[DIALOGnews] DIALOG and DISCCRS News 07/28/2006
Susan Bennett
bennetsk at whitman.edu
Fri Jul 28 14:41:53 CDT 2006
DIALOG and DISCCRS News
07/28/2006
************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SCIENCE NEWS
NASA'S GOALS DELETE MENTION OF HOME PLANET
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/science/22nasa.html?
ex=1154318400&en=0adecf837a451ea3&ei=5070&emc=eta1
From 2002 until this year, NASA’s mission statement, prominently
featured in its budget and planning documents, read: “To understand
and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for
life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA
can.”
In early February, the statement was quietly altered, with the
phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” deleted. In
this year’s budget and planning documents, the agency’s mission
is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery
and aeronautics research.”
Rise in Sea Level, Loss of Wet Lands May Account for Unstable Ground
in Mississippi Delta
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr06107
Deadly Heat Continues in Calif.: Slight Cooling Trend This Week May
Ease Blackout Concerns
(see below)
Marine 'dead zone' off Oregon is spreading
(see below)
Hot? Yes. Global Warming? Maybe.
(see below)
A Hard Look at Aerosols
(see below)
Ice sheets drive atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, inverting
previous ice-age theory
(see below)
Utilities give warming skeptic big bucks
(see below)
SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES
Call for Abstracts: Climate Uncertainty Session at AGU Annual Meeting
(see below)
C A L L FOR P A P E R S 'Earth System Governance: Theories and
Strategies for Sustainability' - 2007 Amsterdam Conference on the
Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
(see below)
Time to Adapt: Climate Change and the European Water Dimension.
Vulnerability – Impacts – Adaptation - 12 to 14 February 2007 -
Berlin, Germany
(see below)
JOBS
National Marine Sactuary Science Coordinator
(see below)
Tenure-Track Position - University of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Geography
(see below)
Post-doc - Tropical Radiation Measurement Analysis: Atmospheric
Science and Global Change Divisionat Pacific Northwest National Lab
(see below)
One-year Lecturer in Physical Geography, University College Cork
(Ireland)
(see below)
Professional on climate change scenarios for the Global Environmental
and Climate Change Centre (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
(see below)
2 Post-docs - precipitation processes - Univs of Cologne (Germany)
and Leuven (Belgium)
(see below)
Research Scientist - statistical cloud modeling. Univ. of Maryland
Goddard Earth Sciences and Technolgoy (GEST) center
(see below)
Research Scientist/Engineer position at University of Washington Sand
Point.
(http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs/apl/ and see below)
Post-doc: Cloud modelling research using CloudSat data - NCAR (USA)
(see below)
Assistant Professorship (Tenure-track) in Paleoecology, University of
Bern
(see below)
***************************************************
Science News
NASA'S GOALS DELETE MENTION OF HOME PLANET
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/22/science/22nasa.html?
ex=1154318400&en=0adecf837a451ea3&ei=5070&emc=eta1
From 2002 until this year, NASA’s mission statement, prominently
featured in its budget and planning documents, read: “To understand
and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for
life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA
can.”
In early February, the statement was quietly altered, with the
phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” deleted. In
this year’s budget and planning documents, the agency’s mission
is “to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery
and aeronautics research.”
********************
Deadly Heat Continues in Calif.: Slight Cooling Trend This Week May
Ease Blackout Concerns
By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Page A04
The 50-person refrigerator at the morgue in Fresno is full,
primarily with the bodies of elderly people who are believed to be
victims of a sustained blast of triple-digit heat that has tormented
most of California in the past two weeks.
I have never seen these kinds of numbers," said Loralee
Cervantes, the coroner in Fresno, where she said the temperature
outside her office yesterday was 110. "There are so many we can't
keep up."
California edged away from mandatory electricity blackouts
yesterday as slightly cooler air -- although still in the low 100s --
began to filter across much of the state.
A day after the nation's most populous state shattered its record
for electricity consumption, power managers said clouds and lower
temperatures in coming days would lessen the likelihood of rolling
blackouts.
"At this point, if everything remains okay, then we are all right
through the day," said Kristina Osborne, spokeswoman for the
California Independent System Operator, which manages the state power
grid. "It is supposed to cool as we go through the week."
A power emergency on Monday required some businesses to curtail
power use in exchange for lower electricity rates. It has ended,
although residents were being warned to conserve power and limit the
use of large appliances during daytime hours.
Most of the heat-related deaths occurred in the sweltering
Central Valley. In Fresno, in the north of the valley, the coroner
said many victims collapsed inside their homes and were found
somewhere other than in their beds.
"Some people had power outages, some can't afford to pay their
bills, some were using fans, and we had one case where a man was
scared of the sound of his air conditioner," Cervantes said. She said
most of the dead were 65 to 80 years old.
With the heat wave, residents across Southern California have put
up with multiple, widely scattered power outages as hundreds of
overtaxed power-pole transformers have blown up or otherwise stopped
functioning. More than 50,000 homes and businesses were without power
yesterday.
The aging electricity-transmission grid in and around Los Angeles
-- some of it built in the 1920s and 1930s -- could not handle the
spiking power demands that came with persistent high temperatures --
on top of a booming population and houses full of air conditioners
and computers, according to regional utilities.
"Transformer failure was driven by the prolonged heat wave, which
since July 13 has meant that they cannot cool down at night," said
Ron Litzinger, senior vice president for transmission and
distribution at Southern California Edison.
He said that in recent years power consumption per customer in
the region has been double what the utility had expected, mostly
because of air conditioners, computers and assorted home electronics.
The heat wave comes at a time when ambient year-round
temperatures in Southern California are on the rise.
In the past century, average temperatures in the region have
risen about three degrees during the daytime and a whopping seven
degrees at night, according to Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Houses, freeways, golf courses and shopping centers retain heat
far longer than the native desert chaparral of Southern California.
"We have had an extreme makeover in the past century, with the
population between Tijuana and Santa Barbara jumping from 1 million
to more than 20 million," Patzert said.
Global warming in urban areas, often thought of as a function of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is also strongly correlated with
urban and suburban development, Patzert said. He said most major
cities in the world, including Washington, are getting warmer as they
sprawl.
"The long-term trend here -- we are getting warmer," he said. "It
is a preview of coming attractions, if we don't change our behavior."
