[DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 4/27/2007
Ruth Ladderud
ladderra at whitman.edu
Fri Apr 27 14:05:13 CDT 2007
DISCCRS News
4/27/2007
************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
New climate change news Web site launched by the journal Nature and
dedicated to providing thorough investigative reporting on global
climate change
www.nature.com/climate
SCIENCE NEWS
Something Under the Ice is Moving: Satellites reveal a complex
network of subglacial lakes in Antarctica.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/IceMoving/icemoving.html
IPCC impacts assessment released: Fourth Assessment of Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/report070413.htm
(see NEWS 1 below)
There is now no doubt that global warming is a security threat to us all
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2059655,00.html
(see NEWS 2 below)
Fossil Arctic animal tracks point to climate risks
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2441335120070424
(see NEWS 3 below)
Climate change could trigger 'boom and bust' population cycles
leading to extinction
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/
2007/2007041624800.html
(see NEWS 4 below)
Schwarzenegger administration to sue U.S. over air quality standards
http://climate.weather.com/articles/arnold042507.html
(see NEWS 5 below)
Nepal scientists warn of glacier flood threat
http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/nepal-scientists-warn-of-
glacier-flood-threat.cfm
(see NEWS 6 below)
SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES
IAI - Inter-American Institute Climate Change Workshop - June 3rd -
14th, 2007 - Los Arcos Hotel, La Paz, Baja California Sur, (Mexico).
http://gcrg.sdsu.edu/pasi/ Download and print the flyer (pdf):
http://gcrg.sdsu.edu/pasi/pix/pasi-flyer-SDSU.pdf
(see MEETING 1below)
IMBER-Call for small articles from young scientists
(see OPPORTUNITIES 1below)
JOBS
Postdocs - Glaciology - Canadian IPY GLACIODYN Project (Canada)
http://web.unbc.ca/~boon/IPY/index.html
(see JOBS 1 below)
Faculty, Tenure-track - Chemical oceanography - Univ. of Miami,
Florida (USA)
(see JOB 2 below)
Two Non-Tenure Track Faculty Positions - Earth Science and
Oceanography - Univ. of San Diego, CA (USA)
(see JOBS 3 below)
Post-Doc - Oceanography - Mohn-Sverdrup Center For Global Ocean
Studies And Operational Oceanography, Bergen (Norway)
(see JOB 4 below)
***************************************************
Science News
(NEWS 1): IPCC impacts assessment released: Fourth Assessment of
Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/report070413.htm
Tiempo Climate Newswatch - The second report of the Fourth
Assessment on climate science and policy by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, covering climate impacts, adaptation and
vulnerability, was finalized in April 2007. Newswatch editor Mick
Kelly reports
"It's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes
poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the
worst hit," said Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as the second report of the latest
IPCC assessment was released on April 6th 2007. Government officials
and scientists had met in Brussels, Belgium, to finalize the text of
the IPCC Working Group II review of climate impacts, adaptation and
vulnerability. Martin Parry, working group co-chair, reported that
there was now real evidence that climate change was having direct
impacts. "For the first time, we are no longer arm-waving with
models; this is empirical data, we can actually measure it."
"Don't be poor in a hot country, don't live in hurricane alley,
watch out about being on the coasts or in the Arctic, and it's a bad
idea to be on high mountains with glaciers melting," said Stephen
Schneider from Stanford University in the United States.
The report projects that 75 to 250 million people across Africa
could face water shortages by 2020. Crop yields could increase by 20
per cent in East and Southeast Asia, but decrease by up to 30 per
cent in Central and South Asia. Agriculture fed by rainfall might
drop by a half in some African countries by 2020. Twenty to 30 per
cent of all plant and animal species are at increased risk of
extinction if temperatures rise between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees Celsius.
Glaciers and snow cover are expected to decline, reducing water
availability in countries supplied by melt water.
