From ladderra at whitman.edu Sun Jan 7 15:24:36 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2007 13:24:36 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 1/7/2007 Message-ID: <837AB3AC-7FA4-4BC9-A007-EDE6FB6F6B03@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 1/7/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES The U.S. House of Representatives (Washington, DC) The Committee on Science and Technology has changed their name from The Committee on Science. Their new website is billed as a one-stop shop for the latest science and Committee news, hearing and event schedules and broadcasts, science educational tools for teachers and students, and a clearinghouse of federal science resources. http://science.house.gov Grant Solicitation: National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research and Education: Planning Visits and Workshops (USA) NSF 04-035 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04035/nsf04035.htm (see RESOURCES 1 below) Climate Commons - A new website for general public http://www.climate-commons.net (see RESOURCES 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Global Warming Could Transform Amazon Into Savanna In 100 Years, Brazil Researchers Say http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/29/america/ LA_GEN_Brazil_Amazon_Warming.php Illegal Power Plants, Coal Mines In China Pose Challenge for Beijing http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116718773722060212.html (see NEWS 1 below) Overconfidence Leads To Bias In Climate Change Estimations http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/ 2006/2006121523900.html (see NEWS 2 below) Middle Stance Emerges in Debate Over Climate (see NEWS 3 below) Himalaya's Receding Glaciers Suffer Neglect http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p07s02-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/y675r6 (see NEWS 4 below) U.S. Wants Polar Bears Listed as Threatened http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/ AR2006122601034.html?sub=new (see NEWS 5 below) Ancient Global Warming Was Jarring, Not Subtle, Study Finds http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- climate5jan05,1,5178647.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/ybslbc (see NEWS 6 below) JOBS Asst./Assoc. Prof. tenurable - Marine Biology - Department of Biological Sciences and Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory - University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa , AL (USA) http://www.academiccareers.com/cgi-win/jobsite/sendjob.exe/ACO/? 15262 Physical Oceanographer - British Antarctic Survey - BAS Cambridge (UK) plus research cruises in Antarctica http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Employment/vacancies/job.php? tab=1&JobID=177 (see JOB 1 below) Research Assoc. - Climate-Ecosystem Feedbacks - University of California, Merced (USA) http://jobs.ucmerced.edu/n/staff/position.jsf?positionId=788. (see JOB 2 below) Asst. Prof. tenure track- Science and Environmental Policy - California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) (USA) http://mocha.csumb.edu/uhr/jobs/job_announce.jsp? job_number=FAC2006-0116&req_id=000767 (see JOB 3 below) Asst. Prof. tenure-track - Environmental Studies Program/Geosciences - Knox College - Galesburg, IL (USA) (see JOB 4 below) PostDoc - Study of heatwave and drought episodes in Europe - Laboratoire de Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement ? Paris (France). (see JOB 5 below) Asst. Prof. tenure track ? Tropical Climate Dynamics - Geography/ Atmospheric Science - Ohio State University - Columbus, OH (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Asst./Assoc. Prof. ? Atmosphere/Biosphere Modeling - College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences - University of Minnesota ? St. Paul, MN (USA) https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition#145103) (see JOB 7 below) Asst./Assoc. Prof. ? Atmosphere/Biosphere Modeling - College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences - University of Minnesota ? St. Paul, MN (USA) https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition#145103) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - Dynamical Meteorology - Inst for Atmospheric & Climate Science ? Zurich (Switzerland) http://www.iac.ethz.ch/positions/postdoc_broennimann/ (see JOB 9 below) Research Fellow - Analysis of Options for International Action on Climate Change - Tyndall Centre - Oxford University (UK) (see JOB 10 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Grant Solicitation: National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research and Education: Planning Visits and Workshops (USA) NSF 04-035 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04035/nsf04035.htm International Planning Visit/Workshop Awards can support the initial phases of developing and coordinating integrated research and education activities with foreign partners. Support is primarily for travel and subsistence expenses. Grant proposals for Planning Visits may be submitted anytime, see website for deadlines for grant proposals for workshops. Support of international activities is an integral part of NSF's mission to sustain and strengthen the nation's science, mathematics, and engineering capabilities, and to promote the use of those capabilities in service to society. In particular, NSF recognizes the importance of enabling U.S. researchers and educators to advance their work through international collaboration, and the importance of helping ensure that future generations of U.S. scientists and engineers gain professional experience beyond this nation's borders early in their careers. Encouraging and supporting the participation of students, recent Ph.D.'s, junior faculty members, women, and minority and disabled scientists and engineers is an OISE priority. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Climate Commons - A new website for general public http://www.climate-commons.net The new website, Climate Commons, looks like a great resource for the general public, and may give others some ideas for reaching beyond the ivory towers. I encourage you to take a look. Climate Commons is a networked conversation about climate change, sustainability, and the Arctic. The website features thirteen core participants, including a glaciologist, architect, journalist, and comedian, each of whom contributes weekly posts about their work, inspirations, discoveries, or questions. Readers can join the conversation by clicking on the comments "hex" icon and choosing a cell in which to respond to any particular post. Please note that you must register to post comments. As an interdisciplinary, collaborative art/research project, Climate Commons seeks to point to voices behind complex environmental concerns and to create connections, analogies, and discussion across disciplines, economies, and ideologies. Core participants include: Sally Bingham, Episcopal Priest Jock Gill, Carbon Neutral by 2020 Mitchell Joachim, Architect Jane D. Marsching, Artist Larry Merculieff, Alaska Native Science Commission Robert Newman, Comedian Matt Nolan, Glaciologist James Overland, Climatologist Sarah Rich, WorldChanging Russell Potter, Historian Andrew Revkin, Environmental Journalist, The New York Times Matthew Shanley, Artist/Programmer Juanita Urban-Rich, Windows Around the World Climate Commons is part of a larger project, Arctic Listening Post, a series of interdisciplinary, collaborative hybrid art research works in digital technologies by Marsching. The project is supported by Creative Capital and LEF Foundation Contemporary Work Fund and will conclude at the end of February 2007. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Illegal Power Plants, Coal Mines In China Pose Challenge for Beijing http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116718773722060212.html Wall Street Journal - JUBAO VILLAGE, China -- On the edge of this dusty farming hamlet, the massive smokestack of the half-finished Xinfeng Power Plant looms as a monument to China's out-of-control demand for energy. Unlike two other power plants nearby, Xinfeng isn't supposed to exist. China's electricity regulators never authorized the $362 million coal-burning plant. But in 2004, the provincial government here in northern China's Inner Mongolia ignored Beijing's call to slow down investment and started building the plant anyway, hoping to ensure enough juice for the region's supercharged industrialization by tapping its rich reservoirs of coal. Inner Mongolia's disobedience might have escaped notice. But in July 2005, in the rush to finish the plant before regulators found out about it, the housing for a turbine collapsed, killing six workers. During the yearlong investigation that followed, the central government discovered that Inner Mongolia had illegally built about 10 power plants, or 8.6 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity -- equal to about a 10th of the United Kingdom's total capacity. The illegal plants have had unintended -- and detrimental -- consequences. By eschewing even basic environmental safeguards, they stand out as polluters even in an industry that is one of China's leading sources of emissions, officials say. They also have driven up the demand for and price of coal, the country's most abundant source of fuel. That, in turn, has spawned thousands of illegal coal mines that have contributed to more than 4,000 coal-mining deaths in China this year. Continued... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116718773722060212.html ******************** (NEWS 2) Overconfidence Leads To Bias In Climate Change Estimations http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/ 2006/2006121523900.html NASA Earth Observatory - Just as overconfidence in a teenager may lead to unwise acts, overconfidence in projections of climate change may lead to inappropriate actions on the parts of governments, industries and individuals, according to an international team of climate researchers. "Climate researchers often use a scenario approach," says Dr. Klaus Keller, assistant professor of geosciences, Penn State. "Nevertheless, scenarios are typically silent on the question of probabilities." The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is in its third round of climate assessment, uses models that scenarios of human climate forcing drive. These forcing scenarios are, the researchers say, overconfident. "One key question is which scenario is likely, which is less likely and which they can neglect for practical purposes," says Keller who is also affiliated with the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment. "At the very least, the scenarios should span the range of relevant future outcomes. This relevant range should also include low-probability, high-impact events." The researchers provide evidence that the current practice neglects a sizeable fraction of these low probability events and results in biased outcomes. Keller; Louis Miltich, graduate student; Alexander Robinson, Penn State research assistant now on a Fulbright Fellowship in Berlin, and Richard Tol, senior research officer, Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland, developed an Integrated Assessment Model to derive probabilistic projections of carbon dioxide emissions on a century time scale. Their results extended far beyond the range of previously published scenarios, the researchers told attendees today (December 15) at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Noting that overconfidence is an often observed effect, Keller cites a study reviewing estimates of the weight of an electron as an example. The reported range for the weight of an electron from 1955 to the mid-1960s did not include the weight considered correct today. On a more closely related topic, the range of energy use projections in the 1970s typically missed the observed trends. "We need to identify key sources of overconfidence and critically reevaluate previous studies," says Keller. According to their study, past scenarios of carbon dioxide emissions can miss as much as 40 percent of probabilistic projection, missing a large number of low-probability events. The omitted scenarios may include low-probability, high-impact events. "If low-probability, high-impact events exist, such as threshold responses of ocean currents or ice sheets, omitting these scenarios can lead to poor decision making," says Keller. "We need to see the full range of possible scenarios, because the actual outcome may not be contained in the central estimate. "New tools and faster computers enable a considerably improved uncertainty analysis," he adds. "If you do not tell how likely the probability of a scenario is, people are left to guess. A sound scientific analysis can at least tell how consistent these guesses are with the available observations and simple, but transparent assumption." ******************** (NEWS 3) Middle Stance Emerges in Debate Over Climate The New York Times - Amid the shouting lately about whether global warming is a human-caused catastrophe or a hoax, some usually staid climate scientists in the usually invisible middle are speaking up. The discourse over the issue has been feverish since Hurricane Katrina. Seizing the moment, many environmental campaigners, former Vice President Al Gore and some scientists have portrayed the growing human influence on the climate as an unfolding disaster that is already measurably strengthening hurricanes, spreading diseases and amplifying recent droughts and deluges. Conservative politicians and a few scientists, many with ties to energy companies, have variously countered that human-driven warming is inconsequential, unproved or a manufactured crisis. A third stance is now emerging, espoused by many experts who challenge both poles of the debate. They agree that accumulating carbon dioxide and other heat- trapping smokestack and tailpipe gases probably pose a momentous environmental challenge, but say the appropriate response is more akin to buying fire insurance and installing sprinklers and new wiring in an old, irreplaceable house (the home planet) than to fighting a fire already raging. "Climate change presents a very real risk," said Carl Wunsch, a climate and oceans expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It seems worth a very large premium to insure ourselves against the most catastrophic scenarios. Denying the risk seems utterly stupid. Claiming we can calculate the probabilities with any degree of skill seems equally stupid." Many in this camp seek a policy of reducing vulnerability to all climate extremes while building public support for a sustained shift to nonpolluting energy sources. They have made their voices heard in Web logs, news media interviews and at least one statement from a large scientific group, the World Meteorological Organization. In early December, that group posted a statement written by a committee consisting of most of the climatologists assessing whether warming seas have affected hurricanes. While each degree of warming of tropical oceans is likely to intensify such storms a percentage point or two in the future, they said, there is no firm evidence of a heat-triggered strengthening in storms in recent years. The experts added that the recent increase in the impact of storms was because of more people getting in harm's way, not stronger storms. There are enough experts holding such views that Roger A. Pielke Jr., a political scientist and blogger at the University of Colorado, Boulder, came up with a name for them (and himself): "nonskeptical heretics." "A lot of people have independently come to the same sort of conclusion," Dr. Pielke said. "We do have a problem, we do need to act, but what actions are practical and pragmatic?" This approach was most publicly laid out in an opinion article on the BBC Web site in November by Mike Hulme, the director of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research in Britain. Dr. Hulme said that shrill voices crying doom could paralyze instead of inspire. "I have found myself increasingly chastised by climate change campaigners when my public statements and lectures on climate change have not satisfied their thirst for environmental drama," he wrote. "I believe climate change is real, must be faced and action taken. But the discourse of catastrophe is in danger of tipping society onto a negative, depressive and reactionary trajectory." Other experts say there is no time for nuance, given the general lack of public response to the threat posed particularly by carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and forests that persists for a century or more in the air and is accumulating rapidly in the atmosphere and changing the pH of the oceans. James E. Hansen, the veteran climate scientist with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration who has spoken out about climate dangers since 1988, has recently said that scientists have been too quiet too long. "If we want to avoid producing a different planet, we need to start acting now," and not with paltry steps, he said in a recent e- mail exchange with a reporter and other scientists. "It seems almost to be a secret that we cannot put all of the fossil-fuel CO2 into the air without producing a different planet, and yes, dangerous change. There are people who don't know that!" Debate among scientists over how to describe the climate threat is particularly intense right now as experts work on the final language in portions of the latest assessment of global warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In three previous reports, the last published in 2001, this global network of scientists operating under the auspices of the United Nations has presented an ever-firmer picture of a growing human role in warming. Studies used to generate the next report (portions are to be issued in February) have shown a likely warming in the 21st century ? unless emissions of greenhouse gases abate ? at least several times that of the last century's one-degree rise. But substantial uncertainty still clouds projections of important impacts, like how high and quickly seas would rise as ice sheets thawed. Recent drafts of the climate report used a conservative analysis that does not project a rise most people would equate with catastrophe, scientists involved in writing it say. Other experts say this may send too comforting a message. Dr. Hulme insists that it is best not to gloss over uncertainties. In fact, he and other experts say that uncertainty is one reason to act ? as a hedge against the prospect that problems could be much worse than projected. His goal, Dr. Hulme said, is to raise public appreciation of the unprecedented scale and nature of the challenge. "Climate change is not a problem waiting for a solution (least of all a solution delivered and packaged by science), but a powerful idea that will transform the way we develop," he said in an e-mail message. Dr. Hulme and others avoid sounding alarmist, but offer scant comfort to anyone who doubts that humans are contributing to warming or believes the matter can be deferred. These experts see a clear need for the public to engage now, but not to panic. They worry that portrayals of the issue like that in "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary focused on the views of Mr. Gore, may push too hard. Many in this group also see a need to portray clearly that the response would require far more than switching to fluorescent light bulbs and to hybrid cars. "This is a mega-ethical challenge," said Jerry D. Mahlman, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., who has studied global warming for more than three decades. "In space, it's the size of a planet, and in time, it has scales far broader than what we go-go Homo sapiens are accustomed to dealing with." Dr. Mahlman and others say that the buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases cannot be quickly reversed with existing technologies. And even if every engine on earth were shut down today, they add, there would be no measurable impact on the warming rate for many years, given the buildup of heat already banked in the seas. Because of the scale and time lag, a better strategy, Dr. Mahlman and others say, is to treat human-caused warming more as a risk to be reduced than a problem to be solved. These experts also say efforts to attribute recent weather extremes to the climate trend, though they may generate headlines in the short run, distract from the real reasons to act, which relate more to the long-term relationship of people and the planet. "Global warming is real, it's serious, but it's just one of many global challenges that we're facing," said John M. Wallace, a climatologist at the University of Washington. "I portray it as part of a broader problem of environmental stewardship ? preserving a livable planet with abundant resources for future generations." Some experts, though, argue that moderation in a message is likely to be misread as satisfaction with the pace of change. John P. Holdren, an energy and environment expert at Harvard and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, defended the more strident calls for limits on carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. "I am one of those who believes that any reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date look at the evidence makes clear that civilization has already generated dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system," Dr. Holdren said. "What keeps me going is my belief that there is still a chance of avoiding catastrophe." ******************** (NEWS 4) Himalaya's Receding Glaciers Suffer Neglect http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0103/p07s02-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/y675r6 Christian Science Monitor - NEW DELHI - Billions of people in China and the Indian subcontinent rely on South Asia's Himalayan glaciers - the world's largest store of fresh water outside the polar ice caps. The massive ice floes feed seven of the world's greatest Asian rivers in one of the world's most densely populated regions. Yet as global climate change slowly melts glaciers from Africa to the Andes, scientists say the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating at a rate of about 33 to 49 feet each year - faster than in any other part of the world. In the Himalayas, the Gangotri Glacier, one of India's largest, is entitled to an even more dubious distinction. Recent studies reveal that the Gangotri, which forms a mass of ice about 18 miles long, is retreating at a rate of more than 100 feet a year. But according to government officials and environmental groups like Greenpeace, very little has been done in the way of a rigorous scientific study. ******************** (NEWS 5) U.S. Wants Polar Bears Listed as Threatened http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/ AR2006122601034.html?sub=new Washington Post - The Bush administration has decided to propose listing the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, putting the U.S. government on record as saying that global warming could drive one of the world's most recognizable animals out of existence. Identifying polar bears as threatened with extinction could have an enormous political and practical impact. As the world's largest bear and as an object of children's affection as well as Christmastime Coca-Cola commercials, the polar bear occupies an important place in the American psyche. Because scientists have concluded that carbon dioxide from power-plant and vehicle emissions is helping drive climate change worldwide, putting polar bears on the endangered species list raises the legal question of whether the government would be required to compel U.S. industries to curb their carbon dioxide output. "We've reviewed all the available data that leads us to believe the sea ice the polar bear depends on has been receding," said the Interior official, who added that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have concluded that polar bears could be endangered within 45 years. "Obviously, the sea ice is melting because the temperatures are warmer." Northern latitudes are warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the globe, according to a 2004 scientific assessment, and by the end of the century annual ocean temperatures in the Arctic may rise an additional 13 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, researchers predict that summer sea ice, which polar bears use as a platform to hunt for ringed seals, will decline 50 to 100 percent. Just this month, researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research outlined a worst-case scenario in which summer sea ice could disappear by 2040. By submitting the proposal today, the Interior Department is meeting a deadline under a legal settlement with three environmental advocacy groups -- the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council and Greenpeace -- that argue the government has not responded quickly enough to the polar bear's plight. The department has been examining the status of polar bears for more than two years. NRDC senior attorney Andrew Wetzler, one of the lawyers who filed suit against the administration, welcomed the proposal for listing. "It's such a loud recognition that global warming is real," Wetzler said. "It is rapidly threatening the polar bear and, in fact, an entire ecosystem with utter destruction." ******************** (NEWS 6) Ancient Global Warming Was Jarring, Not Subtle, Study Finds http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- climate5jan05,1,5178647.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/ybslbc Los Angeles Times - Foreshadowing potential climate chaos to come, early global warming caused unexpectedly severe and erratic temperature swings as rising levels of greenhouse gases helped transform Earth, a team led by researchers at UC Davis said Thursday. The global transition from ice age to greenhouse 300 million years ago was marked by repeated dips and rises in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and wild swings in temperature, with drastic effects on forests and vegetation, the researchers reported in the journal Science. "It was a real yo-yo," said UC Davis geochemist Isabel Montanez, who led researchers from five universities and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. "Should we expect similar but faster climate behavior in the future? One has to question whether that is where we are headed." *************************************************** 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) Physical Oceanographer - British Antarctic Survey - BAS Cambridge (UK) plus research cruises in Antarctica http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Employment/vacancies/job.php? tab=1&JobID=177 The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge, UK, is accepting applications for the position of physical oceanographer. The mission of BAS is to undertake a world-class program of scientific research, addressing key issues of global importance from an Antarctic and Southern Ocean perspective. The position is part of the Discovery 2010 program, which aims to determine how ocean ecosystem structure and dynamics are related to environmental variability and change. The successful candidate will conduct physical oceanographic research, take part in research cruises to Antarctica, analyze and interpret field data, present results at conferences and publish in scientific journals, and coordinate closely with biologists in the Discovery 2010 program to develop interdisciplinary studies of the Southern Ocean and to further understanding of physical controls on the marine ecosystem. The position may also involve analysis of historical data, satellite data, remote sensing data, and the output of numerical models. Candidates must have a PhD in physical oceanography or equivalent, as well as strong numerical, IT, and data analysis skills complemented by sea-going experience and knowledge of at-sea processing methods. Application Deadline: Friday, 19 January 2007 Application forms specifying Reference Number BAS 03/07 may be completed and submitted via the BAS website or printed and sent by regular mail to: Personnel Department, British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, United Kingdom ******************** (JOB 2) Research Assoc. - Climate-Ecosystem Feedbacks - University of California, Merced (USA) http://jobs.ucmerced.edu/n/staff/position.jsf?positionId=788. Description: Research Associate to join an interdisciplinary study of climate-ecosystem feedbacks in the Western United States. The project involves both field measurements and modeling of climate- ecosystem interactions at the regional scale. Field research involves establishing a network of study sites in the Rocky Mountains; collecting carbon, water and energy budget data; and interpreting results in the context of regional climate change. Modeling work involves customization of the dynamic vegetation and land surface components of a regional climate model, model validation, and model experiments for past and future time periods. The exact project focus will be determined by the qualifications and interests of the candidate. The position is available immediately. Initial appointment will be one year, with possible renewal on a year-to-year basis. Renewal of appointment is contingent on performance and availability of funds. Requirements: Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science, Ecology, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Geography, or related field. A solid foundation in ecosystem scale field methods, statistics, computer programming, ecosystem modeling, and/or climate modeling. Strong communication and problem solving skills. Demonstrated ability to work independently and follow through on assignments with minimal supervision. Demonstrated ability to work well with others in a team environment. Skill to organize and prioritize a diversified workload with attention to detail and multiple deadlines. Effective interpersonal skills to establish cooperative working relationships with faculty, staff and students. Demonstrated ability to maintain accurate database files. Demonstrated ability to operate multiple computing platforms (Mac, PC, Linux) and perform data analysis using statistical, GIS and/or other scientific software. Demonstrated ability to use or learn scientific computing languages (Fortran, NCL). Review of applications to begin immediately. This position is open until filled. Apply on line. Contact Lara M. Kueppers (lkueppers at ucmerced.edu) for more information. ******************** (JOB 3) Asst. Prof. tenure track- Science and Environmental Policy - California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) (USA) http://mocha.csumb.edu/uhr/jobs/job_announce.jsp? job_number=FAC2006-0116&req_id=000767 The successful candidate for this position (Job #: FAC2006-0116) will work collaboratively with other division faculty and affiliated scientists who are using science and technology to inform environmental decision-making at local through global scales. The candidate will develop and teach courses that demonstrate the linkages between environmental sciences, economics, and policy to prepare students for careers in real-world regional and global environmental problem-solving activities. Our team of committed faculty, staff and students is searching for fellow team members to fulfill the vision of linking science to policy and environmental decision-making. Responsibilities: * Work closely with the Rote Professor and other SEP faculty as part of an interdisciplinary team to strengthen the ability of SEP to train students to link science to environmental policy and/or environmental management. * Conduct research relevant to SEP, and the local and/or regional community, using science, policy and management analysis tools (e.g. spatial analyses, risk assessment, informed decision-making tools, environmental assessments, modeling, visualization). * Teach one or more lower division undergraduate courses, as well as one or more upper division and/or graduate courses related to environmental policy and/or management, as well as other course(s) in candidate?s specialty. * Work in a collaborative environment to continue to improve the undergraduate and graduate programs in SEP that link science with environmental policy and management. This may include working collaboratively with faculty to integrate policy considerations into existing courses and/or develop new courses. Minimum Qualifications: * Ph.D. completed by time of appointment (August 2007). * Active research program with a record of accomplishments that link science and analysis tools to environmental policy, decision-making, and/or resource management. * Evidence of potential excellence in teaching and mentoring (in the formal or informal sectors). * Demonstrated commitment to teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. * Ability and desire to mentor and teach students from diverse cultural, ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds. * Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment. * Excellent written and oral communication skills. Interested candidates are welcome and urged to contact Dr. Suzanne Worcester ( suzanne_worcester at csumb.edu ) or Dr. William Head ( william_head at csumb.edu) for detailed information about CSUMB, SEP, or the specific demands of this position. Appointment Date: Fall 2007 Application Procedures: All applicants must apply on-line at http://uhr.csumb.edu/jobs/db/fac/. A complete application includes the following: * Faculty Data Sheet (available on-line). * Curriculum Vitae. * A statement/essay that describes your professional experiences linking science to environmental policy and/or management; describes how you fit the qualifications listed above; describes your ability and philosophy in working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment; and describes how your background and experience enable you to help meet the needs and goals of the Division of Science and Environmental Policy, CSUMB, and the broader Monterey Bay and Salinas Valley communities (the University's Vision Statement is available at: www.csumb.edu/general/vision.html). * A statement of your Teaching Philosophy that describes your conception of teaching and learning, how you teach, and why you teach that way. * List of at least four professional references, with telephone numbers and email addresses and an explanation of your relationship with that reference. At least two of these references must be knowledgeable about your teaching expertise, and two references must be knowledgeable about your experience linking science with environmental policy. * Other pertinent documentation such as your website. Online data sheets with attachments must be received BY 5:00 P.M. Tuesday, January 9, 2007 to be guaranteed a review. Online submissions received after the application screening date will be reviewed at the discretion of the University. ******************** (JOB 4) Asst. Prof. tenure-track - Environmental Studies Program/ Geosciences - Knox College - Galesburg, IL (USA) Knox College invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor in its Environmental Studies Program, starting in 2007-2008. We seek an individual with a Ph.D. in the geosciences (ABD considered). Applicants with interdisciplinary experience in environmental studies, environmental law, environmental history, and/ or GIS will be preferred. Applicants will be expected to teach courses in geology, earth science, environmental studies, and statistics. The teaching load is six courses distributed over three trimesters plus the mentoring of senior research projects. Evidence of excellent teaching is desirable. Applications should include: (1) a curriculum vitae; (2) a letter of application which includes a statement of educational philosophy and a statement of teaching experience, effectiveness, and interests; (3) sample of scholarship; and (4) three letters of recommendation. Send to Dr. Peter Schwartzman, Chair, Environmental Studies Program, Knox College, Box K-63, 2 E. South St., Galesburg, IL 61401. Review of applications will begin on January 1, 2007, and continue until position is filled. Environmental Studies, an interdisciplinary program within the sciences, began offering a major in 2000 and currently graduates 10-15 majors a year. For more information, visit our web site: www.knox.edu/environmentalstudies.xml. Knox College is an independent liberal arts college with 1,300 students. In keeping with the college's 169-year commitment to equal rights, Knox actively encourages women and members of other underrepresented groups to apply. ******************** (JOB 5) PostDoc - Study of heatwave and drought episodes in Europe - Laboratoire de Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement ? Paris (France). 1 year contract, extendable to 2 years. Funded on a grant from the French National Research Agency. Starting date: February 2007 or soon thereafter. Salary: around 1600 E/month (NET OF ALL TAXES, and including health insurance). LOCATION: LSCE (Laboratoire de Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement) and/or LMD (Laboratoire deM?t?orologie Dynamique)in Paris, France. REQUIREMENTS: The successful candidate will have a PhD in meteorology/oceanography or climate sciences, a good background in atmospheric/climate dynamics and experience of use and development of mesoscale numerical atmospheric models. The candidate will also have an aptitude for multidisciplinary work in contact with scientists of different disciplines. A knowledge of bio-geo-chemical cycles or of land surface domain physics and ecology will be a plus. SUBJECT: The work will be conducted in the framework of a multidisciplinary project, approaching heatwaves and droughts as a combination of several factors: dynamics, physics, interactions between the biosphere and the atmosphere. The project has the following objectives: 1) to better understand the typical space-time structures of the atmospheric circulation of summer in Europe, their characteristics and their causes. Particular focus will be on the link between weather regimes, tropical forcing and forcing by soil moisture. with an accent on the phenomena of heat waves, 2) to analyze the predictabililty of heat waves, to improve knowledge so that general circulation models better represent and forecast these phenomena, and to develop statistical methods of forecast. 3) to evaluate the impact of heatwaves on the vegetal ecosystems and on the carbon cycle. 4) to develop knowledge in order to be able to put forth hypotheses on their modifications (in frequency, in intensity, in structure) within the framework of the global warming of the planet. In the first year the development of a coupled mesoscale model will be the priority. This will include an advanced surface hydrology and vegetation scheme (ORCHIDEE) and a state of the art atmospheric model (MM5). In the following year the research will develop in different directions, according to the results obtained and the postdoc's inclinations: the analysis of heat-waves dynamics in Climate Change conditions; the effect of heat-wave on the ecosystem and on the carbon cycle and the feedback of land use on the local climate; forecast techniques. CONTACTS: 1) Fabio D'Andrea, Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, Ecole Normale Superieure, 24 Rue Lhomond, 75231 Paris Cedex 05 - France mail: dandrea at lmd.ens.fr 2) Pascal Yiou, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA Saclay, l'Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex ? France e-mail : pascal.yiou at cea.fr ******************** (JOB 6) Asst. Prof. tenure track ? Tropical Climate Dynamics - Geography/Atmospheric Science - Ohio State University - Columbus, OH (USA) Faculty Position in Atmospheric Science (Climate Modeling), The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. The Department of Geography's Atmospheric Sciences Program seeks a full-time, tenure-track faculty member specializing in tropical climate dynamics with an emphasis on large scale processes such as the El Nio-Southern Oscillation, monsoon variability, atmosphere-ocean interactions and their role in generating climate anomalies, decadal fluctuations in the Madden- Julian oscillation, the Hadley and Walker circulations, etc. The successful candidate will have demonstrated expertise in the use of global climate models in conjunction with observational diagnoses. Although the primary emphasis is on contemporary climate variability, a documented interest in centennial and longer time scale climate variability would be advantageous. The new faculty member will join an interdisciplinary team of colleagues participating in the Climate, Water and Carbon Program (CWCP), a new interdisciplinary initiative at The Ohio State University, selected for targeted investment in excellence by the Provost. To be assured of consideration, a completed set of application materials must be received by January 22, 2007, but later applications will be considered until the position is filled. Please reference position CWC-07. A Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science, or closely related field is required by time of appointment. Letter of application, complete CV, graduate transcripts, statement of professional interests and accomplishments, three letters of reference, and selected papers (published, forthcoming, submitted) should be sent to: Morton E. O'Kelly, Chair, Department of Geography, 154 North Oval Mall, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1361, USA, Tel: 614-292-2514; FAX 614-292-6213, e-mail: okelly.1 at osu.edu, See the department home page http://www.geography.ohio-state.edu and the administrative home for the Climate, Water, and Carbon Program at the Byrd Polar Research Center http://www-bprc.mps.ohio- state.edu/ ******************** (JOB 7) Asst./Assoc. Prof. ? Atmosphere/Biosphere Modeling - College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences - University of Minnesota ? St. Paul, MN (USA) https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition#145103) The Global Climate and Environmental Change Initiative in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) brings together researchers from multiple colleges to conduct research on the biological, ecological, chemical, and physical processes governing greenhouse gas fluxes and the cycles of carbon, water, and energy and how these are impacted by human activities. This initiative will be complemented by ongoing research related to appropriate management and policy solutions. Position: Atmosphere Biosphere Modeling, tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor, 50% teaching, 50% research, nine-month (B term) appointment. Closing Date: Review of complete applications will begin on January 31 2007 and continue until a suitable candidate is identified. Location: The position is in the Environmental Cluster in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, located on the Saint Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. This cluster consists of the departments of Entomology; Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology; Forest Resources; and Soil, Water, and Climate. Additional Cluster entities include the Bell Museum of Natural History and the Water Resources Center. The tenure home department will be in the successful candidate's areas of interest. Responsibilities: Develop an externally-funded research program in atmosphere biosphere modeling focused on land-atmosphere interactions and the simulation of ecosystem-atmosphere processes at local, regional, and global spatial scales and at timescales ranging from days to decades. Address emerging issues related to the cycling of carbon, water, and energy at relevant spatial and temporal scales, and assess the implications of scale on land atmosphere processes. This responsibility includes seeking and securing extramural research funding. Participate in an emerging interdisciplinary group in biometeorology and ecosystem sciences on campus and collaborate with faculty in the Environmental Cluster, CFANS, the Institute on the Environment and the NSF-MRI funded Terrestrial Mesocosm Facility, as well as faculty across campus. Teach a mid-level undergraduate course integrating atmospheric and ecosystem science, global climate change and its impacts on society and a graduate level course in the candidate's area of expertise that complements current offerings across the University. Participate in the development of an interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Biometeorology and other graduate programs as appropriate. Recruit and advise undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs. Participate in faculty governance and in college and University outreach efforts as appropriate. Required Qualifications: A Ph.D. in atmospheric science, ecosystem science, earth system science, or related field with demonstrated expertise in modeling atmospheric processes and biophysical feedback mechanisms. Have experience designing and conducting research and a commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate instruction, including the ability to advise and train graduate students and post-docs. Strong oral and written communication skills are also essential, including demonstrated success publishing in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals. Experience in teaching (teaching assistance experience, teaching enrichment programs, guest lectures). Application: Apply online at: https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition#145103). Candidates should attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching accomplishments, experience and interests (3 pages), and the names, addresses and email contact information for three professional references. Applicants should arrange for three recommendation letters by these references to be sent to the search committee by January 31st, 2007. Applications may also be submitted to: Atmosphere Biosphere Modeling Search Committee, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Attn: Jean Burdick, 1420 Eckles Ave, 277 Coffey Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108, mail to: burdi005 at umn.edu, 612-624-0780. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For further information, please contact Search Committee Co- Chairs Paul Bolstad at 612-624-9711, pbolstad at umn.edu or Mark Seeley at 612-625-4724, mseeley at umn.edu. Information about CFANS may be found at http://www.cfans.umn.edu/. Information about the interdisciplinary Biometeorology group can be found at: http:// www.biometeorology.umn.edu/. Benefits are described at http:// www1.umn.edu/ohr/benefits/index.html/ ******************** (JOB 8) Asst./Assoc. Prof. - Atmospheric Chemistry Boundary Layer - College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences - University of Minnesota ? St. Paul, MN (USA) https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition #145104) The Global Climate and Environmental Change Initiative in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) brings together scientists from multiple colleges to conduct research on the biological, ecological, chemical, and physical processes that govern greenhouse gas fluxes and the cycles of carbon, water, and energy and how these are impacted by human activities and climate variation. This initiative will be complemented by ongoing research related to appropriate management and policy solutions. Position: Atmospheric Chemistry Boundary Layer, tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor, 50% research, 50% teaching, nine- month (B term) appointment. Closing Date: Review of applications will begin on January 31, 2007 and will continue until a suitable candidate is identified. Location: The position is in the Environmental Cluster in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, located on the Saint Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. This Cluster consists of the Departments of Entomology; Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology; Forest Resources; and Soil, Water, and Climate. Additional Cluster entities include the Bell Museum of Natural History and the Water Resources Center. The tenure home Department will be based on alignment with the successful candidate's areas of interest. Responsibilities: Develop an externally-funded research program in boundary-layer atmospheric chemistry with emphasis on near-surface processes and biophysical feedback mechanisms. Research may focus on a variety of potential problems in urban, agricultural, or forest ecosystems, including greenhouse gases, VOCs, ozone, aerosols, and others. Participate in an emerging interdisciplinary group in biometeorology and ecosystem sciences on campus and collaborate with faculty in the Environmental Cluster, CFANS, the Institute on the Environment, the NSF-MRI funded Terrestrial Mesocosm Facility, and other faculty across campus. Teach an introductory course in atmospheric science in alternate years, a mid-level undergraduate course in atmospheric pollution, and a graduate level course in atmospheric chemistry, probably in alternate years. Participate in the development of an interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Biometeorology and other graduate programs as appropriate. Recruit and advise undergraduate and graduate students and post-docs. Participate in faculty governance and in college and University outreach efforts as appropriate. Provide appropriate service to professional and governmental organizations at the local, state, national, and international levels. Required Qualifications: A Ph.D. in atmospheric science, earth system science, or a related field is required as well as demonstrated expertise in boundary-layer atmospheric chemistry or biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Have experience designing and conducting research and a commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate instruction, including the ability to advise and train graduate students and post-docs. Strong oral and written communication skills are also essential, including demonstrated success publishing in leading peer-reviewed scientific journals. Experience in teaching (TA experience, teaching enrichment programs, guest lectures). Application: Apply online at: https://employment.umn.edu/ (search for Requisition #145104). Candidates should attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching accomplishments, experience and interests (3 pages). Applicants should request that 3 letters of professional reference be sent directly to the attention of the committee by mail or email. Applications may be submitted by surface mail to: Atmospheric Chemistry Boundary Layer Search Committee, ollege of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Attn: Jean Burdick, 420 Eckles Ave., 277 Coffey Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108 or by email to: burdi005 at umn.edu Incomplete applications will not be considered. For further information, please contact Search Committee Co- Chairs Tim Griffis at 612-625-3117, tgriffis at umn.edu or Matt Simcik at 612-626-6269, msimcik at umn.edu. Information about CFANS may be found at http://www.cfans.umn.edu/. Information about the interdisciplinary Biometeorology group can be found at http:// www.biometeorology.umn.edu/. Benefits are described at http:// www1.umn.edu/ohr/benefits/index.html/ ******************* (JOB 9) Post-doc - Dynamical Meteorology - Inst for Atmospheric & Climate Science ? Zurich (Switzerland) http://www.iac.ethz.ch/positions/postdoc_broennimann/ The Atmospheric Dynamics group of the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science (http://www.iac.ethz.ch) at ETH in Zurich Switzerland invites applications for a 1-year postdoctoral research position. The successful candidate will undertake research on tropical or extra-tropical flow system(s) exhibiting synoptic to monthly time- scales (e.g. Rossby wave breaking, atmospheric blocking). The work will include statistical and dynamical analyses of the phenomena using re-analysis data sets. The position is for 1 year with a starting date in spring 2007. Interested applicants should have a PhD in meteorology, climatology or equivalent experience in dynamical meteorology. IT skills within the Linux/Unix environment are essential and programming knowledge in Fortran and Matlab are an advantage. Some knowledge of tropical atmosphere dynamics and tropical-extratropical interactions would also be advantageous. To apply please send electronically (preferable) a brief curriculum vitae, a letter describing relevant experience and research interests, reprints of pertinent recent publications and the names and addresses of two academic referees not later than 31 January 2007 to huw.davies at env.ethz.ch or to this address: Prof. Huw C. Davies, ETH Zuerich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Universitaetsstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland For further information, contact Dr. O. Martius (email: olivia at env.ethz.ch) or Dr. M. Croci-Maspoli (email: mischa at env.ethz.ch). ******************* (JOB 10) Research Fellow - Analysis of Options for International Action on Climate Change - Tyndall Centre - Oxford University (UK) The Environmental Change Institute is seeking to fill a research position associated with the Oxford University node of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The Tyndall Centre is a nationally distributed and interdisciplinary research centre; this post will be based at the University of Oxford. Download further particulars [PDF: 101KB] http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/ news/vacancy/061222.PDF Informal enquiries to Dr Diana Liverman on e-mail: diana.liverman at eci.ox.ac.uk. This position is available from 1 April 2007 for up to two years. Closing date for the above posts is noon on 19 January 2007. Interviews in person (or by telephone conference) on 26 Jan 2007 Further particulars can also be requested by telephone: 01865 285082 ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070107/8de25adb/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jan 12 14:06:50 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 12:06:50 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] January 12, 2007 DISCCRS News Message-ID: <28A250EC-CAD3-40A5-8AED-68A70D315B87@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 1/12/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES New Book: The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping The World's Greatest Challenge By Kirstin Dow and Thomas E Downing (Earthscan 2006) http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/738/ groupID/4/categoryID/6/ Alaska Sea Grant - Funding Opportunity Available ? (USA) http://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/rfp/index.html (see RESOURCES 1 below) FORUM Science creates jobs, saves lives, underlies our national and economic security and improves our environment. Marty Apple, Executive Director, Council of Scientific Society Presidents (see FORUM 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Climate Experts Worry as 2006 Is Hottest Year on Record in U.S. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/ AR2007010901949.html?referrer=email Gov. Schwarzenegger's Bold Move on Global Warming http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/10/ MNGMPNG4LD1.DTL Or: http://tinyurl.com/yn5sn4 (see NEWS 1 below) Agency Affirms Human Influence on Climate http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/science/10climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ydl9lj (see NEWS 2 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES ICES/PICES Early Career Scientist Conference. - June 26-29, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland (USA) - Call for international applicants. http://www.pices.int/newfrontiers.aspx. (see MEETING 1 below) Climate Change and Vulnerability Conference - 13-14 February 2007 - the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands) www.upeace.org/climate/ (see CONFERENCE 1 below) Short course ? Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BMIN) - March 8th and 9th, 12th-14th 2007 ? London (UK) (see MEETING 2 below) JOBS Station Manager - Mountain Lake Biological Station - University of Virginia ? southwest VA (USA) http://mlbs.org/positions.html#MA (see JOB 1 below) Postdoctoral Research Scientist - Climate Change Ecology / Community & Ecosystem Modeling - The Boston-Area Climate Experiment - University of Massachusetts ? Waltham, MA (USA) http://www.ecosystems.umb.edu/bacepostdoc.html (see JOB 2 below) Research Asst. - Climate Change and Industry - Institute for European Environmental Policy - Brussels (UK) http://www.ieep.eu/aboutIEEP/jobs.php (see JOB 3 below) Instructors (part-time) - Science and society ? Gallatin School of Individualized Study ? New York University ? New York NY (USA) http://www.nyu.edu/gallatin/ (see JOB 4 below) Asst. Prof. tenure track - Environmental Geophysics ? Washington State University, Vancouver Campus ? Vancouver, WA (USA) http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/sci/default.htm (see JOB 5 below) Lectureship (two permanent positions) - Biological Sciences - University of Essex ? Colchester (U.K.) http://www.essex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/joblist.htm#ac&t (see JOBS 6 below) Visiting Fellows Program - Center for Philosophy of Science - University of Pittsburgh ? Pittsburg, PA (USA) http://www.pitt.edu/~pittcntr/Joining/visiting_fellows_program.htm (see JOB 7 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Alaska Sea Grant - Funding Opportunity Available ? (USA) http://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/rfp/index.html Preliminary Proposal Deadline: Friday, 26 January 2006 Alaska Sea Grant, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration program, sponsors applied social, economic, engineering, and biological research and is soliciting preliminary research proposals for 2008-2010. Creative and rigorously conceived research proposals are invited that will help the people of Alaska better understand, conserve, and wisely use the state's marine, estuarine, and coastal watershed resources. At the above URL you will find downloadable versions of the 2004-2010 Alaska Sea Grant strategic plan, instructions for preparing the preliminary proposal, the proposal review schedule, and electronic versions of required forms. Additional information regarding the submittal process can be obtained by contacting Michele Frandsen (907-474-7088, frandsen at ims.uaf.edu). *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) Science creates jobs, saves lives, underlies our national and economic security and improves our environment. Marty Apple, Executive Director, Council of Scientific Society Presidents Several important and experienced new chairs of Congressional Committees in the 110th Congress told us at our December CSSP meeting of the importance of being heard over the din of competing demands that swamp members of Congress. The new Congress appears to be ready to skip the legally required budget and appropriation process and extend the Continuing Resolution that limits the federal agencies to last year's budget. The impact of this CR will be potentially offset in DoE and USDA by savings that could be reallocated to research, (not yet acted upon) but in NSF, where the long-awaited projected increases would be canceled, the national impact will be very harmful: Peer reviewed excellent grant proposals not funded, teams dispersing, top investigators taking jobs elsewhere, even abroad, top grad students dropping out of science as a career choice. None of these are acceptable means for the nation to rise above the gathering storm.. Since the new Congress is just getting settled in, there is a more significant impact right now, before they are flooded by local lobbyists, to have our message about the importance of federal research funding get through and be put on the table for action. If we must have a CR, it must be amended to stimulate research and protect and fund peer-reviewed research. Congress needs the will to do it. Your voice can provide that will. CSSPs web site can help you to contact them. No one will do it for you. Many brief letters can make a big impact, but only if they are written and sent. http://cssp.us/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=53 *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Gov. Schwarzenegger's Bold Move on Global Warming http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/10/ MNGMPNG4LD1.DTL Or: http://tinyurl.com/yn5sn4 San Francisco Chronicle - California will create the world's first global warming pollution standard for transportation fuels, ratcheting down fuel carbon content 10 percent by 2020 under a plan put forward by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday in his State of the State address. The new standard could have implications for the auto industry and change the way gasoline is produced around the globe. Environmentalists hailed it as a way to reduce one of the state's chief sources of greenhouse gas emissions and kick-start fledgling alternative fuel technologies. "This is a big deal. This policy will be noticed worldwide," said Eric Heitz, president of the Energy Foundation, which monitors the world's energy technology. Advocates of the proposal said competition from alternative fuels and a reduction in dependence on oil would prevent gasoline prices from rising, but oil companies said changing the mix of fuels to reduce carbon emissions would carry a cost. ******************** (NEWS 2) Agency Affirms Human Influence on Climate http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/science/10climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ydl9lj By ANDREW C. REVKIN (New York Times) - President Bush has said it. A lot of government scientists have said it. But until yesterday, it appeared that no news release on annual climate trends out of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Bush White House had said unequivocally that a buildup of greenhouse gases was helping warm the climate. The statement came in a release that said 2006 was the warmest year for the 48 contiguous states since regular temperature records began in 1895. It surpassed the previous champion, 1998, a year heated up by a powerful episode of the periodic warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean by El Ni?o. Last year, another El Ni?o developed, but this time a long-term warming trend from human activities was said to be involved as well. "A contributing factor to the unusually warm temperatures throughout 2006 also is the long-term warming trend, which has been linked to increases in greenhouse gases," the release said, emphasizing that the relative contributions of El Ni?o and the human influence were not known. A link between greenhouse gases and climate change was also made in a December news conference by Dirk Kempthorne, the secretary of the interior, as that agency proposed listing polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Still, the climate agency's shift in language came as a surprise to several public affairs officials there. They said they had become accustomed in recent years to having any mention of a link between climate trends and human activities played down or trimmed when drafts of documents went to the Commerce Department and the White House for approval. James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the release reflected longstanding views within the administration. "It's helpful for them to describe what is a question in many people's minds ? what is the human factor, what is the El Ni?o factor," Mr. Connaughton said of the NOAA release. "From our perspective, what was in the press release was a direct reflection of what the president and folks in his administration have been saying for some time." Mr. Bush has made two speeches on climate. He first expressly accepted that humans were contributing to global warming in a news conference in Denmark in July 2005 on the way to an economic summit in Scotland, saying, "Listen, I recognize that the surface of the Earth is warmer and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem." But the government's scientific bureaucracy, where public affairs officials and scientists as recently as last year complained that findings pointing to climate dangers were being suppressed, has taken time to catch up. There's been some sensitivity to the fact that some people have complained that NOAA and other parts of the government haven't been as open as they would like them to have been on this," said Jay Lawrimore, a climatologist at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., where the temperature trends are compiled. "Now NOAA is making an effort to be clearer on some of the influences." Mr. Lawrimore said there was no way to account for the trends, be they the melting of Arctic sea ice or the warming of winters, without including an influence from heat-trapping gases. "Year after year as we continue to see warmer temperatures," he said, "there are more and more converts convinced that it's not just natural variability and not just something that's going to return back to temperatures we saw 40 or 50 years ago ? that in fact we are doing something to the climate." *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) ICES/PICES Early Career Scientist Conference. - June 26-29, 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland (USA) http://www.pices.int/newfrontiers.aspx. Currently we have applications from scientists in Australia, India, Japan, Norway, China, Russia, and U.S.A. We are hoping for much wider representation. Would you please encourage early career scientists in other countries to apply? There is no explicit age limit, but the conference is intended to attract individuals with research experience ranging from advanced stages of a Ph.D. program up to postdoctoral researchers (with priority given to those with no more than 5 years since obtaining a Ph.D.). Room and Board provided. There will be no registration fee and room and board will be covered for all selected conference participants. In addition, travel funds will be provided to some participants (based on need, number of applicants, and availability of funds). The conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA on June 26-29, 2007. Conference objectives are to share knowledge, develop contacts and collaborations among early career scientists that will persist for decades, and establish personal and institutional networks that will advance our understanding of the marine environment. January 15, 2007 is the deadline for pre-registration. (CONFERENCE 1) Climate Change and Vulnerability Conference - 13-14 February 2007 - the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands) www.upeace.org/climate/ You are invited to participate in the Climate Change and Vulnerability Conference to be held. This conference addresses the need to build capacities for proactive local leadership to address the risks of climate warming, particularly in vulnerable island and coastal states. The goals of the conference are: 1)Increase understandings of the risks of climate change and options for adaptation 2) Design university curricula that builds climate leadership and fosters local adaptation 3) Develop partnerships among education, research and training institutions Climate warming and sea level rise present complex security risks in every region of the world. For island and low-lying countries, hazardous conditions include flooding, coastal erosion, salination of fresh water resources, loss of biodiversity, drought, and extreme weather events. Communities coping with poverty are particularly vulnerable. The Netherlands, a low-lying country where flood defense and precautionary measures are the highest in the world, is the host country for this international conference on climate change. This venue offers a preeminent opportunity to exchange experiences and learn from Dutch advocacy, participatory decision-making processes, adaptation measures, and incentives for private sector stewardship. To enhance local capacities for climate adaptation, distinguished technical experts, policy makers, scholars, and community leaders will engage in a variety of interactive learning activities. The program includes guest speakers, working groups, panel discussions, networking opportunities and resource displays. Key questions to address during the conference include: 1) How to mainstream climate issues and build adaptation capacities through higher education? 2) How to integrate adaptation measures within sustainable development projects? 3) How to foster the proactive local implementation of adaptation policies? 4) How to engage the private sector? 5) What are the applied research and evaluation priorities? The conference is unique in offering island and coastal representatives a leadership role in the discussion of geographic and cultural realities, coastal and water management issues, disaster preparedness and response, emerging strategies and technologies, and institutional cooperation. In addition, interactive sessions provide opportunities to learn from those addressing climate issues in other geographic areas. ******************** (MEETING 2) Short course ? Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (BMIN) - March 8th and 9th, 12th-14th 2007 ? London (UK) The value of open-narrative interviewing and insightful interpretation is widely recognised, but rather than having to invent the wheel for themselves, many people welcome a systematic immersion into principles and procedures that have been shown to generate high- quality work. Designed for Ph.D. students and professional researchers in various pure and applied fields, the course provides a thorough training in doing BNIM biographic narrative interviews, together with hands-on experience of following BNIM Interpretation procedures. Students develop a sense of how their own research projects might use such aspects and components. Taught by Prue Chamberlayne and Tom Wengraf in North London, the course?s small number of students ensures close coaching and support for the intensive work that is needed for you to fully acquire both the understanding of principles and the practical capacity for proceeding with the systematic practices involved in BNIM -- both for BNIM and for other types of narrative interviewing and interpretation. To get a copy of the Short Guide, to ask any questions or to book a place, contact tom at tomwengraf.com. To reserve a place, you need to send us a deposit. To get an early-bird discount, you need to pay full cost by February 1st. Of the 6 places on the course, there are currently 2 still available. *************************************************** 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) Station Manager - Mountain Lake Biological Station - University of Virginia ? southwest VA (USA) http://mlbs.org/positions.html#MA The Mountain Lake Biological Station Department of Biology, University of Virginia is accepting applications for a resident Station Manager to oversee daily operations. This position will support the research, educational and outreach activities at the Station and will work closely with the Associate Director, Director and other faculty members, staff, students and visiting researchers. MLBS is a 100-bed residential full-service biological field station on 642 forested acres of a 4,000ft mountaintop in the rural Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia ? but just a half hour drive west of Blacksburg Virginia (home of Virginia Tech.). The Station Manager will provide a wide range of functions that include managing station housing and dining operations and the station office. Manager also provides technical, logistical, and administrative support to research and teaching programs, supervises summer staff, coordinates subcontracts and station projects, and supervises general activities of the grounds. Manager oversees use of laboratories, equipment, woodworking shop and vehicles. Candidate should have knowledge of various technical, mechanical, and administrative functions pertinent to supporting academic activities, including basic laboratory skills, record keeping, library skills, computer competency, skills and safety knowledge related to biological fieldwork, vehicle safety and maintenance, and woodworking shop skills. This position requires the ability to interact and communicate positively with a large number of faculty, researchers, students, and public associated with the station. The successful candidate will have exceptional organizational skills, enjoy working independently, be physically fit, willing to embrace physical labor, a demanding work environment, and occasional long hours outside in the field in all weather conditions. Manager must be able to take primary day-to-day responsibility for field station operations during much of the year when the Director and Associate Director are not in residence, including irregular hours and weekend days as needed. An understanding of field biology is desirable. A graduate degree in biology or a related field with knowledge of field-based research and teaching is desired. Experience at a field station or research facility, and experience with experiential education, supervision, managing or the hospitality industry will be useful. First aid, EMT, CPR, or other medical and/or emergency training/certification would be beneficial. Station Manager will report to the Associate Director. On-site housing may be provided but residency on station grounds is not required. Annual Salary Range: $30,146 - $61,872 Application review will begin February 9, 2007 but the position is open until filled. For more information or questions about the position please contact Butch Brodie (Director bbrodie at virginia.edu 434-243-1068) or Eric Nagy (Associate Director enagy at virginia.edu 434-982-5486). Official over-generic UVA HR posting link: http:// as400.hrs.virginia.edu/cgi-bin/db2www/jobs/ucdet06.mac/details?jva=AS% 20MLBS%20E09DA%20001 To apply: Submit a Virginia State Application www.hrs.virginia.edu/employment/howtoapply.html to: University Recruitment & Staffing, P.O. Box 400127 , Charlottesville , VA 22904-4127 , or fax to 434-924-6911. Please indicate position number C2204. Please also send a cover letter and resume to: Director, University of Virginia, Mountain Lake Biological Station, P.O. Box 400327, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4327, or fax to 434-982-5626, or email attachment to bbrodie at virginia.edu. ******************** (JOB 2) Postdoctoral Research Scientist - Climate Change Ecology / Community & Ecosystem Modeling - The Boston-Area Climate Experiment - University of Massachusetts ? Waltham, MA (USA) http://www.ecosystems.umb.edu/bacepostdoc.html In spring 2007, we plan to hire a postdoctoral researcher to study and model how climate change will affect plant growth and succession in old-field ecosystems. The postdoc will join a team of researchers conducting the Boston-Area Climate Experiment (BACE). The BACE seeks to understand responses of old-field ecosystems to a variety of possible climatic changes. Located in Waltham, Massachusetts (25 minutes from the UMass Boston campus), the experiment exposes old-field plots to a gradient of warming (four treatments) and altered precipitation regimes (three treatments), both independently and in combination. We seek a motivated individual to conduct both field research and ecosystem modeling in the context of the BACE in collaboration with the Moorcroft lab at Harvard University. Applicants with previous experience in field-based ecosystem research, development and application of individual-based forest ecosystem models (gap- models), a background in community and/or ecosystem ecology, and a strong interest in the effects of climate change on the environment are strongly preferred. The successful candidate will have strong writing and interpersonal skills, and a solid statistical and mathematical background. Starting salary will be approximately $38k/year plus benefits. To apply, send a letter detailing your background, interests, preferred start date, and professional goals (i.e., what you hope to do after the postdoc), along with a CV, representative reprints, and contact information for three professional references to: Jeff Dukes, Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125 jeffrey.dukes at umb.edu Review of applications will begin in February 2006 and continue until the position is filled. The start date is somewhat flexible, but ideally in June 2007. The position is funded by the National Institute for Climatic Change Research, and is renewable annually for up to three years. More information on the Dukes lab can be found at http://www.ecosystems.umb.edu/. ******************** (JOB 3) Research Asst. - Climate Change and Industry - Institute for European Environmental Policy - Brussels (UK) http://www.ieep.eu/aboutIEEP/jobs.php The Institute for European Environmental Policy currently has a vacancy for a research assistant in the Climate Change Programme in Brussels. The position would cover a range of issues associated with climate change, clean energy systems, and industrial emissions, at European level. The candidate should have an interdisciplinary, scientific or engineering background, and be able to do policy analysis in excellent written English. All applications must reach us by Friday, 19 January 2007. ******************** (JOB 4) Instructors (part-time) - Science and society ? Gallatin School of Individualized Study ? New York University ? New York NY (USA) http://www.nyu.edu/gallatin/ NYU?s Gallatin School of Individualized Study seeks part time instructors to teach undergraduate interdisciplinary seminars in science studies (25 students). We are open to a range of topic areas. The proposed seminars should broadly fall under the rubric of ?science and society? and should consider an aspect of science in relation to its historical, social, cultural, literary, and/or philosophic context. The professor should have a PhD (or be a senior graduate student) and have a background in some domain of science studies. Proposals may be sent to Mary Witty (mary.witty at nyu.edu) or Brad Lewis (bl466 at nyu.edu). For more information on Gallatin, please see . ******************** (JOB 5) Asst. Prof. tenure track - Environmental Geophysics ? Washington State University, Vancouver Campus ? Vancouver, WA (USA) http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/sci/default.htm The Vancouver Campus of Washington State University invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in environmental geophysics. Area of research emphasis is open, but candidates working on surface or shallow sub-surface processes are particularly encouraged to apply. Candidates must demonstrate a high potential for establishment of an externally- funded research program. Teaching duties are expected to consist of two courses per year, to be spread across the curriculum (i.e., graduate, upper-division and lower-division/general education undergraduate levels), plus mentoring graduate students and directing graduate student research. Required Qualifications: Ph.D. in a geophysics-related discipline with primary expertise in environmental geophysics by date of hire. Preferred Qualifications: demonstrated ability to develop and teach undergraduate and graduate courses; successful externally-funded research program; strong publication record; and ability to contribute to WSU's diversity goals in research, teaching and/or service. The successful candidate will have demonstrated ability to conduct research or instruction in an interdisciplinary setting, to mentor diverse students, to complement the strengths of existing faculty in Vancouver, http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/sci/ default.htm and elsewhere within WSU, and to help build a new research and teaching program in Earth Systems Science. WSU Vancouver offers both undergraduate and graduate programs and is expected to double its student body (currently 2,300) and faculty in the coming years, with science and engineering as an area of emphasis. Research expectations and teaching loads are consistent across the four WSU campuses. WSU, a Tier I research institution, offers competitive salaries and start-up packages. WSU Vancouver is located across the Columbia River from Portland, OR and offers significant opportunities for research, a variety of neighboring institutions and agencies for collaboration (e.g., the USGS Cascades Volcanoes Observatory), and an excellent quality of life. Send: 1) a cover letter discussing training and experience as related to the required and preferred qualifications, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) statement of research interests and accomplishments, 4) statement of teaching philosophy and interests, 5) copies of two publications, and 6) three letters of reference to: Stephen M. Bollens, Environmental Geophysics Search , Washington State University Vancouver, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686-9600 (phone: 360-546-9116; fax: 360-546-9037) Review of completed applications will begin on February 1, 2007 (this is a revised posting). ******************* (JOBS 6) Lectureship (two permanent positions) - Biological Sciences - University of Essex ? Colchester (U.K.) http://www.essex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/joblist.htm#ac&t 1) Lectureship in marine or aquatic microbial biogeochemistry, particularly with experience in carbon, nitrogen or sulphur cycling in sediments, coastal environments or open water. (AC248) http:// www.essex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/details/AC248W.htm 2) Lectureship in the area of physiological responses of cells and organisms to environmental stress. We are looking for candidates with experience in disease mechanisms, metalloproteins, molecular cell biology, or signalling as related to radicals and oxidative stress and the effects of high light, UVB and nutrient limitation of microalgal photosynthesis, motility and calcification, salinity and temperature stress on bacterial and archaeal communities, and climate change impacts (bleaching, thermal stress) on corals and coral endosymbionts. Candidates with research interests that complement our cross-disciplinary centre for radicals and oxidative stress (CROSS) are particularly encouraged to apply (AC246/7) http:// www.essex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/details/AC246W.htm Both positions are permanent, with a salary range of ?32,795- ?39,160 per annum. Further details and application forms are available on the Personnel web links. Closing date for Applications, 29th January 2007. ******************** (JOB 7) Visiting Fellows Program - Center for Philosophy of Science - University of Pittsburgh ? Pittsburg, PA (USA) http://www.pitt.edu/~pittcntr/Joining/visiting_fellows_program.htm The Basics: Visiting the Center for a term or a two-term academic year is easily done through the Visiting Fellows Program and we encourage all interested philosophers of science to apply. Visiting Fellows are provided: * A centrally located office on the 8th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, an international educational landmark; a computer (Windows or Mac) with a standard suite of software; library privileges in Hillman Library, whose Archives of Scientific Philosophy houses papers of many leading, modern philosophers of science; on-line services, including email and access to electronic journals; and some minimal office support. * A full calendar of talks, workshops, conferences and other activities; access (with instructor permission) to graduate seminars taught in the Departments of Philosophy and History and Philosophy of Science; and the company of other Visiting Fellows, Resident Fellows in many departments of the University of Pittsburgh, and Center Associates drawn from other universities in the Pittsburgh area. * A stimulating and friendly environment in which to hear about philosophy of science, to talk about philosophy of science, to think about philosophy and to create philosophy of science. * A supplementary stipend of $1000-$1200 per month. Visiting Fellows have no formal duties. They are expected to pursue their own research, to give a lunchtime talk, to participate in the intellectual life of the Center, by attending talks and discussions, to reside in Pittsburgh and to make daily use of their offices. Many Fellows are pleasantly surprised by the city of Pittsburgh and enjoy exploring it and the surrounding countryside. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070112/73e50451/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jan 19 13:07:28 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:07:28 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 1/19/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 1/19/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS SCIENCE NEWS 2100: A World of Wild Weather http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19325874.000? DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19325874.000 A new simple-to-use global index reveals the true extent of climate change over the next century. It is the first to map how global warming will combine with natural variations in climate to affect the planet, giving policy-makers a quick overview of the scientific facts while enabling them to compare the severity of extreme predicted climate events such as heat-waves or floods. Take a look at the maps alongside the story. Doomsday Clock to Start New Era http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ chi-0701170083jan17,1,3297438.story or: http://tinyurl.com/ytctsd (see NEWS 1 below) Ravenous Shrimp Found in Lake Ontario http://www.examiner.com/ a-514128~Ravenous_Shrimp_Found_in_Lake_Ontario.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2rgqpg (see NEWS 2 below) Evangelicals, Scientists Join on Warming http://www.examiner.com/ a-514117~Evangelicals__Scientists_Join_on_Warming.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/35tfsx (see NEWS 3 below) The Warming of Greenland - A penisula long thought to be part of Greenland's mainland turned out to be an island when a glacier retreated http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/science/earth/16gree.html? _r=1&oref=slogin (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Visiting Scientist Awards for 2007 -Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences -University of South Carolina -Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Georgetown, SC (USA) (see OPPORTUNITY 1 below) [Geo-Ed] Workshops - Cutting Edge Program and more (see MEETINGS 1 below) JOBS Researchers and Consultants - CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research ? Oslo) ? Olso (Norway) http://www.cicero.uio.no/webnews.asp?id=10764&lang=en (see JOB 1 below) Postdoctoral Scholar - Great Lakes Biogeochemistry - Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences - University of Wisconsin Madison, WI (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Research Fellow - Climate Change ? Institute of Development Studies ? University of Sussex ? Brighton (UK) http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/recruit/179_CCFell_Ad.htm (see JOB 3 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Doomsday Clock to Start New Era http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ chi-0701170083jan17,1,3297438.story or: http://tinyurl.com/ytctsd Chicago Tribune (Registration Required) -Back in the days of the Cold War, the Doomsday Clock based at the University of Chicago had one purpose only: to gauge the danger that the U.S. and the former Soviet Union would blow civilization to bits with their arsenals of nuclear weapons. But lately, that original message of the iconic clock has seemed way too 1947. So on Wednesday, when the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists unveils the first change to the Doomsday Clock in four years, the risk of a nuclear holocaust will be just one among many threats that nudge the position of the clock's portentous minute hand. The keepers of the clock have expanded its purview to include the threat of global warming, the genetic engineering of diseases and other "threats to global survival." It may be a stretch to put nuclear weapons and climate change in the same category, but that's one way the organization is trying to keep its 60-year- old clock relevant at a time when bioterrorism and radical groups can threaten the largest nations. In an added bid to influence policymakers and draw an international audience, the Bulletin is moving this year's announcement from its customary place in Chicago to a dual event held in London and Washington. ******************** (NEWS 2) Ravenous Shrimp Found in Lake Ontario http://www.examiner.com/ a-514128~Ravenous_Shrimp_Found_in_Lake_Ontario.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2rgqpg the San Francisco Examiner - SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Another invasive species, a half-inch long ravenous shrimp from Eurasia, has been found in Lake Ontario, raising concerns among scientists that the tiny crustacean could mean dire consequences for the lake's food chain. The discovery of bloody red mysid - whose scientific name is Hemimysis anomala - was made in a lake sample taken near Oswego last spring, said Chuck O'Neill, Jr., an invasive species specialist with New York Sea Grant and a member of New York State's Invasive Species Task Force, on Wednesday. Its only other confirmed appearance in the Great Lakes region was last November in a channel of Muskegon Lake, which empties into Lake Michigan. ******************** (NEWS 3) Evangelicals, Scientists Join on Warming http://www.examiner.com/ a-514117~Evangelicals__Scientists_Join_on_Warming.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/35tfsx San Francisco Examiner - WASHINGTON - Saying they share a moral purpose, a group of evangelicals and scientists said Wednesday they will work together to convince the nation's leaders that global warming is real. The Rev. Rich Cizik, public policy director for the National Association of Evangelicals, and Nobel-laureate Eric Chivian, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, were among 28 signers of a statement that demands urgent changes in values, lifestyles and public policies to avert disastrous changes in climate. "God will judge us for destroying the Creation. Therefore, we as evangelicals have a responsibility to be even more vigilant than others," Cizik told a news conference. ******************** (NEWS 4) The Warming of Greenland - A penisula long thought to be part of Greenland's mainland turned out to be an island when a glacier retreated http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/science/earth/16gree.html? _r=1&oref=slogin The New York Times - Flying over snow-capped peaks and into a thick fog, the helicopter set down on a barren strip of rocks between two glaciers. A dozen bags of supplies, a rifle and a can of cooking gas were tossed out onto the cold ground. Then, with engines whining, the helicopter lifted off, snow and fog swirling in the rotor wash. When it had disappeared over the horizon, no sound remained but the howling of the Arctic wind. ?It feels a little like the days of the old explorers, doesn?t it?? Dennis Schmitt said. Mr. Schmitt, a 60-year-old explorer from Berkeley, Calif., had just landed on a newly revealed island 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle in eastern Greenland. It was a moment of triumph: he had discovered the island on an ocean voyage in September 2005. Now, a year later, he and a small expedition team had returned to spend a week climbing peaks, crossing treacherous glaciers and documenting animal and plant life?. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITY 1) Visiting Scientist Awards for 2007 -Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences -University of South Carolina -Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Georgetown, SC (USA) Applications are being accepted for awards to support investigators interested in spending 2 to 4 weeks in residence at the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory at North Inlet Estuary, during the 2007 field season. Faculty level investigators who would benefit from the close proximity of a variety of salt marsh/estuarine habitats and a modern research facility are encouraged to apply. We especially encourage scientists with interests in establishing long-term research programs in the area. Proposals for field-based studies that can be supported by existing infrastructure and extant databases will be favored. Information on the BMFL, the study site, current research projects, and the faculty associated with USC?s Marine Science Program can be found at www.cas.sc.edu/baruch/. Each award will provide up to $3000 of support for research expenses and travel. In addition, we are offering laboratory/office space, access to equipment, use of small boats, and single bedroom accommodations on site at no charge. Research and travel expenses incurred by the individual will be reimbursed or supplies can be ordered through the University of SC. Awarded funds must be spent between April 30 and November 30, 2007. Awardees will be expected to present a research seminar during their stay. A letter of introduction and intent should provide the following information: 1) current area of research and what new work you would initiate while on site, 2) previous or potential collaborations with resident or campus-based researchers, 3) period(s) you would like to spend in residence, (investigators may choose to make multiple trips rather than one extended stay) 4) specific field and equipment access you would require. 5) In addition to this narrative, please provide your CV and a budget for the planned expenditure of a $3000 award. Applications must be received by March 6 and the awards will be made by March 20, 2007. Email submissions are acceptable. Please direct inquires and applications to: Dr. Scott Neubauer, Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, Univ. of South Carolina, P.O. Box 1630, Georgetown, SC 29442 (843) 546-3623 x240 scott at belle.baruch.sc.edu ******************** (MEETINGS 1) [Geo-Ed] Workshops - Cutting Edge Program and more (1) Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences (this workshop is for graduate students and post-docs)- August 2-5, 2007, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI - deadline: March 15 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep07/index.html (2) Early Career Geoscience Faculty Workshop: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career - June 13-17, 2007, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA - deadline: March 15 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer07/index.html (3) Teaching Geophysics in the 21st Century - August 12-15, 2007, with optional field trip August 11 - University of Michigan's Camp Davis, Jackson WY - application deadline: February 1 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/geophysics07/index.html (4) Teaching about the Early Earth: Evolution of Tectonics, Life, and the Early Atmosphere - April 12-14, 2007, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA - deadline: February 16 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlyearth/workshop07/ index.html (5) Designing Effective and Innovative Courses in the Geosciences - virtual workshop: July 30 - August 3, 2007 on line; face-to-face workshop: July 8-12, 2007, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY - deadline March 15 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign07/index.html (6) Building Strong Geoscience Departments Workshop: Connecting Geoscience Departments to the Future of Science: New Structures for Research and Curriculum - April 25-27, Carleton College, Northfield MN - deadline January 22 http://serc.carleton.edu/departments/futureofscience/index.html The workshops in the Cutting Edge series are funded by a national dissemination grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education. The workshops in the Building Strong Geoscience Departments are funded by a grant from the Division of Earth Sciences in the Geoscience Directorate. McGlothlin-Street Hall Room 227, Williamsburg, VA 23185 *************************************************** 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) Researchers and Consultants - CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research ? Oslo) ? Olso (Norway) http://www.cicero.uio.no/webnews.asp?id=10764&lang=en CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research ? Oslo) is an independent research center associated with the University of Oslo. CICERO?s aim is to conduct research on and provide information and expert advice about national and international issues related to climate change and climate policy. CICERO?s research staff comprises a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including political science, sociology, economics, and the natural sciences. In total, CICERO has a staff of 50 located in new offices in the CIENS building at the Oslo Innovation Centre (Forskningsparken, Gaustadall?en 21). CICERO is now seeking to fill several positions. We are accepting applications for research assistants, research fellows, senior research fellows, and research consultants. Part-time associate positions for university faculty are also available. We are looking to increase our staff in all three of our research programs: Scientific basis and international agreements, Mitigation and costs, and Impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation. Higher education is required for all positions. A PhD is required for research fellow positions and part-time university associates. CICERO is expanding its research activity particularly in the following areas: energy and energy policy; development aid related to climate; and climate change in the northern regions. We thus encourage candidates with this type of background to apply. We are interested in applicants with social scientific, natural scientific, or technical backgrounds. Ability and willingness to participate in interdisciplinary research is mandatory. For more information about CICERO and its research activities, see www.cicero.uio.no/index_e.asp. CICERO is an equal opportunity employer, and fluency in English is important. We can offer a good working environment, membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, and a salary commensurate with qualifications. For more information, contact: Research Director Jan S. Fuglestvedt, tel. +47 91 57 88 50/+47 22 85 87 64 (Scientific basis and international agreements); Acting Research Director Kristin Aunan , tel. + 47 99 00 52 69/+47 22 85 87 63, (Mitigation and costs); Research Director Grete K. Hovelsrud, tel. +47 95 80 60 46/+ 47 22 85 87 69 (Impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation) Application, CV and copies of references and transcripts must be posted by 31 January 2007. Please do not send originals; applications and attachments will not be returned. Mailing address: CICERO, P.O. Box 1129 Blindern, 0318 OSLO, Norway ******************** (JOB 2) Postdoctoral Scholar - Great Lakes Biogeochemistry - Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences - University of Wisconsin Madison, WI (USA) A postdoctoral scholar is sought to investigate the carbon cycle of Lake Superior and its impacts on the regional carbon balance. The successful candidate will develop and utilize a coupled physical / biogeochemical numerical model of Lake Superior and be an integral part of a team that includes lake and terrestrial scientists seeking to constrain carbon fluxes to and from the Lake. Applications are welcomed from candidates with backgrounds in ocean or lake biogeochemistry, coastal ocean processes, or numerical modeling. This is a one-year renewable position based on progress. Interested applicants should forward a curriculum vitae, contact information for three references and at least one publication to Dr. Galen McKinley (galen at aos.wisc.edu, www.aos.wisc.edu/~galen). Review of applications will begin February 15, 2007 and applications will be accepted until a candidate is identified. ******************** (JOB 3) Research Fellow - Climate Change ? Institute of Development Studies ? University of Sussex ? Brighton (UK) http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/recruit/179_CCFell_Ad.htm The IDS Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team seek to appoint a Fellow to strengthen our work with specific reference to climate change. Applications are invited from experienced economists or social scientists with relevant expertise that can contribute to developing further the Climate Change and Disasters Group?s rapidly expanding academic research and advisory work on climate change and disasters. The Group is looking for candidates with expertise in areas such as development economics, energy, carbon markets, vulnerability, adaptation and resilience, and environmental governance. The successful candidate will be expected to have an outstanding background in economics or related social science and a PhD (although exceptionally, comparable research and practical experience may be taken as a substitute), and an excellent research and publication record related to or relevant to climate change. A proven capacity to work in a multidisciplinary team, in policy environments, with overseas partners and practical experience in the field are also essential, and language abilities beyond English will be an advantage. Closing date: 05 March 2007. Applications on official form only to: (CVs will not be accepted) Human Resources, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE Salary: ?36,312??55,000 per annum (depending on experience). More information: Tom Mitchell, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE E-mail: T.Mitchell at ids.ac.uk ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070119/ec6e0989/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jan 26 13:30:25 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:30:25 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 1/26/2007 Message-ID: <86D33120-3E8B-4A66-92C5-B42076B231BB@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 1/26/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment is coming out soon. http://www.ipcc.ch/ Book - Moser, S.C. and L. Dilling (2006). Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521869234 (see RESOURCES 1 below) Dear Colleague Letter from Arden L. Bement, Jr., NSF Director - Effect of a Long-term Continuing Resolution on NSF Programs http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0720/nsf0720.jsp (see RESOURCES 2 below) U.S. Department of Education is Launching a FREE Website for Teachers http://www.free.ed.gov (see RESOURCES 3 below) New topic on IMBER (Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research) web site for Young Scientists and Developing countries http://www.imber.info/Education_and_Training.html (see RESOURCES 4 below) IPY Research Funding Available - European Centre for Arctic Environmental Research - Ny-Alesund, Svalbard (Norway) http://arcfac.npolar.no (see RESOURCES 5 below) SCIENCE NEWS Getting Hydrogen Cars to Live Up to Their Hype Editor?s note: to open the following link you will likely be required to register to the Washington Post (it is free) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/ AR2007012201323.html?referrer=emailarticle Gore Film Sparks Parent's Anger Editor?s note: to open the following link you will likely be required to register to the Washington Post (it is free) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/ AR2007012401807_2.html?referrer=emailarticle Report Has 'Smoking Gun' on Climate http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-warming-climate- report,1,3146233.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/276qrc (see NEWS 1 below) Light Bulb Goes on, and China Starts Thinking 'Alternative Energy' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/business/19venture.html or: http://tinyurl.com/3c2cg3 (see NEWS 2 below) A Radical Step to Preserve a Species: Assisted Migration http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/science/23migrate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/293oy9 (see NEWS 3 below) [Glacial] Drumlin Formed in a Blink of Geological Time http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11032-drumlin- formed-in-a-blink-of-geological-time.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ol8pw (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES 2007 Coalition for Earth System Education (CESE) meeting "Earth System Science for All Ages"- March 2-3, 2007 - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research - Boulder, Colorado (USA) http://www.regonline.com/120342 to register http://www.cesenet.net/ for information on CESE International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS) 2007 - October 28 - November 2, 2007 ? Boston, MA USA http://www.necsi.org/events/iccs7 (see MEETING 1 below) 2007 Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science - March 25-30, 2007 ? Ventura, CA USA http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2007&program=polar (see MEETING 2 below) Visiting Fellowship (July to Dec 2007) - Geography - University of Queensland, Brisbane (Australia) http://www.uq.edu.au/jobs/2006documents/epsa/30069301.doc (see OPPORTUNITY 1 below) JOBS Postdoc fellowship - Modelling of Atmospheric Processes - VITO - (Belgium) (see JOB 1 below) Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach - COMPASS/SeaWeb ? Silver Spring MD (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Program Manager - Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) ? EPA ? Washington, DC (USA) (see JOB 3 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Book - Moser, S.C. and L. Dilling (2006). Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521869234 Susi Moser will be one of the mentors at the 2007 DISCCRS symposium, and Lisa Dilling served as one of the mentors for the 2006 DISCCRS symposium Both are excellent researchers and communicators. I encourage anyone interested in climate change and communication to read this book. The hardcover price may be beyond post-doc budgets -- US $135.00. If that is beyond your reach, encourage your library to acquire it. A unique anthology of essays, empirical case studies, and interdisciplinary syntheses, "Creating a Climate for Change" presents fresh ideas for fostering dialogue and social engagement on climate change. Among its contributors are scientists, researchers, and professional communicators from UCAR and NCAR and other academic institutions, as well as communication experts and social change agents from the non-governmental, civic, and public sectors. The book explores how communication efforts can be strengthened to help society better respond to the challenge of climate change. Drawing on diverse scholarship and practical experience, it takes stock of the immense opportunities and challenges of communicating climate change, offers suggestions for improvement, and debunks common myths. The authors conclude that effective communication plays an indispensable role in facilitating action on climate change in all sectors of society, and that the time has come to change common communication approaches in order to translate society's concern about global warming into behavior and policy changes on the ground. ****************** (RESOURCES 2) Dear Colleague Letter from Arden L. Bement, Jr., NSF Director - Effect of a Long-term Continuing Resolution on NSF Programs http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0720/nsf0720.jsp January 12, 2007 Dear Colleagues: Most Federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), are operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) through February 15, 2007. Under the terms of this current CR, NSF is being funded at the FY 2006 level, roughly $400 million below the Administration's FY 2007 request. The outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year remains highly uncertain, with one possibility being an extension of funding at the current level. While we are acutely aware of the tight constraints on the available budgetary resources, NSF is continuing to issue program announcements and solicitations as previously planned. It is likely, however, that NSF may be unable to fund a number of activities planned for this fiscal year. We believe it is important for NSF's grantee community to be aware of this uncertainty, as a number of activities may be affected later in the fiscal year. We will do our best to keep the science, engineering, and education communities informed of budget developments, and will continue our efforts to minimize any negative impacts to our nation's scientific capability and economic competitiveness. Sincerely, Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director ******************** (RESOURCES 3) U.S. Department of Education is Launching a FREE Website for Teachers http://www.free.ed.gov The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the newly remodeled and updated Federal Resources for Education Excellence (FREE) website. It now provides richer, more expansive resources to teachers and students alike. There are over 1500 resources to take advantage of at FREE, ranging from primary historical documents, lesson plans, science visualizations, math simulations and online challenges, paintings, photos, mapping tools, and more. This easily accessible information is provided by federal organizations and agencies such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, NEH, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian, NSF, and NASA. ********************* (RESOURCES 4) New topic on IMBER (Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research) web site for Young Scientists and Developing countries http://www.imber.info/Education_and_Training.html This new page entitled "Young Scientists" includes information regarding student and young scientist opportunities. For the moment, this page contains the following topics: 1) Early Career Scientist Conferences 2) Student Courses / Summer Schools 3) Cruise Opportunities 4) Opportunities for developing country young scientists and students 5) Useful Links Please, do not hesitate to send me more information and links you judge relevant. Feel free to send the announcements you would like me to add. All ideas are welcomed! Dr. Sophie Beauvais, Deputy Executive Officer, IMBER International Project Office, Institut Universitaire e-mail: Sophie.Beauvais at univ-brest.fr website: http://www.imber.info/ ****************** (RESOURCES 5) IPY Research Funding Available - European Centre for Arctic Environmental Research - Ny-Alesund, Svalbard (Norway) http://arcfac.npolar.no The European Centre for Arctic Environmental Research in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway announces the availability of funding support for new European research teams during the International Polar Year (IPY). Proposals are invited in all fields of arctic environmental research, specifically: 1) marine and terrestrial biology; 2) climate research in the troposphere and stratosphere; 3) surface phenomena, including snow and ice; 4) space geodesy; 5) air quality research and arctic pollution; and 6) multidisciplinary environmental sciences. Successful applicants will receive travel funding and have access to all infrastructural, logistical, technical, and scientific support at Ny-Alesund. Priority is given to first-time users and groups, and those who would not normally have access or work in countries where similar research facilities do not exist. Funding support is available for European research teams, including those with participants from other countries, and is provided under the Research Infrastructures Action of the European Community FP6 Specific Program for Structuring the European Research Area. New funding opportunities and proposal deadlines are announced twice a year and applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. The next deadline is Wednesday, 31 January 2007, and applicants will be notified of funding decisions by 1 March 2007. Detailed application information, including forms and deadlines, eligibility criteria, terms of access and funding, current research programs, and possible new projects, is available at: http://arcfac.npolar.no For further information, please contact: Trond Svenoe E-mail: arcfac at npolar.no *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Report Has 'Smoking Gun' on Climate http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-warming-climate- report,1,3146233.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/276qrc Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON -- Human- caused global warming is here, visible in the air, water and melting ice, and is destined to get much worse in the future, an authoritative global scientific report will warn next week. "The smoking gun is definitely lying on the table as we speak," said top U.S. climate scientist Jerry Mahlman, who reviewed all 1,600 pages of the first segment of a giant four-part report. "The evidence ... is compelling." Andrew Weaver, a Canadian climate scientist and study co-author, went even further: "This isn't a smoking gun; climate is a batallion of intergalactic smoking missiles." The first phase of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is being released in Paris next week. This segment, written by more than 600 scientists and reviewed by another 600 experts and edited by bureaucrats from 154 countries, includes "a significantly expanded discussion of observation on the climate," said co- chair Susan Solomon, a senior scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She and other scientists held a telephone briefing on the report Monday. That report will feature an "explosion of new data" on observations of current global warming, Solomon said. ****************** (NEWS 2) A Light Bulb Goes on, and China Starts Thinking 'Alternative Energy' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/business/19venture.html or: http://tinyurl.com/3c2cg3 New York Times (Registration Required) On the vanguard of venture capital, the buzzwords of late have been "alternative energy" and "China." Are the two worlds about to collide? Seed investors are financing, or considering financing, start-ups in China that are developing equipment for wind and solar power, clean water and food alternatives and technology to promote energy efficiency. While this may seem to be an arbitrary combination of two of the hottest trends in venture capital -- sort of like the first person who mixed peanut butter and chocolate -- there is a growing number of investors who believe that the potential reward in China is worth the tremendous risk. China has voracious energy needs and "the most serious environmental problem in the world," said Jerry Li, a consultant in Beijing who matches venture capitalists with entrepreneurs. "There is a huge demand for investment" in alternative solutions, he said. ******************** (NEWS 3) A Radical Step to Preserve a Species: Assisted Migration http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/science/23migrate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/293oy9 New York Times (Registration Required) - The Bay checkerspot butterfly's story is all too familiar. It was once a common sight in the San Francisco Bay area, but development and invasive plants have wiped out much of its grassland habitat. Conservationists have tried to save the butterfly by saving the remaining patches where it survives. But thanks to global warming, that may not be good enough. Climate scientists expect that the planet will become warmer in the next century if humans continue to produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. The California Climate Change Center projects the state's average temperature will rise 2.6 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Warming is also expected to cause bigger swings in rainfall. Studies on the Bay checkerspot butterfly suggest that this climate change will push the insect to extinction. The plants it depends on for food will shift their growing seasons, so that when the butterfly eggs hatch, the caterpillars have little to eat. Many other species may face a similar threat, and conservation biologists are beginning to confront the question of how to respond. ...One of the most radical strategies they are considering is known as assisted migration. Biologists would pick a species up and move it hundreds of miles to a cooler place. ********************* (NEWS 4) [Glacial] Drumlin Formed in a Blink of Geological Time http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11032-drumlin- formed-in-a-blink-of-geological-time.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ol8pw NewScientist - A new study threatens to overturn our understanding of how glaciers deposit whale-shaped hills known as drumlins. The findings could have implications for the computer models used to predict glacier flow and subsequent changes in sea-level. Andy Smith of the British Antarctic Survey and his colleagues are the first to see a drumlin during formation. They have visited the same spot of the Rutford Ice Stream in Antarctica three times since 1991. Each time, they have mapped the shape of the glacier bed, which lies 2000 metres under the surface of the ice. ...The most recent data, from 2004, revealed a big surprise: a large lump of sediment, 10 metres high and 100 m wide that "plainly wasn't there last time we looked" in 1997, says Smith's colleague David Vaughan, also at BAS. ...Researchers generally assume that ancient drumlins, which are common in the US, the Alps, Ireland, Finland and Patagonia, grew slowly as sediments set in motion by a meltwater river gradually accumulated underneath the ice. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETINGS 1) International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS) 2007 - October 28 - November 2, 2007 ? Boston, MA USA http://www.necsi.org/events/iccs7 We are pleased to announce the 7th International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS 2007) will take place in Boston, Massachusetts on October 28 - November 2, 2007. This conference has two major aims: first, to investigate those properties or characteristics that appear to be common to the very different complex systems now under study; and second, to encourage cross fertilization among the many disciplines involved. Proposals for special sessions or symposia may be sent to symposia at necsi.org. ******************** (MEETING 2) 2007 Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science - March 25-30, 2007 ? Ventura, CA USA http://www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2007&program=polar Every other year, the Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science brings together an outstanding and diverse group of scientists at the forefront of research, as well as younger scientists and students. The format and intimate nature of these meetings (maximum attendance is 135) makes them ideal venues to learn about the latest research and to meet and discuss new and exciting directions with a highly interdisciplinary group of colleagues. The focus of the 2007 GRC on Polar Marine Science, which will take place 25-30 March at the Four Points Sheraton in Ventura, California, will be "An Interdisciplinary Look at Processes Over Multiple Scales of Variability ". The rationale behind this choice of topic is to explore in detail the processes in polar regions that dominate temporal and spatial scales ranging from the ?micro? to the ?paleo?. I?m excited about this new format because rather than having physics, chemistry, and biology spread out over the meeting with few linkages between them, each session will be looking in an interdisciplinary way at the interactions between the key processes that operate at a particular temporal and/or spatial scale. The guiding principle of a Gordon Conference is the presentation of new, unpublished work and the free, unhampered discussion that follows. This tradition of freely sharing ideas is due in large part to GRC?s ?off the record? policy which prohibits photography or tape recording of sessions or the publication of conference proceedings. The agenda for this meeting can be found at: http:// www.grc.org/programs.aspx?year=2007&program=polar As you can see from the program, an excellent array of speakers has been lined up for this meeting and I hope that you and your students will consider attending and presenting a poster of your most exciting new research results. Some funding is available, particularly for students. The deadline for applications is March 4, 2007. Feel free to contact me for more information: Kevin R. Arrigo Chair, 2007 GRC on Polar Marine Science Department of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-2215 arrigo at stanford.edu ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 1) Visiting Fellowship (July to Dec 2007) - Geography - University of Queensland, Brisbane (Australia) http://www.uq.edu.au/jobs/2006documents/epsa/30069301.doc The School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, The University of Queensland is seeking to strengthen its international reputation though the appointment of a Visiting Fellow in Geography. The Geographical Sciences program has research and teaching strengths that span the fields of human geography, physical geography and spatial information science. The Program seeks to emphasise application-related research and has close links to allied programs within the School in Planning and Environmental Management. The School is vibrant and multidisciplinary with extensive teaching and research programs covering the fields of Geography, Environmental Management, Planning and Development, Property Studies, Project Management and Architecture. The School offers a wide range of undergraduate programs and a suite of Masters degrees by coursework, and postgraduate training in research via the Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The School has a strong international research profile with active Research Centres across its fields of expertise Applications are welcomed from those with an established track record in specific fields aligned with recognised strengths in Geographical Sciences and Planning (see http://www.gpa.uq.edu.au/), but all fields of geography will be considered. The Fellowship will be offered in the Geographical Sciences Program for approximately 16 to 18 weeks (July to Dec 2007) and will include an attractive stipend to cover living expenses and economy class return airfares for the appointee from their home institution. Obtain the position description and selection criteria online at http://www.uq.edu.au/jobs/2006documents/epsa/30069301.doc, or contact Dr Hamish McGowan on +61 7 3365 6651 or h.mcgowan at uq.edu.au. to discuss the role. Send applications to Dr Hamish McGowan, Senior Lecturer in Climatology, School of Geography Planning and Architecture, Building 35, Room 527, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, or email h.mcgowan at uq.edu.au Closing date for applications: 29 January 2007 Reference Number: 3006930 *************************************************** 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) Postdoc fellowship - Modelling of Atmospheric Processes - VITO - (Belgium) VITO's research group "Modelling of Atmospheric Processes" invites applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in data assimilation for urban- to regional-scale air quality modelling. The focus will be on implementing a data assimilation scheme in an existing deterministic air quality model, using both ground-based and remotely sensed data as input, and leading to a demonstrably improved air quality model. The research will include participation in several EU and ESA funded collaborative projects, and will also involve providing guidance to PhD students. Applicants should have (or hope to obtain soon) a PhD in physics, mathematics, atmospheric science, or engineering, and have experience with data assimilation techniques (though not necessarily in the context of atmospheric modelling). A good programming experience is required, as is the ability to manipulate large computer codes in a Linux/Unix environment. The post is full-time and for a fixed term of two years, and will be based in Belgium at the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO, http://www.vito.be/english/index.htm) in collaboration with the University of Antwerp. Interested candidates are requested to send an application letter, together with a CV (incl. publication list) and name, address, telephone number, and email of two references, to: Dr Koen De Ridder, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Centre for Integrated Environmental Studies, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium, or electronically to koen.deridder at vito.be. The deadline for submitting applications is 10 February 2007, or until the position is filled. More information can be obtained from koen.deridder at vito.be ******************** (JOB 2) Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach - COMPASS/ SeaWeb ?Silver Spring MD (USA) SeaWeb/COMPASS (COMmunication PArtnership for Science and Sea) is recruiting for an Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach. COMPASS is a partnership of SeaWeb, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Center for the Future of the Oceans (CCFO), and academic scientists (including Senior Scientists at Oregon State University, Stanford University, and the University of New Hampshire). The Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach will be a member of the COMPASS/ SeaWeb team of communication experts. The individual hired will be a SeaWeb employee and work with the COMPASS team housed at other partner organizations. COMPASS team members are located throughout the country and have expertise in policy, science and communications. This position will report directly to the COMPASS/SeaWeb Director of Ocean Science Outreach and is expected to connect and coordinate with other COMPASS staff. The geographic location for this position is SeaWeb headquarters in Silver Spring MD but other locations may be considered. Position Summary: The Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach will work as part of a highly innovative, motivated team to achieve the COMPASS goals of advancing marine conservation science by communicating scientific knowledge to journalists, policymakers, and the public. As a liaison between leading marine scientists and journalists, the Assistant Director will help scientists translate scientific research into public understanding and awareness of ocean issues. The Assistant Director of Science-Media Outreach will primarily liaise on national and regional journalists, although international work may be required. This individual will work closely with the marine scientific community and collaborate with other COMPASS partners on major science outreach activities and events. Position Qualifications: The ideal candidate should have significant experience in science journalism and an ability to accurately translate complex scientific information showing its salience to society. Excellent written and oral communication skills are essential, as is a passion for ocean science and conservation. This individual should be excellent at building relationships and networks with both journalists and scientists, and enjoy working with a multidisciplinary team of science, media and policy experts. An ability to establish trust and credibility with both leading scientists and journalists is essential. Responsibilities. The Assistant Director will: (1)Build connections with scientists and track new and emerging marine conservation science including (but not limited to) climate change, marine reserves, ecosystem-based management, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture; (2)Support and connect prominent scientists to media as spokespeople of their own work; (3)Help communicate new science to journalists to maintain a high level of public and policy awareness; (4)Write press releases on salient ocean science and help scientists develop press materials for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and other major scientific meetings; (5) Organize events designed to bring the most relevant and timely marine conservation science - and the scientists who engage in this work - to the attention of regional and national journalists; (6) Identify and/or create venues to connect and communicate marine conservation to journalists, policymakers and the public; (7) Help coach scientists to communicate their science more Effectively to non- scientific audiences; (8) Work with fellow COMPASS staff and key partners (governmental and non-governmental) to better understand the science and policy climate, and to ensure important and timely marine conservation science is communicated effectively; (9) Ensure that the program maintains media contact lists and databases that enable timely and strategic outreach to key journalists with the support of other COMPASS staff; (10) Work closely with COMPASS policy and science team members to identify opportunities that will advance scientific objectives; (11) Work with staff and issues at the regional level to ensure that science communication aspects of COMPASS' West Coast and Northeastern and federal science/policy efforts are coordinated. (12) Coordinate with other SeaWeb program staff to ensure cross- fertilization of organizational goals and strategies. (13) Have a basic understanding of project management, including budgeting and grants administration. (14) Other tasks as required to fulfill position objectives. Professional Experience: (1) Significant experience as a science or environmental journalist (5 years plus); (2) Educational degree(s) desired in marine science, law, political science or equivalent; (3) Strong understanding of marine conservation science, ability to learn and evaluate emerging science; (4) Ability to articulate and communicate marine conservation science, and its implications to non- scientific audiences; (5) Proven relationship building and networking skills within the journalistic and scientific arenas; Personal Attributes: (1) Appreciation and understanding of science and media cultures and an ability to work in both (2) Initiative, creativity and ability to work independently and as a member of a team (3) Strong verbal communication and superb writing skills (4) Ability to listen to others and willingness to take suggestions from staff, at all levels (5) Ability to multi-task, manage projects and meet deadlines (6) Personable, diplomatic and a sense of humor. Salary & Benefits: Competitive salary and a generous benefit package. Salary for this position will be commensurate with the successful candidate's skills and experience. To Apply: Applications will be accepted until a qualified candidate is found, but applications submitted prior to February 19 will be given priority. Candidates should send a letter of intent, resume, references and three writing samples to: Nancy Baron, Ocean Science Outreach Director, COMPASS/SeaWeb, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), 735 State St. Suite 300, Santa Barbara, 93101, Phone: 805-892-2515 or 805-450-3158. Electronic submissions are strongly encouraged and can be sent baron at nceas.ucsb.edu or nbaron at seaweb.org and ages. SeaWeb is a communications-based nonprofit that uses social marketing techniques to advance ocean conservation. SeaWeb's work is grounded in first-rate scientific research and data collection, and employs strategic communications skills to translate this information into understandable and relevant initiatives. This approach to conditioning the climate for ocean conservation results in both changed behaviors and strong ocean policy. http://SeaWeb.org COMPASS is a collaborative effort to accelerate the pace of solutions to important marine environmental problems by communicating marine conservation science to media, policymakers, managers, and the public. COMPASS is committed to top-quality academic, peer-reviewed, science. For more information visit http://compassonline.org ******************** (JOB 3) Program Manager - Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) ? EPA ? Washington, DC (USA) EPA is seeking a highly motivated individual to work with local and national governments, industry, and other stakeholders in the landfill gas field to increase the recovery and use of landfill gas around the world. LMOP is a voluntary assistance and partnership program that helps facilitate and promote the use of landfill gas as a renewable energy source domestically and internationally through the Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M). For more information about LMOP, see http://www.epa.gov/lmop/ , and see http://www.epa.gov/ methanetomarkets/ for more information about Methane to Markets. The position requires the ability to master technologies and technical issues related to reducing methane emissions from landfills, successfully interact with industry, government and non- government organizations to market the program, perform technical and financial analysis, promote new projects, and manage a wide range of programmatic activities. Work undertaken will involve strategic program planning, marketing, communication, promotion of emission reduction technologies and practices, designing and developing technical and outreach materials to forward the goals of LMOP and M2M, and managing key program activities. The ideal candidate will have a master?s degree in environmental science, public policy, or a related discipline, and strong analytical, marketing, communication, international relations, and presentation skills. The individual must also have the ability to rapidly learn technical information and communicate it to the relevant stakeholders. A solid waste background and international experience is preferred but not required. The ideal candidate will also have a strong commitment to environmental protection, excellent writing skills, a high energy level, strong quantitative skills, project management experience, and an ability to work well with others. The program operates in an interactive team-based environment with each member assuming responsibility for a diverse set of activities and responsibilities. U.S. citizenship is required. Domestic and international travel is required The position is located in the Office of Atmospheric Program?s Climate Change Division, Non-CO2 Programs Branch (NCPB). NCPB is responsible for the implementation of voluntary programs that promote profitable opportunities for reducing emissions of methane and high- global warming potential gases. The branch is also responsible for the Methane to Markets Partnership (M2M). Launched in November 2004, M2M will reduce global methane emissions to enhance economic growth, promote energy security, improve the environment, and reduce GHG emissions. Through multilateral, public-private sector cooperation, the Partnership promotes cost-effective, near-term methane recovery and use projects at agricultural operations (manure management), coal mines, landfills, and oil and gas systems. The salary range for this position is GS-11 to GS-13 ($55,706 - $103,220), dependent upon qualifications. If interested, please e-mail a cover letter and resume to the following contact: Emily J. Johnson, USEPA (6207J), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460 E-mail: Johnson.emilyj at epa.gov NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE This invitation for resumes is an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to us. It is not an official job application process. All job openings will be announced in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s EZ-hire website (http://www.epa.gov/ezhire). EPA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Selection for these positions will be based solely on merit without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status, or any other non-merit factors ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070126/b924664c/attachment-0001.htm From weilercs at whitman.edu Fri Jan 26 15:31:16 2007 From: weilercs at whitman.edu (Susan Weiler) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:31:16 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] IPY/NGPR Symposium for Early-Career Researchers Message-ID: <19DF4E68-FC6E-4CF0-BFF8-187CCF141D5E@whitman.edu> Please Distribute IPY NGPR Symposium for the New Generation of Polar Researchers May 4 - 11, 2008 La Foret Conference Center, Colorado Springs, CO http://ccar.colorado.edu/ngpr The NGPR Symposium will bring together early-career polar investigators from the physical, biological and social sciences, humanities, engineering and other relevant fields to cultivate cross- disciplinary interactions during the 2007/2008 International Polar Year (IPY). Travel and on-site costs for the invited participants will be defrayed by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation. During the week-long symposium, the group will share their plans for cutting-edge research during the IPY. Brief oral presentations in plenary format will be followed by evening poster sessions for in- depth discussions. The event will also be used to instill this new generation with a common sense of history and purpose. International Geophysical Year (IGY) veterans and other experienced polar scholars will provide a historical overview and context for the IPY and a vision for future polar research. Skills will be developed to facilitate communication across disciplines, to foster interdisciplinary collaborative research, and transmit the IPY goals and exciting new polar research to students, teachers, policy makers, the media and other non-specialist audiences. All of these activities will catalyze and reinforce development of an interdisciplinary collegial network to advance polar research during IPY and beyond. Eligibility: Advanced students and Ph.D. graduates conducting polar research during the IPY and who complete their degree between Jan. 1, 2002 - Dec. 31, 2008. Scholars from any discipline and citizens of all countries are eligible and encouraged to apply. Application: Instructions are posted at http://ccar.colorado.edu/ngpr Selection: A committee of nationally recognized polar scientists will review applications and identify 36 candidates. Selection will favor those who plan to engage in interdisciplinary research careers with a polar focus and engage in some form of polar research and outreach during the IPY. Application Deadline: October 15, 2007 If you have any questions about the symposium, contact Susan Weiler (weiler at whitman.edu) or Sheldon Drobot (sheldon.drobot at colorado.edu). The NGPR symposium is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation through grant ARC-0632324 to Whitman College, C.S. Weiler PI and ARC-0632312 to University of Colorado, Sheldon Drobot PI. ********** 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 http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/biocomplexity/ DIALOG symposia for aquatic-science researchers: http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf DISCCRS symposia for climate-change researchers http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf NGPR Symposium for IPY researchers http://ccar.colorado.edu/ngpr/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070126/b40a18be/attachment-0001.htm From weilercs at whitman.edu Fri Jan 26 15:32:57 2007 From: weilercs at whitman.edu (Susan Weiler) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:32:57 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS Symposium for early career climate change researchers Message-ID: Please Distribute as widely as possible: DISCCRS Interdisciplinary initiative for recent Ph.D. graduates dealing with Climate Change and its Impacts http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf DISCCRS III Symposium September 10 - 17, 2007 Hawai'i Island Eligibility: Ph.D. requirements completed April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2007 in any discipline related to climate change and impacts. Application Deadline: April 30, 2007 Participant Costs: Funding is provided for symposium airfare, housing and meals. DISCCRS Overview: DISCCRS (pronounced "discourse") targets recent Ph.D. graduates to catalyze international, interdisciplinary understanding and collaborations across the natural and social sciences, humanities. mathematics, engineering and other disciplines related to climate change and its impacts. Funding from NSF supports symposium participant costs, the http://disccrs.org website and an electronic newsletter. Symposia are currently funded for 2007 and 2008. Recent Ph.D. graduates from all disciplines and countries are invited to join the DISCCRS network and apply to be a DISCCRS symposium scholar. DISCCRS III Symposium: Thirty-six recent Ph.D. graduates will be competitively selected to present their research in both oral and poster format and participate in the week-long symposium. Four scholars will be invited to serve as mentors for the group, and Stanford Professor Stephen H. Schneider has recently assented to serving as one of the mentors. A representative from the U.S. National Science Foundation will be invited to describe programs and funding opportunities. Strategies for collaborating across disciplines will be introduced and practiced in the context of developing an interdisciplinary research proposal. Techniques for communicating with non-specialist audiences will also be addressed. Contact: Susan Weiler, weiler at whitman.edu Supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, NSF, through grants to Whitman College (EAR-0105201, C.S. Weiler PI) and University of Oregon (EAR-0435719. R.B. Mitchell PI). Jointly sponsored by the following societies: AAG, AERE, AGU, AMS, ASLO, ESA, ESS-ISA. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070126/9f8a2770/attachment-0001.html From weilercs at whitman.edu Fri Jan 26 15:33:52 2007 From: weilercs at whitman.edu (Susan Weiler) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:33:52 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS III: Please help advertise the opportunity Message-ID: <5CEC2A75-B55E-4511-A9B2-7B8A71339542@whitman.edu> Dear DISCCRS/DIALOG-ers: The new DISCCRS symposium is approaching quickly, and we are trying to spread the word about it as widely as possible. I would greatly appreciate your help. Please ? Forward the symposium announcement to institutional representatives, students and colleagues via e-mail. I would particularly appreciate it if you could send it to a key person at your Ph.D.-granting and postdoctoral institutions so they could forward it on to students and new PhDs who might be eligible. ? Print a few copies the DISCCRS flier posted at http://www.aslo.org/ phd/dialogposter.pdf and post them around your home institution. ? If you are going to any climate-change meetings, and are willing to put out a stack of the fliers, we would be happy to send the fliers either to your institutional address or to the hotel you would be using on site. Just send a note to disccrs at whitman.edu with your name, address, meeting name, and meeting dates. If you would like us to send them to your hotel on site, be sure to provide the hotel address, phone number, and your arrival date. Word-of-mouth is extremely effective for advertising this kind of event, so please encourage anyone you know who may be eligible to apply, and also mention the program to any folks in key positions who interact with recent Ph.D. grads doing climate-change or climate impacts-related research. I will send the symposium announcement in a separate e-mail to make it easy to forward on. Thanks in advance for your help! ********** 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 Resources for early-career development: http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/resources/ DIALOG symposia for aquatic-science researchers: http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf DISCCRS symposia for climate-change researchers: http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf NGPR Symposium for IPY researchers: http://ccar.colorado.edu/ngpr/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070126/fa8be558/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Feb 2 19:58:25 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 17:58:25 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 2/2/2007 Message-ID: <4FDD01B8-03D0-4927-BAAE-49191B48E6E6@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 2/2/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Small Grant Program for the Human Dimensions (SGP-HD) ? Inter- American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) (see RESOURCES 1 below) New Website - Sea Ice Tide - Inertial Interaction - International Arctic Research Center - University of Alaska Fairbanks (USA) http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/SITII (see RESOURCES 2 below) 2007 POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowships for Oceanographic Observations http://www.ocean-partners.org/POGO_SCOR_Fellowships.htm (see RESOURCES 3 below) New report on the climate change responses of the 500 largest U.S. companies released on 31 January 2007 http://www.ceres.org/pub/publication.php?pid=234 (see RESOURCES 4 below) FORUM EcoRes Forum Climate Change E-Conference Series - "From Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism: Making the Shift" ? April 2007 http://www.eco-res.org or write forum at eco-res.org (see FORUM 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Articles about the IPPC Report released 2/2/07: www.ipcc.ch for full 2001 and 2007 reports Blame for global warming placed firmly on humankind http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11088-blame-for- global-warming-placed-firmly-on-humankind.html (see NEWS 1 below) Panel Says Warming Caused by Humans http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd- climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/255usa (see NEWS 2 below) Global climate report gets final polish before release (see NEWS 3 below) Indonesia could lose 2,000 islands to global warming by 2030 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200701300312.htm (see NEWS 4 below) New Climate Disclosure Standards Board launched -- company climate risk reporting www.ceres.org (Ceres website), www.incr.com (Investor Network on Climate Risk website) (see NEWS 5 below) New Climate Report Too Rosy, Experts Say http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/01/29/ new_climate_report_to o_rosy_experts_say/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2utbhn (see NEWS 6 below) World Scientists Near Consensus on Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/world/30climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bq62y (see NEWS 7 below) On Global Warming, What US Can Learn from Europe http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0130/p02s01-usec.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/38fuow (see NEWS 8 below) Lawmakers hear of interference in global warming science; presidential hopefuls speak out. (see NEWS 9 below) France Tells U.S. to Sign Climate Pacts or Face Tax http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/world/europe/01climate.html http://tinyurl.com/324p59 (see NEWS 10 below) Washington Watch: Post Postdoc: Are New Scientists Prepared for the Real World? - From American Institute of Biological Science http://www.aibs.org/washington-watch/washington_watch_2007_01.html SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Call for Posters - 2007 Gordon Research Conference on Polar Marine Science - Abstract Submission Deadline: Friday, 16 February 2007 http://csd.tamu.edu/news/news_item.2007-01-29.8117887449 Invitation - European launch event for the IPY - 26 February, 2007 - European Parliament Strasbourg (France) http://csd.tamu.edu/news/news_item.2007-01-29.7632699003 For Further info 2007 3rd Annual Polar Technology Conference - April 26-27, 2007 - Stanford University Menlo Park, CA (USA) Brings together Polar Scientists and Technology Developers in a forum to exchange information on research system operational needs and technology solutions that have been successful in polar environments. This exchange of knowledge helps to address issues of design, implementation, and deployment for systems that are to achieve their research goals in the Polar Regions. http://csd.tamu.edu/news/news_item.2007-01-29.3389747823 Young Scholar Network for Earth Systems Science - Third Workshop - June 2-5, 2007 - Bristol (UK) http:///ww.aimes.ucar.edu/activities/YSN/2007_UK/YSN_BRISTOL.shtml (see MEETINGS 1 below) JOBS Lecturer - Development Studies - UEA (UK) Ref: ATR664 http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/jobs/acad/atr663.htm Postdoc - Tropical Climate Change - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences - University of Miami, FL (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Post Doc - Participatory Appraisal of EU climate change policies - The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ? (The Netherlands) (see JOB 2 below) Postdoctoral fellowship - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) - Vienna, (Austria) http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/YSP/pdoc/index.html (see JOB 3 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Small Grant Program for the Human Dimensions (SGP-HD) ? Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) SGP-HD builds on the interdisciplinary networks created in the second round of the Collaborative Research Network (CRN II) program and is designed to strengthen the ?Human Dimensions and Policy Implications?of the IAI Science Agenda. The program will develop strong human dimensions research in conjunction with the projects under CRN II by integrating natural and human sciences. The program is intended to not only strengthen the human dimensions component of individual projects through integration of a range of human sciences as an integral part of the new generation of projects under CRN II, but also to link individual CRN II projects with similar human dimensions issues. SGP-HD will fund interdisciplinary Global Environmental Change (GEC) research with emphasis on complex, dynamic coupled human ? biophysical systems in order to develop strong human dimensions research in conjunction with existing CRN II projects. Please follow the links below to access the detailed call for proposals Call for Proposals: https://iaibr3.iai.int/twiki/pub/IAI/ IaiServicesReception/IAI_SGP_HD_Call4Proposals.pdf Collaborator Form: https://iaibr3.iai.int/twiki/pub/IAI/ IaiServicesReception/IAI_SGP_HD_CollForm.doc Proposed Budget and Timetable: https://iaibr3.iai.int/twiki/pub/ IAI/IaiServicesReception/IAI_SGP_HD_BudgetForm.doc ******************** (RESOURCES 2) New Website - Sea Ice Tide - Inertial Interaction - International Arctic Research Center - University of Alaska Fairbanks (USA) http://www.frontier.iarc.uaf.edu/SITII A new website is available for Sea Ice Tide - Inertial Interaction (SITII), a project of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Funded by the NSF Office of Polar Programs, SITII is an observation and modeling project aimed at elucidating the physical mechanisms underlying the interaction of tides, boundary layers, and sea ice mechanisms. The study utilizes drift data from buoys that were deployed in the Beaufort Sea in August 2006, in addition to buoys from previous arctic field projects, to track the movement and interaction of sea ice relative to storms and tidal changes. The website features near real-time position data for the buoys as well as detailed descriptions of the Joint Western Arctic Climate Study/Joint Ocean Ice Study Research Cruise on the icebreaker Louis St. Laurent in August 2006. A second set of buoys will be deployed in 2007. For further information on SITII, please contact: Jennifer Hutchings, International Arctic Research Center E-mail: jenny at iarc.uaf.edu ******************** (RESOURCES 3) 2007 POGO-SCOR Visiting Fellowships for Oceanographic Observations http://www.ocean-partners.org/POGO_SCOR_Fellowships.htm This announcement may be of interest to some OCB/OCCC PIs who have ongoing international collaborations. Please circulate this to your national oceanographic community. We are looking for both hosts and fellows. Remember that the fellowships are for observations, not research. Many of the applications last year were for training in research methods and we had to give these a low score. Best regards, Ed Urban, Ph.D., Executive Director, Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research E-mail: Ed.Urban at jhu.edu http:// www.scor-int.org ******************** (RESOURCES 4) New report on the climate change responses of the 500 largest U.S. companies released on 31 January 2007 http://www.ceres.org/pub/publication.php?pid=234 Dear climate-l colleagues - I am writing to inform you that Ceres and Calvert released a new report, Climate Risk Disclosure by the S&P 500, on 31 January 2007. This is the first-ever analysis of climate disclosure practices among the 500 largest U.S. companies. The report concludes that America?s largest companies still are not taking climate change seriously enough. Less than half (47 percent) of the S&P 500 companies responded to a global survey last year by the Carbon Disclosure Project requesting information about their climate risks and strategies, and those that did respond failed to provide much of the information investors are seeking. Nearly a third (30 percent) of the responders, in fact, declined to publicly release their responses, calling them ?confidential.? Other key findings from the Ceres/Calvert report include: -- Poor Greenhouse Gas Emissions Management: 80 percent of the 228 companies that responded to the survey (182 companies) addressed the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but only a quarter (59 companies) disclosed measurable emissions reductions targets and specific time frames for reductions. -- Physical Impacts Not on Radar Screen: Nearly 75 percent of the responding companies (171 companies) acknowledged bottom-line risks associated with extreme weather events such as hurricanes, fires and floods. However, very few of the companies surveyed link more- extreme weather to climate change and fewer still?only four percent ? disclosed strategies for mitigating and adapting to the growing physical impacts from climate change. The Ceres/Calvert analysis was based on S&P 500 company responses to a questionnaire distributed last year by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), to obtain more information relating to corporate management of climate change. CDP is a coordinated effort by 225 global investors with total assets of $31 trillion. The report authors used the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure to analyze the quality of responses. If you have any questions, please let me know. Chris Fox, Director of Investor Programs, Ceres, fox at ceres.org Ceres website (www.ceres.org) Investor Network on Climate Risk website (www.incr.com) *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) EcoRes Forum Climate Change E-Conference Series - "From Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism: Making the Shift" ? April 2007 http://www.eco-res.org or write forum at eco-res.org. The EcoRes Forum, a new initiative undertaken by Mary Leyser, Coordinator of the Eco-Ethics International Union (EEIU), and Acad. Prof. Gennady Polikarpov, EEIU Vice-President and Chief Scientist at the Institute of Biology of Southern Seas in Sevastopol, Ukraine, announces the launch of a series of online e-conferences focusing on the ethical, political and sociocultural aspects of climate change. The series, which will be offered free of charge, starts off in April 2007 with a two-week dialogue on a topic of increasing urgency: expanding and accelerating an ecocentric philosophy among societies around the world. The need for such a shift has long been recognized. Based on the UN's Rio Declaration of Environment and Development, in 1992 Al Gore observed, "Our challenge is to accelerate the needed change in thinking about our relationship to the environment in order to shift the pattern of our civilization to a new equilibrium - before the world's ecological system loses its current one." (Earth in the Balance) Titled "From Anthropocentrism to Ecocentrism: Making the Shift", the e-conference will bring together academics and activists, scientists and social critics, researchers and journalists, community leaders and citizens, all focused on looking for answers and actions to make this paradigm shift a reality. After reflecting on past movement successes to identify transferable practices, the semi- structured discussion will evaluate the current status - looking at what is working (and what isn't) around the globe. Armed with this knowledge, participants will shift focus to the future, considering multi-prong approaches for moving forward on this trans-disciplinary issue. As EcoRes materials outline, the forum's mission is ambitious, yet, organizers are convinced, fully achievable: 1)In keeping with our foundational philosophy of ecocentric environmental ethics and commitment to the principles of social equity and environmental justice; 2) by leveraging the potential of new media by providing an easily accessible global platform for discussion and access to subject experts; 3) ? by involving global stakeholders in global issue discussions by circumventing the logistical and financial barriers of traditional dialogue interactions; 4) by building ongoing connections and networks between these actors; 5) by crossing borders, whether disciplinary, philosophical, or geopolitical; and 6) ? by maintaining a results-oriented focus; The goals of the EcoRes Forum are: 1) to level the field of discourse by moving it to a space whose boundaries are set only by our own creativity; 2) to promote awareness, public dialogue and the free exchange and exploration of ideas, knowledge and issues related to climate change; 3) to leave all participants with something of value, whether knowledge, best practices, or a new perspective, which can be put to use immediately to improve efforts in their individual fields; and 4) by so doing, to contribute to taking the environmental movement to the next level and thereby, in some small way, to assist in preventing further extreme human-induced climate change. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Blame for global warming placed firmly on humankind http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11088-blame-for- global-warming-placed-firmly-on-humankind.html New Scientist ?The most authoritative scientific report on climate change says with 90% certainty that the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities are driving climate change. The report, from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says the rise in global temperatures could be as high as 6.4? C by 2100. The report also predicts sea level rises and increases in hurricanes. The new IPCC report is the work of 3750 climate experts, who have spent six years reviewing all the available climate research. It was released in Paris, France, on Friday. ********************* (NEWS 2) Panel Says Warming Caused by Humans http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd- climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/255usa New York Times (Registration Required) - PARIS, Feb. 2 - The world is already committed to centuries of warming, shifting weather patterns and rising seas from the atmospheric buildup of gases that trap heat, but the warming can be substantially blunted by prompt action, an international network of climate experts said today. The report released here represented the fourth assessment since 1990 by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, of the causes and consequences of climate change. But for the first time the group asserted with near certainty - more than 90 percent confidence - that carbon dioxide and other heat- trapping greenhouse gases from human activities were the main drivers of warming since 1950. In its last report, in 2001, the panel, consisting of hundreds of scientists and reviewers, put the confidence level at between 66 and 90 percent. ******************** (NEWS 3) Global climate report gets final polish before release Margaret Munro - CanWest News Service - Thursday, February 01, 2007 The report on the state of Earth's climate, to be released Friday, is one of the most scrutinized, heavily edited and carefully coded documents ever written. Climatologists hope it also will have the power to change the world, and what humans are doing to it. Almost three years in the making, with input from hundreds of researchers, the report is now undergoing a last-minute, closed-door edit by high-level government delegates and scientists in Paris. "We'll be going over it line by line," says Francis Zwiers, a top Environment Canada scientist, and one of the researchers and government officials holed up near the Eiffel Tower negotiating how best to describe the remarkable changes underway as the planet warms. Reports Wednesday suggested the experts are falling behind in their task of reaching consensus on the wording. All governments involved must agree on the language in the summary. "We are at 30 per cent (complete) and we have used 60 per cent of our time," said Arthur Petersen, who represents the Dutch Environment Ministry. Leaked drafts of Friday's report, widely quoted in the media in recent weeks, say the evidence of climate warming is "unequivocal." The change is visible in the air, oceans and melting ice and largely driven by ever-increasing human emissions of greenhouse gases. The marathon session in Paris is massaging and tweaking the draft, which is just 12 to 15 pages long and summarizes the key findings of science teams that have produced an 11-chapter tome - more than 1,000 pages of eye-glazing detail to be published later this spring. Every word of the summary is being weighed with the kind of precision only scientists and bureaucrats could dream up. For handy reference at the Paris meeting there is a 56-page technical summary, complete with a chart calibrating the meaning of loaded phrases - "virtually certain" means greater than 99 per cent probability, "likely" translates to more than 66 per cent, while "exceptionally unlikely" is less than one per cent probability. The definitions are supposed to add precision to Friday's summary report. They also help counter last-minute attempts to water down or exaggerate the climate change underway. "Our job is only to accept changes consistent with our chapter's findings," says Ken Denman, another Canadian researcher burning the midnight oil in Paris. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, was established in 1988 to bring together climate scientists to assess the risks posed by the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane gas that humans pump into the atmosphere each year. Scientists say there is little in IPCC reports that has not been widely reported in science journals and been the fodder of headlines for years. What sets the reports apart, they say, is the way they pull all the pieces together, build consensus and command attention. As the IPCC delegation gathered in Paris this week there were already calls for a world summit on climate change from the United Nations Environment Programme. Friday's report is based on the fourth assessment, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, and focuses on how greenhouse gases have locked the planet into a human-induced warming trend that will be felt for centuries to come. Two other IPCC reports, to be released in April and May, will describe how society needs to adapt to the coming change and lay out options for cutting emissions. The authors of this week's report say they have weighed all the evidence and theories about how and why temperatures are rising. They have also assessed 19 climate models from labs and meteorological services around the world, including one run by Environment Canada's supercomputer in Dorval, Que., that replicate past climates with uncanny accuracy and forecast big change in coming decades. Scientists from around the globe have been involved since 2004 - Denman's co-ordinated input from 14 lead authors and about 60 contributing authors for his chapter on how carbon moves between the land, ocean and atmosphere. Hundreds more have been writing and reviewing the other 10 chapters. Critics and skeptics were encouraged to get involved."I actually was a bit pushy about it because I think if people are going to complain, then let them complain in a constructive way," Denman said in a recent interview in his office at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis in Victoria, where he's on secondment from the Fisheries and Oceans Department. His chapter attracted 3,000 individual comments. "And we had to respond in writing to every single one," Denman says flipping through the thick binder holding them all. "It's a brutal job," says Denman, an expert on the carbon cycle and IPCC veteran who helped write the 1995 report that helped focus international attention on the greenhouse gas problem. Climatologist Andrew Weaver at the University of Victoria is also one of the nine Canadian researchers heavily involved in producing this year's report. The debate between scientists has been right down to the wire. Two weeks ago Weaver says they were still arguing over the chance of an abrupt collapse of Atlantic currents that carry heat from the tropics to Europe. Is it "unlikely" (less than 33 per cent probability) or "very unlikely" (less than 10 per cent probability). "It took many hours, with many people around the world for that one paragraph," says Weaver. Negotiators in Paris this week can - and are - haggling over the wording in the summary. "But they can't change the science," says Weaver. It is already all laid out in the IPCC report, the final draft of which covers more than 1,000 pages. "It's an outstanding piece of scientific research, it covers all aspect of the climate," says Weaver, who is already using it for teaching and reference. "It's the go-to place for anything to do with climate science." The IPCC has its critics. Toronto geologist and climate blogger Steve McIntyre is harshly critical of the IPCC for delaying publication of the full report until three months after Friday's summary is released at a carefully orchestrated press conference. "Unbelievable," says McIntyre, who has chastised the IPCC for having the "gall" to institutionalize a process that will generate enormous political pressure for action before the full details are made public. "Words fail me." Gordon McBean, a former Environment Canada official now at the University of Western Ontario, says the IPCC process could be more open and streamlined. "I think the process has actually become overly bureaucratic," says McBean. "But I don't think the present process is controlled by government as some people argue," says McBean. McBean headed the Canadian delegation to the 1995 IPCC negotiations that concluded the balance of evidence suggests "a discernable human influence" on the global climate. The line helped lead to the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement that aims to, but has so far failed, to curb total global emissions. This time around McBean is a reviewer for the upcoming IPCC assessment on the impacts of climate change and the need to adapt. He says the more than 180 countries in the United Nations are party to the IPCC process and have the right to comment on Friday's summary, as long as the document stays true to the science. "They all legitimately can participate," says McBean, who is unaware of any other documents that undergoes such intense review, debate and editing. "Not that I know of," says McBean, who like many of his colleagues is hoping this week's report will jolt the world into making "significant" emission reductions. ********************* (NEWS 4) Indonesia could lose 2,000 islands to global warming by 2030 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200701300312.htm Jakarta, Jan 30. (AP): Rising sea levels could inundate about 2,000 Indonesian islands by 2030, and rice shortages are expected next year due to wild weather blamed on climate change, the Environment Minister said on Monday. The assessment by Rachmat Witoelar was the Government's bleakest, yet of global warming's potential effects on the mostly poor Southeast Asian nation of about 18,000 islands, most of them unpopulated. ``It is very, very serious,'' Witoelar said at a news conference attended by Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. climate treaty secretariat. Witoelar said, respected scientific studies showed about 2,000 islands would be swallowed by rising waters by 2030. He did not say whether the threatened islands were inhabited or not. Delayed rains this year, followed by a hot spell, also hurt farmers. ``It is feared there will be a lack of rice production next year because of the changes in the weather and because the farmers are not used to this,'' Witoelar said. De Boer was in Jakarta to discuss a major U.N. climate change meeting later this year on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Environment Ministers from 80 countries will meet there to begin talks on what actions the world must take after the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012. ******************** (NEWS 5) New Climate Disclosure Standards Board launched -- company climate risk reporting www.ceres.org (Ceres website), www.incr.com (Investor Network on Climate Risk website) Dear climate-l colleagues - I am writing to inform you about the new international partnership of seven organizations announced today at the World Economic Forum to establish a generally accepted framework for climate risk-related reporting by corporations. Founding members of the institutional consortium, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), include the California Climate Action Registry, Carbon Disclosure Project, Ceres, The Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association, World Economic Forum Global Greenhouse Gas Register and World Resources Institute. CDSB member organizations have agreed to align their core requests for information from companies in order to ensure that they report climate change-related information in a standardized way that facilitates easier comparative analysis by investors, managers and the public. The focus will be on the disclosure of the following key climate issues in company annual reports: 1) Total emissions, 2) Assessment of the physical risks of climate change, 3) Assessment of the regulatory risks of climate change, and 4) Strategic analysis of climate risk and emissions management An advisory committee is being formed that will include industrial, financial services and accounting firms as well as other key stakeholders. In preparation, CDSB members met in Davos with representatives of Alcan; American International Group; Capital Group; Duke Energy Corporation; Ernst and Young; Royal Dutch/Shell; JP Morgan Chase; PricewaterhouseCoopers; SUN Group; Swiss Re and Tokyo Electric Power as well as United Kingdom Environment Minister Milliband; California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez; and United Nations Environment Programme Director General Achim Steiner. If anyone has questions, please let me know. Chris Fox, Director of Investor Programs, Ceres, fox at ceres.org ******************** (NEWS 6) New Climate Report Too Rosy, Experts Say http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/01/29/ new_climate_report_to o_rosy_experts_say/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2utbhn the Boston Globe (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON -- Later this week in Paris, climate scientists will issue a dire forecast for the planet that warns of slowly rising sea levels and higher temperatures. But that may be the sugarcoated version. Early and changeable drafts of their upcoming authoritative report on climate change foresee smaller sea level rises than were projected in 2001 in the last report. Many top U.S. scientists reject these rosier numbers. Those calculations don't include the recent, and dramatic, melt-off of big ice sheets in two crucial locations. They "don't take into account the gorillas -- Greenland and Antarctica," said Ohio State University earth sciences professor Lonnie Thompson, a polar ice specialist. "I think there are unpleasant surprises as we move into the 21st century." ******************** (NEWS 7) World Scientists Near Consensus on Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/world/30climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bq62y New York Times (Registration Required) - PARIS, Jan. 29 - Scientists from across the world gathered Monday to hammer out the final details of an authoritative report on climate change that is expected to project centuries of rising temperatures and sea levels unless there are curbs in emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Scientists involved in writing or reviewing the report say it is nearly certain to conclude that there is at least a 90 percent chance that human- caused emissions are the main factor in warming since 1950. The report is the fourth since 1990 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is overseen by the United Nations. The report, several of the authors said, will describe a growing body of evidence that warming is likely to cause a profound transformation of the planet. Three large sections of the report will be forthcoming during the year. The first will be a summary for policy makers and information on basic climate science, which is expected to be issued on Friday. ********************** (NEWS 8) On Global Warming, What US Can Learn from Europe http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0130/p02s01-usec.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/38fuow Christian Science Monitor - Momentum is building in the United States to fight global warming. And the most popular proposal to do that, at the moment, is through a nationwide "cap and trade" system. At least three major Senate bills incorporate the idea. Large corporations, including big oil firms that until recently opposed such regulation, are backing the approach in theory. On Friday, the United Nations is slated to release a key report on the scientific consensus on global warming, which will put even more pressure on nations to act, analysts suggest. But the real trick to effective legislation is in its details, a lesson that the European Union (EU) has learned the hard way as it prepares to cut greenhouse-gas emissions next year under the Kyoto treaty. So many companies emit so much carbon dioxide that the potential market for emissions trading is huge. Missteps could be costly, involving billions of dollars in unwitting subsidies or penalties for industries. *********************** (NEWS 9) Lawmakers hear of interference in global warming science; presidential hopefuls speak out. By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press - WASHINGTON ? Federal scientists have been pressured by the White House to play down global warming, advocacy groups testified Tuesday at the Democrats' first investigative hearing since taking control of Congress. The hearing focused on allegations White House officials for years have micromanaged the government's climate programs and have closely controlled what scientists have been allowed to tell the public. "It appears there may have been an orchestrated campaign to mislead the public about climate change," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D- Calif. Waxman is chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a critic of the Bush administration's environmental policies, including its views on climate. Climate change also was a leading topic in the Senate, where presidential contenders for 2008 lined up at a hearing called by Sen. Barbara Boxer. They expounded ? and at times tried to outdo each other ? on why they believed Congress must act to reduce heat- trapping "greenhouse" gases. "This is a problem whose time has come," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., proclaimed. "This is an issue over the years whose time has come," echoed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said "for decades far too many have ignored the warning" about climate change. "Will we look back at today and say this was the moment we took a stand?" At the House hearing, two private advocacy groups produced a survey of 279 government climate scientists showing that many of them say they have been subjected to political pressure aimed at downplaying the climate threat. Their complaints ranged from a challenge to using the phrase "global warming" to raising uncertainty on issues on which most scientists basically agree, to keeping scientists from talking to the media. The survey and separate interviews with scientists "has brought to light numerous ways in which U.S. federal climate science has been filtered, suppressed and manipulated in the last five years," Francesca Grifo, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the committee. Grifo's group, along with the Government Accountability Project, which helps whistle-blowers, produced the report. Drew Shindell, a climate scientist with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that climate scientists frequently have been dissuaded from talking to the media about their research, though NASA's restrictions have been eased. Prior to the change, interview requests of climate scientists frequently were "routed through the White House" and then turned away or delayed, said Shindell. He described how a news release on his study forecasting a significant warming in Antarctica was "repeatedly delayed, altered and watered down" at the insistence of the White House. Some Republican members of the committee questioned whether science and politics ever can be kept separate. "I am no climate- change denier," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the top Republican on the committee, but he questioned whether "the issue of politicizing science has itself become politicized." "The mere convergence of politics and science does not itself denote interference," said Davis. Administration officials were not called to testify. In the past the White House has said it has only sought to inject balance into reports on climate change. President Bush has acknowledged concerns about global warming, but he strongly opposes mandatory caps of greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that approach would be too costly. Roger Pielke Jr., a political scientist at the University of Colorado who was invited by GOP lawmakers, said "the reality is that science and politics are intermixed." Pielke maintained that "scientific cherry picking" can be found on both sides of the climate debate. He took a swipe at the background memorandum Waxman had distributed and maintained that it exaggerated the scientific consensus over the impact of climate change on hurricanes. Waxman and Davis agreed the administration had not been forthcoming in providing documents to the committee that would shed additional light on allegations of political interference in climate science. "We know that the White House possesses documents that contain evidence of an attempt by senior administration officials to mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of global warming and minimize the potential danger," said Waxman, adding that he is "not trying to obtain state secrets." At Boxer's Senate hearing, her predecessor as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., had his own view of the science. There is "no convincing scientific evidence" that human activity is causing global warming, declared Inhofe, who once called global warming a hoax. "We all know the Weather Channel would like to have people afraid all the time." "I'll put you down as skeptical," replied Boxer. ********************** (NEWS 10) France Tells U.S. to Sign Climate Pacts or Face Tax http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/world/europe/01climate.html http://tinyurl.com/324p59 New York Times (Registration Required) - PARIS, Jan. 31 - President Jacques Chirac has demanded that the United States sign both the Kyoto climate protocol and a future agreement that will take effect when the Kyoto accord runs out in 2012. He said that he welcomed last week's State of the Union address in which President Bush described climate change as a "serious challenge" and acknowledged that a growing number of American politicians now favor emissions cuts. But he warned that if the United States did not sign the agreements, a carbon tax across Europe on imports from nations that have not signed the Kyoto treaty could be imposed to try to force compliance. The European Union is the largest export market for American goods. "A carbon tax is inevitable," Mr. Chirac said. "If it is European, and I believe it will be European, then it will all the same have a certain influence because it means that all the countries that do not accept the minimum obligations will be obliged to pay." *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETINGS 1) International Young Scholar Network for Earth Systems Science - Third Workshop - June 2-5, 2007 - Bristol (UK) http:///ww.aimes.ucar.edu/activities/YSN/2007_UK/YSN_BRISTOL.shtml This small workshop will focus on understanding decision making on land-use issues, in order to move towards modelling these processes in Earth System Models. We encourage interdisciplinary applicants from the natural and social sciences, economics, engineers and scholars from the humanities with research interests in the Earth system. The goal of the YSN workshop will be a manuscript reviewing the state-of-art in decision-making in land-use modelling and its impacts on biogeochemistry and climate from an Earth?s System perspective, and prioritise future research topics. Participants will be expected to write whitepapers before the workshop, and continue finalizing the manuscript after the workshop. AIMES is a Core Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Project (IGBP). Approximately, 25 young scholars (within 10 years of Ph.D.) will be supported to attend the YSN meeting, pending funding. To apply, send your CV, statement of research interests and a letter of recommendation from your supervisor or department head to marko.scholze at bristol.ac.uk by February 28, 2007. *************************************************** 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) Postdoc - Tropical Climate Change - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences - University of Miami, FL (USA) The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami invites applications for a post-doctoral research assistant in Tropical Climate Change. This position involves the use of satellite observations and a hierarchy of atmospheric and coupled climate models to investigate decadal to centennial changes in the tropical atmospheric circulation and their connection to tropical cloud feedbacks. The successful candidate should have a background in climate and experience in analyzing satellite data and/or climate model simulations. The position is being offered for one year with the possibility of renewal for up to two additional years. Review of the applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send their Curriculum Vitae and a list of three references to: Amy Clement, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149. For further information please contact Dr. Clement by phone: (305) 421-4846 or email: aclement at rsmas.miami.edu ******************** (JOB 2) Post Doc - Participatory Appraisal of EU climate change policies - The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam ? (The Netherlands) The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) is looking for a researcher in environmental science, social science, or policy studies to join the work on the Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy (ADAM) project that is funded by the European Union. The contract will be conditional of availability of funding. The ADAM project: ADAM - ADaptation And Mitigation Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy ? is an Integrated Project funded by the European Commission under FP6, which started in March 2006. The ADAM project aims to give insight into the synergies and conflicts that exist between adaptation and mitigation policies. Crucially, ADAM aims to support EU policy development in the next stage of the development of the Kyoto Protocol, in particular negotiations around a post-2012 global climate policy regime, and will inform the emergence of new adaptation strategies for Europe. The main impact of the ADAM project will be to improve the quality and relevance of scientific contributions to the development and evaluation of climate change policy options within the European Commission. This will help the Commission to deliver on its current medium-term climate policy objectives and help inform its development of a longer-term climate strategy. Tasks: The post will take a pivotal role in the ongoing work in the ADAM project to develop and apply a highly innovative new methodology for the appraisal of climate change policy options. This Policy Appraisal Framework (PAF) makes use of participatory methods, modelling tools and policy analysis approaches, in order to bring together diverse information about the impacts and implications of particular climate change policy options. The key part of the development is to integrate the various elements (building blocks) into participatory appraisal, and support case studies in their application of the PAF. In particular, this post will apply the PAF to the case study of the European electricity sector, through appraising current proposals by the EU Commission and other European policy actors. (The other major ADAM case studies focus on EU development assistance, the post-2012 international climate regime, and regional policy.) This task involves a structured process of exploring and appraising policy options in deliberative exercises with relevant stakeholders of the European electricity sector, and evaluating the results. Requirements: We are looking for an innovative and forward thinking researcher with a formal academic training to PhD level in a social, environmental or policy science discipline. Candidates should have previous academic research experience in the areas of policy analysis, institutions, and participatory integrated assessment of climate change. In addition to these core skills, it will be an advantage to have knowledge of European climate change policy, in particular of the electricity sector. Also, the candidate should take into account that the project implies a fair amount of travelling through Europe. Besides excellent research skills, we would prefer someone who is highly organised, a good team worker, who can work independently, who has excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, and who is confident in networking with a wide range of scientists and other stakeholders involved in climate policy. Candidates with recent direct research experience on policy issues regarding the electricity sector, at the international, EU or national level are especially welcome to apply. Salary: The position will be made on a 0,8 fte basis, in salary scale 11 (which, on a full time appointment, ranges from 3024 to 4140 euro per month). The appointment will be for 2 years. Additional information: Informal enquiries regarding this post can be obtained from Dr. Marleen van de Kerkhof at marleen.van.de.kerkhof at ivm.vu.nl, or 31-(0)20-5989531. Please also have a look at the project's website: http://www.adamproject.eu/ Applications: Written applications including a CV should be addressed within 2 weeks after this announcement (editor note: the website listed this news as dated 01/02/07) to the Vrije Universiteit, dr. J.M.R.M. Neutelings, Managing Director, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands (the vacancy number 1.2007.00030 should be mentioned on the letter and on the envelop) or email to: falw-vacature at falw.vu.nl. ********************* (JOB 3) Postdoctoral fellowship - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) - Vienna, (Austria) http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/YSP/pdoc/index.html The application deadline is February 15, 2007. IIASA is an international institution, supported by eighteen governments, that supports international teams of researchers engaged in studies aimed at providing policy insight on issues of regional and global importance. Candidates for the IIASA Postdoctoral Program can apply to work with any of IIASA's sixteen research programs or special projects. (Overview of IIASA's research activities.) An essential part of the on-line application is a research plan outlining the intended work at IIASA and a discussion of the relevance of the planned research for IIASA's agenda. Applicants are encouraged to contact the leader of the IIASA program of interest as they prepare their applications. Applicants must have an advanced university degree equivalent to a Ph.D at the time of taking up the post-doc position, a proven record of research accomplishments, and a solid working knowledge of English. The typical period for IIASA-funded postdoctoral support is 12-24 months. It is an excellent postdoctoral opportunity for researchers from natural and social sciences, mathematics, and engineering who are interested working on global change issues. We want to spread the word about this great opportunity as widely as possible. Please help by forwarding this announcement to your committee members and colleagues who might know appropriate candidates. To learn more about IIASA, consult the IIASA Website (www.iiasa.ac.at). In addition, an October 13, 2006 Science profile of IIASA researcher Brian O'Neill can be accessed from the U.S. NMO website, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/usnc-iiasa/index.html. US IIASA NMO website: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/usnc-iiasa/ index.html ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070202/b69fa441/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Feb 9 13:20:06 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 11:20:06 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 2/8/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 2/8/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Inter-Research Journal - Online archive now available - Back catalog of articles; full-text searchable PDF files. www.int-res.com Water Quality for Ecosystem and Human Health is available in English in PDF and ?Digital Atlas? formats at http://www.gemswater.org/publications/index-e.html and at http://www.gemswater.org/freshwater_assessments/index-e.html. SCIENCE NEWS Republican and Democratic US Congress members polled on climate change http://syndication.nationaljournal.com/images/ 203Insiderspoll_NJlogo.pdf Global climate report gets final polish before release (see NEWS 1 below) Pew Center coverage of the IPCC Comprehensive Report on Science of Climate Change (see NEWS 2 below) Climate of Opinion: The latest U.N. report shows the "warming" debate is far from settled. The Wall Street Journal weighs in on IPCC http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009625 (see NEWS 3 below) Game Over on Global Warming? http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- emissions5feb05,1,3200012.