********************
Marine 'dead zone' off Oregon is spreading
CORVALLIS, Ore. – A hypoxic "dead zone" has formed off the
Oregon Coast for the fifth time in five years, according to
researchers at Oregon State University.
A fundamental new trend in atmospheric and ocean circulation
patterns in the Pacific Northwest appears to have begun, scientists
say, and apparently is expanding its scope beyond Oregon waters.
This year for the first time, the effect of the low-oxygen zone
is also being seen in coastal waters off Washington, researchers at
OSU and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary indicate.
There have been reports of dead crabs stretching from the central
Oregon coast to the central Washington coast. Some dissolved oxygen
levels at 180 feet have recently been measured as low as 0.55
milliliters per liter, and areas as shallow as 45 feet have been
measured at 1 milliliter per liter.
These oxygen levels are several times lower than normal, and any
dissolved oxygen level below 1.4 milliliters per liter is hypoxic,
capable of suffocating a wide range of fish, crabs, and other marine
life.
"There is a huge pool of low-oxygen water off the central Oregon
coast with values as low as 0.46 milliliters per liter," said Francis
Chan, marine ecologist in the OSU Department of Zoology and with the
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO),
a marine research consortium at OSU and other universities along the
West Coast.
"OSU researchers have documented this year's region of low-oxygen
bottom waters from Florence to Cascade Head," Chan said. "The lack of
consistent upwelling winds allowed a low-oxygen pool of deep water to
build up. Now that the upwelling-favorable winds are blowing
consistently, we're seeing that pool of water come close to shore and
begin to suffocate marine life. If these winds continue to blow, we
expect to see continued and possibly significant die-offs."
As events such as this become more regular, researchers say, they
appear less like an anomaly and more like a fundamental shift in
marine conditions and ocean behavior. In particular, a change in
intensity and timing of coastal winds seems to play a significant
role in these events.
"We're seeing wild swings from year to year in the timing and
duration of winds favorable for upwelling," said Jack Barth, an
oceanographer with PISCO and the OSU College of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Sciences. "This change from normal seasonal patterns and
the increased variability are both consistent with climate change
scenarios."
Barth and his colleagues are working on new circulation models
that may allow scientists to predict when hypoxia and these "dead
zones" will occur. No connection has been observed between these
events and other major ocean cycles, such as El Niño or the Pacific
Decadal Oscillation.
The lack of wide-scale ocean monitoring makes determining the
size and movement of the dead zone difficult, although some new
instrumentation being used this year by OSU scientists is helping.
Dissolved oxygen sensors have been deployed on the sea floor both
close to shore and in 260 feet of water off Newport, some of which
are sending data in near real-time.
In addition, a new underwater unmanned vehicle equipped with
sensors to measure temperature, salinity, chlorophyll and dissolved
oxygen is routinely sampling across central Oregon waters.
During normal years, cold water rich in nutrients but low in
oxygen upwells from the deep ocean off Oregon, mixes with oxygen-rich
water near the surface, causes some phytoplankton growth and provides
the basis for a thriving fishery and healthy marine food chain.
During dead zone periods, some of the normal processes – including
wind and current conditions – can change. This allows huge masses of
plant growth to die, decay and in the process consume even more of
the available oxygen near the sea floor, causing hypoxic conditions
for marine life.
The first event in 2002 caused a massive die-off of fish and
invertebrate marine species on the central Oregon coast. Less severe
and somewhat different events occurred in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
The 2006 "dead zone" has a wider north-south extent. Some
crabbers in the central Washington coast reported all dead crabs in
pots at depths of about 45-90 feet, north of the Moclips River. Large
numbers of dead Dungeness crab have been reported on the beach as far
north as Kalaloch. Numerous species of bottom fish have been found
dead on the beach south of the Quinault River in Washington.
In Oregon, the most vulnerable area in recent years has been the
central third of the coast between about Newport and Florence, where
conditions seem to be conducive to the development of low-oxygen
waters. It's not always easy to measure the biological impact of the
dead zones, because many dead animals may be washed out to the deep
sea. But researchers say that this year's event may ultimately be as
severe as the first one in 2002, although it reflects slightly
different wind and ocean current conditions.
Collaborating on this research are scientists from OSU, PISCO,
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, University of Washington and the Olympic
Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Researchers say that it's difficult to tell what long-term
ecological impacts these dead zone events may have on marine ecosystems.
"Many marine species live in fairly specialized ecological niches
and any time you change the fundamental physics, chemistry and nature
of the system, it's a serious concern," Barth said.
Jane Lubchenco, the Valley Professor of Marine Biology at OSU and
principle investigator for PISCO, also said that the biological
monitoring of species health and impacts in the nearshore Pacific
Ocean is "grossly inadequate," making it difficult to evaluate the
long-term impacts of low-oxygen and other events.
By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
Sources: Jane Lubchenco, 541-737-5337; Jack Barth, 541-737-1607;
Francis Chan, 541-737-9131
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/osu-mz072606.php
********************
Hot? Yes. Global Warming? Maybe.
from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)
The heat was unreal - so blistering that a windowsill thermometer
overlooking Olympic Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles blew its top
when the mercury hit 130 degrees. People consumed so much water that
parts of the city briefly ran dry. Four people died. Dozens were
hospitalized. It was still 89 degrees at 1 a.m.
The record hot spell did not occur in 2006, but 1955, long before
scientists raised the prospect of global warming and climate change.
The extreme temperatures of this year's heat wave have been so
intense that they have created a sense of fundamental change - that
somehow Los Angeles is on the verge of a searing future.
...Climate experts at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada
Flintridge and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla
cautioned Tuesday that no single event - no matter how unusual -
could be directly attributed to global warming and the effects of
pollution.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-
heatwave26jul26,1,203711.story?co
ll=la-news-science
http://tinyurl.com/l7akr
********************
A Hard Look at Aerosols
from the Christian Science Monitor
If you are concerned about man-made climate change, keep an eye
on aerosol pollution. The concentrations of tiny particles, called
aerosols, that float in the global atmosphere are on the rise. They
come from dusty deserts and industrial emissions. They can change the
way clouds form and can redistribute rainfall. They heat or cool
parts of the atmosphere and Earth's surface depending on their
composition.