Controversy developed during the run-up to the release of the
report as scientists and government representatives argued over the
final wording. There was, for example, disagreement over the
inclusion of a table indicating likely impacts for every degree of
global warming and over the inclusion of a statement explicitly
linking cause and effect. Objections to the text came mostly from the
United States, China and Saudi Arabia. Some scientists walked out at
one point and a number said that they would not be involved in the
IPCC process in future. Parry acknowledged that "certain messages
were lost", but insisted that "the report was not watered down in the
broad thrust."
Responding to the report, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that the
"projected impacts tell us that we urgently need to launch an
agreement on future international action to combat climate change, as
well as look for effective ways to generate the funds needed for
adaptation." "Our current sources of funding are insufficient to
cover... adaptation needs," he continued. "So the international
community needs to investigate new and innovative sources of finance,
not least through the carbon market, in order to ensure that the most
vulnerable communities are able to cope."
Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme,
called for action at the national level "to mainstream ‘climate
proofing’ into all areas of economic life so that countries and
communities... have a chance to adapt and thus a chance to avoid some
of the more extreme impacts." "This further underlines both how
urgent it is to reach global agreement on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and how important it is for us all to adapt to the climate
change that is already under way," said European environment
commissioner Stavros Dimas.
********************
(NEWS 2) There is now no doubt that global warming is a security
threat to us all
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2059655,00.html
The debate on climate change at the UN top table is a sign that
the big powers are at last beginning to see sense. If British
politics were a dinner party then Tony Blair would be that guest who
got up to say goodbye an hour ago, insisting he had to be off - only
to hang around by the front door, his coat on and car keys jangling,
chatting about this and that and never actually leaving. The result
is a strange sense of limbo, where the old period has not quite ended
and the new one has not yet begun. A sense of drift has hovered over
the government since the attempt to push the prime minister from
office last September. Ministers insist they are as busy as ever, but
they admit to an absence of leadership. It feels like nothing is
happening.
So it's heartening to hear of one area, at least, where the
British government has taken a lead. Yesterday the security council
of the United Nations discussed climate change for the very first
time. Not some environmental subcommittee, not a platitudinous
exchange of slogans in the general assembly, nor even the
intergovernmental panel on climate change, but the security council.
The same security council that usually grapples with border disputes,
sanctions or weapons of mass destruction - that security council was
yesterday debating carbon emissions and the danger they pose to the
Earth.
That may seem sensible and obvious: after all, if the council's
job is to fret about threats to global security then the threats
don't come much bigger than the risk that we might be boiling the
planet. But, incredibly, the body had never talked about global
warming before - and they were not keen to start yesterday. ...
********************
(NEWS 3) Scientists to track impact of Asian dust and pollution on
clouds, weather, climate change
http://www.physorg.com/news96123222.html
Scientists using the nation's newest and most capable aircraft
for environmental research are launching a far-reaching field project
this month to study plumes of airborne dust and pollutants that
originate in Asia and journey to North America. The plumes are among
the largest such events on Earth, so great in scope that scientists
believe they might affect clouds and weather across thousands of
miles while playing a role in global climate.
The PACDEX (Pacific Dust Experiment) project will be led by
scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. NCAR's main sponsor, the
National Science Foundation (NSF), will provide most of the funding.
The first mission will be launched in late April, with the exact
start date dependent on weather patterns in Asia. The project will
continue for almost two months. Continued... full article online.
********************
(NEWS 3) Fossil Arctic animal tracks point to climate risks
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2441335120070424
COAL MINE SEVEN, Svalbard, Norway (Reuters) - Fossils of a
hippopotamus-like creature on an Arctic island show the climate was
once like that of Florida, giving clues to risks from modern global
warming, a scientist said.
Fossil footprints of a pantodont, a plant-eating creature
weighing about 400 kg (880 lb), add to evidence of sequoia-type trees
and crocodile-like beasts in the Arctic millions of years ago when
greenhouse gas concentrations in the air were high.
"The climate here about 55 million years ago was more like that
of Florida," Appy Sluijs, an expert in ancient ecology at Utrecht
University in the Netherlands, said in Coal Mine Seven on the
Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Continued... full article online.
