[DIALOGnews] DIALOG and DISCCRS News 07/08/2005
Susan Weiler
weilercs at whitman.edu
Fri Jul 8 16:37:25 CDT 2005
DIALOG and DISCCRS News
07/08/2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESOURCES
New Website Available; Danish Environmental Protection Agency Danish
Polar Center
http://www.dpc.dk/acia
Oceans And Human Health Funding Pre-Announcement Released
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/opportunities/ann_ohh.html
SCIENCE NEWS
Study in Royal Society Journal on Holly as an Indicator of Climate
Change
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/rs-sir062705.php
Bush Says He Won't Change Position on Global Warming
http://tinyurl.com/a5grz
Clue To Sudden Climate Change Found in Arctic
British Scientists Say Carbon Dioxide Is Turning The Oceans Acidic
http://tinyurl.com/8upyk
Warmer Air May Cause Increased Antarctic Sea Ice Cover
Can Technology Stop Climate Change?
http://tinyurl.com/a9okd
NASA Satellites Measure And Monitor Sea Level
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/
sealevel_scienceupdate.html
Invasive Parasite Destroying Fish Species in Europe
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2005/Jun05/parasite.htm
Bright Lights Lure Prey in Deep Sea
http://tinyurl.com/dcc43
FORUM
How Attractive Are Forest Carbon Sinks?
http://www.sciencedirect.com:
JOBS
CIRES Postdoctoral Research Associate
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Resources
New Website Available; Danish Environmental Protection Agency Danish
Polar Center
The website is available at: http://www.dpc.dk/acia
Climate change in the Arctic may happen faster and more
dramatically than any other place on Earth. The consequences for
vegetation, animals, and people all over the globe will be heavy.
This is the topic for a new website, which the Danish Polar Center
has produced for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The
site's target audience is high-school students, but also people with
a general interest in arctic society and science.
This first version of the website contains primarily a library
with links and references. A new version will be launched in late
summer 2005 containing themes and cases. The themes and cases will
offer a wide range of information about melting of glaciers and sea-
ice, sea-level rise, weakened ocean currents, and the possible
extinction of polar bears and seals, as well as the future of the
indigenous communities, new opportunities for agriculture, new
shipping routes, and easier access to the natural resources in the
Arctic.
The website is part of the follow-up on the report "Impacts of a
Warming Arctic - Arctic Climate Impact Assessment" (ACIA) from
November 2004. The site is in Danish, English, and Greenlandish and
will be updated regularly. The site has been produced with funds from
the Danish Ministry of Environment's programme Environmental
Assistance to the Arctic in cooperation with the Danish Polar Center.
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Oceans And Human Health Funding Pre-Announcement Released
This funding opportunity is intended to engage the non-federal
research community in conducting research – across the physical,
chemical, biological, medical, public health, oceanographic and
social sciences – on priority issues for NOAA’s new Oceans and Human
Health Initiative (OHHI). For more information, visit http://
www.cop.noaa.gov/opportunities/ann_ohh.html
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Science News
Study in Royal Society Journal On Holly as an Indicator of Climate
Change
Submitted by G.-R. Walther
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
An ecological "footprint" of climate change by Dr. G.-R. Walther,
Dipl.-Biol. S. Berger and Prof. MT. Sykes (rspb.2005.3119)
A field survey in southern Scandinavia and north-eastern Germany
revealed new occurrences of holly, the only evergreen broad-leaved
lower tree species native to central and western Europe, beyond its
former northern range margin. This range expansion is in concert with
the gradual increase in winter temperature measured at local
stations. The synchrony of measured and modelled increases in winter
temperatures and observed shifts in species' distribution suggests
that climate change is the responsible driver, and makes this species
a good (bio-)indicator for global warming.
Contact: Dr. G.-R. Walther, Institute of Geobotany, University of
Hannover, Nienburger Str 17, HANNOVER, D-30167, Germany http://
www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/rs-sir062705.php
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Bush Says He Won't Change Position On Global Warming
From Seattle Times via Sigma Xi Science in the News
LONDON — As world leaders prepared for a major summit, President
Bush said yesterday that he would not substantially change his stance
on global warming to reward British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his
support of the war in Iraq.