Their influence is one of the biggest unknowns in climate
science. Until scientists know more about what aerosols are up to,
they can't fully predict future climate change. Global warming due to
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is only part of the
picture. And so, the aerosol hunt is on.
On Monday, NASA released the first images from Calipso, one of
two satellites launched in April to make detailed observations of
clouds and aerosols. More images are needed to produce meaningful
conclusions. But two weeks ago, NASA took what it called "a big step
forward" in its understanding of aerosols.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0727/p17s01-stss.html
http://tinyurl.com/q43kx
********************
Ice sheets drive atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, inverting
previous ice-age theory
Ruddiman - press release from Eurekalert
In the early 20th century, Milutin Milankovitch, a leading
astronomer and climatologist of the time, proposed that the Earth's
ice-age cycles could be predicted because they correspond directly
with routine changes in the Earth's orbit and its tilt over cycles of
tens of thousands of years. Because of these changes, there are
predictable variations in the amount of solar radiation striking the
Earth's surface. Milankovitch argued that low levels of summer
radiation permit snow to accumulate as permanent ice, while high
levels of solar radiation melt snow and ice.
It all seemed so clean and simple.
And indeed the hypothesis was partially confirmed in the 1970s
from marine sediment records extending through 2.75 million years of
northern hemisphere ice-age cycles. As Milankovitch predicted, ice
grew and melted at cycles of 23,000 and 41,000 years. But two
observations were unexpected: from 2.75 until 0.9 million years ago,
the ice sheets grew and melted almost entirely at the 41,000-year
cycle. Since then, an oscillation near 100,000 years has dominated.
This knocked Milankovitch's theory for a loop.
Scientists have since turned to changes in atmospheric carbon
dioxide as a possible explanation. Carbon dioxide concentrations can
be measured in ancient air bubbles preserved in sequences of cores
drilled into the Antarctic ice sheet. Because some changes in carbon
dioxide have been found to occur slightly before changes in ice
volume, the prevailing interpretation has been that carbon dioxide is
an additional independent 'driver' of the size of ice sheets, along
with solar radiation.
Now, a new hypothesis inverts this view.
William Ruddiman, an environmental scientist with the University
of Virginia, provides a novel explanation for the rhythms of the ice
ages in a paper just published online in the journal Climate of the
Past. Ruddiman found that carbon dioxide is a driver of ice sheets
only at the relatively small 23,000-year cycle, but not at the much
larger ice-volume cycles at 41,000 years and approximately 100,000
years. In those cases he found that ice sheets instead control
atmospheric carbon dioxide and drive feedbacks that amplify ice
growth and melting. He says his carbon dioxide feedback hypothesis
explains why the strongest cycles of ice response are not in
correspondence with those in the orbital cycles.
Ruddiman concludes (as Milankovitch proposed) that ice sheets are
initially driven by the Sun, but then the ice takes control of carbon
dioxide changes, producing its own positive feedback (the amplifying
effect) at the 41,000-year cycle.
This enhancement explains the strength of the 41,000-year ice-
sheet changes over the first two-thirds of the ice ages. But over
time, as polar climate cooled, summer melting weakened. During the
last 0.9 million years, ice sheets have continued to grow at the
41,000-year cycle, but some of the new ice remained in place to help
build larger ice sheets. Ice build-up continued until unusually large
solar radiation peaks triggered rapid melting at intervals of 85,000
to 115,000 years. Although solar radiation peaks were the initial
trigger for these melting episodes, most of the ice was removed by
feedbacks in the climate system, and CO2 feedback was the largest of
these.
"The origin of the ice-age cycles has been a major mystery in
studies of past climates, and some scientists felt the answer must be
very complex," Ruddiman said. "Yet this hypothesis is quite simple,
requiring only the Sun, the carbon dioxide feedback, and a gradual
cooling. The prominent role proposed for carbon dioxide is consistent
with its likely effect on future climate."
Two years ago Ruddiman published a study hypothesizing that
humans have been altering the global climate for thousands of years
since the advent of agriculture, possibly halting the start of a new
ice age. That study received extensive international media coverage
and is still being widely discussed in the climate community.
His new paper can be accessed at: http://www.climate-of-the-
past.net/. From that page, type "Ruddiman" where it says, "Site
search…" From there, find the Ruddiman paper "Ice-driven CO feedback
on ice volume" as a PDF file or in HTML form.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-07/uov-isd072406.php
********************
Utilities give warming skeptic big bucks
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science WriterThu Jul 27, 5:40 PM ET
Coal-burning utilities are passing the hat for one of the few
remaining scientists skeptical of the global warming harm caused by
industries that burn fossil fuels.
Pat Michaels — Virginia's state climatologist, a University of
Virginia professor and senior fellow at the libertarian Cato
Institute — told Western business leaders last year that he was
running out of money for his analyses of other scientists' global
warming research. So last week, a Colorado utility organized a
collection campaign to help him out, raising at least $150,000 in
donations and pledges.
The Intermountain Rural Electric Association of Sedalia, Colo.,
gave Michaels $100,000 and started the fund-raising drive, said
Stanley Lewandowski, IREA's general manager. He said one company
planned to give $50,000 and a third plans to give Michaels money next
year.
"We cannot allow the discussion to be monopolized by the
alarmists," Lewandowski wrote in a July 17 letter to 50 other
utilities. He also called on other electric cooperatives to launch a
counterattack on "alarmist" scientists and specifically Al Gore's
movie "An Inconvenient Truth."
Michaels and Lewandowski are open about the money and see no
problem with it. Some top scientists and environmental advocates call
it a clear conflict of interest. Others view it as the type of
lobbying that goes along with many divisive issues.
"These people are just spitting into the wind," said John
Holdren, president of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. "The fact is that the drumbeat of science and people's
perspectives are in line that the climate is changing."
Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington
advocacy group, said: "This is a classic case of industry buying
science to back up its anti-environmental agenda."
Donald Kennedy, an environmental scientist who is former
president of Stanford University and current editor-in-chief of the
peer-reviewed journal Science, said skeptics such as Michaels are
lobbyists more than researchers.
"I don't think it's unethical any more than most lobbying is
unethical," he said. He said donations to skeptics amounts to "trying
to get a political message across."
Michaels is best known for his newspaper opinion columns and
books, including "Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global
Warming by Scientists, Politicians and the Media." However, he also
writes research articles published in scientific journals.
