[DIALOGnews] DIALOG and DISCCRS News Nov. 10, 2004

[Susan Weiler]

DIALOG and Disccrs News
Nov. 10, 2004

RESOURCES
Ocean Commission Final Report Released, California Responds
New Edition of "The World's Water" Set for Release
US Sea Grant community going international
International Polar Year Funding Opportunity!
START Call for Proposals, Climate change in Africa
SCIENCE NEWS
'Sudden jump' in greenhouse gases
Global warming study shows real changes in America
NSF Polar Press Clips 2004 Available
FORUM
Volunteer to work as a mentor, judge, speaker, etc. with a local school
INTERNSHIPS
Fellowships in for scientists, formulating policy from AIP
JOBS
Marine Ecological Physiologist Romberg Tiburon Center
Biological Oceanographer.  The College of 
Geosciences at Texas A&M University in College 
Station, TX will hire 20 new faculty over the 
next four years
3 Positions, Biology Dept. at the Georgia Institute of Technology

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Resources

ASLA 04-12: Ocean Commission Final Report Released, California Responds
From AGU
      "Our oceans...are in trouble," Admiral James 
Watkins testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on 
Commerce, Science and Transportation on 22 April, 
2004.  On 20 September Watkins delivered the 
final report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean 
Policy to the Administration and Congress. 
Appearing again before the Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee the following day, he 
said the commission's "overriding message is... 
the need to act now, while it is still possible 
to reverse the distressing declines."
      The Ocean Commission's final report 
contained 212 recommendations, aimed primarily at 
the executive and legislative branches of the 
federal government, and which, according to 
Watkins, constitute "balanced, workable solutions 
for some of the most pressing problems."  Major 
recommendations in the report include the 
establishment of a Cabinet-level National Ocean 
Council, a President's Council of Advisors on 
Ocean Policy, and regional councils to bring 
together the many state and local stakeholders. 
The report calls for a five-year doubling of the 
federal investment in ocean and coastal research, 
development of an Integrated Ocean Observing 
System, enhancement of public education and 
outreach, and passage of an organic act that 
codifies the existence of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  The total 
cost to implement all 212 suggestions is 
estimated by the Ocean Commission to be 
approximately $1.3 billion in the first year, 
$2.4 billion the second year, and $3.2 billion 
annually thereafter.
      At the 21 September hearing, a second panel 
of witnesses commended the commission's report, 
although some suggested that it did not go far 
enough.  Berrien Moore of the University of New 
Hampshire, who chaired a NOAA Science Advisory 
Board Research Review Team, said that his team's 
conclusions on strengthening NOAA were "generally 
consistent" with the relevant commission 
recommendations.  D. James Baker of the 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and 
former NOAA Administrator under President Bill 
Clinton, supported the commission's report but 
agreed that NOAA was "hampered by having to 
operate within the Department of Commerce," thus, 
"critical programs are constrained and budget 
priorities are ignored."
      On 18 October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger 
(R-CA) released the first state-level response to 
the Ocean Commission report.  The plan, entitled 
"Protecting Our Ocean, California's Action 
Strategy," calls for the establishment of a three 
member, cabinet-level Ocean Protection Council, 
and earmarks $21 million for the development of 
an ocean currents monitoring system.  The 
Schwarzenegger administration has also 
reinstituted plans to develop a network of marine 
reserves that will be off-limits to fishing to 
help depleted populations rebound.
       The Bush Administration has 90 days from 
the date of the report's release to produce a 
response.  NOAA Administrator Vice Admiral Conrad 
Lautenbacher, Jr. stated that much of the report 
was "in line with" existing Administration 
programs and priorities, and promised that the 
Administration would take "the commission's 
findings and recommendations very seriously." 
The public comment period ends on 1 November.
      The final report is available at 
http://www.oceancommission.gov/.  The White House 
Council on Environmental Quality created another 
web site, http://ocean.ceq.gov to describe 
existing programs and give future responses to 
the report.
----------------
Sources: AIP's FYI, Medill News Service, Los Angeles Times
Author: Brad Keelor, AGU
Questions or comments about ASLA?  Need to change 
your e-mail address?  Contact Peter Folger 
(pfolger at agu.org).  To read previous ASLAs, visit 
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/sci_pol.html