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/yolsw6 (Registration Required) (see NEWS 4 below) Branson Launches $25 Million Climate Bid http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6345557.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2frvvu (see NEWS 5 below) Nanoengineered Concrete Could Reduce CO2 Emissions http://tinyurl.com/2qo8rh (see NEWS 6 below) Evangelical, Scientific Leaders Launch Effort to Protect Earth Unprecedented collaboration aims to instill sense of urgency on elected officials, advance sound environmental policies and practices http://www.allgodspeople.com/madison/content/view/43403/16/ (see NEWS 7 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Third Workshop: International Young Scholar Network for Earth Systems Science - June 2-5, 2007 - Bristol (UK) (see WORKSHOP 1 below) JOBS Director And Professor, Florida Sea Grant Program (FSG) - Sea Grant College - University Of Florida -Gainesville, FL (USA) Position # 0001-3307 (see JOB 1 below) Global Warming Scientist - Conservation Programs ? National Wildlife Federation ? Reston, VA (USA) https://secure.nwf.org/careergateway/index.cfm? fuseAction=view&positionID=10288 (see JOB 2 below) Postdoc Fellowship - Sea Ice Forecasting - U.S. National/Naval Ice Center - Washington, DC in Suitland, Maryland (USA) http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/07nic_open.html (see JOB 3 below) Post-doc - Modeling Marine Microbes at MIT: From Genomes to Biogeography ? Massachusetts Institute of Technology ? Cambridge, MA (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Research Faculty (two) - Marine Science - Coastal and Marine Laboratory - Florida State University ? St Teresa, FL (USA) http://www.marinelab.fsu.edu/currentopenings.html (see JOBS 5 below) Postdoc - Environmental Sciences Policy and Management Department - UC Berkeley (USA) (see JOB 6 below) PostDoc - Interpret recent satellite observations to provide constraints on aerosol processes - Dalhousie University (Canada) (see JOB 7 below) 3-5 Research Scientists - Land-Atmospheric Interaction - Beijing Normal University, Beijing (China) (see JOB 8 below) Lecturship - Environmental Modelling and/or Earth Observation Science - Department of Geography - Kings College London (UK) (see JOB 9 below) Asst. Professor - Geoscience (The position is currently held by a Climatologist, and continuation of this situation is encouraged!) - Meredith College, Raleigh, NC (USA) (see JOB 10 below) Post-doc - Dept. of Oceanography - University of Cape Town (Rep. of South Africa) (see JOB 11 below) Post-doc - Numerical modelling of ice-ocean interactions in Antarctica - The Institute for Geophysics - Westfalische Wilhelms University (Germany) (see JOB 12 below) Research Associate - Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory - Beltsville, MD (USA) (see JOB 13 below) Postdoctoral Researcher - Aquatic Microbial Ecology - Limnology section at the Department of Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University (Sweden) http://www.personalavd.uu.se/ledigaplatser/205forsk_eng.html (see JOB 14 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Global climate report gets final polish before release Margaret Munro - CanWest News Service - Thursday, February 01, 2007 The report on the state of Earth's climate, to be released Friday, is one of the most scrutinized, heavily edited and carefully coded documents ever written. Climatologists hope it also will have the power to change the world, and what humans are doing to it. Almost three years in the making, with input from hundreds of researchers, the report is now undergoing a last-minute, closed-door edit by high-level government delegates and scientists in Paris. "We'll be going over it line by line," says Francis Zwiers, a top Environment Canada scientist, and one of the researchers and government officials holed up near the Eiffel Tower negotiating how best to describe the remarkable changes underway as the planet warms. Reports Wednesday suggested the experts are falling behind in their task of reaching consensus on the wording. All governments involved must agree on the language in the summary. "We are at 30 per cent (complete) and we have used 60 per cent of our time," said Arthur Petersen, who represents the Dutch Environment Ministry. Leaked drafts of Friday's report, widely quoted in the media in recent weeks, say the evidence of climate warming is "unequivocal." The change is visible in the air, oceans and melting ice and largely driven by ever-increasing human emissions of greenhouse gases. The marathon session in Paris is massaging and tweaking the draft, which is just 12 to 15 pages long and summarizes the key findings of science teams that have produced an 11-chapter tome - more than 1,000 pages of eye-glazing detail to be published later this spring. Every word of the summary is being weighed with the kind of precision only scientists and bureaucrats could dream up. For handy reference at the Paris meeting there is a 56-page technical summary, complete with a chart calibrating the meaning of loaded phrases - "virtually certain" means greater than 99 per cent probability, "likely" translates to more than 66 per cent, while "exceptionally unlikely" is less than one per cent probability. The definitions are supposed to add precision to Friday's summary report. They also help counter last-minute attempts to water down or exaggerate the climate change underway. "Our job is only to accept changes consistent with our chapter's findings," says Ken Denman, another Canadian researcher burning the midnight oil in Paris. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, was established in 1988 to bring together climate scientists to assess the risks posed by the billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane gas that humans pump into the atmosphere each year. Scientists say there is little in IPCC reports that has not been widely reported in science journals and been the fodder of headlines for years. What sets the reports apart, they say, is the way they pull all the pieces together, build consensus and command attention. As the IPCC delegation gathered in Paris this week there were already calls for a world summit on climate change from the United Nations Environment Programme. Friday's report is based on the fourth assessment, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis, and focuses on how greenhouse gases have locked the planet into a human-induced warming trend that will be felt for centuries to come. Two other IPCC reports, to be released in April and May, will describe how society needs to adapt to the coming change and lay out options for cutting emissions. The authors of this week's report say they have weighed all the evidence and theories about how and why temperatures are rising. They have also assessed 19 climate models from labs and meteorological services around the world, including one run by Environment Canada's supercomputer in Dorval, Que., that replicate past climates with uncanny accuracy and forecast big change in coming decades. Scientists from around the globe have been involved since 2004 - Denman's co-ordinated input from 14 lead authors and about 60 contributing authors for his chapter on how carbon moves between the land, ocean and atmosphere. Hundreds more have been writing and reviewing the other 10 chapters. Critics and skeptics were encouraged to get involved."I actually was a bit pushy about it because I think if people are going to complain, then let them complain in a constructive way," Denman said in a recent interview in his office at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis in Victoria, where he's on secondment from the Fisheries and Oceans Department. His chapter attracted 3,000 individual comments. "And we had to respond in writing to every single one," Denman says flipping through the thick binder holding them all. "It's a brutal job," says Denman, an expert on the carbon cycle and IPCC veteran who helped write the 1995 report that helped focus international attention on the greenhouse gas problem. Climatologist Andrew Weaver at the University of Victoria is also one of the nine Canadian researchers heavily involved in producing this year's report. The debate between scientists has been right down to the wire. Two weeks ago Weaver says they were still arguing over the chance of an abrupt collapse of Atlantic currents that carry heat from the tropics to Europe. Is it "unlikely" (less than 33 per cent probability) or "very unlikely" (less than 10 per cent probability). "It took many hours, with many people around the world for that one paragraph," says Weaver. Negotiators in Paris this week can - and are - haggling over the wording in the summary. "But they can't change the science," says Weaver. It is already all laid out in the IPCC report, the final draft of which covers more than 1,000 pages. "It's an outstanding piece of scientific research, it covers all aspect of the climate," says Weaver, who is already using it for teaching and reference. "It's the go-to place for anything to do with climate science." The IPCC has its critics. Toronto geologist and climate blogger Steve McIntyre is harshly critical of the IPCC for delaying publication of the full report until three months after Friday's summary is released at a carefully orchestrated press conference. "Unbelievable," says McIntyre, who has chastised the IPCC for having the "gall" to institutionalize a process that will generate enormous political pressure for action before the full details are made public. "Words fail me." Gordon McBean, a former Environment Canada official now at the University of Western Ontario, says the IPCC process could be more open and streamlined. "I think the process has actually become overly bureaucratic," says McBean. "But I don't think the present process is controlled by government as some people argue," says McBean. McBean headed the Canadian delegation to the 1995 IPCC negotiations that concluded the balance of evidence suggests "a discernable human influence" on the global climate. The line helped lead to the Kyoto Protocol, the international agreement that aims to, but has so far failed, to curb total global emissions. This time around McBean is a reviewer for the upcoming IPCC assessment on the impacts of climate change and the need to adapt. He says the more than 180 countries in the United Nations are party to the IPCC process and have the right to comment on Friday's summary, as long as the document stays true to the science. "They all legitimately can participate," says McBean, who is unaware of any other documents that undergoes such intense review, debate and editing. "Not that I know of," says McBean, who like many of his colleagues is hoping this week's report will jolt the world into making "significant" emission reductions. ****************** (NEWS 2) Pew Center coverage of the IPCC Comprehensive Report on Science of Climate Change On February 2, 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a summary of the current science of climate change. The summary, directed at policymakers, is based on six years of review of scientific literature by experts from around the world, convened under the auspices of the IPCC's Working Group I. The report calls the evidence of climate warming "unequivocal." The report finds that rates of both observed warming and sea level rise have accelerated over the past century, and discusses other important changes being observed, including more intense precipitation in some regions, prolonged droughts in others, and intensification of hurricanes in some tropical regions. Read the Pew Center's coverage of the report: http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136622 Pew Center's summary of the report (93 KB pdf): http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136623 Pew Center statement on the report: http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136624 Facts and Figures: http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136625 "Sea Level Rise - The State of the Science", a new Pew Center fact sheet: http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136626 Hurricanes and Global Warming Q&A: http://ealert.pewclimate.org/ctt.asp?u=436458&l=136627 ******************** (NEWS 3) Climate of Opinion: The latest U.N. report shows the "warming" debate is far from settled. The Wall Street Journal weighs in on IPCC http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009625 The Wall Street Journal (Editorial page) - February 5, 2007 - Last week's headlines about the United Nations' latest report on global warming were typically breathless, predicting doom and human damnation like the most fervent religious evangelical. Yet the real news in the fourth assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be how far it is backpedaling on some key issues. Beware claims that the science of global warming is settled. The document that caused such a stir was only a short policy report, a summary of the full scientific report due in May. Written mainly by policymakers (not scientists) who have a stake in the issue, the summary was long on dire predictions. The press reported the bullet points, noting that this latest summary pronounced with more than "90% confidence" that humans have been the main drivers of warming since the 1950s, and that higher temperatures and rising sea levels would result. More pertinent is the underlying scientific report. And according to people who have seen that draft, it contains startling revisions of previous U.N. predictions. For example, the Center for Science and Public Policy has just released an illuminating analysis written by Lord Christopher Monckton, a one-time adviser to Margaret Thatcher who has become a voice of sanity on global warming. Take rising sea levels. In its 2001 report, the U.N.'s best high- end estimate of the rise in sea levels by 2100 was three feet. Lord Monckton notes that the upcoming report's high-end best estimate is 17 inches, or half the previous prediction. Similarly, the new report shows that the 2001 assessment had overestimated the human influence on climate change since the Industrial Revolution by at least one-third. Such reversals (and there are more) are remarkable, given that the IPCC's previous reports, in 1990, 1995 and 2001, have been steadily more urgent in their scientific claims and political tone. It's worth noting that many of the policymakers who tinker with the IPCC reports work for governments that have promoted climate fears as a way of justifying carbon-restriction policies. More skeptical scientists are routinely vetoed from contributing to the panel's work. The Pasteur Institute's Paul Reiter, a malaria expert who thinks global warming would have little impact on the spread of that disease, is one example. U.N. scientists have relied heavily on computer models to predict future climate change, and these crystal balls are notoriously inaccurate. According to the models, for instance, global temperatures were supposed to have risen in recent years. Yet according to the U.S. National Climate Data Center, the world in 2006 was only 0.03 degrees Celsius warmer than it was in 2001--in the range of measurement error and thus not statistically significant. The models also predicted that sea levels would rise much faster than they actually have. The models didn't predict the significant cooling the oceans have undergone since 2003--which is the opposite of what you'd expect with global warming. Cooler oceans have also put a damper on claims that global warming is the cause of more frequent or intense hurricanes. The models also failed to predict falling concentrations of methane in the atmosphere, another surprise. Meanwhile, new scientific evidence keeps challenging previous assumptions. The latest report, for instance, takes greater note of the role of pollutant particles, which are thought to reflect sunlight back to space, supplying a cooling effect. More scientists are also studying the effect of solar activity on climate, and some believe it alone is responsible for recent warming. All this appears to be resulting in a more cautious scientific approach, which is largely good news. We're told that the upcoming report is also missing any reference to the infamous "hockey stick," a study by Michael Mann that purported to show 900 years of minor fluctuations in temperature, followed by a dramatic spike over the past century. The IPCC featured the graph in 2001, but it has since been widely rebutted. While everyone concedes that the Earth is about a degree Celsius warmer than it was a century ago, the debate continues over the cause and consequences. We don't deny that carbon emissions may play a role, but we don't believe that the case is sufficiently proven to justify a revolution in global energy use. The economic dislocations of such an abrupt policy change could be far more severe than warming itself, especially if it reduces the growth and innovation that would help the world cope with, say, rising sea levels. There are also other problems--AIDS, malaria and clean drinking water, for example? whose claims on scarce resources are at least as urgent as climate change. The IPCC report should be understood as one more contribution to the warming debate, not some definitive last word that justifies radical policy change. It can be hard to keep one's head when everyone else is predicting the Apocalypse, but that's all the more reason to keep cool and focus on the actual science. ******************** (NEWS 4) Game Over on Global Warming? http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- emissions5feb05,1,3200012.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/yolsw6 (Registration Required) Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - Everybody in the United States could switch from cars to bicycles. The Chinese could close all their factories. Europe could give up electricity and return to the age of the lantern. But all those steps together would not come close to stopping global warming. A landmark report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released last Friday, warns that there is so much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that even if concentrations held at current levels, the effects of global warming would continue for centuries. There is still hope. The report notes that a concerted world effort could stave off the direst consequences of global warming, such as widespread flooding, drought and extreme weather. Ultimately eliminating the global warming threat, however, would require radical action. ******************** (NEWS 5) Branson Launches $25 Million Climate Bid http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6345557.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2frvvu BBC News Online - Millions of pounds are on offer for the person who comes up with the best way of removing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson launched the competition today in London alongside former US vice- president Al Gore. A panel of judges will oversee the prize, including James Lovelock and Nasa scientist James Hansen. Sir Richard said humankind must realise the scale of the crisis it faced. "The Earth cannot wait 60 years," he said at the news conference. "I want a future for my children and my children's children. The clock is ticking." He said if the planet was to survive, it was vital to find a way of getting rid of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. He said he believed offering the $25 million (12.5 million pounds) Earth Challenge Prize was the best way of finding a solution. ******************** (NEWS 6) Nanoengineered Concrete Could Reduce CO2 Emissions http://tinyurl.com/2qo8rh In an effort to find ways to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a group of engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on the nanostructure of concrete, the world's most widely used material. The production of cement, the primary component of concrete, accounts for 5 to 10 percent of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions; the process is an important contributor to global warming, the MIT researchers said. ...The researchers said if they can find -- or nanoengineer -- a different mineral to use in cement paste, one that has the same packing density but does not require the high temperatures during production, they could conceivably cut world carbon dioxide emissions by up to 10 percent. Franz-Josef Ulm: http://cee.mit.edu ******************* (NEWS 7) Evangelical, Scientific Leaders Launch Effort to Protect Earth Unprecedented collaboration aims to instill sense of urgency on elected officials, advance sound environmental policies and practices http://www.allgodspeople.com/madison/content/view/43403/16/ In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, evangelical and scientific leaders announced a collaborative effort to protect the environment. Speaking at a news conference in Washington, DC, a dozen leaders of the effort shared concerns about human-caused threats to creation ? including climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, species extinction, the spread of human infectious diseases, and other dangers to the well-being of societies. ?More than takers, we are care-takers," said University of Wisconsin professor Cal DeWitt, a member of the coalition. "By returning Creation?s service with service of our own, we care for Creation, we restore what has been spoiled, we preserve the species, and care for the climate system we hold in trust.? The coalition released an ?Urgent Call to Action? statement signed by 28 evangelical and scientific leaders. The statement ? sent to President George W. Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, bipartisan Congressional leaders, and national evangelical and scientific organizations ? urges ?fundamental change in values, lifestyles and public policies required to address these worsening problems before it is too late. Business as usual cannot continue yet one more day.? The group pledged to ?work together toward a responsible care for creation and call with one voice? to the religious, scientific, business, political and educational arenas to join them in this historic initiative. ?There is no such thing as a Republican or Democrat, a liberal or conservative, a religious or secular environment. We all breathe the same air and drink the same water. Scientists and evangelicals share a deep moral commitment to preserve this precious gift we have all been given,? said Dr. Eric Chivian, Nobel laureate and Director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Health and the Global Environment. ?Great scientists are people of imagination. So are people of great faith. We dare to imagine a world in which science and religion cooperate, minimizing our differences about how Creation got started, to work together to reverse its degradation. We will not allow it to be progressively destroyed by human folly,? added Rev. Rich Cizik, Vice President for Government Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (WORKSHOP 1) Third Workshop: International Young Scholar Network for Earth Systems Science - June 2-5, 2007 - Bristol (UK) http://www.aimes.ucar.edu/activities/YSN/2007_UK/YSN_BRISTOL.shtml This small workshop will focus on understanding decision making on land-use issues, in order to move towards modelling these processes in Earth System Models. We encourage interdisciplinary applicants from the natural and social sciences, economics, engineers and scholars from the humanities with research interests in the Earth system. The goal of the YSN workshop will be a manuscript reviewing the state-of-art in decision-making in land-use modelling and its impacts on biogeochemistry and climate from an Earth's System perspective, and prioritise future research topics. Participants will be expected to write whitepapers before the workshop, and continue finalizing the manuscript after the workshop. AIMES is a Core Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Project (IGBP). Approximately, 25 young scholars (within 10 years of Ph.D.) will be supported to attend the YSN meeting, pending funding. To apply, send your CV, statement of research interests and a letter of recommendation from your supervisor or department head to marko.scholze at bristol.ac.uk. Applications are due by February 28, 2007. -- Marko Scholze, QUEST, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK Tel: +44 (0)117 331 5132 Fax: +44 (0)117 925 3385 http://QUEST.bris.ac.uk Quantifying earth system processes and feedbacks for better informed assessments of alternative futures of the global environment *************************************************** 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) Director And Professor, Florida Sea Grant Program (FSG) - Sea Grant College - University Of Florida -Gainesville, FL (USA) Position # 0001-3307 Review of candidates will begin on March 22, 2007 and continue until position is filled We are seeking an innovative unit leader with broad programmatic vision and enthusiasm for leadership. The Director is the administrative head of the Sea Grant College and provides leadership and support for research, education, communications, and extension in the Florida Sea Grant programs (FSG). DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The Director provides vision in planning, develops and implements FSG programs, and acquires extramural funds with private support. The Director plays an active role in overseeing a diverse set of programs and leading strategic planning initiatives to design effective programs for the state, universities and stakeholders. Current Sea Grant program areas emphasize marine biotechnology, fisheries, aquaculture, seafood safety, boating and waterways, waterfront communities, ecosystem health, coastal hazards, graduate education and marine education. The federal Sea Grant portion of the program covers about 50% of the funding for 100+ faculty and students who conduct research, education, communications, and extension programs. Approximately 12 staff are managed at the Sea Grant College located on the Gainesville campus while the remaining staff are located at various locations throughout the state of Florida. The Director is actively engaged with stakeholders such as the National Sea Grant College Program Office located within the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Springs, MD. In addition the Director interacts with the 31 Sea Grant Programs across the U.S. to conduct regional and national programs. The current annual budget, including federal Sea Grant Funds, non-federal matching funds, and extramural funds is approximately five million dollars. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: An earned Ph.D. with a record of excellence in research and scholarship in marine, coastal, natural resources, or related areas is required. A sustained record of publications and grants sufficient for academic appointment as Professor with tenure in a UF academic department is required. The applicant?s record must document a commitment to the Sea Grant concept of research, education, communication, and extension. Strong written and verbal communication skills are required. Extensive knowledge of ocean and coastal resources issues is preferred along with a proven record of innovative leadership and sound management. Experience working in a university environment, work with multiple external constituencies, writing interdisciplinary grant proposals, and an understanding of the federal funding process is required. Demonstrated competency in working with federal, state, and private groups involved in research, education, communications, and extension programs in the marine, coastal or natural resources area also is required. EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS: This position is available July 1, 2007, and will be filled as soon thereafter as the successful candidate is available. The salary will be commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the selected applicant. APPLICATION PROCEDURES: Interested individuals should provide -- as PDF or Word file attached to an email ? (1) a formal letter of application which includes a brief statement of the applicant?s leadership skills and vision, administrative philosophy, and ideas on the role of the Sea Grant College, and (2) current curriculum vitae which includes a biographical sketch, leadership roles, service, consultant roles, and a complete list of publications. Under separate cover, letters of reference must be received from at least three individuals qualified to comment on the applicant?s competencies in the areas identified above. Items (1) and (2) should be sent to ewallace at ufl.edu. The mailing address for letters of reference is listed below. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. REFERENCE LETTERS SHOULD BE SENT TO: Director and Professor, Florida Sea Grant Program ? Search Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, IFAS Office of Human Resources, University of Florida, P.O. Box 110281, 2038 McCarty Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-0130 PLEASE SEND NOMINATIONS AND INQUIRIES ABOUT POSITION TO: Position # 0001-3307, Karl E. Havens, Chair of Search and Screen Committee, 7922 NW 71st Street, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32653. Telephone: 352-392-9617 x 232 E-mail: khavens at ufl.edu Individuals wishing to nominate candidates should do so by contacting the Search Committee Chair at the address listed above, by e-mail or by telephone no later than February 23, 2007. ******************** (JOB 2) Global Warming Scientist - Conservation Programs ? National Wildlife Federation ? Reston, VA (USA) https://secure.nwf.org/careergateway/index.cfm? fuseAction=view&positionID=10288 National Wildlife Federation is seeking an individual with a doctoral degree and experience directly related to global warming climate science, energy use and water use to join its global warming team in its program to reduce global warming pollution and protect wildlife. Primary responsibilities will include: (1) Enabling NWF to stay current on the latest scientific research on energy use, alternative and renewable energy, and energy related technologies that can contribute to reducing global warming pollution. (2) Enabling NWF's global warming team and field staff to understand the nexus between global warming and water use, availability as impacted by climate change and potential shifts in distribution and timing of water (rainfall and in stream flow) across the United States. (3) Staying current on the latest research and implementation of renewable energy options, especially ethanol fuel production methods and impacts, wind generated electricity and advances in solar technology. (4) Cooperating closely with NWF's wildlife protection staff and Senior Science Advisor to provide information needed to ensure global warming pollution reduction policies and programs benefiting wildlife. (5) Working closely with NWF's communications and media team to provide expert commentary to journalists and electronic media outlets on the science behind NWF's global warming initiatives. (6) Being an active member of the national and international community of climate scientists studying global warming, projecting impacts of global warming and developing technical solutions to reduce emissions. (7) Support NWF's national policy development work on global warming, renewable energy, and related issues, including developing expert testimony. Full-Time. Salary Range: Commensurate with experience and market Qualifications: (1) PhD in climate science, or related field with demonstrated knowledge of global warming and renewable energy solutions that reduce emissions. Knowledge of global warming and water highly desirable. (2) Five years post-doctorial experience. (3) Demonstrated ability to communicate science to lay audiences, both through media and written and verbal communications. (4) Willingness and ability to travel and to be an active member of the global warming climate science community. ******************** (JOB 3) Postdoc Fellowship - Sea Ice Forecasting - U.S. National/ Naval Ice Center - Washington, DC in Suitland, Maryland (USA) http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/07nic_open.html The U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) seeks to fill a postdoctoral fellowship position, through the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Visiting Scientist Programs, to assist in the development and implementation of new sea ice forecasting techniques. NIC is a primary source of ice charts for U.S. agencies in support of assets that include ice-breaking ships, submarines, and commercial shipping and scientific research vessels. The position involves analysis of new observations from ice mass balance buoys and other remote sensing and in-situ sea ice observations to validate the Gerson and Perchal (1973) ice thickness model, and to exploit the significant lag correlations found between variations in atmospheric circulation and sea ice concentration to produce long range forecasts of arctic sea ice conditions. This project involves collaborative research between the NIC and the Polar Science Center, University of Washington. Applicants should have a recent PhD in meteorology, oceanography, or a related discipline. Strong working knowledge of statistical analysis, remote sensing, ice physics, and ice modeling is required. The NIC Science and Applied Technology Department currently works in a Linux and Windows development environment. Preference will be given to individuals with prior data assimilation experience. The position lasts for up to two years, and the successful candidate will be an employee of UCAR. The application review process has begun and the position will remain open until filled. ******************** (JOB 4) Post-doc - Modeling Marine Microbes at MIT: From Genomes to Biogeography ? Massachusetts Institute of Technology ? Cambridge, MA (USA) The Earth Systems Initiative at MIT seeks post-doctoral scientists to develop and explore cross-scale models of marine microbial communities, ocean biogeochemical cycles and climate. Through the development and application of novel modeling approaches we seek to understand and simulate the ecological, biogeochemical and physical regulators of marine microbial communities from the genomic and cellular scales, through metabolic networks, to emergent, global biogeography. Successful candidates will join a new, interdisciplinary effort which links several departments at MIT (Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Computational and Systems Biology) under the auspices of the Earth Systems Initiative (http://esi.mit.edu). This interdisciplinary project provides an opportunity for motivated candidates to drive forward and explore cutting-edge and novel approaches to modeling marine microbes and their interactions with global biogeochemical cycles. For more information please email or call Dr. Mick Follows (mick at mit.edu; 617 253 5939), Prof. Penny Chisholm (chisholm at mit.edu) or Prof. Bruce Tidor (tidor at mit.edu). To apply, please send a CV and one-page statement of your research interests to Dr. Mick Follows, preferably by e-mail (mick at mit.edu). Requirements: Candidates must have, or must be close to completing a doctoral degree in arelevant scientific discipline. Pre- doctoral candidates must complete their doctoral degree prior to commencing employment. Candidates should have a background in one or more of the following fields: environmental genomics, ecology, systems biology or marine biogeochemistry with experience and interest in mathematical and/or numerical modeling. ******************** (JOBS 5) Research Faculty (two) - Marine Science - Coastal and Marine Laboratory - Florida State University ? St Teresa, FL (USA) http://www.marinelab.fsu.edu/currentopenings.html The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory (FSUCML) (http://www.marinelab.fsu.edu) invites applications for two research faculty positions (12 month renewable appointments) in Marine Science. We seek highly motivated individuals with notable research achievements, the ability to develop well-funded independent research programs, and a commitment to excellence in outreach. Salary is provided at 100% for the first two years, 75% in the 3rd year, and 50% from the 4th year forward, with the expectation that the 100% salary is met through external funding. The background of the candidates may be in any area, but it is expected that successful candidates would emphasize either ecological or physical processes related to the local environments. Applicants should have a Ph. D. To apply, please submit electronic copies (PDF files preferred) of a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research, and the names and e-mail addresses of three references to: Chair, FSUCML Search Committee, email: mmarxsen at mailer.fsu.edu. Informal enquiries about the position may be addressed to Dr. Felicia Coleman, Director (coleman at bio.fsu.edu). Review of applicants will begin February 15 and continue until successful candidates are identified. The Coastal and Marine Laboratory is committed to building a research program focused on coastal and marine issues of ecological importance that provides the scientific basis for policy decisions. Areas of interest include, but are not restricted to, predator-prey interactions, benthic-pelagic trophic coupling, and nearshore/oceanic physical transport mechanisms. The developing program is interdisciplinary in nature, based on an ecosystem level approach, and thus requires the interaction of scientists from a number of different fields. Opportunities for collaboration are encouraged between resident FSUCML scientists and faculty on the FSU campus in Tallahassee. ******************* (JOB 6) Postdoc - Environmental Sciences Policy and Management Department - UC Berkeley (USA) A postdoc is sought for a NSF funded project in the Kelly Lab at UC Berkeley examining methane cycling in the Sacramento Bay Delta area in California. The position is appointed for one year, with a likely extension to two years. Candidates with degrees in Geography, Ecology, Environmental Engineering or related fields with experience in remote sensing, spatial modeling, web programming, and biogeochemistry will be considered. Successful candidate will help with remote sensing imagery analysis and scaling of field biophysical measurements to regional-scale. Some web and database experience a plus. Salary range: $36,732 ? $43,632 depending on qualifications. Position is open immediately until filled. To learn more about the Kelly Lab, see http://kellylab.berkeley.edu. Project description: Temperate peatlands are hotposts of soil carbon storage and biological diversity, and they provide key economic (grazing, peat production) and ecosystem (pollutant filters, carbon sequestration) services. They likely plan an important role in climate change. This project seeks to use experimental and modeling approaches to determine the biophysical processes that control coupled flues of carbon dioxide, water and methane in temperate peatlands. We will quantify the land-atmosphere exchange of carbon and water, and integrate these fluxes across a spectrum of time and space through field-based measurements, remote sensing and spatial modeling. For more information, see: http://kellylab.berkeley.edu/ research_methane.htm. Please send vitae with name of three references to Maggi Kelly mkelly at nature.berkeley.edu, with POSTDOC in the subject line. Maggi Kelly, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, Policy & Management, UC Berkeley ******************** (JOB 7) PostDoc - Interpret recent satellite observations to provide constraints on aerosol processes - Dalhousie University (Canada) I have an opening for a postdoc to interpret recent satellite observations to provide constraints on aerosol processes. The project will include the CALIPSO lidar, the Canadian global climate model, and the GEOS-Chem model of atmospheric chemistry. Contact Randall Martin, Assistant Professor, randall.martin at dal.ca http:// fizz.phys.dal.ca/~atmos ****************** (JOBS 8) 3-5 Research Scientists - Land-Atmospheric Interaction - Beijing Normal University, Beijing (China) The Climate Modelling and Analysis Program at the Beijing Normal University invites applicants to apply for 3-5 postdoctoral research positions in the area of climate system modeling and analysis. We seek highly motivated individuals who are willing to take an active role in promoting research, education, and interdisciplinary interactions. Candidates are expected to have a Ph.D. and an established or emerging research program of international prominence. We are seeking individuals in four areas: (1) Climate Modeling - Regional to global scale climate modeling. Ability to link atmosphere with surface processes. (2) Surface Hydrology - Process-based studies and/or modeling of surface hydrology or land surface- atmosphere interactions at the watershed, regional, or continental scale. (3) Satellite Remote Sensing - Using remote sensing data to characterize climate model land surface processes and the impact of land use/cover change on surface hydrological processes. (4) Terrestrial Carbon Processes - the effects on carbon sources and sinks of past, present, and future land-use change and resource management practices at local, regional, and global scales. 5?(r) Aerosols, their direct and indirect effects. Applicants should specify which position they are applying for and submit a vita, description of research interests, and the names of at least three references to: Yongjiu Dai, School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China Questions regarding the positions can be directed to Professor Yongjiu Dai (yongjiudai at bnu.edu.cn, +86-10-5880-5436, Fax: 86-10-5880-5274). Consideration of candidates will begin on April 1, 2007, and continue until the positions are filled. Further information about the university is available on the web at http://www.bnu.edu.cn. Beijing Normal University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. ******************** (JOB 9) Lecturship - Environmental Modelling and/or Earth Observation Science - Department of Geography - Kings College London (UK) The Department of Geography, King's College London seeks to appoint a new Lecturer within the Environmental Monitoring & Modelling Research Group. Details of the EMM Research Group can be found on the 'research' pages at www.kcl.ac.uk/geography. We are seeking a person to further strengthen existing group collaborative expertise in earth observation science and/or modelling of land or atmospheric processes, and ideally the links between these. Candidates with research interests that relate to the carbon and hydrological cycles are particularly welcomed. The successful candidate will be expected to build an international research profile and contribute to teaching and learning at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and encouraged to build working relations with the other three Departmental Research Groups. The post will be appointed at Lecturer A/B level within the salary range ?25,334-?38,449 per annum plus London Allowance of ?2,323 per annum. Applicants wishing to discuss the post informally may contact Professor Tim Butler, Head of Department (tim.butler at kcl.ac.uk) or Professor Martin Wooster (martin.wooster at kcl.ac.uk). Further particulars and an application form may be obtained from Strand Human Resources Office, King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (fax: 020 7848 1352; e-mail: strand-recruitment at kcl.ac.uk, quoting reference A2/DAR/15/07 on all correspondence. The closing date is 9 March 2007. Background 1) Despite the relatively junior nature of the posts, we would endeavour to recruit a candidate with excellent research potential. We would require an existing publication record, with the expectation that over time the selected candidate would be able to build a research council (and other) income stream. We would be looking for evidence of these in any selected candidate. 2) We must consolidate and build on our existing (many) strengths and not try to waste energy (perhaps unrealistically) competing unnecessarily with other already existing centres of excellence. Thus we wish to complement existing expertise by adding more depth and additional skills, but not opening up completely new areas of study (i.e. the EMM Group requires sufficient but manageable diversity but must possess strength in depth in the modelling/EO/other areas it focuses on). 3) We have proposals for new Masters courses in "Carbon Science & Policy" and "Water Science and Policy" (exact names to be confirmed). These will require significant development and any new recruit would very likely be asked to contribute to the former, and potentially the latter. 4) We ideally want to recruit a numerate scientist working in the area of Earth Observation and/or environmental modelling to further strengthen and ideally further link these areas, and to link with the existing work of the Group. An ideal candidate may cross the EO/ modelling divide, or at least show proven willingness to do so. In terms of modelling we suggest we preferentially focus on large-scale modelling work of the sort that EO can actually link with (either of land surface or atmosphere), with a careful view to the potential links between this new staff member and existing strengths. In terms of EO we would very likely have preference for a candidate who already works in a recognisable and successful niche area rather than a generalist. ******************* (JOB 10) Asst. Professor - Geoscience (The position is currently held by a Climatologist, and continuation of this situation is encouraged!) - Meredith College, Raleigh, NC (USA) Meredith College seeks qualified candidates for an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Geoscience with expertise in areas of Earth Systems. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in one of the following areas: atmospheric science, oceanography, or geology; and have some coursework or experience in the other listed areas, as well as in Geographic Information Systems. Responsibilities will include teaching courses and other involvement with the Department, participation in college-wide committees and initiatives, mentoring undergraduate research students, student advising and professional development. Excellence in teaching and research potential at the undergraduate level are important factors in the selection process. Teaching experience is desired. Meredith College is a private comprehensive college for women with 2140 students and offers both liberal arts and professional programs. The College is located in Raleigh, North Carolina near the world-renowned Research Triangle area. Applications will be reviewed beginning February 2007 and continue until the position is filled. The online submission process is preferred. Applicants may go to www.meredith.edu and select "employment." Submit a letter of application, resume, statements of teaching philosophy and professional goals, copies of transcripts and three recent letters of support. Application materials may also be sent to Dr. Carol Hazard, Department of Chemistry, Physics, and Geoscience, Meredith College, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-5298. ******************** (JOB 11) Post-doc - Dept. of Oceanography - University of Cape Town (Rep. of South Africa) We would like to advertise honours (R25 000), masters (R40 000), doctoral (R65 000) and postdoctoral (negotiable) positions at the Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, South Africa. The project, entitled "Antarctic impacts on South African climate" will be run by Prof. Chris Reason and Dr. Juliet Hermes. The overall goal of the project is to better understand variability in the Southern Ocean and the impacts this has on South African rainfall, addressing an area of oceanography that is both significant and topical. Depending on the student's interests, the project offers a chance to develop essential modelling skills and the training needed to run a regional ocean model. These types of skills are becoming increasingly important for a career in oceanography and climate studies. As well as computer based skills, the students will be able to gain observational/field work skills as there will be cruise opportunities to the Antarctic as well as the Prince Edward Islands. Students will also have the chance to present at both national and international conferences. For more information, please send your c.v. and a brief summary of your research interests to Juliet Hermes, jhermes at ocean.uct.ac.za, Department of Oceanography University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, 7701 South Africa Tel +27 21 6503625 Fax +27 21 6503979 ******************** (JOB 12) Post-doc - Numerical modelling of ice-ocean interactions in Antarctica - The Institute for Geophysics - Westfalische Wilhelms University (Germany) We aim to elucidate the influence of small-scale grounding regions within ice shelves on their dynamics and mass budget in the framework of a DFG-funded (German Research Society) research project Ice Rumples (Ice shelf ? ocean dynamics and their interaction in the vicinity of ice rumples. A coupled 3D-model and application to selected Antarctic regions). Ice rises and ice rumples as anchor points of ice shelf flow and because of their limited spatial extent are of particular importance given the climate induced changes in the Cryosphere. We envision improvement and coupling of three already existing models for grounded ice, ice shelf and ocean. The main task of the prospective researcher will lie in the coupled modelling of ice shelf-ocean interactions. We expect applications of PhDs in physical oceanography/geophysics/physics, solid expertise in numerical modelling and the application of numerical models to the Polar Regions. Experiences in polar research would be an advantage. The position is limited to a total of two-years (with possible extension by one year). The salary amounts to the German TV-L 13 (previously BAT IIa) for a full-time position. We intend to fill the position at the earliest possible date. The Westf?lische Wilhelms-Universit?t M?nster encourages applications from women and will give preference to applicants with disabilities. Please send your application (also via Email) no later than 20.02.2007 to :Institute for Geophysics, University of Muenster, Prof. Dr. Manfred Lange, Corrensstrasse 24, 48149 Muenster, Germany email: langema at uni-muenster.de Tel.: +49 251 8333591 Fax: +49 251 8336100 ******************* (JOB 13) Research Associate - Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory -Beltsville, MD (USA) Description of duties: The position is located in the Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. The incumbent will be involved in one or more of the following research areas: 1) validate and refine algorithms and models for estimating land surface states and fluxes using various remote sensing methods in combination with conventional and operational meteorological forcing data, 2) determine the spatial scaling (point, network, and sensor footprint) relationships of soil moisture, surface temperature and other hydrologic states and resulting impact of land surface model predicted fluxes, 3) determine fundamental linkages between the land surface hydrologic processes and the atmospheric boundary layer through observational data and atmospheric model simulations, and 4) develop methods, including data assimilation, for incorporating soil moisture and surface temperature observations in hydrologic and agricultural applications such as routine large area evapotranspiration monitoring and drought assessment. Qualification requirements: Recent Ph.D. in hydrology, meteorology, atmospheric science, biometeorology or closely related field is required. Experience with soil-vegetation-atmosphere- transfer modeling and satellite image processing is desirable. The incumbent should be knowledgeable in several of the following areas: radiative transfer modeling, micro and macro meteorology, atmospheric boundary layer processes, environmental biophysics, soil physics, photosynthesis, and remote sensing of land surfaces. Information on salary is available at: http://www.opm.gov/oca/ 07tables/html/dcb.asp Information on employee benefits is available at: http:// www.usajobs.opm.gov/ei61.asp For specific information on the duties and responsibilities of this position or to submit an application, contact: Dr. William Kustas, USDA/ARS, Building 007, Room 104, BARC-West, Beltsville, MD 20705 Phone: 301-504-8498 Fax: 301-504-8931 Email: bkustas at hydrolab.arsusda.gov ******************* (JOB 14) Postdoctoral Researcher - Aquatic Microbial Ecology - Limnology section at the Department of Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University (Sweden) http://www.personalavd.uu.se/ledigaplatser/205forsk_eng.html The Limnology section at the Department of Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University, is seeking a postdoctoral research associate to contribute to a project on the ecology, and diversity of microorganisms involved in degradation of organic compounds in freshwater ecosystems. The position is a 2-year appointment linked to Uppsala Microbiomics Center (UMC) funded by Formas (www.microbiomics.se). The successful candidate must have documented experience in microbial ecology and bioinformatics. Skills in advanced microscopic and nucleic acid-based methods are highly desirable but not essential for the position. For further information about the project and the position, please contact Dr. Stefan Bertilsson, Limnology/Department of Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University, Box 573, SE-75123, Uppsala, Sweden. E-mail: stebe at ebc.uu.se, phone: +46-18-471 2712. Information about the group and our current research can be found at: http:// www.ebc.uu.se/limno/research/mirco/microbial.html. Union representatives are Anders Grundstr?m, SACO-r?det, phone: +46 18-471 5380, Carin S?derh?ll, TCO/ST, phone: +46 18-471 1996, and Stefan Djurstr?m, SEKO, phone: +46 18-471 3315. To apply, send a cover letter with a brief description of research interests and past research experience, the name and contact information of three personal references and a Curriculum vitae including a complete publication list to the Registrars office at Uppsala University, Box 256, SE-75105 Uppsala, Sweden, or e-mail; registrator at uu.se before March 1, 2007. Representative publications can be attached to the application. Label the application with reference number UFV-PA 2007/205. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070209/ec10e6df/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Feb 16 13:59:15 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:59:15 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 2/16/2007 Message-ID: <010D7C47-1C74-474F-9646-D2D2A066A1A9@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 2/17/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Earth System Science Education for the 21st Century Webpage http://esse21.usra.edu/ESSE21/ listserv: http:// lists.usra.edu/mailman/listinfo/esse U.S. Opening Ceremony for International Polar Year 2007-2008 WEBCAST - Monday, 26 February 2007 - National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, Washington, DC The webcast will be accessible at both of the following Web sites: www.nationalacademies.org and www.nsf.gov For information about the IPY: http://us-ipy.org/ (see RESOURCES 1 below) NewScientist Careers Guide 2007: The employers contact book for scientists ? FREE download http://www.newscientistjobs.com/forms/200702_NSCA7_REG.html? DCMP=EMC-mailing&nsref=CG07_NS.com (see RESOURCES 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Politically Pushing Sustainability, and One Example of the Fruits - Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, who was chairwoman of the governor?s advisory group on global warming, said that it is urgent that global-warming policies are enacted now. http://s84.sports-guru.com/Politically-Pushing-Sustainability-and- One-Example-of-the-Fruits/ European experts discuss climate change impacts on water http://english.people.com.cn/200702/13/eng20070213_349547.html Climate change 2007: the IPCC report dissected. Special report found in 8 February 2007 issue of Nature http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html 2006 Fifth-Warmest Year on Record http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3? img_id=17553 Research Squeeze http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal- id.scientists11feb11,0,2720533.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/32hhu3 (see NEWS 1 below) Warming Threatens Double-Trouble in Peru http://www.examiner.com/ a-559662~Warming_Threatens_Double_Trouble_in_Peru.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2j4rz2 (see NEWS 2 below) Flying the Cleanly Skies? http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0212/p13s02-litr.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2sj797 (see NEWS 3 below) Nasa Study Finds Warmer Future Could Bring Droughts - NASA Press Release: 07-37, Feb. 12, 2007. (see NEWS 4 below) DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy FY 2008 Budget: Geothermal, Hydropower Zeroed Out; Many Energy Efficiency Programs Cut (see NEWS 5 below) Europe Fights to Save Its Fish Stocks http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Science/ Europes_Troubled_Seas.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2kpks9 (see NEWS 6 below) Nasa Announces Briefing On Discovery Beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet Nasa Media Advisory: M07-021, Feb 13, 2007 (see NEWS 7 below) Groups Sue to Protect Marine Mammals http://www.examiner.com/ a-563946~Groups_Sue_to_Protect_Marine_Mammals.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y39oy (see NEWS 8 below) Bent Skovmand, Seed Protector, Dies at 61 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/science/14skovmand.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ypc59k (see NEWS 9 below) Sea Creatures To Be Tracked Electronically http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Fish-and-Chips.html? _r=1&oref=slogin (see NEWS 10 below) Joint NASA Study Reveals Leaks In Antarctic 'Plumbing System' (see NEWS 11 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES NECSI Complex Systems Summer School - June 11-22, 2007 - MIT, Cambridge, MA (USA) http://necsi.org/events/summer2007.html (see MEETING 1 below) JOBS Social Science Research Positions - Actor-oriented analysis; Climate adaptation and social learning; Internships - SEI Oxford ? (Global) Applications received by 16 February 2007 will be guaranteed consideration. http://www.sei.se/index.php?page=jobitem&item=5595 Post-Doc positions (2) Stockholm University Climate Research Environment (SUCLIM) (Sweden) http://www.suclim.su.se/home/2_postdoctoral_positions.html Post Doctoral Fellowship - Soft Bottom Ecologist - University of Sidney, Sidney (Australia) http://www.serpentproject.com (see JOB 1 below) Assoc Editor(s) - Nature Geoscience (see JOBS 2 below) Port of Tacoma Endowed Chair - Environmental Science - University of Washington, Tacoma WA (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Asst. Prof. tenure-track - Environmental Geochemistry - Department of Earth Sciences - Memorial University of Newfoundland - St. John's, NL (Canada) (see JOB 4 below) PhD and MSc graduate assistantships ? Environmental Science - Memorial University - St. John?s, Newfoundland (Canada) (see JOB 5 below) Asst. Profs. tenure-track (2) - School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Science and Technology Studies - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York (USA) (see JOBS 6 below) Post-Doc - Marine phytoplankton observed with global biooptical methods (PHYTOOPTICS) - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Research ? Bremerhaven (Germany) (see JOB 7 below) Post-Doc - diatom analysis and climate change - Department of Ecology and Environmental Science - Ume? University ? (Sweden) (see JOB 8 below) Tenure-track (6 new positions) - Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research (CIDER) - Stony Brook University ? Stony Brook, NY (USA) http://ws.cc.stonybrook.edu/cider/opportunities/index.html (see JOBS 9 below) Faculty (one year replacement) - Environmental Geosciene - College of William and Mary ? Williamsburg, VA (USA) http://www.wm.edu/geology/jobs.php (see JOB 10 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) U.S. Opening Ceremony for International Polar Year 2007-2008 WEBCAST - Monday, 26 February 2007 - National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, Washington, DC The webcast will be accessible at both of the following Web sites: www.nationalacademies.org and www.nsf.gov For information about the IPY: http://us-ipy.org/ The opening ceremony to mark the beginning of International Polar Year in the United States will be held at the National Academy of Sciences Auditorium, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC on Monday, 26 February 2007, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Hosted by the National Academies and the National Science Foundation, the ceremony will include remarks from polar scientists about research set to take place during this historic time, as well as remarks from government leaders whose agencies play an active role in this important international effort. This event will provide a unique opportunity to network and learn how to get involved in International Polar Year activities. Speakers include: - Dr. Ralph Cicerone, National Academy of Sciences; - Dr. Arden Bement, National Science Foundation; - Dr. Robin Bell, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; - Dr. Robert Bindschadler, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and - Dr. Konrad Steffen, University of Colorado. The International Polar Year 2007-2008 will be an intense, coordinated campaign of polar observations, research, and analysis that will be multidisciplinary in scope and international in participation. Thousands of scientists, teachers, and students from more than 60 nations will participate in this major, worldwide scientific effort to analyze the role of the polar regions in the global system. To register to attend or view the ceremony via webcast the day of the event, please go to: http://www.us-ipy.org For further information, please contact: Leah Probst, Polar Research Board of the National Academies, Phone: 202-334-2394 E- mail: lprobst at nas.edu or contact: Peter West, National Science Foundation, Phone: 703-292-8070 E-mail: pwest at nsf.gov ******************** (RESOURCES 2) NewScientist Careers Guide 2007: The employers contact book for scientists ? FREE download http://www.newscientistjobs.com/forms/200702_NSCA7_REG.html? DCMP=EMC-mailing&nsref=CG07_NS.com Considering your next career move? Want to find out what is happening in your field? Access the New Scientist Careers Guide 2007 FREE for profiles and contact information for key science employers and informative editorial, featuring: 1) How much are you worth? Find out with our industry-wide salary& benefits survey, sponsored by SRG 2) How to live a stress-free life 3) The moment everything changed ? Some of the best and worst experiences that a career in science can give you 4) This much I know ? Three leading scientists reveal key lessons that have helped them stay ahead of the game.* *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Research Squeeze http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal- id.scientists11feb11,0,2720533.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/32hhu3 Baltimore Sun - Forbidden to talk, Rebecca Fuller nervously took notes as other scientists analyzed her failure to win $275,000 in funding for promising Parkinson's disease research. Laundette Jones, her primary critic on the panel, blamed a lack of clarity in the request Fuller had sent to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. "I was looking for the punch line," Jones said, leafing through the grant proposal for effect. "What impact is [the research] going to make? I think I found it -- but not until page 39." Embarrassed as she was to expose her missteps, Fuller welcomed the blunt feedback from her colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Her career, like those of most journeyman scientists, hinges on securing funding -- and that has become more difficult in recent years. ************************* (NEWS 2) Warming Threatens Double-Trouble in Peru http://www.examiner.com/ a-559662~Warming_Threatens_Double_Trouble_in_Peru.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2j4rz2 San Francisco Examiner - PASTORURI GLACIER, Peru - Peru's "White Mountain Range" may soon have to change its name. The ice atop Cordillera Blanca, the largest glacier chain in the tropics, is melting fast because of rising temperatures, and peaks are turning brown. The trend is highlighting fears of global warming and, scientists say, is endangering future water supplies to the arid coast where most Peruvians live. Glaciologists consider the health of the world's glaciers an indicator of global warming and they warn that what is happening in the Andes signals trouble ahead. "To me it's the rate of ice loss that's a real concern," because when melting accelerates, the ice cannot replenish itself, said Lonnie Thompson, a leading glacier expert at Ohio State University. ******************** (NEWS 3) Flying the Cleanly Skies? http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0212/p13s02-litr.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2sj797 Christian Science Monitor - Just a few decades from now, people may look back at the early 21st century with both fondness and horror as the Era of the Cheap Airline Flight. They may wax nostalgic for the days when visiting distant relatives and taking vacations in exotic locales were easily affordable for the masses. But they also may be alarmed at how long it took the world to realize the havoc that unfettered air travel was wreaking on the world's climate. At least one travel industry official predicts that in 30 years, long- distance flying will be undertaken only by the wealthy as ticket prices rise dramatically - and the number of flights shrinks proportionately ? to curb the emissions of greenhouse gases created by air travel. ...Now two factors are conspiring to make airline travel a hot topic in the global-warming debate: If current trends continue, the number of airline tickets sold per year will double to more than 9 billion by 2025, according to a new study by the Airports Council International. At the same time, experts see no viable jet-fuel alternative to kerosene. While some modest fuel-conservation measures still can be taken, more and more people are concluding that fewer flights may be the only way to cut airline emissions significantly. ******************** (NEWS 4) Nasa Study Finds Warmer Future Could Bring Droughts - NASA Press Release: 07-37, Feb. 12, 2007. NASA scientists may have discovered how a warmer climate in the future could increase droughts in certain parts of the world, including the southwest United States. The researchers compared historical records of the climate impact of changes in the sun's output with model projections of how a warmer climate driven by greenhouse gases would change rainfall patterns. They found that a warmer future climate likely will produce droughts in the same areas as those observed in ancient times, but potentially with greater severity. "These findings strongly suggest that greenhouse gases and long- term changes in solar activity both can have major influences on climate via similar processes," said Drew Shindell, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York. Shindell is lead author of a paper that appeared in the Dec. 27, 2006, issue of the American Geophysical Union's "Geophysical Research Letters." "There is some evidence that rainfall patterns already may be changing," Shindell added. "Much of the Mediterranean area, North Africa and the Middle East rapidly are becoming drier. If the trend continues as expected, the consequences may be severe in only a couple of decades. These changes could pose significant water resource challenges to large segments of the population." Using the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies climate model, researchers found that changes in solar output in the ancient past increased surface warming and altered atmospheric moisture and circulations. These changes likely led to the severe droughts seen in paleoclimate records. The same model showed that greenhouse-gas warming has similar effects on the atmosphere, suggesting drier conditions may become more common in the subtropics. Rainfall could decrease further in already water-stressed regions such as the southwest United States, Mexico, parts of North Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. Meanwhile, precipitation may increase across the western Pacific, along much of the equator and in parts of southeast Asia. The computer model considers changes in the oceans, weather, and chemistry of the atmosphere, like ozone concentrations, and accurately reproduced the broad rainfall shifts toward regionally drier or wetter conditions during the past several hundred years. Sunspot and ice core data also link the historical rainfall shifts to variations in the amount of energy released by the sun. Since the size of solar changes is uncertain, the study focused on the location and pattern of precipitation shifts, not their precise amount. Increases in solar output break up oxygen molecules, raising ozone concentrations in the upper atmosphere. This adds to upper atmospheric heating that leads to shifts in circulations down to the surface. In turn, surface temperatures warm, and the Earth's basic rainfall patterns are enhanced. For instance, in wet regions such as the tropics, precipitation usually increases, while dry areas become more prone to drought since rainfall decreases and warmer temperatures help remove the small amount of moisture in the soil. "Precipitation is hard to predict because it is so highly variable, but these results increase our confidence that continued warming will be associated with large-scale changes in rainfall," said Shindell. Researchers also considered numerous tree-ring, fire, and lake sediment records from across the Americas, including Mexico, Peru, and the Yucatan Peninsula. These data are reliable indicators of historical climate and confirm a pronounced increase in drought frequency in the southern United States, Mexico, and other subtropical locations during periods of increased solar output in the past 1,200 years. This long-term record of solar output is based on chemical isotopes whose production is related to the sun's brightness. Conversely, in parts of the tropics, ocean sediment data, key indicators of precipitation changes, reflect increased rainfall. According to the researchers, the same processes identified by this new research very likely also affected past civilizations, such as the Pueblo people of New Mexico and Arizona who abandoned cities in the 1300s. For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home ******************** (NEWS 5) DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy FY 2008 Budget: Geothermal, Hydropower Zeroed Out; Many Energy Efficiency Programs Cut WASHINGTON ? Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) analysis of budget for the U.S. Department of Energy: In signing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, P.L. 109-58) on August 8, 2005, President Bush said EPACT ?is strengthening America's electrical infrastructure, reducing the country's dependence on foreign sources of energy, increasing conservation, and expanding the use of clean renewable energy.? In his January 23 State of the Union address, President Bush said ?It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply -- the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power... America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. And these technologies will help us be better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change.? The funding priorities reflected in the President?s FY 08 budget appear in conflict with these goals of energy independence, renewable energy development, energy conservation, and environmental improvement. The President?s budget is not consistent?given the volume of voices and concerns about energy security, the huge bills residential and business consumers face, loss of economic competitiveness, environmental degradation, and rising greenhouse gas emissions?with his stated goals. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE/RE) program should play a critical role in reducing energy import dependence while protecting the environment by developing and promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The President's FY 08 budget request for DOE?s EE/RE programs is $1.24 billion (five percent of the DOE budget)?essentially flat with FY 05 appropriations. ( i.e: Rougly a 12-15 % cut based on inflation).Although there are increases for solar PV, biomass and hydrogen, the flat funding for DOE?s energy efficiency and renewable energy technology investments masks several cuts in effective energy efficiency programs and zeroes out investments in geothermal and hydropower technology. The President?s FY 08 budget request includes: Zeroing out the Geothermal Program Zeroing out the Hydropower Program $98.5 million cut in Weatherization Assistance (41% cut from FY 06 appropriations) $9.9 million cut in Industrial Technologies $1.0 million cut in Tribal Energy Activities $22.6 million increase in Hybrid Electric Systems $9.9 million increase in State Energy Program Grants (28% increase from FY 06 appropriations) $3.1 million increase in Clean Cities (47% increase from FY 06 appropriations) $7.5 million for the Asia-Pacific Partnership, one of the President?s priorities for addressing climate change ******************** (NEWS 6) Europe Fights to Save Its Fish Stocks http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Science/ Europes_Troubled_Seas.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2kpks9 Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Registration Required) - ADRA, Spain - The catch of the day brings up a squirming pandemonium of creatures from the deep: sea bream and red snapper, miniature lobsters, an electric ray packing 150 volts, a baby octopus watching with one unblinking eye. But skipper Mariano Lopez, gazing at this mound of exuberance on his trawler's deck, is disappointed. Like many patches of the Mediterranean, this overworked fishing ground is not yielding the bounty it once did. "There should be twice as much," Lopez says, shaking his head. Fishermen were long seen as Europe's last true hunters, but the romance that comes with the struggle against nature has dwindled as fast as the once-bountiful fish. The European Union has desperately implemented fishing curbs and other measures to keep Mediterranean and Atlantic waters alive - policies fishermen complain are destroying their traditions and livelihoods. But Europe's campaign to save fishing stocks could be a losing battle. ******************** (NEWS 7) Nasa Announces Briefing On Discovery Beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet Nasa Media Advisory: M07-021, Feb 13, 2007 WASHINGTON - Researchers from NASA and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif., will unveil new results from an unprecedented study of water deep beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. The study will be presented on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT) during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at Hotel Nikko, San Francisco. Using data from NASA satellites, the scientists created a technique that offers a breakthrough perspective of the ice sheet and the environment far below its surface. The study will be published in the Feb. 16 edition of Science magazine. Robert Bindschadler of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and Helen Amanda Fricker of Scripps will discuss their findings and answer media questions. Interested media should contact AAAS at scipak at aaas.org or 202-326-6440 to request call-in information to participate in the briefing. Participants may access images available at the briefing time by visiting: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/ antarctic_plumb_media.html For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov ********************* (NEWS 8) Groups Sue to Protect Marine Mammals http://www.examiner.com/ a-563946~Groups_Sue_to_Protect_Marine_Mammals.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y39oy San Francisco Examiner - ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Two conservation groups sued the federal government Tuesday claiming marine mammal regulators are not doing enough to protect polar bears and walruses against the combined threat of oil and gas exploration and global warming. The groups say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not fully consider the effects of global warming, such as diminished sea ice, as it wrote regulations allowing for incidental harassment of polar bears and walruses by the industry in the Beaufort Sea and nearby coastal areas. Polar bears depend on sea ice for their main prey, ringed seals and bearded seals. Beaufort Sea females use coastal land or sea ice for digging snow caves to give birth. Female walruses follow the receding ice edge north in spring and summer, using the ice as a platform to dive to the bottom and feed while calves remain on the ice. ******************** (NEWS 9) Bent Skovmand, Seed Protector, Dies at 61 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/science/14skovmand.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ypc59k New York Times (Registration Required) - Bent Skovmand, a plant scientist who helped to create the "doomsday vault," a massively fortified cavern to safeguard three million kinds of unique crop seeds against catastrophe, died Tuesday in Kavlinge, Sweden. He was 61. His wife, Eugenia, announced his death, The Associated Press reported. The cause was complications of a brain tumor, Swedish news reports said. The vault was only part of Dr. Skovmand's crusade to save and propagate the best of the best strains of valuable food plants. His mission, he often said, was ending hunger. He searched the world to discover and preserve lost strains of wheat and other crops and helped breed them into stronger, more disease-resistant strains. He helped assemble more than 150,000 varieties of wheat seed and more than 20,000 kinds of corn. He worked with scientists, farmers and industrial groups in developing countries to make triticale, a hybrid of rye and wheat, a commercial crop. ******************** (NEWS 10) Sea Creatures To Be Tracked Electronically http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Fish-and-Chips.html? _r=1&oref=slogin Associated Press - 12 February 2007 - Researchers are planning a worldwide effort to track the movement of sea creatures tagged with tiny electronic devices. Following pilot testing in the north Pacific, the Ocean Tracking Network will expand to the Atlantic, Arctic, Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico. Sea life ranging from salmon to whales, turtles to sharks, will be tagged so they can then be tracked as they swim past arrays of sensors placed at critical locations in the oceans. Initial research for the effort was done as a joint U.S.-Canada project in the north Pacific. The goal is to eventually have 5,000 ocean receivers arranged in 60 lines worldwide, capable of tracking up to 1 million animals at the same time. Headquarters will be at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In the new system tagged sea creatures will also collect data from other tagged animals they encounter. The scientists said the tracking system will allow them to better understand animal movements and behavior changes that occur due to global warming. That will help in managing fisheries both for conservation and business. ******************** (NEWS 11)Debate Over Global Warming Is Shifting http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/15/ debate_over_global_warming_is_shifting/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2nappj Boston Globe (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON -- With Democrats controlling the environmental agenda in Congress, a panel of international scientists saying there's a greater-than- 90 percent chance that humans contribute to global warming, and former vice president Al Gore calling climate change a moral issue, many besieged global warming skeptics are starting to tone down their rhetoric. Some, though, are sticking to aggressive tactics, even contending they are gaining momentum. And they have influential allies: some scientists, conservative think-tank pundits, a minority of Republicans in Congress, and a sympathetic White House that has rejected attempts to force companies to curb carbon dioxide emissions -- even though the vast majority of scientists say those emissions are heating up the earth. Still, both sides acknowledge that the global warming debate has changed significantly in recent weeks. The biggest factor is the Feb. 2 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC -- a review of scientific literature by hundreds of scientists who determined that it is more than 90 percent certain humans contribute to global warming. ******************** (NEWS 12 ) Joint NASA Study Reveals Leaks In Antarctic 'Plumbing System' NASA RELEASE: 07-42 - WASHINGTON - Scientists using NASA satellites have discovered an extensive network of waterways beneath a fast-moving Antarctic ice stream that provide clues as to how "leaks" in the system impact sea level and the world's largest ice sheet. Antarctica holds about 90 percent of the world's ice and 70 percent of the world's reservoir of fresh water. With data from NASA satellites, a team of scientists led by research geophysicist Helen Fricker of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif., detected for the first time the subtle rise and fall of the surface of fast-moving ice streams as the lakes and channels nearly a half-mile of solid ice below filled and emptied. Results were presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Francisco. The study will be published in the Feb. 16 issue of Science magazine. "This exciting discovery of large lakes exchanging water under the ice sheet surface has radically altered our view of what is happening at the base of the ice sheet and how ice moves in that environment," said co-author Robert Bindschadler, chief scientist of the Laboratory for Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "NASA's state-of-the-art satellite instruments are so sensitive we are able to capture an unprecedented three-dimensional look at the system beneath the thick ice sheet and measure from space changes of a mere 3 feet in its surface elevation. That is like seeing an elevation change in the thickness of a paperback book from an airplane flying at 35,000 feet." The surface of the ice sheet appears stable to the naked eye, but because the base of an ice stream is warmer, water melts from the basal ice to flow, filling the system's "pipes" and lubricating flow of the overlying ice. This web of waterways acts as a vehicle for water to move and change its influence on the ice movement. Moving back and forth through the system's "pipes" from one lake to another, the water stimulates the speed of the ice stream's flow a few feet per day, contributing to conditions that cause the ice sheet to either grow or decay. Movement in this system can influence sea level and ice melt worldwide. "There's an urgency to learning more about ice sheets when you note that sea level rises and falls in direct response to changes in that ice," Fricker said. "With this in mind, NASA's ICESat, Aqua and other satellites are providing a vital public service." In recent years, scientists have discovered more than 145 subglacial lakes, a smaller number of which composes this "plumbing system" in the Antarctic. Bindschadler and Fricker; Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo.; and Laurence Padman of Earth and Space Research in Corvallis, Ore.; observed water discharging from these under-ice lakes into the ocean in coastal areas. Their research has delivered new insight into how much and how frequently these waterways "leak" water and how many connect to the ocean. The study included observations of a subglacial lake the size of Lake Ontario buried under an active area of west Antarctica that feeds into the Ross Ice Shelf. The research team combined images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite and data from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on NASA's Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) to unveil a multi-dimensional view of changes in the elevation of the icy surface above the lake and surrounding areas during a three-year period. Those changes suggest the lake drained and that its water relocated elsewhere. MODIS continuously takes measurements of broad-sweeping surface areas at three levels of detail, revealing the outline of under-ice lakes. ICESat's GLAS instrument uses laser altimetry technology to measure even the smallest of elevation changes in the landscape of an ice sheet. Together, data from both have been used to create a multi- year series of calibrated surface reflectance images, resulting in a new technique called satellite image differencing that emphasizes where surface slopes have changed. For more information online about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) NECSI Complex Systems Summer School - June 11-22, 2007 - MIT, Cambridge, MA (USA) http://necsi.org/events/summer2007.html Week One - Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems Week Two - Modeling, Networks and Evolution of Complex Systems Each program is the equivalent of a one semester course in a one week format. They may be taken independently or consecutively. If desired, arrangements for credit at a home institution should be made in advance. Week One - Complex Physical, Biological and Social Systems - June 11-15, 2007 This course offers an introduction to the essential concepts of complex systems and related mathematical methods and simulation strategies with application to physical, biological and social systems. The course will particularly focus on the use of multiscale representations as a unifying approach to complex systems concepts, methods and applications. Concepts to be discussed include: emergence, complexity, networks, self-organization, pattern formation, evolution, adaptation, fractals, chaos, cooperation, competition, attractors, interdependence, scaling, dynamic response, information, and function. Methods to be discussed include: statistical methods, cellular automata, agent-based modeling, pattern recognition, system representation and informatics. Week Two - Modeling, Networks and Evolution of Complex Systems - June 18-22, 2007 This course offers a systematic study of three key complex systems areas. Modeling: "how to" build models of complex systems (physical, biological, social and engineering). Networks: network models of complex systems: nodes and links, connectivity; topologies: small worlds, scale free, modular; dynamics of networks. Evolution: evolution in biology, social and engineered systems, altruism and selfishness, speciation, diversity, and spatial models. TARGET AUDIENCE: These courses are intended for faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and others who would like to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of complex systems, and develop methodological tools for conducting research in their respective fields. *************************************************** 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) Post Doctoral Fellowship - Soft Bottom Ecologist - University of Sidney, Sidney (Australia) http://www.serpentproject.com As a result of a recent ARC Linkage-Project grant entitled Effect of deep-sea drilling on sustainability of deep-sea ecosystems, the University?s School of Biological Sciences has a unique research role available with the SEA SERPENT project. If you?re a qualified Soft Bottom Ecologist who is experienced in deep sea/shallow water ecosystems, then the SEA SERPENT global project might be what you?ve been looking for. As one of the projects leading scientists, you?ll enjoy initiating research projects, studying sedimentary habits and covering benthic ecosystems. You?ll be required to work closely with our interdisciplinary team consisting of Invertebrate and Vertebrate Hard Bottom Ecologists, Physical Oceanographer, Animal Physiologist and Natural Products Chemist. With a PhD in a suitable discipline and experience in shallow or deep-sea environments, you?ll have the research expertise required to make a significant contribution to the SERPENT team. The position is full-time fixed term for 3 years with a remuneration package of $72,327 - $77,638 p.a. (which includes a base salary Level A $61,117 - $65,605 p.a., leave loading and up to 17% employer?s contribution to superannuation). For full advertisement please refer to SERPENT website at http://www.serpentproject.com or for further information contact Dr. Adele Pile on +61 2 9351 2440 or e-mail: apile at bio.usyd.edu.au Closing Date: 1 March 2007 ******************** (JOBS 2) Assoc Editor(s) - Nature Geoscience Nature Publishing Group, the publisher of Nature, is pleased to announce the launch of Nature Geoscience. This international monthly journal will launch in January 2008 providing in-depth coverage of the Earth Sciences. Nature Geoscience will publish research related to the understanding of the Earth as a system, including relevant investigations of the solid Earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere and climate, as well as the planets of the solar system. We seek three Associate Editors to establish Nature Geoscience as the essential publication for the Earth Science community. The ideal candidates will have (or expect shortly to receive) a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in one of the disciplines of the geosciences. Postdoctoral experience is preferred (not required), but emphasis will be placed on broadly trained applicants. The successful candidates will play an important role in determining the representation of their fields in the journal. Key elements of the position include the selection of manuscripts for publication, as well as commissioning, editing and writing for the journal. Close contact with related research communities, through conferences and laboratory visits, will be an essential component of this position. This is a demanding and intellectually stimulating role, which calls for a keen interest in the practice and communication of science. The successful candidates will therefore be highly motivated and outgoing, and must possess excellent interpersonal skills. The salary and benefits are competitive, reflecting the critical importance and responsibilities of this position. Applicants should send a CV (including a brief account of their research and other relevant experience), a research highlight in Nature style (200 words or less) on a recent relevant Nature paper, and a brief cover letter explaining their interest in the post and their salary expectations. Applications should be sent to Rebecca Innes, Personnel Assistant at londonrecruitment at macmillan.co.uk Applicants should clearly mark on their submissions the reference number NPG/LON/613. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Closing Date: 23rd February 2007; applications will be considered as they arrive. ******************** (JOB 3) Port of Tacoma Endowed Chair - Environmental Science - University of Washington, Tacoma WA (USA) The University of Washington, Tacoma is seeking to fill the newly endowed Port of Tacoma Chair in Environmental Science (funded by the Port of Tacoma, SSA Marine, and the City of Tacoma). Ph.D. required. The successful candidate will be appointed with tenure at the full- professor level and will have an active research program, a record of successful grant writing, an ability to conduct applied research relevant to the South Puget Sound, and a record of successful teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Preference will be given to candidates who can conduct research and teach in fields with clear implications for the health of the urban estuarine environment. This includes, but is not limited to, fields such as the fate and transport of contaminants in aquatic systems, environmental remediation and restoration, stormwater runoff, or ballast water and invasive species. The successful candidate will also work collaboratively with other researchers at the University of Washington and with Urban Waters, a community based initiative, to expand externally funded urban marine research in the South Puget Sound. Appointment effective September 16, 2007. The rapidly expanding Port of Tacoma is one of the ten largest container ports in North America and was ranked as the top U.S. seaport in a recent readers? poll conducted by Marine Digest and Cargo Business News for productivity, reliability and cost efficiency. Tacoma is the second largest city in western Washington and is undergoing a rapid revitalization, driven to a large extent by the University of Washington, Tacoma (UWT). One of three campuses of the University of Washington, UWT is a non-residential metropolitan university that currently offers undergraduate and graduate education to students of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. UWT was established in 1990 and the Environmental Science program, started in 1996, has a strong curricular base in aquatic sciences. The Faculty at the University of Washington engage in interdisciplinary teaching, research, and service. For information about UWT and the Environmental Science program see our website at http:// www.tacoma.washington.edu/ Screening of applications will begin March 1, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. Applications and nominations should be submitted electronically to tfaculty at u.washington.edu and should include a current curriculum vitae, a statement of research, teaching and community partnership experience and qualifications, as well as contact information for three references. For additional information contact Dr. Cheryl Greengrove at cgreen at u.washington.edu or by phone at (253) 692-5658. ******************** (JOB 4) Asst. Prof. tenure-track - Environmental Geochemistry - Department of Earth Sciences - Memorial University of Newfoundland - St. John's, NL (Canada) The Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland invites applications for a tenure track faculty position at the assistant professor level in the broad field of environmental geochemistry (Ref.: VPA #EASC-2006-011). The applicants? specific interests may include but are not limited to biogeochemistry, application of geochemical and isotopic methods to environmental problems, microbe-mineral interaction, chemical speciation, transport and fate of organic and organometallic compounds, water resources, and global environmental change. We are particularly interested in applicants with experience and a continuing interest in applications of genomic, molecular, or isotopic approaches to geomicrobiological and/or biogeochemical research. The successful candidate will have access to modern analytical facilities listed at (www.mun.ca/earthsciences/facilities/). In addition, Memorial University?s CREAIT (www.mun.ca/creait/maf/ ICPMS.php) network is accessible to all faculty and offers additional analytical and experimental facilities, many overseen by faculty in the Department of Earth Sciences. Other research and teaching resources available at Memorial University include the Ocean Sciences Centre, the Bonne Bay Marine Station in Gros Morne National Park, the Labrador Institute, and the Harlow Campus outside London, England. Applicants must possess a Ph.D. and should preferably have post- doctoral experience. The successful candidate is expected to maintain a vigorous research program, sustain a strong record of peer-reviewed publication and external funding, advise and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, and contribute energetically to the teaching mission of the department. In addition to its own M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in environmental earth science, the Earth Sciences Department participates in Memorial?s interdisciplinary graduate program in environmental science (www.mun.ca/science/envs/). Applications must be received by March15th, 2007. Candidates should submit a letter of application with the names and addresses (including email) of three referees, current curriculum vitae, and a statement of planned research program and teaching interests to: Dr. John M. Hanchar, Head, Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John?s, NL, Canada A1B 3X5, or, preferably, Email applications in PDF format to: head at esd.mun.ca Additional information is available at www.mun.ca/earthsciences/ about/ or by contacting Dr. John M. Hanchar, Head of Earth Sciences at head at esd.mun.ca or by telephone at 709-737-2334 Partners of candidates for positions are invited to include their resume for possible matching with other job opportunities and candidates eligible for NSERC University Faculty Awards are encouraged to apply. ******************** (JOB 5) PhD and MSc graduate assistantships ? Environmental Science - Memorial University - St. John?s, Newfoundland (Canada) Ph.D. and M.Sc. graduate assistantships are available at Memorial University in St. John?s, Newfoundland, Canada to study the effects of environmental change on the biogeochemistry in boreal watersheds. The impact of environmental change on dissolved organic matter (DOM) cycling within the continuum from streams to coastal marine ecosystems is the focus of a Canada Research Chair funded program. Microorganisms drive aquatic biogeochemical processes, therefore their function and how they are altered by environmental perturbation is paramount to our understanding of the interactions between the physical, chemical and biological parameters that affect aquatic ecosystem function. Dissolved organic matter is a critical component of the global carbon cycle and represents the largest active reservoir of organic matter in the aquatic environment. Integrating energy from both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, DOM fuels the microbial activity central to ecosystem function. A major goal of our research group is to understand the impact of nutrient enrichment, elevated temperatures, and changes in land use activities on watershed dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen cycling. The research group is focused on two main questions: (1) How is DOM cycling impacted by environmental change in boreal watersheds?; and (2) How can changes in DOM cycling within boreal watersheds impact coastal biogeochemistry? Students joining the group will have the opportunity to use stable isotope tracers and the analysis of the isotopic composition of biomarkers to study the flow of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in aquatic ecosystems. The precise research undertaken by individual students will depend upon their strengths and interests and may include, but are not limited to investigations of: (1) sulfur isotope composition of DOM in boreal watersheds, (2) DOM bioreactivity and photoreactivity along a continuum from boreal streams to coastal ecosystems, and (3) The impact of environmental change on microbial biofilm structure and function in boreal streams. Those interested are strongly encouraged to contact Susan Ziegler (DIALOG III participant) by March 1st, 2007 directly to discuss possible opportunities. Dr. Susan Ziegler, Canada Research Chair in Environmental Science, Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John?s, Newfoundland A1B 3X5 Canada 709-737-2669 sziegler at esd.mun.ca www.mun.ca/earthsciences/Ziegler/ Main.php www.mun.ca/earthsciences/about/ ******************** (JOBS 6) Asst. Profs. tenure-track (2) - School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Science and Technology Studies - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York (USA) The Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor. We are looking for a candidate who can contribute to the departmental strength in transnational/global dimensions of science and technology. Particular areas of interest are environmental studies, global trade and finance, development and sustainability; and peace and conflict studies. The candidate?s background may be in quantitative or qualitative methods, or both. Preference will be given to candidates with a background in design studies, who will therefore be able to contribute to the Product Design and Innovation (PDI) program at Rensselaer. Send CV, letter of application, three letters of reference, and sample publications/project summaries to Sharon Anderson-Gold, Chair, STS Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590. Screening will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The starting date is negotiable, but the preferred date is August, 2007. The second position is also a tenure-track position as assistant professor. The candidate?s research and teaching interests should focus on issues of diversity as they relate to STS, with interests that may include, but are not limited to those of race and ethnicity, queer theory, feminist theory, disability studies, class analysis, historical geography, and environmental justice. The candidate?s background may be in quantitative or qualitative methods, or both. Preference will be given to candidates with a background in design studies, who will therefore be able to contribute to the Product Design and Innovation (PDI) program at Rensselaer. Send CV, letter of application, three letters of reference, and sample publications (and design portfolios if applicable) to Sharon Anderson-Gold, Chair, STS Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590. Screening will begin with receipt of applications and continue until the job is filled. Starting date is negotiable, but the preferred date is August 2007. ******************* (JOB 7) Post-Doc - Marine phytoplankton observed with global biooptical methods (PHYTOOPTICS) - Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Research ? Bremerhaven (Germany) This newly formed Helmholtz-University young investigator group is hosted at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Research in Bremerhaven under the leadership of Dr. Astrid Bracher (DIALOG III). There is a strong cooperation of the group with the University of Bremen (Institute of Environmental Physics) where the satellite data are processed and the Ph D students are enrolled. The research group will focus on: 1) retrieval of global biooptical information from highly spectrally resolved data with interdisciplinary methods (satellite remote sensing, in-situ measurements, modelling) 2)investigation of changes in composition, growth and productivity of marine phytoplankton on a global long-term scale (10 years and more) and the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on phytoplankton and its functioning in the marine ecosystem and carbon cycle. The successful candidate will perform lab and field measurements of optical and photosynthetical parameters on marine phytoplankton, as well as measurements of optical properties of other water constituents. These measurements are important both as reference spectra and for the validation of the satellite retrivals and as input parameters and for the validation of phytoplankton production and composition models. Requirements: Master/Diploma in natural science, PhD in biological, chemical or physical oceanography. Deep knowledge of general and biological oceanography, biogeochemistry and marine optics, as well as experience in spectralphotometrical and radiometrical measurements. Beneficial: Experience in HPLC methods to determine phytoplankton pigments. The position requires the participation in several longer (3 to 6 weeks each) ship cruises. Further requirements are excellent team work capabilities in a multidisciplinary team, fluency in English (written and spoken). For further information, please contact Dr. Astrid Bracher (email:bracher at uni-bremen.de). The position is limited to three years. Our group is currently forming. Information on this AWI's PHYTOOPTICS group, the AWI department ?climate science? and the Institute of Environmental Physics can be found at: http://www.gmes- bremen.eu/productsservices/phytoopticsmarinephytoplankton/ index.html, http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Climate/index.html, http://www.iup.uni-bremen.de/ Applications with curriculum vitae, list of publications, certificates and academic transcripts should be submitted not later than March 10, 2007 to: Alfred-Wegener-Institut f?r Polar- und Meeresforschung, Personalabteilung, PO Box 12 01 61, 27515 Bremerhaven http://www.awi.de/de/go/jobs/ Please quote the reference number 14/III ******************* (JOB 8) Post-Doc - diatom analysis and climate change - Department of Ecology and Environmental Science - Ume? University ? (Sweden) We are offering a Post-doc position to join a research project using sedimentary diatom remains as indicators of climate change. The successful candidate will work with lake sediments from alpine (Switzerland) and northern (Iceland, Sweden) areas, focusing on climate changes during the past 1000 years. The project is financed through the EUproject ?The past climate and its dynamics: Millennium European climate of the past millennium?, (see http:// ralph.swan.ac.uk/millennium/index.htm) offering a multidisciplinary network with leading scientists working in the field of paleoclimatology. To qualify for this position you need a PhD degree in natural sciences, with experience relevant to the project (i.e., sedimentology, diatom analysis, statistical methods). The position is for a 12-month period (extension possible). For further information, please contact Dr. Christian Bigler christian.bigler at emg.umu.se. Union information is available from SACO, +46-(0)90-786 51 53, SEKO civil, +46-(0)90-786 52 96 and ST, +46-(0)90-786 54 31. Applications will be discarded or, if the applicant so wishes, returned two years after the position has been filled. Your application should include a CV, publication list, and contact information of at least two academic references. Your complete application, marked with reference number 313-182-07, should be sent to jobb at umu.se or to the Registrar, Ume? University, SE-901 87 Ume?, Sweden to arrive March 15, 2007 at the latest. Ume? University, in northern Sweden, is a dynamic university with ca. 4,200 employees and more than 29,000 students, of which 1,300 are in PhD programs. The Department of Ecology and Environmental Science has about 170 members including 50 PhD students (for more information see the department?s homepage: www.emg.umu.se/index_eng.html. See also the International office, www.umu.se/international_office/ for a general presentation of Ume? and the University. ******************** (JOBS 9) Tenure-track (6 new positions) - Consortium for Inter- Disciplinary Environmental Research (CIDER) - Stony Brook University ? Stony Brook, NY (USA) http://ws.cc.stonybrook.edu/cider/opportunities/index.html In October, 2006, Stony Brook University announced the creation of a new center, the Consortium for Inter-Disciplinary Environmental Research (CIDER). This initiative was undertaken to bring together the many faculty at the university from diverse disciplines, housed in many departments, to create synergistic collaborations that could address large, complex environmental issues. The participants (faculty, postdoctoral investigators, and graduate students) in CIDER are formally associated with existing academic departments at Stony Brook University, including departments in Arts and Sciences, Engineering, the Medical School, and the Marine Sciences Research Center. However, all participants also see the value in working across disciplines, not necessarily reflective of traditional academic separations, to form multi-disciplinary teams of researchers that can tackle the complexities of large environmental problems. Thus, individuals in the natural and medical sciences combine with social scientists and engineers to pursue large research programs. Such teams are required to develop new research centers for environmental research at Stony Brook, and as well provide new and exciting educational opportunities for the next generation of environmental researchers. Stony Brook University invites applicants for six new tenure- track positions associated with its new Consortium for Inter- Disciplinary Environmental Research (CIDER), designed to bring together faculty from the natural sciences, medical sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. Individuals with demonstrated expertise in any of the following areas are encouraged to apply: (a) environmental health, including investigations of contaminants in air, food and water, mechanistic studies of their toxic effects on mammals and their societal impact on different subpopulations; (b) the causes and influence of global climate change, including effects on biogeochemical cycles, pattern of disease and human living conditions and (c) environmental remediation, land use planning, and conservation. Applications from individuals or from teams that address any of these research areas are welcome. A successful candidate will hold a tenure track or tenured appointment in an academic department that best suits his/her expertise; affiliation with nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory is also possible. Faculty will be expected to teach at the undergraduate and/or graduate level, generate external funding to support their research and participate in interdisciplinary activities to support CIDER's mission. Required: Ph.D. or M.D., outstanding research and teaching potential. Positions generally will be filled at the Assistant Professor level, however applications from exceptional established individuals also will be considered. The review of applications will begin on February 1, 2007 and will continue until all six positions are filled. To apply, please send a resume; a statement of research and career goals; the proposed Stony Brook University departmental affiliation(s); and arrange to have three letters of reference sent to: CIDER Search Committee, Positing number F-3755-06-12, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-1401 For on-line applications visit: www.stonybrook.edu/cjo , posting number F-3755-06-12. On-line applicants should request reference letters be sent to the CIDER Search Committee address above. ******************** (JOB 10) Faculty (one year replacement) - Environmental Geosciene - College of William and Mary ? Williamsburg, VA (USA) http://www.wm.edu/geology/jobs.php The Geology Department at the College of William & Mary is seeking applications for a full-time one-year faculty-replacement position for the academic year 2007/08. The successful applicant will teach an undergraduate GIS course, environmental geology, and an upper-level special topics course (e.g., environmental geophysics, environmental geochemistry, an advanced GIS course, climate change). We seek a colleague eager to interact with undergraduates in an environment in which teaching and research are emphasized. We prefer candidates who will have PhD in hand at the time of appointment, but will consider those nearing completion of the PhD. Applicants should submit their application electronically using the procedure described on the website: http://www.wm.edu/geology/jobs.php Review begins March 6, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. The College of William & Mary is an EEO/AA university. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070216/6c8a18d2/attachment.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Feb 23 14:02:37 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:02:37 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 2/23/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 2/23/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES New AAAS statement on global Climate Change http://news.aaas.org/index.php/news/am_board_statement/id=185 Polar Climate Working Group http://www.ccsm.ucar.edu/working_groups/Polar or contact: David A. Bailey, National Center for Atmospheric Research, E-mail: dbailey at ucar.edu Arctic Research in the U.S. http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07137 (see RESOURCES 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Reservoirs of Water Found Beneath Antarctic Ice Streams http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11195-reservoirs-of- water-found-beneath-antarctic-ice-streams.html or: http:// tinyurl.com/2cld5j (see NEWS 1 below) Record for Hottest January Isn't Broken...It's Smashed http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003574774_warming16.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/365ywp (see NEWS 2 below) New Tests Will Help Detect Fish Virus http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/15/ new_tests_will_help_detect_fish_virus/ (see NEWS 3 below) Europeans Agree to Cut Emissions Sharply if U.S. and Others Follow Suit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/business/worldbusiness/ 21warm.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysze83 (see NEWS 4 below) Freeze 'Condemned Neanderthals' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6341987.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2bjf2n (see NEWS 5 below) Great Forests Hold Fateful Role in Climate Change http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/ AR2007022102095.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2tsbu4 (see NEWS 6 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Workshop for Polar Early Career Scientists and Engineers- Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW)- March 14-19, 2007 - Dartmouth College - Hanover, New Hampshire (USA) http://www.assw2007.org (see MEETING 1 below) JOBS Postdoctoral Fellowships (2) ? IPY - Environment and Natural Resources Institute - University of Alaska Anchorage - Anchorage, AK (USA) http://www.uakjobs.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=58410. (see JOBS 1 below) Research fellows - Research Programme on Climate Change Modelling and Policy - Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) ? Venice and Milan (Italy) (see JOBS 2 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Reservoirs of Water Found Beneath Antarctic Ice Streams http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11195-reservoirs-of- water-found-beneath-antarctic-ice-streams.html or: http:// tinyurl.com/2cld5j NewScientist - Rivers of fa st-flowing water are gushing beneath the West Antarctica ice sheet in an extensive arterial system of rapidly filling and emptying lakes, new satellite images have revealed. Researchers had predicted that the western ice sheet would contain subglacial water stores, but the unprecedented scale of the network and the speed of the water has surprised them. Crucially, the lakes occur below fast-moving ice streams, which could have major implications for glacial melt rates and associated sea-level rises. "We've found substantial lakes under ice that's moving a couple of metres a day. It's really ripping along," says Robert Binschadler of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, US, who carried out the study with colleagues. He presented the research at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco, California, US. ******************** (NEWS 2) Record for Hottest January Isn't Broken...It's Smashed http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003574774_warming16.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/365ywp Seattle Times - WASHINGTON - It may be cold comfort during a frigid February, but last month was by far the hottest January ever. The new record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world, according to U.S. scientists who reported the data Thursday. Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880. Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than a normal January, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The temperature of the world's land and water combined - the most effective measurement - was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century average of 53.6 for January, breaking the old record by more than one-quarter of a degree. Ocean temperatures alone didn't set a record. ******************** (NEWS 3) New Tests Will Help Detect Fish Virus http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/15/ new_tests_will_help_detect_fish_virus/ Boston Globe (Registration Required) - ITHACA, N.Y. -- A new test will help scientists quickly detect a fast-spreading aquatic virus that threatens the Great Lakes fishing industry, according to its developers at Cornell University. Current tests for the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus involve culturing cells and can take up to a month. The new technique, which measures viral genetic material, takes only 24 hours to identify the virus, said Paul Bowser, a Cornell professor of aquatic animal medicine. "Earlier detection of the virus will provide us with a powerful research and diagnostic tool that will greatly aid in efforts to limit the impact of VHSV," Bowser said Thursday. The researchers hope to have the technique validated by the end of 2007. ******************** (NEWS 4) Europeans Agree to Cut Emissions Sharply if U.S. and Others Follow Suit http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/business/worldbusiness/ 21warm.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysze83 New York Times (Registration Required) - PARIS, Feb. 20 - Seeking to persuade other nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions, European Union ministers pledged Tuesday to raise their own targets if industrialized countries like the United States made similar efforts. European governments would be ready to cut emissions 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, from a current pledge of 20 percent, but only if other heavy polluters joined in, said Sigmar Gabriel, the German environment minister, who led a meeting in Brussels that formally endorsed the European targets. Germany, the biggest European economy, was already prepared to cut its emissions even further if there was a broader agreement, Mr. Gabriel said, noting that the German Parliament had supported a 40 percent target. ******************** (NEWS 5) Freeze 'Condemned Neanderthals' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6341987.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2bjf2n BBC News Online - A sharp freeze could have dealt the killer blow that finished off our evolutionary cousins the Neanderthals, according to a new study. The ancient humans are thought to have died out in most parts of Europe by about 35,000 years ago. And now new data from their last known refuge in southern Iberia indicates the final population was probably beaten by a cold spell some 24,000 years ago. The research is reported by experts from the Gibraltar Museum and Spain. They say a climate downturn may have caused a drought, placing pressure on the last surviving Neanderthals by reducing their supplies of fresh water and killing off the animals they hunted. ******************** (NEWS 6) Great Forests Hold Fateful Role in Climate Change http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/21/ AR2007022102095.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2tsbu4 Washington Post (Registration Required) - PINE FALLS, Manitoba -- Here on the edge of the silent and frozen northern tier of the Earth, the fate of the world's climate is buried beneath the snow and locked in the still limbs of aspen trees. Nearly half of the carbon that exists on land is contained in the sweeping boreal forests, which gird the Earth in the northern reaches of Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia and Russia. Scientists now fear that the steady rise in the temperature of the atmosphere and the increasing human activity in those lands are releasing that carbon, a process that could trigger a vicious cycle of even more warming. The prospect of the land itself accelerating climate change staggers scientists, as well as woodsmen such as Bob Austman, who stopped recently in a quiet stand of birch on the edge of the boreal forest to examine a jack rabbit's tracks. "There are big forces out there," he said succinctly. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) Workshop for Polar Early Career Scientists and Engineers- Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW)- March 14-19, 2007 - Dartmouth College - Hanover, New Hampshire (USA) http://www.assw2007.org The Early Career Scientists and Engineers Program is designed to provide international networking opportunities for early career polar scientists and engineers during the Arctic Science Summit Week 2007 (ASSW) being held Wednesday, March 14 through Tuesday, March 20 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Students currently working on a graduate degree in polar science and scientists and engineers who have obtained their graduate degree within the last five years are welcome to participate. In addition to participating in the regular ASSW program, students and early career professionals are invited to attend the Early Career Scientists lunch on Wednesday, 14 March, the Early Career Science Symposium with contributed oral and poster presentations by early career scientists on Saturday, 17 March, and other events to be announced at the conference. Participants in the Early Career Scientists and Engineers Program are invited to present oral and poster presentations by submitting title, authors (including full contact information), and abstract of not more than 100 words via the conference website. Abstracts must be submitted by Wednesday, 28 February 2007. When registering, attendees are also requested to identify themselves as students or early career scientists and engineers by sending name, full contact information, and the dates of arrival and departure at ASSW via the "Contact Us" link on the conference website at: http://www.assw2007.org Registration Deadline: Wednesday, 7 March 2007 The purpose of ASSW is to provide opportunities for international coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of arctic science and to combine science and management meetings. ASSW 2007 is an inaugural event for U.S. participation in the International Polar Year. *************************************************** 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) Postdoctoral Fellowships (2) ? IPY - Environment and Natural Resources Institute - University of Alaska Anchorage - Anchorage, AK (USA) http://www.uakjobs.com/applicants/Central?quickFind=58410. The following two postdoctoral fellowships are available on International Polar Year 2007-2008 projects led by the Environment and Natural Resources Institute at University of Alaska Anchorage: Soil Ecology, Soil Biogeochemistry The incumbent will conduct and supervise experimental work elucidating the consequences of deeper snow, shrub increases, and effects on soil-plant dynamics. The fellow will join a team that has conduced long-term experiments at Toolik Lake, Alaska since 1994 as part of ITEX (International Tundra Experiment) and has established a new set of experimental snow depth treatments that will be used in this research. A significant portion of the research focus will be on winter ecology. A PhD or previous postdoctoral research experience in soil ecology, soil microbiology, soil biogeochemistry, or a closely related field, with a background in tundra ecosystem studies is desired. Physiological Plant Ecology The incumbent will conduct and supervise experimental work elucidating the consequences of deeper snow, shrub increases, and warmer summer temperature effects on leaf-level gas exchange, ecosystem carbon cycling, community composition, plant growth, and plant-soil water relations. The position involves field studies at Toolik Lake, Alaska and in northwest Greenland. The fellow will join a team that has conducted long-term experiments at Toolik Lake since 1994 as part of ITEX and in northwest Greenland since 2002. A significant portion of the research focus will be on winter ecology. A PhD or previous postdoctoral research experience in physiological plant ecology, plant physiology, plant community ecology, or plant mineral nutrition, with a background in tundra ecosystem studies is desired. The successful applicants for both positions will be expected to assist in supervising graduate and undergraduate students and to assist the project PIs with project management. The salary for both positions is between $3,500-$3,700 USD per month plus full benefits depending on experience. To apply for either position, please submit a letter of interest highlighting applicable research experience, curriculum vitae, and the names of three references to Jeff Welker at: afjmw1 at uaa.alaska.edu. For further information about the Environment and Natural Resources Institute, please go to: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/enri/ or contact: Jeff Welker, E-mail: afjmw1 at uaa.alaska.edu Applications are due by Monday, 26 February 2007. The position is available beginning 1 April, 2007. ******************** (JOBS 2) Research fellows - Research Programme on Climate Change Modelling and Policy - Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) ? Venice and Milan (Italy) The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), an Italian research institute that carries out research on sustainable development, invites applications for two junior research fellowship positions in its Programme on Climate Change Modelling and Policy. The main area of research is integrated assessment models. Position 1. The required candidate is expected to have a good general background in applied and theoretical economics, possibly with previous experience in computable general equilibrium modelling. He/she will work in a modelling team dealing with economic impacts of climate change, in several dimensions: sea level rise, energy demand, tourism, etc. Variants of the GTAP-E model are used as a common platform for the simulations exercises. Both static and dynamic model versions are developed. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics or be near its completion, and experience in integrated climate modelling and general equilibrium models. Duties will be performed at the FEEM offices in Venice, Italy. Position 2. The required candidate is expected to have a good general background in applied and theoretical economics, possibly with previous experience in dynamic modelling. He/she will work in a modelling team dealing with economy, energy and climate change. A background in energy engineering will be considered as an appreciable asset. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics/energy engineer or be near its completion, and experience in modelling. An outline of the modelling done so far is available at http://www.feem-web.it/ witch/ . Duties will be performed at the FEEM offices in Milan, Italy. The candidates will interact with researchers of different nationalities, and will write and present scientific papers. Part of the activities are realized in the context of European research projects. Very good written and spoken English is essential for these positions. FEEM offers an international and interdisciplinary environment, the possibility to develop an innovative research programme and a world-wide network of research institutions in the field of climate change. A full range of the activities of FEEM and its Programme on Climate Change Modelling and Policy is available at http://www.feem.it/. Appointments may begin immediately and will last at least one year. The candidates are expected to join FEEM for no less than one year. Applicants should send a detailed curriculum vitae with a full list of publications and at least one letter of recommendation to: Monica Eberle, monica.eberle at feem.it. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070223/04395ec6/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Mar 2 13:26:16 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 11:26:16 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 3/2/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 3/2/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES PolarPower.org - Remote Power Systems for Polar Environments - New Website http://polarpower.org/ US National Research Council's Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change. Since the mid-1980s they have issued a series of reports that are highly interdisciplinary and deal with a variety of topics related to global change. http://www7.nationalacademies.org/hdgc/ The DIALOG/DISCCRS website has resources for early career development, as does The Cutting Edge website http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/resources/ http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/index.html (see RESOURCES 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS United States Launches New International Polar Year ? NSF press release 07-017 ? February 28, 2007 http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07017 An Early Environmentalist, Embracing New 'Heresies' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/science/earth/27tier.html? ref=environment (see NEWS 1 below) Global Climate Change: Taking the Battle to the Campus http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=8822 (see NEWS 2 below) Huge Polar Study About to Begin http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6389857.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2dscwh (see NEWS 3 below) Global Warming: Enough to Make You Sick http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- disease25feb25,1,1099294.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/324oof (see NEWS 4 below) Conservation May Limit Global Warming http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- warming28feb28,1,5415497.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2cffsx (see NEWS 5 below) Ice Shelf Collapses Reveal New Species, Ecosystem Changes http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070227-polar- species.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2t26hg (see NEWS 6 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Workshop: ?Climate Change in South-Eastern European countries: Causes, Impacts, Solutions? - Joanneum Research - March 26-27, 2007 - Graz, (Austria) The workshop?s objectives are: 1)-To strengthen and improve the multidisciplinary approach to climate change related issues 2) -To generate ideas for research projects 3) -To meet potential research partners http://www.joanneum.at/climate/Workshop_Draft%20programme.html Three On the Cutting Edge Workshops: 1) Early Career Geoscience Faculty: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career; 2) Designing Innovative and Effective Courses; and 3) Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences (for grad students and post-docs) (see WORKSHOPS 1 below) JOBS PhD Position - Arctic Water Source Dynamics, Stream Habitat and Biodiversity In a Changing Climate: A Field-based Investigation In Swedish Lappland - Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) - University of Birmingham - Birmingham (UK) http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/research/postgradresearch/physical - linked under "Fluvial and Ecological Processes" on the GEES website (see JOB 1 below) Research Scholar - Atmospheric Pollution and Economic Development (APD) Program - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) - Austria http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PE/Jobs/2007-01-apd-rs-mod.html (see JOB 2 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) An Early Environmentalist, Embracing New 'Heresies' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/science/earth/27tier.html? ref=environment Stewart Brand has become a heretic to environmentalism, a movement he helped found, but he doesn't plan to be isolated for long. He expects that environmentalists will soon share his affection for nuclear power. They'll lose their fear of population growth and start appreciating sprawling megacities. They'll stop worrying about "frankenfoods" and embrace genetic engineering. He predicts that all this will happen in the next decade, which sounds rather improbable ? or at least it would if anyone else had made the prediction. But when it comes to anticipating the zeitgeist, never underestimate Stewart Brand. He divides environmentalists into romantics and scientists, the two cultures he's been straddling and blending since the 1960s. He was with the Merry Pranksters and the Grateful Dead at their famous Trips Festival in San Francisco, directing a multimedia show called "America Needs Indians." That's somewhere in the neighborhood of romantic.... ******************** (NEWS 2) Global Climate Change: Taking the Battle to the Campus http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=8822 We are at last awakening to the reality of global climate change. The report this month by the worldwide team of scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that global warming is unequivocal and that most of the warming over the last half century is likely due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. No previous report of the respected panel, which was formed in 1988, has been so conclusive. There is less certitude about what to do and who will take the initiative. Governments and corporations are obvious candidates for leadership in confronting the threat of global climate change. But there is also need to take the battle to university campuses, where the world's future leaders should join the fight by taking measures that communities at large will be asked to adopt. ******************** (NEWS 3) Huge Polar Study About to Begin http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6389857.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2dscwh BBC News Online - The largest polar research programme for 50 years gets under way this week. International Polar Year (IPY) will see thousands of scientists, from more than 60 nations, working together on 220 projects at high latitudes. Scientists hope to improve their understanding of how changes to the polar regions affect the planet. IPY will be officially launched in Paris on 1 March, but the UK's programme, involving 65 institutions, was unveiled on Monday in London. IPY actually runs for two years in order to allow equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic. It is organised by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). There have been three previous IPYs - held in 1882-83, 1932-33 and 1957-58 - each of which led to scientists gaining a much better knowledge of the remote regions. The UK research programme was unveiled at a ceremony, attended by the Princess Royal, at the Royal Society in central London. ******************** (NEWS 4) Global Warming: Enough to Make You Sick http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- disease25feb25,1,1099294.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/324oof Los Angeles Times (registration required) - CORDOVA, ALASKA - Rising temperatures are redistributing bacteria, insects and plants, exposing people to diseases they'd never encountered before. Oysterman Jim Aguiar had never had to deal with the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus in his 25 years working the frigid waters of Prince William Sound. The dangerous microbe infected seafood in warmer waters like the Gulf of Mexico. Alaska was way too cold. But the sound was gradually warming. By summer 2004, the temperature had risen just enough to poke above the crucial 59-degree mark. Cruise ship passengers who had eaten local oysters were soon coming down with diarrhea, cramping and vomiting - the first cases of Vibrio food poisoning in Alaska that anyone could remember...As scientists later determined, the culprit was not just the bacterium, but the warming that allowed it to proliferate. "This was probably the best example to date of how global climate change is changing the importation of infectious diseases," said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, acting chief of epidemiology at the Alaska Division of Public Health, who published a study on the outbreak. ******************** (NEWS 5) Conservation May Limit Global Warming http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- warming28feb28,1,5415497.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2cffsx Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - UNITED NATIONS - Dramatic worldwide climate changes can no longer be avoided, but there is still time to stave off the worst consequences of global warming, an international research team said Tuesday. The scientists from 11 countries urged sweeping conservation measures to hold the expected increase in temperatures to no more than an average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit - less than half the expected increase if emissions of greenhouse gas and soot continue unabated. Based on two years of study, the scientists called for bold actions, including carbon taxes, a ban on conventional coal-fired power plants and an end to beachfront construction worldwide. The researchers were financed by the nonprofit United Nations Foundation and the 60,000-member research society Sigma Xi. "Unlike many reports from scientists, this report gives very clear recommendations for what the international community and nations themselves must do to mitigate and adapt to climate change," said biodiversity expert Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, who helped prepare a Sigma Xi study. ******************** (NEWS 6) Ice Shelf Collapses Reveal New Species, Ecosystem Changes http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070227-polar- species.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2t26hg National Geographic News - Even before the global launch of International Polar Year this Thursday, scientists are announcing some unusual discoveries from the cold waters off the Antarctic Peninsula. The collapse of two massive ice shelves in the past 12 years has opened a window onto a pristine - but rapidly changing - underwater world, an expedition team reported on Sunday. In the first comprehensive survey of the region, 52 explorers aboard the research vessel Polarstern captured a glimpse of about a thousand rarely seen species of marine wildlife. Several of the creatures may prove to be new to science, including a 1-inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) shrimplike crustacean and a giant Antarctic barnacle... The team also found a potentially new sea anemone that lives on the back of a snail. The venomous anemone, the scientists said, helps protect the snail from predators while the snail transports the anemone to new food sources. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (WORKSHOPS 1) Three On the Cutting Edge Workshops: 1) Early Career Geoscience Faculty: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career; 2) Designing Innovative and Effective Courses; and 3) Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences (for grad students and post-docs) Many of the on-site workshop expenses including food and lodging are covered for the workshops. Participants or their departments pay for their travel to the workshop and, for some workshops, a registration fee. We also have a workshop stipend award program for those who have limited resources. The website provides more information about the various workshops. These workshops are part of the professional development program, On the Cutting Edge, which is funded by a grant from the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education. WORKSHOPS FOR FACULTY: Early Career Faculty Workshop: Teaching, Research, and Managing Your Career - June 13-17, 2007 College of William and Mary - Co- conveners: Heather Macdonald, Richelle Allen-King, and Richard Yuretich Application Deadline: March 15, 2007 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer07/index.html Designing Effective and Innovative Courses in the Geosciences - July 30-August 3, 2007 (on-line, virtual workshop) - July 8-12, 2007 (face-to-face workshop) Hamilton College, Clinton, NY - Co-conveners: Barbara Tewksbury and Charlotte Mehrtens Application Deadline: March 15, 2007 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign07/index.html WORKSHOP FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POST-DOCS Preparing for an Academic Career in the Geosciences: A Workshop for Graduate Students and Post-doctoral Fellows - August 2-5, 2007, University of Wisconsin, Madison - Co-conveners: Heather Macdonald and Robyn Wright Dunbar Application Deadline: March 15, 2007 http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep07/index.html *************************************************** 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) PhD Position - Arctic Water Source Dynamics, Stream Habitat and Biodiversity In a Changing Climate: A Field-based Investigation In Swedish Lappland - Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) - University of Birmingham - Birmingham (UK) http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/research/postgradresearch/physical - linked under "Fluvial and Ecological Processes" on the GEES website Application Deadline: Friday, 16 March 2007 The School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) at University of Birmingham invites applications for a PhD position as part of the project "Arctic water source dynamics, stream habitat and biodiversity in a changing climate: a field-based investigation in Swedish Lappland." The PhD position involves linking changes in water source contributions to physico-chemical habitat and stream biodiversity, thereby providing a tool for assessing the vulnerability of arctic ecosystems to climate change. Arctic stream ecosystems are influenced significantly by cryospheric and hydrological processes due to strong links between atmospheric forcing, snow packs/glacier mass-balance, stream flow, water quality, hydrogeomorphology (physico-chemical habitat), and river ecology. Given anticipated climate change and potentially increased climatic variability, it is important to understand the impacts of altered snowmelt, glacier, permafrost, and groundwater contributions to arctic stream flow and their influence on benthic communities. Moreover, high climatic sensitivity and low human perturbation makes arctic river basins vital indicator systems for identifying early signals of, and subtle shifts in, hydrological and ecological response to climate change/variability. Fieldwork will be conducted over two field seasons in the Karsavagge, a tributary to the Abisko River, Swedish Lappland. The field program will include (1) measurement of river discharge, electrical conductivity and turbidity, meteorological variables, and water column and streambed temperature (to investigate hydrological variability and habitat conditions); (2) collection of water samples for hydrochemical and water stable isotope analyses (to identify conceptual water sources and their dynamics); and (3) sampling of benthic communities. Monitoring sites will be located at key nodes along the river system to assess the potential hydroecological influences of decreasing glacial meltwater contribution/glacierized area, extra-glacial tributary inflows, and lakes and riparian forest cover. Stream temperature will be monitored year-round to give an indication of overwinter stream flow and habitat conditions. The PhD position will be supervised by Alexander M. Milner (E- mail: a.m.milner at bham.ac.uk)and David M. Hannah (E-mail: d.m.hannah at bham.ac.uk), both of GEES at University of Birmingham. For application instructions, please contact: Gretchel Coldicott, Postgraduate Administrator GEES E-mail: G.Coldicott at bham.ac.uk ******************** (JOB 2) Research Scholar - Atmospheric Pollution and Economic Development (APD) Program - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) - Austria http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PE/Jobs/2007-01-apd-rs-mod.html Closing date for applications: 1 April 2007. Review of applications will begin immediately. Tasks - The successful candidate will have responsibility for further developing and maintaining the GAINS model, a widely used integrated assessment modeling framework to analyze various aspects of climate change mitigation and air pollution control for European and Asian countries. This includes the collection and maintenance of technology data and the further development of the GAINS optimization framework, which is extensively used for policy applications. The incumbent will document the new aspects of the GAINS model and contribute to scientific publications on various aspects of modeling greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Close interaction with other members of the interdisciplinary program team will be essential. Profile - The candidate should have a PhD or equivalent in environmental engineering, environmental economics, operations research, environmetrics or related fields. He/she should have practical experience in complex bottom-up technological modeling and/ or quantitative techno-economic assessments of emission control options for greenhouse gases in an international context. Familiarity with international databases (e.g., compiled by UNFCCC) would be an advantage. The candidate must have a good command of the English language. Familiarity with GAMS and basic knowledge in SQL are an asset. Appointment Terms - The successful candidate will be offered an initial fixed-term contract for 12 months with the possibility of extension, beginning as soon as possible. The salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070302/ac25236f/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Thu Mar 8 22:38:26 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 20:38:26 -0800 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 3/9/2007 Message-ID: <455B1040-AF15-400F-8EE5-1810091E73D1@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 3/9/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Call for IPY young climate researchers ? World Climate Research Programme website http://wcrp.wmo.int/Special_IPY.html (see RESOURCES 1 below) FORUM American Meteorological Society just launched a climate policy blog www.climatepolicy.org SCIENCE NEWS Warm Winters Upset Rhythms of Maple Sugar - Warmer-than-usual winters are stoking fears for the survival of New England?s maple forests. New York Times (Registration Required) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/us/03maple.html?th&emc=th Cloudy, With a Chance of Climate Change - The Op-Ed page asked four writers from different corners of the globe to report on the erratic weather they?ve been experiencing. Here are their dispatches. New York Times (Registration Required) http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/opinion/04intro.html?th&emc=th U.S. Predicting Steady Increase for Emissions http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/science/03climate.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ddqjv (see NEWS 1 below) Polar exhibition tackles climate change http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=lifestyle% 20news&subclass=habitat&story_id=563271&category=environment (see NEWS 2 below) MEETINGS, SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, OPPORTUNITIES The Domestic Response to Global Climate Change: Federal, State, and Litigation Initiatives - USF Law Review?s Spring Symposium - Saturday, March 31, 2007 - University of San Francisco (USA) www.usfca.edu/lawreview/symposium.html (see SYMPOSIUM 1 below) JOBS Postdoc research - Glaciology, glacial geomorphology and quaternary geology - University of Zurich (Switzerland) (see JOB 1 below) Ph.D. and post-doc - mineral aerosols/biogeochemistry/climate interactions - Cornell University (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Post-doc - Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) - Univ of Cape Town (Rep of South Africa) http://www.csag.uct.ac.za (see JOB 3 below) Postdoc position - Global Aerosol Modelling studies - Institute for Research on Climate and Environment - Laboratoire des Science du Climat et de l?Environnement - CEA-CNRS/IPSL - Gif-sur-Yvette, Paris, (France) (see JOB 4 below) PhD Studentship (3 year) - Responses of marine macroalgae to a high CO2 environment- Dept. of Biological Sciences ? University of Essex ? Colchester (UK) msteinke at essex.ac.uk - Dr. Michael Steinke (DIALOG III participant) - For informal enquiries (see JOB 5 below) PostDoc - Storm Surge Modelling and Data Analysis - Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute - University of Bern (Switzerland) (see JOB 6 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Call for IPY young climate researchers ? World Climate Research Programme website http://wcrp.wmo.int/Special_IPY.html Dear 'early-career' Colleague, The World Climate Research Programme (http://wcrp.wmo.int) has set up an 'IPY Special' to promote climate-related research in the Arctic and Antarctic during the entire IPY period. This website (http://wcrp.wmo.int/Special_IPY.html) is especially designed for early career scientists to obtain valuable information on activities and opportunities in international climate research and to provide an effective outreach tool to them. If you are a young climate researcher involved in IPY studies and are seeking a strong international climate research partner, please get in touch with us and contribute to the 'IPY Special' website by providing short (regular) updates on the progress of your project, photos/graphs, field work updates and/or a list of resulting publications ? whatever appears 'newsworthy' and easy-to-understand to others. We count about 3000 page loads a day for our website and reach about twice as many people through our quarterly electronic newsletter (Ezine). Be part of our large climate community- and share your IPY research with others in your field! Please get in touch with us through wcrp at wmo.int. Best wishes, The WCRP Team *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) U.S. Predicting Steady Increase for Emissions http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/03/science/03climate.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ddqjv New York Times (Registration Required) - The Bush administration estimates that emissions by the United States of gases that contribute to global warming will grow nearly as fast through the next decade as they did the previous decade, according to a long- delayed report being completed for the United Nations. The document, the United States Climate Action Report, emphasizes that the projections show progress toward a goal Mr. Bush laid out in a 2002 speech: that emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases grow at a slower rate than the economy. Since that speech, he has repeated his commitment to lessening "greenhouse gas intensity" without imposing formal limits on the gases. Kristen A. Hellmer, a spokeswoman for the White House on environmental matters, said on Friday, "The Climate Action Report will show that the president's portfolio of actions addressing climate change and his unparalleled financial commitments are working." But when shown the report, an assortment of experts on climate trends and policy described the projected emissions as unacceptable given the rising evidence of risks from unabated global warming. ******************** (NEWS 2) Polar exhibition tackles climate change http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=lifestyle% 20news&subclass=habitat&story_id=563271&category=environment CANBERRA - As International Polar Year was launched in Paris last Friday, Questacon in Canberra launched Project IGLO or International Action on Global Warming in the Asia-Pacific Region. The project is an initiative of the Association of Science- Technology Centres, an international body that represents 436 science centres and museums in 43 countries and aims to raise awareness of climate change and encourage individuals to take steps to address the problem. The project at Questacon will include an Antarctic photographic display, polar-themed science shows, public events and the coordination of a new website. Questacon director Professor Graham Durant launched the project to an audience of representatives from government departments and agencies, diplomatic representation from Antarctic Treaty Consultative and Non-Consultative parties and guests from across the territory with an interest in the topic of climate change. Professor Durant said the program at Questacon and similar initiatives in science centres around the world would hopefully raise awareness of the issues surrounding climate change and inspire individuals to make a difference. "Project IGLO is a project involving world science centres to promote awareness of the science of climate change and to encourage individuals to make some changes to their lifestyles that will help reduce carbon dioxide emissions," he said. "There is a problem with the build-up of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere and the solution lies in a lot of people doing a little bit each. Science centres connect with a lot of people around the world and so we can encourage people to make a change." He said there were about 500 science centres across the world with the ability to connect with more than 1.4 billion people. The new website to be launched is called climateXchange and will provide a global view of climate change from local perspectives, with the website gathering a cross-section of stories on climate change from schools, youth groups and community members from around the world. International Polar Year is a large scientific program focused on the Antarctic and the Arctic from March 2007 to March 2009. It will cover two full polar research seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres and involve more than 200 projects and thousands of scientists from more than 60 nations who will examine a range of physical, biological and social research topics. Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Malcom Turnbull also recognised the importance of the launch of International Polar Year. "The International Polar Year, the largest international polar research program for 50 years, could not be better timed, with global climate a key issue around the world," he said yesterday. "Australia, with a very strong program of Antarctic research, looks forward to making a significant contribution to the International Polar Year particularly through the large marine science research program that will run through 2007-2008." *************************************************** Meetings, Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Opportunities (SYMPOSIUM 1) The Domestic Response to Global Climate Change: Federal, State, and Litigation Initiatives - USF Law Review?s Spring Symposium - Saturday, March 31, 2007 - University of San Francisco (USA) www.usfca.edu/lawreview/symposium.html For those interested in US climate responses from legal and policy perspectives... In light of the United States' decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, multiple federal, state, and litigation initiatives have emerged as the domestic response to global climate change. The symposium will provide a forum for evaluating, from diverse perspectives, how well these approaches will achieve a meaningful and appropriate reduction in the United States' greenhouse gas *************************************************** 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) Postdoc research - Glaciology, glacial geomorphology and quaternary geology - University of Zurich (Switzerland) We offer a postdoctoral research position to explore factors and processes involved with linearly concentrated erosion/incision by subglacial meltwater as connected with the formation of deep channels in glacially sculpt landscapes. Specifically, quantitative knowledge must be built up from literature search, documentation of field evidence and numerical modeling concerning effects of ice loading on subglacial hydraulics, thermal fields and erosion beneath polythermal ice caps and large piedmont glaciers under Ice Age conditions. The successful candidate has a strong background in quantitative glaciology/glacial geomorphology or quaternary geology. He or she is expected to investigate the processes and governing factors driving fluvial incision beneath large polythermal ice bodies at various conditions of ice loads, thermal fields and water flux in the Alps and the Alpine foreland. The planned interdisciplinary research activity involves, during an initial stage, the compilation and critical analysis of the available knowledge and understanding about deep subglacial erosion. During the second stage, successful candidates are expected to develop a better understanding of the physical processes involved in subglacial erosion and to perform numerical tests. He or she will develop an international network for cooperated research in this topic. The project funded by the Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) is for a postdoctoral research fellow during one year with the possibility for a second-year-extension. Please contact Prof. Dr. Wilfried Haeberli (haeberli at geo.unizh.ch) With kind regards Perscheng Assef, Department of Geography / University Zurich- Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190 / CH - 8057 Zurich, Tel.: +41/(0) 1/635 51 21 e-mail: assef at geo.unizh.ch ******************** (JOBS 2) Ph.D. and post-doc - mineral aerosols/biogeochemistry/ climate interactions - Cornell University (USA) Multiple funded PhD and postdoctoral positions are available focusing on understanding the exciting and quickly evolving area of aerosol interactions with biogeochemistry and climate. Successful applicants will work on projects with interdisciplinary interactions that are relavant for predicting human impacts on biogeochemistry and climate, and improved predictions of future climate. The work will involve naturally and anthropogenically emitted desert dust aerosols, and other aerosols carrying important micronutrients. In addition, there is one position available in fire interactions with the carbon cycle through atmospheric feedbacks of aerosols and chemistry. These positions will start Fall, 2007 in Natalie Mahowald's group at Cornell. PhD positions require undergraduate coursework in math and physics and an interest in using models and data to understand earth system interactions, while postdoctoral positions require a PhD in a relevant area. The projects involve researchers at multiple institutions and disciplines, and will have the possibility of travel for collaborations and field work. For more information on Dr. Mahowald's research, please see: http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/tss/staff/mahowald. Applicants for graduate study should apply for PhD program at Cornell: http://www.eas.cornell.edu/ by March 20, 2007 for preferential consideration. Applicants for postdoctoral positions should send an email directly to Mahowald at ucar.edu. ******************* (JOB 3) Post-doc - Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) - Univ of Cape Town (Rep of South Africa) http://www.csag.uct.ac.za Duration: 1-2 years, with possible extension. tart date: As soon as available, preferably by mid-2007. The Climate System Analysis Group is leading a flagship project for the new South Africa Centre for High Performance Computing, focused on climate modeling for seasonal forecasting. The CHPC is a new supercomputing centre, the first in southern Africa, with an initial capacity of a ~600 CPU cluster as well as SMP computing capacity. The project focuses on ensemble simulations with 2 Global Climate Models (GCMs), and 2 Regional Climate Models (RCMs) to develop probabilistic seasonal forecasts for southern Africa. This builds on existing operational seasonal forecasting activities. We seek a post- doc to join our expanding research team. You should have some experience running a GCM or RCM, be literate in UNIX, and have a working knowledge of C or Fortran. As part of the CSAG team you will work on refining the research program, implementing ensemble simulations, and undertaking research on methods for assessing probabilistic forecasts from multi-model ensembles. Within the project you will have scope to develop your own specific foci while supporting the broader project objectives. The successful candidate will also work with the graduate students engaged on the project. CSAG is a leading climate research group in southern Africa, active in applied modeling activities in climate change, seasonal forecasting, and climate system processes. The group has a strong emphasis on multi-disciplinary integration and in engaging with stakeholders in the water, agricultural, and policy communities. Applications should be submitted electronically, include a full CV, a brief letter of interest, and the names and contact details for three referees. Closing Date: The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Successful candidates will be contacted within 3 weeks of receipt of your application. To apply, or to enquire on any further details: Email: barnard at csag.uct.ac.za, Ph: +27 21 650 2784 Relevant web links: CSAG: http://www.csag.uct.ac.za CHPC: http://www.chpc.ac.za GFCSA: http://www.gfcsa.net ******************** (JOB 4) Postdoc position - Global Aerosol Modelling studies - Institute for Research on Climate and Environment - Laboratoire des Science du Climat et de l?Environnement - CEA-CNRS/IPSL - Gif-sur- Yvette, Paris, (France) A postdoc position is open to study feedback processes between climate and aerosols and to help reducing current uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing. The work involves a reanalysis of the evolution of the aerosol between 1980 and 2005. It also involves the design, carry-through and analysis of snapshot and transient aerosol climate runs with the IPSL coupled model and the evaluation of runs from an ensemble of models. The analysis shall be based to an important part on the incorporation of aerosol observations. The candidate should be interested to explore and develop benchmark tests for models for important aerosol properties such as aerosol size distribution, hygroscopic growth, composition, temporal trends and forcing parameters. Our group takes an active part in joint international research on the role of aerosol particles and air chemistry for climate change. The major tool will be the interactive aerosol-chemistry module INCA, coupled to the IPSL climate model. The position is opened up in the framework of the new European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality (EUCAARI) and the AeroCom initiative on aerosol comparisons of models and data. The position is open for a 2-4 year term. The position will be in the Biogeochemical Cycles Modelling Group at the LSCE in Gif-sur- Yvette, southwest of Paris. To obtain more information and apply, please send electronically a CV to the head of the Biogeochemical Cycles Modelling Group at the LSCE, Dr. Michael Schulz (michael.schulz at cea.fr) Further Project information: EU-EUCAARI - http://www.atm.helsinki.fi/eucaari/ AeroCom - http://nansen.ipsl.jussieu.fr/AEROCOM/ INCA model - http://www-lsceinca.cea.fr/index_UK.htm ******************** (JOB 5) PhD Studentship (3 year) - Responses of marine macroalgae to a high CO2 environment- Dept. of Biological Sciences ? University of Essex ? Colchester (UK) msteinke at essex.ac.uk - Dr. Michael Steinke (DIALOG III participant) - For informal enquiries Project Description: We study the ecophysiology of marine algae and their role in microbial food webs. The oceans absorb CO2 and this process results in a phenomenon called ?ocean acidification?. Ocean acidification affects the physiological performance of phytoplankton including their ability to photosynthesise, calcify, and produce the climate-relevant trace gas dimethyl sulphide (DMS). It is likely that it will also be detrimental to the rate of calcification in marine calcifying macroalgae. A reduction in calcification will have important implications for global marine ecosystems including the structure and functioning of subtropical coral reefs. Furthermore, seaweeds are an important source of DMS along temperate coasts and changes in DMS production may significantly affect atmospheric processes. You will establish laboratory cultures of calcifying macroalgae and non-calcifying seaweeds. You will incubate these at various CO2 levels and quantify their physiological performance using gas chromatography, and a combination of imaging and spectroscopic techniques (chlorophyll-a fluorometry coupled to Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)). During the project there may be opportunities to conduct fieldwork at the Mediterranean island of Ischia or at one of our coral reef fieldsites in Indonesia. You will be an enthusiastic team player with strong scientific interests and self-motivation. You will have at least a 2.1 honours degree in biology, chemistry or a branch of environmental science. Good numerical ability and some experience in chemical analysis are an advantage. You will be trained in chemical analyses and biological incubation experiments, while addressing a problem of global significance. You will acquire some highly useful and transferable skills such as: project planning, handling and visualization of data, execution of fieldwork, effective collaboration, scientific writing, and oral communication. References: Raven J. et al. 2005. Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Royal Society, London. 1-60. - (Available at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/document.asp?id=3249) Subject areas: Marine Biology, Botany/Plant Science, Environ Science/Ecology Applicant background: BSc, better MSc degree or similar in Biological Sciences or a branch of Environmental Sciences ? best if they?d know something about algae or biological calcification. Funding: Available only for UK and EU citizens Supervisors: Dr. Michael Steinke (DIALOG III participant), Dr. Leanne Hepburn, Dr. Dave Suggett Further information: University of Essex: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ Department of Biological Sciences: http://www.essex.ac.uk/bs/ Research Studentships and Application Materials: http:// www.essex.ac.uk/bs/pgrad/index.shtm For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Michael Steinke msteinke at essex.ac.uk Closing date of applications: 12th March 2007 ******************** (JOB 6) PostDoc - Storm Surge Modelling and Data Analysis - Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute - University of Bern (Switzerland) In the framework of the National Center of Competence in Research on Climate (NCCR-Climate) the candidate will investigate storm surges and their connection with large scale atmospheric patterns, as well as possible changes in storm surge characteristics related to future climate change. The focus is set on the European region. The results from a surge model will be linked to a loss model in order to estimate potential losses of the European property portfolio, which are related to internal atmospheric variability and climate change. The work will be done in close collaboration with the Swiss Reinsurance Company. Tasks: Setup and support of model simulations using a storm surge model on a local Linux cluster and on supercomputing platforms. Develop appropriate analysis tools to investigate changes in internal variability and storm surge characteristics. Work with the Swiss Re loss model and link climate model results to this model to estimate potential losses in the European region. Requirements: 1) PhD in physics, meteorology, or environmental sciences. 2) Experience in publication of research results in peer- reviewed journals. 3) A profound knowledge in storm surge models and statistical and/or dynamical downscaling approaches are essential. 4) Computer skills in some or all of FORTRAN, MATLAB, R/S-Plus, NCL, and shell-programming on Unix and Linux platforms. 5) Experiences in handling large data sets. 6) Fluency in English (written and spoken). 7) Strong motivation and ability to carry out research in an interdisciplinary environment. 8) Interactive personality. 9) Strong reporting skills. Project place and start: Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland. Regular visits at the Swiss Reinsurance Company, Zurich, Switzerland. As soon as possible. Employment: The position will be funded for two years. The employment and salary are subject to the conditions of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Application: The application documents contain your Curriculum Vitae, copies of your PhD and your Diploma/Master marks/certificate and thesis, as well as statement of interest (1 page). Please attach three names of referees (including their addresses and emails). The application must reach us no later than Thursday March 15th 2007. Please send your detailed application to: Prof. Thomas Stocker or Dr. Christoph Raible, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Email: raible at climate.unibe.ch ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070308/9f052260/attachment.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Mar 16 13:47:11 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:47:11 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 3/16/2007 Message-ID: <3A4739BC-372B-4B13-BE17-00F0901DAB2E@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 3/16/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: DISCCRS SYMPOSIUM DISCCRS Interdisciplinary Climate Change Symposium, Hawaii, Sept. 10-17, 2007. http://www.disccrs.org April 30th is the deadline for applications to DISCCRS III for new Ph.D. graduates (April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2007). Airfare, room & board are fully paid for 36 accepted candidates. Social scientists are especially encouraged to apply! RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES ?State of the Ocean's Animals? - A New Episode of the PBS Series Journey To Planet Earth - March 28, 2007 AT 8 P.M. ON PBS Educational materials available at http://www.pbs.org/ journeytoplanetearth/ Downloadable photos from past programs are available at www.pbs.org/ pressroom FORUM California Climate Forum ? Live Webcast Monday, Mar 19, 2007 2 to 5pm PDT http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/events/climate_forum.htm Directions for the webcast are at the bottom of the page. Anyone who is interested in what California is doing in the Climate Policy arena will want to watch a webcast involving top policymakers in the state. There will be an opportunity for posing questions directly to the panelists. The webcast will also be archived for viewing at a later time. Keep in mind that the US will be on daylight savings time (summer time) on March 19. American Generations and adapting the educational system to the millenium generation Submitted by Cecile Mioni - I have attended a conference for student success and retention few weeks ago and I really enjoyed the talk given by Neil Howe. I think that some DIALOG/DISCCRS participants that are presently teaching might be interested in his books about American generations and how that the educational system should adapt to the new millenium generation, Some information is available on this website: www.lifecourse.com SCIENCE NEWS California: The Energy Miser? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003609253_california09.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lsm5 (see NEWS 1 below) Polluted air 'triggering drought' in northern China http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm? fuseaction=readnews&itemid=3469&language=1 (see NEWS 2 below) Peru's Alarming Water Truth http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6412351.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3689s2 (see NEWS 3 below) Getting Closer to the Mystery of Deep-Sea Life http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/13/ CABLE.TMP Or: http://tinyurl.com/23p5lx (see NEWS 4 below) This Was World's Warmest Recorded Winter http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm? chanID=sa003&articleID=D5EB74205AAD313DD6361A1089C4E424 Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2mrrhp (see NEWS 5 below) Antarctic Glaciers' Sloughing Of Ice Has Scientists at a Loss www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/ AR2007031501063.html (registration required) (see NEWS 6 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Ethnoecology and climate change symposium ?12-13 April 2007 - Environmental Change Institute - University of Oxford - Oxford (UK) http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/events/070412conference.php JOBS PhD and postdoc?s - mineral aerosols/biogeochemistry/climate interactions - Cornell University ? Ithica NY (USA) (see JOBS 1 below) Social Scientist ? Economics - IIASA: Adaptation, Risk Management, Financial Instruments - Laxenburg (Austria) http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PE/Jobs/2007-02-rav-rs.html (see JOB 2 below) Postdoctoral Positions - Ecological Genomics - Kansas State Univ./ Yale/Colorado State Univ ? (USA) (see JOBS 3 below) Lecturer - Geography - School of Resources, Environment & Society - Australian National University, Canberra (Austrailia) http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/Academic_Positions/_FS3908.asp (see JOB 4 below) Postdoc Research Fellow - Climate Change Ecology - Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Postdoc - Climate change/warming effects on arctic/alpine ecosystem vegetation and function - Florida International University ? Miami, FL (USA) (see JOB 6 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) California: The Energy Miser? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003609253_california09.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lsm5 Seattle Times - At the height of the 1973 energy crisis, Arthur Rosenfeld had a revelation. Disturbed about having to spend half an hour in line at a gas station one Friday night, the particle physicist calculated that keeping his floor of offices brightly lit all weekend as usual would consume the equivalent of five gallons of gasoline. So Rosenfeld took what then seemed like a bold step: He turned off the lights. For 30 years, Rosenfeld has been one of the forces guiding California on a mission of conservation. And today the state uses less energy per capita than any other state in the country, defying the international image of American energy gluttony. Since 1974, California has held its per-capita energy consumption essentially constant, while energy use per person for the United States overall has jumped 50 percent. California has managed that feat through a mixture of mandates, regulations and high prices. The state has been able to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, keep utility companies happy and maintain economic growth. Now California is pushing further in its effort to cut automobile pollution, spur use of solar energy and cap greenhouse gases. ******************** (NEWS 2) Polluted air 'triggering drought' in northern China http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm? fuseaction=readnews&itemid=3469&language=1 Science 315, 1396 (2007) - Air pollution in the mountains of northern China is significantly reducing rainfall and causing drought, according to research published in Science this week (8 March). Researchers, from Israel's Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, analysed long and short- term changes in precipitation using 50 years of rainfall records from the top of Mount Hua in China's northwestern Shaanxi province. They found that on hazy days, precipitation in the region is cut by up to 50 per cent. There was also a smaller reduction in rainfall in the lowlands. Since 1950 the volume of rain and snow at the top of the mountain has decreased by 20 per cent. The researchers suggest an increase in air pollution ? which affects the formation of cloud droplets ? has triggered the shift. Data collected locally shows that average visibility in 1950 stood at 30 kilometres ? twice that of today. Daniel Rosenfield, lead researcher on the study, says this indicates the a greater presence of aerosols. Aerosols are tiny particles suspended in the atmosphere. Some occur naturally, but they are also generated by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. In this kind of high-altitude rainfall, known as orographic precipitation, moist air is deflected upwards by the mountain. This cools the air and causes the moisture in clouds to condense and form droplets, which then merge to create raindrops. Cloud droplets form around aerosols. According to Rosenfield, the higher number of aerosols in polluted air divide cloud droplets into smaller ones, which slows the formation and fall of rain. "This is the first time a direct link between increasing pollution and decreasing precipitation has been observed," he said. "The finding is important since precipitation is one of the main sources of water in northern China." Yao Zhanyu, co-author of the paper, told SciDev.Net that of all the natural disasters in China, droughts are the most serious. "In the western region, the annual average precipitation is about a fourth that of the world's average," he said. Yao and Rosenfeld may soon be collaborating in a similar study to be conducted in Mount Lu in East China's Jiangxi Province. ******************** (NEWS 3) Peru's Alarming Water Truth http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6412351.