[DIALOGnews] DIALOG AND DISCCRS News
Susan Weiler
weilercs@whitman.edu
Thu, 17 Apr 2003 09:58:07 -0700
--============_-1161523801==_ma============
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" ; format="flowed"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
DIALOG and Disccrs News
***************************************************
Resources
NOAA RELEASES NEW STRATEGIC PLAN
Washington, D.C., USA -- Just released last Monday, a new strategic plan for
the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration promises to be a
broad guide for scientific and management efforts in years to come.
According to a spokesman, the plan is the result of an intensive three-month
process, including seven regional meetings across the United States. "This
document will allow the [ocean] agency.to be more effective and responsive
to [the nation's] economic, environmental, and public safety needs now and
into the future," said retired Navy VAdm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D.,
under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA
administrator.
In its final form, Lautenbacher said, the plan provides a comprehensive=
map
to guide the $3.2 billion federal science agency and includes a flexible,
rolling horizon as opposed to a fixed time span. NOAA's current five year
strategic plan was originally developed in 1993 and revised in 1998. "The
completion of the plan is a critical first step for improving NOAA's
strategic management process," added Lautenbacher. The goals and actions
contained in the plan will enhance the agency's ability to improve the
health and productivity of coastal and ocean ecosystems; better predict
climate, weather, and water changes for private and public decision makers;
and improve the safety, efficiency, and environmental compatibility of
commerce and transportation, he said.
Lautenbacher assigned Timothy R.E. Keeney, deputy assistant secretary f=
or
oceans and atmosphere at NOAA, to lead the planning process. For more
information or to read the plan, go to http://www.osp.noaa.gov/.
SOURCE: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003
***************************************************
Science News
GREENLAND SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER NOW
=46rom Pew
Plymouth, U.K. -- BBC Online reported recently that scientists are not=
ing
warming trends in many parts of the globe, but it appears that Greenland has
been moving in the opposite direction. The finding is based on an analysis
of historical meteorological data collected by Danish researchers. They
found that during the period 1958 to 2001, average temperatures in the
southern part of the island fell by 1.29=B0C. Sea-surface temperatures in t=
he
Labrador Sea also fell, they said. Globally, temperatures have risen over
this period (+0.53=B0C) and in Greenland itself scientists have recently
reported fairly dramatic thinning of the island's ice sheet.
However, Dr. Edward Hanna, Institute of Marine Studies at the
University of
Plymouth here, said that a fuller picture emerges when long-term data are
taken into account. "Certainly in the late 1990s, there was some warming
but that's just over a very short period. There are a lot of natural cycles
in regional climate and.there has been a statistically significant cooling,
particularly in southwestern coastal Greenland," he said. Hanna and Dr.
John Cappelen, Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen, present their
Greenland analysis in the journal Geophysical Review Letters.
The cooling trend, they believe, is associated with an increased phase=
of
the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) that has been observed over the past 35
years. The NAO is a natural and recurring pressure pattern that has a
profound impact on the weather experienced in the North Atlantic region --
at the moment bringing milder, wetter winters to Northern Europe, the BBC
report said. Hanna and Cappelen said they believe the NAO is likely linked
with temperature reductions along the Greenland coast and is responsible for
slowing the island's ice melting rate, in contrast to evidence of global
warming. "And in fact, I've just been looking at the 2002 data and that
appears to show a tailing off of the recent warming," Hanna added. "I think
the message from all this is that global warming is not a uniform process
and you do get regional disparities." Greenland covers more than 2 million
square kilometers and 85% of the island is covered by ice, some of which is
more than 3 kilometers thick.
Source: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003
SEAFLOOR METHANE ERUPTIONS
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA -- Scientists here at the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are reporting new evidence indicating that,
during past periods of rapid climate warming, methane gas has been released
periodically from the seafloor in intense eruptions. In a study published
in the journal Science, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs and colleagues Laura Hmelo and Sean
Sylva provide a direct link between methane reservoirs in coastal marine
sediments and the global carbon cycle, an indicator of global warming and
cooling.
