[DIALOGnews] DIALOG AND DISCCRS News 08/30/02

[Susan Weiler]

NSF Biocomplexity announcement
Alaskan glaciers--article from NY Times
Newspaper articles concerning World Development talks
Position at U Naval Postgraduate School

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NSF ANNOUNCES FY 2003 BIOCOMPLEXITY IN THE ENVIRONMENT SPECIAL COMPETITION
       The announcement can be accessed on line at:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02167/nsf02167.htm
      The FY 2003 competition will be similar to the two previous
competitions, with a set of focused competitions providing an
opportunity for multidisciplinary teams to conduct comprehensive,
integrated investigations of environmental systems using advanced
scientific and engineering methods. The concept of biocomplexity
stresses the richness of biological systems (including human systems)
and their capacity for adaptation and self-organizing behavior.  By
placing biocomplexity studies in an environmental context, this
competition emphasizes research with the following characteristics: (a)
a high degree of interdisciplinarity; (b) a focus on complex
environmental systems that include interactions of non-human biota or
humans; and (c) a focus on systems with high potential for exhibiting
non-linear behavior.
      The Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) is the focused
competition that likely will draw the greatest interest from social and
behavioral scientists.  The CNH competition focuses on the complex
interactions among human and natural systems at diverse spatial,
temporal, and organizational scales.  To be competitive for support,
teams of investigators drawn from relevant natural, social, and
mathematical sciences, engineering, and education must examine the
dynamics of appropriate natural and human systems as well as the
interactions that link those human and natural systems.  Most CNH funds
will support awards that range up to five years in duration and up to
$2.0 million in total value, although a few developmental awards of up
to two years in duration and $100,000 will also be made.  The deadline
for submission of CNH proposals is Tuesday, November 19, 2002.
      Social and/or behavioral scientists played central roles in the
investigative teams undertaking projects that were supported by all
eight major CNH awards during FY 2001 and by seven major awards being
funded based on the FY 2002 competition.  A list of all FY 2001 CNH
awards is accessible at:
http://www.geo.nsf.gov/ere/BE_competitions/be_01_cnh_awards.htm
A comparable list of FY 2002 awards will be posted soon after the final
awards are made in September 2002.
      Other focused BE competitions include Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles
(CBC); Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering (Gen-En);
Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA); and
Materials Use:  Science, Engineering, and Society (MUSES).  The
deadlines for those competitions are November 19, 2002, for IDEA;
December 17, 2002, for Gen-En; January 28, 2003, for CBC, and March 4,
2003, for MUSES.
      For more information about the BE competitions, consult with a relevan=
t
program officer for a specific competition.  Their names and contact
information can be accessed at:
http://www.geo.nsf.gov/be-03.htm

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AS ALASKA WARMS, GLACIERS STAGE A FEROCIOUS DANCE
from The New York Times

Scientists are studying the rapidly retreating glaciers of Alaska, which
are dumping far more water into the sea than they expected.

Dr. Keith Echelmeyer, a professor of geology and geophysics at the
University of Alaska at Fairbanks and an accomplished bush pilot, has been
flying his two-seat Piper PA-12 regularly over glaciers since 1993 and
using laser altimetry to plot changes.

After comparing their data against topographical maps that go back 50
years, he and his colleagues recently published their findings in Science
for the first 67 glaciers measured, representing about 20 percent of the
area covered by these Alaskan ice rivers and the geographically connected
regions of the Canadian Yukon.

>From climate models, as well as years of field work, Dr. Echelmeyer had
expected a general thinning of the glaciers that would be consistent with
Alaska's summer temperature increase averaging 5 degrees over the past
three decades. Instead, the researchers found that since the mid-1990's,
Alaskan and Yukon glaciers had been dumping enough water into the ocean to
raise sea level by 0.2 millimeters a year.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/03/science/earth/03GLAC.html>


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NEWSPAPER ARTICLES CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT TALKS

AT DEVELOPMENT TALKS, U.S. AND ITS ALLIES CLASH OVER ISSUES OF ENERGY 
AND POLLUTION
from The New York Times

JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 28 =97 For days now, the battle between rich and poor
nations has dominated the United Nations talks here on the environment and
development, with marches and fiery debates over how to reduce poverty.