********************

New Edition of "The World's Water" Set for Release
      The 2004-2005 edition of "The World's Water: 
The Biennial Report on Freshwater Resources" 
(Island Press) will be released on November 17 in 
Washington, DC at The Woodrow Wilson Center for 
International Scholars. In conjunction with the 
release, Dr. Peter Gleick will present a talk on 
"The World's Water Crisis and the Need for U.S. 
Leadership." The talk, scheduled to start at 
10:30 am, will be available online via web cast. 
The book is available from Island Press, 
Amazon.com and other outlets.
      The fourth edition of this well-regarded 
series covers a wide range of important 
water-related topics: how to meet the basic needs 
of over 1 billion people without access to clean 
water, the controversy over public vs. private 
water, the role of conservation and efficiency in 
solving water problems, and concerns about 
skyrocketing bottled water use. Other chapters 
delve into the economic value of water, the 
unsustainable use of groundwater, and water 
policy and climate change, while the Data Section 
contains updated and new data on many critical 
water issues.
      To find out more, purchase the book or RSVP 
for the release please 
<http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=2279606&s=9462775>visit 
us online.


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US Sea Grant community going international
From Jim Murray via Sarah Goldthwait
      On behalf of the NSGO and together with the SGA's international
committee, I have been working with Dr. Hillary Egna, Director of the
Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support 
Program (ACRSP) at Oregon State University, to 
develop a program that furthers the international 
expansion of the Sea Grant model.  ACRSP has been 
funded by the U. S.
  Agency for International Development (USAID) since 1982, typically in
  five-year grants.  As the current ACRSP grant winds down and in
  anticipation of the next granting cycle, ACRSP wants to develop linkages
  and explore how the successful Sea Grant model can be used and adapted
  to other countries (those host countries where ACRSP has developed
  strengths).
         By December 1, 2004, Oregon State University will distribute a
  $300K RFP to the Sea Grant community and it is anticipated that three
  awards will be made by March 1, 2005.  The due date for proposal
  submission will be in late January.  Since the proposal turnaround time
  will be only about eight weeks, the purpose of this note is to give the
  Sea Grant community a heads up to begin thinking about possible ideas.
  Further information about ACRSP can be fund at
http://pdacrsp.oregonstate.edu/
      In my view, Sea Grant will benefit from this opportunity because, 1)
  it helps coalesce our mostly ad hoc international program, 2) there is
  excellent leveraging with USAID funds and 3) with success, we will be
  both positioned and encouraged to be significant participants in the
  next 5-year CSRP grant.
      Please let me know if you have questions.
  Sincerely,
  Jim Murray

*****************
IPY Expression of Intent Information Available
Polar Research Board
U.S. National Academy of Sciences

For further information, please go to:
http://us-ipy.org

----------------------------------
International Polar Year Funding Opportunity!
The International Council for Science (ICSU) and 
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has 
issued a call for preliminary expressions of 
intent from those seeking to participate in the 
International Polar Year
(IPY) 2007-2008. The U.S. National Committee to the IPY has made these
available on our web site:
http://us-ipy.org

Briefly, there are three relevant documents:
- A letter from ICSU-WMO explaining the procedure and deadline (14
January)
- Annex 1: Expression of Intent Form
- Annex 2: Criteria for Identifying IPY Activities

These materials are also posted at:
http://www.ipy.org

The ICSU-WMO letter is sure to raise some questions, and here are some
advance answers:

- Regarding the use of the term "proposal": In the United States, please
ignore the use of the term "proposal" in the cover memo; the term of
preference in the U.S. setting and that used on the form is "expression
of intent."