Molecular fossils from methane-consuming bacteria found in
sediments in the
Santa Barbara Basin off California deposited during the last glacial period,
(70,000 to 12,000 years ago), indicate that large quantities of methane were
emitted repeatedly from the seafloor during warmer phases of the last ice
age, they said. Methane is stored on the seafloor as ice-like methane
hydrate. Previous evidence for such massive eruptions was based on isotopic
properties of calcite shells of foraminifera, microscopic marine animals
commonly called forams. Because a variety of factors could lead to very
similar signals in their shells, that evidence has remained controversial.
The preserved molecular remnants found by the WHOI team result from bacteria
that fed exclusively on methane and indicate that large quantities of this
powerful greenhouse gas were present in coastal waters off California. The
team studied samples that were deposited between 44,000 and 37,000 years
ago.
"For the first time, we are able to clearly establish a connection bet=
ween
distinct isotopic depletions in forams and high concentrations of methane in
the fossil record," Hinrichs, an assistant scientist in WHOI's Geology &
Geophysics Department, said. "The large amounts of methane presumably
released during one event about 44,000 years ago suggest a mechanism
different from those underlying the emissions at warmer periods; i.e., slow
decomposition of methane hydrate triggered by warming of bottom waters. The
sudden release of these enormous quantities of methane was probably caused
by landslides and melting of the methane hydrate."
The WHOI team's data, from sediment cores taken by the Ocean Drilling
Program off southern California, show that substantial quantities of methane
were released at least several times during the past 60,000 years, leading
to periodic fluctuations in the levels of methane in deep waters in the
Santa Barbara Basin.
Hinrichs plans to look for similar evidence elsewhere to determine whe=
ther
this process, as a driver of climate variation, happened simultaneously at
other locations around the world. This work, Hinrichs noted, is just the
beginning of better understanding of the role of methane in the carbon cycle
and ultimately on climate on geologic time scales. "We have a very poor
understanding of the biogeochemical mechanisms that control production,
destruction, and accumulation of methane in sediments underlying the ocean,"
he observed. "We need to understand the big picture of what drives methane
and the carbon cycle and the actual impact of methane emissions from
hydrates on climate." To learn more, go to http://www.whoi.edu/home/.
Source: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003
***************************************************
=46orum
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships
The Organising Committee of the Conference
"The impact of Global Environmental problems on continental and
coastal marine waters"
is pleased to announce that the Conference will proceed in July subject to
the changes and amendments contained in the Second Circular, available at
Check the programme and invited speakers ...
You can still register at a regular rate until 15 May 2003.
Jean-Luc Loizeau
Dr Jean-Luc Loizeau
Ma=EEtre d'enseignement et de recherche
Centre d'=E9tudes en sciences naturelles de l'environnement
University of Geneva
10 route de Suisse
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland
***
Voice: +41 22 950 97 21
=46ax: +41 22 755 13 82
e-mail: Jean-Luc.Loizeau@terre.unige.ch
http://www.unige.ch/sciences/desne
http://www.unige.ch/forel
Conferences: www.unige.ch/sciences/near
DISCO XVIII
Dissertations Symposium on Chemical Oceanography
September 28-October 4, 2003, Waikoloa, Hawaii
The eighteenth of a continuing research symposium series for new PhDs in
chemical oceanography will be held September 28-October 4, 2003 at the
Outrigger Waikoloa, Waikoloa, Hawaii. The meeting will be jointly sponsored
by the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with coordination by the
American Institute of Biological Sciences.
=46or further information on participant eligibility and applications to
attend, please visit the DISCO web site at
http://www.discosymposium.org/
***************************************************
Jobs for PhDs
***************************************************
Opportunities for BA, MS or Students
***************************************************
This newsletter has been developed by C. Susan Weiler for the purpose
of distributing information of potential interest to recent PhDs
engaged in interdisciplinary aquatic science or climate change
research, and to build an international sense of community among
recent grads. It provides an international forum for the exchange of
information and opinions regarding research, professional and social
issues.