"I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo,"
Bush said. "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for
keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did."
Reiterating his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol that mandates
targets for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, Bush told Britain's
ITV1 television that he would reject any measures that "look like
Kyoto." Although the U.S. is the world's largest emitter of carbon
dioxide, Bush has rejected the treaty because its provisions, he
said, would "wreck the U.S. economy." http://tinyurl.com/a5grz
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Clue To Sudden Climate Change Found In Arctic
Toronto ON (SPX) Jun 29, 2005
The sudden deep freeze of the northern hemisphere that occurred
13,000 years ago has been traced to events originating in northern
Canada, according to University of Toronto research. The findings
could shed light on the future of climate change due to greenhouse
gases.
The study, published in the June 2 issue of Nature, pinpoints the
exact location where freshwater generated by the melting of the
massive Canada-wide Laurentide ice sheet entered the global ocean and
caused the Younger Dryas cold reversal, a frigid period where the
planet temporarily plunged into ice age conditions.
Contrary to previous thinking, the study shows that this
meltwater entered the Arctic Ocean rather than the Atlantic and the
point of entry was through the MacKenzie River.
As the freshwater - lighter due to its lack of salt content -
flowed into the ocean it was
transported across the pole into the North Atlantic where it shut
down the process hereby heavy surface water sinks into the abyss and
leads to a warming of the northern hemisphere.
While the Younger Dryas cold reversal occurred just as the Earth
was emerging from the most recent ice age, a rapid meltback of the
Greenland ice sheet - another large accumulation of land ice adjacent
to the North Atlantic Ocean - could theoretically contribute to
another such shutdown.
"Greenland contains enough ice to raise sea level by about seven
metres if it were all to melt," says the study's co-author University
Professor Richard Peltier of U of T's Department of Physics.
"If it were to melt very quickly we could easily have a similar
event, so the question is just how Greenland will react to the
ongoing warming due to the increasing concentration of atmospheric
greenhouses gases. How probable this is remains an open question."
To pinpoint the location of where the Younger Dryas event
occurred, Peltier and his co-author, physic's research associate Lev
Tarasov, used the University of Toronto Glacial Systems Model (GSM) -
a model that produces a three-dimensional view of the evolving ice-
sheet as it expands and contracts over the North American continent
in response to climate variations.
The model also analyses how the shape of the Earth is affected by
the evolution of the heavy ice loads. As the continental ice melted,
a huge amount of deglaciation derived freshwater was added to the
oceans. At the time of Younger Dryas onset the routing of this
meltwater was into the Arctic Ocean.
"In considering the issue of climate change, many people imagine
that this could only happen very gradually," says Peltier. "This
event shows that our climate could change extremely rapidly and with
very dramatic effect."
Peltier stresses that climate changes, such as a massive
Greenland melt, are very difficult to predict as Earth's climate
system is highly non-linear, involving the interactions between a
number of distinct and individually complex components such as sea
ice and land surface processes as well as the atmosphere and oceans.
"These systems are capable of responding in a way that is out of
proportion to the stimulus," he says. "You can push them just a
little bit and cause them to cross a threshold, such that the
response is extremely surprising. From a physics standpoint, the
climate system of the planet is a beautiful example of such non-
linear systems."
The research was supported by the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada and by the Canadian Foundation
for Climate and Atmospheric Science through a new collaborative
research network called Polar Climate Stability which is led by
Peltier. The network involves researchers from seven different
Canadian universities.
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British Scientists Say Carbon Dioxide Is Turning The Oceans Acidic
from The New York Times (Registration Required)
Whether or not it contributes to global warming, carbon dioxide
is turning the oceans acidic, Britain's leading scientific
organization warned yesterday.
In a report by a panel of scientists, the organization, the Royal
Society, said the growing acidity would be very likely to harm coral
reefs and other marine life by the end of the century.