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3689s2 BBC News Online - Oscar-winning Al Gore chose to call his film about global warming An Inconvenient Truth. But for Peru it is more like an alarming reality. Government officials, water experts and environmentalists agree the rapid melting of the spectacular Andean glaciers featured in the film is threatening the long-term economic and human development of what is South America's most "water- stressed" country. "Global warming for us is not just about the environment," warns Julio Garcia of Peru's National Council on the Environment, Conam. "It's more about how on earth we can develop Peru in a sustainable way over the coming years." Peru's water problem lies in part in the peculiar geography of the country. Most of the Pacific coast would be desert if it were not for the water flowing down from the Andes. Seventy per cent of the population live along the coast, where less than 2% of the country's water resources are found. In contrast, the Atlantic side of the Andes has 98% of the water and about a quarter of the population. ******************** (NEWS 4) Getting Closer to the Mystery of Deep-Sea Life http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/13/ CABLE.TMP Or: http://tinyurl.com/23p5lx San Francisco Chronicle - The first stage in building an undersea research observatory on the floor of Monterey Bay will begin today when a power cable 32 miles long is emplaced on and under the seabed, where scientists will deploy a set of unique oceanographic instruments to monitor the deep-water environment and study its varied marine life. Long in planning and led by researchers and engineers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the project is due to start this morning when a 478-foot ship named the Global Sentinel will begin laying the cable from Moss Landing out to sea. At completion -- researchers have a target date of March 31 -- the cable will circle in a wide loop around the deepest parts of Monterey Canyon, and its terminal will lie on Smooth Ridge, a broad plateau at a depth of about 3,000 feet 18 miles northwest of Monterey. The cable includes both copper wire to power the instruments planned for the project and fiber-optic strands to carry scientific data back to the research institute. It will also serve as a model for other observatories planned on both U.S. coasts, institute officials say. ******************** (NEWS 5) This Was World's Warmest Recorded Winter http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm? chanID=sa003&articleID=D5EB74205AAD313DD6361A1089C4E424 Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2mrrhp Scientific American - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - This has been the world's warmest winter since record-keeping began more than a century ago, the U.S. government agency that tracks weather reported on Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the combined global land and ocean surface temperature from December through February was at its highest since records began in 1880. A record-warm January was responsible for pushing up the combined winter temperature, according to the agency's Web site, http:// www.noaa.gov. "Contributing factors were the long-term trend toward warmer temperatures as well as a moderate El Nino in the Pacific," Jay Lawrimore of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center said in a telephone interview from Asheville, North Carolina. ******************** (NEWS 6) Antarctic Glaciers' Sloughing Of Ice Has Scientists at a Loss www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/15/ AR2007031501063.html (registration required) Washington Post (registration required) - Some of the largest glaciers in Antarctica and Greenland are moving in unusual ways and are losing increased amounts of ice to the sea, researchers said yesterday. Although the changes in Greenland appear to be related to global warming, it remains unclear what is causing the glaciers of frigid Antarctica and their "ice streams" to lose ice to the ocean in recent years, the researchers said. *************************************************** 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) PhD and postdoc?s - mineral aerosols/biogeochemistry/ climate interactions - Cornell University ? Ithica NY (USA) Multiple funded PhD and postdoctoral positions are available focusing on understanding the exciting and quickly evolving area of aerosol interactions with biogeochemistry and climate. Successful applicants will work on projects with interdisciplinary interactions that are relavant for predicting human impacts on biogeochemistry and climate, and improved predictions of future climate. The work will involve naturally and anthropogenically emitted desert dust aerosols, and other aerosols carrying important micronutrients. In addition, there is one position available in fire interactions with the carbon cycle through atmospheric feedbacks of aerosols and chemistry. These positions will start Fall, 2007 in Natalie Mahowald's group at Cornell. PhD positions require undergraduate coursework in math and physics and an interest in using models and data to understand earth system interactions, while postdoctoral positions require a PhD in a relevant area. The projects involve researchers at multiple institutions and disciplines, and will have the possibility of travel for collaborations and field work. For more information on Dr. Mahowald's research, please see: http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/tss/staff/mahowald. Applicants for graduate study should apply for PhD program at Cornell: http://www.eas.cornell.edu/ by March 20, 2007 for preferential consideration. Applicants for postdoctoral positions should send an email directly to Mahowald at ucar.edu. ******************** (JOB 2) Social Scientist ? Economics - IIASA: Adaptation, Risk Management, Financial Instruments - Laxenburg (Austria) http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PE/Jobs/2007-02-rav-rs.html IIASA is seeking a scientist for conducting socio-economic research on adaptation to climate change, disaster risk management and financial instruments. Closing date for applications: 30 March 2007. Contact person: Reinhard Mechler: mechler at iiasa.ac.at More information on research on risk and adaptation at IIASA: http:// www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/RAV/ Tasks 1) Develop models and interactive tools for assessing vulnerability, risk and the benefits of adaptation, involving economic modeling and statistical analysis; 2) Carry out quantitative risk and vulnerability assessments; 3) Publish in relevant journals/ books and other media (e.g., press, internet); 4) Present research results in international fora; 5) Prepare research proposals. Applicants should have a master's degree (or PhD or equivalent) in the social sciences, preferably economics, as well as exposure to international research projects and fora. Knowledge of both quantitative (e.g., statistics, modeling, risk analysis, stochastic simulation) and qualitative research methods is essential. Also desirable is an understanding of the current literature and issues related to disaster risk management, development economics and vulnerability to climate and global change. Strong English communication and writing skills are necessary. Refereed publications relevant to risk and vulnerability will greatly enhance the application. ******************** (JOBS 3) Postdoctoral Positions - Ecological Genomics - Kansas State Univ./Yale/Colorado State Univ ? (USA). Three positions at the postdoctoral research associate level are currently available. The postdoctoral research associates will work as part of an interdisciplinary team in an exciting research initiative, "Bridging the Divide: Linking Genomics to Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change." This DOE-funded project focuses on the linked study of gene expression and physiological responses in two dominant tallgrass prairie plant species to simulated climate change. The postdoctoral research associates will be responsible for screening DNA libraries for candidate genes, gene expression analyses using microarrays and real-time PCR, and for gene characterization (including AFLP analyses) in natural populations of the two grasses Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans. This is a collaborative project between Yale University, Kansas State University, and Colorado State University. The postdoctoral research associates will interact with a team of researchers with expertise in ecology, physiology, and genomics. The field component of the research is conducted at Konza Prairie Biological Station, a NSF Long Term Ecological Research site (http://www.konza.ksu.edu). Genetic and gene expression analyses will be conducted at the KSU Gene Expression Facility (http://www.ksu.edu/gene-exp) or at Yale University. This project benefits from interactions with a community of researchers working in ecological genomics as part of the Kansas Ecological Genomics Initiative (http://www.ksu.edu/ecogen). A Ph.D. degree in plant molecular biology or a related field is a requirement for the positions. Experience in recombinant DNA techniques is required and experience in gene expression analysis, AFLP analysis, plant physiology or biochemistry, and an interest in ecology are desirable. Salary will be commensurate with experience. To apply, please email a letter of application, CV, contact information for three professional references, and information about timing of availability to the following three addresses: Dr. Karen Garrett (kgarrett at ksu.edu), Dr. Melinda Smith ( Melinda.Smith at yale.edu), and Shauna Dendy (sdendy at ksu.edu). Please include 'Job Application: Ecological Genomics' in the subject of your e-mail to make sure your application is received. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position has been filled. ******************** (JOB 4) Lecturer - Geography - School of Resources, Environment & Society - Australian National University, Canberra (Austrailia) http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/Academic_Positions/_FS3908.asp The School of Resources, Environment and Society is seeking to make an appointment in Asia-Pacific geography. The successful applicant is expected to focus their teaching and research on the relationship between people and environment, and the associated issues of resource use and sustainable development. The successful candidate will be committed to establishing a strong research program, to the supervision of research students, and to delivering high-quality teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels. The appointees? undergraduate teaching will involve delivering a first-year introductory human geography course with a regional focus on Asia-Pacific and a successor later year course on people-environment relationships in the context of sustainable development in Asia-Pacific. Closing Date: 30 March 2007 ******************** (JOB 5) Postdoc Research Fellow - Climate Change Ecology - Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (USA) We anticipate hiring a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to integrate data from a large-scale snow manipulation experiment with Life Table Response Experiment models (LTREs), and Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs). The overall goal of the project is to better understand how climate change will impact plant recruitment and ecotonal shifts for snow-dominated arid ecosystems. The successful candidate will work in collaboration with Michael E. Loik (UC Santa Cruz), Daniel F. Doak (Univ. Wyoming) and Ronald P. Neilson (US Forest Service, PNW Research Station). The succesful candidate will be based in Santa Cruz, CA; the position will require extensive travel between Santa Cruz, Mammoth Lakes CA, Laramie WY, and Corvallis OR. Experience with programming in C required. Prior experience in population biology, biogeographic modeling, or climate change ecophysiology would be valuable. The earliest anticipated start date is 1 July 2007, and could potentially continue for 2.5 years. To apply please send an application letter with professional interests, research experience and goals, CV, reprints, and names, addresses, and E-mail addresses of three references to Dr. Michael E. Loik, Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. The position is contingent upon final approval of funding. ******************** (JOB 6) Postdoc - Climate change/warming effects on arctic/alpine ecosystem vegetation and function - Florida International University ? Miami, FL (USA) We are seeking a full time postdoctoral research associate with interests and expertise in biogeochemical cycling, isotope analysis, plant ecology, or plot level remote sensing. The position will focus on cross-site comparisons of ecosystem function and vegetation change at ongoing International Tundra Experiment (ITEX, www.geog.ubc.ca/ itex/) warming sites as part of a NSF funded International Polar Year project. The successful applicant must be capable of working independently with good time management, communication, and organization skills. Specific responsibilities will include collecting and processing trace gas samples for isotope analysis, collecting and processing samples for nutrient analysis, conducting plot-level remote sensing measurements, assisting in organization of synthesis workshops, and taking the lead in key project publications. The position will be based at Florida International University, the public university in Miami, Florida, but will involve extensive interaction with collaborators from participating ITEX sites and intensive fieldwork during the short growing seasons. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in botany, ecology, biology, earth sciences, or a related field and have a strong record of scientific publication. This position may entail moderately strenuous fieldwork. Application review has begun and will continue until a suitable candidate is identified and the position filled. Applications and inquiries should be sent to Steve Oberbauer (oberbaue at fiu.edu) Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199. Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and expertise, and full contact information for three references. ******************** ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070316/8add9107/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Mar 23 13:35:58 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:35:58 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 3/23/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 3/23/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: DISCCRS III SYMPOSIUM DISCCRS III Interdisciplinary Climate Change Symposium Hawaii Symposium Dates: Sept. 10-17, 2007 Application Deadline: April 30, 2007 Eligibility: Ph. D. completed April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2007 in any field across the full spectrum of natural and social science and planning a career in interdisciplinary research related to climate change and impacts. http://www.disccrs.org Apply! DISCCRS pays the way for 36 invited applicants! Come to Hawaii! Have a great time! Meet your peers from different discipline and institutions! Establish a global network! Learn how to do interdisciplinary work effectively! Get the best mentoring you have received yet! (What more do you need for encouragement?!?!) RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES "Marine Fisheries and Ocean Ecosystems: A Global Problem in Search of Policy" ? Seminar Presentations from March 19, 2007 have been uploaded to the ESSS Archives. http://www.ametsoc.org/atmospolicy/environmentalsssarchives.html The Next Seminar is tentatively scheduled for April 16, 2007. Tentative Topic: Managing Climate Change: The Daunting Energy Challenge Ahead. FORUM New Blog - Climate Change from the Foreign Policy Association http://climatechange.foreignpolicyblogs.com. Webcast: "Global Warming and Antarctic Ice Sheets and Sea Levels" - March 28, 2007 at 7 pm (central) University of Texas ? (USA) http://www.esi.utexas.edu/outreach/ols/lectures/Vaughan (see FORUM 1 below) NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) 2007 Junior Faculty Forum ? July 9-11, 2007 ? Boulder, CO (USA) http://www.asp.ucar.edu/ecsa/announce.jsp (see FORUM 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Testimony by James Hansen: Political Interference with Government Climate Change Science http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=23642 Arctic Sea Ice Decline May Trigger Climate Change Cascade Arctic sea ice that has been dwindling for several decades may have reached a tipping point that could trigger a cascade of climate change reaching into Earth's temperate regions, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/ 2007/2007031524554.htmlSome Scientists Eye Odd Climate Fixes http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/03/18/ some_scientists_eye_odd_climate_fixes/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/36c2xy (see NEWS 1 below) Cereal Crops Feeling the Heat http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2007/2007-03-16-03.asp (see NEWS 2 below) Gore Warns Congress of 'Planetary Emergency' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/washington/22gore.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ewnys (see NEWS 3 below) Scientists Announce New System for Tracking Carbon Dioxide http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070321-1052- carbontracker.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2shnm8 (see NEWS 4 below) Congressional Hearing Heats Up Over Changes To Climate Reports (see NEWS 5 below) California Coast Panel Files Navy Sonar Suit http://www.examiner.com/ a-633702~Calif__Coast_Panel_Files_Navy_Sonar_Suit.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/26kg2m (see NEWS 6 below) JOBS Climate change economist at IIED (Int'l Institute for Environment and Development). http://www.iied.org/aboutiied/HR/Economistadvert.html Executive Officer - Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) - Scott Polar Research Institute - Cambridge (UK) Applications due by 15th April 2007. http://www.scar.org/ Lecturer - Dept. of Geography: Climatology - University of New Hampshire (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Postdoc - Climate Modelling of Aviation Contrails - School of Earth and Environment, Institute for Atmospheric Science (IAS) - University of Leeds (UK) http://www.leeds.ac.uk and click on 'jobs'. (see JOB 2 below) Two Postdocs - Climate Scientist quantifying risk & Hydrologic Flood Modeller - King's College London (UK) (see JOBS 3 below) Lecturer/Associate Director - Environmental Earth and Ocean Sciences ? UMass, Boston (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Science Program Director - Seacamp Association, Inc., Big Pine Key, FL (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Asst. Prof - Climate Change or Paleoclimatology - Dept. of Geography - Texas A&M - College Station, TX (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Academic Fellowship - Climate Dynamics and Physical Processes - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia, Norwich (UK) http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/jobs/ http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow (see JOB 7 below) Senior Staff Associate/Staff Associate - Latin America Caribbean Program Coordinator/Analyst - Columbia University - Rockland County, NY (USA) http://iri.columbia.edu/aboutiri/job/html/67007006.html (see JOB 8 below) Full/Associate Professor in Arctic Marine Ecology - The University Centre in Svalbard - Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) http://www.unis.no/ (see JOB 9 below) Postdoctoral Investigator - Marine Ecosystem and Global Carbon Cycle Modeling - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Announcement Number 07-03-08) - Woods Hole, MA (USA) http://jobs.whoi.edu/ (see JOB 10 below) *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) Webcast: "Global Warming and Antarctic Ice Sheets and Sea Levels" - March 28, 2007 at 7 pm (central) University of Texas ? (USA) http://www.esi.utexas.edu/outreach/ols/lectures/Vaughan Dr. Vaughn, with the British Antarctic Survey, will present his research on the affects of global warming on Antarctica Ice Sheets and Sea Levels. About the presentation: In parts of Antarctica rates of climate warming are the highest in the Southern Hemisphere - in another part, there has been a cooling. How are we to interpret this complex pattern of climate change, and what are the implications for the future of the Last Continent? A recent report by the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change identifies the response of the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland to climate change as the greatest uncertainty in projections of sea-level rise. Why, when much other climate science seems to be converging, is there uncertainty about this part of the puzzle? In a wide ranging talk Dr. Vaughan will cast some light on these issues, which may not be as simple as the sound bites would lead us to believe. For more information, contact Brian Zavala ******************* (FORUM 2) NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) 2007 Junior Faculty Forum ? July 9-11, 2007 ? Boulder, CO (USA) http://www.asp.ucar.edu/ecsa/announce.jsp The NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) is pleased to announce this year's Junior Faculty Forum, sponsored by the NCAR Advanced Study Program. The forum will take place 9?11 July in Boulder. The objective is to bring together junior faculty and early career NCAR scientists (ECSA members) to discuss select topics in the geosciences. This year's topics are: --Geophysical and statistical challenges in detection/attribution of regional climate change --Coupling terrestrial and atmospheric water dynamics to improve predictability in a changing environment The forum is open to nontenured faculty at U.S. universities, with preference given to those within five years of their first professorial academic appointment. In addition to promoting scientific discussion, an intended goal of the forum is to encourage development of professional relationships between ECSA members and faculty at UCAR institutions. Some travel support will be available for participants. Application deadline: 20 April, 2007 Contact: Paula Fisher, NCAR/ESSL/ASP 303-497-1328, paulad at ucar.edu *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Some Scientists Eye Odd Climate Fixes http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/03/18/ some_scientists_eye_odd_climate_fixes/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/36c2xy Boston Globe (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON - When climate scientist Andrew Weaver considers the idea of tinkering with Earth's air, water or sunlight to fight global warming, he remembers the lessons of a favorite children's book. In the book, a cheese-loving king's castle is infested with mice. So the king brings in cats to get rid of the mice. Then the castle's overrun with cats, so he brings in dogs to get rid of them, then lions to get rid of the dogs, elephants to get rid of the lions, and finally, mice to get rid of the elephants. That scenario in "The King, the Mice and the Cheese," by Nancy and Eric Gurney, should give scientists pause before taking extreme measures to mess with Mother Nature, says Weaver of the University of Victoria. However, in recent months, several scientists are considering doing just that. ******************** (NEWS 2) Cereal Crops Feeling the Heat http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2007/2007-03-16-03.asp Warming temperatures since 1981 have caused annual losses of about US$5 billion for six major cereal crops, new research has found. This is the first study to estimate how much global food production already has been affected by climate change. From 1981 to 2002, fields of wheat, corn and barley throughout the world have produced a combined 40 million metric tons less per year because of increasing temperatures caused by human activities. "There is clearly a negative response of global yields to increased temperatures," said David Lobell, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher and lead author of the study that appears today in "Environmental Research Letters" online. ******************** (NEWS 3) Gore Warns Congress of 'Planetary Emergency' http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/washington/22gore.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ewnys New York Times (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON, March 21 - It was part science class, part policy wonk paradise, part politics and all theater as former Vice President Al Gore came to Congress on Wednesday to insist that global warming constitutes a "planetary emergency" requiring an aggressive federal response. Mr. Gore, accompanied by his wife, Tipper, delivered the same blunt message to a joint meeting of two House committees in the morning and a Senate panel in the afternoon: Humans are artificially warming the world, the risks of inaction are great, and meaningful cuts in emissions linked to warming will happen only if the United States takes the lead. While sparring with Representative Joe L. Barton, a Texas Republican critical of his message, Mr. Gore resorted to a simple metaphor. "The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor." He added, "If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say 'I read a science fiction novel that says it's not a problem.' You take action." ******************** (NEWS 4) - Scientists Announce New System for Tracking Carbon Dioxide http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070321-1052- carbontracker.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2shnm8 San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON - With concern growing about global warming, researchers said Wednesday they have developed a new system to track carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Being able to determine where and when this major greenhouse gas increases or decreases should help in projecting future climate change and evaluating efforts to reduce releases of carbon. "This is a pretty exciting opportunity," said Richard Spinrad, head of research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It produces an unbiased, objective statement of carbon observations, he said, but doesn't favor any particular policy or economic model. ******************** (NEWS 5) Congressional Hearing Heats Up Over Changes To Climate Reports Los Angeles Times March 20, 2007 - WASHINGTON - Government scientists, armed with copies of heavily edited reports, charged Monday that the Bush administration and its political appointees had soft-pedaled their findings on climate change. The accusations led Democrats and Republicans at the congressional hearing to accuse each other of censorship, smear tactics and McCarthyism. To underscore their charges of the administration's oil-friendly stance, Democrats grilled an oil lobbyist who was hired by the White House to review government climate change documents and who made hundreds of edits that the lawmakers said minimized the impact of global warming. "You were a spin doctor," Rep. John A. Yarmuth (D-Ky) told the lobbyist. Republicans targeted a NASA director who testified about administration pressure, accusing him of political bias, of politicizing his work and of ignoring uncertainties in climate change science. And they disputed his contention that taxpayer-funded scientists are entitled to free speech. "Free speech is not a simple thing and is subject to and directed by policy," said Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah). The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing was marked by an open confrontation between Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and the ranking Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) ? a rare display of direct debate in otherwise carefully choreographed hearings. The hearing was the latest effort to challenge what the Democratic congressional majority sees as the Bush administration's unchecked use of power. In the past few weeks, Democrats have held inquiries or announced plans to examine the unmonitored use of national security letters that allow the government to spy on Americans, the dismissal of U.S. attorneys and the identifying of former covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, among other issues. Waxman has been particularly aggressive, pursuing inquiries about intelligence in the lead-up to the Iraq war and the politics of global warming. To support their charges Monday, the Democrats produced hundreds of pages of legal depositions, exhibits and e-mail exchanges between administration officials. The paper trail illustrated how officials with no scientific training shaped the administration's climate change message and edited global warming reports, inserting doubt in the place of definitive statements and diminishing the role people play in the planet's rising temperatures. Waxman's committee received more than eight boxes of papers from the White House Council on Environmental Quality that he said provided disturbing indications of political interference. "There may have been a concerted effort directed by the White House to mislead the public about the dangers of global climate change," said Waxman, who also cited the administration practice of "controlling what federal scientists could say to the public and the media about their work." "It would be a serious abuse if senior White House officials deliberately tried to defuse calls for action by ensuring that the public heard a distorted message about the risks of climate change," Waxman said. One example showed how a report originally said the U.S. National Research Council had concluded that "greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures to rise and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise." * Edits by ex-oil lobbyist Philip Cooney, the oil lobbyist who became chief of staff at the Council on Environmental Quality, changed that to read: "Some activities emit greenhouse gases that directly or indirectly may affect the balance of incoming and outgoing radiation, thereby potentially affecting climate on regional and global scales." James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said the edits confused public understanding of the issue. "If we push our climate system hard enough, it can pass tipping points," he said. "That is not a situation we want to leave for our children." Hansen decried political interference in climate change science. "Scientists shouldn't be hired to parrot some line." ****************** (NEWS 6) California Coast Panel Files Navy Sonar Suit http://www.examiner.com/ a-633702~Calif__Coast_Panel_Files_Navy_Sonar_Suit.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/26kg2m San Francisco Examiner - LOS ANGELES - State coastal regulators and environmental groups separately sued the Navy on Thursday because of its decision to continue sonar training exercises off California without precautions opponents contend are necessary to protect marine life. Earlier this year, the California Coastal Commission approved the exercises during a two-year period only if the Navy took safeguards to protect marine mammals and sea turtles. Among the restrictions were avoiding coastal waters with a large whale and dolphin population and lowering sonar levels during periods of low visibility, when it's harder for ship personnel to spot sea life. The Navy sought the commission's approval for the training maneuvers, then said the commission lacked the authority to impose the restrictions. The commission contends federal law gives it the power to limit the Navy's exercises to comply with a state law that protects coastal and marine resources. *************************************************** 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) Lecturer - Dept. of Geography: Climatology - University of New Hampshire (USA) The Department of Geography, University of New Hampshire, invites applications for a one-year, full time lecturer, beginning in September 2007. Ph.D. or ABD required. We are looking for a broadly trained physical geographer who can teach courses in weather, climatology, environmental geography, and other areas. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the growth and development of a small undergraduate department that places a high value on both research and teaching excellence. Please send letter of application with curriculum vitae, supporting evidence of scholarship and teaching abilities, and the names and addresses (including e-mail) of three references by April 13th to Professor Alasdair Drysdale, Chair, Department of Geography, James Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 03824. Voice: 603-862-3144. Web: www.unh.edu/geography. ******************** (JOB 2) Postdoc - Climate Modelling of Aviation Contrails - School of Earth and Environment, Institute for Atmospheric Science (IAS) - University of Leeds (UK) http://www.leeds.ac.uk and click on 'jobs'. Available immediately, for a fixed term until 31 December 2008. You will develop a contrail parameterization for the UK Met-office climate model. This project is part of the UK OMEGA knowledge transfer program (http://www.omega.mmu.ac.uk/). You will collaborate with the UK Met-Office and Manchester Metropolitan University. It is expected that the PDRA will spend up to 6 months of the project working on secondment to the Met-Office in Exeter. You will develop and apply new representation of contrails within a state-of-the-art global climate model (HadGEM) and investigate the role of aviation contrails on climate. You should have a good knowledge of one or more of the following: atmospheric climate modelling, radiative transfer, cloud/contrail parameterizations and have an understanding of running FORTRAN on UNIX computer platforms. You should be willing to collaborate extensively with the UK Hadley Centre Climate Modelling and Ecosystems group, spending up to 6 months on secondment to them in Exeter (UK). You will have a PhD related to a relevant area of atmospheric science, a track record of relevant publications in peer reviewed journals, along with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Knowledge transfer is an important element of the project, and you will need to demonstrate a commitment to communicate results written and orally to a wide range of audiences. Working to deadlines and as part of a team are also important aspects. Further details concerning the School, its research activities and structure are available at http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/ Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Piers Forster, email piers at env.leeds.ac.uk tel +44 (0) 113 343 36476. Application forms and further particulars may also be obtained from Mrs K. Higham, School of Earth and Environment: E C Stoner Building, The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK, email K.Higham at see.leeds.ac.uk tel +44 (0) 113 343 5201, fax +44 (0) 113 343 5259 Job ref 315067 Closing date 2 April 2007 Interviews w/c 9 April 2007. ******************** (JOBS 3) Two Postdocs - Climate Scientist quantifying risk & Hydrologic Flood Modeller - King's College London (UK) Climate Scientist The Department of Geography, School of Social Science and Public Policy is seeking a climate scientist at the postdoctoral level to work towards quantifying the likely change in flood risk over the next 100 years for a major UK river. An integral part of this endeavour is the development of an uncertainty assessment framework. This framework will apply different approaches for generating precipitation fields (climate scientist) for input into cascaded hydrological rainfall-runoff and flood inundation models (linked hydrological scientist position). For the climate scientist position (30 months commencing 1 September 2007) we are interested in applicants with expertise in the management and analysis of climate model output and downscaling techniques. This research will generate ensembles of extreme precipitation fields produced from two contrasting approaches for climate change scenarios. Reference W1/DAR/ 41/07. Hydrological/Flood Modeller There is also a second position on this project for a hydrological modeller (36 months commencing 1 September 2007) This candidate should have expertise in the application and development of flood inundation and/or catchment hydrology models. An excellent computing ability is essential and experience with uncertainty assessment techniques would be an advantage. Reference W1/DAR/40/07. Additional information on these research topics can be found at the project website at http://www.hydroclimate.org/ - importantly further details regarding the application process and for a detailed job description should use the ?Further Details? links below. Further Details: Informal enquires regarding either post are welcome, and can be made to Professor Glenn McGregor (glenn.mcgregor at kcl.ac.uk) or Dr Jim Freer ( j.freer at lancaster.ac.uk). Application instructions, detailed candidate requirements and further particulars can be obtained by post from Human Resource Services, King's College London, London, WC2R 2LS, by email, strand- recruitment at kcl.ac.uk or by fax (44) 207 848 1352. Please quote reference number W1/DAR/41/07/for the climate science post and W1/DAR/ 40/07 for the flood modelling post. Candidates can ask to be considered for one or both positions. Application deadline is 11 April 2007. Interviews are expected to take place in late April/early May 2007. ******************** (JOB 4) Lecturer/Associate Director - Environmental Earth and Ocean Sciences ? UMass, Boston (USA) This announcement is for a one-year terminal appointment. Teaching: The Associate Director of ESP typical course load will be five teaching section equivalents per academic year with one of the courses (accounting for 2 section equivalents) being spring semester ENVSTY 101. Two other course sections will be required with one normally being ENVSTY250L, Environmental Policy in the fall semester and an additional fall course to be determined. Please see the EEOS website under the College of Science and Mathematics at www.umb.edu and the university catalog at that site. One of the five course equivalencies is expected in the form of participation in the presentation of ENVSTY401, the senior capstone course of the program, and of supervision of independent studies and internships as well as supervision of laboratory research. The Associate Director of ESP is also 1) expected to directly mentor undergraduate students 2) expected to involve undergraduate students in research 3) expected to be an innovator in pedagogical methods at both the general education level and capstone experiences Service/Administration: Service will be evaluated primarily with respect to his/her duties as Associate Director of the ESP, which includes advising students, program publicity (print and web), and program interactions with registrar?s office and adjunct faculty. It is expected that the Associate Director will help increase the program?s overall visibility by participating on university-wide committees that are broadly focused on environmental issues. This position is open until filled. Applications will be reviewed beginning March 26, 2007 Application Procedure: The hiring process requires that the applicant be present at UMass Boston at their own expense for one day and present a 30-minute talk representative of a class presentation in a policy area of the applicant?s choice. The audience will be a small group of the hiring committee and perhaps a few students. The position requires that the applicant either holds the PhD in an appropriate area or is ABD. If the degree is not received by September 2007, we will require a certification from the applicant?s advisor that taking this position is not inconsistent with finishing the requirements of the degree. Please send a CV, letter of intent and the names and e-mail addresses of three recommenders to: steven.rudnick at umb.edu Only e-mail applications are being accepted for this position. We may request a dossier of syllabi of representative courses taught and student evaluations in hard-copy. The hiring salary range for this position is $40,000 - $45,000 and this is a benefited position. (UMass Boston requires a contribution to an alternative retirement fund for non-tenure track positions.) Please address any questions to steven.rudnick at umb.edume or phone 617 287 7476 ******************** (JOB 5) Science Program Director - Seacamp Association, Inc., Big Pine Key, FL (USA) Seacamp Association, Inc. is a nonprofit, residential, environmental education organization offering programs in marine science to visiting teenage summer campers, and elementary, secondary, college and adult groups, during the school year. Seacamp Association, Inc. is seeking a Science Program Director. This position calls for a strong background in marine science education and extensive field teaching experience to teach upper level marine science programs, hire, train, and supervise instructional staff, and manage laboratory. The qualified individual must posses an advanced degree and strong interpersonal communication skills to work with management, staff and students. To apply: E-mail resume/CV and references to: Jack Seubert, Science Program Director, Seacamp Association, Inc. 1300 Big Pine Avenue, Big Pine Key, FL 33043 305-872-2331 info at nhmi.org ******************** (JOB 6) Asst. Prof - Climate Change or Paleoclimatology - Dept. of Geography - Texas A&M - College Station, TX (USA) The Department of Geography ( http://geog.tamu.edu) and the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University ( http:// geosciences.tamu.edu) invite applications for a tenure-track position specializing in Climate Change or Paleoclimatology to begin in September 2007 or January 2008. It is anticipated that this appointment will be made at the rank of Assistant Professor. This position is part of eleven planned hires in the Ocean Drilling and Sustainable Earth Science (ODASES) program (http://odases.tamu.edu), which is an interdisciplinary, multi-college research and education program designed to maximize participation in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) (http://www.iodp.org). The successful candidate will have a track record of research, or will be able to develop research, with ODP/IODP. Outstanding opportunities exist for collaboration with other departments, research units, and interdisciplinary initiatives within the College of Geosciences (e.g., the departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, and Geology and Geophysics, the Sustainable Coastal Margins Program). The ODASES positions will complement the Vision 2020 Faculty Investment Plan to hire 20 tenure-track faculty in the College of Geosciences by 2008 in three target areas: (i) climate change; (ii) oceans, atmospheres and human health; and (iii) environmental and hydrological geosciences. Texas A&M University offers a highly interactive research environment, a strong modern infrastructure, and competitive startup packages. ******************** (JOB 7) Academic Fellowship - Climate Dynamics and Physical Processes - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia, Norwich (UK) http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/jobs/ http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow The 5** School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia invites applications for a prestigious Academic Fellowship in the area of climate dynamics and physical processes. We seek someone with expertise in any climate-related area of geophysical fluid dynamics, including the atmosphere, ocean or cryosphere, complementing and collaborating with the existing strengths in climate physics within the School. The Fellowship and the School provide an excellent environment in which to develop your research, leading to a permanent Faculty position at the end of the initial five year contract. We are therefore looking for an individual with a high quality research record and a strong desire to build that existing foundation into an international research and teaching career. You must have a PhD or be of postdoctoral standing. You should have high quality publications (to be submitted to the UK RAE 2008) and a strong plan for further development of your research over the five year period. For further details of the vibrant and growing UEA research group in meteorology, oceanography and climate dynamics see http:// envam1.env.uea.ac.uk/met_ocean_climate.html . Closing date: 11 April 2007. Interviews are expected to be held during the 1st week in May. Further particulars and an application form can be obtained from the University's web page at: http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/jobs/ or by e- mail at: hr at uea.ac.uk or by calling the answerphone on 01603 593493 or by mail to the Human Resources Division, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ. ******************** (JOB 8) Senior Staff Associate/Staff Associate - Latin America Caribbean Program Coordinator/Analyst - Columbia University - Rockland County, NY (USA) http://iri.columbia.edu/aboutiri/job/html/67007006.html The International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) is seeking an outstanding individual to work coordinate program activities and provide technical support for projects in the Latin American and the Caribbean region, working closely with the Regional Program Director. The IRI is a catalyst for the creation and provision of science based outcomes that address climate risk. Our approach is based on collaborative partnerships with local, national, regional, international, public and private institutions facilitating the open exchange of ideas, information, and technology between many disciplines and regions. We work in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, to unravel problems that have frequently been discounted as unavoidable consequences of nature. Coordination activities include: a) managing information pertaining to requests for proposals; b) coordinating and staffing meetings of the LAC Regional Program Committee; c) coordinating training and capacity-building activities, meetings, and workshops; d) providing oral and written reporting of project results in English and Spanish; and, e) managing the LAC regional program web portal. Technical support activities include close collaborations with staff or the IRI Data Library to identify, develop and maintain data sets for the study of climate variability and its societal impacts. This includes: a) developing and/or integrating data sets in formats suitable for analysis; b) participating in the development of state- of-the art- analysis tools; c) performing analysis of the data; d) participating in the development of new data and analysis display tools; and e) supporting the development of appropriate Map Rooms tailored to project needs. The combined coordination and technical activities will support the advancement of documentation, training, and presentation materials for a broad spectrum of audiences and potential users in the LAC region. These materials will utilize and illustrate the IRI Data Library and other IRI learning module capabilities for multivariate analysis with meteorological, oceanographic and project specific data sets. Work involves supervised activity supported by grants designed to address specific issues. This is an excellent opportunity for original and creative contributions for selectee in a team environment. Minimum Requirement at the Staff Associates level: BS/BA in Social, Natural, or Humanities Sciences with a strong emphasis on Mathematical, Statistical, and/or Data Analysis approaches plus 2-3 years related work, or M.S. with a good background in Meteorology, Oceanography, Geophysics or Physical Geography required. Minimum Requirements at the Senior Staff Associates Level: BS/BA in Social, Natural, or Humanities Sciences with a strong emphasis on Mathematical, Statistical, and/or Data Analysis approaches plus 6-8 years related work or M. S. or higher degree with 1-2 years experience and a good background in Meteorology, Oceanography, Geophysics or Physical Geography required. At both levels: Demonstrated experience in project coordination and data management preferred; previous experience in computers utilizing UNIX, FORTRAN and C required. Knowledge of HTML, JavaScript or Perl is desirable. Excellent written, oral, and web- oriented communications skills in both English and Spanish are required. Columbia University benefits accompany appointment. This position is located in Rockland County, NY at the Lamont Campus of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. Follow the online instructions at the web site above to submit: contact information; letter of application, including position reference number # LD 670 07 006 statement of career objectives; curriculum vitae; and contact information for three references. Candidate review will begin after April 10, 2007. ******************** (JOB 9) Full/Associate Professor in Arctic Marine Ecology - The University Centre in Svalbard - Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) http://www.unis.no/ Application Deadline: Friday, 13 April 2007 The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is accepting applications for the position of Full/Associate Professor in arctic marine ecology. The field of expertise of the selected candidate should be in the ecology of either arctic marine algae or fish species and should match and supplement the existing marine research at UNIS. The selected candidate will be expected to conduct research at UNIS and participate in the supervision of Masters and PhD students in cooperation with other universities. Experience in Svalbard and other polar areas will be preferred. Applications should consist of three complete copies of a curriculum vitae, including full list of publications and previously held grants; education, pedagogic or teaching certificates, including list of previously supervised graduate students, where applicable; and five publications authored or co-authored by candidate. Applications must be submitted by Friday, 13 April 2007, to: The University Centre in Svalbard, P.O. Box 156, N-9171 Longyearbyen, Norway Applications may also be submitted electronically at: E-mail: post at unis.no For further information, please contact: Steve Coulson, E-mail: steve.coulson at unis.no ******************* (JOB 10) Postdoctoral Investigator - Marine Ecosystem and Global Carbon Cycle Modeling - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Announcement Number 07-03-08) - Woods Hole, MA (USA) http://jobs.whoi.edu/ Applicants are sought for one or more postdoctoral research positions in the area of marine ecosystem dynamics and global climate- carbon cycle modeling. The position is for one year with the possibility of extension to two years. The position will involve the development, implementation and data-based evaluation of marine ecosystem and global biogeochemical models within the framework of the NCAR Community Climate System Model (CCSM). The specific research focus is on the impact and feedbacks of natural and anthropogenic trace metal deposition on marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. A significant fraction of the applicant?s research will be devoted to model-data comparisons with in-situ observations and satellite remote sensing. Applications will be reviewed beginning May 1st. Please submit curriculum vitae, including a list of publications, statement of research interests, and the names and addresses (including email addresses) of four references. Mary Zawoysky, MS 43, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508-289-2310 (mornings) 508-289-2834 (afternoons) Fax: 508-457-2075 (mornings) 508-457-2161 (afternoons) E-mail: mzawoysky at whoi.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://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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070323/fe3ebd91/attachment.html From weilercs at whitman.edu Wed Mar 28 19:37:56 2007 From: weilercs at whitman.edu (Susan Weiler) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:37:56 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] Meeting student and postdoctoral needs in a changing global environment References: Message-ID: <11E6D9A2-613C-474C-8371-BF10E92626FC@whitman.edu> Dear all, My article, Meeting Ph.D. Graduates' Needs in a Changing Global Environment, appears in Eos 88(13) pp. 149, 151. I've attached the file FYI. It looks like it is already getting a lot of favorable attention, and it just came out today! The recommendations would be useful for undergraduate and graduate students as well, and I hope you will consider trying to implement such practices at your own institutions. I want to thank you all, you have inspired my work and provided answers to many of life's persistent questions!!!! Cheers, Sue ? ********** 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 Resources for early career development: http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/resources/ DIALOG symposia for aquatic-science researchers: http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf DISCCRS symposia for climate-change researchers: http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf NGPR Symposium for IPY researchers: http://ccar.colorado.edu/ngpr/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070328/92d35f59/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Weiler_Eos.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 80622 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070328/92d35f59/attachment-0001.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070328/92d35f59/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Mar 30 14:14:39 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:14:39 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 3/30/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 3/30/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS Special Announcement: Sue Weiler Receives ASLO Award Sue Weiler receives ASLO's Distinguished Service Award for outstanding leadership in the professional development and mentoring of the next generation of aquatic scientists. I want to thank each and every one of you for inspiring me in my work and for making DIALOG, DISCCRS, MAS and my other activities so much fun! And, thanks also for my endless use and abuse of you as datapoints! :) John Dower and Rob Campbell spearheaded my nomination and I know that many of you, I know not who, wrote letters in support of that nomination. I thank you all for that effort. It is truly something I never imagined. I know many of you (including John and Rob!) were not at the Feb. 2007 ASLO meeting where the award was presented. I thought you might enjoy the annotated PowerPoints from my 10-minute acceptance speech, so I have posted it for you at /home/weilercs/ASLO_Award/ ASLO_Award_annotated.ppt: https://netfiles.whitman.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-1989210_1-t_N3NSqrbe .... And please don't forget to update your job and contact information when you move :):):) Best, Sue Special Announcement: DISCCRS III Symposium Did you recently get your Ph.D.? Are you interested in climate change/climate impacts? If yes, then read on! DISCCRS International Interdisciplinary Climate Change Symposium Hawaii, Sept. 10-17, 2007 -- Deadline for applications: 30 April 2007 Airfare, room & board are fully paid for 36 accepted candidates from around the world. See http://www.disccrs.org for details. RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Education and Public Outreach: A Guide for Scientists http://www.tos.org/epo_guide/index.html New report calls for decisive, concerted, sustained actions to combat climate change http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp? type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjM0OTQ (see RESOURCES 1 below) Book - Dictionary and Introduction to Global Environmental Governance By Richard E. Saunier and Richard A. Meganck http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/777 (see RESOURCES 2 below) Book - How to Live a Low Carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/773/ (see RESOURCES 3 below) SCIENCE NEWS Gore Warns Congress of Planetary Emergency http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/washington/21cnd-gore.html? pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=us New Modeling Study Forecasts Disappearance of Existing Climate Zones http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108522 Majority of World's Largest Cities at Risk of Rising Sea Levels http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070327-1702- climatechange-risingseas.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2b95sd (see NEWS 1 below) Race for Riches Heats Up in Melting Arctic http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070324-0856- arcticbonanza.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2jj7mv (see NEWS 2 below) JOBS Director - Center for Leadership - Elon University - Elon, North Carolina (USA) Closing Date: Until Filled http://www.ila-net.org/LeadershipJobs/View_Job.asp?DBID=568 Director - Undergraduate Leadership Program - Northwestern University - Evanston, IL (USA) Closing Date: 4/30/2007 http://www.ila-net.org/LeadershipJobs/View_Job.asp?DBID=567 Assistant Director - Student Affairs - University of Central Florida - Orlando, Florida (USA) Closing Date: 4/19/2007 http://www.ila-net.org/LeadershipJobs/View_Job.asp?DBID=469 Post doc - Air qaulity research - Atmospheric Modeler - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill NC (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Jackson Senior Research Fellow and Programme Leader in Energy - Oxford University (UK) http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/vacancy/070427.php (see JOB 2 below) Post-Doc (two) - Marine Environmental Biologists ? United Nations University ? Dubai (United Arab Emirates) http://www.inweh.unu.edu/inweh/Vacancies.htm (see JOB 3 below) Postdoctoral Fellowship - The Study of Sharing Networks to Assess the Vulnerabilities of Coastal Communities to Oil and Gas Development in Arctic Alaska - University of Alaska ? Fairbanks Alaska (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Executive Officer, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) - Scott Polar Research Institute - Cambridge, (United Kingdom) http://www.scar.org/news/jobs/ (see JOB 5 below) Policy Analyst - Natsource Llc - Advisory And Research Services Business Unit - Washington D.C. (USA) (see JOB 6 below) (see JOB 7 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) New report calls for decisive, concerted, sustained actions to combat climate change http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp? type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjM0OTQ Montreux, Switzerland, 21 March 2007 ? Policy Directions to 2050: A business contribution to the dialogues on cooperative action, launched today, asserts that the only way to combat climate change is through decisive, concerted and sustained actions between governments, businesses and consumers. The publication, produced by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), identifies policy options to sustain economic growth while transforming the ways we access, produce and consume energy. Presented as an illustrative roadmap from which routes must be chosen, it explores policy ideas and concepts for the transition to a low greenhouse gas (GHG) economy. It calls for the development and deployment of leading-edge technologies through partnerships and incentives and an approach to mitigate long-term market risk and deliver secure benefits for large-scale, low-carbon, new-technology projects. "Governments must start building the future policy frameworks, and it is necessary for us in business to begin to respond to those policies in time to meet the future emission reduction targets. We can not continue the ?you first? mentality. We need leadership and action by both governments and business," says WBCSD President Bj?rn Stigson. Policy Directions to 2050, launched at a key WBCSD members? meeting here, says that "international efforts on climate change must recognize the sovereignty of national energy policy decisions, but at the same time provide the necessary global context for those decisions and the tools to optimize GHG emissions management. Systematically decarbonizing the global energy mix will require a broad and efficient mix of policies and programs, and there is a need to learn from current approaches and instruments that are being used and continue to evolve at international, regional and domestic levels." "The world has reached an unsustainable trend in greenhouse gas emissions, so we now need to take action to decarbonize as much as possible the world?s energy mix. Resources are to be used more efficiently at the same time as we meet growing energy needs," says Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of French energy company Areva and Co-Chair of the WBCSD's Energy and Climate Focus Area. "For that to happen one key element is to collectively define a global, long-term and quantifiable pathway for annual greenhouse gas emissions. This shared diagnosis could then be a point of reference for the development of national energy and climate policies." The publication puts forth four policy priorities: 1. Establishing by 2010 a quantifiable, long-term (50-year), global emissions pathway for the management of GHG emissions. 2. Closing the gap that will exist after 2012 (when the Kyoto Protocol expires), using the existing international framework as a basis, and modifying it to build up from local, national, sector or regional programs. 3. Building robust programs at the national level, and in support of the international pathway. Such programs would include encouraging energy efficiency; broadening the range of fuels in the transport sector; and country-wide boosting of awareness and incentives for consumers across all levels of society toward low-carbon products, services and lifestyles. 4. Developing and commercializing a number of low- and zero-GHG technologies over the coming decades. These will require supporting policies and programs to address technical and cost challenges. Policy Directions to 2050 explores and introduces ideas for a new international framework and addresses key policy issues within power generation, industry and manufacturing, mobility, buildings and consumer choices, asking three basis questions: What is needed? Why is it needed? How could it work? Through this approach, the WBCSD hopes to stimulate the debate by contributing business insights that can help encourage the required technological and behavioral changes. "Demand for energy will increase by 60% by 2030. As demand increases, so will GHG emissions. All stakeholders, whether they be customers, shareholders, NGOs or the communities in which we work, will expect us to meet this increase in a sustainable way. But business cannot do this alone; it needs government to establish the necessary policy frameworks to get the ball rolling and put the technology into place," says Eivind Reiten, President and CEO of Norsk Hydro and Co-Chair of the WBCSD's Energy and Climate Focus Area. The publication is the third in the Energy & Climate series and reflects the WBSCD?s continued engagement with governments in the search for solutions. Earlier publications included Facts and Trends to 2050 and Pathways to 2050, which sought to create a basis for dialogue and action by translating the scale and complexity of these challenges into simple, illustrative pathways to 2050. This trilogy has helped a variety of stakeholders think about the ways in which energy flows through the global economy and affects the climate. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Book - Dictionary and Introduction to Global Environmental Governance By Richard E. Saunier and Richard A. Meganck http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/777 The book provides a compilation of over 5000 terms, organizations and acronyms, drawn from hundreds of official sources. An introductory essay frames the major issues in GEG and outlines the pitfalls of talking past one another when discussing the most critical of issues facing the planet. The result is a practical tool that should find a central place on the desk of anyone involved in environmental management, development or sustainability issues anywhere in the world, including the United Nations, government policy makers, NGOs and other stakeholder groups, the business community, and students and professionals. Review copies are available for book review editors (journals, newspapers, newsletters, websites etc.) and inspection copies are available for course leaders. Please get in touch with Tel (direct): +44 20 7121 3152 www.earthscan.co.uk ******************** (RESOURCES 3) Book - How to Live a Low Carbon Life: The Individual's Guide to Stopping Climate Change http://shop.earthscan.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/productID/773/ All the info you need ? including data tables, supplier info and downloadable spreadsheets ? to reduce your personal and home emissions from the UK average of 12.5 tonnes to a sustainable 3 tonnes per year. Goodall?s careful research enables you to calculate your emissions and lays out a clear plan for maximum carbon and cost reduction. The most reliable source of information on low-carbon living currently available. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Majority of World's Largest Cities at Risk of Rising Sea Levels http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070327-1702- climatechange-risingseas.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2b95sd San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - LONDON - More than two-thirds of the world's large cities are in areas vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels, and millions of people are at risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms, according to a new study released Wednesday. In all, 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas worldwide - defined as those lying at less than 33 feet above sea level - and the number is growing, said the study published in the journal Environment and Urbanization. More than 180 countries have populations in low-elevation coastal zones, and about 70 percent of those have urban areas of more than 5 million people that are under threat. Among them: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. ******************** (NEWS 2) Race for Riches Heats Up in Melting Arctic http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070324-0856- arcticbonanza.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2jj7mv San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - HAMMERFEST, Norway - Barren and uninhabited, Hans Island is very hard to find on a map. Yet these days the Frisbee-shaped rock in the Arctic is much in demand - so much so that Canada and Denmark have both staked their claim to it with flags and warships. The reason: an international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen north. The latest report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the ice cap is warming faster than the rest of the planet and ice is receding, partly due to greenhouse gases. It's a catastrophic scenario for the Arctic ecosystem, for polar bears and other wildlife, and for Inuit populations whose ancient cultures depend on frozen waters. But some see a lucrative silver lining of riches waiting to be snatched from the deep, and the prospect of timesaving sea lanes that could transform the shipping industry the way the Suez Canal did in the 19th century. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. *************************************************** 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) Post doc - Air qaulity research - Atmospheric Modeler - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill NC (USA) An immediate opening exists for a qualified person to conduct research in understanding the formation and chemical transformation of atmospheric pollutants. Projects involve providing technical support and communicating scientific understanding to aid policy makers involved with developing pollutant reduction strategies in some of the country's most polluted cities. The successful candidate will use three dimensional air quality models to increase our understanding of the complex and interrelated chemical and physical processes that lead to pollution formation. The candidate will conduct advanced model performance evaluations on air quality models currently being used to develop strategies to bring areas into compliance with National Ambient Air Quality standards (NAAQs). Throughout the course of the work there will be direct involvement and communications with state and federal regulators presenting model evaluations and recommendations for improvements to model performance. An understanding of atmospheric chemistry, or background in environmental chemistry is necessary. Familiarity with computer programming and with the UNIX environment is also necessary. Experience with the FORTRAN and Python programming languages is preferred, although not required. A Ph.D. in atmospheric science or a related discipline is required. Please send a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, and two names for reference to: Dr. William Vizuete, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering CB#7431, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 Email: atm postdoc at unc.edu More information concerning Dr. Vizuete's air quality research is available at his web site at http://www.unc.edu/? vizuete ******************** (JOB 2) Jackson Senior Research Fellow and Programme Leader in Energy - Oxford University (UK) http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/vacancy/070427.php We seek to appoint an outstanding researcher with demonstrated excellence in scholarship and interdisciplinary project leadership and management to lead the well established ECI Lower Carbon Futures group in conjunction with a Jackson Senior Research Fellowship at Oriel College. The post is available for five years in the first instance. We seek a researcher with a strong background in social science, planning, policy analysis or economics who has a demonstrated record of publication, grants and policy outreach and impacts in energy to complement and build on the existing strengths of the Environmental Change Institute. Current research in the Lower Carbon Futures programme includes understanding of household and building energy use, renewable energy and distributed energy systems,demand management, personal carbon quotas, energy and development and fuel poverty and we hope that the SRF will work in these or related themes. The programme is a key member of the UK Energy Research Centre consortium responsible for the demand reduction theme and for the organisation of the Meeting Place - providing networking and workshops for the energy research community (www.ukerc.ac.uk). The group has close links to other programmes in the Environmental Change Institute including the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, to the Transport Studies Unit in the OUCE and to other energy researchers across the university. Main Responsibilities: The responsibilities and qualifications of the fellow are to: 1) Act as leader of the Lower Carbon Futures programme (to include representing the programme at ECI management meetings, participating in outreach to stakeholders, collaborators, media and within the university; fundraising and obtaining new contracts, managing proposals, budgets and staff; contributing to the Meeting Place and other events). 2) Ensure the completion of current major contracts to high standards, particularly the LCF contributions to the UK Energy Research Centre 3) Contribute to the long term evolution of the ECI energy and other programmes, OUCE and the wider university including strategic planning and fundraising for continuation of current projects and the development of new initiatives. 4) Undertake, write up and publish research in the areas of energy policy in refereed journals and in other publications with public and policy impact 5) Contribute to the general activities of the ECI and the university including attending and organising seminars and workshops, advising on research projects and proposals, and participating in the general intellectual life of the Oxford University Centre for the Environment 6) Offer a modest amount of postgraduate teaching in postgraduate programmes especially the MSc in Environmental Change and Management (typically in each year, 6-10 hours of core lectures, an option seminar) and supervision of MSc or DPhil dissertations As the Jackson Senior Research fellow of Oriel College responsibilities will include contributions to college life that include conducting high quality research and supervising a small number of graduate students at Oriel in the field of environmental studies, as well as attendance at meetings of the Governing Body Selection Criteria: 1) Advanced degree (PhD) and evidence of high quality publications in the energy use and policy field 2) Proven ability to network nationally and internationally. Evidence of leadership in interdisciplinary research networks and collaborations 3) Demonstrated ability in leading collaborative and policy relevant research. 4) Record of research and innovation in solving complex intellectual and policy problems and of analyzing data and information associated with energy policy 5) Recognized as a senior authority in one of more relevant fields of research 6) A record of planning, implementing and writing up research projects in a timely manner. 7) Evidence of management skills including team leadership and mentoring, budgeting and recruitment, and ability to deal tactfully and effectively with a wide range of contacts, including academics, students, other university staff, the media and decision makers 8) Record of research leadership including strategic planning, management of major proposals and problem solving 9) An interest in postgraduate training and mentoring students Further particulars can also be requested by telephone: 01865 285079. Closing date for applications is noon on 27 April 2007. ******************** (JOBS 3) Post-Doc (two) - Marine Environmental Biologists ? United Nations University ? Dubai (United Arab Emirates) http://www.inweh.unu.edu/inweh/Vacancies.htm We seek two post-doctoral marine environmental biologists to join a five-person field research team for a major project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The project is a multi-disciplinary, multi- institutional, 4-year effort to establish a sustainable marine environmental management program for extensive subtidal ecosystems newly-created during coastal terra-forming projects such as Palm Jumeirah and The World. Our project includes a sophisticated environmental monitoring program, and specific targeted research to determine the ecological behavior of the new marine systems being created due to the reclamation efforts. The overall goal is to build a proactive management program based on scientifically sound models of ecological performance, which will make it possible to anticipate patterns of change and ensure maintenance of a sound ecological system with good water quality and resilient ecological communities. In addition, the project includes an educational component for environmental managers in the region and more broadly, in the form of training workshops and an international conference program. This United Nations University project is being led by Dr. Peter F. Sale of UNU's Canada-based International Network on Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH), with Dr. Ken G. Drouillard (University of Windsor) Dr. Charles G. Trick (University of Western Ontario), and Dr. Bjorn Kjerfve (Texas A&M University). The Dubai-based team works closely with the lead investigators, including occasional visits to the North American sites. These are academic positions with excellent opportunities to undertake original research and to publish in leading journals. Successful candidates will hold a Ph.D. in some area of marine or environmental biology, preferably with tropical experience, and will have expertise in one or more of benthic ecology of tropical lagoonal habitats, production dynamics of tropical phytoplankton communities, benthic HABs, and nutrient dynamics, or microbial ecology of tropical coastal systems. Experience in team-based, multidisciplinary research is desirable, as is familiarity with coral reef or other tropical coastal biota. These are hands-on positions, so SCUBA and small boat experience will be expected. Closing date is 10 April 2007. ******************** (JOB 4) Postdoctoral Fellowship - The Study of Sharing Networks to Assess the Vulnerabilities of Coastal Communities to Oil and Gas Development in Arctic Alaska - University of Alaska ? Fairbanks Alaska (USA) Application Deadline: Sunday, 15 April 2007, or until position is filled. For further information and to apply, please submit a letter of interest and CV to:: Gary Kofinas, E-mail: ffgpk at uaf.edu The University of Alask a Fairbanks (UAF) is accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellow to take a major role in the project, "The Study of Sharing Networks to Assess the Vulnerabilities of Coastal Communities to Oil and Gas Development in Arctic Alaska." The successful applicant will be part of an interdisciplinary research team of four faculty members and a graduate student who will use multiple methods to assess the effects of future oil and gas development on the resilience and vulnerabilities of two Alaska North Slope coastal communities and one Interior Alaska rural community. A central focus of the three-year project is on social networks of sharing that are part of Alaska Native subsistence-cash economies. Study methods will include household survey research, ethnographic analysis, modeling, and a participatory focus group approach. Researchers and leaders of participating communities will compare their vulnerabilities with those in other communities through the international activities of the Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in Arctic Regions (CAVIAR) Project, an IPY initiative involving Canada, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the U.S. The research will be coupled with another UAF project exploring the impacts of global change on ecosystem services in Alaska. Applicants should hold a PhD in a related field. The position is based in Fairbanks and the successful candidate should be prepared to travel to villages and international meetings. Some prior experience with social network analysis and/or community studies is desirable but not mandatory. The start date can be as early as spring and as late as the end of August. ******************** (JOB 5) Executive Officer, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) - Scott Polar Research Institute - Cambridge, (United Kingdom) http://www.scar.org/news/jobs/ The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) seeks an Executive Officer to assist in the running of the SCAR Secretariat at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, United Kingdom. SCAR is a body of the International Council for Science (ICSU) that facilitates and coordinates Antarctic research and identifies issues emerging from greater scientific understanding of the region that should be brought to the attention of policy makers. The primary tasks of the Executive Officer are to: 1) assist the Executive Director in the day-to-day operation of the secretariat, including supervising staff, coordinating programs, analyzing scientific issues concerning the Antarctic region, preparing proposals, and other activities as required; 2) maintain administrative contact with SCAR Members, scientific groups and committees, ICSU bodies, and other relevant international organizations, including the secretariats of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs; 3) arrange meetings, prepare agendas and reports of meetings, and circulate documents; 4) manage SCAR's bank accounts and financial records and disburse funds as approved; 5) prepare activity reports and financial reports as required; and 6) represent SCAR at meetings as directed by the executive director. Candidates should preferably have a MSc or PhD in a scientific discipline relevant to research in Antarctica or the Southern Ocean, plus experience in international scientific research and collaboration, excellent communication and organizational skills, a high level of computer literacy (Apple Macintosh preferred), and complete proficiency in English. Competence in any other relevant languages will be an advantage. Applicants should be able and prepared to undertake significant overseas travel. The successful candidate will be expected to begin the position by mid-June 2007. Applications should describe relevant experience, include a full CV and the names of two referees, and must be submitted by Sunday, 15 April 2007, to: E-mail: info at scar.org Electronic submissions are preferred, though applications will be accepted via regular mail at: SCAR Secretariat, Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER, United Kingdom Contact: Colin Summerhayes, SCAR Executive Director E-mail: cps32 at cam.ac.uk ******************** (JOB 6) Policy Analyst - Natsource Llc - Advisory And Research Services Business Unit - Washington D.C. (USA) Natsource LLC is a leading emissions and renewable energy asset management firm. The company?s Asset Management, Transaction Services, and Advisory and Research Services business units utilize their regulatory, market and trading expertise to assist private firms around the world in the strategic management of environmental risk, and to provide superior returns to investors by taking advantage of opportunities in local, regional and global emissions and renewable energy markets. Natsource is headquartered in New York and has offices in Calgary, La Paz, London, Ottawa, Panama City, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., providing the company with global reach and proximity to many of the world?s leading financial centers. More information is available at www.natsource.com. The company?s Advisory and Research Services business unit: 1) evaluates greenhouse emission reduction and renewable energy project opportunities and values the assets created by those projects; 2) assists asset managers and private firms to assess the economic risk of emission reduction and renewable energy requirements on their businesses and develop appropriate response strategies to minimize costs and capture business opportunities; 3) provides information on pricing and supply and demand dynamics in emissions and renewable energy markets; and 4) advises on the impacts of trading system design on market performance. The Policy Analyst will be based in our Washington, D.C. office and will work with our Advisory and Research, Transaction Services and Asset Management business units. Primary responsibilities will include leading and contributing to diverse analyses of existing and emerging greenhouse emissions markets, as well as international, national, and local policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase use of renewable energy (with a focus on U.S. policies/markets). The position requires extensive writing, including proposal and report writing focused on emissions trading and trading policy design, emissions markets (including supply/demand and pricing analysis), renewable energy and market issues, international climate policy, economic and risk management issues. The individual must be a team player, have demonstrated strong writing and analytical skills, strong oral communication skills and ability to handle more than one project at a time. Ideal candidates will also have experience in environmental policy, energy and electric utility issues, and/or knowledge of international climate policy and market-based mechanisms. Other desired qualifications include: 1) Masters degree in international affairs, environmental policy, economics, business, or a related field; 2) 3-5 years work experience in the public or private sector, particularly in authoring reports on relevant topics; 3) Practical experience with markets and market analysis; 4) Knowledge of climate and renewable energy policy and ability to determine impacts of policy and identify opportunities for corporate clients; 5) Experience in building Excel spreadsheets and models to make simple to more complex calculations; 6) Background in environmental economics, microeconomics and/or finance useful; 7) Proficiency with word processing, presentational, quantitative/analytical, and desktop publishing principles and software. Please email cover letter, resume and salary requirements to: tsheehan at natsource.com. No calls please. ************************************************** 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 www.disccrs.org 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070330/c3ec410a/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Mon Apr 9 12:08:19 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 10:08:19 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 4/6/2007 Message-ID: <24A52BD9-563F-4939-B6A7-F01E3DB41B41@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 4/6/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS Special Announcement: DISCCRS III Symposium Are you interested in climate change/climate impacts? Did you receive your PhD between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2007? Would a fully paid (airfare, room & board) trip to Hawaii this September fit into your schedule? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, check out www.disccrs.org for details and information on how to apply for one of 36 positions for candidates from around the world! RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES APECS: The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists http://www.kent.edu/Polar (see RESOURCES 1 below) New mailing lists for the atmospheric and oceanic dynamics community http://www.atmosocean.org/mailing_lists/ (see RESOURCES 2 below) NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07555 SCIENCE NEWS Comparison of Proposed USA Climate Bills in the 110th Congress http://www.wri.org/climate/topic_content.cfm?cid=4265 IPCC Working Group II ? Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability ? Summary for Policy Makers is out: http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM6avr07.pdf Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/23eodc (see NEWS 1 below) NASA Nobel Prize Recipient to lead chief scientist office (see NEWS 2 below) Reports From Four Fronts in the War on Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/earth/03clim.html? _r=1&oref=slogin Or: http://tinyurl.com/2x6udy (see NEWS 3 below) Supreme Court, 5-4, Rules Against Administration in Warming Case http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na (see NEWS 4 below) Raw Data: Beacon Bird of Climate Change http://tinyurl.com/yvuayb (see NEWS 5 below) U.N. Draft Cites Humans in Recent Climate Shifts http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/science/earth/05climate.html? ref=3Dscience Or: http://tinyurl.com/22cvs9 (see NEWS 6 below) Scientists Issue Bleak Forecast for Warming World http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/ 0,,2051770,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysfohv (see NEWS 7 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology 1st International Summer School - MPI-M Earth System Modeling Framework ? September 3-7, 2007 ? Hamburg (Germany) http://issmes.enes.org Summer Courses - Cryosphere and Quaternary Research ? Geology Department ? University Centre ? Svalbard (Norway) http://www.unis.no/studies/GEOLOGY/general.htm (see OPPORTUNITIES 1 below) JOBS RCUK Academic Fellowship - Climate Dynamics and Physical Processes - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia ? Norwich (UK) http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow Ref: RA376 (see JOB 1 below) Climate Scientist - Rossby Centre - Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) ? Norrk?ping (Sweden) http://www.smhi.se/sgmain/om_smhi/personal/pdf/Rossby470.pdf (see JOB 2 below) Post-Docs - Laboratori de Recerca del Clima (Climate Research Laboratory, LRC-PCB) - Parc Cientific de Barcelona (University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm? fuseaction=UserSite.FP7OpenCallsPage (see JOBS 3 below) Post-doc Research Fellow - Earth system modeller - Department of Earth Sciences - Faculty of Science ? The Open University - Milton Keynes (UK) http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment/jobs-external.asp (see JOB 4 below) Asst Prof - tenure track ? Climate Change/Paleoclimatology - Department of Geography ? College of Geosciences ? Texas A&M University ? College Station TX (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Air Resources Engineer - California Air Resources Board - Emission Inventory Analysis Section, Planning & Technical Support Division - Sacramento, CA (USA) http://www.spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=305506 or visit the CARB link: http://www.arb.ca.gov/as/personnel/jobs/ examvac.htm (see JOB 6 below) Lecturer & Post-Doc (Two Positions) ? Physics, measurements and modelling and analysis of ozone trends - National University of Ireland ? Galway (Ireland) http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1321 (lecturer) http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1336 (post-doc) (see JOBS 7 below) Climate Policy Analysts, Associates & Research Assistants - The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) - Washington, D.C. (USA) www.ccap.org (see JOBS 8 below) Post-Doc ? Biogeochemistry/terrestrial carbon cycle - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (EEB/AOS) - Princeton University ? Princeton NJ (USA) (see JOB 9 below) Executive Director - International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) ? Stockholm (Sweden) (see JOB 10 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) APECS: The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists http://www.kent.edu/Polar The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) aims to bring together young researchers and early career scientists and engineers with an interest in Polar Regions and the Cryosphere from around the world. Polar research is inherently interdisciplinary and international. Many early career scientists, although sometimes well connected within their own specialization, often do not have strong contacts with other polar experts. This network will provide a forum for polar scientists to begin international and interdisciplinary collaborations early in their careers, fostering international science which is naturally important to polar research to improve our understanding of these systems on a global level. Visit http:// www.kent.edu/Polar to become a member, share news, connect with other polar researchers, and find jobs and events that might be of interest. APECS is an endorsed International Polar Year project and the official early career association recognized. Please email APECS at kent.edu for more information or contact Dr. Jenny Baeseman, Director: jbaesema at kent.edu. ******************* (RESOURCES 2) New mailing lists for the atmospheric and oceanic dynamics community http://www.atmosocean.org/mailing_lists/ As a service to the atmospheric and oceanic dynamics community, three mailing lists have been set up that you may use. The mailing lists are archived and searchable, so you can look up old messages. Further, unlike some mail lists, we allow attachments, currently up to 1 MB. The mailing lists are: 1. For announcements, such as meeting announcements, workshops, funding opportunities, etc . Most messages sent to this list will not need a reply (announce at atmosocean.org). 2. For discussions, on any research or historical topic in atmospheric or oceanic dynamics, planetary dynamics, etc (discuss at atmosocean.org). 3. For any discussions of a pedagogical nature. Students may also use this list to exchange ideas or discuss problems (discuss at vallisbook.org). To send and receive messages to these you must sign up for each. To do this go to either: http://www.atmosocean.org/mailing_lists/ or http://www.vallisbook.org/mailing_lists.php *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/science/earth/01climate.