[DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 12/15/2006
Ruth Ladderud
ladderra at whitman.edu
Fri Dec 15 11:45:32 CST 2006
DISCCRS News
12/15/2006
************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
A wiki for academic jobs (also see the job listings link at the bottom)
http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/start
(see RESOURCES 1 below)
FORUM
Call for Papers - IGARRS 2007
http://www.igarss07.org/frontal/Inicio.asp
(see FORUM 1 below)
Call for Abstracts - Session at European Geosciences Union 2007
General Assembly
http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2007/
(see FORUM 2 below)
SCIENCE NEWS
Cows, pigs and sheep: Environment's greatest threats?
http://tinyurl.com/uwqkc
...Perhaps the report's most striking finding is that the livestock
sector accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more
than transport, which emits 13.5%.
Warmer Climate Means Less Plankton, Big Problems for Ocean Populations
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/06/
BAGDDMQMJ711.DTL Or: http://tinyurl.com/yczehq
(see NEWS 1 below)
The Cost of an Overheated Planet
http://tinyurl.com/yl2ocs
(see NEWS 2 below)
Oceanography: Plankton in a warmer world
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7120/full/
444695a.html;jsessionid=0D2D640FE02D20597B07006BDBB7B2F8
(see NEWS 3 below)
Climate experts search for answers in the oceans
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM5GGZTIVE_index_0.html
(see NEWS 4 below)
Arctic Sea Ice 'Faces Rapid Melt'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6171053.stm Or: http://
tinyurl.com/y6w6zp
(see NEWS 5 below)
Plant a tree and save the Earth?
http://www.llnl.gov/pao/news/news_releases/2006/NR-06-12-02.html
(see NEWS 6 below)
Global warming of the future is projected by ancient carbon emissions
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/yu-gwo120506.php
(see NEWS 7 below)
Archive of History in Stalagmite
http://www.oregonlive.com/science/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/
science/1165967747120280.xml&coll=7 Or: http://tinyurl.com/sheaj
(see NEWS 8 below)
JOBS
Asst. Prof. tenure track - Human Geographer - Department of
Environment and Society (ENVS) - College of Natural - Utah State
University – Logan, UT (USA)
(see JOB 1 below)
Director, tenure track - Environmental Studies - Southern Oregon
University –Ashland, OR (USA)
www.sou.edu/personnel/jobs/jobSearch/jobsearch.html
(see JOB 2 below)
Post-doc - Centre for Atmospheric Research - University of Canterbury
- Christchurch (New Zealand)
http://vacancies.canterbury.ac.nz (Vacancy No: A421-06J)
(see JOB 3 below)
2007-2008 AGU Congressional Science Fellowship – Washington, DC (USA)
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/congress_fellows.html
(see JOB 4 below)
Asst. Profs. – Earth and/or Planetary Science – Rice University
– Houston, TX (USA)
http://earthscience.rice.edu
(see JOBS 5 below)
***************************************************
Forum
(FORUM 1) Call for Papers - IGARRS 2007
http://www.igarss07.org/frontal/Inicio.asp
Ellsworth LeDrew and Sheldon Drobot (drobot at colorado.edu) are
arranging an invited session at IGARSS07 - to be held July 23 to 27,
2007 in Barcelona (http://IGARSS07.org) -- on Remote Sensing of Sea
Ice and Snow over Sea Ice. The Call for Papers and instructions for
online submission of abstracts can be downloaded from http://
www.igarss07.org/frontal/doc/Call.pdf.
This note is an invitation for you to submit an abstract for this
session, which is IS25 on the list of topics at http://
www.igarss07.org/frontal/Topics.asp. The system is open for
submission now and the deadline for invited abstracts is January 5,
2007.
At the Denver IGARSS last July we had excellent sessions on the
cryosphere and we look forward to your submission to this timely
topic. When you submit your abstract on-line, please email a copy to
ells at watleo.uwaterloo.ca or drobot at colorado.edu. If you have any
questions, also let us know!
********************
(FORUM 2) Call for Abstracts - Session at European Geosciences Union
2007 General Assembly
http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2007/
Abstract Submission Deadline: Monday, 15 January 2007
Abstracts are now being accepted for the following session at the
European Geosciences Union 2007 General Assembly: Session CR 135:
Modelling sea ice and ice-ocean interactions
Session Description: The dramatic changes that the arctic sea ice
is undergoing are indicative of the high sensitivity of sea ice to
climatic changes. Improving sea ice models and the representation of
sea ice and sea ice-related processes in regional and global ocean
climate models is more than ever a pressing necessity. In this
session, contributions are invited from the sea ice and climate
modelling communities regarding all aspects of sea ice modelling.