"I think there are very serious issues to be addressed," the
panel's chairman, Dr. John Raven of the University of Dundee in
Scotland, said in an interview. "It will affect all organisms that
have skeletons, shells, hard bits that are made of calcium
carbonate." http://tinyurl.com/8upyk
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Warmer Air May Cause Increased Antarctic Sea Ice Cover
AGU/NASA joint press release
WASHINGTON - Predicted increases in precipitation due to warmer
air temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions may actually increase
sea ice volume in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean. This finding from a
new study adds evidence of potential asymmetry between the two poles
and may be an indication that climate change processes may have
varying impacts on different areas of the globe.
“Most people have heard of climate change and how rising air
temperatures are melting glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic," said
Dylan C. Powell, lead author of the paper and a doctoral candidate at
the University of Maryland Baltimore County. "However, findings from
our simulations suggest a counterintuitive phenomenon. Some of the
melt in the Arctic may be balanced by increases in sea ice volume in
the Antarctic."
For the first time, the authors of the paper, published this
month in the Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans), used satellite
observations from NASA's Special Sensor Microwave/Imager to assess
snow depth on sea ice and assimilated the satellite observations into
their model to improve prediction of precipitation rates. By
incorporating satellite observations into this new method, the
researchers say they achieved more stable and realistic precipitation
data, to counter the great variability in precipitation data sets
typically found in the polar regions.
"On any given day, sea ice cover in the oceans of the polar
regions is about the size of the U.S.," said Thorsten Markus, a co-
author of the paper and a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center. "Far-flung locations like the Arctic and Antarctic
actually impact our temperature and climate where we live and work on
a daily basis."
According to Markus, the deep and bottom water masses of the
oceans make contact with the atmosphere only at high latitudes, near
the poles. Polar processes, such as sea ice formation, are driving a
huge, global, ocean heat pump, called thermohaline (or saline)
circulation. To a large extent, this heat pump impacts the climate at
lower latitudes.
Typically, warming of the climate leads to increased melting
rates of sea ice cover and also increased precipitation rates. With
increased precipitation rates and consequently deeper snow, the snow
load on the Antarctic sea ice becomes heavy enough that it suppresses
the ice below sea level. This results in even more and even thicker
sea ice when the snow refreezes as more ice.
The paper indicates that some climate processes appear to
actually be counterintuitive. "We used computer-generated simulations
to get this research result. I hope that in the future we'll be able
to verify this result with real data through a long-term ice
thickness measurement campaign," said Powell. "Our goal as scientists
is to collect hard data to verify what the model is telling us. It
will be critical to know for certain whether average sea ice
thickness is indeed increasing in the Antarctic as our model
indicates, and to determine what environmental factors are spurring
this apparent phenomenon."
Achim Stoessel of Texas A&M University, the third co-author on
this paper, advises that "while numerical models have improved
considerably over the last two decades, seemingly minor processes
like the snow-to-ice conversion still need to be better incorporated
in models as they can have a significant impact on the results and
therefore on climate predictions."
Citation: Powell, D. C., T. Markus, and A. Stoessel, Effects of
snow depth forcing on Southern Ocean sea ice simulations, J. Geophys.
Res., 110, C06001, doi:10.1029/2003JC002212.
********************
Can Technology Stop Climate Change?
from The Guardian (UK) via sigma xi in the news
No Kyoto-like deal, insisted George Bush before heading to
Gleneagles and the G8 summit. Instead, he declared, new technologies
would suffice to save the environment. But what sort of technology
does he have in mind?
Worryingly, says Trevor Davies, head of the carbon reduction
programme at the University of East Anglia, some of the projects
favoured by the Bush administration are highly speculative, with
potential applications many decades away.
There are plans to change the reflectivity of the Earth, by
placing giant reflective shields in orbit, or injecting shiny
particles into the atmosphere. The latter option, Davies says, is
particularly concerning to climate scientists. While it might reflect
energy from the sun back into space, it is difficult to predict what
effect it would have on the atmosphere and global climate. http://
tinyurl.com/a9okd
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NASA Satellites Measure And Monitor Sea Level
NASA RELEASE: 05-175
For the first time, NASA has the tools and expertise to
understand the rate at which sea level is changing, some of the
mechanisms that drive those changes and the effects that sea level
change may have worldwide.
