
Sincerely,</font><br>
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>****************************</div>
<div>SUMMER STUDENTSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADS</div>
<div>Submitted by DIALOGer Mutaz Qutob</div>
<div>From: <a href=3D"mailto:mike.guiry@SEAWEED.IE">Mike Guiry</a></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman">The British Phycological Society
offers a limited number of bursaries of up to =A3500 for summer
studentships. The scheme is intended to stimulate undergraduate
students' interest in phycology by funding practical work over the
summer vacation. It is stressed that this is intended for<i> hands on
experience</i> of any aspect of phycology. Routine laboratory work or
analysis of existing data will not be considered. Members who have a
suitable project invited to apply using the application form
(available at http://www.brphycsoc.org) and electronic
submission to chris.gibson@dardni.gov.uk is encouraged.<br>
A short report (one side of A4) on the
project is required from the student for publication in The
Phycologist and it is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure
the report is submitted by 1 October 2002.
</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman"> Awards will be
made at the discretion of the Algal Affairs committee whose decision
is final.</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman"> Submit
applications no later than 30 April 2002 to:<br>
Prof. Chris Gibson</font></div>
<div><font face=3D"Times New Roman">AESD<br>
Newforge Lane<br>
Belfast<br>
BT9 5PX</font></div>
<div>*******************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type=3D"cite" cite> SIMoN PROGRAM
DIRRECTOR</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite" cite><br>
Background:</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite" cite>
Long-term ecosystem monitoring is a fundamental element to resource
management and a requirement of National Marine Sanctuaries. By
integrating ongoing efforts at over 30 regional marine research
institutions, and filling in critical gaps, the Monterey Bay Sanctuary
can gain a comprehensive understanding of its natural resources and
processes. The Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN)
has therefore been designed in partnership with the regional science
and management communities to identify and track natural and human
induced changes to the Sanctuary.</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite" cite>
The goals of SIMoN are to: integrate existing monitoring conducted in
the Monterey Bay Sanctuary; initiate basic surveys or
characterizations of all habitats and regions of the Sanctuary;
establish a series of long-term monitoring efforts to fill in critical
gaps; initiate specific, question-driven monitoring efforts with fixed
durations; provide timely and pertinent information to managers and
decision makers, the research community, and the general
public.</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite" cite> For more information on SIMoN,
see<br>
http://www.mbnms.nos.noaa.gov/research/simon/index.htm</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>********************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN ECOLOGY</div>
<div>Macalester College<br>
=46our year position: 2002/03 ? 2005/06<br>
<br>
The Biology Department of Macalester College invites applicants for
a<br>
four-year, non tenure-track assistant professorship in ecology
beginning<br>
September 1, 2002. The successful candidate will teach four courses
per<br>
year including introductory ecology at with Lab, an intermediate
aquatic<br>
ecology course with lab, a non-majors course (potentially cross-listed
with Environmental Studies (www.macalester.edu/environmentalstudies/
)) and<br>
another upper level biology course in the person?s specialty.
The Biology<br>
Department faculty and staff are committed to engaging students in
active<br>
research as well as providing deep curricular offerings<br>
(www.macalester.edu/biology/ ). The successful candidate will
be<br>
encouraged to maintain an active research program with students.
The</div>
<div>Biology Department is housed in a newly renovated/expanded
science building with excellent laboratory facilities. In addition the
College maintains the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area
http://www.macalester.edu/biology/ordway/ which is located 17 miles
from the</div>
<div>Macalester College campus. This area has numerous natural
habitats<br>
including tall grass prairie, oak savannah and woodlands, aspen and
birch<br>
forests, seasonal and permanent ponds and springs, and a backwater
lake,</div>
<div>adjacent to the Mississippi River. The most qualified
candidates will have postdoctoral and teaching experience.<br>
Macalester College is a selective, private
liberal arts college in the<br>
vibrant Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Macalester
enrolls 1800<br>
students from 48 states and over 70 foreign countries and has a<br>
long-standing commitment to maintaining a multi-national,
multi-ethnic<br>
community. Macalester is an Equal Opportunity employer that is
committed<br>
to having a diverse workforce. The College prides itself on
sustaining a<br>
strong commitment to excellence in teaching and encouraging
faculty<br>
scholarship. To apply, send a letter, curriculum vitae,
statement of<br>
teaching philosophy and research plans, and 3 letters of reference to:
Dr.<br>
Lin Aanonsen, Chair, Department of Biology, Macalester College, St.
Paul,<br>
MN 55105. E-mail: aanonsen@macalester.edu. Review of
applications will<br>
begin on April 12, 2002 and will continue until the position is
filled. The college does not discriminate in employment because of
race religion,<br>
creed, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, sexual<br>
orientation, or disability. Women and minorities are encouraged to
apply.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>*********************************</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS, ECOSYSTEM MODELING</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The Ecosystem Modeling Group in the Department of Oceanography at
Texas A&M University is seeking candidates to fill two
postdoctoral positions in ecosystem modeling, one for each of the
following projects:</div>
<div> 1.<i> Particle fluxes and
remineralization below the euphotic zone.</i> This research focuses on
the mechanisms and rates of mid- to deep-water particle flux and
remineralization with the aim of developing a more detailed
understanding of carbon flows below the euphotic zone. Funding is in
place as part of the US JGOFS Synthesis and Modeling Project.</div>
<div> 2.<i> Biocomplexity of aquatic
microbial systems: relating diversity of microorganisms to ecosystem
function.</i> Genetic sequence and hybridization data on the abundance
and diversity of microorganisms is being used to infer activities of
different subsets of functional guilds of microorganisms as part of a
multi-investigator NSF Biocomplexity project. The modeling component
will involve combining the abundance and activity data with ecological
rate process information to test hypotheses about microbial
biocomplexity and ecosystem function along a gradient from the inland
waters of the Chesapeake Bay to the Sargasso Sea.</div>
<div>QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates should possess a Ph.D. in
Oceanography, Marine Sciences or related disciplines. Computer skills
are essential. Experience in the development and application of
numerical models to ecosystem studies is strongly desired, but not
essential.</div>
<div>TO APPLY: Application deadline is 30 April 2002. Send letter of
interest and curriculum vitae with names, addresses and telephone
numbers of three references to Dr. George Jackson, Dept. of
Oceanography, Texas A&M University, MS 3146, College Station, TX
77843-3146 or by e-mail to gjackson@ocean.tamu.edu</div>
<div>SALARY: $32,000 to $36,000 depending upon experience. These are
12-month full-time positions that may be renewed annually for a period
of 2 years. Starting date is 1 July 2002.<br>
Texas A&M University is an affirmative
action/equal opportunity employer committed to excellence and
diversity. Texas A&M University encourages applications from
minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities.</div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.<br>
Biology Department<br>
Whitman College<br>
Walla Walla, WA 99362<br>
Tel: 509-527-5948<br>
Fax: 509-527-5961<br>
weiler@whitman.edu
http://www.aslo.org/phd.html<br>
<br>
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHEN YOUR ADDRESS/E-MAIL CHANGES</div>
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