[DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 9/7/2007
Ruth Ladderud
ladderra at whitman.edu
Thu Sep 6 18:47:37 CDT 2007
DISCCRS News
9/7/2007
************************************
TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
New Website Available - Gateway to the UN System's Work on Climate
Change
http://www.un.org/climatechange/
(see RESOURCES 1 below)
SCIENCE NEWS
WWF published a new report on coal, "COMING CLEAN The Truth and
Future of Coal in Asia Pacific"
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/coming_clean.pdf
(see NEWS 1 below)
New UNFCCC/UNEP Risoe CDM Bazaar web-portal
www.cdmbazaar.net
(see NEWS 2 below)
Policymakers turn attention to ocean acidification
(see NEWS 3 below)
JOBS
Field Director - Earth Watch - North America (Maryland, USA)
http://www.disccrs.org/news.html
Asst Prof - Environmental geography and political economy -
Department of Geography at Syracuse University (New York, USA)
(see JOB 1 below)
Asst. Prof - surface water hydrology – University of California at
Berkeley (USA)
(see JOB 2 below)
Asst Prof - Environmental Studies -- Eckerd College – St Petersburg,
Florida (USA)
(see JOB 3 below)
Asst Prof -Environmental Studies - St. Lawrence University
http://chronicle.com/jobs/id.php?id=0000519981-01
(see JOB 4 below)
3 Positions - Bering Sea Sub Network - Aleut International
Association - Anchorage, Alaska (USA)
http://www.aleut-international.org/Page3.html
(see JOB 5 below)
Post-doc (2 years) - Tree-ring analysis – Auckland – (New Zealand)
(see JOB 6 below)
Asst. Prof - Earth System Science - Lehigh University (Pennsylvania,
USA)
(see JOB 7 below)
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Resources and Funding Opportunities
(RESOURCES 1) New Website Available - Gateway to the UN System's Work
on Climate Change
http://www.un.org/climatechange/
The United Nations (UN) announces a new website, "Gateway to the
UN System's Work on Climate Change," which provides access to climate
change information from various agencies of the UN. The website
features the most recent scientific reports from the UN, the latest
developments on efforts to reach a new international climate change
agreement, climate change events, news, webcasts, projects in the
field, and climate change information for youth.
***************************************************
Science News
(NEWS 1) WWF published a new report on coal, "COMING CLEAN The Truth
and Future of Coal in Asia Pacific"
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/coming_clean.pdf
It shows the share in supply that coal can account for (20
percent by 2050), only with the use of CCS. It emphasizes the local
environmental and social impact of coal. Experts from Australia,
Philippines, India and China contributed to this report.
The report is based on WWF's Climate Solutions report, and framed
around the development priorities of Asia. Key needs include:
a) a price on coal to reflect its true cost/carbon price (whether
through taxes or emissions trading)
b) the deployment of low emissions technology (to address both local
and global pollution)
c) a strengthened EIA processes, as this is integral in getting
public acceptance for CCS and reducing the local impacts of coal use.
********************
(NEWS 2) New UNFCCC/UNEP Risoe CDM Bazaar web-portal
www.cdmbazaar.net
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) have announced the official launch of the CDM Bazaar web-
portal <www.cdmbazaar.net>, designed to facilitate exchange of
information among buyers, sellers and service providers engaged in
the clean development mechanism (CDM).
The website allows stakeholders in the CDM to post information,
such as potential emission reduction projects looking for financing
or partnering, certified emission reduction (CER) credits available
for sale, buyers looking for carbon credits to purchase, services
available from various providers, and carbon market related events.
By posting on the CDM Bazaar the CERs they have for sale,
developing-country CDM project proponents can expect competitive
offers from carbon credit buyers. The website is not, however, meant
to be a trading platform for CERs, but rather an information exchange
platform designed to create opportunities.
The CDM Bazaar was designed by the carbon finance team at the
UNEP RISOE Centre in Denmark in cooperation with the UNFCCC secretariat.
For more information please contact: Daniele Violetti, Clean
Development Mechanism, UNFCCC, e-mail: dvioletti at unfccc.int or
Sami Kamel, Carbon Finance Coordinator, UNEP Risoe Centre on Energy,
Climate and Sustainable Development, e-mail: sami.kamel at risoe.dk
********************
(NEWS 3) Policymakers turn attention to ocean acidification
Taken from ASLO Aquatic Science Policy Report: July and August 2007
As policymakers continue discussions regarding climate change and
its consequences, ocean acidification is gaining attention as well.