"It's estimated that more than 100 million lives are potentially
impacted by a one-meter increase in sea level," said Dr. Waleed
Abdalati, head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "When you consider this
information, the importance of learning how and why these changes are
occurring becomes clear," he added.
Although scientists have directly measured sea level since the
early part of the 20th century, it was not known how many of the
observed changes in sea level were real and how many were related to
upward or downward movement of the land. Now satellites have changed
that by providing a reference by which changes in ocean height can be
determined regardless of what the nearby land is doing. With new
satellite measurements, scientists are able to better predict the
rate at which sea level is rising and the cause of that rise.
"In the last fifty years sea level has risen at an estimated rate
of .07 of an inch per year, but in the last 12 years that rate
appears to be .12 of an inch per year. Roughly half of that is
attributed to the expansion of ocean water as it has increased in
temperature, with the rest coming from other sources," said Dr. Steve
Nerem, Associate Professor, Colorado Center for Astrodynamics
Research, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Another source of sea level rise is the increase in ice melting.
Evidence shows that sea levels rise and fall as ice on land grows and
shrinks. With the new measurements now available, it's possible to
determine the rate at which ice is growing and shrinking.
"We've found the largest likely factor for sea level rise is
changes in the amount of ice that covers the earth. Three-fourths of
the planet's freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice sheets or the
equivalent of about 220 feet of sea level," said Dr. Eric Rignot,
Principal Scientist for the Radar Science and Engineering Section at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Ice cover is
shrinking much faster than we thought, with over half of recent sea
level rise due to the melting of ice from Greenland, West
Antarctica's Amundsen Sea and mountain glaciers," he said.
Additionally, NASA scientists and partner researchers now are
able to measure and monitor the world's waters globally in a
sustained and comprehensive way using a combination of satellite
observations and sensors in the ocean. By integrating the newly
available satellite and surface data, scientists are better able to
determine the causes and significance of current sea level changes.
"Now the challenge is to develop an even deeper understanding of
what is responsible for sea level rise and to monitor for possible
future changes. That's where NASA's satellites come in, with global
coverage and ability to examine the many factors involved," said Dr.
Laury Miller, Chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry, Washington.
NASA works with agency partners such as NOAA and the National
Science Foundation to explore and understand sea level change.
Critical resources that NASA brings to bear on this issue include
such satellites as:
-- Ocean TOPography Experiment (TOPEX/Poseidon), which uses radar
to map the precise features of the oceans' surface;
-- Jason, which measures ocean height and monitors ocean
circulation;
-- Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which
studies the mass of polar ice sheets and their contributions to
global sea level change;
-- Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE), which maps
Earth's gravitational Field, allowing us to better understand
movement of water throughout the Earth.
For more information about sea level change on the Internet,
visit: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/
sealevel_scienceupdate.html
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Invasive Parasite Destroying Fish Species In Europe
exerpted from CORE weekly newsletter
Researchers have discovered that a parasite carried by an
invasive species of minnow is responsible for the dramatic declines
and localized extinctions of a different minnow species in Europe
during the past 40 years.
This parasite, which scientists have found can almost totally
destroy the spawning success of the small sunbleak minnow, Leucaspius
delineatus, may pose threats to the diversity and stability of
freshwater ecosystems, and is genetically very similar to a parasite
that can be deadly to salmon, researchers say.
The findings were published last week in the journal Nature by
researchers from Oregon State University, the Centre for Environment,
Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in England, Idaho State University,
and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in England. For full story,
visit http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2005/Jun05/parasite.htm.
********************
Bright Lights Lure Prey In Deep Sea
from San Francisco Chronicle via sigma xi science in the news
Marine biologists exploring the deep sea off the coast of
Monterey Bay have discovered a curious species of invertebrates that
lures its prey by flashing brilliant red lights at the ends of its
twitching tentacles.