********************
(NEWS 4) Climate change could trigger 'boom and bust' population
cycles leading to extinction
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/
2007/2007041624800.html
Climate change could trigger "boom and bust" population cycles
that make animal species more vulnerable to extinction, according to
Christopher C. Wilmers, an assistant professor of environmental
studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Favorable environmental conditions that produce abundant supplies of
food and stimulate population booms appear to set the stage for
population crashes that occur when several "good years" in a row are
followed by a bad year. "It's almost paradoxical, because you'd think
a large population would be better off, but it turns out they're more
vulnerable to a drop in resources," says Wilmers.
Understanding how environmental changes influence fluctuations in
animal populations is crucial to predicting and mitigating the
influence of global climate change. In a paper that appears in the
May issue of The American Naturalist, Wilmers describes a powerful
new mathematical model that evaluates how climate and resources
interact with populations, including a fine-grained analysis of
impacts on juveniles, reproducing adults, and adults.
In areas where climate change leads to more "good years," with
the occasional poor year still occurring, populations will fluctuate
dramatically and be more prone to extinction as a result, said
Wilmers. Highly prolific species will be particularly vulnerable to
such fluctuations because their populations will build up most
rapidly, noted Wilmers, a vertebrate conservation ecologist. Dramatic
population fluctuations make species more vulnerable to extinction
due to disease, inbreeding, and other causes; in addition, each crash
reduces the genetic diversity of a species, lowering its ability to
adapt and making it more prone to extinction.
********************
(NEWS 5) Schwarzenegger administration to sue U.S. over air quality
standards
http://climate.weather.com/articles/arnold042507.html
SACRAMENTO, California (AP) — Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's
administration will sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for
acting too slowly on California's request to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions from automobiles, a spokesman said Wednesday.
At issue is a request the state made in 2005 for a waiver that
would exempt it from the federal Clean Air Act, allowing California
to more aggressively regulate automobile emissions as air pollutants.
"It's a priority for Californians to protect our environment, and
if the federal government fails to act to protect our environment, we
will take steps to do so ourselves," Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron
McLear told The Associated Press.
California is the world's 12th largest producer of the emissions
blamed for contributing to global climate change.
Schwarzenegger will send a letter Wednesday to EPA Administrator
Stephen Johnson, whom he met with earlier this month without gaining
a commitment.
The governor was to announce the state's intention to sue during
a luncheon speech at the Milken Institute's 10th Anniversary Global
Conference in Beverly Hills.
The waiver also carries implications for at least 10 other states
that have adopted California's standard. Federal law allows states to
choose between the federal and the California rules.
Automakers have sued California and Vermont, saying the emission
standards are akin to fuel economy standards, which can be set only
by the federal government.
California wants to implement a 2002 state law that would require
automakers to reduce emissions by 25 percent from cars and light
trucks and 18 percent from sport utility vehicles starting with the
2009 model year. To do so, the waiver is needed.
The EPA had delayed acting on California's request because the
agency maintained it did not have the authority to regulate the gases
that contribute to global warming. But earlier this month, the U.S.
Supreme Court decided that the EPA does have that authority, a
position that had long been rejected by the administration of
President George W. Bush.
On Tuesday, Johnson said he had begun the formal process to act
on California's request. That involves a public hearing May 22 in
Washington and a public comment period that ends June 15. But Johnson
refused to set a timetable specifying when the agency would issue a
decision on California's request.
"We will move expeditiously, but we are going to be moving
responsibly," Johnson told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public
Works Committee.
The Supreme Court decision did not require the EPA to regulate
greenhouse gases. But it said the agency must show that carbon
dioxide emissions are not a danger to public health if it chooses not
regulate them under the Clean Air Act.
A separate 2006 California law requires emissions to be reduced
25 percent by 2020. That law requires California to reduce emissions
by an estimated 174 million metric tons.
The auto regulations would account for about 17 percent of the
state's target, according to the California Air Resources Board.
********************
(NEWS 6) Nepal scientists warn of glacier flood threat
http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/nepal-scientists-warn-of-
glacier-flood-threat.cfm
Climate scientists in Nepal have warned that poor coordination of
research and an inactive early warning system are putting Nepal's
people at risk of flooding caused by melting glaciers.