Earlier this year, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Technology held a hearing on the effects of ocean acidification on
living marine resources. At the hearing, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
expressed pleasure that the committee was discussing ocean
acidification, which she says “is potentially one of the most
disconcerting aspects of ocean-related climate science.”
Six witnesses testified at the hearing, including ASLO member
Scott Doney. Doney, Senior Scientist in the Department of Marine
Chemistry and Geochemistry at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute,
told the committee that global warming should actually be called
“ocean warming” since more than 80% of the added heat resides in the
ocean. Doney also addressed controversial proposals to combat climate
change with large-scale fertilizations of the ocean with iron. “There
remain outstanding scientific questions about whether iron resulted
in any enhanced long-term carbon storage in the ocean.” Doney
presented the committee with a list of questions regarding large-
scale ocean fertilization, which he says the scientific and policy
communities need to work closely together to answer.
Following the hearing, Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Maria
Cantwell (D-WA) introduced S. 1581, the Ocean Acidification Research
bill. In his introductory remarks, Sen. Lautenberg noted that
Congress has been hearing from experts about ocean acidification
since 2004. “Now,” he said, “is the time for national investment in a
coordinated program of research and monitoring to improve
understanding of ocean acidification, and strengthen the ability of
marine resource managers to assess and prepare for the harmful
impacts of ocean acidification on our marine resources.” The bill
creates an interagency task force (to be chaired by NOAA) and new
research program housed at NOAA to address ocean acidification. The
bill authorizes a total of $30 million each year for fiscal years
2008 through 2012 for the activities. A similar bill will likely be
introduced in the House very soon.
Ocean acidification is also gaining attention at the state level.
In August, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned seven
states -- Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, New York, and
New Jersey -- to regulate carbon dioxide under Clean Water Act (a
similar petition was filed in California earlier this year). The
petition argues that coastal waters are being impaired by excess
carbon dioxide and should be included on the list of impaired water
bodies for 2008. By law, the states must consider the data on ocean
acidification submitted in the petition. If coastal waters are listed
under the Act, states would be required to limit carbon dioxide
entering the ocean waters under their jurisdiction.
Further information: An archived webcast and copies of written
testimony from the Senate hearing on ocean acidification can be found
at: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?
FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=1860
***************************************************
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) Asst Prof - Environmental geography and political economy -
Department of Geography at Syracuse University (New York, USA)
The Department of Geography at Syracuse University seeks to hire
an environmental geographer at the Assistant Professor rank. This is
a tenure track appointment. PhD required at time of appointment.
We are particularly interested in individuals with research and
teaching interests in the political economy of nature, critical
resource geography, or political ecology. The area of specialization
is open, but the Department hopes to hire a scholar who will make
theoretical and methodological contributions to the analysis of the
intersections between environmental geography and political economy.
The successful candidate will be expected to complement and deepen
the Department¹s existing strengths in both these areas. Syracuse
University and the Department of Geography are committed to inter-
disciplinary environmental research, and the successful candidate
will have the opportunity to coordinate with a number of units on
campus with environmental foci. These include the State University
of New York¹s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which
adjoins the SU campus, and the Center for Environmental Policy and
Administration (CEPA) in Syracuse¹s Maxwell School. The Department
strongly values excellence in teaching, and the successful candidate
will be expected to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses.
Faculty members normally teach two courses per semester.
Apply: applications should be sent to Environmental Geography
Search, Department of Geography, 144 Eggers Hall, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, New York 13244-1020.
Applications must be postmarked by October 10, 2007. Letters of
application should detail the applicant¹s research program and
teaching interests, and should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae,
teaching statement, and writing samples. Three letters of reference
should also be arranged and mailed separately. The successful
candidate must have a PhD at time of appointment. Inquiries may be
directed to Professor Tod Rutherford, Search Committee Chair,
315-443-3533; trutherf at maxwell.syr.edu
********************
(JOB 2) Asst. Prof - surface water hydrology – University of
California at Berkeley (USA)
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the
University of California, Berkeley, invites applications for a tenure-
track assistant professor position in surface water hydrology. The
appointment will be effective July 1, 2008. The successful candidate
must hold a doctoral degree in an appropriate field and must
demonstrate potential for high-quality research and teaching.