The views and opinions expressed are strictly those of C.S. Weiler or
of the individual who has submitted a particular item for
distribution. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those
of the funding agencies or sponsoring societies. Dr. Weiler serves as
producer and editor and reserves the right to edit or reject material
submitted to the list.
Please submit announcements of interest to recent PhDs to
phd@whitman.edu or weiler@whitman.edu.
=46or ease of transmission, please do not send attachments. Send a
short message in the body of an e-mail message, and link to any
appropriate websites.
--
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
--============_-1161523801==_ma============
Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type=3D"text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>DIALOG AND DISCCRS News</title></head><body>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+2" color=3D"#0000FF"><b>DIALOG and
Disccrs News</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1"
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Resources</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div><b>NOAA RELEASES NEW STRATEGIC PLAN</b><br>
Washington, D.C., USA -- Just released last Monday, a new strategic
plan for<br>
the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration promises to
be a<br>
broad guide for scientific and management efforts in years to
come.<br>
According to a spokesman, the plan is the result of an intensive
three-month<br>
process, including seven regional meetings across the United States.
"This<br>
document will allow the [ocean] agency.to be more effective and
responsive<br>
to [the nation's] economic, environmental, and public safety needs now
and<br>
into the future," said retired Navy VAdm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher
Jr., Ph.D.,<br>
under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA</div>
<div>administrator.<br>
In its final form, Lautenbacher said, the plan
provides a comprehensive map<br>
to guide the $3.2 billion federal science agency and includes a
flexible,<br>
rolling horizon as opposed to a fixed time span. NOAA's current
five year<br>
strategic plan was originally developed in 1993 and revised in 1998.
"The<br>
completion of the plan is a critical first step for improving
NOAA's<br>
strategic management process," added Lautenbacher. The
goals and actions<br>
contained in the plan will enhance the agency's ability to improve
the<br>
health and productivity of coastal and ocean ecosystems; better
predict<br>
climate, weather, and water changes for private and public decision
makers;<br>
and improve the safety, efficiency, and environmental compatibility
of</div>
<div>commerce and transportation, he said.</div>
<div> Lautenbacher assigned Timothy R.E. Keeney,
deputy assistant secretary for</div>
<div>oceans and atmosphere at NOAA, to lead the planning process.
=46or more</div>
<div>information or to read the plan, go to
http://www.osp.noaa.gov/.</div>
<div>SOURCE: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003</div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1" color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Science
News</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div><b>GREENLAND SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER NOW</b></div>
<div><b>From Pew</b></div>
<div> Plymouth, U.K. -- BBC Online reported
recently that scientists are noting<br>
warming trends in many parts of the globe, but it appears that
Greenland has<br>
been moving in the opposite direction. The finding is based on
an analysis<br>
of historical meteorological data collected by Danish researchers.
They<br>
found that during the period 1958 to 2001, average temperatures in
the<br>
southern part of the island fell by 1.29=B0C. Sea-surface
temperatures in the<br>
Labrador Sea also fell, they said. Globally, temperatures have
risen over<br>
this period (+0.53=B0C) and in Greenland itself scientists have
recently</div>
<div>reported fairly dramatic thinning of the island's ice sheet.<br>
However, Dr. Edward Hanna, Institute of
Marine Studies at the University of<br>
Plymouth here, said that a fuller picture emerges when long-term data
are<br>
taken into account. "Certainly in the late 1990s, there was
some warming<br>
but that's just over a very short period. There are a lot of natural
cycles<br>
in regional climate and.there has been a statistically significant
cooling,<br>
particularly in southwestern coastal Greenland," he said.