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/23eodc New York Times (Registration Required) - The world's richest countries, which have contributed by far the most to the atmospheric changes linked to global warming, are already spending billions of dollars to limit their own risks from its worst consequences, like drought and rising seas. But despite longstanding treaty commitments to help poor countries deal with warming, these industrial powers are spending just tens of millions of dollars on ways to limit climate and coastal hazards in the world's most vulnerable regions - most of them close to the equator and overwhelmingly poor. Next Friday, a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations body that since 1990 has been assessing global warming, will underline this growing climate divide, according to scientists involved in writing it - with wealthy nations far from the equator not only experiencing fewer effects but also better able to withstand them. ******************** (NEWS 2) NASA Nobel Prize Recipient to lead chief scientist office WASHINGTON - NASA's new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Alan Stern has appointed NASA scientist and 2006 Nobel Prize recipient John Mather to lead the Office of the Chief Scientist at Headquarters in Washington. Mather and his staff in the newly created office will be chief advisors to Stern. "John Mather is a scientist of legendary reputation, technical ability and space science mission experience. His office will provide independent scientific advice to me to guide decision making regarding all aspects of the NASA science program," Stern said. Office responsibilities will include assisting the associate administrator in setting flight mission and research budget priorities for all NASA science programs. The office will ensure NASA's research programs are scientifically and technologically well founded, are appropriate for their intended applications and achieve a fair and optimal balance between the various scientific disciplines in the directorate. In addition, the office will help develop and enhance discussions with the national and international science community. In October 2006, Mather and George Smoot of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., received the Nobel Prize for Physics for their collaborative work in understanding the Big Bang. Mather joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to head the Cosmic Background Explorer Mission as project scientist. He has been a Goddard Fellow since 1994 and currently serves as senior project scientist and chair of the Science Working Group of the James Webb Space Telescope. He will continue this position while taking on his new responsibilities in Washington. Mather, a recipient of numerous awards, has a bachelor's degree in physics from Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa., and a doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, Stern named Paul Hertz to direct the newly created Science Policy, Process and Ethics Office. Hertz will ensure NASA's science research programs are conducted with the highest standards and effectiveness in accordance with NASA's principles of science merit, open competition and peer review. He also will be responsible for the solicitation, selection and award processes within the directorate's research program. "Paul is a talented, energetic, dedicated scientist and public servant who is deally suited to this key position. I am pleased to have him lead in this important role," Stern added. Hertz joined the NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, as a senior scientist in 2000. He has held management positions for numerous NASA science projects and programs. Hertz has a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. He was an astrophysicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, before joining NASA. He has received numerous honors, including the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award. NASA's Science Mission Directorate conducts research and scientific programs to observe the Earth, study space weather and explore the solar system and the universe beyond. To achieve these scientific goals, NASA conducts an assortment of grant-based research programs and manages a diverse constellation of spacecraft that carry out missions ranging from small, principal investigator-led missions to large flagship missions. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http:// www.nasa.gov ******************** (NEWS 3) Reports From Four Fronts in the War on Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/science/earth/03clim.html? _r=1&oref=slogin Or http://tinyurl.com/2x6udy Over the last few decades, as scientists have intensified their study of the human effects on climate and of the effects of climate change on humans, a common theme has emerged: in both respects, the world is a very unequal place. In almost every instance, the people most at risk from climate change live in countries that have contributed the least to the atmospheric buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to the recent warming of the planet. Those most vulnerable countries also tend to be the poorest. And the countries that face the least harm and that are best equipped to deal with the harm they do face tend to be the richest. To advocates of unified action to curb greenhouse gases, this growing realization is not welcome news. ?The original idea was that we were all in this together, and that was an easier idea to sell,? said Robert O. Mendelsohn, an economist at Yale. ?But the research is not supporting that. We?re not in it together.? Many enjoy gifts like the thick, rich soil and generous growing season of the American corn belt or the forgiving weather of France and New Zealand. But a bigger factor is their wealth wealth built at least partly on a century or more of burning coal, oil and the other fossil fuels that underlie their mobile, industrial, climate-controlled way of life. ******************** (NEWS 4) Supreme Court, 5-4, Rules Against Administration in Warming Case http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na April 2, 2007 - WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court ordered the federal government on Monday to take a fresh look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars, a rebuke to Bush administration policy on global warming. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from cars. Connecticut and 11 other states, along with 13 environmental groups, sued the EPA over the issue. ******************** (NEWS 5) Raw Data: Beacon Bird of Climate Change http://discovermagazine.com/2007/apr/raw-data-beacon-bird-of- climate-change Or: http://tinyurl.com/yvuayb For millions of years, Antarctica's ice sheet has advanced and retreated as Earth has cooled and warmed. Covering nearly 5.5 million square miles, the frozen mass exerts an enormous influence on the global climate, reflecting sunlight back into space and cooling Earth's atmosphere and oceans. If the ice sheet were to melt, global temperatures would rise 8 to 10 degrees Celsius. Yet dating past expansions and contractions of the Antarctic ice shelf has proved difficult. Geologists can infer its changing size by dating marine sediments, but this method is not always accurate. Now Steve Emslie, a marine ornithologist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, has developed an ingenious method of tracking climate change in the Antarctic: He has excavated and carbon- dated 45,000 years' worth of Adelie penguin poop, skin, bones, feathers, and eggshells from colonies preserved in Antarctica's frigid climate. ******************** (NEWS 6) U.N. Draft Cites Humans in Recent Climate Shifts http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/science/earth/05climate.html? ref=3Dscience Or: http://tinyurl.com/22cvs9 New York Times (registration required) - The latest United Nations assessment of the role of humans in global warming has found with "high confidence" that greenhouse gas emissions are at least partly responsible for a host of changes already under way, including longer growing seasons and shrinking glaciers. ...the working draft of the report, to be released Friday in Brussels,...is a detailed follow-up to a February report by the United Nations group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was the fourth assessment since 1990 of the basic science that points to a human hand on the planet's thermostat. That report said there was at least a 90 percent chance that most warming since 1950 had resulted from a continuing buildup of heat- trapping emissions in the atmosphere. The new report describes the = specific effects of climate changes on people and ecology; identifies those species and regions at greatest risk; and describes options for limiting risks. ********************* (NEWS 7) Scientists Issue Bleak Forecast for Warming World http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/ 0,,2051770,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysfohv the Guardian (UK) - The world's scientists today issued a grim forecast for life on earth when they published their latest assessment of the impacts of climate change. A warming world will place hundreds of millions of extra people at greater risk of food and water shortages and threaten the survival of thousands of species of plants and animals, the scientists said. Floods, heat waves, famines, storms and droughts are all expected to increase, with people in poorer countries suffering the worst effects. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITIES 1) Summer Courses - Cryosphere and Quaternary Research ? Geology Department ? University Centre ? Svalbard (Norway) http://www.unis.no/studies/GEOLOGY/general.htm The Geology Department at The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) celebrates the International Polar Year (IPY) by offering four summer courses at the Masters and PhD level in cryosphere and Quaternary research. Course activities are linked to several IPY projects in Svalbard and each course offers European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits. The application deadline for all courses is Sunday, 15 April 2007. For complete course descriptions and application instructions, see: http://www.unis.no/studies/GEOLOGY/general.htm or contact: Eva Therese Jenssen, Executive Information Officer, The University Center in Svalbard, E-mail: eva.therese.jenssen at unis.no *************************************************** 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) RCUK Academic Fellowship - Climate Dynamics and Physical Processes - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia ? Norwich (UK) http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/acfellow Ref: RA376 The 5** School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia invites applications for a prestigious Academic Fellowship in the area of climate dynamics and physical processes. We seek someone with expertise in any climate-related area of geophysical fluid dynamics, including the atmosphere, ocean or cryosphere, complementing and collaborating with the existing strengths in climate physics within the School. The Fellowship and the School provide an excellent environment in which to develop your research, leading to a permanent Faculty position at the end of the initial five year contract. We are therefore looking for an individual with a high quality research record and a strong desire to build that existing foundation into an international research and teaching career. You must have a PhD or be of postdoctoral standing. You should have high quality publications (to be submitted to the UK RAE 2008) and a strong plan for further development of your research over the five year period. For further details of the vibrant and growing UEA research group in meteorology, oceanography and climate dynamics see http:// envam1.env.uea.ac.uk/met_ocean_climate.html . Closing date: 11 April 2007. Interviews are expected to be held on 1st May. Further particulars and an application form can be obtained from the University's web page at: http://www.uea.ac.uk/hr/jobs/ or by e- mail at: hr at uea.ac.uk or by calling the answerphone on 01603 593493 or by mail to the Human Resources Division, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ. ******************** (JOB 2) Climate Scientist - Rossby Centre - Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) ? Norrk?ping (Sweden) http://www.smhi.se/sgmain/om_smhi/personal/pdf/Rossby470.pdf Are you interested in global climate issues? Would you like to work with supporting the decision-making process within both the private and public sectors when it comes to the effects of climate change? We are looking for an associate to the Rossby Centre at SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. You will be working with advanced analysis and evaluation of climate model simulations and observation data. Your assigned tasks will include evaluation of model simulations using different observational datasets, contributing towards development of tools and methods for analyzing future climate scenarios; and presenting the results in scientific journals, at conferences, and for the public sector. The job includes working independently as well as with others. Applicants should have a PhD in either meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, or a closely related subject and have worked with climate change issues. Furthermore, you should have experience with analysing large datasets from numerical models. Experience with regional and global climate models is a plus. Additional merits are programming in Matlab, Linux/Unix, Fortran, C, and knowledge about GRIB, NetCDF, as well as GIS. Applicants should preferably be fluent in Swedish and English as well as having a good command of the written languages. However, non- Swedish speaking applicants will also be considered. The position is for one year and is stationed in Norrk?ping. Subject to continued funding and personal qualifications there might be an opportunity for extension. If you are interested please contact Lars B?rring acting head of Rossby Centre, email: Lars.Barring at smhi.se or phone +46-11-495 8604. You may also contact Christina Agardh, Human Resources department, e- mail: Christina.Agardh at smhi.se or phone: +46-11-495 8123. Application marked with reference number 470 should be send to: SMHI SE-601 76 Norrk?ping, Sweden Application for this position must reach SMHI not later than the 16th of April 2007. ******************** (JOBS 3) Post-Docs - Laboratori de Recerca del Clima (Climate Research Laboratory, LRC-PCB) - Parc Cientific de Barcelona (University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm? fuseaction=UserSite.FP7OpenCallsPage ERG (European Reintegration Grants) for EU nationals that enjoyed a Marie Curie grant during 18 months during the 5th or the 6th FWPs. Deadline for this call is April 25th IRG (International Reintegration Grants) for EU nationals having at least three years of research experience in a third country (not possible if it was within the EU nor in associated countries). Deadline for this call is April 25th IEF (Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development) for EU nationals that have not spent more than 12 months in the host institution's country in the last three years. Deadline for this call is August 14th IIF (International Incoming Fellowships). For third country nationals that have not spent more than 12 months in the host institution's country in the last three years. Deadline for this call is August 14th. At present, LRC-PCB, in accordance with international programs, works towards the accomplishment of the following goals: (1) to increase understanding of the past and present climate, including variability and change, (2) to improve the quantification of the forces causing climate change and variability, (3) to reduce uncertainty in predictions about future climate and related changes, (4) to understand ecosystem responses to climate change. Currently we have three main research areas: 1) Climate variability and climate dynamics, with special focus on the mechanisms driving the Mediterranean climate as well as on tropical dynamics. 2) Modelling of climate impacts, with special focus on the climate-infectious diseases interactions and the prospects for prediction of future disease incidence 3) Monitoring of GHG gases and the interactions between climate and the carbon cycle Applicants interested please send an updated short CV and an expression of interest in order to evaluate the degree of agreement between your career plans and our research activities. In case of good agreement, LRC-PCB will back the applicant as a host institution in that EU-call that suits most his/her professional profile. Expressions of interest will be considered until 10 days before the call's deadline. Please submit them to Miquel Angel Rodriguez- Arias (project manager and human resources): marodriguez at pcb.ub.es (on behalf of Prof. Xavier Rodo, LRC-PCB) ******************** (JOB 4) Post-doc Research Fellow - Earth system modeller - Department of Earth Sciences - Faculty of Science ? The Open University - Milton Keynes (UK) http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment/jobs-external.asp closing date : 30/04/2007 We invite applications for an Earth system modeller to work on the NERC CNRS, UK / French consortium project "Dynamics of the Earth System and the Ice-Core Record" (DESIRE). The OU work will focus on transient simulations of interglacials and transitions with intermediate-complexity models. We are seeking someone to set up, design and analyse experiments using GENIE-1. You should have a PhD or equivalent qualification in climate dynamics, mathematical modelling, earth sciences or a related discipline and experience of numerical modelling of physical systems. You will need to have good organisational skills, be able to communicate effectively and to work as part of a large collaborative research group. Familiarity with any of the following would also be advantageous: Earth system processes and modelling techniques; complex numerical models, computing environments and graphical packages; experimental design and data assimilation; observational or paleoclimatic data analysis. Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Neil Edwards (n.r.edwards at open.ac.uk). An application form and further particulars are available from the links located above. Hard copies and access details for disabled applicants are available from calling the Earth Science Recruitment Co-ordinator on 01908 653012 or by email earth-sciences-recruitment at open.ac.uk. Please quote reference 3472 ******************** (JOB 5) Asst Prof - tenure track ? Climate Change/Paleoclimatology - Department of Geography ? College of Geosciences ? Texas A&M University ? College Station TX (USA) The Department of Geography (http://geog.tamu.edu) and the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University (http:// geosciences.tamu.edu) invite applications for a tenure-track position specializing in Climate Change or Paleoclimatology to begin in September 2007 or January 2008. It is anticipated that this appointment will be made at the rank of Assistant Professor. This position is part of eleven planned hires in the Ocean Drilling and Sustainable Earth Science (ODASES) program (http://odases.tamu.edu), which is an interdisciplinary, multi-college research and education program designed to maximize participation in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) (http://www.iodp.org). The successful candidate will have a track record of research, or will be able to develop research, with ODP/IODP. Outstanding opportunities exist for collaboration with other departments, research units, and interdisciplinary initiatives within the College of Geosciences (e.g., the departments of Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, and Geology and Geophysics, the Sustainable Coastal Margins Program). The ODASES positions will complement the Vision 2020 Faculty Investment Plan to hire 20 tenure-track faculty in the College of Geosciences by 2008 in three target areas: (i) climate change; (ii) oceans, atmospheres and human health; and (iii) environmental and hydrological geosciences. Texas A&M University offers a highly interactive research environment, a strong modern infrastructure, and competitive startup packages. Candidates should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of three referees to Dr. Steven Quiring (squiring at geog.tamu.edu). Review of applications will begin immediately, and will continue until the position is filled. ******************** (JOBS 6) Air Resources Engineer - California Air Resources Board - Emission Inventory Analysis Section, Planning & Technical Support Division - Sacramento, CA (USA) http://www.spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=305506 or visit the CARB link: http://www.arb.ca.gov/as/personnel/jobs/ examvac.htm The California Air Resources Board has posted a new recruitment announcement for an Air Resources Engineer to fill a position within the Emission Inventory Analysis Section, Planning & Technical Support Division. Because of recent state legislation mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change, job responsibilities include developing components of the states' inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks. The work can include application of tools such a biogeochemical process models, GIS/remote sensing, and other approaches. ******************** (JOBS 7) Lecturer & Post-Doc (Two Positions) ? Physics, measurements and modelling and analysis of ozone trends - National University of Ireland ? Galway (Ireland) http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1321 (lecturer) http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1336 (post-doc) (1) Lecturer in Atmospheric Physics at NUI Galway has recently been posted. The post will offer an exciting opportunity of participation in, and further development of, the extensive atmospheric research programme at NUIG. Research activities include aerosol formation and transformation studies, aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, and air- sea exchange processes using a combination of in-situ measurements, process modelling, regional climate modelling and remote sensing. More information including the application forms can be found on the http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1321 Deadline for applications is May 4th, 2007. (2) Post-doctoral research position in measurements and modelling and analysis of ozone trends. Duration: 3 years. Location: National University of Ireland, Galway. Salary: ?44,510 per annum. Contact Gerard.jennings at nuigalway.ie. Web link: http://www.nuigalway.ie/news/vacancies.php?v_id=1336 ******************** (JOBS 8) Climate Policy Analysts, Associates & Research Assistants - The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) - Washington, D.C. (USA) www.ccap.org 1. Climate Policy Analysts (Min 5-7 Years Experience) 2. Policy Associates (Min 3-4 Years Experience) 3. Research Assistants (Entry Level) The Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) is a non-profit environmental think-tank based in Washington, DC. Founded in 1985, the Center is the only organization focused exclusively on climate and energy policy at the domestic and international levels. Our teams of policy analysts work collaboratively with scientists, industry and political leadership in every venue where we can contribute our expertise toward effective policy making. CCAP is expanding its capacity to contribute to climate policy solutions over the coming years. We are currently is seeking new staff members from the Research Assistant level through the Policy Analyst level to play key roles in its domestic and international policy programs. See our website at www.ccap.org for detailed program information. Most positions will be based at CCAP HQ in Washington DC. At the more senior level (Policy Associates and Climate Policy Analysts), ideal candidates will have strong analytical, outreach and project management skills. Candidates must have a good understanding of climate mitigation options, climate policy and emissions trading. Core skills will include strong analytical, research, and quantitative skills, writing ability, and the demonstrated initiative to take on multiple policy, project management, and coordination tasks in a fast paced team environment. Ideal candidates will have a minimum of a BA/BS (Research Assistants) and a Master?s degree (Policy Associates and Policy Analysts) in public policy, economics, engineering or a related field. Qualifications for the specific Research Assistant, Policy Associate or Policy Analyst roles will depend on, among other factors, the level of related experience and educational background. Interested candidates should forward all of the following: (1) a resume; (2) cover letter stating the position that interests you along with your salary requirements; and (3) a short writing sample, to: Email: recruitment at ccap.org NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE Center for Clean Air Policy, 750 First Street, NE, Suite 940, Washington, DC 20002 ********************* (JOB 9) Post-Doc ? Biogeochemistry/terrestrial carbon cycle - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (EEB/ AOS) - Princeton University ? Princeton NJ (USA) The successful applicant will join the research team at Princeton University in the lab groups of Steve Pacala and Jorge Sarmiento, which seeks to constrain models of the carbon cycle with a wide variety of measurements including trace gas samples, satellite observations, eddy-correlation observations and forest inventories. The goal is to identify and understand carbon sources and sinks and to build diagnostic and prognostic models of them. The team works in close collaboration with GFDL and has developed a dynamic land model, that is now integrated into the fully coupled GFDL Earth System Model. The successful applicant will take part into the ongoing effort of building a data inversion capability for our models of the carbon cycle. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in biogeochemistry, atmospheric sciences or a related field. Experience in ecosystem modeling and data processing will be advantageous but is not mandatory. The postdoctoral position is for three years, pending successful yearly reviews. Interested applicants should send a resume, a letter of motivation and the name of three referees to Ranveig Jakobsen (ranveig at princeton.edu). ********************* (JOB 10) Executive Director - International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) ? Stockholm (Sweden) Application Deadline: Monday, 30 April 2007 For further information and a full position description, please contact: International Arctic Science Committee Secretariat: E-mail: iasc at iasc.se Applications are invited for the position of Executive Director at the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) International Program Office (IPO) in Stockholm, Sweden. ISAC is a long-term, multidisciplinary program to study the effects of environmental changes, including physical/chemical, biological/ecological, and socioeconomic/cultural changes, on the circumpolar arctic system and their feedback on the global system. ISAC was formally established by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Arctic Ocean Sciences Board (AOSB). The ISAC IPO will be established to provide support for the activities of ISAC and to serve its organizational needs and will be based with the IASC Secretariat at the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden. Applicants for the position of Executive Director should preferably have considerable knowledge of international arctic research, experience in cooperative, international scientific programs or activities, and relevant science management and administrative experience. Excellent oral and written knowledge of English is required. Applicants should be enterprising, open-minded, and creative. The Executive Director will initially serve on a two-year contract with possible extensions. The position is subject to all hiring and employment laws and regulations of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. The salary will be set corresponding to the successful applicant's qualifications and is expected to be SEK 550,000. Applications must briefly list the candidate's qualifications related to the above criteria and include the names of two referees. Applications must be submitted by Monday, 30 April 2007, at: E-mail: iasc at iasc.se or by regular mail to: IASC Secretariat, P.O. Box 50003 Stockholm, SE-104 05 Stockholm, SWEDEN For further information and a full position description, please contact the IASC Secretariat at: E-mail: iasc at iasc.se or contact: Michael Tjernstrom, ISAC Co-chair, Phone: +46-8-163110 E-mail: michaelt at misu.su.se or contact: Grete K. Hovelsrud, ISAC Co-chair, Phone: +47-22-858769/50 E-mail: g.k.hovelsrud at cicero.uio.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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070409/d9015d3b/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Apr 13 12:07:24 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 10:07:24 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 4/13/2007 Message-ID: <8F0B5435-AD2D-4113-8629-59184C3B8FBB@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 4/13/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Aritcle submitted - State of the Wild: Perspective of a Climatologist ? by Jim Hansen http://www.giss.nasa.gov/~jhansen/preprints/Wild.070410.pdf African Environmental History (see RESOURCES 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS IPCC Working Group II Summary Report http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM6avr07.pdf IPCC outlines strategies for responding to the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change http://www.wmo.ch/news/news.html (see NEWS 1 below) Scientists: ?Warming could increase schistosomiasis? http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/scientists-warming-could- increase-schistosomiasis.cfm Or: http://tinyurl.com/yssp9p (see NEWS 2 below) Leading Indian environmentalist says U.S. using Asia as excuse in CO2 debate http://climate.weather.com/articles/indiaus041107.html (see NEWS 3 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES WEBS (Women Evolving Biological Sciences) early career symposium - October 14-17, 2007 ? Seattle, WA (USA) http://www.webs.washington.edu (see OPPORTUNITIES 1 below) The Second Environmental Studies Summit - June 7-10, 2007 (Syracuse, NY USA) http://enspire.syr.edu/Summit/ (see OPPORTUNITIES 2 below) Early career ?summer school? program for early career scientists interested in surface emissions and atmospheric composition - September, 11-20 2007 (ile d'Ol?ron, France) www.geiacenter.org (see OPPORTUNITIES 3 below) JOBS Post-Doc ? Geochemistry - Brown University (Providence, USA) (see JOB 1 below) Post-Doc ? Ice and Climate Systems Modelling - Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) (see JOB 2 below) CDM Project Manager ? EcoSecurities (Mumbai, India) www.ecosecurities.com Ref no: CDM01 (see JOB 3 below) Post-Doc ? National Center for Meteorological Research at Meteo- France (Toulouse, France) https://www2.cnrs.fr/DRH/post-docs07/?pid=1&action=view&id=771&lang=en (see JOB 4 below) Post-Doc - Integration of climatic, hydrological and socio-economic models for application in water resource management - University of Cape Town, Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) (Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa) http://www.csag.uct.ac.za (see JOB 5 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) African Environmental History Database We are considering inaugurating a network, affiliation, association or organisation for scholars and academics in the broad field of the environmental history of Africa and would like to begin a database of people working on African environmental topics of any kind. Depending on the level of interest we -- Jane Carruthers (University of South Africa), Karen Brown (University of Oxford) and Sandra Swart (University of Stellenbosch) -- receive we will take the idea of an 'association' further. If you would like to have your name added to the list, please respond to any of us above or to: carruej at unisa.ac.za *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) IPCC outlines strategies for responding to the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change http://www.wmo.ch/news/news.html The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), co- sponsored by WMO, has released the second part of its Fourth Assessment Report that evaluates the current and future impacts of global warming and explores opportunities for proactively adapting to them. Climate Change 2007: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability concludes that the world?s rivers, lakes, wildlife, glaciers, permafrost, coastal zones, disease carriers and many other elements of the natural and physical environment are already responding to the effects of humanity?s greenhouse-gas emissions. Scientists are increasingly confident that, as global warming continues, certain weather events and extremes will become more frequent, widespread or intense. Some events, in particular sea-level rise, have the potential for significant impacts on natural ecosystems, water resources and agricultural production in certain regions, especially after the 21st century. ******************** (NEWS 2) Scientists: Warming 'could increase schistosomiasis' http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/scientists-warming-could- increase-schistosomiasis.cfm Or: http://tinyurl.com/yssp9p Global warming could increase the risk of schistosomiasis infection in China and expand infection into the country's northern territories, say researchers. A study published in the March issue of Advances in Climate Change Research suggests that increasing temperatures could increase numbers of the Schistosome worm, which causes the disease and the Oncomelania snail in which it lives. Scientists found the worm in China's southern regions and distributed along China's Yangtze River, but the worm could spread to northern regions if the temperature of 15.2 degrees centigrade for the worm to grow is reached in those areas. ******************** (NEWS 3) Leading Indian environmentalist says U.S. using Asia as excuse in CO2 debate by JAN SLIVA Associated Press Writer http://climate.weather.com/articles/indiaus041107.html BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) ? A prominent Indian environmentalist accused the United States on Wednesday of using India and other emerging economies as an excuse for refusing to commit to a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming. Maneka Gandhi, a parliamentarian and former Indian environment minister, urged the U.S. to stop making cuts to its greenhouse gases conditional on similar moves by India or China, saying Washington was trying to divert attention from its environmental problems. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITIES 1) WEBS (Women Evolving Biological Sciences) symposium - October 14-17, 2007 ? Seattle, WA (USA) http://www.webs.washington.edu Dear Colleagues, We are writing to introduce you to WEBS (Women Evolving Biological Sciences), an annual three-day symposium aimed at addressing the retention of female scientists and issues related to the transition of women from early career stages to tenure track positions and leadership roles in academic and research settings. We would appreciate your assistance in passing along this information to any of your colleagues who you think will be interested in our program. WEBS will target early career women in the Biological Sciences with an emphasis on ecology and evolutionary biology. In particular, it will focus on women who have earned their doctoral degrees within the past two to eight years and who do not have tenure in order to address the critical transition period from graduate studies and post- doctoral positions to permanent research and teaching positions. The symposia will provide a forum for professional development, including awareness and improvement of academic leadership skills; opportunities to establish mentoring relationships; and resources for developing professional networks. *The 2007 symposium will be held at Packforest Conference Center outside of Seattle, Washington from October 14-17, 2007.* Please visit our website (http://www.webs.washington.edu) for details and application materials. Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have (websinfo at u.washington.edu). Applications will be due May 15,2007. ******************** (OPPORTUNITIES 2) The Second Environmental Studies Summit - June 7-10, 2007 - Syracuse, NY (USA) To learn more or to register online, go to enspire.syr.edu/Summit/ The Second Environmental Studies Summit will bring together directors, faculty, and graduate students in environmental studies and related fields to discuss the direction of out field -- and to advance it. The gathering will be hosted by Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. This is a follow-up to last year's highly-successful Santa Barbara Summit on Environmental Studies. IT'S ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT,? ? Three outstanding keynote speakers will highlight the theme of engagement -- engagement between traditional and scientific ecological knowledge, engagement between environmental studies and green business, and engaging the academy in finding solutions to global warming. ? The pre-Summit workshop (June 7) on Sustainability across the Curriculum will provide a model for academic engagement with the local ecosystem. ? Numerous breakout sessions will broaden the discussion to include issues of local, national, and global engagement ? Three optional field trips (June 10) will allow participants to engage with the landscape of Central New York and the Great Lakes watershed. ? The 2nd Summit will carry on the tradition started in Santa Barbara, emphasizing informal discussion and highly participatory workshops - personal conversation and engagement with colleagues from across the U.S. and Canada. ADVANCING THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES,? ? Discussion topics will include many aspects of environmental knowledge, interdisciplinary scholarship, and collaboration, as well as nuts and bolts of curriculum development, program evaluation, professional advancement, and creating a new professional organization and journal for environmental studies AND FUN! ? A wine-tasting reception, a barbecue at Onondaga Lake, an organic lunch feast, and more will create delightful contexts for lively conversation. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Robin Kimmerer teaches biology and ethnobotany at SUNY-ESF and directs the brand-new Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Her book Gathering Moss won the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding natural history writing in 2005. Rhone Resch heads the Solar Energy Industries Association. Rhone is a powerful spokesman for the engagement between environmental researchers, the business community, and the general public. Eban Goodstein is Professor of Economics at Lewis and Clark College and the national coordinator of Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America. OPTIONAL FIELD TRIPS Visit the spectacular Thousand Islands region in the St. Lawrence River to tour the Thousand Islands Biological Station and the Antique Boat Museum, Tour the Fenner Wind Farm educational center and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in picturesque Cazenovia, NY. Learn about the historical, spiritual, cultural, and ecological importance of Syracuse's Onondaga Creek. ******************** (OPPORTUNITIES 3) Early career ?summer school? program for early career scientists interested in surface emissions and atmospheric composition - September, 11-20 2007 (ile d'Ol?ron, France) www.geiacenter.org The ESF-ACCENT-CNRS-GEIA summer school on "Surface emissions and prediction of atmospheric composition changes" will be held on ile d'Ol?ron, France from September, 11-20 2007. This program is for "early career scientists"- so grad students to assistant professors can apply. Teachers include Susan Solomon and Guy Brasseur. The goal of the school is to gather early career scientists from different disciplines and nations to address current issues in surface emissions and modelling of the changes in the composition of the atmosphere. We also expect this activity to improve research collaboration between these scientists. Since a large number of chemical compounds, gases and particles, have to be considered, the tutorials, discussions and training will focus on the following themes: (1) Emissions and deposition of gaseous compounds, (2) Emissions of aerosols, (3) Development of chemical schemes for studies of regional and global changes in the composition of the atmosphere, (4) Modeling of changes in the composition of the atmosphere, (5) impact of changes in the atmospheric composition on vegetation and humans. The deadline is April 20, 2007.(Funding will be available to some participants). *************************************************** 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) Post-Doc ? Geochemistry - Brown University ? Providence, RI (USA) A postdoctoral position is available as part of Brown University?s new Environmental Change Initiative in the labs of Drs. Stephen Porder and Meredith Hastings. The successful applicant will use modeling and geochemical measurements to advance our understanding of the biogeochemical effects of dust deposition, with a primary focus on the connection between dust deposition, chemical weathering and the global carbon cycle. A Ph.D. in earth or environmental sciences is required, but this project is inherently interdisciplinary and a willingness to integrate geochemistry, atmospheric circulation models, and broad biogeochemical thinking is a necessity. A background in GIS, modeling, and/or geochemical analytic techniques is a plus, as are strong communication and organizational skills. Funding is guaranteed for one year, with the possibility for additional funding. To apply, please send a cover letter stating your interest in the position and experiences you feel are relevant, a curriculum vitae and the names of three references to both stephen_porder at brown.edu and mhasting at atmos.washington.edu. ******************** (JOBS 2) Post-Doc ? Ice and Climate Systems Modelling - Memorial University of Newfoundland Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral position in ice and climate systems modelling. Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Sept 2007 start date. Project: Large ensemble calibrated modelling of the ice and climate system Setup, carry out, and analyze data-integrated large ensemble runs of past and future ice and climate system evolution with a focus on non-linear interactions between ice-sheets and climate. Such interactions have been implicated in past threshold behaviour and are among the most poorly constrained and highest risk routes to future climate system "tipping points". The general intent is to develop meaningful probability distributions for past, present, and future ice and climate system evolution. The earth system model to be employed will include an evolving 3D glacial systems model and a fast (reduced/coarse resolution) atmosphere/ocean/vegetation GCM. Resources include Teraflop scale clusters and supercomputers and a strong physical oceanography group. Other project tasks: 1) Couple the MUN/UofT (Memorial University of Newfoundland/ University of Toronto) glacial systems model with various reduced GCMs (initially the Hamburg Planet Simulator). 2) Re-calibrate the coupled ice/atmosphere/ocean/ vegetation model using in-house Bayesian methodologies. 3) Mentor graduate students. 4) Engage opportunities for collaborative earth systems modeling projects with other groups. 5) Participate at conferences, publish, and present project results. Required experience/skills: mucking about with GCMs, model coupling, analysis of model results, F90, MPI, and Unix/Linux environment. A solid understanding of atmospheric and/or ocean dynamics. Useful assets: A PhD in atmospheric sciences, physical oceanography, or related disciplines. Experience with processing and analyzing large data sets. Enjoyment of exceptionally beautiful natural environments. Duration: Two years with a possible extension. Preferred start date: Sept. 2007 To apply send your CV, a brief statement of interest and long- term goals, names of three referees, and one publication or preprint to me at the email address below. Review of the applications will begin May 15 and will continue until the position is filled. For more information, please contact: Prof. Lev Tarasov, Dept of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada email: lev at physics.mun.ca http://www.mun.ca/ physics/people/faculty/tarasov.php I will also be at next week's EGU congress in Vienna, and would welcome a chance to meet interested applicants. ******************** (JOBS 3) CDM Project Manager ? EcoSecurities - Mumbai India www.ecosecurities.com Ref no: CDM01 Main Duties and Responsibilities of the role: 1) Managing the CDM project cycle of EcoSecurities clients. 2) Coordination with EcoSecurities international ?implementation? team for the successful registration of various projects. (PDD, HNA, Validation, Registration). 3) Significant interaction with our client base, as well as maintaining good client relationships and furthering business development. 4) Keeping updated and bringing new technical information regarding the CDM to EcoSecurities India?s business development team. 5) Working with project partners and third parties to prepare project validation. 6) Data analysis and gathering. 7) Reports to: Country Director & Head of Implementation Qualifications: Masters degree in environmental sciences/ energy efficiency/chemical engineering or a related degree. Experience: 1) Experience in a company that is developing PDDs and methodologies as well as assisting project developers through the CDM cycle 2) Strong technical skills and experience in, or familiarity with the energy, waste or industrial sectors, 3) Knowledge and interest in climate change policy and the carbon market 4) Technical and / or Project management experience in the energy, waste or industrial sector Skills and Experience: 1) Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 2) Language skills, particularly Indian language speakers, 3) Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently 4) Ability to manage own work effectively and prioritise tasks 5) Good working knowledge of all Microsoft office applications 6) Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail 7) Experience of managing a team Salary and Benefits: EcoSecurities values the contribution of its employees in the success of its business an in return we offer a competitive salary depending on skills, qualifications and relevant experience. In addition to base salary we offer 4 x Death in Service Insurance, Private Medical Insurance, health Insurance, 22 days annual holiday plus statutory days, performance related bonus of up to 25% of base salary. The closing date for applications is 30th April 2007. Please visit the careers section of our website, www.ecosecurities.com, where you can complete an application form and upload your C.V.If you have not heard not back from us by 15th May, please accept that your application has been unsucessful. EcoSecurities is one of the world?s leading companies in the business of sourcing, developing and trading carbon credits. EcoSecurities structures and guides greenhouse gas emission reduction projects through the Kyoto Protocol, working with both project developers and buyers of carbon credits. Established in 1997, EcoSecurities has been involved in the development of many of the global carbon market?s most important milestones, including developing the world?s first Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project to be registered under the Kyoto Protocol, and the first to be issued with carbon credits. In 2006, EcoSecurities was voted ?Best CDM/JI Project Developer? by both Point Carbon and Environmental Finance magazine. With a network of offices and representatives in over 25 countries on five continents, EcoSecurities is positioned at the forefront of carbon market development and has amassed one of the industry?s largest and most diversified portfolios of carbon projects. Today, the company is working on 374 projects in 36 countries using 18 different technologies, with the potential to generate more than 163 million carbon credits. EcoSecurities has been listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange since December 2005. ******************** (JOBS 4) Post-Doc ? National Center for Meteorological Research at Meteo-France (Toulouse, France) Dear colleagues, The purpose of this email is to announce a post-doc offer at the National Center for Meteorological Research (Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques) at Meteo-France within the group GAME) in Toulouse, France, starting in Autumn, 2007. https://www2.cnrs.fr/DRH/post-docs07/?pid=1&action=view&id=771&lang=en Heading of offer: BOUNDARY-LAYER REGIMES WITHIN THE AFRICAN MONSOON - OFFER : P.U./27 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT The West-African monsoon involves strong interactions between the surface and the atmosphere. Boundary layer processes play there a crucial role, through their control on energetic exchanges and transports. Their quantification is however very approximate. As a result, the mechanisms of interactions that are actually operating still remain, for a large part, to be determined. This constitutes an important goal of the AMMA program, within which this project takes place. The high surface radiative fluxes characterizing this Tropical region result in a large magnitude of surface heat fluxes. This combines with strong variations of its sensible and latent heat components, from the moist Soudanian area to the semi-arid Sahelian zone and finally the Saharan desert. This well defined configuration of the surface and associated atmospheric circulations along a South- North transect leads to strong variations of the functioning of boundary layers, which are further modulated by fluctuations over a wide range of scales. The objectives of this projet are: (i) to identify and to characterize the observed regimes, via a classification of boundary layers - parameters such as boundary layer height, daytime mixed- layer temperature, humidity and equivalent potential temperature and their diurnal cycle will be analysed, together with their relations to wind, wind shear and cloud cover, and their possible connexions with environmental conditions at larger scale, e.g. synoptic scales; (ii) to analyse and to quantify how the previously identified regimes distinctively affect the surface atmosphere interactions - the aim is to determine which mechanisms are at play, in particular those associated with the water vapour transport along the meridional gradient, which involve daytime vertical exchanges between the low level monsoon flux and the drier tropospheric flow as well as nocturnal advection, that are typically reinforces by the presence of a low-level nocturnal jet; (iii) to evaluate how these boundary-layer regimes are reproduced by parametrized models and to define appropriate diagnostics for qualifying the boundary layer simulated by large-scale models ? the aim is to identify their major weaknesses, their causes and consequences on the effective role of simulated boundary layers compared to observed ones. This study will be conducted in a group that is strongly involved in the AMMA program and imply interactions with AMMA partners. It will capitalize on the wide amount of data that were collected during the intensive period of observation in summer 2006. We will use in particular the data provided by the radiosonde network that was spectacularly reinforced during the campaign, complemented by ground- based and aircraft data such as UHF and tethered balloon data, and dropsondes. Sounding data provide a temporal cover all along the season while aircraft data allow some useful spatialization. The modelling part of this study, which aims at exploring the range of identified boundary layers, will make use of simulations performed with the mesoNH model within the group, in parametrized and explicit (large-eddy simulations) mode. At large scale, we will firstly focus on simulations from numerical weather prediction models (e.g., ECMWF), and secondly on climatic simulations performed within the frame of AMMA, starting with those provided by the ARPEGE model for the AMMA-CROSS intercomparison exercise. PROFILE OF THE CANDIDATE: The sucessful candidate will have a PhD thesis in the domain of atmospheric science, with experience of current programming software. A solid background in atmospheric physics -theory/observations/modellings- will be particularly appreciated. *Duration of project : 1 year *Laboratory of project: URA1357 Midi Pyr?n?es (14) CNRM-GAME Toulouse http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr *Contact: Francoise GUICHARD 00 33 5 61 07 93 70 francoise.guichard at meteo.fr HOW TO APPLY: 1 - applicants must look through the job descriptions* on the web site for open positions in their field of expertise (an English version exists for all job descriptions). 2 - applicants have until April 30 2007 to make contact with the labs listed and send them a completed application form. 3 - a local selection committee under the instructions of the lab director selects one candidate from the application forms received. The relevant regional offices are responsible for drawing up the contract. 4 - selected candidates begin work on September or October 1st 2007. This date can be postponed in exceptional circumstances. Applications must be received by the lab directors by April 30, 2007. ************* (JOB 5) Post-doc - Integration of climatic, hydrological and socio- economic models for application in water resource management - Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) - University Of Cape Town (Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa) http://www.csag.uct.ac.za Duration: 1-2 years, with possible extension. Start date: As soon as available, preferably by mid-2007. The Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) is part of a larger project team looking at managing climate risk for agriculture and water resource development in SW South Africa. The project focuses on integrating climate, hydrological and socio-economic models for application in resource allocation. The Berg River, which flows from the Western Cape fold mountains to the sea on the west coast, will form the case study area. Physical, hydrological and socio-economic data will be extracted and used together with climate change scenarios and seasonal forecasts, as input for the BergSIM model. This builds on existing testing and use of the model in the Berg river catchment area. We seek a post-doc to join our expanding research team. The successful candidate will have recently completed a PhD and should have some experience in either developing climate forecasts (using GCMs/RCMs) and/or translating forecasts using hydrological/ agricultural models, be literate in UNIX, and have a working knowledge of C, Fortran, Matlab, R etc. As part of the CSAG team you will work on refining the research program, implementing ensemble simulations, and undertake research on methods for integrating probabilistic forecasts from multi-model ensembles within the BergSIM model. Within the project you will have scope to develop your own specific foci while supporting the broader project objectives. The successful candidate will also work with the graduate students engaged on the project. Priority will be given to previously disadvantaged South African citizens. Salary will be competitive and, under certain conditions, will be tax free. CSAG is a leading climate research group in southern Africa, active in applied modelling activities in climate change, seasonal forecasting, and climate system processes. The group has a strong emphasis on multi-disciplinary integration and in engaging with stakeholders in the water, agricultural, and policy communities. Applications should be submitted electronically, include a full CV, a brief letter of interest, and the names and contact details of three referees. Closing Date: The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. Successful candidates will be contacted within 3 weeks of receipt of your application. To apply, or to enquire about any further details: Email: johnston at csag.uct.ac.za Ph: +27 21 650 2884 Fax: +27 21 650 5773 Relevant web links: CSAG: http://www.csag.uct.ac.za GFCSA: http:// www.gfcsa.net ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070413/f7df5df5/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Apr 20 14:00:54 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:00:54 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 4/20/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 4/20/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_climatechange.pdf news release: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/319 (see RESOURCES 1 below) FORUM The inside track from academia and industry: Crossing boundaries, hitting barriers http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2007/070222/full/nj7130-950a.html (see FORUM 1 below) Women experts in Climate Policy wanted to contribute to American Meteorological Society blog (see FORUM 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Climate change may worsen instability http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/17/america/NA-GEN-US- Climate-Change-Security.php British Foreign Secretary warns of security threat from climate change http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/17/america/NA-GEN-US- Climate-Change-Security.php Scientists Track Impact of Asian Dust and Pollution on Clouds, Climate Change http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07042 Global Warming a Security Risk http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/04/15/ global_warming_a_security_risk/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/396wyp (see NEWS 1 below) Nationwide, a Clamor Over Global Warming - Rally Near Capitol Mirrors More Than 1,400 Others Urging Congressional Action http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/ AR2007041401436.html (free registration required (see NEWS 2 below) Global Warming Forecasts Creation, Loss Of Climate Zones http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326181452.htm (see NEWS 3 below) Kilimanjaro's Ice Set to Linger http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6561527.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/3cgsf2 (see NEWS 4 below) Growing Number of Americans See Warming as Leading Threat - Most Want U.S. to Act, but There Is No Consensus on How www.washingtonpost.com (registration required) (see NEWS 5 below) JOBS Research Fellow - School of Science and Engineering -International Global Change Institute (IGCI) - University of Waikato ? Hamilton (New Zealand) (see JOB 1 below) Marine Biologist - Cabrillo National Monument ? San Diego CA (USA) (see JOB 2 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage http://whc.unesco.org/documents/publi_climatechange.pdf news release: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/319 The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is very pleased to announce the release of the publication entitled "Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage". This document is intended to raise awareness about climate change impacts on the World Heritage. The report features 26 case studies - including the Tower of London, Kilimanjaro National Park and the Great Barrier Reef - that are representative of the dangers faced by the 830 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) The inside track from academia and industry: Crossing boundaries, hitting barriers http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2007/070222/full/nj7130-950a.html Nature 445, 950 (February 2007) - Interdisciplinary research may be lauded, but it's not yet rewarded. The scientific community recognizes the importance of interdisciplinary research. But institutions have not yet caught up with ways to reward good examples of it. In fact, interdisciplinary research in academia often faces discouraging barriers. Working across disciplines requires not only depth of knowledge but also a holistic understanding of complex systems. But the tenure system largely favours narrowly focused research in subdisciplines. Much progress in our field, Earth sciences, has emerged from working across several disciplines. Combining medicine and geophysics is resulting in new medical devices. Mixing meteorology and biology provides new ways of looking at the spread of infectious disease. And blending oceanography and atmospheric science leads to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming. We need to continue and expand these multidimensional approaches to benefit humanity and improve the prediction of climate and natural hazards, and to provide science-based solutions that support human well-being and the sustainable use of our resources. The 2006 US National Academies report Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary research, noting that many significant scientific and engineering advances cut across several disciplines. Academia has taken some steps to embrace interdisciplinary research. The Harvard University Center for the Environment programme recognizes that the most pressing problems facing the environment are complex and often require collaborative investigation by scholars versed in different disciplines. Similarly, the new Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University is an interdisciplinary hub for research, teaching and problem-solving that draws on the experience and expertise of faculty members and students from all seven schools at Stanford University. But the university reward system has generally not kept pace with this approach. Most universities still rely on a tenure process that judges excellence and leadership in a narrowly defined disciplinary (or subdisciplinary) field. Indeed, a 2004 National Academies report, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, lists "promotion criteria" as the top impediment to interdisciplinary research, based on separate rankings by both scientists and university provosts. "An interdisciplinary faculty member seeking tenure often faces two challenges beyond those faced by members working in a single discipline," says the report. "First, interdisciplinary research done by the candidate may not be valued sufficiently to compensate for lower output of disciplinary research ... Second, it can be difficult to find reviewers who understand the overall quality of the work, which usually lies outside the expertise of people on the tenure evaluation committee." The committee recommended that institutions provide more flexibility in promotion and tenure procedures, recognizing that the contributions of someone in interdisciplinary research may need to be evaluated differently from those of someone in a single-discipline project. Indeed, if universities want to attract and retain innovative young researchers and foster novel approaches to science, they should support infrastructure, research needs and opportunities for integrative research. They also need to find different ways of rewarding and evaluating scientists who are engaged in such research. If universities want to attract innovative young researchers, they should support integrative research. We advocate several steps towards proper recognition of the contributions of interdisciplinary researchers. They include establishing interdisciplinary review committees to evaluate faculty members who are conducting such research, with at least one of the committee members actively doing interdisciplinary work themselves. We'd like to see tenure committees solicit input from scientists personally familiar with the candidate's work ? people who can assess individual contributions to collaborative projects and roles in facilitating the research. Letters to external referees should be formulated to emphasize the transdisciplinary nature of the candidate's work and not require that the candidate be identified as or compared with an expert in one specific field. Interdisciplinary researchers could also have more time to reach tenure milestones, as their research can be more time-consuming to coordinate, conduct and synthesize. Interdisciplinary research and education are inspired by the drive to provide effective solutions to complex questions. A central problem it faces is in finding ways to remove those barriers. By Adina Paytan and Mary Lou Zoback ******************** (FORUM 2) Women experts in Climate Policy wanted to contribute to American Meteorological Society blog Hi all, Climate change modeling and climate policy are not my specific fields of research, but since I think climate policy is a subject that affects all of us, I am interested in it. I was quite interested recently to see that the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has developed their own climate policy blog (http:// www.climatepolicy.org/). I think it is exciting that one of the major professional organizations in the field is stepping up to provide some valid information and discussion for journalists and policymakers. Anyway, the point of this email is that in looking at the AMS blog, I was surprised to see that of the 8 bloggers listed, none were women. Perhaps it is because I just looked through the gender tutorials that Roberta sent out recently, but that really struck me as a bit inequitable, espcially from a professional organization like AMS. So I emailed the director of the AMS policy program to ask him about it. He said that they had asked several women, who had turned them down for various reasons. He of course then turned the question around and asked me who I would recommend as a participant. So that is why I am turning to you. As I said, climate policy is not my area of research so I don't read the journals in that field, but perhaps some of you do and could recommend some women who are experts in climate policy (or perhaps you are an expert yourself and would be interested). Anyway, please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks, Sally Dr. Sally McFarlane, Climate Physics Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352 , MSIN K9-24 509-375-6402 *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Global Warming a Security Risk http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/04/15/ global_warming_a_security_risk/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/396wyp Boston Globe (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON--Global warming poses a "serious threat to America's national security" with terrorism worsening and the U.S. will likely be dragged into fights over water and other shortages, top retired military leaders warn in a new report. Joining calls already made by scientists and environmental activists, the retired U.S. military leaders, including the former Army chief of staff and President Bush's former chief Middle East peace negotiator, called on the U.S. government to make major cuts in emissions of gases that cause global warming. The report warned that in the next 30 to 40 years there will be wars over water, increased hunger instability from worsening disease and rising sea levels and global warming-induced refugees. "The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide and the growth of terrorism," the 35- page report predicted. ******************** (NEWS 2) Nationwide, a Clamor Over Global Warming - Rally Near Capitol Mirrors More Than 1,400 Others Urging Congressional Action http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/14/ AR2007041401436.html (free registration required) Washington Post ? In front of the Capitol they gathered, a thick semicircle of a couple hundred people -- mostly students, some parents with small children and a smattering of graying others. They crowded around a stage and carried signs that said, "Stop Global Warming." "Students have historically been at the forefront of most major political and social movements," Towson University freshman Erica Stout boomed into a microphone. "We protested the Vietnam War . . . we stood up against racial injustices . . . and we are here again today to demand an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions."On broad signs stretching to the right and left of the stage were photos from across the country: 5,000 pictures of nearly 10,000 students from such schools as Brown, Texas A&M and California State universities and the Connecticut Community College system -- all holding signs and banners calling for more congressional attention to global warming. At more than 1,400 events yesterday, in each of the 50 states -- including such places as Homer, Alaska, and Moscow, Idaho -- events urging Congress to action against climate change took place, honoring the National Day of Climate Action. "The point was not to get a lot of people in one place," said Alison Hobart, 39, who came from Fayston, Vt., with her family. "It was to get people excited in a lot of places. Lots of people we know in Vermont were going to local ones." She was in Washington to visit her sister, so they came to the Capitol event. "If we were just going to go to an action, we wouldn't use that much fossil fuel to go to D.C." Sprinkled throughout the crowd were members of the Religious Campaign for Forest Conservation who came to Washington for meetings on the subject this week and stopped by to support yesterday's Step It Up rally. "I'm here because I feel a calling by God," said Tom Herschelman, 63, of Sheboygan Falls, Wis., who works for an insurance company and is working toward a master's degree in theology. "God owns the Earth. We are stewards of the Earth. For us to trash the Earth, to think that it is only for our use, does not illustrate humility. It illustrates arrogance. ******************** (NEWS 3) Global Warming Forecasts Creation, Loss Of Climate Zones http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070326181452.htm A new global warming study predicts that many current climate zones will vanish entirely by the year 2100, replaced by climates unknown in today's world. The most severely affected parts of the world span both heavily populated regions, including the southeastern United States, southeastern Asia and parts of Africa, and known hotspots of biodiversity, such as the Amazonian rainforest and African and South American mountain ranges. In general, the models show that existing climate zones will shift toward higher latitudes and higher elevations, squeezing out the climates at the extremes - tropical mountaintops and the poles - and leaving room for unfamiliar climes around the equator. Physical restrictions on species may also amplify the effects of local climate changes. The more relevant question, Williams says, becomes not just whether a given climate still exists, but "will a species be able to keep up with its climatic zone? Most species can't migrate around the world. ******************** (NEWS 4) Kilimanjaro's Ice Set to Linger http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6561527.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/3cgsf2 BBC News Online - A fresh assessment suggests the famous ice fields on Africa's tallest mountain will be around for decades yet. Recent concerns that climate warming would rob Mount Kilimanjaro of all its glaciers within 20 years are overly pessimistic, say Austrian scientists. Their weather station data and modelling work indicate the tropical ice should last well beyond 2040. Precipitation and not temperature is the key to the white peak's future, the University of Innsbruck-led team says. "About five years ago Kilimanjaro was being used as an icon for global warming. We know now that this was far too simplistic a view," said Thomas Moelg. "We have done different kinds of modelling and we expect the plateau glaciers to be gone roughly within 30 or 40 years from now, but we have a certain expectation that the slope glaciers may last longer," added colleague Georg Kaser. ******************* (NEWS 5) Growing Number of Americans See Warming as Leading Threat - Most Want U.S. to Act, but There Is No Consensus on How www.washingtonpost.com (registration required) Washington Post - A third of Americans say global warming ranks as the world's single largest environmental problem, double the number who gave it top ranking last year, a nationwide poll shows. In the new poll, conducted jointly by The Washington Post, ABC News and Stanford University, most of those surveyed said that climate change is real and that they want the federal government to do more about it. But the survey also shows there is little public agreement about the policies the United States should adopt to address it. The findings come weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has the right to regulate carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to human-caused warming. Congress is pressing to enact limits on all greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change, but it remains unclear how soon the House or the Senate could pass such legislation. According to the poll, seven in 10 Americans want more federal action on global warming, and about half of those surveyed think the government should do "much more" than it is doing now. By a 40-point margin, the public trusts congressional Democrats more than it trusts President Bush to handle global warming. More than nine in 10 Democrats in the poll said they trusted their party's leaders over Bush on the issue, as did 54 percent of independents and one in five Republicans. Bush has maintained that he will rely on scientific developments and voluntary measures, rather than curbs on greenhouse-gas emissions, to tackle global warming. *************************************************** 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) Research Fellow - School of Science and Engineering - International Global Change Institute (IGCI) - University of Waikato ? Hamilton (New Zealand) We are seeking a suitably qualified person to undertake interdisciplinary socio-economic research. The fixed-term, 3 years, position will involve carrying out risk assessments and cost benefit analyses of different adaptation and mitigation strategies for various climate change scenarios. The successful candidate will have a recent PhD in Economics with demonstrable knowledge of climate change related subjects. Enquiries of an academic nature can be directed to Professor Janet Bornman, Director of the Institute, email jbornman at waikato.ac.nz Applications close: Friday, 11 May 2007. Applications should be made on the University of Waikato Application Form available from our website jobs.waikato.ac.nz or contact HRM - email: jobs at waikato.ac.nz, telephone +64 7 838 4003 , facsimile +64 7 856 0135. ******************** (JOB 2) Marine Biologist - Cabrillo National Monument ? San Diego CA (USA) Cabrillo National Monument (National Park Service) will very soon be recruiting for a marine biologist (Marine Biologist or Ecologist GS-09). Incumbent?s duties concentrate on the marine ecosystems within the park, including managing and implementing an established ecologically-based monitoring program in the rocky intertidal zone. This includes planning and experimental design, field work, volunteer management, analysis and interpretation of results, and report preparation. Coordination, networking, and developing relationships with other professionals from academia, agencies and other NPS units (especially Channel Islands National Park) is critical to facilitate this program. This position requires good verbal and written communication skills and the ability to use a range of technical equipment and computer software. This is a full-time, permanent, subject to furlough position. We are looking for a positive, enthusiastic individual interested in southern California rocky intertidal communities to join us. This position will soon be posted on the Internet at http:// www.usajobs.gov/. We are encouraging interested applicants to begin preparing their application now (e.g., using a resume or OF-612). When posted, the position will be open approximately two weeks. In order to receive consideration for this position, please ensure that your application is complete and submitted appropriately according to instructions in the vacancy announcement. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please contact Andrea Compton, Chief of Natural Resource Science Division at Cabrillo NM, for more information or clarification on the position itself? 619-523-4581 or Andrea_Compton at nps.gov. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070420/f5bb8ca0/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Apr 27 14:05:13 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:05:13 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 4/27/2007 Message-ID: <9FABAF83-4AFC-43FE-A6C0-AD6F0EB04998@whitman.edu> 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 Europ?en de la Mer Place N. Copernic 29280 Plouzan?, 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070427/b3966de0/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri May 4 13:17:38 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 11:17:38 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 5/4/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 5/4/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES New Website: Earth Portal by the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) www.EarthPortal.org (see RESOURCES 1 below) NOAA Seeks Social Scientists with Aquatic Invasive Species Interest (see RESOURCES 2 below) Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program http://www.cies.org/sir/SIR_Guidelines.pdf (see RESOURCES 3 below) SCIENCE NEWS Ocean's "Twilight Zone" May Be a Key to Understanding Climate Change NSF Press Release 07-046 http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp? cntn_id=108765&org=olpa&from=news First genome comparison of plankton species yields surprising results underlying key ocean processes http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/529501/ Rewriting the Science, scientists say that politicians edit global warming research - CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/ main1415985.shtml Stanford Study On Public Perceptions on Climate Change - To be Released May 4, 2007 (see NEWS 1 below) Pacific Whale Decline 'A Mystery' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6599805.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/39h924 (see NEWS 2 below) Climate Change Talks Grow in Importance http://www.examiner.com/ a-700289~Climate_Change_Talks_Grow_in_Importance.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/38grk2 (see NEWS 3 below) Arctic ice retreating more quickly than computer models project (see NEWS 4 below) Scorched: Darfur -- the first climate change war? http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,2067637,00.html (see NEWS 5 below) Coal's Energy Potential Is an Engineering Challenge Now http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/science/01coal.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2coeny (see NEWS 6 below) Plan to Reclaim Land Would Divert the Mississippi http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/ AR2007043001478.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lnkw (see NEWS 7 below) The First Refugees of Global Warming http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ chi-0705010817may02,1,7033000.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2xcl63 (see NEWS 8 below) JOBS Climate Scientist - Union of Concerned Scientists ? Berkeley, CA (USA) http://www.ucsusa.org/ucs/about/jobs-at-ucs.html#Climate_Scientist Visiting Fellowship - Development Cooperation in Water Management in the Middle East - Wolfensohn Center for Development - Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. (USA) http://www.brookings.edu/admin/wolfensohn_fellowship_WM.pdf http://www.brookings.edu/global/wolfensohn.htm (see JOB 1 below) Post-doc - Aerosol Data Analysis - University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (UIUC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado (USA) (see JOB 2 below) PhD Fellowship - NICE-Network for Ice Sheet and Climate Evolution - Marie Curie Research Training Network - Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) Belgium http://www.astr.ucl.ac.be/index.php?page=JobMarieCurieRTN_PhD (see JOB 3 below) Post-Doc - Carbon Cycling Modeling: Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Unifob AS (Norway). (see JOB 4 below) Post-Doc - Atmospheric Modeling: Remote impacts of West African and/ or South Asian monsoons. Meteo-France research institute, CNRM, and CERFACS at the Meteo-France campus in Toulouse (France). (see JOB 5 below) 3 Post-Docs - Glaciology - GLACIODYN & International Polar Year Project to study the response of Arctic tidewater outlet glaciers to climate warming - Edmonton, Vancouver, & St. Johns, - Canada (see JOBS 6 below) Post-Doc - Climate Modeling &/or Geochemistry: Marie Curie Research Training Network & NICE ? Network for ice sheet and climate evolution (Belgium) http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/action/ level_en.html (see JOB 7 below) 2 Asst Prof - tenure-track - Physical Geography (Atmosheric/Climate Scientist & GIS) ? National University of Singapore (Singapore) (see JOBS 8 below) Post-doc Research Associate - History of Science/Science Studies - Joint Appointment between University of California, San Diego, and Princeton University Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (USA) (see Job 9 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) New Website: Earth Portal by the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) www.EarthPortal.org Earth Portal is a comprehensive, free and dynamic resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment built by a global community of environmental experts: educators, physical, life, and social scientists, scholars, and professionals who have joined together to communicate to the world. In contrast to information from anonymous sources with no quality control, the Earth Portal is created and governed by individuals and organizations who put their names behind their words and where attribution and expert-review for accuracy are fundamental. The Earth Portal includes: 1) Encyclopedia of Earth (www.eoearth.org) has an initial 2,300 articles from over 700 experts from 46 countries, as well as such content partners as the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations Environment Programme. The Encyclopedia is a means for the global scientific community to come together to produce the first free, comprehensive expert-driven information resource on the environment. The Encyclopedia includes articles, e-books and reports, interactive maps, and biographies, and will eventually be published in other major languages. Environmental scholars and experts are invited to become contributors to the Encyclopedia. Click here. 2) Earth News ( www.earthportal.org/news) includes breaking news updates from many sources, with links from key words to Encyclopedia articles, enabling readers to learn about the science behind the headlines. 3) Earth Forum (www.earthportal.org/forum ) allows the public to engage in discussions with experts, ask questions and get answers, and to participate in community debates about issues that matter to them. 4) Environment in Focus (www.earthportal.org/?page_id=70 ) provides an exploration of a major issue each week ? energy, climate change, environmental economics and other topics ? led by a prominent expert in the subject and involving articles, news, places, discussions, Q&A, interesting facts, and more. The National Council for Science and the Environment ( www.NCSEonline.org) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making. The NCSE specializes in programs that foster collaboration among diverse institutions, communities and individuals. The NCSE serves as secretariat for a growing Environmental Information Coalition of environmental experts and organizations, which is building the Earth Portal. ManyOne Networks, an innovative IT firm based near San Jose, California, has provided engineering and vision for the Earth Portal. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) NOAA Seeks Social Scientists with Aquatic Invasive Species Interest NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is compiling a list of social scientists (construed broadly) with a publication record or general interest in understanding, preventing, responding to, and managing aquatic species invasions in U.S. coastal ecosystems. This list will be used for purposes related to developing a human dimensions focus in our invasive species program. Such purposes may include, but are not limited to, invitations to participate in research planning workshops, invitations to conduct seminars, and requests for proposal reviews. Those interested should reply directly to Marybeth Bauer, Ph.D. at marybeth.bauer at noaa.gov and provide your name, affiliation, a brief description of your specific research interest, and any relevant publications. ******************** (RESOURCES 3) Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program http://www.cies.org/sir/SIR_Guidelines.pdf Through the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program brings scholars from abroad to U.S. campuses to significantly internationalize host institution campuses and curricula. Grants are available to bring scholars as resident fellows for one term or an entire academic year to teach and consult in area studies programs, interdisciplinary programs that focus on global issues or courses where participation of a foreign Scholar can provide a cross-cultural or international perspective. Preference is given to institutions that infrequently or never host Visiting Scholars and that serve student populations underrepresented in international exchange programs, especially minority students. Application deadline October 15, 2007. To Apply: Download the Fulbright Guidelines for Scholar-in- Residence Proposals from: http://www.cies.org/sir/SIR_Guidelines.pdf, or contact Karen Watts, Senior Program Officer at kwatts at cies.iie.org. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Stanford Study On Public Perceptions on Climate Change - To be Released May 4, 2007 A new nationwide survey, conducted April 5-10, 2007, highlights startling ways that Americans' thinking on the issue of climate change has altered during just the past 12 months, as well as during the last decade. Normally, Americans' views on public policy issues change very slowly. One third of Americans now say global warming ranks as the world's single largest environmental problem, double the number who gave it top ranking last year, and seven in 10 Americans want more federal action on global warming. ******************** (NEWS 2) Pacific Whale Decline 'A Mystery' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6599805.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/39h924 BBC News Online - Grey whales in the eastern Pacific appear to be in some trouble, with the cause far from clear, scientists say. Researchers with the conservation group Earthwatch found that whales are arriving in their breeding grounds off the Mexican coast malnourished. The same thing happened just after the 1997/8 El Nino event, which warmed the waters and depleted food stocks. Scientists are not sure whether the current decline is climate related or part of a natural predator-prey cycle. "We're not really sure what is going on now," said William Megill, a member of the Earthwatch team who also holds posts at Bath University in the UK and the University of British Columbia in Canada. "We certainly saw in Mexico this winter a very large number of starving whales. ... There is currently an El Nino building, and this is a worry." ******************** (NEWS 3) Climate Change Talks Grow in Importance http://www.examiner.com/ a-700289~Climate_Change_Talks_Grow_in_Importance.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/38grk2 San Francisco Examiner As the world warms and scientists' warnings grow urgent, climate negotiators are counting down toward make-or-break talks later this year, hoping for progress on a long- term deal to sharply reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Experts are beginning to fear, however, that as time runs down the best that can be hoped for may be an extension of the relatively weak Kyoto Protocol, due to expire in 2012. The alternative is a world without any carbon-reduction rules at all. In February, a U.N.