In 1998, Michaels blasted NASA scientist James Hansen, accusing
the godfather of global warming science of being way off on his key
1988 prediction of warming over the next 10 years. But Hansen and
other scientists said Michaels misrepresented the facts by cherry-
picking the worst (and least likely) of three possible outcomes
Hansen presented to Congress. The temperature rise that Hansen said
was most likely to happen back then was actually slightly lower than
what has occurred.
Michaels has been quoted by major newspapers more than 150 times
in the past two years, according to a Lexis-Nexis database search. He
and Lewandowski told The Associated Press that their side of global
warming isn't getting out and that the donations resulted from a
speech Michaels gave to the Western Business Roundtable last fall.
Michaels said the money will help pay his staff.
Holdren, a Harvard environmental science and technology
professor, said skeptics such as Michaels "have had attention all out
of proportion to the merits of their arguments."
"Last I heard, anybody can ask a scientific question," said
Michaels, who holds a Ph.D. in ecological climatology from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison. "It is a very spirited discussion
that requires technical response and expertise."
Other scientific fields, such as medicine, are more careful about
potential conflicts of interests than the energy, environmental and
chemical fields, where it doesn't raise much of an eyebrow, said Penn
State University bioethicist Arthur Caplan.
Earlier this month, the Journal of the American Medical
Association announced a crackdown on researchers who do not disclose
drug company ties related to their research. Yet days later, the
journal's editor said she had been misled because the authors of a
new study had not revealed industry money they got that posed a
conflict.
Three top climate scientists said they don't accept money from
private groups. The same goes for the Web site realclimate.org, which
has long criticized Michaels. "We don't get any money; we do this in
our free time," said Realclimate.org contributor Stefan Rahmstorf, an
ocean physics scientist at Potsdam University in Germany.
Lewandowski, who said he believes global warming is real just not
as big a problem as scientists claim, acknowledged this is a special
interest issue. He said the bigger concern is his 130,000 customers,
who want to keep rates low, so coal-dependent utilities need to
prevent any taxes or programs that penalize fossil fuel use. He said
his effort is more aimed at stopping carbon dioxide emission taxes
and limits from Congress, something he believes won't happen during
the Bush administration. http://tinyurl.com/erws8
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities
Call for Abstracts: Climate Uncertainty Session at AGU Annual Meeting
CRITICAL CLIMATE UNCERTAINTIES:
SOURCES, CONSEQUENCES AND METHODS TO ADDRESS THEM
The American Geophysical Union annual meeting will draw more than
10,000 earth scientists to San Francisco from December 11-15, 2006.
This session is designed specifically to encourage and highlight
candid investigations of uncertainty in climate change and methods
for dealing with it in scientific study relevant to policy formulation.
Session Description:
Radiative forcing that drives global climate change is affected
by interactions of a number of factors including emissions of carbon
dioxide, aerosols and black carbon, and non-CO2 greenhouse gases.
Uncertainty in the current strength of these forcings, and in
feedback cycles that affect their future trajectory, presents a
challenge to scientists and policy-makers addressing climate change.
This session will highlight assessments of uncertainty in factors
affecting radiative forcing, as well as methods for treating that
uncertainty in support of both policy formulation and further
scientific investigations into the response of the climate system and
potential impacts. Relevant to this session is work that explores the
policy implications of uncertainty in radiative forcing and transient
temperature change, probabilistic treatment of climate sensitivity
and other climate system parameters, and global energy and emission
scenarios.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: September 7, 2006
Full submission guidelines: www.agu.org/meetings/fm06
Session Code: GC02, Section co-sponsors:
Global Environmental Change: Climate Dynamics (1620)
Public Affairs / Public Issues: Science Policy (6620)
Atmospheric Processes: Climate Change and Variability (3305)
Biogeosciences: Carbon Cycling (0428)
The AGU Program Committee will determine the format of the
session (oral presentations, a poster session, or both) after all the
abstracts have been submitted.
To assist with the session preparation, please consider notifying
session conveners of your interest in submitting an abstract prior to
the deadline: hummel at stanford.edu.
Session description online:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm06/?
content=search&show=detail&sessid=396
We look forward to your participation!
Holmes Hummel, Michael Mastrandrea, and Paul Baer
Stanford University
Reply to: Holmes Hummel, hummel at stanford.edu
********************
C A L L FOR P A P E R S 'Earth System Governance: Theories and
Strategies for Sustainability' - 2007 Amsterdam Conference on the
Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 24-26 May 2007
The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at the Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam and its partner institutions invite papers for
the 2007 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global
Environmental Change, to be held in Amsterdam on 24-26 May 2007. This
conference will be the seventh event in the series of annual European
Conferences on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change,
begun in Berlin in 2001.
This year's conference will address the theme 'Earth System
Governance: Theories and Strategies for Sustainability'.
We define earth system governance as the sum of the formal and
informal rule systems and actor--networks at all levels of human
society (from local to global) that are set up to influence the co-
evolution of human and natural systems in a way that secures the
sustainable development of human society--that is, a development that
meets the needs of present generations without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This notion of
earth system governance is phenomenological inasmuch as it describes
an emerging social trend expressed in hundreds of international
regimes, international bureaucracies, national agencies, local and
transnational activists groups and expert networks. At the same time,
earth system governance can be understood as a political project that
engages more and more actors who seek to strengthen the current
architecture of institutions and networks at local and global levels.
In both meanings, earth system governance is a demanding and vital
subject of research in the social sciences, which we hope will be
reflected in lively discussions at the 2007 Amsterdam Conference.
The theme of earth system governance also reflects recent
attempts at defining the role of the social sciences within the Earth
System Science Partnership, which unites the World Climate Research
Programme, the International Biosphere-Geosphere Programme, the
DIVERSITAS programme, and the International Human Dimensions
Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). The mission
statement of the Earth System Science Partnership calls upon social
scientists to develop 'strategies for Earth System management'. Yet
what such strategies might be, and how such strategies are to be
developed, remains poorly understood in the social sciences.