Glacial lakes created by melting glaciers can overflow, releasing
several thousand cubic metres of water per second along stream
channels. These flooding events are called glacier lake outburst
floods. There have been more than 15 of these floods in Nepal,
occurring at a frequency of one every two to five years, according to
the Nepalese Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM). This has
been attributed to global warming, which, according to DHM research,
is increasing temperatures in the Nepalese Himalayas by 0.04 degrees
Celsius per year. There are 3,252 glaciers and 2,323 lakes at or
above 3,500 metres above sea level in Nepal. Twenty glacier lakes are
at risk of bursting due to melting glaciers, according to a 2002
report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) and the UN Environment Programme.
The situation was discussed at a conference organised by the DHM
last month (23 March). Remote sensing and satellite imaging have been
used to identify potentially dangerous lakes, but field studies are
limited, according to Pradeep Mool, a remote sensing specialist at
ICIMOD. He added that a lack of coordination and information sharing
between researchers and institutions is leading to inadequate
documentation and archiving.
Tsho Rolpa is one of the biggest and potentially dangerous
glacier lakes in Nepal. Scientists predict that an outburst flood
would endanger thousands of lives and cost millions of dollars in
economic losses.
The DHM has already established an early warning system
consisting of a network of sensors and sirens in 19 villages
downstream of Tsho Rolpa. But according to Om Ratna Bajrachary,
senior divisional hydrologist at the DHM, the monitoring system has
yet to be put into use because Nepal is concentrating on the
establishment of peace after years of internal conflict. "We are
planning to revive it," he added.
Glacial lake outburst floods first attracted scientific and
government attention when the Dig Tsho glacier in Nepal's Khumbu
region flooded in 1985. The disaster completely destroyed a
hydropower plant and washed away agricultural land, bridges and
houses over a distance of 42 kilometres.
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities
(MEETING 1) IAI - Inter-American Institute Climate Change Workshop -
June 3rd - 14th, 2007 - Los Arcos Hotel, La Paz, Baja California Sur,
(Mexico).
http://gcrg.sdsu.edu/pasi/ Download and print the flyer (pdf):
http://gcrg.sdsu.edu/pasi/pix/pasi-flyer-SDSU.pdf
Global Climate Change in the Americas: An Interdisciplinary
Program for the Integration of Development of International
Collaborations
The focus of this Institute will emphasize the impacts of climate
change on natural and managed ecosystems, society, and the associated
feedbacks of management strategies and their consequences in Pan-
American countries.
If you are interested in attending this conference as a student,
please see the Applications section of our website: http://
gcrg.sdsu.edu/pasi
Applications can be sent standard mail or e-mail. All
applications must be received by May 15th, 2007, 5 P.M. Pacific
Standard Time. All travel, room, and board will be covered for
attendees.
Participants will be selected from the United States and other
countries in the Americas. 3rd year Doctoral students or recent Post
Docs in environmental science, environmental engineering,
environmental economics/policy are encouraged to apply. Recent
masters students in government or business will be considered.
********************
(OPPORTUNITIES 1) IMBER-Call for small articles from young scientists
IMBER (Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research)
is seeking contributions from young scientists for the Science
highlight section of the IMBER Update .
We are looking for small articles reporting on recent scientific
activities related to biogeochemistry and ecosystems research from
your laboratory or country. Your suggestions for topic are welcome.
The article should contain about 700 words (max. 800) with a
maximum of two graphs/illustrations (highest possible resolution in
jpeg, psd or eps). Thank you to send the text in word format.
The deadline for sending your contribution for publication in the
issue n°7 is May 22nd, 2007. Please note that contributions for the
following issues are also welcome.
I kindly ask you to inform me as soon as possible if you will be
able to contribute to the coming IMBER Update
Elena Fily, Administrative Assistant
IMBER International Project Office
Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer Place
N. Copernic 29280 Plouzané, France
elena.fily at univ-brest.fr
Tel. +33 (0)2 98 49 86 72
Fax. +33 (0)2 98 49 86 09
***************************************************
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'
********************
(JOBS 1) Postdocs - Glaciology - Canadian IPY GLACIODYN Project (Canada)
http://web.unbc.ca/~boon/IPY/index.html
Applications are being accepted for three postdoctoral positions
and one PhD student position on the Canadian IPY project GLACIODYN,
an international study of the dynamic response of arctic tidewater
glaciers to climate change. The project involves six Canadian
universities, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, and collaborators
in the United Kingdom.