-sponsored scientific network reported that unabated global warming would produce a far different planet by 2100... In early April, the scientists said animal and plant life was already being disrupted. In the third installment, coming Friday in Bangkok, Thailand, the authoritative panel is expected to say the world could still head off severe damage if all countries act urgently, with the best policies and technology, to rein in carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions - an improbable scenario. ******************** (NEWS 4) Arctic ice retreating more quickly than computer models project American Geophysical Union, National Snow and Ice Data Center, National Center for Atmospheric Research Joint Release AGU Release No. 07-11 WASHINGTON -- Arctic sea ice is melting at a significantly faster rate than projected by even the most advanced computer models, a new study concludes. A comparison of newly available observational data to the results of numerous simulations indicates that, during the past 50 years, Arctic sea ice has been disappearing about three times faster than the average rate of loss that computer models have shown. Because of the disparity between actual observations and the models, the shrinking of summertime ice is about 30 years ahead of climate model projections, the researchers conclude. As a result, the Arctic could be seasonally free of sea ice earlier than recently projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC timeframe for ice-free conditions is any time from 2050 to well beyond 2100. In the new analysis, Julienne Stroeve of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and his colleagues compared model simulations of past climate with observations by satellites and other instruments. They found that, on average, the models simulated a loss in September ice cover of 2.5 percent per decade from 1953 to 2006. The fastest rate of September retreat in any individual model was 5.4 percent per decade. (September marks the yearly minimum of sea ice in the Arctic.) In contrast, newly available data sets, blending early aircraft and ship reports with more recent satellite measurements that are considered more reliable than the earlier records, show that the September ice actually declined at a rate of about 7.8 percent per decade during the 1953-2006 period. "This suggests that current model projections may in fact provide a conservative estimate of future Arctic change, and that the summer Arctic sea ice may disappear considerably earlier than IPCC projections," Stroeve says. The new findings will appear May 1 in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. Stroeve and his coauthors at NSIDC and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) speculate that the computer models may fail to capture the full impact of increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Whereas the models indicate that about half of the ice loss from 1979 to 2006 was due to increased greenhouse gases, and the other half due to natural variations in the climate system, the new study indicates that greenhouse gases may be playing a significantly greater role. The Arctic is especially sensitive to climate change partly because regions of sea ice, which reflect sunlight back into space and provide a cooling impact, are disappearing. In contrast, darker areas of open water, which are expanding, absorb sunlight and increase temperatures. This feedback loop has played a role in the increasingly rapid loss of ice in recent years, which accelerated to 9.1 percent per decade from 1979 to 2006 according to satellite observations. There are a number of factors that may lead to the low rates of simulated sea ice loss. Several models overestimate the thickness of the present-day sea ice. The models may also fail to fully capture changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation that transport heat to polar regions. Although the loss of ice for March is far less dramatic than the September loss, the models underestimate it by a wide margin as well. The study concludes that the actual rate of sea ice loss in March, which averaged about 1.8 percent per decade in the 1953-2006 period, was three times larger than the mean from the computer models. March is typically the month when Arctic sea ice is at its most extensive. Stroeve and his colleagues find that the Arctic's ice cover is retreating more rapidly than estimated by any of the 18 computer models used by the IPCC in preparing its 2007 assessments. The National Science Foundation, which is NCAR's principal sponsor, and NASA funded the new study. ******************** (NEWS 5) Scorched: Darfur -- the first climate change war? http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,2067637,00.html The Guardian (UK) - April 28, 2007 - As the conflict in Darfur spreads across central Africa, with thousands more displaced and killed, Julian Borger in Chad investigates the origins and contradictions of what is likely to be seen as the first climate change war Special Report - In the relief camps scattered around the Chad- Sudan border, the refugees from Darfur tell the same story - of an ancient shared way of life catastrophically lost. Less than a generation ago, Arabs and Africans coexisted peacefully and productively in Darfur, Sudan's arid western province which is more than twice the size of the United Kingdom. African farmers had allowed Arab herders to graze their camels and goats on the land, and the livestock had fertilised the soil. The coexistence was so natural, in fact, the tribes of Darfur did not even think of themselves as Arab or African. It is only now, in light of the bloodshed of the past four years, that they look back and affix ethnic titles to the protagonists in their story, with all non-Arabs claiming the title African. Only a few years ago, it was just nomads and farmers. "There was never any big problem between the livestock herders and the people living in the village," Yacoub Adam Omar, a 38-year- old refugee from Darfur, told me. "Some of my own tribe would even travel with the Arabs when they went north into the desert in the rainy season and back in the dry season. And if the Arabs had heavy baggage they would leave it with us until they came back." But here was Omar sitting in a refugee camp along with two million of his fellow Darfurians after being ethnically cleansed from their homes by Arab militia, the Janjaweed. UN officials now believe 400,000, mostly African civilians, have been killed. Something fundamental has changed in this part of Africa, and it happened within a generation. From a state of sectarian innocence in which the dividing line between Arab and African was meaningless, something made people pick sides, and hardened their new sense of identity into ethnic hatred, all in the past two decades. What changed, the evidence suggests, was the climate. The current conflict began in 2003. It was triggered when Darfurians launched a revolt against the central government, which fought back by unleashing the Janjaweed. But the real roots of the disaster stretch back to the mid-1980s when a ferocious drought and famine transformed Sudan and the whole Horn of Africa. It killed more than a million people and laid waste livestock herds. Whether they maintained their way of life or tried to take up settled cultivation, the pastoralists of Darfur clashed repeatedly with its farmers. A string of conflicts broke out as both sides armed themselves, and those conflicts created the template for today's disaster. (continued ? see http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/ story/0,,2067637,00.html) ******************* (NEWS 6) Coal's Energy Potential Is an Engineering Challenge Now http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/science/01coal.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2coeny New York Times (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON - Coal is so cheap and so widely available that its increased use is inevitable, but clearing the hurdle to burning it on a wide scale - separating the carbon dioxide and sequestering it - could turn out to be one of the great engineering challenges of the century, energy experts say. There are at least a dozen proposals on Capitol Hill for sequestering all the carbon from coal burning, and the Senate Energy Committee began hearings last month on how to refocus research on the problem. It's a challenge that has captured the attention of engineers across the country who hope to perfect a clean-coal technology that could provide climate-friendly energy for hundreds of years at modest cost. "Coal has to be in our energy mix, because of its value for society and its importance to the country," said Mark Gray, vice president for engineering services at American Electric Power, which recently announced three projects to capture carbon. "We have enough coal for anywhere from 200 to 450 years." ********************** (NEWS 7) Plan to Reclaim Land Would Divert the Mississippi http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/ AR2007043001478.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lnkw Washington Post (Registration Required) - ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES, La. -- Over two centuries, engineers have restrained the Mississippi River's natural urge to wriggle disastrously out of its banks by building hundreds of miles of levees that work today like a riverine straitjacket. But it is time, Louisiana officials propose, to let the river loose. To save the state from washing into the ocean at the astonishing rate of 24 square miles per year, Louisiana officials are developing an epic $50 billion plan that would rebuild the land by rerouting one of the world's biggest rivers. The proposal envisions enormous projects to provide flood protection and reclaim land- building sediment from the river, which now flows uselessly out into the Gulf of Mexico. The cost of the project, which was initiated by the legislature after hurricanes Katrina and Rita revealed the dangers of the sinking coast, dwarfs those of other megaprojects such as the $14 billion "Big Dig" in Boston and the $8 billion Everglades restoration. ****************** (NEWS 8) The First Refugees of Global Warming http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ chi-0705010817may02,1,7033000.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2xcl63 Chicago Tribune (Registration Required) ANTARPARA, Bangladesh -- Muhammad Ali, a wiry 65-year-old, has never driven a car, run an air conditioner or done much of anything that produces greenhouse gases. But on a warming planet, he is on the verge of becoming a climate refugee. In the past 10 years the farmer has had to tear down and move his tin-and-bamboo house five times to escape the encroaching waters of the huge Jamuna River, swollen by severe monsoons that scientists believe are caused by global warming and greater glacier melt in the Himalayas. Now the last of his land is gone, and Ali squats on a precarious piece of government-owned riverbank -- the only ground available -- knowing the river probably will take that as well once the monsoons start this month. ...Bangladesh is hardly the only low-lying nation facing tough times as the world warms. But scientists say it in many ways represents climate change's "perfect storm" of challenges because it is extremely poor, extremely populated and extremely susceptible. ******************* (NEWS 9) Climate Change 'Can Be Tackled' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6620909.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bedd7 BBC News Online - The growth in greenhouse gas emissions can be curbed at reasonable cost, experts at a major UN climate change conference in Bangkok have agreed. Boosting renewable energy, reducing deforestation and improving energy efficiency can all help, they said. This is the third report this year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and aims to set out the costs and benefits of various policies. IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri said the report was "stunning." "Human society as a whole has to look for changes in consumption patterns," he told reporters at a news conference in the Thai capital. The report suggests that if major climate impacts are to be avoided, global emissions should peak and begin declining within one or two decades. *************************************************** 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) Visiting Fellowship - Development Cooperation in Water Management in the Middle East - Wolfensohn Center for Development - Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. (USA) http://www.brookings.edu/admin/wolfensohn_fellowship_WM.pdf http://www.brookings.edu/global/wolfensohn.htm The mission of the Wolfensohn Center is to examine how development interventions can be successfully implemented, scaled up and sustained to solve key development challenges at a national, regional and global level. To pursue this goal, the Wolfensohn Center strives to bridge the gap between development theorists and practitioners, working in partnership with others, especially partners in developing countries, to promote local ownership and capacity, and ensure development impact. The two-year Visiting Fellowship is devoted to the study of water management in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The goal of the fellowship is to foster cooperative research between academics from Israel and neighboring States on national and regional approaches to water management in the hopes of fostering progressive national and regional solutions to what is a critical development concern in the Middle East. We would appreciate if you could distribute this information to interested scholars and practitioners within your organization as well as other relevant institutions and we welcome your feedback and suggestions regarding other regional institutions, academics and organizations working on issues of water management in the region. Thank you for your interest in our project. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with us should you have any questions or concerns. You may contact me via e-mail at opidufala at brookings.edu, or by phone at +1-202-797-6468. ******************** (JOB 2) Post-doc - Aerosol Data Analysis - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado (USA) A postdoctoral position is available to work in a collaborative project between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado. This position will focus on exploiting global models and satellite data to improve model representations of industrial aerosol emissions. NCAR's Community Atmosphere Model and new emission and optical representations from UIUC will be used along with daily and monthly MODIS nd/or MISR data. This appointment is for one year, and funding may be sought for a second year. Ph.D. or equivalent in a physical science is required. The candidate should be able to think physically, apply statistical techniques, and manage large data sets. Background in one or more of the following is desired: aerosol physics and optics, modeling of atmospheric chemistry, aerosol-cloud interactions, satellite data interpretation. However, skill with data manipulation and comparison is of greatest importance. Please submit a curriculum vitae, letter of interest, and the names and contact information of three references to Tami Bond, yark at uiuc.edu. A record of publications demonstrating research experience and writing ability should be included. This position is available immediately, and applications will be considered until June 1, 2007. ******************** (JOB 3) PhD Fellowship - NICE-Network for Ice Sheet and Climate Evolution - Marie Curie Research Training Network - Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) Belgium http://www.astr.ucl.ac.be/index.php?page=JobMarieCurieRTN_PhD As part of the Marie Curie Research Training Network NICE - Network for Ice Sheet and Climate Evolution, the Institut d'Astronomie et de Geophysique Georges Lemaitre of the Universite Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium invites applications for a three-year PhD fellowship beginning in October 2007. The successful candidate will be expected to utilize LOVECLIM, a three-dimensional Earth system model of intermediate complexity, with water isotopes to investigate past abrupt climate changes involving the cryosphere. This work will be achieved through specific training courses and collaborative projects with different laboratories involved in the network. Applicants should preferably have a background in Earth sciences, more specifically in climate modeling and/or geochemistry. Applications, including a detailed curriculum vitae, letter describing relevant experience and research interests, and the name and address of one academic referee, should be sent as soon as possible to: Thierry Fichefet ( fichefet at astr.ucl.ac.be ) Universite Catholique de Louvain, Institut d'Astronomie et de Geophysique Georges Lemaitre, Chemin du Cyclotron, 2; B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Before applying, potential applicants are strongly encouraged to review the definition of Early Stage Researcher (ESR) and other eligibility requirements at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/ mariecurie-actions/action/level_en.html Applications will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. ******************** (JOB 4) Post-Doc - Carbon Cycling Modeling: Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Unifob AS (Norway). Deadline for applications is 18 May 2007. The Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR; http:// www.bjerknes.uib.no/) is a joint climate research venture between the University of Bergen (UoB), the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC). The BCCR integrates observationalists and modellers in a concerted interdisciplinary research effort. The BCCR comprises the largest climate research group in Norway and has the status of national Center of Excellence. The BCCR?s Secretariat is as unit of Unifob AS (http://www.unifob.uib.no/). A 2-year postdoctoral position in carbon cycle climate modelling is available at the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR). The candidate will contribute to the development of the Bergen Climate Model (BCM) to an earth system model including terrestrial and marine carbon cycle components. The research activities are part of EU Integrated Project CARBOOCEAN (http://www.carboocean.org), which is coordinated by the University of Bergen. The Earth system model will also be an important tool for the next IPCC scenario series. We encourage especially scientists with a strong interest in the model development aspect to apply. Potential candidates must have a Ph.D. in physics, mathematics, oceanography, meteorology, geoecology, computer science or related disciplines. Scientific requirements for the position are an interest in interdisciplinary earth system science and relevant experience in at least one of the following fields: climate dynamics, geophysical fluid dynamics, carbon cycle biogeochemistry, and numerical mathematics. Technical qualifications include excellent knowledge of the programming language FORTRAN, as well as experience with the operating system UNIX, the development of complex software packages, and analysis of large data sets. Experience with climate models and coupling procedures are important. The successful candidate will work in a lively research environment, must have good team working skills, and the ability to pursue a scientific career in geosciences or computational science. Further information about the position can be obtained from Christoph Heinze, Prof. in Global Carbon Cycle Modelling, Geophysical Institute, e-post: christoph.heinze at gfi.uib.no, +47 975 57 119. Informal enquiries are welcome. Applications must be submitted in 3 copies, each with a complete overview over education and previous practice (CV), list of publications, certified copies of certificates and diplomas, as well as names and addresses of 2 scientific references. Applications should be forwarded to the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, All?gaten 55, N-5007 Bergen, Norway, by 18 May 2007. Do not submit applications by e-mail. The application should be marked: "07/6420". ******************** (JOB 5) Post-Doc - Atmospheric Modeling: Remote impacts of West African and/or South Asian monsoons. Meteo-France research institute, CNRM, and CERFACS at the Meteo-France campus in Toulouse (France). Application Deadline 15 June 2007 A research post-doctoral position is offered jointly by CNRM and CERFACS at the Meteo-France campus in Toulouse (France). It is funded by the French ANR project IRCAAM (Influence Reciproque des Climats d'Afrique de l'Ouest, du sud de l'Asie et du bassin Mediterraneen) coordinated by CNRM. The Meteo-France research institute, CNRM, and CERFACS are recruiting a post-doc scientist. The task will be the design and analysis of original global atmospheric simulations devoted to the understanding of the reciprocal influence of the West African and South Asian monsoons at the intra-seasonal to seasonal timescales, and of their possible remote impacts particularly on the Mediterranean basin. The original experiment design will be based on a regional nudging technique in which the Arpege-Climat AGCM is relaxed towards the ERA40 reanalyses (grid-point nudging of U, V and T) over a specified 3D monsoon domain. Besides control experiments with prescribed SSTs and interactive soil moisture, sensitivity experiments will be also conducted in which the AGCM is coupled to a mixed layer ocean model (addition of the SST feedback) or relaxed towards its own soil moisture climatology (suppression of the land surface feedback). Particular attention will be paid to the occurrence of extreme climate events, their potential sensitivity to the monsoon diabatic forcing, their potential predictability at the sub-seasonal to seasonal timescale, and their potential amplification through SST or soil moisture feedbacks. Besides idealized experiments with climatological SSTs, case studies will also be used to explore the relative contribution of observed SSTs and observed West African or South Asian monsoon variability to global climate anomalies, especially those found in the free monsoon domain and over the Mediterranean basin. The first task will be the calibration of the regional nudging technique in seasonal atmospheric simulations driven by prescribed SSTs. Once the nudging domain and strength will be validated over both West Africa and South Asia, idealized experiments and case studies will be conducted to answer the following questions: - What is the reciprocal influence of, and the Mediterranean response to, the diabatic heating associated with the annual cycle of the South Asian and West African monsoon climates ? - What is the reciprocal influence of, and the Mediterranean response to, the interannual variability of the monsoon climates ? - What are the respective roles of intra-seasonal and interannual modes of variability in the apparent teleconnections ? The second step will be the coupling of Arpege-Climat with a mixed layer ocean model provided by CERFACS. The objective is to study the potential contribution of the SST feedbacks to the global atmospheric response to the monsoons' annual cycle and intra-seasonal/ interannual variability. It will be conducted at CERFACS in close collaboration with CNRM. Required qualifications: - Ph.D thesis in atmospheric sciences or equivalent, at the time of selection jury; - experience in atmospheric numerical modeling; - communication and team work abilities; - familiarity with Unix systems or equivalent, and Fortran language; - good English language level (written and spoken); - previous knowledge and experience on West African and/or South Asian; monsoon intra-seasonal and/or interannual variability would be an advantage. Please send CV, list of publications, letter of intent, two letters of recommendation plus any relevant document, until 15 June 2007, to: Herve Douville Meteo-France CNRM/GMGEC/UDC, 42 Avenue Coriolis 31057 Toulouse cedex 01, France, e-mail: herve.douville at meteo.fr; as well as a copy to: Christophe Cassou, CNRS-CERFACS, 42 Avenue Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse, France email: christophe.cassou at cerfacs.fr Application by e-mail is encouraged. ******************** (JOBS 6) 3 Post-Docs - Glaciology - GLACIODYN & International Polar Year Project to study the response of Arctic tidewater outlet glaciers to climate warming - Edmonton, Vancouver, & St. Johns, - Canada We are looking for 3 Post-doctoral Fellows and 1 Ph.D student to join a Canadian International Polar Year Project to study the response of Arctic tidewater outlet glaciers to climate warming. The project involves 6 Canadian Universities and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, along with collaborators in the United Kingdom. For further details see: http://web.unbc.ca/~boon/IPY/index.html . Details of the positions and application procedures are detailed below. POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN GLACIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA (EDMONTON, CANADA) POSITION: Postdoctoral Fellow PROJECT: The Dynamic response of Arctic glaciers to global warming: a Canadian contribution to IPY project GLACIODYN (IPY 30) SUBJECT AREA: Remote sensing of surface melt, drainage system development and iceberg production on tidewater outlet glaciers QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. in Geoscience with a background in remote sensing/GIS LOCATION: University of Alberta (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) DURATION: 2 years START DATE: Fall 2007 or earlier COMPENSATION: $40,000 CDN per year FUNDING SOURCE: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The primary goal of the project is to use satellite remote sensing to investigate the seasonal evolution of surface melt on a large tidewater outlet glacier (Belcher Glacier, Devon Island ice cap) and it's relationship to the development of surface melt water drainage systems (including the formation and drainage of supraglacial lakes). A secondary goal is to investigate the seasonal pattern of iceberg calving and its relationship to ice flow dynamics and the formation and breakup of fjord sea ice. Primary data sources will be EnviSat and ERS SAR data and SPOT visible imagery. The postdoctoral fellow will work closely with project collaborators at the Universities of Calgary, Alberta, Ottawa, and Northern British Columbia, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing who will be engaged in closely related field and modelling studies. Candidates should have a strong background in remote sensing and will ideally have experience of working with microwave and SAR data. For further information contact Martin Sharp (see details below). To apply, please submit a statement of research interests, curriculum vitae and names and contact information for three references to Martin Sharp. CONTACT INFORMATION: Martin Sharp, Professor, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Science Building, Edmonton, Ab T6G 2E3 Canada Tel: 780 492 5249, E-mail: martin.sharp at ualberta.ca http://arctic.eas.ualberta.ca POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN GLACIOLOGY, SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY (VANCOUVER, CANADA) POSITION: Postdoctoral Fellow PROJECT: The Dynamic response of Arctic glaciers to global warming: a Canadian contribution to IPY project GLACIODYN (IPY 30) SUBJECT AREA: Numerical modelling of ice dynamics and hydrology QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. in quantitative geoscience LOCATION: Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) in collaboration with the University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) DURATION:2 years START DATE: Fall 2007 or earlier COMPENSATION: $40,000 CDN per year FUNDING SOURCE: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The goal of this project is to develop and validate a high-resolution coupled model of mass balance, hydrology and ice dynamics to investigate the current state and future behaviour of a tidewater outlet glacier on the Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic. Project collaborators will be collecting field and remote sensing data in 2007 and 2008 to characterize and quantify the glacier geometry, mass balance, surface motion, seasonal hydrological evolution and calving rate. The postdoctoral associate will develop and integrate models of hydrology (supraglacial, englacial and subglacial) and ice dynamics, including the development of techniques for assimilation of field data collected within this study. The postdoctoral fellow will work closely with project collaborators at the Universities of Calgary, Alberta, and Northern British Columbia. Candidates should have a strong quantitative background and will ideally have experience programming in Fortran and Matlab. For further information contact Gwenn Flowers or Shawn Marshall (see details below). To apply, please submit a statement of research interests, curriculum vitae and names and contact information for three references to Gwenn Flowers. CONTACT INFORMATION: Gwenn E. Flowers, Assistant Professor & Canada Research Chair in Glaciology, Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6 Canada Tel: 604 268 6638, E-mail: gflowers at sfu.ca http:// www.sfu.ca/earth-sciences/people/faculty/flowers.html POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN GLACIOLOGY, MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND (ST. JOHN'S, CANADA) POSITION: Postdoctoral Fellow PROJECT: The Dynamic response of Arctic glaciers to global warming: a Canadian contribution to IPY project GLACIODYN (IPY 30) SUBJECT AREA: Ice calving model development and application QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. in quantitative geoscience or related field DURATION: 1 year START DATE: Fall 2007 COMPENSATION: $35,000 CDN per year FUNDING SOURCE: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The main goal of this project is to develop and validate a cross-scale model of ice calving (or equivalently of stability controls for marine termini) applicable to both polar and sub-polar tidewater glaciers. The resultant model will be used in conjunction with project partners to investigate the current state and future behaviour of a tidewater outlet glacier on the Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic. Project collaborators will be collecting field and remote sensing data in 2007 and 2008 to characterize and quantify the glacier geometry, mass balance, surface motion, seasonal hydrological evolution and calving rate. The postdoctoral associate will assemble ice calving data from international GLACIODYN partners and other available sources for both calibrating, testing, and validating possible models. Numerical issues such as the impact of grid-resolution will be examined and incorporated into the modelling. Sensitivity studies using a coupled ice-dynamics/hydrology/calving model will then assess future stability of the Belcher glacier marine terminus under global warming scenarios as well as identify the key factors controlling the apparent present-day stability. There may also be an opportunity for some field work at the marine terminus. The postdoctoral associate will also be involved with various other projects related to the development of the MUN/UofT glacial systems model. Candidates should have a strong quantitative background and will ideally have experience programming in F90 and Matlab/Octave. For further information contact Lev Tarasov (see details below). To apply, please submit a statement of research interests, curriculum vitae, and names and contact information for three references to Lev Tarasov. CONTACT INFORMATION: Lev Tarasov, Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair in Glacial Dynamics Modelling, Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B 3X7, Tel: 519-821-3555, lev at physics.mun.ca http:// www.mun.ca/physics/people/faculty/tarasov.php **************** (JOB 7) Post-Doc - Climate Modeling &/or Geochemistry: Marie Curie Research Training Network & NICE ? Network for ice sheet and climate evolution (Belgium) http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/action/ level_en.html As part of the Marie Curie Research Training Network NICE - Network for ice sheet and climate evolution, the Institut d'Astronomie et de G?ophysique Georges Lema?tre of the Universit? Catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) invites applications for one Ph.D. fellowship for 3 years, beginning in October 2007. The successful candidate is expected to include in LOVECLIM, a three-dimensional Earth system model of intermediate complexity (see http://www.astr.ucl.ac.be/index.php?page=LOVECLIM%40Description for information about this model), water isotopes and to use this model to investigate past abrupt climate changes involving the cryosphere. This work will be achieved through collaborative projects with the different laboratories involved in the network and specific training courses. Applicants should preferably have a background in Earth sciences, and more specifically in climate modelling and/or geochemistry. Applications, including a detailed curriculum vitae, a letter describing relevant experience and research interests, and the name and address of one academic referee, should be sent as soon as possible to: Professor Thierry Fichefet, Universit? Catholique de Louvain, Institut d'Astronomie et de G?ophysique Georges Lema?tre, Chemin du Cyclotron, 2, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Please check the definition of Early Stage Researcher (ESR) as well as other eligibility requirements on http://ec.europa.eu/ research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/action/level_en.html before applying for the position. Applications will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. For further information, contact Professor Thierry Fichefet (phone: +32-10-473295; e-mail: fichefet at astr.ucl.ac.be; website: http://www.astr.ucl.ac.be). **************** (JOBS 8) 2 Asst Prof - tenure-track - Physical Geography (Atmosheric/ Climate Scientist & GIS) ? National University of Singapore (Singapore) Application Review begins 1 June 2007 Applications from atmospheric/climate scientists are encouraged Applications are invited for two tenure-track appointments in physical geography at the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore. Appointment will be made at either the Assistant Professor or Associate Professor level. Candidates should strengthen and complement research and teaching in the Tropical Environmental Change research cluster. * For the first position, candidates should have expertise in environmental change dynamics and impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Related experience in applications of remote sensing, GIS or modeling is an advantage. * For the second position, candidates should have expertise in GIS development and applications to environmental problems. Candidates should have a doctoral degree in geography, environmental science or a related discipline. Field research in tropical areas, especially Southeast Asia, is an advantage as is previous post-doctoral or faculty experience. Applicants are expected to have an established record in international refereed journals. Successful candidates should be prepared to teach relevant courses at undergraduate and graduate levels in the fields of physical geography, geographical methods and GIS. To apply, please submit your full CV, including names and contacts of three referees, any past teaching evaluations and a statement indicating your research agenda and teaching interests to: Associate Professor David Higgitt, Chair Search Committee for Physical Geography Positions, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Kent Ridge, Singapore 177570. Tel +65-6516 6638; Fax +65-6777 3091; Email geowlw at nus.edu.sg (Ms Wong Lai Wa). Envelopes should be clearly marked "Faculty Position in Physical Geography" and indicate which position is being applied for. Application review will begin on 1 June 2007 and will continue until suitable candidates are recruited. Applicants must be willing to start work preferably in January 2008 or latest by July 2008. **************** (JOB 9) Post-doc Research Associate - History of Science/Science Studies - Joint Appointment between University of California, San Diego, and Princeton University Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (USA) The use of scientific assessment as a formalized process for evaluating knowledge for the specific purpose of informing government decision-making has expanded since the mid-1970s, but how well have these assessments worked? As part of the initial stage of a multi- year collaborative project between University of California, San Diego and The Woodrow Wilson School's Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Program at Princeton University, we seek a post- doctoral fellow to examine the history of scientific assessments of the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its role in sea level rise caused by global warming. The ideal fellow will have a Ph.D. in history of science or a closely related field, and sufficient scientific background to understand the technical issues at stake in the scientific evaluations. The fellow will work under the joint supervision of Naomi Oreskes, University of California, San Diego, and Michael Oppenheimer, Woodrow Wilson School and Department of Geosciences, Princeton University. The initial appointment will be for one year, with the possibility of renewal. The successful candidate will be based primarily at the University of California, San Diego campus but must be flexible enough to travel to the Princeton to conduct research there as needed. Research could begin anytime after July 1, 2007. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send a CV and a cover letter describing their areas of expertise and interest via email to Charles Crosby at ccrosby at princeton.edu . For more information about applying to Princeton please link to: http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm Candidates may choose to complete the "Invitation to Self- Identify" form http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/forms/ PSoftSelfID.pdf. Providing the self-identification information is completely voluntary and declining to submit the information will not adversely affect your candidacy. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070504/e8a5fee5/attachment.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri May 11 14:28:07 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 12:28:07 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 5/11/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 5/11/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Exploring the Poles resources http://www.phys.barnard.edu/~kay/exp/ (see RESOURCES 1 below) A Leap for All Life: World's Leading Scientists Announce Creation of "Encyclopedia of Life" www.eol.org (see RESOURCES 2 below) Jim Hansen's presentation used as a witness for Vermont in its case vs. auto makers: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/case_for_vermont.pdf (4.8 MB pdf written declaration), http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/ vermont_slides.pdf (2.5 MB slide presentation) 10.1 MB PDF at http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/vermont_slides.ppt (see RESOURCES 3 below) FORUM Australian Drought - Book "The Road From Coorain" http://www.amazon.com/Road-Coorain-Jill-Ker-Conway/dp/0679724362 (see FORUM 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS The Power of Green, by Thomas Friedman http://www.disccrs.org/reports/PowerofGreen41507_Friedman.pdf University of Colorado at Boulder researchers forecast one in three chance of a record low Arctic Sea Ice cover in 2007 http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2007/158.html Australia's water shortage: The big dry http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9071007 (see NEWS 1 below) South Pacific to Stop Bottom-Trawling http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6627425.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2l7ytw (see NEWS 2 below) The Tragedy of the Commons http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/greenview/displaystory.cfm? story_id=9136122 Or: hhttp://tinyurl.com/ytppa2 (see NEWS 3 below) Scientists Look High in the Sky for Power http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/07/ MNGNEPMD801.DTL&type=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/3dafzy (see NEWS 4 below) 31 States Join Climate Registry http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal- te.greenhouse09may09,0,5927228.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2pdsbd (see NEWS 5 below) Thinking Outside the Fox: Rupert Murdoch launches effort to green News Corp.'s operations and programming http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/05/09/murdoch/index.html? source=daily (see NEWS 6 below) Understanding the global carbon budget -- Woods Hole Research Center expert provides insights http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/whrc-utg050907.php (see NEWS 7 below) NASA study suggests extreme summer warming in the future http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/ 2007/2007050924907.html (see NEWS 8 below) Biofuel plantation threatens Ugandan forest http://www.itv.com/news/world_85ec5ee877fef3bd6765daa0d6cf81a6.html (see NEWS 9 below) Ancient Gas "Burps" May Hold Future Climate Clues http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5868582 Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2uzlps (see NEWS 10 below) JOBS Post-doc - Climate change communication - newly formed Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication housed within the Department of Communication - George Mason University ? Fairfax, VA, (USA) (see JOB 1 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Exploring the Poles resources http://www.phys.barnard.edu/~kay/exp/ Profs. Stephanie Pfirman and Laura Key have developed a course called "Exploring the Poles" for undergraduates, and the website used to support the course is a treasure-trove of polar information, resources (including books and films) and a framework that could easily be customized for other education audiences, including middle and high school. Also, a discussion has started on the IPY website about age- appropriate information about climate change for children, since the topic can be overwhelming and depressing to young people and may risk triggering "eco-phobia": http://www.ipy.org/index.php?/ipy/detail/ what_can_children_do_in_face_of_climate_change/ ******************** (RESOURCES 2) A Leap for All Life: World's Leading Scientists Announce Creation of "Encyclopedia of Life" www.eol.org A Leap for All Life Many of the world's leading scientific institutions today announced the launch of the Encyclopedia of Life ( www.eol.org), an unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth. For the first time in the history of the planet, scientists, students, and citizens would have multi-media access to all known living species, even those that have just been discovered. The Encyclopedia of Life is a collaborative scientific effort led by the Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Missouri Botanical Garden, Smithsonian Institution, and Biodiversity Heritage Library, a consortium including the core institutions and also the American Museum of Natural History (New York), Natural History Museum (London), New York Botanical Garden, and Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). The effort is spurred by a $10 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and $2.5 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more information, read the press release . ABOUT THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE: Over the next 10 years, the Encyclopedia of Life will create Internet pages for all 1.8 million species currently named. It will expedite the classification of the millions of species yet to be discovered and catalogued as well. The pages, housed at www.eol.org , will provide written information and, when available, photographs, video, sound, location maps, and other multimedia information on each species. Built on the scientific integrity of thousands of experts around the globe, the Encyclopedia will be a moderated wiki-style environment, freely available to all users everywhere. ******************** (RESOURCES 3) Jim Hansen's presentation used as a witness for Vermont in its case vs. auto makers: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/case_for_vermont.pdf (4.8 MB pdf written declaration), http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/ vermont_slides.pdf (2.5 MB slide presentation) 10.1 MB PDF at http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/vermont_slides.ppt My written declaration, with 48 charts, including ~ one paragraph discussing each chart, is probably a clearer scientific summary than my talks. So in response to requests from the public I now provide this declaration (although there are a few updated charts in the above) rather than the "annotated charts" from a solar energy conference presentation. It was quite an experience to see the way the team presenting the Vermont case worked (David Bookbinder, Matt Pawa, et al.) ? very impressive in their dedication and skills. My guess/hope is that they will win this case, but a ruling is not expected before late summer. - Jim *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) Australian Drought - Book "The Road From Coorain" http://www.amazon.com/Road-Coorain-Jill-Ker-Conway/dp/0679724362 Submitted by Sue Weiler For those of you interested in what it was like during the drought in the 1940's, I strongly encourage you to read the biography, "The Road From Coorain" by Jill Ker Conway. She was raised in the Australian outback and went on to be president of Smith College in the U.S. It gives a personal perspective to the impact of drought. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Australia's water shortage: The big dry http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9071007 The Economist print edition - Apr 26th 2007 - MURRAY MOUTH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA - Australia is struggling to cope with the consequences of a devastating drought. As the world warms up, other countries should pay heed The mouth of the Murray-Darling river sets an idyllic scene. Anglers in wide-brimmed sunhats wade waist-deep into the azure water. Pleasure boats cruise languidly around the sandbanks that dot the narrow channel leading to the Southern Ocean. Pensioners stroll along the beach. But over the cries of the seagulls and the rush of the waves, there is another sound: the mechanical drone from a dredging vessel. It never stops and must run around the clock to prevent the river mouth from silting up. Although the Murray-Darling is Australia's longest river system, draining a basin the size of France and Spain combined, it no longer carries enough water to carve its own path to the sea. John Howard, Australia's prime minister, arrived here in February and urged the four states through which the Murray-Darling flows to hand their authority over the river to the federal government. After seven years of drought, and many more years of over-exploitation and pollution, he argued that the only hope of restoring the river to health lies in a complete overhaul of how it is managed. As the states weigh the merits of Mr Howard's scheme, the river is degenerating further. Every month hydrologists announce that its flow has fallen to a new record low (see chart). In April Mr Howard warned that farmers would not be allowed to irrigate their crops at all next year without unexpectedly heavy rain in the next few months. A region that accounts for 40% of Australia's agriculture, and 85% of its irrigation, is on the verge of ruin. The drought knocked one percentage point off Australia's growth rate last year, by the government's reckoning. It is paying out A$2m ($1.7m) a day in drought-relief to farmers. If mature vines and fruit trees die in the coming months through the lack of water, the economic fallout will be more serious and lasting. Most alarming of all, the Murray-Darling's troubles are likely to worsen. As Australia's population continues to grow so does demand for water in the cities and for the crops that grow in the river basin. Meanwhile, global warming appears to be heating the basin up and drying it out. Although few scientists are confident that they can ascribe any individual event?including today's drought?to global warming, most agree that droughts like the present one will become more common. ******************** (NEWS 2)South Pacific to Stop Bottom-Trawling http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6627425.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2l7ytw BBC News OnlineA quarter of the world's oceans will be protected from fishing boats which drag heavy nets across the sea floor, South Pacific nations have agreed. The landmark deal will restrict bottom- trawling, which experts say destroys coral reefs and stirs up clouds of sediment that suffocate marine life. Observers and monitoring systems will ensure vessels remain five nautical miles from marine ecosystems at risk. The South Pacific contains the last pristine deep-sea marine environment. It extends from the Equator to the Antarctic and from Australia to the western coast of South America. The high seas encompass all areas not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a country. ****************** (NEWS 3) The Tragedy of the Commons http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/greenview/displaystory.cfm? story_id=9136122 Or: hhttp://tinyurl.com/ytppa2 The Economist - Property rights may be the way to preserve forests. It is a truism that people and forests do not mix, particularly in the tropics. But just how true is this truism? And to the extent that it is true, what is its cause? One hypothesis is that population growth is the underlying problem. More people per square kilometre puts more pressure on the land. Another theory is that forest loss is an example of "the tragedy of the commons" ? the idea that resources that do not clearly belong to an individual or a group are likely to be overexploited, since conserving them is in no individual user's interest. That would be true regardless of population density, unless it were very low indeed. To distinguish between these hypotheses, a group of Swedish and Malagasy researchers led by Thomas Elmqvist of Stockholm University decided to try to correlate changes in Madagascar's forest cover with local population densities and customary laws. Their results have just been published in the Public Library of Science. ******************** (NEWS 4) Scientists Look High in the Sky for Power http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/07/ MNGNEPMD801.DTL&type=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/3dafzy San Francisco Chronicle - Scientists are eyeing the jet stream, an energy source that rages night and day, 365 days a year, just a few miles above our heads. If they can tap into its fierce winds, the world's entire electrical needs could be met, they say. The trick is figuring out how to harness the energy and get it down to the ground cost-effectively and safely. Dozens of researchers in California and around the world believe huge kite-like wind-power generators could be the solution. As bizarre as that might seem, respected experts say the idea is sound enough to justify further investigation. The jet stream typically blows from west to east 6 to 9 miles over the northern hemisphere at speeds up to 310 mph. By lofting generators into the upper atmosphere, scientists theorize they could capture the power of the jet stream and transmit the electricity along cables back to Earth. ***************** (NEWS 5) 31 States Join Climate Registry http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal- te.greenhouse09may09,0,5927228.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2pdsbd Baltimore Sun - Led by California and New England, 31 states representing more than 70 percent of the U.S. population announced yesterday that they will jointly track and measure greenhouse gas emissions by major industries. The newly formed Climate Registry is the latest example of states going further than the federal government in taking steps to combat global warming. State officials and some affected industries and environmentalists say the registry is a crucial precursor to both mandatory and market-based regulation of industrial gases that contribute to warming. All agree the most important part of the new registry is that the emissions statistics that are collected will be subjected to third- party verification, unlike a Bush administration program that does not require verification. "You have to be able to count carbon pollution in order to cut carbon pollution," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. ******************** (NEWS 6) Thinking Outside the Fox: Rupert Murdoch launches effort to green News Corp.'s operations and programming http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/05/09/murdoch/index.html? source=daily Today, the fast-growing cadre of corporate leaders pressing for climate action welcomes a new member: Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, the media empire that encompasses Fox News, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins, MySpace.com, and dozens of newspapers in Australia, the U.K., the U.S., and beyond. At an event held this morning in midtown Manhattan and webcast to all News Corp. employees, Murdoch launched a company-wide plan to address climate change that includes not only a pledge to reduce the company's emissions (which has come to be expected at such biz- greening events) but also a vow to weave climate messaging into the content and programming of News Corp.'s many holdings. "The challenge is to revolutionize the [climate change] message," Murdoch told the crowd. He emphasized the need to "make it dramatic, make it vivid, even sometimes make it fun. We want to inspire people to change their behavior." ******************* (NEWS 7) Understanding the global carbon budget -- Woods Hole Research Center expert provides insights http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/whrc-utg050907.php As climate change becomes more and more a central issue in local, national, and international discussions, understanding the global carbon budget, and how it influences trends in global warming, will become increasingly crucial. The carbon cycle is related to climate and climatic change because it controls carbon dioxide, the most important of the greenhouse gases. One of the world?s preeminent experts on the topic, Dr. R. A. Houghton, has authored a synthesis paper on the topic, summarizing what is known about the global carbon budget and why it is important. The work is featured in the current issue of the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science. In the paper, Dr. Houghton emphasizes that the key issue is to understand the processes responsible for adding carbon (sources) to the atmosphere and for removing it (sinks). Such understanding should lead to more accurate predictions of future concentrations of CO2 and more accurate predictions of the rate and extent of climatic change. The recent past may be insufficient for prediction, however. Oceanic and terrestrial sinks that have lessened the rate of growth in atmospheric CO2 until now may diminish as feedbacks between the carbon cycle and climate become more prominent. Dr. Houghton comments, "Figuring out where all the carbon emitted from burning fossil fuels ends up is surprisingly difficult, especially when one recognizes that there are only three places it can go: the atmosphere, the oceans and land (plants and soil). The long-time effort to understand this distribution of carbon is giving way to a related question of whether and how the distribution of carbon will change as more carbon dioxide is added to that atmosphere and as the earth warms. The natural processes on land and in the ocean that have removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for the last century may be starting to weaken. The oceans are becoming more acidic, and we see more fires in both tropical and northern forests. If these natural sinks for carbon diminish, global warming will occur more rapidly than predicted, and efforts to manage it will become that much more difficult." *************** (NEWS 8) NASA study suggests extreme summer warming in the future http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/ 2007/2007050924907.html A new study by NASA scientists suggests that greenhouse-gas warming may raise average summer temperatures in the eastern United States nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2080s. "There is the potential for extremely hot summertime temperatures in the future, especially during summers with less-than-average frequent rainfall," said lead author Barry Lynn of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Columbia University, New York. The research found that eastern U.S. summer daily high temperatures that currently average in the low-to-mid-80s (degrees Fahrenheit) will most likely soar into the low-to-mid-90s during typical summers by the 2080s. In extreme seasons ? when precipitation falls infrequently ? July and August daily high temperatures could average between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit in cities such as Chicago, Washington, and Atlanta. To reach their conclusions, the researchers analyzed nearly 30 years of observational temperature and precipitation data and also used computer model simulations that considered soil, atmospheric, and oceanic conditions and projected changes in greenhouse gases. The simulations were produced using a widely-used weather prediction model coupled to a global model developed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. ******************** (NEWS 9) Biofuel plantation threatens Ugandan forest http://www.itv.com/news/world_85ec5ee877fef3bd6765daa0d6cf81a6.html Ugandans who make a living from the abundant Mabira Forest fear they will lose their livelihood when bulldozers come to destroy one of country's last patches of rainforest. The Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni wants to hand over a quarter of the 32,000 hectare forest, home to hundreds of tree species, rare monkeys and the prized Tit-hylia bird, to sugar producers. The land is the target of the Sugar Corporation of Uganda, which wants to expand production to cash in on the booming global market in sugar for biofuels. Uganda has suffered violent protests in recent weeks over government plans to give at least 17,500 acres of the forest, a nature reserve since 1932, to a sugar cane company. Critics say razing the rainforest could devastate a fragile environment, spark soil erosion, dry up the climate and remove a buffer against pollution for Lake Victoria. Ugandans living near the forest - used to accessing its abundant resources - fear a collapse of their way of life. In a study last year, the National Forest Authority (NFA) warned that the proposal threatened wildlife, including rare monkeys and birds. Nine species found only in Mabira and surrounding forests - the Tit Hylia bird, six butterflies, a moth and a shrub used to treat malaria - risked extinction. As opposition to the sugar plantation grows, with local press saying 80 per cent of parliamentarians would vote against it, Mr Museveni has dug his heels in. He argues Uganda must balance the need to protect eco-systems with the need to industrialise. **************** (NEWS 10) Ancient Gas "Burps" May Hold Future Climate Clues http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_5868582 Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2uzlps Denver Post - Thousands of years ago, Earth's oceans burped twice - releasing great masses of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the air and warming the planet up after the ice age, according to a new study. A shift in deep currents probably caused the oceanic belches about 13,000 and 18,000 years ago, scientists concluded. That may mean today's oceans - which absorb carbon dioxide - are, under some conditions, also capable of releasing the gas. "With global warming, it's likely that deep-water circulation will slow down at least slightly, even in this century," said the University of Colorado's Tom Marchitto, an author of the new study in the current issue of Science. "What impact that has on the carbon cycle is very uncertain, but the type of evidence we get from this study will help us understand the natural system better." *************************************************** 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) Post-doc - Climate change communication - newly formed Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication housed within the Department of Communication - George Mason University ? Fairfax, VA, (USA) The newly formed Center of Excellence in Climate Change Communication housed within the Department of Communication at George Mason University is seeking to hire a Post-Doc researcher as a Term Assistant Research Professor to begin as soon as possible, but no later than Fall semester, 2007. The Center will include investigators from various schools and departments across the university including communication, psychology, ecology, public policy, sociology, management, public and international affairs, earth science and climate dynamics. Specifically, we are seeking post-doctoral applicants who have strong training in at least two of the following three forms of research -- qualitative/ethnographic research, survey research, experimental message testing research -- and who have a strong interest in climate change mitigation and/or sustainability issues. The applicant may have a PhD in any relevant social/behavioral science discipline including but not limited to communication, psychology, sociology, political science, or marketing research. The initial appointment will be for a term of 1 year, with options for annual renewal. NIH post-doctoral salary scale will apply to this position (see the NIH website for details: http:// grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-057.html ). There is no deadline for applications, but the position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified. George Mason University, which is located in Fairfax, Virginia is within easy access to Washington, DC. To apply for this position (position number: F9024z) you must submit your cover letter, CV, and reference information on-line at: https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Inquires about the position may be directed to Gary Kreps, PhD (gkreps at gmu.edu) and Edward Maibach, MPH, PhD (emaibach at gwu.edu). George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in a range of academic fields. Enrollment is 30,000, with students studying in 148 degree programs at campuses in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070511/a281012d/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri May 18 14:47:28 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 12:47:28 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 5/18/2007 Message-ID: <2723008D-27A4-4953-8C64-89C7D9FF1C9F@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 5/18/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS): Deadline for proposals is 16 July http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu (see RESOURCES 1 below) New e-journal: ?Communication, Cooperation, Participation: Research and Practice for a Sustainable Future? www.ccp-online.org Fulbright Scholar Awards in environmental studies and conservation, 2008-09 www.cies.org (see RESOURCES 2 below) FORUM IPY (International Polar Year) in the Seattle PI.com comics http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mark.asp?date=20070513 SCIENCE NEWS Spy Chief Backs Study of Impact of Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/washington/12intel.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lv7l (see NEWS 1 below) Warming World Threatens Migratory Birds http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/13/ warming_world_threatens_migratory_birds/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/ 2tr24s (see NEWS 2 below) Climate change to force mass migration - Christian Aid Report http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2078839,00.html (see NEWS 3 below) Climate swings have brought great carbon dioxide pulses up from the deep sea http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/ 2007/2007051024944.html (see NEWS 4 below) NASA Finds Vast Regions of West Antarctica Melted in Recent Past (see NEWS 5 below) Small Particles' Big Impact on Climate http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0517/p14s01-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y5o5n (see NEWS 6 below) Experts Debate Costs of Curbing Greenhouse Gases http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- climate_may17,1,1268516.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/25wcre (see NEWS 7 below) Coalition to Make Buildings Energy-Efficient http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/us/17climate.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/ytqvbq (see NEWS 8 below) Small Particles' Big Impact on Climate http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0517/p14s01-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y5o5n (see NEWS 9 below) As a Carbon 'Sink,' Southern Ocean May Be Plugged http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- carbon18may18,1,5716702.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2h6tv7 (see NEWS 10 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Summerschool: 'Evolutionary and Ecological Consequences of Global Change'. The Munich Graduate Program for Evolution, Ecology and Systematics (Frauenchiemsee - 80 km east of Munich) from 9 - 14 September 2007 http://www.eeslmu.de/eeswiki/index.php?title=Summer_school_2007 Summer School on Extreme Events: Nonlinear Dynamics and Time Series Analysis. - 3-12 September 2007 (Comorova - Romania) http://www.lmd.ens.fr/E2C2/sumschoolE2C2.html (see PROGRAM 1 below) JOBS Post-Doc - Ecosystem flux measurements, ETH Zurich (Switzerland) http://www.iac.ethz.ch/positions/postdoc_seneviratne_2007 (see JOB 1 below) Post-doc - Precipitation Processes - University of Leuven (Belgium) (see JOB 2 below) Adjunct Faculty Position - Environmental Studies at Southwestern University - Georgetown, Texas (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Lecturer - Environmental Politics and Policy - one semester - Sydney University (Australia) (see JOB 4 below) Post-doc - History of scientific assessments of the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its role in sea level rise caused by global warming. University of California, San Diego (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Climate Protection Advisor - GTZ (German Development Cooperation) ? Jakarta (Indonesia) http://www.gtz.de/en/karriere/stellenmarkt/jobs-by-sector- detail.asp?fachgebiet=Environment+and+Infrastructure&anzeige=60076251 (see JOB 6 below) JOB 7) Post-doc - Soil Science: impacts of global change on the fertility of New Zealand pastoral soils; in particular the consequences of progressive nutrient limitation. (New Zealand) (see JOB 7 below) Post-doc ? Dendrochronology - Rouyn-Noranda, QC (Canada) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - Boreal Soil Carbon Modeling - University of Colorado- Boulder CO (USA) http://moab.colorado.edu/Postdoc.htm (see JOB 9 below) Post-doc - gas hydrates - Oak Ridge National Lab - Tennessee (USA) (see JOB 10 below) Analysis Finds Large Antarctic Area Has Melted http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/science/earth/16melt.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2zo32b (see JOB 11 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS): Deadline for proposals is 16 July http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis was initiated in 1995 to promote synthesis, analysis, and multidisciplinary collaboration directed toward addressing important questions in ecology and allied disciplines. The Center seeks projects that address the development and testing of important ecological ideas and theories using existing data, cutting-edge analysis of ecological information, research on data access and use, use of sound science in policy and management decisions, and investigating sociological issues that pertain to the science of ecology. NCEAS supports Working Groups, Postdoctoral Associates, Center (Sabbatical) Fellows and Distributed Graduate Seminars. Proposals may be submitted by individuals of any nationality who hold a position in an academic institution, free-standing research institution, scientific society, governmental or policy agency, non- governmental organization, or a consortium of such institutions. Proposals are welcome from first-time applicants and from scientists and social scientists from fields other than ecology. Proposals may involve activities with partial support from matching funds or one or more other institutions or agencies. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions about prospective proposals. Stephanie E. Hampton, Deputy Director, National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu hampton at nceas.ucsb.edu Tel (805) 892-2505 ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Fulbright Scholar Awards in environmental studies and conservation, 2008-09 www.cies.org The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering up to 8 lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in environmental studies and sciences or conservation during the 2007-2008 academic year in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, India (practicing professional; 8-12 weeks), Maldives, Oman, Qatar, or United Arab Emirates. U.S. Fulbright Scholars around the world enjoy an experience of a lifetime, one that provides a broad cultural perspective on their academic disciplines and connects them with colleagues at institutions around the globe. Awards range from two months to an academic year. Grants are awarded to faculty of all academic ranks, including adjunct and emeritus, and to practicing professionals. Fulbright lecturing assignments are in English in most countries. U.S. citizenship is required. For details of eligibility requirements, award descriptions, and an online application, visit our website at www.cies.org. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Spy Chief Backs Study of Impact of Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/12/washington/12intel.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/39lv7l New York Times (Registration Required) - Stepping into the middle of a partisan debate on Capitol Hill, the United States' top intelligence official has endorsed a comprehensive study by spy agencies about the impact of global warming on national security. In a letter written earlier this week to the House Intelligence Committee, the official, Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence, said it was "entirely appropriate" that the intelligence community prepare an assessment of the "geopolitical and security implications of global climate change." The question of whether the country's spy agencies, already burdened by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the global hunt for members of Al Qaeda, ought to investigate the security implications of global warming has been debated in Congress for several weeks. ******************* (NEWS 2) Warming World Threatens Migratory Birds http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/05/13/ warming_world_threatens_migratory_birds/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/ 2tr24s Boston Globe (Registration Required) - BONN, Germany -- Disoriented by erratic weather, birds are changing migration habits and routes to adjust to warmer winters, disappearing feeding grounds and shrinking wetlands, a migration expert says. Failure to adapt risks extinction. Birds face starvation when they arrive too early or too late to find their normal diet of insects, plankton or fish. In the north, some birds have stopped migrating altogether, leaving them at risk when the next cold winter strikes. "Species that adapted to changes over millennia are now being asked to make those adaptations extremely quickly because of the swift rise in temperatures," said Robert Hepworth, executive secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species, a treaty under the auspices of the U.N. Environment Program. ******************** (NEWS 3) Climate change to force mass migration - Christian Aid Report http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2078839,00.html A billion people - one in seven people on Earth today - could be forced to leave their homes over the next 50 years as the effects of climate change worsen an already serious migration crisis, a new report from Christian Aid predicts. The report, which is based on latest UN population and climate change figures, says conflict, large- scale development projects and widespread environmental deterioration will combine to make life unsupportable for hundreds of millions of people, mostly in the Sahara belt, south Asia and the Middle East. (continued...) ************************* (NEWS 4) Climate swings have brought great carbon dioxide pulses up from the deep sea http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/ 2007/2007051024944.html A study released today provides some of the first solid evidence that warming-induced changes in ocean circulation at the end of the last Ice Age caused vast quantities of ancient carbon dioxide to belch from the deep sea into the atmosphere. Scientists believe the carbon dioxide (CO2) releases helped propel the world into further warming. The study, done by researchers at the University of Colorado, Kent State University and Columbia University's Lamont- Doherty Earth Observatory, appears in the May 10 advance online version of the leading journal Science. Atmospheric CO2, also produced by burning of fossil fuels, is thought to be largely responsible for current warming. However, scientists have known for some time that the gas also goes through natural cycles. By far most of the world's mobile carbon is stored in the oceans?40 trillion metric tons, or 15 times more than in air, soil and water combined. But how this vast marine reservoir interacts with the atmosphere has been a subject of debate for the last 25 years. The study indicates what many scientists have long suspected, but could not prove: sometimes the oceans can release massive amounts of CO2 into the air as they overturn. "The lesson is that abrupt changes in ocean circulation in the past have affected the oceans' ability to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere," said geologist Thomas Marchitto of the University of Colorado, a co-lead author. "This could help us understand how that ability might be affected by future global warming." The researchers found the evidence in a core of Pacific Ocean sediment brought up from 705 meters--about 2,300 feet?off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. The core held the remains of bottom- dwelling protozoa called foraminifera, which take up carbon from surrounding water and use it to build their shells. The isotope carbon 14?normally used to date organic remains such as wood and bones?can also be used to date the water in which the foraminifera grew. Going back through layers built up over the past 38,000 years, the researchers found the shells contained expected levels of C14 in all but two brief periods, beginning roughly 18,000 years and 13,000 years ago. That meant the protozoa were using older sources of carbon, long isolated from the atmosphere. The carbon could come from only one place: upwelling of the deep sea, from depths of 3 kilometers (nearly two miles) or more. The researchers believe the water came not from the Pacific, but from the faraway Antarctic Ocean--the only part of the world where great upwelling can occur, due to the bottom topography and wind patterns. Most of the rising C02 probably poured out into the air in southern latitudes, but some carbon-rich water traveled on currents at intermediate depths to the north, where the foraminifera recorded its C14 signature. The upwelling and release of this carbon dioxide matches well with rapid warming and rises in atmospheric CO2 shown in glacial ice cores from Antarctica and other far-flung records. The researchers believe that largely as a result of these episodes, CO2 in the atmosphere went from 190 parts per million (ppm) during glacial times to about 270 ppm, and remained at that level until recently. A similar but much more rapid rise, to 380 ppm, has taken place since the Industrial Revolution?most of it in the last few decades. Both rises almost certainly stoked climate warming. Exactly what caused the upwelling is not clear, but many scientists believe the world was already undergoing a natural warming cycle, possibly due to a slight periodic change in earth's orbit. This suddenly ended the last Ice Age, in turn changing ocean currents and wind patterns. The hypothesis favored by paper's authors is that sudden disintegration of northern ice sheets during this initial warming slowed or halted deep Atlantic Ocean circulation. This in turn warmed the Antarctic, causing massive retreats of sea ice and allowing deep Antarctic waters to surface. Thus, it is possible that the signal detected in the Pacific ultimately originated on the other side of the world. "Once the CO2 started rising, it probably helped the warming process along?but exactly how much, we can't say," said Robert Anderson, a Lamont-Doherty expert in ocean circulation who was not involved in the study. "And there is still huge uncertainty as to how the oceans will respond to current warming." Anderson says the study should be a wake-up call to the scientific community to expand studies of the oceans' relationship to climate change. ******************** (NEWS 5) NASA Finds Vast Regions of West Antarctica Melted in Recent Past May 15, 2007 RELEASE: 07-115 - WASHINGTON - A team of NASA and university scientists has found clear evidence that extensive areas of snow melted in west Antarctica in January 2005 in response to warm temperatures. This was the first widespread Antarctic melting ever detected with NASA's QuikScat satellite and the most significant melt observed using satellites during the past three decades. The affected regions encompass a combined area as big as California. Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Konrad Steffen, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, led the team. Using data from QuikScat, they measured snowfall accumulation and melt in Antarctica and Greenland from July 1999 through July 2005. The melting occurred in multiple distinct regions, including far inland, at high latitudes and at high elevations, where melt had been considered unlikely. Evidence of melting was found up to 560 miles inland from the open ocean, farther than 85 degrees south (about 310 miles from the South Pole) and higher than 6,600 feet above sea level. Maximum air temperatures at the time of the melting were unusually high, reaching more than 41 F in one of the affected areas. They remained above melting for approximately a week. "Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula, but now large regions are showing the first signs of the impacts of warming as interpreted by this satellite analysis," said Steffen. "Increases in snowmelt, such as this in 2005, definitely could have an impact on larger scale melting of Antarctica's ice sheets if they were severe or sustained over time." The satellite's scatterometer instrument sends radar pulses to the ice sheet surface, measuring the echoed pulses that bounce back. When snow melts and then refreezes, it changes to ice, just as ice cream crystallizes when it is left out too long and is then refrozen. QuikScat can differentiate this icy fingerprint in the snow cover and can map on a continental scale the extent of strong snowmelt over the subsequently formed ice layer. Available ground station measurements validate the satellite result. The 2005 melt was intense enough to create an extensive ice layer when water refroze after the melt. However, the melt was not prolonged enough for the melt water to flow into the sea. "Water from melted snow can penetrate into ice sheets through cracks and narrow, tubular glacial shafts called moulins," Steffen said. "If sufficient melt water is available, it may reach the bottom of the ice sheet. This water can lubricate the underside of the ice sheet at the bedrock, causing the ice mass to move toward the ocean faster, increasing sea level." Changes in the ice mass of Antarctica, Earth's largest freshwater reservoir, are important to understanding global sea level rise. Large amounts of Antarctic freshwater flowing into the ocean also could affect ocean salinity, currents and global climate. Nghiem said while no further melting had been detected through March 2007, more monitoring is needed. "Satellite scatterometry is like an X-ray that sees through snow and finds ice layers beneath as early as possible," he said. "It is vital we continue monitoring this region to determine if a long-term trend may be developing." QuikScat data are helping scientists better understand how Antarctica and Greenland's ice sheets gain or lose mass. "We need to know what's coming in and going out of the ice sheets," Nghiem said. "QuikScat data, combined with data from NASA's IceSat and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites, along with aircraft and ground measurements, all contribute to more accurate estimates of how the polar ice sheets are changing." The study, "Snow Accumulation and Snowmelt Monitoring in Greenland and Antarctica," appears in the recently published book "Dynamic Planet." For more information about this study, contact Jim Scott of the University of Colorado, Boulder, at 303-492-3114 or Adriana Raudzens Bailey of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Boulder, at 303-492-6289. For more information on QuikScat, visit: http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov ******************** (NEWS 6) Small Particles' Big Impact on Climate http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0517/p14s01-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y5o5n Christian Science Monitor - Vast clouds of dust, soot, and other tiny particles called aerosols migrate over the Pacific from eastern Asia to North America. Now a team of American, Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean scientists is in the midst of a two-month effort to conduct the most detailed study yet of this region's air-pollution plumes. The goal is to help provide a reality check on climate models, which poorly represent the effect these particles have on the global and regional climate. The results of these field measurements could well feed into current efforts by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Britain to build the effects of airborne particles into weather forecasts. By any measure, the Asian plumes represent some of the largest pollution events on earth, researchers say. While air pollution also migrates from North America to Europe, and from Europe across Eurasia, those amounts pale in comparison to Asia's eastbound freight. Soot from Asia that reaches the West Coast accounts for 80 percent of the black-carbon soot in the skies over the United States... *************** (NEWS 7) Experts Debate Costs of Curbing Greenhouse Gases http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- climate_may17,1,1268516.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/25wcre Chicago Tribune (Registration Required) - In a United Nations report released this month, scientists said the cost of aggressively tackling climate change was comparatively reasonable. By spending a little over a tenth of 1 percent of the world's income each year for 23 years, they say, greenhouse gases could be held nearly in check, avoiding the worst predicted environmental disasters. The same day, Bush administration officials argued that the same aggressive effort would throw the world's economy into a global recession. The reality, top climate economists say, is that cutting U.S. emissions sufficiently to hold greenhouse gas concentrations at near- current levels could soon cost the United States twice as much per year as it is now spending on the war in Iraq. But, as the UN report essentially urges, spending a trillion dollars a year worldwide over the next two decades to aggressively curb climate change could be a bargain in the long run. ************** (NEWS 8) Coalition to Make Buildings Energy-Efficient http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/us/17climate.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/ytqvbq New York Times (Registration Required) - A coalition of 16 of the world's biggest cities, five banks, one former president and companies and groups that modernize aging buildings on Wednesday pledged investments of billions of dollars to cut urban energy use and releases of heat-trapping gases linked to global warming. Under a plan developed through the William J. Clinton Foundation, participating banks would provide up to $1 billion each in loans that cities or private landlords would use to upgrade energy-hungry heating, cooling and lighting systems in older buildings. The loans and interest would be paid back with savings accrued through reduced energy costs, organizers of the initiative said at a news conference in Manhattan. Typically, such upgrades can cut energy use and costs by 20 percent to 50 percent, they said. Many scientists consider making more efficient use of energy to be the best starting point for addressing global warming... **************** (NEWS 9) Small Particles' Big Impact on Climate http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0517/p14s01-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2y5o5n Christian Science Monitor - Vast clouds of dust, soot, and other tiny particles called aerosols migrate over the Pacific from eastern Asia to North America. Now a team of American, Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean scientists is in the midst of a two-month effort to conduct the most detailed study yet of this region's air-pollution plumes. The goal is to help provide a reality check on climate models, which poorly represent the effect these particles have on the global and regional climate. The results of these field measurements could well feed into current efforts by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Britain to build the effects of airborne particles into weather forecasts. By any measure, the Asian plumes represent some of the largest pollution events on Earth, researchers say. While air pollution also migrates from North America to Europe, and from Europe across Eurasia, those amounts pale in comparison to Asia's eastbound freight. Soot from Asia that reaches the West Coast accounts for 80 percent of the black-carbon soot in the skies over the United States... ******************** (NEWS 10) Analysis Finds Large Antarctic Area Has Melted http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/science/earth/16melt.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2zo32b New York Times (Registration Required) - While much of the world has warmed in a pattern that scientists have linked with near certainty to human activities, the frigid interior of Antarctica has resisted the trend. Now, a new satellite analysis shows that at least once in the last several years, masses of unusually warm air pushed to within 310 miles of the South Pole and remained long enough to melt surface snow across a California-size expanse. The warm spell, which occurred over one week in 2005, was detected by scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Balmy air, with a temperature of up to 41 degrees in some places, persisted across three broad swathes of West Antarctica long enough to leave a distinctive signature of melting, a layer of ice in the snow that cloaks the vast ice sheets of the frozen continent. *********************** (NEWS 10) As a Carbon 'Sink,' Southern Ocean May Be Plugged http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- carbon18may18,1,5716702.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2h6tv7 Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - The Southern Ocean, a massive storehouse for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is slowly losing its capacity to buffer the world from rising concentrations of the greenhouse gas, researchers reported Thursday. As a result, the study said, carbon dioxide could accumulate in the atmosphere faster than expected over the coming decades. The ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, accounts for about a third of all carbon stored in the world's five oceans. ...The findings [published in Science] are controversial. Pieter Tans, a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colo., said the measurements of carbon dioxide changes were so subtle that they could easily be sampling errors. "I think they make a good case, but I am not entirely convinced," he said, adding that there is little evidence that the planet's ability to absorb carbon is fading. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (PROGRAM 1) Summer School on Extreme Events: Nonlinear Dynamics and Time Series Analysis. - 3-12 September 2007 (Comorova - Romania) http://www.lmd.ens.fr/E2C2/sumschoolE2C2.html Application deadline 15 July 2007 ** financial support available ** The school will address the following topics: A. Brief theoretical overview of dynamical and complex systems, and of stochastic processes. B. Spectral analysis methods emphasizing periodicities and trends. C. Spectral analysis methods emphasizing scale invariance in the frequency domain. D. Brief overview of extreme value theory E. Methods for doing extreme value theory. F. Examples of extreme events and their modeling in the physical, natural and social sciences. Lecturers will include: Marcel Ausloos [University of Li?ge, Belgium] Fabio D'Andrea [LMD Ecole Normale Sup?rieure, Paris, France] Petra Friederichs [University of Bonn, Germany] Efi Foufoula-Georgiou [University of Minnesota, USA] (to be confirmed) Michael Ghil [Ecole Normale Sup?rieure, Paris, France] St?phane Hallegatte |CIRED and M?t?o-France, France] Dmitri Kondrashov [UCLA, USA] Vladimir Kossobokov [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow] (to be confirmed) Juergen Kurths [University of Potsdam, Germany] Bruce Malamud [King's College London, UK] Olivier Mestre [M?t?o-France, Toulouse, France] (to be confirmed) Philippe Naveau [CEA, Saclay, France] Mircea Radulian [National Institute for Earth Physics, Bucharest, Romania] (to be confirmed) Sorin Solomon [Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel] Alexandre Soloviev [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow] (to be confirmed) Dumitru Stanica [Romanian Academy of Sciences, Bucharest, Romania] (to be confirmed) Donald Turcotte [University of California, Davis, USA] (to be confirmed) G?rard Weisbuch [LPS Ecole Normale Sup?rieure, Paris, France] *************************************************** 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) Post-Doc - Ecosystem flux measurements, ETH Zurich (Switzerland) http://www.iac.ethz.ch/positions/postdoc_seneviratne_2007 We are looking for a junior or senior post-doc with scientific background in micrometeorology, hydrology and possibly plant physiology, who has technical expertise with eddy covariance-based heat, water, and carbon flux measurement equipment (Fluxnet, CarboEurope or similar). She/he will join a young and dynamic research group working In the field of Land-Climate Interactions. Our group has extensive expertise in the fields of climate and land- surface modeling, regional to global hydrology, land-atmosphere interactions, and climate-change research. We are seeking to expand in the field of ecosystem flux measurements and in particular to upgrade an existing hydrological research station (Rietholzbach catchment, http://www.iac.ethz.ch/groups/seneviratne/research/ rietholzbach ) to a micrometeorological measurement site that will be associated with European networks (Fluxnet/CarboEurope). The upgraded site will also be part of a major effort at the national level (Swiss Fluxnet: www.swissfluxnet.ch) and will be managed in collaboration with other research groups in Switzerland. The main tasks of the applicant will be: - To oversee and coordinate the set-up of the new eddy-covariance flux measurements (latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, CO2 flux; tower of 10 meters with 4 measurement levels; data acquisition, quality check, and gap filling; data analysis and scientific publications on measurements) - To coordinate research within the Rietholzbach measurement site (cross comparisons between different measurement approaches, data acquisition and database concept for whole site, field campaigns, collaboration with other measurement research teams in Switzerland and abroad) - To supervise BSc and MSc students, and possibly PhD students, for research projects related to ecosystem flux measurements - Additionally, and depending on the seniority of the applicant, lecturing at ETH (field course) would be possible. We are looking for an experienced, independent, and highly- motivated researcher who would like to work on a challenging and exciting project. We offer a dynamic and creative environment, excellent work and salary conditions, and a large degree of freedom on the management of this project. We expect significant synergies and possible collaborations within the research team on the areas of land-surface modeling, climate-model validation, and data analysis, from which the appointed post-doc could benefit. In principle, an appointment both at junior or senior post-doc levels is possible, though a senior post-doc would be given priority. Part-time employment (at least 80%) is possible. The position is for 3 years and is renewable for a period of 1-3 years. Salary will depend on the level of experience and will range between ca. 75'000 and 100'000 CHF/year (100% position). Please send your application (cover letter, CV, three references) in pdf format via email to Rosmarie Widmer ( rosmarie.widmer at env.ethz.ch; Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, CHN N12.2, Universit?tsstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland) under the reference "Postdoc in ecosystem flux measurements". Review of the applications will start on June 11 and will continue until the position is filled. Earliest start for the position would be July-August 2007. ******************** (JOB 2) Post-doc - Precipitation Processes - University of Leuven (Belgium) A Post-doctoral / PhD position is available at the University of Leuven (Belgium) for motivated scientists with an interest in understanding precipitation processes. The successful candidate 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 position is for a period of 3.5 years starting as soon as possible. 