The challenge of earth system governance raises many theoretical,
methodological and empirical questions. For the 2007 Amsterdam
Conference, we invite papers on the following seven core conference
themes:
1. Theories and Methods for Analysing Earth System Governance,
that is, papers on new theoretical advances and methodological tools
to better study earth system governance, including new methods and
tools that combine quantitative and modelling approaches-also from
the natural sciences-with qualitative, case-based methods and
participatory, stakeholder-oriented methods;
2. Architectures of Earth System Governance, that is, papers on
the effectiveness of the overall governance system including problems
of institutional fragmentation, interlinkages, and change;
3. Adaptive Governance, that is, papers on the ways in which
institutions at all levels-ranging from local to global-can adapt to
large-scale changes in their natural environment;
4. Agency Beyond the State, that is, papers on the influence of
non-state actors in national and global environmental governance,
including the effectiveness of private governance and stakeholder
involvement at all levels;
5. Accountability and Legitimacy of Earth System Governance, that
is, papers on the democratic foundations of environmental governance
at the local, national, and global levels;
6. Allocation Mechanisms in Environmental Governance, that is,
papers on the distributive effects of global and national
environmental institutions and governance mechanisms; and
7. The Reflexive Governance of Global Public Goods, that is,
papers on the institutional analysis of participatory decision-
making, deliberative policy-making and capacity building in the
governance of global public goods, including global biodiversity,
climate, health, security and fair trade issues.
We also invite papers that focus on teaching global and national
environmental governance and that discuss new approaches, experiences
and programmes in this field.
KEY DATES:
Deadline for proposals: 1 Oct 2006
Notification of acceptance: 1 Dec 2006
Full papers due: 1 April 2007
Details on abstract submission and more information is available
at our conference website
www.2007amsterdamconference.org
We look forward to welcoming you in Amsterdam in May 2007!
On behalf of all co-hosts and sponsors:
Frank Biermann, Chair, 2007 Amsterdam Conference
Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam
E-mail: ac2007 at ivm.vu.nl
CO-HOSTS AND SPONSORS
-- ADAM Project--Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: Supporting
European Climate Policy (EU Integrated Project)
-- GLOGOV.ORG--The Global Governance Project
-- Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)
-- NEWATER Project--New Approaches to Adaptive Water Management
under Uncertainty (EU Integrated Project)
-- REFGOV Project--Reflexive Governance in the Public Interest
(EU Integrated Project)
-- SENSE--The Netherlands Research School for Socio-Economic and
Natural Sciences of the Environment
-- Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
ENDORSEMENTS
-- International Human Dimensions Programme on Global
Environmental Change (IHDP)
-- World Academy of Art and Science
INTERNATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE
Frans Berkhout, IHDP Industrial Transformation project, and Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam
Tom Dedeurwaerdere, EU REFGOV project, and Universite catholique
de Louvain
Mike Hulme, EU ADAM project, and Tyndall Centre for Climate
Change Research
Klaus Jacob, Berlin Conference Steering Committee, and Freie
Universitaet Berlin
Rajendra Pachauri, IPCC, and The Energy and Resources Institute
Claudia Pahl-Wostl, EU NEWATER project, and University of Osnabrueck
Andreas Rechkemmer, IHDP Secretariat
Agus Sari, IHDP Institutional Dimensions core project, and
Pelangi-Ecosecurities
Bernd Siebenhuener, Berlin Conference Steering Committee, and
Oldenburg University
Oran Young, IHDP, and University of California at Santa Barbara
NATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE
Pieter Glasbergen, Utrecht University
Joyeeta Gupta, KNAW Global Change Commission, and Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam
Fred Langeweg, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP)
Rik Leemans, KNAW Global Change Commission, and Wageningen
University
Pim Martens, Maastricht University
Arthur Mol, Wageningen University
Hans Opschoor, Institute for Social Studies, The Hague, and Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam
Pier Vellinga, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
CONFERENCE MANAGERS
Man-san Sander Chan [sander.chan at ivm.vu.nl]
Aysem Mert [aysem.mert at ivm.vu.nl]
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Sliman Abu Amara, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Harro van Asselt, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Ad van Dommelen, Netherlands Research School for Socio-Economic
and Natural Sciences of the Environment (SENSE)
Dave Huitema, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Marleen van de Kerkhof, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Philipp Pattberg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Heike Schroeder, IHDP Institutional Dimensions of Global
Environmental Change project
Kyla Tienhaara, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam>
Anna Wieczorek, IHDP Industrial Transformation project
Summer School on Earth System Governance
Back-to-back with the 2007 Amsterdam Conference, the Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Maastricht will jointly
offer an International Summer School on Earth System Governance for
PhD students and other researchers in their early career stages. This
international summer school will be supported by the Netherlands
Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the
Environment (SENSE) in co-operation with the Dutch national research
programme BSIK-Climate for Space, Space for Climate. Participation in
the summer school requires a separate application.
www.2007amsterdamconference.org
********************
Time to Adapt: Climate Change and the European Water Dimension.
Vulnerability – Impacts – Adaptation - 12 to 14 February 2007 -
Berlin, Germany
As part of Germany’s activities during its EU presidency, the
Federal Ministry for the Environment will host an international
symposium titled “Time to Adapt - Climate Change and the European
Water Dimension“ from 12 to 14 February 2007 in Berlin. The
initiative is supported by the relevant services of the European
Commission.
The Symposium aims to provide a platform for representatives from
governments, science and research, stakeholder groups and non-
governmental organizations to discuss the impacts of climate change
on water resources. In addition, adaptation strategies for water
management and water dependent sectors, in particular agriculture,
energy, inland navigation and tourism, will be evaluated.
The conference is organized by Ecologic, Institute for
International and European Environmental Policy (www.ecologic.de), in
cooperation with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
(www.pik-potsdam.de).
For further information please visit the conference website at
http://www.climate-water-adaptation-berlin2007.org/index.htm.
***************************************************
Jobs
Planktonnet: Great listserv for aquatic-science jobs
To subscribe to the list, send an empty email to:
planktonnet-subscribe at yahoogroups.com
Or, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/planktonnet/ and click on
'Join this group'
National Marine Sactuary Science Coordinator
http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/getjob.asp?