Research interests should incorporate a fundamental approach to the
hydrologic cycle that could encompass theoretical aspects of water
transport, measurement technologies, integrative data analysis, and
predictive modeling. Examples of research approaches include, but are
not limited to, mechanistic studies in large-scale water circulation,
ecosystem response to dynamic water stressors, human-altered systems,
responses to climate change, terrestrial and atmospheric coupling,
and the water-energy nexus. Expanding the disciplinary basis of
hydrologic science is highly desirable. The faculty member will teach
undergraduate and graduate courses as part of the Civil &
Environmental Engineering curricula. The faculty member will be
expected to interact with faculty in the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, the College of Engineering, research
centers on campus, and relevant professional organizations.
Applicants must send by November 9, 2007, a detailed resume, a
statement of teaching and research interests, copies of no more than
two publications or manuscripts, and the names and contact
information for five references. Applications postmarked after the
deadline will not be considered.
Submission of electronic applications is preferred. Please go to
our department website at www.ce.berkeley.edu. Alternately, hard copy
applications can be sent to Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, Chair, Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, MC 1710, ATTN: Hydrology Faculty
Search Committee, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
94720-1710.
********************
(JOB 3) Asst Prof - Environmental Studies -- Eckerd College – St
Petersburg, Florida (USA)
Ph.D. required. Someone to contribute to thriving
interdisciplinary environmental studies program whose expertise is in
coastal policy, planning and/or management. Ideal candidate will
have an environmentally related degree, be an excellent teacher and
active researcher. Teach seven courses per academic year, including
introduction to environmental studies, sophomore level coastal
management, applied statistics, and other coastal-related classes in
candidate's area of expertise, to help shape potential new minor in
coastal management. Participation in an interdisciplinary, values-
oriented general education program is required, including regular
rotation in the two-semester freshman program. Eckerd College, the
only independent national liberal arts college in Florida, has a
tradition of innovative education and teaching/mentoring excellence
and is located directly on the Gulf of Mexico. Send letter of
application, vita, teaching evaluations, statement of teaching
philosophy, graduate and undergraduate transcripts, and three letters
of recommendation by October 19, 2007 to Dr. Alison Ormsby, Eckerd
College (BES), 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33711.
No electronic applications please. ********************
(JOB 4) Asst Prof -Environmental Studies - St. Lawrence University
http://chronicle.com/jobs/id.php?id=0000519981-01
Recreation Resource Management/ Environmental Assessment/
Ecotourism St. Lawrence University seeks a qualified candidate for a
tenure-track position in environmental studies at the assistant
professor level. The successful candidate will be an individual whose
academic interest is recreation resource management, environmental
assessment, and/or ecotourism. Candidates should possess at least one
of the following: good understanding of theories and models of
recreation, grounding in the ecological impacts of nature/eco-
tourism, familiarity with policy issues of contemporary recreation
resource management, analytical experience in environmental analysis
and assessment. In addition, field-oriented knowledge of the natural
world and/or knowledge of international issues would be helpful. This
person will teach Introduction to Environmental Studies regularly as
well. The successful candidate will also have an on-going research
program which can include undergraduate students. All faculty in
environmental studies periodically teach a course in the University's
First Year Program and opportunities exist for teaching in the
University's Adirondack Semester Program as well. Ph.D. is preferred;
ABD will be considered.
Review of applications begins the 20th of January 2008. A letter
of application, curriculum vita, transcripts, brief descriptions of
two upper level courses, and names and contact information for 3
references should be sent to: Chair, Environmental Studies Search,
Environmental Studies Department, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY
13617. We encourage applications from candidates who bring diverse
cultural, ethnic and national perspectives to their scholarship and
teaching. For more information please visit SLU's homepage at http://
www.stlawu.edu
********************
(JOBS 5) 3 Positions - Bering Sea Sub Network - Aleut International
Association - Anchorage, Alaska (USA)
http://www.aleut-international.org/Page3.html
Positions Open Until Filled
The Aleut International Association seeks to fill three positions
for Bering Sea Sub Network (BSSN): International Community-Based
Observation Alliance for Arctic Observing Network, an IPY project
funded by the National Science Foundation that will be implemented in
cooperation with the University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Native
Science Commission, and UNEP-GRID Arendal from June 2007 through May
2009.
The open positions are Senior Project Coordinator, Data
Management Research Assistant, and Administrative Assistant.
The overall goal of BSSN is to improve the scientific knowledge
of the environmental changes in the BSSN region that have
significance for the understanding of pan-arctic processes to enable
scientists, arctic communities, and governments to predict, plan, and
respond to these changes.
BSSN will address:
- historical and present distribution and properties of economic and
subsistence-important species as derived from collective indigenous
and traditional knowledge;
- types of major variables and indicators that could be correlated
with western science to develop predictable models based on
indigenous and traditional knowledge; and
- spatial and temporal convergence and divergence of community-
derived and western science data.