Hanna and Dr.<br>
John Cappelen, Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen, present
their</div>
<div>Greenland analysis in the journal Geophysical Review Letters.<br>
The cooling trend, they believe, is
associated with an increased phase of<br>
the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) that has been observed over the
past 35<br>
years. The NAO is a natural and recurring pressure pattern that
has a<br>
profound impact on the weather experienced in the North Atlantic
region --<br>
at the moment bringing milder, wetter winters to Northern Europe, the
BBC<br>
report said. Hanna and Cappelen said they believe the NAO is
likely linked<br>
with temperature reductions along the Greenland coast and is
responsible for<br>
slowing the island's ice melting rate, in contrast to evidence of
global<br>
warming. "And in fact, I've just been looking at the 2002
data and that<br>
appears to show a tailing off of the recent warming," Hanna
added. "I think<br>
the message from all this is that global warming is not a uniform
process</div>
<div>and you do get regional disparities." Greenland covers
more than 2 million<br>
square kilometers and 85% of the island is covered by ice, some of
which is</div>
<div>more than 3 kilometers thick.</div>
<div>Source: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003</div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div><b>SEAFLOOR METHANE ERUPTIONS</b><br>
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA -- Scientists here at the Woods
Hole<br>
Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are reporting new evidence indicating
that,<br>
during past periods of rapid climate warming, methane gas has been
released<br>
periodically from the seafloor in intense eruptions. In a study
published<br>
in the journal Science, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs and colleagues Laura Hmelo
and Sean<br>
Sylva provide a direct link between methane reservoirs in coastal
marine<br>
sediments and the global carbon cycle, an indicator of global warming
and</div>
<div>cooling.<br>
Molecular fossils from methane-consuming
bacteria found in sediments in the<br>
Santa Barbara Basin off California deposited during the last glacial
period,<br>
(70,000 to 12,000 years ago), indicate that large quantities of
methane were<br>
emitted repeatedly from the seafloor during warmer phases of the last
ice<br>
age, they said. Methane is stored on the seafloor as ice-like
methane<br>
hydrate. Previous evidence for such massive eruptions was based
on isotopic<br>
properties of calcite shells of foraminifera, microscopic marine
animals<br>
commonly called forams. Because a variety of factors could lead
to very<br>
similar signals in their shells, that evidence has remained
controversial.<br>
The preserved molecular remnants found by the WHOI team result from
bacteria<br>
that fed exclusively on methane and indicate that large quantities of
this<br>
powerful greenhouse gas were present in coastal waters off
California. The<br>
team studied samples that were deposited between 44,000 and 37,000
years</div>
<div>ago.<br>
"For the first time, we are able to
clearly establish a connection between<br>
distinct isotopic depletions in forams and high concentrations of
methane in<br>
the fossil record," Hinrichs, an assistant scientist in WHOI's
Geology &<br>
Geophysics Department, said. "The large amounts of methane
presumably<br>
released during one event about 44,000 years ago suggest a
mechanism<br>
different from those underlying the emissions at warmer periods; i.e.,
slow</div>
<div>decomposition of methane hydrate triggered by warming of bottom
waters. The<br>
sudden release of these enormous quantities of methane was probably
caused</div>
<div>by landslides and melting of the methane hydrate."<br>
The WHOI team's data, from sediment cores
taken by the Ocean Drilling<br>
Program off southern California, show that substantial quantities of
methane<br>
were released at least several times during the past 60,000 years,
leading<br>
to periodic fluctuations in the levels of methane in deep waters in
the</div>
<div>Santa Barbara Basin.<br>
Hinrichs plans to look for similar evidence
elsewhere to determine whether<br>
this process, as a driver of climate variation, happened
simultaneously at<br>
other locations around the world. This work, Hinrichs noted, is
just the<br>
beginning of better understanding of the role of methane in the carbon
cycle<br>
and ultimately on climate on geologic time scales. "We have
a very poor<br>
understanding of the biogeochemical mechanisms that control
production,<br>
destruction, and accumulation of methane in sediments underlying the
ocean,"<br>
he observed. "We need to understand the big picture of what