Presentations and posters on modelling of snow and ice thermodynamics
and dynamics, ice-atmosphere and ice-ocean interactions, ice
biogeochemical processes, and data assimilation in sea-ice models
will be considered. Aware of the important role of chemical and
biological processes in shaping the polar ocean environment and the
growing need of including such processes in current models,
participation of sea ice biology and chemistry modelers is encouraged.
Conveners: Daniel Feltham, Centre for Polar Observation and
Modelling, University College London E-mail: dlf at cpom.ucl.ac.uk;
Miguel Maqueda, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory E-mail:
mamm at pol.ac.uk
***************************************************
Science News
(NEWS 1) Warmer Climate Means Less Plankton, Big Problems for Ocean
Populations
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/06/
BAGDDMQMJ711.DTL Or: http://tinyurl.com/yczehq
San Francisco Chronicle - When the climate warms, there is a drop
in the abundance of the ocean's phytoplankton, the tiny plants that
feed krill, fish and whales, according to scientists who say the just-
released research offers new clues to future life under global warming.
Ocean temperatures bounce up and down, but over the past century
they have been warming along with the atmosphere. Nine years of NASA
satellite data released today in the journal Nature show that the
growth of phytoplankton drops in warm ocean years and increases in
cooler ocean years.
Over the past decades, scientists have linked declining plankton
numbers to warm-water El Nino years, which set off a domino effect of
fewer krill and young fish, leading to failed reproduction of
seabirds and even deaths of seals and sea lions.
********************
(NEWS 2) The Cost of an Overheated Planet
http://tinyurl.com/yl2ocs
New York Times - The iconic culprit in global warming is the coal-
fired power plant. It burns the dirtiest, most carbon-laden of fuels,
and its smokestacks belch millions of tons of carbon dioxide, the
main global warming gas.
So it is something of a surprise that James E. Rogers, chief
executive of Duke Energy, a coal-burning utility in the Midwest and
the Southeast, has emerged as an unexpected advocate of federal
regulation that would for the first time impose a cost for emitting
carbon dioxide. But he has his reasons.
"Climate change is real, and we clearly believe we are on a route
to mandatory controls on carbon dioxide," Mr. Rogers said. "And we
need to start now because the longer we wait, the more difficult and
expensive this is going to be."
... "Setting a real price on carbon emissions is the single most
important policy step to take," said Robert N. Stavins, director of
the environmental economics program at Harvard University. "Pricing
is the way you get both the short-term gains through efficiency and
the longer-term gains from investments in research and switching to
cleaner fuels." ...
"We need a policy framework for the long term," said Vinod
Khosla, a leading environment-oriented venture capitalist. "Fifteen
years is the minimum horizon of stability that we need."
********************
(NEWS 3) Oceanography: Plankton in a warmer world
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7120/full/
444695a.html;jsessionid=0D2D640FE02D20597B07006BDBB7B2F8
Nature (online) - Satellite data show that phytoplankton biomass
and growth generally decline as the oceans' surface waters warm up.
Is this trend, seen over the past decade, a harbinger of the future
for marine ecosystems?
Oranges in Florida, wildfires in Indonesia, plankton in the North
Pacific — what links these seemingly disparate items is that they
are all affected by year-to-year fluctuations in global-scale climate
********************
(NEWS 4) Climate experts search for answers in the oceans
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM5GGZTIVE_index_0.html
European Space Agency – Paris, France - By absorbing half of the
carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, the oceans have a
profound influence on climate. However, their ability to take up this
carbon dioxide might be impaired as a result of climate change. To
determine their response to global warming, ESA has backed two
projects that provide systematic data on key oceanic variables –
colour and temperature.
The Medspiration project, aimed at charting sea-surface
temperatures, and the GlobCOLOUR project, aimed at developing a data
set of global ocean colour, both combine data measured independently
by several different satellite systems into a set of products that
represent the best possible measurements and allow researchers from
various fields to pool their efforts in an attempt to understand how
the climate is reacting to changes.
"Clues to climatic changes may already be written on the oceans’
surface. Because we now have detailed data that allow us to look for
correlations, we are learning how to read those messages," said Prof.
Ian Robinson at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS)
and Medspiration Project Manager. "ESA is making a difference to
public awareness of climate change by helping us to better understand
the sea surface temperature story.