The postdoctoral positions are located at the University of
Alberta, Edmonton; Simon Fraser University, Vancouver; and Memorial
University of Newfoundland, St. John's. The PhD student position is
located at the University of Ottawa.
Full project and position descriptions, including required
qualifications, available funding, principle investigator contact
information, and application instructions, are available at: http://
web.unbc.ca/~boon/IPY/index.html or contact: Martin Sharp, Department
of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta,
Phone: 780-492-5249 E-mail: martin.sharp at ualberta.ca
********************
(JOB 2) Faculty, Tenure-track - chemical oceanography - Univ. of
Miami, Florida (USA)
The Division of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry plans to add a
tenure track scientist to its faculty. Scientists employing
observational and/or modeling techniques related to the marine
environment will be considered. A Ph.D. in chemistry, marine
geochemistry, oceanography or related field is required. The
selection will be based on scientific excellence and the potential of
disciplinary integration within both the Division faculty and other
School divisions. The successful candidate will be expected to
develop an independent, externally funded research program and to
publish in refereed journals. Teaching and student mentoring
interests and skills are required.
A curriculum vitae, a summary of research and education
experience and goals, and the names/addresses/phone numbers of three
referees should be sent by June 30, 2007.
Send applications to: Marine Chemistry Faculty Search Chair,
Division of Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry, Rosenstiel School of
Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami,
Florida 33149 USA; 1-305-421-4731 http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/divs/
mac/.
********************
(JOBS 3) Two Non-Tenure Track Faculty Positions - Earth Science and
Oceanography - Univ. of San Diego, CA (USA)
The University of San Diego (USD) Department of Marine Science
and Environmental Studies invites applications for two non-tenure
track faculty positions for the 2007-2008 academic year. The first
position is a full-time sabbatical replacement position in marine
geology and earth system science. Expected teaching responsibilities
include: two upper-division/graduate courses (Geological Oceanography
with laboratory and History of Earth and Climate) and two other
courses, which may at the introductory or upper-division level. The
second position is a 5/8th time benefited position in oceanography.
Teaching responsibilities include one upper-division/graduate level
course (Physical & Chemical Oceanography with laboratory) and two
other courses. USD is an independent Catholic university whose
primary aim is teaching excellence. Applicants should submit a
curriculum vitae and list of three references by May 15th, 2007 to:
Chair, Department of Marine Science and Environmental Studies, 5998
Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110-2492. For further information
contact Dr. Michel Boudrias: boum at sandiego.edu.
********************
(JOB 4) Post-Doc - Oceanography - Mohn-Sverdrup Center For Global
Ocean Studies And Operational Oceanography, Bergen (Norway)
The Mohn-Sverdrup Center seeks one post-doc for 2 years for eddy-
resolving modelling studies of the Nordic Seas:
The post.doc will continue the developments of a high-resolution
HYCOM model covering the Nordic Seas. The model system will be used
to study the mesoscale eddy activity in the area, in order to achieve
a better understanding of the large scale circulation and mixing
processes.
The post-doc will work in a dynamic team of 15 and will
participate to collaborative project work with both international and
Norwegian partners. The post-doc is funded by a grant from the
Norwegian Research Council through the project "Ocean Weather and
Ecosystems".
Candidates must hold a PhD in oceanography and have experience in
ocean modelling.
The Leaderteam of the Mohn-Sverdrup Center is: Prof. Ola M.
Johannessen, Director, Dr. Laurent Bertino, Co-Director, Dr. Geir
Evensen, Research Director II (part time position).
Deadline for application is 15th May 2007. Send application with
CV and publication list to Ola M. Johannessen
( Ola.Johannessen at nersc.no).
********************
**************************************************
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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