- Clarification of the purpose of the Expression of Intent process: The
purpose of this call is to provide the new ICSU-WMO Joint Committee with
information it needs to facilitate projects and activities within IPY
that are consistent with the themes and observational goals outlined in
IPY planning documents. In essence, they are beginning the process of
assigning the IPY imprimatur. This is not a process by which proposals
will be funded (that will be accomplished via normal funding
opportunities, such as the recent NSF-OPP Arctic Research Opportunity,
Program Solicitation 05-514).

- Regarding the "size" of activities that should be submitted: Although
a key motivation for this call is to encourage larger, more complex and
logistics-dependent activities to take more formal steps toward
implementation, ALL levels of projects and activities are encouraged to
submit. Large umbrella programs (e.g., SEARCH, GEOSS, CoML) might be
represented by multiple submissions of projects. When in doubt, submit
your idea so that the full range of activities is considered.

- Finally, for U.S. scientists, when you are answering Question 2.6 in
the Expression of Intent Form, which asks if the submitted idea has been
"endorsed at national or international levels," please enter that your
expression of interest is in the process of being considered by the U.S.
National Committee for IPY. The USNC for IPY will look at all the U.S.
submissions from the main ICSU-WMO database and provide feedback to all
after the January 14 deadline and before the June deadline for full
Expressions of Intent.

**************

START Call for Proposals, Climate change in Africa
START, through funding from the United States Climate Change Science
Project (Global Change Research Program), is 
pleased to announce a Call for Proposals. 
Proposals are being solicited from
scientists based at African institutions for research projects related
to:
1) Climate Variability and Climate Change in Africa
2) Impacts/Adaptations/Vulnerability to Global Change
3) Land Use and Ecosystem Change
4) Bio-geochemical Fluxes, and
5) Biodiversity.
For more information, visit
http://www.start.org/project_pages/Start_pacom_2005.html



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Science News
Check out this section both for news tidbits, and for
examples of how to communicate science to a non-scientist audience


'Sudden jump' in greenhouse gases
CNN, Monday, October 11, 2004 Posted: 11:45 AM EDT (1545 GMT)
LONDON, England -- A U.S. scientist is reported 
to have observed a surprising jump in the amount 
of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
The Guardian and the Independent newspapers said 
on Monday the finding was the first time the 
quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere had risen by 
more than two parts per million over two 
consecutive years.
The rise cannot be explained by any corresponding 
increase in CO2 emissions from power stations or 
motor vehicles because there has been none, the 
Independent said.
Some scientists believe the abrupt rise may be 
evidence of the climate change "feedback" 
mechanism, by which global warming alters the 
earth's natural systems causing warming to 
increase even faster than before, according to 
the report.
Details of the increase came from an observatory 
4,000 meters (12,000ft) up a mountain in Hawaii, 
which has been measuring the amount of CO2 in the 
atmosphere since 1958.
The average rise in CO2 levels has been about 1.6 
parts per million by volume in recent decades, 
although there have been several peaks associated 
with El Nino -- a disruptive weather pattern in 
the tropical Pacific.
However, in the last two years the level has 
risen by 2.08ppm and 2.54ppm and neither were El 
Nino years.
Dr. Charles Keeling, the American physicist in 
charge of the project in Hawaii, told the 
newspaper the rise might be something to do with 
a pattern of high and low atmospheric pressure, 
known as the Southern Oscillation, or it could be 
something new.
"The rise in the annual rate of CO2 increase to 
above two parts per million for two consecutive 
years is a real phenomenon," he said.
"It is possible this is merely a reflection of 
the Southern Oscillation, like previous peaks in 
the rate, but it is possible it is the beginning 
of a natural process unprecedented in records."
Only last month UK Prime Minister Tony Blair 
delivered an impassioned speech warning of the 
"catastrophic consequences" climate change could 
bring.
He insisted timely action must be taken now to 
avert potential disaster brought about by rising 
temperatures.
In his speech, Blair said the emission of 
greenhouse gases was causing global warming "at a 
rate that began as significant, has become 
alarming and is simply unsustainable in the 
long-term."
The Guardian said the figures would be discussed 
Tuesday at a Greenpeace conference in London 
attended by Blair's scientific adviser, David 
King.