JobID=45784181&aid=44572312%2D2376&WT.mc_n=MKT000125&TabNum=1&rc=3
Sanctuary Science Coordinator in Key West, FLA
SALARY RANGE: 77,576.00 - 100,845.00 USD per year
OPEN PERIOD: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 to Monday, July 31, 2006
MAJOR DUTIES:
The incumbent assists in the interpretation of relevant research
findings in order to develop resource protection policies; represents
the Sanctuary on science-related committees and councils; reviews
grant proposals and documents; provides information on the FKNMS
science program; develops and implements the Sanctuary's science
plan; presents findings of the science program at conferences;
develops a regional science program in consultation with relevant
sanctuary managers and research coordinators; coordinates the
allocation of available funds and helps administer science agreements
with institutions conducting research in the Sanctuary, including
development of funding agreements, tracking science activities, and
facilitating communication between science project leaders; submits
fiscal documents pursuant to established FKNMS schedules and adheres
to fiscal/purchasing and budget tracking procedures and the approved
budget for assigned programs; participates in management plan review
and implementation; approves Sanctuary research permits.
********************
Tenure-Track Position - University of California, Santa Barbara,
Department of Geography
University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Geography
www.geog.ucsb.edu invites applications for a tenure-track position at
the Assistant Professor level in Terrestrial Processes effective July
1, 2007, Ph.D. required. The Department seeks candidates whose
research and teaching interests focus on the interaction of
geomorphological and ecosystem processes. The position will
complement existing strengths in spatial analysis of natural and
anthropogenic modifications to earth and ecosystem function. Areas of
particular interest are 1) interpretation of LIDAR and satellite-
based topographic data for characterizing landscape change, 2)
spatial analysis and modeling of the physical, chemical and
biological processes that modify ecosystems and landscapes, 3)
monitoring and predicting ecosystem response to disturbance,
including climate change, erosion, fire, disease and invasive
species, and 4) spatial modeling of interactions between physical and
biological systems at regional to global scales, including
biogeochemical cycling, eco-hydrology, and biogeography. We are
looking for candidates who develop and apply novel analytical and
modeling techniques, and who can provide field-based teaching at the
graduate and undergraduate level. The successful candidate will be
expected to develop a vigorous externally funded research program in
the primary areas of his/her interest, to direct graduate students,
and to teach graduate and undergraduate courses in physical
geography, biogeography, global change, and/or geomorphology. The
Department strongly encourages interdisciplinary collaborations and
has expertise in marine science, climate science, earth surface
processes, remote sensing, GIScience, transportation geography, urban/
economic geography, cognitive science and human-environment
interactions. Application deadline is October 31, 2006. Qualified
applicants should send complete curriculum vitae, statement of
research and teaching interests, and names with addresses of three
referees to recruit at geog.ucsb.edu or Search Committee, Department of
Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060.
The department is especially interested in candidates who can
contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community
through research, teaching and service. An EO/AA Employer.
********************
Post-doc - Tropical Radiation Measurement Analysis: Atmospheric
Science and Global Change Divisionat Pacific Northwest National Lab
Job Description
The Atmospheric Science and Global Change Division is seeking
Postdoctoral scientist to assist with the analysis and application
of measurements from the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM) program sites. The successful candidate
will contribute to relating measurements at the TWP ARM sites to the
larger tropical environment and applying TWP ARM measurements toward
the improved representation of clouds and radiation in climate
models and will be expected to contribute as a co-author or lead
author to technical reports and journal articles. Some travel is
expected.
Potential research directions include the application of
mesoscale or cloud resolving models in combination with ARM
observations to study cloud/radiation/dynamic feedbacks or the
application of scanning radar or satellite observations to provide
spatial extensions of ARM cloud and radiation measurements.
Minimum Requirements
A doctoral degree obtained in the last five years in atmospheric
science or a related field is required.
Qualifications
Prior experience with tropical model simulations or data sets
that characterize the spatial variability of convection as well as
working knowledge of one or more programming languages such as
Fortran, C, C++, Matlab, IDL, and Unix/Linux is highly desirable.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is an Affirmative
Action / Equal Opportunity Employer and supports diversity in the
workplace. Applicants will be considered for employment without
regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
disability, veteran status, marital status, or sexual orientation.
For further consideration please visit www.jobs.pnl.gov and
reference posting # 112089
********************
One-year Lecturer in Physical Geography, University College Cork
(Ireland)
Applications are invited for a one-year post in the Department of
Geography in the field of climate/ meteorology, or cognate area in
Physical Geography, at the level of Lecturer. Possession, or imminent
completion, of a relevant PhD is desirable.
The appointee will be expected to teach and examine courses at
primarily undergraduate levels and will be required to contribute to
the administration, postgraduate and research work of the
Department. The successful candidate will be encouraged to continue
and develop their research studies. Start of position will be early
October 2006, or as soon thereafter as possible.
Geography is a major research and teaching subject in UCC working
within the fields of Human and Physical Geography, the Environmental
and Earth System sciences and is a constituent of the Colleges/
Faculties of Science and of Arts.
Geography has been a key innovator discipline in UCC since the
mid-1970s; at the levels of providing new degree and diploma
programmes and courses in the earth-environmental sciences, as well
as working internationally at the research front in areas of
geomorphology, atmosphere/climate, oceanography and marine science,
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing,
environmental management and in palaeoenvironmental studies and
palaeoecology.
Salary scales [new entrants]:
Pro-Rata EUR33,895 - EUR55,061 Bar EUR60,336 - EUR79,483
Appointment will be made at the appropriate point of the relevant
scale in accordance with qualifications and experience.
For informal discussion contact: Professor Robert Devoy, Head of
Department of Geography, Email r.devoy at ucc.ie Tel: + 353 21 4904360
or Ms Rose Walsh, Email r.walsh at ucc.ie Tel: + 353 21 4902517.
Closing date: Monday, 28 August, 2006
Application forms and accompanying CVs must be completed and
returned to:
Ms Rose-Mary Walsh
Department of Geography
College Road
University College Cork
Ireland
Tel: + 353 21 4902517/ Email: r.walsh at ucc.ie/ Fax + 353 21 4271980
Application Form can be downloaded at http://hradmin.ucc.ie/docs/
AcadAppForm.doc
********************
Professional on climate change scenarios for the Global Environmental
and Climate Change Centre (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
The Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3;
www.mcgill.ca/GEC3) is a university research centre grouping over 40
researchers from five universities in Quebec (McGill University,
Université du Québec à Montréal, Université de Montréal,
Université de Sherbrooke and Université Laval). The research within
GEC3 spans a wide range of environmental and climate change issues,
ranging from the global to regional scales. The secretariat of GEC3
is located at McGill University. This position is jointly funded by
GEC3 and the Adaptation Impacts Research Division (AIRD) of
Environment Canada, under a partnership arrangement between GEC3 and
Environment Canada.