drives methane<br>
and the carbon cycle and the actual impact of methane emissions
from</div>
<div>hydrates on climate." To learn more, go to
http://www.whoi.edu/home/.</div>
<div>Source: OCEANSP@CE No. 482, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003</div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1"
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Forum</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1" color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Summer
Programs, Courses, Internships</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div>The Organising Committee of the Conference</div>
<div><b>"The impact of Global Environmental problems on
continental and coastal marine waters"</b><br>
is pleased to announce that the Conference will proceed in July
subject to</div>
<div>the changes and amendments contained in the Second Circular,
available at</div>
<div> Check the programme and invited speakers
=2E..</div>
<div> You can still register at a regular rate
until 15 May 2003.</div>
<div>Jean-Luc Loizeau</div>
<div>Dr Jean-Luc Loizeau<br>
Ma=EEtre d'enseignement et de recherche<br>
Centre d'=E9tudes en sciences naturelles de l'environnement<br>
University of Geneva<br>
10 route de Suisse<br>
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland<br>
***<br>
Voice: +41 22 950 97 21<br>
=46ax: +41 22 755 13 82<br>
e-mail: Jean-Luc.Loizeau@terre.unige.ch<br>
http://www.unige.ch/sciences/desne</div>
<div>http://www.unige.ch/forel</div>
<div align=3D"center">Conferences: www.unige.ch/sciences/near</div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div>DISCO XVIII<br>
<br>
Dissertations Symposium on Chemical Oceanography<br>
September 28-October 4, 2003, Waikoloa, Hawaii<br>
<br>
The eighteenth of a continuing research symposium series for new PhDs
in<br>
chemical oceanography will be held September 28-October 4, 2003 at
the<br>
Outrigger Waikoloa, Waikoloa, Hawaii. The meeting will be jointly
sponsored<br>
by the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research and
the<br>
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with coordination by
the<br>
American Institute of Biological Sciences.<br>
<br>
=46or further information on participant eligibility and applications
to<br>
attend, please visit the DISCO web site at<br>
<br>
http://www.discosymposium.org/</div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1"
color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"+1" color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Jobs for
PhDs</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font
color=3D"#0000FF"><b>***************************************************</b
></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Opportunities for BA, MS
or Students</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div
align=3D"center">***************************************************</div
>
<div align=3D"center"><br></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"-1">This newsletter has been developed
by C. Susan Weiler for the purpose of distributing information of
potential interest to recent PhDs engaged in interdisciplinary aquatic
science or climate change research, and to build an international
sense of community among recent grads. It provides an international
forum for the exchange of information and opinions regarding research,
professional and social issues.</font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font size=3D"-1">The views and opinions expressed
are strictly those of C.S. Weiler or of the individual who has
submitted a particular item for distribution. The opinions expressed
do not necessarily reflect those of the funding agencies or sponsoring
societies. Dr. Weiler serves as producer and editor and reserves the
right to edit or reject material submitted to the list.</font></div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b>Please submit
announcements of interest to recent PhDs to phd@whitman.edu or
weiler@whitman.edu.</b></font></div>
<div align=3D"center">For ease of transmission, please do not send
attachments. Send a short message in the body of an e-mail message,
and link to any appropriate websites.</div>
<div align=3D"center"><font color=3D"#0000FF"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></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>
Programs for Recent
PhDs
http://aslo.org/phd.html<br>
DIALOG and DIACES poster
http://aslo.org/dialog/dialogposter.pdf<br>
DISCCRS
poster <span
></span
> <span
></span>
http://aslo.org/disccrs/disccrsposter.pdf<br>
Minorities in the Aquatic Sciences
http://aslo.org/mas/<br>
<br>
MOVING? Please send ADDRESS CHANGES to phd@whitman.edu<br>
</div>
</body>
</html>
--============_-1161523801==_ma============--