***********************
GLOBAL WARMING STUDY FINDS REAL CHANGE IN AMERICA
from Cox News Service

WASHINGTON -- From Florida to Alaska and from coast to coast, nature's
indicators show strong evidence of global warming in America, scientists
said yesterday.

A report co-written by University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan
concluded that more than 40 scientific studies link climate change with
observed ecological changes. In half of the studies, the link is strong,
the report stated.

Satellite data and a century of temperature records have shown an overall
increase in global temperatures to parallel the buildup of heat-trapping
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

But in a report released by the Pew Center for Global Climate Change,
Parmesan and University of Colorado ecologist Hector Galbraith say there is
growing and scientific evidence that now shows specific trends in the
United States.
http://snipurl.com/ajex


***************

NSF Polar Press Clips 2004 Available
The Office of Legislative and Public Affairs of the National Science
Foundation, in conjunction with the Office of Polar Programs, has
produced a 402-page book entitled "Polar Press Clips 2004." This book
highlights press coverage of both Arctic and Antarctic topics of
scientific interest in such areas as astronomy, oceanography,
glaciology, and atmospheric sciences. There are also interesting
sections on International News, the Teachers Experiencing the Arctic and
Antarctic (TEA) program, as well as Press Releases and Broadcast News.
      This book is available free of charge to inquirers (limit two copies per
inquiry please) by going to the following web site to order a copy:
http://www.nsf.gov/home/orderpub.htm You may 
order by the NSF number which is: NSF 04-040.


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Forum

VOLUNTEER TO WORK AS A MENTOR, JUDGE, SPEAKER, ETC. WITH A LOCAL SCHOOL
The Sigma Xi Volunteer Database is up and 
running.  It is a database that connects 
scientist and engineering volunteers to K-12 
teachers.  The volunteer activities range from 
science fair judges to career day speakers to 
mentors on research projects.  The Volunteer 
Database allows you to specify the type of 
activity you would be interested in, your field 
of expertise and a full range of other details so 
that teachers interested in finding scientists 
and engineers for activities in their classroom 
can pinpoint the right volunteer.  All of the 
teachers who have access to the database are 
required to submit references and workplace 
information that will be verified before they are 
given passwords to the database.  For more 
information please visit 
http://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/education/volunteer.php


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Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings

Folks, AGU is a member society of AIP and this 
program is open to all Earth scientists. In 
addition, AAAS offers several policy positions. 
Sue
FELLOWSHIPS FOR SCIENTISTS FROM AIP
http://www.aip.org/fyi/2004/141.html
Through its State Department Science Fellowship, the American Institute of
Physics enables one or more scientists a year to contribute S&T expertise
to the formulation of the nation's foreign policy. AIP has now begun the
selection process for a 2005-2006 Fellow (FYI #133). Other Fellowship
opportunities are also available to scientists in physics-related fields,
including Congressional Science Fellowships sponsored by several AIP
Member Societies, and White House Fellowships (FYI #141).

***************************************************

Jobs for PhDs

Marine Ecological Physiologist Romberg Tiburon Center

The Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental 
Studies (RTC) and the Department of Biology at 
San Francisco State University are searching for 
a Marine Ecological Physiologist for a tenure 
track position at the Assistant Professor rank.