Responsibility
Centre members use climate change scenarios for their research on
climate change and impacts, from different regional and global
climate models and from statistical downscaling. AIRD staff and
stakeholders access scenarios through the Climate Change Scenarios
Network (CCSN). The successful candidate will help GEC3 members and
CCSN users to access and analyze climate change scenarios, use
scenarios and downscaling tools, provide training, and to prepare new
global scenarios for Canada for access through the CCSN. The duties
include data download, gaining expertise with statistical and
statistical downscaling software packages, performing diagnostic
analysis and providing tutorials.
Job knowledge requirements
The successful candidate will have a M.Sc. in atmospheric or
related environmental sciences with strong computer skills and
experience working with climate change scenarios, statistical
downscaling and related methods for creating high-resolution
scenarios. Work experience in relevant areas is preferred, with
research experience being an asset. Bilingual ability (English and
French) is required. The candidate will report jointly to the centre
Director and a CCSN research scientist. Good interpersonal skill and
ability to work in a team setting are essential.
Work location
The work will primarily be performed at McGill University and the
Ouranos consortium on climate change and impacts (www.ouranos.ca).
Conditions of employment
The initial appointment is for 1 year at an annual salary of
$40,000, renewable for another two years subject to satisfactory
performance and the availability of funds.
Application
Please submit your CV and arrange to have three letters of
reference sent directly to the following address, before August 31,
2006:
Ms. Angie Mansi
Assistant to the Director, Global Environmental and Climate
Change Centre
McGill University, Room 722, Burnside Hall
805 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2K6
(Tel: 514-398-3758; Fax: 514-398-1381; Email:
angela.mansi at mcgill.ca)
********************
2 Post-docs - precipitation processes - Univs of Cologne (Germany)
and Leuven (Belgium)
Two Postdoc positions are available at the University of Cologne
(Germany) and the University of Leuven (Belgium) for motivated
scientists with an interest in understanding precipitation processes.
The successful candidates will have the opportunity to work within
the project QUEST (Quantitative Evaluation of Precipitation
Forecasts), which takes place in collaboration with several German
universities and research institutes (http://www.meteo.uni-bonn.de/
projekte/SPPMeteo/), the German Weatherservice and the Royal
Meteorological Institute of Belgium. Within QUEST, information from
ground-based and satellite remote sensing instruments and from 'state
of the art' numerical weather prediction models is used to improve
insight in the temporal and spatial variability of precipitation.
The Postdoc position in Cologne will be for an initial period of
2 years with a possibility of extension for 2 years. The work will
focus on an integrated model evaluation which focusses on multiple
parameters (water vapor, cloud properties, precipitation) from
different instrument. The evaluation encompases long-term comparisons
as well as detailed case studies. For the latter sensitivity studies
aiming at model improvements through testing of different
parametrisation should be performed. For more information on the
working group see http://www.meteo.uni-koeln.de/crewell/.
The position in Leuven will be for a period of four years
preferably starting 1 Oktober 2006. After a model evaluation and
model improvement phase, a precipitation climatology for Belgium at
high spatial (2.8 km) and temporal (15 min) resolution will be
created based on a combination of measurements and model output. This
dataset will be used to study mechanisms behind the precipitation
distribution in Belgium and for fundamental research in different
fields like geography, hydrology and agriculture. For more
information on the research unit see http://www.kuleuven.be/geography/
frg/index.htm
Requirements: A PhD in atmospheric or related sciences,
excellent programming skills (e.g. fortran) as well as familiarity
with LINUX/UNIX environment, experience with analysis of remote
sensing data or numerical modelling and good communicational skills.
Applicants should submit a CV, a description of research
interests and the names and e-mail of at least two references to
Prof. Crewell and Prof. van Lipzig at the email adresses given below.
Review of the applications will begin 1 August 2006 and will
continue until the positions are filled.
For more information, contact:
Prof. Dr. Susanne Crewell, University of Cologne,
crewell at meteo.uni-koeln.de, +492214706489. Prof. Dr. Nicole van
Lipzig, University of Leuven, Nicole.VanLipzig at geo.kuleuven.be,
+3216326453
Disclaimer: http://www.kuleuven.be/cwis/email_disclaimer.htm
********************
Research Scientist - statistical cloud modeling. Univ. of Maryland
Goddard Earth Sciences and Technolgoy (GEST) center
Subject to funding approval, the Goddard Earth Sciences and
Technology Center (GEST) will make Research Faculty appointments at
the Research Associate, Assistant Research Scientist, Associate
Research Scientist, and Senior Research Scientist levels as
commensurate with experience. GEST is a Cooperative Agreement
between the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and the
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to collaborate in research
programs in the Earth, Information, and Instrumentation sciences.
GEST is a Consortium whose members include UMBC, Hampton University,
Howard University, and Caelum Research Corporation. Positions will
generally be located either at GSFC or at the offices of one of the
consortium members. More than one candidate may be chosen for some
positions. All candidates must have degrees in an appropriate
physical discipline and a demonstrated research record in accordance
with the specific qualifications listed for each of the following
positions.
GEST 613-77-000 Research Activity - Statistical Cloud Modeling
A Research Associate (postdoctoral position) is required for work
on three-dimensional (3D) statistical cloud models based on satellite
data. The successful applicant will be involved in the analyses of
ICESat and MODIS data, cloud modeling and 3D radiative transfer
calculations leading to better interpretation of cloud products and
GCM parameterizations.
Requires - A Ph.D. in atmospheric physics or related field.
Candidate must have experience with remote sensing data, atmospheric
radiation and cloud microphysics. Knowledge of stochastic modeling
is an asset. Selection is contingent upon obtaining Goddard security
clearance and possessing appropriate visa status to meet requirements
for employment.
Applicants should identify the position by number on a cover
letter which includes home address and submit it together with a
complete curriculum vitae, including the names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of three references, to Dr. Tom Low, Associate
Director, GEST/JCET, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Suite
320, 5523 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228. Applications are
requested prior to August 7, 2006, but will be accepted until
position is filled. GEST partners are equal opportunity/affirmative
action employers.