*******************
(NEWS 5) Arctic Sea Ice 'Faces Rapid Melt'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6171053.stm Or: http://
tinyurl.com/y6w6zp
BBC News Online - The Arctic may be close to a tipping point that
sees all-year-round ice disappear very rapidly in the next few
decades, US scientists have warned. The latest data presented at the
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting suggests the ice is no longer
showing a robust recovery from the summer melt.
Last month, the sea that was frozen covered an area that was two
million sq km less than the historical average. "That's an area the
size of Alaska," said leading ice expert Mark Serreze.
"We're no longer recovering well in autumn anymore. The ice pack
may now be starting to get preconditioned, perhaps to show very rapid
losses in the near future," the University of Colorado researcher added.
********************
(NEWS 6) Plant a tree and save the Earth?
http://www.llnl.gov/pao/news/news_releases/2006/NR-06-12-02.html
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Can planting a tree stop the sea level from
rising, the ice caps from melting and hurricanes from intensifying?
A new study says that it depends on where the trees are planted.
It cautions that new forests in mid- to high-latitude locations could
actually create a net warming. It also confirms the notion that
planting more trees in tropical rainforests could help slow global
warming worldwide.
In the first study to investigate the combined climate and carbon-
cycle effects of large-scale deforestation in a fully interactive
three-dimensional climate-carbon model, scientists from Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, Carnegie Institution and Université
Montpellier II found that global forests actually produce a net
warming of the planet.
The study provides a holistic view of the deforestation issue.
"This is the first comprehensive assessment of the deforestation
problem" said Govindasamy Bala, lead author of the research that will
be presented on Dec. 15 at the American Geophysical Society annual
meeting in San Francisco.
The models calculated the carbon/climate interactions and took
into account the physical climate effect and the partitioning of the
carbon dioxide release from deforestation among land, atmosphere and
ocean.
Forests affect climate in three different ways: they absorb the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help to keep
the planet cool; they evaporate water to the atmosphere and increase
cloudiness, which also helps keep the planet cool; and they are dark
and absorb a lot of sunlight, warming the Earth. Climate change
mitigation strategies that promote planting trees have taken only the
first effect into account.
"Our study shows that tropical forests are very beneficial to the
climate because they take up carbon and increase cloudiness, which in
turn helps cool the planet" Bala said.
But the study concludes that, by the year 2100, forests in mid-
and high-latitudes will make some places up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit
warmer than would have occurred if the forests did not exist.
"The darkening of the surface by new forest canopies in the high
latitude Boreal regions allows absorption of more sunlight that helps
to warm the surface. In fact, planting more trees in high latitudes
could be counterproductive from a climate perspective," Bala said.
The study finds little or no climate benefit when trees are
planted in temperate regions.
"Our integrated systems approach allowed us for the first time to
estimate the total effects of land cover change in different regions
of the world," Bala said.
Afforestation has been promoted heavily in mid-latitudes as a
means of mitigating climate change. However, the combined carbon/
climate modeling study shows that it doesn't work. The albedo effect
(the process by which less sunlight is reflected and more is absorbed
by forest canopies, heating the surface) cancels out the positive
effects from the trees taking in carbon.
"Our study shows that preserving and restoring forests is likely
to be climatically ineffective as an approach to slow global
warming," said Ken Caldeira, a co-author of the study from the
Carnegie Institution. "To prevent climate change, we need to
transform our energy system. It is only by transforming our energy
system and preserving natural habitat, such as forests, that we can
maintain a healthy environment. To prevent climate change, we must
focus on effective strategies and not just 'feel-good' strategies."
*******************
(NEWS 7) Global warming of the future is projected by ancient carbon
emissions
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/yu-gwo120506.php
New Haven, Conn. -- Global warming 55 million years ago suggests
a high climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide, according to research
led by Mark Pagani, associate professor of geology and geophysics at
Yale and published in the December 8 issue of Science.
For some years, scientists have known that a massive release of
carbon into the atmosphere caused the ancient global warming event
known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that began about
55 million years ago. The geologic record shows that the resulting
greenhouse effect heated the planet as a whole by about 9° F (5° C),
in less than 10,000 years.
That temperature increase lasted about 170,000 years, altered the
world's rainfall patterns, made the oceans acidic, affected plant and
animal life in the seas and on land, and spawned the rise of our
modern primate ancestors.