The scientist we are seeking should study the 
ecological physiology of marine organisms. 
Scientists with interests in estuarine and 
coastal organisms would likely have the greatest 
degree of interaction with colleagues, but the 
taxonomic orientation of the research is open. 
Disciplinary areas may include, but are not 
limited to, ecotoxicology, comparative 
ecophysiology, and community ecology.  Ph.D. 
required; postdoctoral experience preferred.

The successful applicant's laboratory space and 
research facilities will be at RTC, and she/he 
will be expected to teach courses at both the 
undergraduate and graduate level at RTC and on 
the main campus. Applicants are expected to 
maintain externally funded research involving 
master's students and to interact with faculty 
and researchers at RTC and the Biology Department.

San Francisco State University, a member of the 
California State University system, serves a 
diverse student body of 27,000 undergraduate and 
graduate students.  The mission of the University 
is to promote scholarship, freedom, human 
diversity, excellence in instruction, and 
intellectual accomplishment.  SFSU faculty are 
expected to be effective teachers and demonstrate 
professional achievement and growth through 
continued research, publications, and/or creative 
activities. See the web sites for the Romberg 
Tiburon Center (http://rtc.sfsu.edu) and Biology 
Department (http://www.sfsu.edu/~biology) for 
further information.

Send curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching 
interests, a detailed description of proposed 
research projects, and three letters of reference 
to: Carlos E Crocker, Chair, Marine Ecological 
Physiology Search Committee, Biology Department, 
San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway 
Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132. Applications will 
be reviewed beginning November 15, 2004.  San 
Francisco State University is an Equal 
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.



**********************

Biological Oceanographer.  The College of 
Geosciences at Texas A&M University in College 
Station, TX will hire 20 new faculty over the 
next four years in three target areas: Climate 
Change; Oceans. Atmospheres, and 
Environmental/Human Health; and Environmental and 
Hydrological Geosciences.  As part of this 
effort, the Department of Oceanography is seeking 
applications for a faculty position in Biological 
Oceanography that would complement an on-going 
program in ocean observing systems.  This is a 
tenure-track faculty position which provides 9 
months per year of state support.  Applicants 
should possess a Ph.D. in Oceanography or closely 
related field.  Examples of relevant interests 
include (but are not limited to): development of 
new sensor technologies suitable for deployment 
on an observing platform, remote sensing of the 
marine environment, use of optical or acoustical 
technologies for studying biological processes, 
and modeling of biological systems that 
incorporates data from observing platforms.  The 
position is at the Assistant Professor level, 
although exceptional candidates will be 
considered for Associate or Full Professor 
status.  The successful candidate is expected to 
teach and mentor graduate and undergraduate 
students, and develop a strong research program 
with extramural funding.  We encourage 
applications from candidates who will increase 
the exposure of our students to a diverse 
culture.  See http://oceanography.tamu.edu for 
more information about our program.
Interested candidates should send current 
curriculum vitae, statement of research 
interests, and the names, postal addresses, and 
email addresses of three references to Professor 
George Jackson, Search Committee Chair, 
Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, 
College Station, TX 77843-3146, USA, 
gjackson at tamu.edu.  The review of applications 
will begin 15 December 2004 for a potential start 
date of 1 September 2005.  Texas A&M University 
is an affirmative action/equal opportunity 
employer committed to excellence through 
diversity.  Texas A&M University encourages 
applications from minorities, women, veterans, 
and persons with disabilities.