The wormlike members of a marine tribe known as siphonophores are
a striking example of evolution having endowed an organism with a
feature even its closest relatives don't possess: a set of genes for
"bioluminescent" light, which in an immature animal flashes blue but
switches to deep red as it matures.
Distantly related to jellyfish and corals, the animals are a
newfound species of an obscure genus called Erenna -- whose other
luminous members use their light only to defend themselves against
larger predators, not to hunt and kill prey on their own, according
to Steven D. Haddock of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
http://tinyurl.com/dcc43
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Forum
How Attractive Are Forest Carbon Sinks?
Submitted by Roland Olschewski Goettingen University to climate list
I would like to draw your attention to a new article, which is in
press in Journal of Forest Economics and available at http://
www.sciencedirect.com:
How attractive are forest carbon sinks? Economic insights into
supply and demand of Certified Emission Reductions by R. Olschewski,
P.C. Benítez, G.H.J. de Koning and T. Schlichter
Abstract
The Clean Development Mechanism includes afforestation projects
as possible instruments to reduce global atmospheric CO2. These
projects have also the potential to combat regional environmental
problems like land degradation and desertification. The present
article analyzes forestry projects in north-western Patagonia from an
economic viewpoint based on the latest Kyoto Protocol developments.
We consider temporary and long-term Certified Emission Reductions
(CER) and determine the conditions on which forest plantations are
attractive to potential CER suppliers and demanders. We conclude that
for most of the recent carbon price projections, carbon sink projects
would be economically viable for CER suppliers and at the same time
attractive to CER demanders looking for cost-efficient emission
abatement opportunities.
Kind regards
Roland Olschewski
Goettingen University
www.bio-sys.uni-goettingen.de
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Jobs
CIRES Postdoctoral Research Associate
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
(CIRES) has an opening for a Postdoctoral Research Associate under an
NSF-sponsored project called Science Policy Assessment and Research
on Climate that is investigating climate science policy. The
position will be located in the CIRES Center for Science and
Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
DUTIES
· Engage in original research that will characterize the
supply of, demand for or reconciliation of supply and demand of
climate information.
· Engage in original research on the relative sensitivity of
anticipated climate impacts to various causal factors in a range of
areas, possibly including, ecosystems, extreme events, water resources.
· Collaborate with colleagues within CIRES on research
· Collaborate with national and international partners
· Publish research results in peer-reviewed fora
· Assist and lead in the development of meetings and workshops
in support of project objectives
· Contribute to other, related Center projects in research,
education and outreach
REQUIREMENTS
· Recent Ph.D. in a related field.
· Knowledge of climate science and climate policies.
· Experience working on interdisciplinary projects.
· Demonstrated ability to present and perform on a
professional level through use of excellent written and verbal
communication and interpersonal skills.
· Demonstrated ability to work within a team of researchers.
· Publication of articles in refereed journals and in the non-
academic literature.
· Presentation of papers at national or international
scientific meetings.
· International interests and experience
The position will be filled as a Research Associate in CIRES,
University of Colorado at Boulder, and will be eligible for employee
benefits, including 22 days of vacation per year. Screening will
begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.
Applicants should submit a letter of interest with Job Code, and
complete resume and salary history. In addition, the applicant should
furnish the names of three individuals familiar with the applicant's
professional qualifications for the position to provide references.
To apply, e-mail (jobs at cires.colorado.edu), fax (303.492.1149),
or mail information to:
CIRES Human Resources
Job Code PL-1
216 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0216
**************************************************
This newsletter has been developed by C. Susan Weiler to distribute
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 do not necessarily reflect those of the
funding agencies or sponsoring societies. Dr. Weiler 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. Send a short message in the body of an e-mail
message, and link to any appropriate websites. Do not send attachments.
Moving? Send address changes to dialog at whitman.edu or
disccrs at whitman.edu
**********
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.
Office for Earth System Studies 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
DIALOG poster http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf
DISCCRS poster http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf
Workshop Report, Meeting the Needs of
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Graduates in a
Changing Global Environment
http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/biocomplexity/
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