But one of the fiercest struggles has been raging behind the scenes as the
United States and the European Union clash over strategies to preserve the
planet.

The allies are battling over the question of targets and time frames for
the conversion from oil and gas to windmills and solar panels, for the
cleanup of garbage and hazardous pollutants and for the preservation of
endangered plants and animals.

The European Union says these talks must produce a strong plan with firm
deadlines so the world's leaders can be held accountable for their actions.
The United States opposes targets and deadlines, saying it would rather
finance specific projects than support goals that might ultimately prove
meaningless.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/29/international/29SUMM.html>

U.S. REACHES ENERGY DEAL AT SUMMIT
from The Boston Globe

JOHANNESBURG - The United States, in partnership with Venezuela and Saudi
Arabia, pushed through a final deal on sustainable energy last night that
preserves the primacy of fossil fuels and blocks time-based international
commitments to develop renewable energy sources in poor countries.

The energy accord was the final piece of a broad-based plan negotiated at
the Earth Summit on poverty alleviation and environmental issues.

The final language on energy, which took eight days of round-the-clock deal
making, calls on countries to "diversify energy supply by developing
advanced, cleaner, more efficient, affordable and cost-effective energy
technologies, including fossil fuel technologies as well as renewable
energy technologies, hydro included, and their transfer to developing
countries on concessional terms as mutually agreed."
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/246/nation/US_reaches_energy_deal_summit+
=2Eshtml>

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POSITION AT US NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
Position Available: Research Assistant/Associate in Oceanography
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
Monterey, California
      The Department of Oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
has an immediate opening for a research assistant/associate to provide
support to the Global and Arctic Modeling Group in the area of shelf
basin interaction in the Western Arctic Ocean. Work will be in support
of the high resolution Pan-Arctic ocean/sea ice/ecological modeling
effort.
      The position will involve all aspects of the biophysical modeling
including model-data validation, synthesis and integration of historical
and modern biophysical data collected during the 5-year
inter-disciplinary Shelf Basin Interaction (SBI) Phase II Program
sponsored by the National Science Foundation / Arctic System Science
(NSF/ARCSS) and Office of Naval Research / High Latitude Dynamics
(ONR/HLD) programs. In addition assistant/associate will be responsible
for communication with other SBI II PIs for acquiring data and model
output dissemination, preparation and evaluation of model initial and
forcing fields, post-processing including visualization of model output,
and preparation of results for publication. Available analysis tools
among others include MATLAB, Ferret, and IDL.
      Skills needed/desired:
1. An M.S. in biological/physical oceanography or a related field.
2. Experience using commercial programming and graphic software, e.g.
MATLAB, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, Ferret, etc.
3. A background in observational polar oceanography, analysis of field
data, or ocean modeling are desirable.
4. Experience in analyzing large biophysical data sets.
5. Strong analytical, quantitative, and communication skills.
      Applicants should submit a CV, a brief description of research
interests, and contact information for three references to:
Dr. Wieslaw Maslowski
Department of Oceanography
833 Dyer Road, Bldg 232, Room 326
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 9343 USA
maslowsk@nps.navy.mil
      Consideration of applications will begin on 20 September 2002. The
search will continue until the position is filled.
      The Naval Postgraduate School is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative
Action Employer.


-- 
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.
Biology Department
Whitman College
Walla Walla, WA 99362
    Tel:   509-527-5948
    Fax:  509-527-5961
   Programs for Recent PhDs          http://aslo.org/phd.html
   DIALOG and DIACES poster     http://aslo.org/dialog/dialogposter.pdf
   DISCCRS poster 
http://aslo.org/disccrs/disccrsposter.pdf
   Minorities in the Aquatic Sciences  http://aslo.org/mas/

MOVING? Please send ADDRESS CHANGES to phd@whitman.edu