3 Positions, Biology Dept. at the Georgia 
Institute of Technology 
http://www.biology.gatech.edu/
is looking for several faculty.  I am most 
interested in recruiting good ecologists for the 
three Ecology positions listed below, but Iíve 
attached other sub-disciplinary areas in hopes 
that you might know good candidates for those 
positions as well.  Please note especially the 
(1) Full Professor in Aquatic Community/Ecosystem 
Ecology and the Assistant/Associate Professor 
positions for (2) a molecular/chemical signaling 
ecologist and (3) a microbial ecologist.
     Georgia Tech and the Biology Dept. in 
particular are undergoing dramatic change.  Since 
I arrived in 1999, we have hired 20 new faculty 
in Biology, built 3 dramatic new buildings (at a 
cost of > $200,000,000 so far) for biology and 
related disciplines.  Other buildings are being 
built and planned, we are presently searching for 
as many as 7 faculty slots in biology, and this 
unusual growth is scheduled to continue for years 
into the future.
      Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the 
consistently top ranked educational/research 
institutions in the country, is committed to the 
continuation of significant growth in the 
biological sciences. Candidates should forward a 
letter of application, full curriculum vitae and 
contact information for four references to the 
contact individuals indicated below at the School 
of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 
Ferst Street, Atlanta, GA 30332.
      Ecology
Full Professor in Aquatic Community/Ecosystem 
Ecology: We are seeking a senior level 
community/ecosystem ecologist with demonstrated 
leadership and experience with cross-cutting, 
multidisciplinary programs and environmental 
policy to help build a multidisciplinary center 
focused on ecosystem engineering where the 
scientific infrastructure of ecology and 
evolution will combine with proactive engineering 
/policy approaches to leverage communities or 
ecosystems back to desired states of 
structure/function. Contact: Aquatic 
Community/Ecosystem Search, % Professor Mark Hay.
      Assistant/Associate Professors of Ecology: 
We are searching for (1) a molecular/chemical 
signaling ecologist using molecular biological 
approaches to study chemical signaling among 
organisms and (2) a microbial ecologist 
investigating fundamental ecological principles 
and processes and how these may scale-up to 
affect community and ecosystem-level patterns 
Contact: Microbial Ecologist/Molecular Ecologist 
Search, % Dr. Julia Kubanek
Bioinformatics
      Cell and Molecular Biology
Chaired Professorship: We are searching for an 
individual with an outstanding record of research 
accomplishments and with the desire to provide 
intellectual leadership in areas of 
molecular/cellular biology. We are particularly 
interested in identifying individuals with 
research programs that will integrate with 
established strengths in bioinformatics/ systems 
biology. Contact: Professor/Chair John McDonald
Assistant/Associate Professors of 
Molecular/Cellular Biology: Applications are 
invited for Assistant/Associate Professor 
positions in molecular/cellular biology. 
Outstanding candidates in all areas of 
molecular/cellular biology are encouraged to 
apply including prokaryotic and eukaryotic 
molecular geneticists, plant and animal 
developmental biologists and those working on 
macromolecular structure and function or cell 
signaling. We are particularly interested in 
candidates whose research programs will integrate 
with existing strengths in systems biology and 
genomics. Contact: Molecular Search , % Dr. Yury 
Chernoff.
Assistant/Associate/Full Professors in 
Cryo-electron microscopy: As part of an expanding 
effort in structural biology, we are searching 
for investigators who are using cryo-electron 
microscopy to investigate important biological 
problems. Senior scientists are especially 
encouraged to apply for this position, but 
entry-level faculty may also be considered. 
Contact: Structural Biology Search, % Professor 
Steve Harvey.
Bioinformatics
Assistant/Associate Professors of Bioinformatics. 
We are searching for systems biologists who will 
integrate computational with 
molecular/biochemical approaches to the study of 
cell function and for bioinformaticists pursuing 
innovative research in areas such as the 
development of methods for DNA and protein 
sequence analysis, protein function prediction, 
genomics (microarray) and/or proteomics data 
analysis, mathematical and statistical modeling 
of molecular evolution. Contact: Bioinformatics 
Search, % Professor Mark Borodovsky
Mark Hay
Teasley Professor of Environmental Biology
School of Biology
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0230
Phone office - 404-894-8429
FAX -  404-385-4440
internet <mark.hay at biology.gatech.edu>
http://www.biology.gatech.edu/professors/hay.html


**************************************************

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 at whitman.edu or weiler at whitman.edu.
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.




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