"The PETM is a stunning example of carbon dioxide-induced global
warming and stands in contrast to critics who argue that the Earth's
temperature is insensitive to increases in carbon dioxide," said
Pagani. "Not only did the Earth warm by at least 9°F (5°C), but it
did so during a time when Earth's average temperature was already 9°F
warmer than today."
However, what has not been clear is how much carbon was
responsible for the temperature increase and where it came from.
Scientists have speculated that it might have come from massive fires
from burning coal and other ancient plant material, or from 'burps'
of methane from the continental shelves that rapidly became
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
"According to this work, if the PETM was caused by the burning of
plant material then climate sensitivity to carbon dioxide is more
than 4.5°F (2.5°C) per carbon dioxide doubling. And if methane was
the culprit, then Earth's climate must be extremely sensitive to
carbon dioxide — increasing, over 10°F (5.6°C) per carbon dioxide
doubling," noted Pagani.
This finding contradicts the position held by many climate-change
skeptics that the Earth's climate is resilient to such carbon dioxide
emissions and suggests that Earth's temperature will rise
substantially with atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations that are
expected to double around mid-century.
"The last time carbon was emitted to the atmosphere on the scale
of what we are doing today, there were winners and losers," remarked
Ken Caldeira, a co-author from the Carnegie Institution's Department
of Global Ecology. "There was ecological devastation, but new species
rose from the ashes. Our work provides even more incentive to develop
the clean energy sources that can provide for economic growth and
development without risking the natural world that is our endowment."
********************
(NEWS 8) Archive of History in Stalagmite
http://www.oregonlive.com/science/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/
science/1165967747120280.xml&coll=7 Or: http://tinyurl.com/sheaj
Oregonian - Corvallis, OR -- The foot-long spike of chalk-colored
rock doesn't look like much outside its home in the Oregon Caves. But
the stalagmite has given scientists their first precise look at
southwest Oregon's past climate.
Before it was broken from the cave floor in the 1930s, the
stalagmite appears to have recorded the first decades of global
warming from about 1800 as the industrial age and its emissions of
greenhouse gases began.
Paleoclimatologists at Oregon State University say their research
is in its early stages, but the sample that sprouted from the cave
floor over thousands of years is revealing information about climate
not only from the industrial era but over the past 14,000 years.
***************************************************
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'
********************
(JOB 1) Asst. Prof. tenure track - Human Geographer - Department of
Environment and Society (ENVS) - College of Natural - Utah State
University – Logan, UT (USA)
Position: Position in Human Geography with expertise in human-
environment relations or the human dimensions of environmental/land
issues.
Required Qualifications: A PhD in Geography or closely related
discipline must be completed by the time of appointment (Fall 2007).
Specialty areas could include environmental/land-use change,
environmental perception, community/natural resource management,
regional land-use planning, or hazards and human vulnerability.
Applicants must have a research agenda leading to publications in
refereed journals and must demonstrate the potential to acquire
extramural funding and guide graduate students. The department is
especially interested in applicants who will contribute
interdisciplinary expertise to the research, teaching, and service
missions of the department and the ability to work collaboratively
with faculty. Previous experience or willingness to participate in
the delivery of distance-education courses is also desirable.
Professional Responsibilities: The successful candidate will
teach 2-3 courses per year, which may include introductory human
geography, environment and society, and a graduate course in her/his
specialty area. Allocation of responsibilities is likely to be 50%
research, 40% teaching and advising, and 10% service. Salary is
negotiable and commensurate with qualifications and experience. For
further information on the interdisciplinary Department of ENVS,
interested parties can refer to the departmental website at http://
cnr.usu.edu/.
Utah State University: USU was recently chosen as a National
Science Foundation ADVANCE Gender Equity Program recipient. The
University is sensitive to the needs of dual-career. USU offers
competitive salaries and outstanding medical, retirement and
professional benefits (http://personnel.usu.edu)
Application Process: Review of applications will begin February
1, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. Candidates
should submit an application at http://jobs.usu.edu with a cover
letter detailing research and teaching interests, a current C.V., and
names and contact information for three references. For additional
information, contact: Dr. Ted Alsop, Human Geographer Search
Committee Chair, 435-797-1371, or tjalsop at cc.usu.edu.