********************
Research Scientist/Engineer position at University of Washington Sand
Point.
http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/jobs/apl/
Req #: 22902
Department: JISAO
Job Location: Sand Point
Posting Date: 07/26/2006
Closing Info: Closes On 08/25/2006
Salary: $40-60,000/yr. Salary is commensurate with experience and
education.
The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the
nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people
are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence
in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only
enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities,
but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement,
intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.
Our Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean
(JISAO) has an outstanding opportunity for a Research Scientist/
Engineer 3 to conduct field and laboratory research on the sources
and sinks of CO2 in the oceans. JISAO is a "Center of Excellence"
that fosters research collaboration between NOAA and the University
of Washington. Its research themes are aligned with the NOAA
Strategic Plan and include Climate, Environmental Chemistry, Marine
Ecosystems, and Coastal Oceanography.
This individual will build and operate equipment for obtaining
high precision chemical and hydrographic data in the laboratory,
onboard ships, and on moored buoys. Prepare graphics and statistical
analyses of data and help with the preparation of technical reports
and articles for publication in reviewed journals.
Additionally, the person in this role will build, maintain, and
operate equipment to make high precision measurements of dissolved
inorganic carbon and total alkalinity on ocean seawater samples.
Participate in up to 3 cruises per year to make inorganic carbon
measurements. Provide data quality control and quality assessments,
generate property-property plots of data, and perform calculations
with data under supervision. Write and edit technical documents
involving ocean carbon data.
Applicant must be able to work at sea, should be able to work on
their own with minimal supervision, and be able to diagnose and
resolve instrumental problems (including mechanical, chemical, or
software problems).
As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life
programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this
position, please visit the benefits website. Requirements: Bachelor
of Science degree in Oceanography or inorganic chemistry and/or 3-5
years experience in a scientific laboratory; experience operating
scientific equipment; education or experience in inorganic chemistry.
Equivalent education and experience may substitute for stated
requirements. Desired: Master of Science degree and/or 5 years
experience in a scientific laboratory; experience making inorganic
carbon measurements; have coauthored scientific publication;
experience designing, building and maintaining scientific equipment;
programming experience. Condition of Employment: The applicant will
be expected to work a standard 40 hour work week in an inorganic
chemistry laboratory setting. Office and laboratory space will be
located at NOAA/PMEL on Sand Point Way. Applicant will be expected to
participate in oceanographic cruises and equipment deployments on
ships of opportunity.
Application Instructions:
Part of the application process for this position includes
completing an on-line cover
letter assessment as well as the Employment Eligibility Assessment to
obtain additional
information that will be used in the evaluation process. The
assessment(s) will appear on
your screen for you to complete as soon as you select "Apply to this
Position" on this job
announcement. Once you begin the assessment, it must be completed at
that time. If you select
to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when
you are ready. Please
note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be
considered for this
position until the assessment is complete.
The University of Washington is an equal opportunity, affirmative
action employer. To request disability accommodation in the
application process, contact the Disability Services Office at
206.543.6450 / 206.543.6452 (tty) or dso at u.washington.edu.
********************
Post-doc: Cloud modelling research using CloudSat data - NCAR (USA)
Post-doctoral Fellowship in Cloud observations and modeling.
We seek a postdoctoral fellow to conduct analyses of cloud and
precipitation processes in models and observations. The fellow is
expected to focus on new global satellite observations from CloudSat
and atmospheric simulations from a state of the art global climate
model, the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM). We are particularly
interested in research regarding the vertical structure of cloud
fields, cloud condensate, precipitation, and deep convection. The
successful applicant will analyze observed and simulated cloud
properties and evaluate the model with observations using advanced
analytical tools. It is expected that the position will focus on
specific areas and cloud types of scientific interest. These areas
include high latitude cloud processes, tropical or continental deep
convection and drizzle. We seek an individual who is interested in
global or cloud-resolving modeling and/or satellite remote sensing of
clouds.
The Postdoctoral Fellow will work jointly with the CloudSat team
at Colorado State University (CSU) and the Climate and Global
Dynamics Division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR). The position will be physically based at NCAR in Boulder, CO.
CloudSat home page: http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/
CAM home page: http://www.ccsm.ucar.edu/models/atm-cam
********************
Assistant Professorship (Tenure-track) in Paleoecology, University of
Bern
The Faculty of Science of the University of Berne invites
applications for a position of a tenure-track Assistant Professorship
in Palaeoecology from 1 March 2007 at the Institute of Plant
Sciences, University of Berne, Switzerland. Candidates should have a
strong research record in palaeoecology or vegetation history. The
position lasts for four years with the possibility of promotion to an
associate professorship, depending on performance. The successful
candidate is most welcome to participate in the National Center of
Excellence in Research on "Climate" (NCCR Climate) in Berne, and he
or she will be required to contribute to the teaching in B Sc Biology
(Plant Sciences) and in the M Sc "Ecology and Evolution", and the
Graduate School of Climate Sciences (M Sc and Ph D).
The climate research group at U Bern has been built on a long
tradition of an excellent network of units and faculty (biology,
physics, geography, geology, statistics, environmental economy,
climate and social history, http://www.climatestudies.unibe.ch/
content/faculty/index_eng.html), and on outstanding research
facilities. Bern is a focal point for international networks and
hosts the IGBP-PAGES (Past Global Changes) Project Office
(www.pages.unibe.ch). U Bern is the leading house of the National
Center of Excellence in Research on "Climate" (http://www.nccr-
climate.unibe.ch/), and hosts the Graduate School of Climate Sciences
(MSc and PhD), University of Bern (http://www.climatestudies.unibe.ch/
content/index_eng.html). Contact regarding collaboration with NCCR
Climate and Graduate School of Climate Sciences: Prof Martin Grosjean
grosjean at giub.unibe.ch
The University of Berne strongly encourages women to apply.
Applications, including curriculum vitae, publication list,
record of external funding and copies of the most important
publications, together with an outline of research plans, should be
sent to the address below by 15 September 2006
Prof Dr Paul Messerli,
Dean, Faculty of Science,
University of Berne,
Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland
For further information please contact Prof Cris Kuhlemeier,
Institute of Plant Sciences (tel +41-31-631 49 13; email:
cris.kuhlemeier at ips.unibe.ch)
Print Ref: W86337R : Assistant Professorship
Don't forget to mention naturejobs when replying to this advert.
**************************************************
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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