The project will result in a report entitled "The State of the
Bering Sea Bioresources: Perspectives of Local Residents," an
assessment based on observations of local and indigenous residents.
Observations will be collected across the network using standard
protocols and will be based on sophisticated surveying methods, such
as Cognitive Interviewing techniques. The BSSN project is composed of
six participating communities: Gambell, Togiak, and Sand Point in
Alaska; and Lorino, Tymlat, and Nikolskoye in Russia.
contact: Jim Gamble, Assistant Director, E-mail: aia at alaska.net
********************
(JOB 6) Post-doc (2 years) - Tree-ring analysis – Auckland – (New
Zealand)
An opportunity exists to undertake post-doctoral studies
investigating the potential for intra-annual climate reconstruction
from kauri tree-rings, at the University of Auckland Tree Ring
Laboratory (School of Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science).
Recent work has identified relationships between kauri growth and
climate (especially ENSO) at whole-ring level and we are now keen to
see investigation of the potential for climate reconstruction from
sub-annual cellular structure.
Some brief details of the project are provided below. Interested
candidates are invited to contact Anthony Fowler in the first
instance to obtain further information about the planned research and
details about how to apply.
The position would particularly suit a dendrochronologist
familiar with automated image analysis software.
Funding is available immediately (for 2 years) and the position
should be taken up by the end of 2007.
RESEARCH TEAM Dr Anthony Fowler (Principal Investigator)
a.fowler at auckland.ac.nz Dr Gretel Boswijk (Associate
Investigator) g.boswijk at auckland.ac.nz
TITLE 1000 years of intra-annual climate history reconstructed
from the anatomy of kauri tree rings
BRIEF OUTLINE OF PROJECT Research undertaken by the University
of Auckland Tree-Ring Laboratory has focused on the potential of
Agathis australis (kauri) tree rings as a palaeoclimate proxy. A
substantial archive of wood has been assembled and a multi-millennial
calendar-dated master tree-ring chronology has been developed. A
regional-scale climate forcing signal in kauri tree-ring widths has
been identified, which has been definitively linked to the El Niño -
Southern Oscillation phenomenon.
To date, kauri tree-ring research has focused on the signal
contained in total ring width. No systematic investigation has yet
been undertaken of intra-annual ring features (e.g. variations across
an annual ring in wood density), thought likely to contain a wealth
of additional environmental information. With the total-ring-width
kauri research now well advanced, it is opportune to investigate the
potential of intra-ring features as environmental proxies.
The proposed research will search for intra-ring features in
kauri tree rings that carry information about environmental forcing.
These will be quantified, where possible, using image analysis
software. Relationships between the intra-ring features and
environmental forcing will be established through a combination of
field experimentation and empirical analysis. Transfer functions
derived from these analyses will then be used to reconstruct
associated environmental variables for the last 1000 years. Given
known total-ring-width relationships, we hypothesize that the
research will provide additional insights into the characteristics of
past El Niño and La Niña events. However, we are also hopeful that
additional information, related to variables such as early spring
temperature and summer soil water, may also be forthcoming.
********************
(JOB 7) Asst. Prof - Earth System Science - Lehigh University
(Pennsylvania, USA)
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences has a tenure-
track opening at the Assistant Professor level for an Earth System
Scientist who conducts research in the near-surface environment where
biological, geological, hydrological, atmospheric and human processes
interact. We seek an individual doing innovative research, ideally
with observations and modeling directed toward understanding the
processes that control the behavior of the global environment and its
response to natural and anthropogenic forcing at geologic to modern
time scales. Fields of interest include, but are not limited to
biogeochemistry, climatology, oceanography, glaciology, geobiology,
and ecosystem ecology.
We expect the successful candidate to develop a vigorous
externally funded research program, teach a course in their field of
expertise, contribute to our undergraduate and graduate curricula,
and mentor Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate students. This position is
one of several new hires in Earth and Environmental Sciences,
engineering, and the social sciences expected to participate in a
university wide, multidisciplinary initiative focusing on the
environment.
To receive full consideration, applicants should submit by
November 15th a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of
research and teaching interests, up to 3 reprints, and the names of
three referees to Prof Dork Sahagian, Search Committee Chair,
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 31 Williams Drive,
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015.
For further information about the EES Department, see: http://
www.ees.lehigh.edu/.
**************************************************
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://disccrs.org
DISCCRS poster http://disccrs.org
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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