********************
(JOB 2) Director, tenure track - Environmental Studies - Southern
Oregon University –Ashland, OR (USA)
www.sou.edu/personnel/jobs/jobSearch/jobsearch.html
Southern Oregon University (SOU) seeks a Director for its growing
interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program. This is a tenure-
track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor rank,
depending upon qualifications. SOU is located in Ashland, OR, in the
center of a uniquely diverse geographic, geological and ecological
region. The Director will spend approximately half-time in program
administration and half-time teaching. Candidates should have
extensive experience in program administration and leadership,
undergraduate teaching, and applied environmental research. PhD in
an appropriate field required. Review of applications will begin
February 1, 2007
Applications should be sent to: Susan Koralek, School of
Sciences, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland,
OR 97520.
********************
(JOB 3) Post-doc - Centre for Atmospheric Research - University of
Canterbury - Christchurch (New Zealand)
http://vacancies.canterbury.ac.nz (Vacancy No: A421-06J)
The fixed-term Post Doctoral Fellow will work with mesoscale
models – MM5 and/or WRF – on the University's new high-performance
computer. This research will mainly focus on numerical sensitivity
analysis of mesoscale flows in complex terrain, such as thermally
forced flow in an inland basin in Central South-West Asia and
katabatic wind over Darwin-Hatherton Glacial System in Antarctica.
This project is being undertaken in collaboration with
researchers from Department of Geography, and Gateway Antarctica.
The successful applicant will have completed a PhD in Atmospheric
Sciences or a related field. Preference will be given to those who
have experience working with either MM5 or WRF on parallel computer
architecture.
Enquires of an academic nature are to be made to Dr. Peyman Zawar-
Reza (peyman.zawar-reza at canterbury.ac.nz)
Closing Date: 21 January 2007
********************
(JOB 4) 2007-2008 AGU Congressional Science Fellowship – Washington,
DC (USA)
http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/congress_fellows.html
Consider using your scientific expertise to help create sound
public policy by working in the U.S. Congress. Applications are
currently being accepted for the 2007 2008 AGU Congressional Science
Fellowship. The Fellowship provides an opportunity to play an active
part in the U.S. policy process by spending a year (September through
August) on the staff of a congressional committee or House or Senate
member, advising on a wide range of scientific issues as they
pertain to public policy. Applicants are sought who have a broad
background in science and are
articulate, literate, flexible, and able to work well with people
from diverse professional backgrounds. Applicants are not required to
have experience in public policy, although such experience and/or a
demonstrable interest in applying science to the solution of public
problems are desirable. In their assignment, fellows will be doing a
variety of work, some of which may be directly related to their
training, but all of which will put demands on their scientific
education. For this reason it is very important that prospective
fellows have a broad background in science. AGU participates in the
Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship Program coordinated
by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The AAAS program provides an outstanding orientation program and
enables fellows to be part of a vast network of scientists working in
Washington. All members of AGU who are citizens or permanent
residents of the
United States are invited to apply. Though the program is aimed at
early to mid-career geophysicists with a doctorate degree, there are
no restrictions on age, educational or career level, or specific
scientific background. The selection process is highly competitive.
Over 20 applicants vied for the 2006-2007 fellowship. Ph.D.
candidates should be sure that work on their degree will be completed
prior to the commencement of the program year since experience has
shown that fellows do not have time to work on their thesis. Degree
candidates should include among their references a letter from their
adviser stating the status of their thesis and the anticipated date
of completion. The Fellowship carries a stipend of up to $55,000,
health insurance, plus travel allowance. The deadline for
applications is 1 February 2007.
For further details and application instructions, visit the AGU Web
site or contact Catherine O'Riordan at 202-777-7501 or e-mail
coriordan at agu.org. AGU members are also eligible to apply for
Congressional Science Fellowships with the American Geological
Institute (http://www.agiweb.org/gap/csf/index.html) and the American
Institute of Physics (http://www.aip.org/gov/cf.html).
********************
(JOBS 5) Asst. Profs. – Earth and/or Planetary Science – Rice
University – Houston, TX (USA)
http://earthscience.rice.edu
Faculty Position - posted 10/5/06 - The Rice Earth Science
Department is expanding in faculty, staff, and facilities. We are
interested in hiring three new faculty members in any Earth and/or
planetary science field. We seek applicants who can integrate
observations (field, experimental, laboratory) with theory.
Successful candidates are expected to supervise graduate research
and teach courses for undergraduate and graduate students.
Although we anticipate hiring at the assistant professor level,
unusually well-qualified senior applicants will be considered.
Applications received by January 1, 2007, are assured of receiving
the fullest attention.
Please send a resume and names of five or more references to:
Search Committee Chair, Earth Science Department, MS-126, Rice
University, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892.
**************************************************
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
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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