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 is meant to serve as a reference database for follow-up studies in 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 numerical modelling or analysis of remote sensing data 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. van Lipzig at VanLipzig at geo.kuleuven.be Review of the applications will begin 29 May 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 3) Adjunct Faculty Position - Environmental Studies at Southwestern University - Georgetown, Texas (USA) Southwestern University, an undergraduate liberal arts institution in Georgetown, Texas (25 miles north of Austin), is searching for an adjunct faculty member to teach one course each semester of the 2007-2008 academic year. The Environmental Studies program offers both a major and a minor; it is interdisciplinary, with courses offered in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. An ideal candidate would offer a course in his/he= r area of expertise with this interdisciplinarity in mind. Courses could include various components of human-environment interactions, global development policies and the environment, GIS labs, geography, environmental policy, but we are most interested in having applicants propose a course that they would be excited to teach. At this point, the course for the fall semester is scheduled for T/Th 1:00-2:15. If a lab component is requisite, an additional time slot could be added. Maximum course size is 15 students, reflecting the liberal arts focus of the institution. PhD or ABD preferred. Please contact Dr. Laura Hobgood-Oster, Chair of the Program in Environmental Studies for more information hoboster at southwestern.edu; 512-863-1669. ******************** (JOB 4) Lecturer - Environmental Politics and Policy - one semester - Sydney University (Australia) The Department of Government and International Relations at Sydney University is looking for a qualified lecturer to teach the course on 'Environmental Politics and Policy' in (our) second semester (July-November) 2007. The course has a pretty global focus. Please contact me directly for the details. And thank you for forwarding this to anyone you think may be both interested and capable. Thanks in advance. Dr Charlotte Epstein, Government and International Relations, School of Economics and Political Science, FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS, Room 287 | Merewether Building (H04) The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 phone 61 2 9351 2082 | fax 61 2 9351 3624 e c.epstein at econ.usyd.edu.au ******************** (JOB 5) Post-doc - History of scientific assessments of the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its role in sea level rise caused by global warming. University of California, San Diego (USA) The use of scientific assessment as a formalized process for evaluating knowledge for the specific purpose of informing government decision-making has expanded since the mid-1970s, but how well have these assessments worked? As part of the initial stage of a multi- year collaborative project between University of California, San Diego and The Woodrow Wilson School's Science, Technology and Environmental Policy Program at Princeton University, we seek a post- doctoral fellow to examine the history of scientific assessments of the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and its role in sea level rise caused by global warming. The ideal fellow will have a Ph.D. in history of science or a closely related field, and sufficient scientific background to understand the technical issues at stake in the scientific evaluations. The fellow will work under the joint supervision of Naomi Oreskes, University of California, San Diego, and Michael Oppenheimer, Woodrow Wilson School and Department of Geosciences, Princeton University. The initial appointment will be for one year, with the possibility of renewal. The successful candidate will be based primarily at the University of California, San Diego campus but must be flexible enough to travel to the Princeton to conduct research there as needed. Research could begin anytime after July 1, 2007. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled. The Postdoctoral Research Associate's position is open to all regardless of citizenship, but requires a completed doctorate and does not support work towards the completion of a degree. The postdoctoral fellow will be eligible for salary and full employee benefits in accordance with Princeton University guidelines. Applicants should send a CV and a cover letter describing their areas of expertise and interest via email to Charles Crosby at ccrosby at princeton.edu. For more information about applying to Princeton please link to: http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm Candidates may choose to complete the "Invitation to Self- Identify" form http://web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/forms/PSoftSelfID.pdf. Providing the self-identification information is completely voluntary and declining to submit the information will not adversely affect your candidacy. ********************** (JOB 6) Climate Protection Advisor - GTZ (German Development Cooperation) ? Jakarta (Indonesia) http://www.gtz.de/en/karriere/stellenmarkt/jobs-by-sector- detail.asp?fachgebiet=Environment+and+Infrastructure&anzeige=60076251 Starting in July 2007, GTZ (German Development Cooperation) is looking for a climate protection advisor based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The assignment will last until June 2008 with the possibility of an extension. Your main tasks will include advising the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and other Ministries working in climate protection on measures related to climate policy. The compiling and processing of information and data on regional climate development, adjustments to climate change and measures, policies and strategies for reducing greenhouse gases in Indonesia as well as in other selected countries will equally be part of your job. Furthermore, it involves the provision of support in technical and strategical issues relating to the preparations for the Conference of the Parties in Bali. A university degree, sound knowledge in climate-related policies and environmental protection as well as working experience in the provision of process and organisational advice are required. Work experience abroad, preferably in Asia, as well as excellent command of English, and preferably knowledge of German are equally required. Contact: Marlo Hintze, e-mail: marlo.hintze at gtz.de Tel.: +49 61 96 79-3303 Please send your application by e-mail. ******************** (JOB 7) Post-doc - Soil Science: impacts of global change on the fertility of New Zealand pastoral soils; in particular the consequences of progressive nutrient limitation. (New Zealand) Location: Grasslands; Job Number: AGR553; Applications Close 26/05/2007 AgResearch is a global leader in developing integrated and novel solutions for agriculture and the environment that are important to New Zealand's future. A postdoctoral research position is available in soil science within the Land and Environmental Management section of AgResearch. The project will focus on the impacts of global change on the fertility of New Zealand pastoral soils in particular the consequences of progressive nutrient limitation. The research will use unique experimental facilities in the New Zealand FACE facility (now in its 10th year of operation) and natural CO2 springs and will involve collaborative work with FACE experiments in Tasmania and Denmark. The position would suit a motivated, independent, career-minded scientist with a strong background in soil science and good communication skills. The successful candidate will have a PhD or equivalent degree. Experience in the use of isotopes for the study of C and N biogeochemistry would be desirable. The fellowship will be for an initial period of 2 years with a strong opportunity for subsequent permanent appointment. Land and Environmental Management is one of three sections in the Agriculture and Environment group of AgResearch. The section specialises in research and development to achieve productivity and environmental goals in the pastoral sector. The global change research team is located at the Grasslands Research Centre in Palmerston North, a university city 30 km from the coast, 2 hours from ski fields and 2 hours from Wellington. The AgResearch Grasslands campus is situated in pleasant rural surroundings with easy access to the city. The area offers many cultural and recreational opportunities. For further information contact Paul Newton at paul.newton at agresearch.co.nz or to apply for this position, please apply on line via our website www.agresearch.co.nz by 27 May 2007. For all enquires regarding this position, please email: kim.cole at agresearch.co.nz ******************** (JOB 8) Post-doc ? Dendrochronology - Rouyn-Noranda, QC (Canada) We are seeking a postdoctoral candidate to work in the following multidisciplinary project: Impact of climate change on the productivity of mixed boreal forests. Climate warming is believed to directly affect the growth of trees and the natural disturbance regime and, consequently, the productivity of the boreal forest in Quebec. This research project will attempt to determine the effects of future climate changes on growth of two dominant boreal tree species (black spruce and trembling aspen) of western Quebec and quantify the impacts on annual allowable cut and fire frequency for a forest management unit in north-western Quebec. Dendroclimatic analysis of forest stands along latitudinal and topographic gradients, from hardwood forest in the south to the northern conifer-dominated forest, will allow identification of the major climatic factors determining diameter growth of the two species. The resulting climate - growth relationships will drive a series of models to in order to develop climate sensitive growth and yield tables and, based on climate simulations of the Regional Canadian Climate Model, to estimate future changes in annual allowable cut due to climate change. The results will allow government and industrial forest managers to adapt currently used growth and yield tables and adjust annual allowable cut evaluations in order to improve forest planning and silviculture of these mixed forests. In addition to participating in this research, the postdoc will be responsible for the Dendroecological Laboratory located in the Lake Duparquet Research and Teaching Forest ( http://web2.uqat.ca/ ferld/). Responsibilities will include training and supervision of graduate students in dendrochronology. Accommodation at the research station will be available. Position is for 2 years; initial salary is $40,000 Canadian per year. Send a curriculum vitae, copies of 2 publications, and names of two people who can provide letters of references to: Yves Bergeron, Chaire industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en am?nagement forestier durable, Universit? du Qu?bec en Abitibi-T?miscamingue, 445 boul. de l'Universit?, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada J9X 5E4 Tel: 819-762-0971-2347 Fax: 819-797-4727 email: yves.bergeron at uqat.ca http://web2.uqat.ca/cafd/ ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc - Boreal Soil Carbon Modeling - University of Colorado- Boulder CO (USA) http://moab.colorado.edu/Postdoc.htm A postdoctoral position modeling boreal soil carbon dynamics under a changing climate will be available at the University of Colorado at Boulder starting in summer/fall 2007. The position will focus on evaluating the vulnerability of boreal soil carbon to destabilization under projected 21st Century climate change and will involve both biogeochemical and soil thermal model development. The model is based on a recently developed mechanistic boreal soil carbon model and will involve close interactions with both researchers at the US Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. See http://moab.colorado.edu/Postdoc.htm for more information on the model and the position. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Biogeochemistry, Hydrology or a related field and possess strong computational and programming skills. Experience with Matlab is essential and knowledge of another programming language (Fortran, C++ etc) is highly desirable. The position is available for up to three years with a competitive salary and benefits package. Interested applicants should contact Jason Neff (neffjc at colorado.edu) for more information. ******************* (JOB 10) Post-doc - gas hydrates - Oak Ridge National Lab - Tennessee (USA) The Gas Hydrates Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is seeking interested applicants for a Post-doc position. The laboratory is funded to investigate methane hydrate dissociation in complex sediment systems through a series of large volume high pressure experiments as well as neutron diffraction studies of pure gas hydrates and natural samples. Experience with gas hydrates and/or high pressure experimental systems is preferred. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity please contact Megan Elwood Madden ( maddenme at ornl.gov) or Tommy Phelps ( phelpstj at ornl.gov). ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070518/b9357473/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri May 25 14:50:02 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 25 May 2007 12:50:02 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 5/25/2007 Message-ID: <9C441BF8-7C1F-4527-8E46-7C1C3A59CCA5@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 5/25/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Fellowship Scheme 2007-08 - The deadline for the submission of applications for this year's SCAR Fellowships has now been extended to 31 MAY 2007. http://www.scar.org/awards/fellowships/ Online Working Papers in Conservation Social Science launched - The Society for Conservation Biology's Social Science Working Group (SCB SSWG) www.conbio.org/WorkingGroups/SSWG/ (see RESOURCES 1 below) Climate Mentoring Network (listserv) initiated by the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Climate Specialty Group (CSG) (see RESOURCES 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Global warming can be reduced, but at what cost? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003715537_warmingcosts21.html or http://tinyurl.com/2464b7 (see NEWS 1 below) Recent CO2 rises exceed worst-case scenarios http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11899-recent- cosub2sub-rises-exceed-worstcase-scenarios.html or http:// tinyurl.com/2z5qon (see NEWS 2 below) Carbon tax 'won't hurt' the world's poor http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/carbon-tax-wont-hurt-the- worlds-poor.cfm or http://tinyurl.com/2jzs9m (see NEWS 3 below) Climbers face more risks as Alps crumble http://www.iol.co.za/index.php? set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=nw20070521220417533C814478 or http:// tinyurl.com/2qoumq (see NEWS 4 below) Solar Power Set to Shine Brightly (see NEWS 5 below) (see NEWS 6 below) Deadlock for UN Climate Meeting http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6670639.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2y95c5 (see NEWS 7 below) Study: Killer hurricanes thrived in cooler seas http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/05/23/hurricane.study.reut/ index.html (see NEWS 8 below) First Successful Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide Air Capture Technology Achieved by Columbia University Scientist and Private Company http://www.earth.columbia.edu/news/2007/story04-24-07.php (see NEWS 9 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Opportunity for African Graduate Students and Young Researchers in the Social Sciences: (see OPPORTUNITY 1 below) 7th International Summer School on Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ISSAOS) hosted and organized by CETEMPS - University of L'Aquila, Italy. http://cetemps.aquila.infn.it/issaos_2007/ More details on topics and lecturers are available at: http:// cetemps.aquila.infn.it/issaos_2007/ and are also included below. Please, note that the deadline for early registration is 30 May 2007: http://cetemps.aquila.infn.it/issaos_2007/main_files/ registration.html AGU 2007 Biogeosciences Call for Sessions (see OPPORTUNITY 2 below) JOBS Post-doc Associate - Social and Ecological Dimensions of Mexican Fisheries - Department of Human Ecology - Rutgers the State University - New Brunswick, NJ (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Post-Doc Researcher - The Natural Hazards Center - San Francisco Bay area (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Post-Doc - Remote Sensing Forest Disturbances: Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Tulane University, and Complex Systems Research Center, UNH ? New Orleans, (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Social scientist - sustainability science/Resource Use Transitions - CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia's national science agency) Canberra (Australia) http://www.csiro.au http://recruitment.csiro.au/asp/ Job_Details.asp?RefNo=2007%2F146 Job 2007/146 (see JOB 4 below) Post-Doc: Diatomist - University of Arkansas (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Visiting 1-yr Asst. Prof - Environmental. Studies Program at Oberlin College - Oberlin, Ohio - (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Post-doc - Stratospheric Sources of Surface Ozone and Methane: Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Sweden) (see JOB 7 below) Post-doc - seasonal climate and extreme weather prediction: University of British Columbia (Canada) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - applied economics (global land use/crop model, including macroeconomic linkages, technological change and the valuation of water resources) - PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) - (Germany) (see JOB 9 below) Post-doc - Scientific and economic aspects of potential climate threshold responses (e.g., a shutdown of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) to anthropogenic forcing - Penn State Univ (USA) (see JOB 10 below) Post-Doc - meteorology or climatology at MeteoSwiss - Zurich (Switzerland) (see JOB 11 below) ************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Online Working Papers in Conservation Social Science launched - The Society for Conservation Biology's Social Science Working Group (SCB SSWG) www.conbio.org/WorkingGroups/SSWG/ The goal of the SSWG Working Paper Series (WPS) is to provide a forum for conservation social science research, especially successful application of social science tools and approaches to conservation policy and practice. The WPS aims to promote current research in the final stages of completion. Through its simplified review process, the series offers rapid dissemination of critical conservation social science work to the SCB community, social science peers, students, and other conservation professionals. This is an opportunity for authors to open their work for initial public viewing and commentary before moving on to relevant journal submission. The WPS hopes to become the place where conservation social scientists turn for the most current and critical insights into the field. The editors are particularly interested in papers examining the ways in which conservation social science answers the following questions in some manner: 1. Where should the conservation community focus its efforts? 2. How should the conservation community design and implement its conservation interventions? 3. What are the impacts of our conservation interventions? Submissions dealing with other aspects of conservation social science are also welcome. To contribute to the working paper series, please visit the SSWG webpage (www.conbio.org/WorkingGroups/SSWG/) and look under ?Resources? for additional information. If you have other questions, please contact the Editors, Stephen Williams and David Hoffman. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) (RESOURCES 2) Climate Mentoring Network (listserv) initiated by the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Climate Specialty Group (CSG) At the San Francisco meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Climate Specialty Group (CSG) approved the creation of a Climate Mentoring Network. This will take the form of an informal setting in which participants could post queries to a listserv, and have these answered by senior Climatology colleagues. The listserve will also act as a clearinghouse for ideas, professional development opportunities, workshops etc. primarily geared towards graduate students and new faculty. For more information or to join this exciting opportunity, please email Lesley- Ann Dupigny-Giroux at ldupigny at uvm.edu. The CSG also approved the creation of a Climate Literacy initiative. This will take the form of a web portal designed to promote the awareness and understanding of climate basics. It is envisioned that this tool would assist in climate pedagogy as well as provide a resource for understanding the complexity of our atmosphere in a changing climate. Again, for further details or to participate in this initiative, please email Lesley-Ann Dupigny- Giroux at ldupigny at uvm.edu. At the San Francisco meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Climate Specialty Group (CSG) approved the creation of a Climate Mentoring Network. This will take the form of an informal setting in which participants could post queries to a listserv, and have these answered by senior Climatology colleagues. The listserve will also act as a clearinghouse for ideas, professional development opportunities, workshops etc. primarily geared towards graduate students and new faculty. For more information or to join this exciting opportunity, please email Lesley- Ann Dupigny-Giroux at ldupigny at uvm.edu. The CSG also approved the creation of a Climate Literacy initiative. This will take the form of a web portal designed to promote the awareness and understanding of climate basics. It is envisioned that this tool would assist in climate pedagogy as well as provide a resource for understanding the complexity of our atmosphere in a changing climate. Again, for further details or to participate in this initiative, please email Lesley-Ann Dupigny- Giroux at ldupigny at uvm.edu. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Global warming can be reduced, but at what cost? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003715537_warmingcosts21.html or http://tinyurl.com/2464b7 CHICAGO ? In a United Nations report this month, scientists said the cost of aggressively tackling climate change was comparatively reasonable. By spending a little more than 0.1 percent of the world's income each year for 23 years, they say, greenhouse gases could be held nearly in check, avoiding the worst predicted environmental disasters. The same day, Bush administration officials argued that the same aggressive effort would throw the world's economy into recession. The reality, top climate economists say, is that cutting U.S. emissions sufficiently to hold greenhouse-gas concentrations at near- current levels soon could cost the United States twice as much per year as it is now spending on the war in Iraq. But, as the U.N. report essentially urges, spending $1 trillion a year worldwide over two decades to aggressively curb global warming could be a bargain in the long run. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 2) Recent CO2 rises exceed worst-case scenarios http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11899-recent- cosub2sub-rises-exceed-worstcase-scenarios.html or http:// tinyurl.com/2z5qon New Scientist - The world's recent carbon dioxide emissions are growing more rapidly than even the worst-case climate scenario used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, say researchers. The team, led by Michael Raupach of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, looked at the growth of CO2 emissions and found that emissions growth suddenly accelerated in 2000. During the 1990s, emissions grew by 1.1% per year on average, but the number shot up to 3.3% between 2000 and 2004, when the study ended. When they compared the recent emissions trend to those the UN- backed IPCC drew up as its "worst case scenario", the team found the reality was at least as bad, if not worse (see graph, right). The team then examined the changes between 1980 and 2004 in factors such as population, economic growth, energy efficiency and carbon efficiency (the amount used per unit of GDP). From this, they were able to determine why CO2 emissions accelerated after 2000. They concluded that the rise in CO2 emissions is not due to a growth in global population, but a reduction in global efficiency. "We are not getting more efficient at using CO2 in the way we projected," explains co-author Corinne Le Qu?r? from the University of East Anglia in the UK. Reversed trend From the 1970s to the 1990s, the world as a whole was becoming better at producing more energy for the same CO2 emissions, and more GDP with less energy. But the trend reversed in 2000. "It's a problem because people are assuming we are heading towards a more energy efficient future and we are not," says Le Qu?r?. The researchers found that no part of the world reduced the amount of carbon used to produce energy between 2000 and 2004, despite widespread publicity in support of greener sources of energy. The analysis also showed that developing countries accounted for 73% of the growth in CO2 emissions in 2004, but only 41% of total emissions. "If you follow anything to do with global policy or global economy these results will not be surprising," says Mike Hulme, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK. He says the results "turn the focus back to the process that is in place at the moment to create a new climate regime beyond 2012", when the Kyoto Protocol expires. He adds that drawing the conclusion that Kyoto has failed is "too crude an analysis". "There are Kyoto Protocol successes," Hulme says citing "the fact that there is an international climate regime, an emissions trading scheme that works and a market in carbon offsets [in developing countries]. Kyoto made that first progress, and we have learned what worked and what didn't work. A post-Kyoto treaty will not be just more of the same." ******************** (NEWS 3) Carbon tax 'won't hurt' the world's poor http://www.scidev.net/content/news/eng/carbon-tax-wont-hurt-the- worlds-poor.cfm or http://tinyurl.com/2jzs9m SciDev.net - BEIJING - Imposing a carbon tax to fight climate change will not hurt the poor in the developing countries, according to research announced this week (15 May). The study, conducted by Arief Anshory Yusuf of Padjadjaran University in Indonesia, was presented at the 27th biannual workshop of the Economy and Environment Programme for Southeast Asia in Beijing, China. A carbon tax ? the term for taxes imposed on energy consumption ? has long been considered an effective way to reduce energy consumption and slash carbon emissions. Previous studies have suggested that by increasing energy prices, carbon taxes could harm the poor more than the rich ? as the former spend a higher proportion of their income on fuel. But the new study, based on data from Indonesia, shows that in terms of energy consumption, the impact on the rural poor would be much less than that on wealthy people in cities, as the poor use comparatively little energy. (continued....) ******************** (NEWS 4) Climbers face more risks as Alps crumble http://www.iol.co.za/index.php? set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=nw20070521220417533C814478 or http:// tinyurl.com/2qoumq Reuters - Grindelwald - Climbing sheer rock faces has never been the safest of sports, but global warming is increasing the risk factor. The ice that glues Alpine peaks together is slowly melting, loosening rocks and making classic European climbs like the Eiger and Matterhorn even riskier than in the past. "Now there are routes that just can't be done any more," said Grindelwald mountain guide Marco Bomio. (continued...) ********************* (NEWS 5) Solar Power Set to Shine Brightly WorldWatch - WASHINGTON, D.C.- The solar industry is poised for a rapid decline in costs that will make it a mainstream power option in the next few years, according to a new assessment by the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Prometheus Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Global production of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, which turn sunlight directly into electricity, has risen sixfold since 2000 and grew 41 percent in 2006 alone. Although grid-connected solar capacity still provides less than 1 percent of the world's electricity, it increased nearly 50 percent in 2006, to 5,000 megawatts, propelled by booming markets in Germany and Japan. Spain is likely to join the big leagues in 2007, and the United States soon thereafter. This growth, while dramatic, has been constrained by a shortage of manufacturing capacity for purified polysilicon, the same material that goes into semiconductor chips. But the situation will be reversed in the next two years as more than a dozen companies in Europe, China, Japan, and the United States bring on unprecedented levels of production capacity. In 2006, for the first time, more than half the world's polysilicon was used to produce solar PV cells. Combined with technology advances, the increase in polysilicon supply will bring costs down rapidly-by more than 40 percent in the next three years, according to Prometheus estimates. "Solar energy is the world's most plentiful energy resource, and the challenge has been tapping it cost-effectively and efficiently," says Janet Sawin, a senior researcher at Worldwatch, who authored the update. "We are now seeing two major trends that will accelerate the growth of PV: the development of advanced technologies, and the emergence of China as a low-cost producer." The biggest surprise in 2006 was the dramatic growth in PV production in China. Last year, China passed the United States, which first developed modern solar cell technology at Bell Labs in New Jersey in the 1950s, to become the world's third largest producer of the cells-trailing only Germany and Japan. China's leading PV manufacturer, Suntech Power, climbed from the world's eighth largest producer in 2005 to fourth in 2006, and PVs have made the company's CEO one of his nation's wealthiest citizens. Experts believe that China, with its growing need for energy, large work force, and strong industrial base, could drive dramatic reductions in PV prices in the next few years, helping to make solar competitive with conventional power even without subsidies. "To say that Chinese PV producers plan to expand production rapidly in the year ahead would be an understatement," says Travis Bradford, President of the Prometheus Institute. "They have raised billions from international IPOs to build capacity and increase scale with the goal of driving down costs. Four Chinese IPOs are expected to come to market this month alone." In the meantime, supply shortages have led manufacturers to find ways to use polysilicon more efficiently, and have accelerated the introduction of new technologies that do not rely on purified silicon and are inherently less expensive to manufacture. So-called thin film cells can be made from amorphous silicon and other low-cost materials, and companies developing these technologies have recently become the darlings of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Although in the past, thin film cells have not been efficient enough to compete with conventional cells, today over a dozen companies-including Miasole, Nanosolar, and Ovonics-are competing to scale up production of low-cost solar modules that can be churned out like rolls of plastic. "The conventional energy industry will be surprised by how quickly solar PV becomes mainstream-cheap enough to provide carbon- free electricity on rooftops, while also meeting the energy needs of hundreds of millions of poor people who currently lack electricity," Sawin says. ******************* (NEWS 6) Smithsonian Accused of Altering Exhibit http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Science/ Smithsonian_Climate_Change.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/yo2fss Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian Institution toned down an exhibit on climate change in the Arctic for fear of angering Congress and the Bush administration, says a former administrator at the museum. Among other things, the script, or official text, of last year's exhibit was rewritten to minimize and inject more uncertainty into the relationship between global warming and humans, said Robert Sullivan, who was associate director in charge of exhibitions at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Also, officials omitted scientists' interpretation of some research and let visitors draw their own conclusions from the data, he said. In addition, graphs were altered "to show that global warming could go either way," Sullivan said. ******************** (NEWS 7) Deadlock for UN Climate Meeting http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6670639.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2y95c5 BBC News Online - They were aimed at paving the way for the climate summit taking place in Bali in December which will focus on how to take forward the Kyoto Protocol. However, the US said it was unlikely to take part in negotiations at the end of this year on a global agreement to cut emissions of carbon dioxide. The UN acknowledged "sticking points," but said some issues had been resolved at the meeting. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, Yvo de Boer, said: "We have come closer to broadening negotiations on a post-2012 regime by resolving some of the outstanding issues and clarifying which building blocks of a future agreement need to be put in place." ******************* (NEWS 8) Study: Killer hurricanes thrived in cooler seas http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/05/23/hurricane.study.reut/ index.html Reuters - NEW YORK - Hurricanes over the past 5,000 years appear to have been controlled more by El Nino and an African monsoon than warm sea surface temperatures, such as those caused by global warming, researchers said Wednesday. The study, published in the journal Nature, adds to the debate on whether seas warmed by greenhouse gas emissions lead to more hurricanes, such as those that bashed the Gulf of Mexico in 2005. Some researchers say warmer seas appear to have contributed to more intense hurricanes, while others disagree. The U.N. International Panel on Climate Change said this year it was more likely than not that humans contribute to a trend of increasingly intense hurricanes. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 9) First Successful Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide Air Capture Technology Achieved by Columbia University Scientist and Private Company http://www.earth.columbia.edu/news/2007/story04-24-07.php First Successful Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide Air Capture Technology Achieved by Columbia University Scientist and Private Company. Global Research Technologies, LLC (GRT), a technology research and development company, and Klaus Lackner from Columbia University have achieved the successful demonstration of a bold new technology to capture carbon from the air. The "air extraction" prototype has successfully demonstrated that indeed carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured from the atmosphere. This is GRT's first step toward a commercially viable air capture device. (continued...) *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITY 1) Opportunity for African Graduate Students and Young Researchers in the Social Sciences: The Social Science Working Group (SSWG), with funds provided by the Christiansen Fund, wishes to develop capacity and increase participation in the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) from conservation social scientists studying and working at African universities or NGOs. Our goal is to provide a mechanism to identify eight young conservation social scientists to serve as SSWG Ambassadors within their host institutions. These individuals will be actively involved in the Society and will serve as a link between the SSWG, researchers and students at their home institutions. We are searching for eight students or researchers who have graduated within the past four years. Applicants will provide a one-page essay in English, French or Portuguese demonstrating their active involvement in conservation research or work. Additionally, they will need to provide two letters of recommendation and a resume or C.V.. The following criteria will be used in the selection process: 1) People who are active in the field, as demonstrated by commitment to the objectives of SCB and the Social Science Working Group, such as those performing research or working in conservation; 2) Representation from across Africa, so as to reflect the diverse regions of the continent; 3) Probability of sharing the membership benefits with colleagues and peers; and 4) Financial need. Winning applicants will receive three years of membership in the SCB, as well as print versions of both Conservation Biology and Conservation magazine (at $62 per person, per year). In addition, the SSWG will provide a one-time $50USD stipend to offset costs incurred by the applicants in their outreach efforts developing connections between the SSWG and their home institution. Winning applicants will need to meet several goals during their three-year membership. These include: Active participation in the SSWG, including posting on the list-serve and/or volunteering to work with the board; with a special emphasis on student affairs and membership. Recruiting at least three people from within their home institution into the Society. While not a requirement we would strongly urge the winning applicants to submit to the SSWG newsletter or the African Telegraph (African Section newsletter), and if possible perhaps write a multi-author paper about social science based conservation in Africa. The SSWG will provide assistance in navigating publication and submission. Proposals will be due June 4th and winners will be announced at the SSWG meeting during the 2007 SCB annual meetings. Additional opportunities for young professionals in developing countries: Thanks to the generous support from The Nature Conservancy, the SSWG is proud to offer 50 two-year SCB memberships to graduate students or professionals who have graduated less than three years ago. Applicants will be required to submit a C.V. and a personal statement, but do not need to submit letters of recommendation. This award is open to all applicants from any developing country, and not necessarily from Africa. Successful applicants will receive free on- line access to Conservation Biology and Conservation magazine. Please send applications for both to Joshua Drew (jdrew at bu.edu) and clearly specify which opportunity you are applying for. ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 2) AGU 2007 Biogeosciences Call for Sessions This is a call for session proposals in Biogeosciences for the Fall 2007 meeting. We are hoping for a broad distribution of sessions within the diverse research represented in our Section. Session proposals are due Wednesday, 13 June 2007 and should be submitted online to the AGU website http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ program.html. Guidelines and proposal requirements are on the meeting website. Notification of approved sessions will be made in July. You will need to provide a brief 1 or 2 paragraph description of the proposed session, including potential invited speakers (maximum of 4). If the proposal is approved, you will be asked to identify two session conveners. As a convener, it will be your responsibility to solicit contributed papers, propose invited speakers and prepare a schedule for contributed papers. Approved sessions with lower submissions numbers will be considered for a poster session or may be combined with another related session. Comments and questions should be directed to Kevin Tu (kevintu at berkeley.edu ), Lara Kueppers (lkueppers at ucmerced.edu), or Alistair Smith (Alistair at uidaho.edu). *************************************************** 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) Post-doc Associate - Social and Ecological Dimensions of Mexican Fisheries - Department of Human Ecology - Rutgers the State University - New Brunswick, NJ (USA) The Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers the State University, wishes to hire a post-doctoral associate for one year, beginning September 1st, 2007, to participate in a multi-disciplinary project examining the ecological and social dimensions of commercial fisheries on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico. The ideal candidate would have a doctoral degree in the natural or social sciences with an interdisciplinary focus on marine fisheries and/or coastal communities. The position requires the ability to communicate in Spanish and to function in interdisciplinary settings in both the United States and Mexico, including short-term periods of field research in Mexico. Experience with and/or willingness to learn agent-based or similar forms of modeling are also desired, as the assignment will include close interaction with modeling efforts taking place at collaborating institutions (U. of Maine and Stanford U.). Salary and benefits are competitive Please send letters of application, accompanied by your current CV or resume and lists of 3 potential recommendations, to Dr. Bonnie J. McCay, mccay at aesop.rutgers.edu (preferred) or Department of Human Ecology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, 55 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, by June 30th, 2007. ******************** (JOB 2) Post-Doc Researcher - The Natural Hazards Center - San Francisco Bay area (USA) The Natural Hazards Center is seeking to hire a professional research assistant/postdoctoral scholar to assist with the coordination of its research program. This soft-money appointment extends for one year with the possibility of extension to two-three years. The purpose of the position is to collaborate with the Natural Hazards Center director, program manager, research coordinator, and other staff on Center projects funded by NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and others. The position will play a lead role in a newly funded Center project on preparedness among community?based and faith-based organizations and other non-profits providing services to at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Minimum Requirements: ? Education: PhD in a social/behavioral science discipline or closely related field ( e.g., public health). ? Skills & Knowledge: Comprehensive knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, procedures, and techniques; experience coordinating fieldwork teams; advanced knowledge of qualitative data analysis techniques; excellent oral and written communication skills, accompanied by the ability to communicate with diverse audiences both inside and outside academia; excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with others; and the ability to design, plan, implement, troubleshoot, and administer all phases of the research work. Must be willing to travel. ? Experience: Two or more years of experience in fieldwork related to hazards and disasters. Applications will be considered beginning June 1, 2007, and will continue until the position is filled. Send vitae, samples of written work, and the names of three professional references to: Kathleen Tierney, Director, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado 482 UCB Boulder, CO 80303 Via email: tierneyk at colorado.edu ******************** (JOB 3) Post-Doc - Remote Sensing Forest Disturbances: Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Tulane University, and Complex Systems Research Center, UNH ? New Orleans, (USA) The departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, and Complex Systems Research Center, UNH, are seeking a postdoctoral researcher. The position is offered under a NASA Large- Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) project, and a DOE NICCR Coastal Center project led by Drs. Jeffrey Chambers and George Hurtt. The researcher will develop methods for linking ecological field data with remote sensing disturbance metrics derived from various sensors (Landsat, Hyperion, MODIS, Ikonos) toward developing landscape-scale perspectives on forest impacts from hurricanes and microburst blowdowns. Expertise in ENVI or similar remote sensing image processing platforms required. Familiarity with mathematical modeling and computational programming (IDL, C, etc.) also desirable. The position opens immediately and continues until filled, with a 1 Aug 07 target date. Salary negotiable based on qualifications. Send electronic application w/ research statement, current CV, and contact info for three refs to Jeff Chambers ( chambers at tulane.edu). ******************** (JOB 4) Social scientist - sustainability science/Resource Use Transitions - CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia's national science agency) Canberra (Australia) http://www.csiro.au http://recruitment.csiro.au/asp/ Job_Details.asp?RefNo=2007%2F146 Job 2007/146 - Applications Close: 10 Jun 2007 CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems is seeking an innovative social scientist to contribute to the development of social systems analysis. He or she will explore the capacities of social sciences to contribute their skills to the interdisciplinary endeavour of sustainability science and will contribute to develop a coherent theoretical and methodological framework to describe and to understand the dynamics of fast changing socio-ecological systems across various levels of scale and in various social formations in Australia and the Pacific. We are searching for a systems oriented analysis of the social system and of the co-evolutionary dynamic between social and ecological systems that will guide our empirical research for identifying intervention points for a sustainability transition. The successful applicant will have a sound conceptual knowledge of social systems, of the fundamental character of society- nature interaction, the notion of cultural evolution and co- evolution. He or she will be able to work with communities, regions and the policy sector in Australia and the Pacific, and to work as part of an interdisciplinary team. ******************* (JOB 5) Post-Doc: Diatomist - University of Arkansas (USA) Position for a Diatomist is available beginning August 13, 2007 at the University of Arkansas. Applications are invited to participate in a funded paleoclimate project investigating sediments from the Pingualuit Impact Crater Lake located 100km south of Hudson Strait (http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/pingualuit/index.html). Applications will be received for either a PostDoctoral Fellowship (2 years) or for a research assistantship (3 years) with option to pursue a PhD degree. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team and will be cosupervised by Reinhard Pienitz from the Centre d'?tudes nordiques from the University Laval, Qu?bec, Canada. Fellows receive a full stipend for 12 month doctoral candidates will receive a stipend and tuition will be fully paid. The PhD candidate would be part of the active Environmental Dynamics Program of the University of Arkansas (http://endy.uark.edu/). Contact: Dr. Sonja Hausmann, Department of Geosciences, University of Arkansas, 113 Ozark Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. +1 479 5756419, shausmann at uark.edu. Please include a resume of academic background, work experience, research interests and the names of three scientists familiar with your work. Screening of applications begins May 20, 2007 and continues until position is filled. ******************** (JOB 6) Visiting 1-yr Asst. Prof - Environmental. Studies Program at Oberlin College - Oberlin, Ohio - (USA) The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time, one year replacement position in the College of Arts and Sciences. Appointment to this position will begin August 2007, and will carry the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor. The successful candidate will teach a total of five classes including at least one section of our introductory course, Environment and Society, and at least three intermediate or upper- level courses. Environment and Society provides majors and non-majors with a broad introduction to the status of the environment, the causes of environmental dilemmas, and the economic, social, political and technical suite of options available for solving environmental problems. The intermediate or upper-level courses will be in the person's area of specialization, preferably in the social sciences or in interdisciplinary areas incorporating aspects of natural science, social science and humanities. A focus on issues related to energy and/or the built environment is desirable but not required. Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree in hand or expected when the appointment begins and should demonstrate interest and potential excellence in undergraduate teaching. Successful teaching experience at the college level is desirable. To be assured of consideration, letters of application, including a curriculum vitae, undergraduate and graduate academic transcripts, and at least three letters of reference should be sent to John Petersen, Director, Environmental Studies Program, A.J. Lewis Center, 122 Elm Street, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074, by June 8, 2007. Fax (440)775-8946. Application materials received after that date will be considered until the position is filled. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. ******************** (JOB 7) Post-doc - Stratospheric Sources of Surface Ozone and Methane: Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Sweden) Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Kiruna has an opening for a postdoc to work in a project studying the contribution of stratospheric air to surface ozone and methane at high latitudes. The focus of the project is the effects of atmospheric turbulence on vertical mixing. A > 10-year database from the ESRAD radar in Kiruna provides profiles of r.m.s. turbulent velocities, winds and static-stability up to ~15 km height. These will be used to parameterize turbulence in terms of wind and stability. The results will be incorporated into a trajectory/dispersion model such as FLEXPART. Model output will be tested against observations by ozone lidar and by ozonesondes, and surface measurements of ozone , methane and other trace gases (e.g. at the nearby Pallas Global Atmospheric Watch station). Similar work will be done for the Antarctic atmosphere using our new atmospheric radar at the Swedish/Finnish station Wasa/ Aboa in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. The candidate should have a recent PhD in atmospheric physics, or a closely related area, and demonstrated ability to develop software using FORTRAN and MATLAB. Experience in research using one or more of the following will be an advantage : atmopheric radar, atmospheric lidar, trajectory modelling, ECMWF. Good communication skills in English are needed. Renumeration for the postdoc (up to 2 years) is in the form of a stipend from the Kempe foundation. More information on the Atmospheric Research Group at Swedish Institute of Space Physics can be found at http://www.irf.se/program/afp . Informal enquiries about the postdoc position can be made to Prof. Sheila Kirkwood (sheila.kirkwod at irf.se , tel. +46 980 79083) Formal applications should be submitted to Registrator, Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 812, 98128 Kiruna, SWEDEN (registrator at irf.se ). Please make refence to ?Dnr 31-132/07 Post doc ******************** (JOB 8) Post-doc - seasonal climate and extreme weather prediction: University of British Columbia (Canada) The Department of Earth & Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a post-doctoral research position in seasonal climate and extreme weather prediction. The applicant must have a Ph.D. degree in atmospheric sciences, physical oceanography, statistics, computational intelligence or related areas. Experience with data analysis and ability to program in MATLAB are desirable. The successful candidate will work in an internationally renowned research group specializing in the prediction of seasonal climate variability using machine learning methods. The position is available immediately. The appointment is made for one year, and renewable for another year, with funding from the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences. UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. Applications including a resume, a statement of research interests and the names, addresses, phone, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of three references should be sent by 10 June, 2007 to Prof. W. Hsieh, Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences, 6339 Stores Road, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Fax: (604) 822-6088; E- mail: whsieh at eos.ubc.ca. ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc - applied economics (global land use/crop model, including macroeconomic linkages, technological change and the valuation of water resources) - PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) - Germany) We invite applications from outstanding individuals for one post- doctoral and four PhD positions to support core interdisciplinary research teams at PIK. We apply computer models to analyse the interactions between climate change, the terrestrial water cycle, agricultural production, trade and land use changes on the global and regional scales. Emerging issues include the role of agriculture for climate change adaptation and mitigation, especially in poor countries, and the increasing demand for bio-energy. 1. Post-doc, applied economics (agricultural, resource, development economics), human geography, or applied mathematics (TV-L 13-O, full-time, ref. hlc/01). We are looking for a person with profound experience in applied economic modelling, esp. mathematical programming. This position involves further development of a global land use/crop model, including macroeconomic linkages, technological change and the valuation of water resources. The model will be applied in combination with macroeconomic and energy system models to assess various climate change adaptation and mitigation options, economic development, and the future energy mix. ******************** (JOB 10) Post-doc - Scientific and economic aspects of potential climate threshold responses (e.g., a shutdown of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) to anthropogenic forcing - Penn State Univ (USA) The Department of Geosciences at Penn State University seeks applications for a postdoctoral scholar. The ideal candidate will be a scientist with broad interests in the scientific and economic aspects of potential climate threshold responses (e.g., a shutdown of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) to anthropogenic forcing. The project analyzes the ability of climate observing systems to improve predictions of potential threshold responses and to inform the decision-making process. Familiarity with integrated assessment of climate change, statistics, and oceanography would be an advantage. The successful applicant will join an interdisciplinary team including Earth scientists, psychologists, policy analysts, and economists. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in Earth sciences, applied mathematics, operations research, or a related field. To apply, please send a CV and the contact information of three references to Klaus Keller, Department of Geosciences, 208 Deike Building, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, kkeller at geosc.psu.edu, (814) 865-6718. The review of the applications starts immediately and continues until the position is filled. The initial appointment would be for one year, with the possibility for continuation. ******************* (JOB 11) Post-Doc - meteorology or climatology at MeteoSwiss - Zurich (Switzerland) The Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss carries out meteorological assignments for the benefit of the population, industry and public institutions. As part of the COST Action 733 "Harmonisation and applications of weather types classifications for European regions" we are seeking to appoint a scientific researcher. You will be working in the climate analysis group in the climate services department. Your main task will be the development of new procedures for the spatial analysis (gridding) of climate data in the Alpine region and their implementation in operational use. You will participate in an international research project. You will produce reports and publications for scientific journals and will present your work at national and international conferences. As well as being a team-oriented character with initiative you also have a scientific degree and a PhD in meteorology or climatology. Ideally you will have in-depth knowledge of statistics (spatial and multivariate methods) and are experienced in UNIX and programming in R (S-plus). You are interested in transforming your physical knowledge into quantitative concepts. You have good spoken and written/editorial skills in English and German as well as ideally a second national language to enable you to participate fluently on national /international specialist committees. We are looking for a motivated, communicative and team-oriented person. We are offering a varied position in a motivated team in an interesting organisation at the interface between research and practice, modern working tools and the opportunity for ongoing professional training and development. This post is fixed-term for two years. Would you like to know more about this post? Please contact Dr M. Liniger, tel. 044 256 93 27 or Dr C. Frei, tel. 044 256 97 55 or send your complete application documentation as paper mail to the following address by 8 June 2007: Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, HR Services, Kr?hb?hlstrasse 58, 8044 Zurich ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070525/8e46fb0b/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jun 1 13:35:43 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 11:35:43 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 6/1/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 6/1/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES EPA Climate Change Kids Site http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/ The kids page focuses on the science and impacts of global warming or climate change, and on actions that help address climate ... SCIENCE NEWS Latest research paper available from Jim Hansen: The paper "Dangerous human-made interference with climate: a GISS model study" is available http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/2287/2007/acp-7-2287-2007.pdf The paper documenting the climate model employed in that study is also in press (at Climate Dynamics) and available now at http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/notyet/inpress_Hansen_etal_1.pdf Earth Nears Tipping Point on Climate Change http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0530/p02s01-wogi.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2d2uul (see NEWS 1 below) Bush Proposes Talks on Warming http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/ AR2007053100934.html?hpid=topnews Or: http://tinyurl.com/3b63ya (see NEWS 2 below) Are Plants Really Villains in Climate Change? http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=E3DECF33- E7F2-99DF-3EB8FC170F0B458A&chanID=sa003 Or: http://tinyurl.com/yqcvry (see NEWS 3 below) Indigenous Alaskans suffer consequences of warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/us/27newtok.html (registration required) (see NEWS 4 below) AP pinpoints 5 vulnerable hurricane areas http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/ the_next_new_orleans or http://tinyurl.com/2rgr6k (see NEWS 5 below) U.S. Rejects G-8 Climate Proposal, Germany Urges Limiting Emissions, Temperature Increase http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/25/ AR2007052501952.html or http://tinyurl.com/ypw2lh (see NEWS 6 below) Belize forest hit by warming struggles to survive http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx? linkid=76506 or http://tinyurl.com/28bvpl (see NEWS 7 below) Climate change is food for thought http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/climate-change-is-food-for- thought/2007/05/25/1179601669123.html or http://tinyurl.com/34qgls (see NEWS 8 below) Time to tax carbon A carbon tax is the best, cheapest and most efficient way to combat cataclysmic climate change. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed- carbontax28may28,1,502798.story?ctrack=1&cset=true or http:// tinyurl.com/32xdzu (see NEWS 9 below) NASA's Top Official Questions Global Warming - NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Questions Need to Combat Warming http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3229696&page=1 (see NEWS 10 below) Global warming is shrinking the Great Lakes (see NEWS 11 below) Rainfall records could warn of war (see NEWS 12 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES 8th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment (NCSE) - Climate Change: Science and Solutions - January 16-18, 2008, Washington, DC www.NCSEonline.org/2008conference Visiting Research Fellowship ? Climatology - University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, (Australia) (see SABBATICAL OPPORTUNITY below) JOBS One-year Visiting Faculty Position (Fall '07) - Energy and/or the built or urban environments - Environmental Studies, Oberlin College, Ohio (USA) http://www.oberlin.edu/HR/FACopenings/FAC07-43.html Post-doc - Lake Superior Carbon Cycle Postdoctoral Scholar - Center for Climatic Research - University of Wisconsin ? Madison (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Research fellow - Socio-political nature of water - Oxford University Centre for the Environment http://www.ouce.ox.ac.uk/news/jobs/070523.php (see JOB 2 below) Program Officer - Social Measures: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Washington, D.C. (USA) www.worldwildlife.org/about/jobs.cfm (Position not listed until sometime after June 8) (see JOB 3 below) Lecturer, Teaching Fellows - Physical and Human Geography: 5 jobs open at St. Andrews (Scotland) http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/recruitment/vacancies (see JOBS 4 below) Post Doc Positions - Land Cover and Land Use Change and Carbon Dynamics - Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University (USA) (see JOBS 5 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Earth Nears Tipping Point on Climate Change http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0530/p02s01-wogi.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2d2uul Christian Science Monitor - Dangerous climate change has not yet arrived, but the tipping point may not be far off. And it may be reached with a smaller temperature rise than recent studies suggest. Those are among the conclusions from an international team of climate scientists in a study this month, which they say bolsters the case for an alternative strategy to combat climate change. The main idea: focus intensely on cutting greenhouse-gas emissions other than carbon dioxide in the short term, giving the world a little leeway in dealing with the trickier issue of CO2. Most climate scientists point to rising carbon-dioxide levels from burning coal, oil, and gas as the main driver behind global warming. But the international team says that fighting ozone, soot, and other pollutants, which also can warm the atmosphere, could allow CO2 levels to rise a little higher without reaching the tipping point. ******************** (NEWS 2) Bush Proposes Talks on Warming http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/ AR2007053100934.html?hpid=topnews Or: http://tinyurl.com/3b63ya Washington Post (Registration Required) - President Bush sought yesterday to take the initiative on global warming talks in which the administration had previously been a reluctant participant, offering to launch negotiations aimed at having the world's most prolific polluters agree on long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal, which Bush unveiled in a speech outlining his priorities for the Group of Eight summit in Germany next week, signaled a shift in the administration's often-criticized approach to combating global warming while offering what the president called a "new framework" for addressing the issue. Though the president is still not backing a mandatory cap on carbon dioxide emissions, he made it clear that he would like the United States to play a major role in shaping global environmental policy after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. ******************** (NEWS 3) Are Plants Really Villains in Climate Change? http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=E3DECF33- E7F2-99DF-3EB8FC170F0B458A&chanID=sa003 Or: http://tinyurl.com/yqcvry Scientific American - -Tropical forests spew methane into the air, unwittingly abetting human-produced climate change. So say geochemist Frank Keppler of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, and atmospheric physicist Thomas Rockmann of the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht in the Netherlands. But new research, using more sensitive measurement techniques and better growing conditions, failed to turn up any evidence of significant methane emission. The new study, conducted by botanist Tom Dueck and his colleagues at Plant Research International in Wageningen, the Netherlands, found only negligible methane emissions coming from plants. "[The concentrations] were so low and variable that they did not significantly differ from zero," Dueck says. "We thought that if Keppler's claim was true, we could affirm his findings with better methods. If not, we'd have a scientific dispute." ******************** (NEWS 4) Indigenous Alaskans suffer consequences of warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/us/27newtok.html (registration required) NY Times, May 27, 2007 - Engulfed by Climate Change, Town Seeks Lifeline NEWTOK, Alaska ? The sturdy little Cessnas land whenever the fog lifts, delivering children's bicycles, boxes of bullets, outboard motors and cans of dried oats. And then, with a rumble down a gravel strip, the planes are gone, the outside world recedes and this subarctic outpost steels itself once again to face the frontier of climate change. "I don't want to live in permafrost no more," said Frank Tommy, 47, standing beside gutted geese and seal meat drying on a wooden rack outside his mother's house. "It's too muddy. Everything is crooked around here." The earth beneath much of Alaska is not what it used to be. The permanently frozen subsoil, known as permafrost, upon which Newtok and so many other Native Alaskan villages rest, is melting, yielding to warming air temperatures and a warming ocean. Sea ice that would normally protect coastal villages is forming later in the year, allowing fall storms to pound away at the shoreline. Erosion has made Newtok an island, caught between the ever widening Ninglick River and a slough to the north. The village is below sea level, and sinking. Boardwalks squish into the spring muck. Human waste, collected in "honey buckets" that many residents use for toilets, is often dumped within eyeshot in a village where no point is more than a five-minute walk from any other. The ragged wooden houses have to be adjusted regularly to level them on the shifting soil. Studies say Newtok could be washed away within a decade. Along with the villages of Shishmaref and Kivalina farther to the north, it has been the hardest hit of about 180 Alaska villages that suffer some degree of erosion. Some villages plan to hunker down behind sea walls built or planned by the Army Corps of Engineers, at least for now. Others, like Newtok, have no choice but to abandon their patch of tundra. The corps has estimated that to move Newtok could cost $130 million because of its remoteness, climate and topography. That comes to almost $413,000 for each of the 315 residents. Not that anyone is offering to pay. ******************** (NEWS 5) AP pinpoints 5 vulnerable hurricane areas http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_re_us/ the_next_new_orleans or http://tinyurl.com/2rgr6k Just because Katrina was the perfect storm, a catastrophic combo of the wrong hurricane in the wrong place at the wrong time, doesn't mean that history can't repeat itself, leaving another city obliterated by another tempest. It can. And as we enter what weather prognosticators are euphemistically calling another "active season," citizens and civil servants from Texas to New England are asking themselves: Where's the next New Orleans? The Associated Press has pinpointed five of the most vulnerable U.S. coastal spots. Among them: Galveston, Texas, sitting uneasily by the Gulf of Mexico, its residents limited to a single evacuation route; Miami, full of elderly people and others who might be trapped; and New York City, long spared a major storm but susceptible to a calamity of submerged subways and refugees caught in horrendous traffic jams. Like so many other places, they are vulnerable because of geography. But mostly, they are imperiled because Americans have a love affair with the coast. ******************** (NEWS 6) U.S. Rejects G-8 Climate Proposal, Germany Urges Limiting Emissions, Temperature Increase http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/25/ AR2007052501952.html or http://tinyurl.com/ypw2lh U.S. officials have raised a second round of unusually bluntly worded objections to a proposed global-warming declaration that Germany prepared for next month's Group of Eight summit, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. Representatives from the world's leading industrial nations met the past two days in Heiligendamm, Germany, to negotiate over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposed statement, which calls for limiting the worldwide temperature rise this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit and cutting global greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. (continued...) Related news: the leaked preparatory document for the G8 summit in Germany can be found here: http://weblog.greenpeace.org/makingwaves/G8%20Summit%20Declaration%20- %20US%20comments%20May%2014-1.pdf ******************** (NEWS 7) Belize forest hit by warming struggles to survive http://www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx? linkid=76506 or http://tinyurl.com/28bvpl A once-majestic pine forest in Belize is struggling to recover from a devastating plague of beetles that scientists say was caused by climate change. Tiny pine beetles destroyed up to 80 percent, or close to 70,000 acres (28,300 hectares), of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest near Belize's border with Guatemala when trees stressed by higher temperatures and years of water shortages could not defend themselves. Efforts to replant were set back by a fierce forest fire two weeks ago that wiped out close to 20,000 acres (8,090 hectares) of this natural reserve, which is made up of Caribbean pines and home to small foxes, deer and birds. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 8) Climate change is food for thought http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/climate-change-is-food-for- thought/2007/05/25/1179601669123.html or http://tinyurl.com/34qgls Australia's dietary guidelines may need to be modified in response to climate change, says one of the country's leading health experts. Professor Tony McMichael, director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, said that as the world continued to experience land degradation, water shortages and other environmental pressures, the availability of some foods may be affected. "If we did have to reconsider, for example, the amounts of meat we can consume on the basis of environmental and climactic concerns, it may well be in competition with the current views of practising dietitians with respect to the desirable daily intake," said Professor McMichael, who will address a national conference of the Dietitians Association of Australia in Hobart today. Professor McMichael said dietary guidelines should take into account the levels of nutrients needed for optimal health while maintaining the natural environmental systems required to produce our food. The recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that in the next 20 years, crop yields could decrease by up to 30 per cent in some parts of Asia. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 9) Time to tax carbon A carbon tax is the best, cheapest and most efficient way to combat cataclysmic climate change. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed- carbontax28may28,1,502798.story?ctrack=1&cset=true or http:// tinyurl.com/32xdzu If your have kids, take them to the beach. They should enjoy it while it lasts, because there's a chance that within their lifetimes California's beaches will vanish under the waves. Global warming will redraw the maps of the world. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise 7 to 23 inches by the end of the century; as the water gets higher, the sandy beaches that make California a tourist magnet will be washed away. Beachfront real estate will end up underwater, cliffs will erode faster, sea walls will buckle and inlets will become bays. The water supply will be threatened as mountain snowfall turns to rain and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta faces contamination with saltwater. Droughts will likely become more common, as will the wildfires they breed. Global warming is happening and will accelerate regardless of what we do today, but the scenarios of climatologists' nightmares can still be avoided. Though the cost will be high, it pales in comparison to the cost of doing nothing. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 10) NASA's Top Official Questions Global Warming - NASA Administrator Michael Griffin Questions Need to Combat Warming http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3229696&page=1 NASA administrator Michael Griffin is drawing the ire of his agency's preeminent climate scientists after apparently downplaying the need to combat global warming. In an interview broadcast this morning on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program, Griffin was asked by NPR's Steve Inskeep whether he is concerned about global warming. "I have no doubt that a trend of global warming exists," Griffin told Inskeep. "I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a problem we must wrestle with." "To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change," Griffin said. "I guess I would ask which human beings ? where and when ? are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take." Griffin's comments immediately drew stunned reaction from James Hansen, NASA's top climate scientist at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. "It's an incredibly arrogant and ignorant statement," Hansen told ABC News. "It indicates a complete ignorance of understanding the implications of climate change." (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 11) Global warming is shrinking the Great Lakes 30 May 2007 - NewScientist.com news service - Tom Mackay reckons his backyard in Duluth shows what is happening in Lake Superior as well as any place. In November 2005, the metre-tall wooden "Bay Ness Monster" statue he installed in the water just off his home dock was submerged up to its gaping mouth. Today, his would- be water serpent is high and dry. For residents of this lakeside Minnesota city, located more than 3000 kilometres by boat from the open Atlantic, the transformation is disturbing. Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water in the world by surface area, is experiencing its lowest water levels since the record set in 1926. The lake is down by 34 centimetres from a year ago, and more than half a metre below its long-term mean. At least part of the drop can be attributed to a multi-year drought that has been particularly severe since 2006. More troubling, however, is evidence that global warming is driving a long-term shrinkage of this massive natural reservoir. A rapidly warming lake is the key to understanding the change, says Jay Austin, a limnologist at the University of Minnesota Duluth's Large Lakes Observatory. Earlier this year he reported that Superior's surface waters had warmed by about 2.5 ?C since 1979 - far more than average air temperatures in the region during the same period (Geophysical Research Letters, vol 34, p L06604). Austin's findings link the warming to a reduction in winter ice cover on the lake. The less ice is present to reflect sunlight, the more solar energy the lake can absorb. On average, the onset of summer warming of the lake is happening half a day earlier each year. The reduced ice cover also contributes to shrinkage by allowing more evaporation. "Most of the evaporation goes on in winter," Austin says, as cold, dry air swoops over the warmer lake. Without the ice cap to block evaporation, water losses increase. "Lake Superior's surface temperature has warmed by 2.5 ?C since 1979 - far more than average local air temperatures" Cynthia Sellinger of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, agrees. While the lake's level has dropped precipitously since last year, Sellinger has tracked a longer-term decline of an average of 10 millimetres per year since 1978. Evaporation has increased by an average of 4.6 millimetres per year over the same period, she says, while precipitation has decreased by 4.1 millimetres per year. These drops are consistent with climate change models, Austin says, which predict a decline in Great Lakes levels of 0.5 to 2.5 metres with a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The falling water level is already affecting Lake Superior's shipping industry. Freighters carry less cargo now for fear of running aground. Natural beds of wild rice growing in the lake's shoreside wetlands and harvested by Native Americans are also threatened. The long-term effects of prolonged warming on Lake Superior's aquatic ecosystems are not yet known. Austin has found similar increases in temperature and length of warming season in lakes Michigan and Huron, which are both at lower than average levels. In contrast, lakes Erie and Ontario have captured plenty of rain in recent years, Sellinger says, including the remnants of hurricanes Katrina and Dennis, and are at above average levels. Last month the US-Canadian International Joint Commission, which manages waters on the boundary, commissioned a study of water management of the upper Great Lakes to determine whether managing lake outflow differently could improve levels. Meanwhile, Mackay's friends have had to find a deeper place than his dock to moor their boats for the season. "If we get some rain, hopefully we're back in business," Mackay says. Austin is less optimistic. This is the season when the lake should be rising quickly, and it's not keeping pace, he says. "2007 is shaping up to be a very low year. ******************** (NEWS 12) Rainfall records could warn of war 30 May 2007 - NewScientist.com news service - Every month, the International Crisis Group makes predictions it hopes won't come true. The non-profit organisation, which has its base in Brussels, Belgium, monitors regions where conflict is brewing. By tracking precursors of armed struggle, such as political instability, it raises awareness about looming wars in the hope of stopping conflicts before they begin. And as of this month, it will start talking about whether to include another variable in its analyses: climate change. The discussions come after a wave of interest in the link between climate change and conflict. Last month, a group of retired US admirals and generals said global warming would act as a "threat multiplier", with events such as droughts toppling unstable governments and unleashing conflict. The UN Security Council has devoted time to the matter, and media reports have described the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, as the first "climate change war", due to the decades of droughts that preceded the conflict. "Global warming could act as a 'threat multiplier', with events such as droughts toppling unstable governments" Marc Levy at Columbia University in New York, who is working with the ICG, is one of the few researchers who have been able to support these speculations with data. In a forthcoming paper, he and colleagues combine databases on civil wars and water availability to show that when rainfall is significantly below normal, the risk of a low-level conflict escalating to a full-scale civil war approximately doubles in the following year. Parts of Nepal that witnessed fighting during the 2002 Maoist insurgency, for example, had suffered worse droughts in preceding years than regions that were conflict-free. Although Levy is not sure why the link should exist in this case, studies of other conflicts suggest explanations. Drought can cause food shortages, generating anger against governments, for example. "Semi-retired" armed groups may return to conflict in these situtations. Levy wants to see if a model based on the link between rainfall and climate can help aid agencies. For each of the 70 or so locations on the ICG's watch list, he will use rainfall measurements and forecasts to calculate the impact the weather is having on conflict risk. That analysis is likely to flag up the Ivory Coast among others, he says. A 2003 peace accord ended years of violence in the country, but many armed groups have not surrendered their weapons. Ongoing drought in the north might soon destabilise the country and trigger a return to violence, Levy says. Including rainfall would be a fairly basic addition to the analyses that the group performs, but it could be the start of a major change in thinking. If the rainfall data helps, information on floods and severe storms could be added, for example. "We're starting to see a real focus on this," says Dan Esty of Yale University. "Suddenly people are making the link." Not everyone is as confident of the link as Levy, however. Over a decade ago, the CIA set up the Political Instability Task Force to produce models that can flag up vulnerable governments. It relies on variables such as infant mortality, which measures the strength of a country's health system. Although events such as droughts cause tension, the models showed it is other factors that determine whether tension becomes conflict. "Research has not succeeded in establishing robust, systematic connections between climate and conflict," says Halvard Buhaug of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway. With the connection still under debate, it may be too early to talk about climate change wars. "So far, climate change has not been powerful enough to be the main driver of conflict," says Jack Goldstone at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "Drought was a contributory factor in Darfur, not the main cause." Yet many researchers say that this uncertainty should not stop Levy from working with aid groups. They say droughts and floods add to the pressure on governments and need to be monitored. A simple link may not exist, says Esty, but climate change will exacerbate issues known to be linked to conflict. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (SABBATICAL OPPORTUNITY) Visiting Research Fellowship ? Climatology - University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, (Australia) The University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia, calls for applications to fill the position for a visiting research fellow in the area of climatology. It is expected that the visiting research fellow has demonstrated expertise in climate dynamics, physical oceanography, and the atmospheric sciences utilising general circulation models of the atmosphere/ocean/climate system and analysing large observational and simulated climate data. Financial support is available for international travel, housing and living stipend. The fellowship may support a visiting research scientist during six months sabbatical leave from their home institution. It is anticipated that the visitor will continue to hold a salaried position at their home institution during the term of the fellowship. The visiting fellow will work in close collaboration with Associate Professor Joachim Ribbe. For an overview of past and current research see http://eprints.usq.edu.au. Interested candidates may wish to contact A/Professor Ribbe for further details or submit a CV, publication list, and a description of their proposed research project to be completed during the term of the fellowship. Deadline for applications is June 30, 2007. *************************************************** 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) Post-doc - Lake Superior Carbon Cycle Postdoctoral Scholar - Center for Climatic Research - University of Wisconsin ? Madison (USA) A postdoctoral scholar is sought to investigate the carbon cycle of Lake Superior. The successful candidate will help develop and utilize a coupled physical / ecological / biogeochemical model of Lake Superior and be an integral part of a team that includes lake and terrestrial scientists seeking to understand air-lake CO2 fluxes and their importance to the regional carbon budget. Applications are welcomed from candidates with backgrounds in ocean or lake biogeochemistry, and with experience or a strong interest in learning numerical modeling. This is a one-year renewable position based on progress, ideally to begin in September 2007. Interested applicants should forward a curriculum vitae, contact information for three references and at least one publication to Dr. Galen McKinley (galen at aos.wisc.edu, www.aos.wisc.edu/~galen). Review of applications will begin July 31, 2007. The position will remain open until a candidate is identified. ******************** (JOB 2) Research fellow - Socio-political nature of water - Oxford University Centre for the Environment http://www.ouce.ox.ac.uk/news/jobs/070523.php Oxford University Centre for the Environment is seeking applications for the Louwes Water Research Fellow. The ideal candidate is likely to have recently completed a PhD and have peer- reviewed publications that demonstrate outstanding research in any area of water research, including the socio-political nature of water and / or development studies. Researchers from developing countries are particularly encouraged to apply. The post will be based in the Oxford Centre for Water Research, which is hosted by the OUCE, and is internationally-recognised as a centre for excellence in interdisciplinary water research. Deadline for applications is 15 July. ******************** (JOB 3) Program Officer - Social Measures: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Washington, D.C. (USA) www.worldwildlife.org/about/jobs.cfm (Position not listed until sometime after June 8) Pending final approval, WWF-US will soon officially announce a new job opportunity for a Program Officer - Social Measures within its Conservation Science Program in Washington, DC. This person will work with me, other members of the Conservation Science Program, and WWF field programs to develop and implement strategies for measuring and monitoring conservation-relevant social data. This foundational initiative is currently funded for one year, though additional support may become available if initial efforts demonstrate promise. Please check the WWF-US jobs website over the next week or so for the official position annoucement (www.worldwildlife.org/about/ jobs.cfm). Title: Program Officer - Social Measures Location: Washington, DC I. Major Function World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization, seeks a Program Officer for its Conservation Science Program. In collaboration with the WWF Senior Social Scientist, this Program Officer will plan, coordinate, communicate, and implement WWF's efforts to monitor the social impacts of its conservation interventions and the social factors that foster/hinder conservation success ( i.e., "social measures"). The Program Officer will conduct research and analysis, develop monitoring frameworks, provide technical assistance to WWF field programs, and disseminate results. II. Major Duties & Responsibilities 1. Review existing approaches to measuring social impacts of conservation interventions and the social factors that foster/ hinder conservation success (i.e., "social measures"). Monitor and analyze new technical information, policy developments, and trends related to "social measures" and advise others accordingly. Responsible for gathering published and unpublished information from governmental agencies, universities, and other nongovernmental organizations. 2. Collaboratively develop WWF "social measures" framework and identify appropriate social indicators in select WWF Priority Places. 3. Provide technical support to select WWF Priority Places that are collecting and analyzing "social measures." Collaboratively develop and disseminate guidance regarding methods and tools for collecting and analyzing "social measures" in select WWF Priority Places. 4. Collaboratively develop and deliver "social measures" training in select WWF Priority Places. 5. Collaboratively synthesize and communicate results from "social measures" activities for diverse audiences, including WWF staff, donors, scientists, and others. 6. Support project management by facilitating "social measures" planning, coordination, communication, implementation, reporting, and fundraising. Work directly with project personnel, grantees, donors, consultants, and others. 7. Support WWF efforts to develop a social policy and pre- project social impact assessment guidelines. 8. Perform other duties as assigned. III. Working Relationships 1. Internal: Daily contact with other program staff and departments to advise and coordinate project activities or to obtain and disseminate information. 2. External: Interacts regularly with representatives of WWF-International, other WWF NOs and P.O.s, and associate organizations, grantees, consultants. Communicates regularly with representatives of conservation organizations, universities, NGOs, corporations, and/or government agencies. IV. Supervisory Responsibility May indirectly supervise one or more support staff. May supervise the work of consultants and/or interns. V. Minimum Requirements 1. Education/Experience: A Bachelor's degree is required. A graduate degree in the social sciences (anthropology, economics, human geography, political science, psychology, sociology, etc.) is preferred. Position requires three years of experience in international biodiversity conservation or a related field; experience in performance measurement and program evaluation preferred. 2. Skills and Abilities ? Excellent organizational skills ? Excellent research and writing skills ? Strong analytic skills; quantitative skills a plus ? Strong project management skills ? Ability to operate effectively with independence and under pressure to meet deadlines and commitments ? Ability to operate effectively as a team member with a wide range of individuals across cultures and time zones ? Ability to work on initiatives with multiple and competing priorities ? Good interpersonal skills ? Fluent English; additional language skills a plus ******************** (JOBS 4) Lecturer, Teaching Fellows - Physical and Human Geography: 5 jobs open at St. Andrews (Scotland) http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/recruitment/vacancies (This is one of 5 open positions listed) Lecturer in Geography - Sustainable Development. School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St Andrews (Scotland) We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with interests in any area of geography/sustainable development and a commitment to excellence in teaching. The appointment follows the introduction of an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Sustainable Development at St Andrews in 2004, hosted by the School, and the establishment of The St Andrews Sustainability Institute (SASI) in 2006 to co- ordinate research activities across the University. You will have completed a PhD in Geography, or a cognate discipline, and have a developing profile of academic publication. Candidates with research interests in any part of Geography relevant to sustainable development will be considered, but preference may be given to those who have participated in interdisciplinary research and whose interests span the natural and social sciences. Teaching experience at university level would also be an advantage. The post will start on 1 September 2007, or as soon as possible thereafter. Informal enquiries to Dr Elspeth Graham (Tel. 01334 462894; email: efg at st-andrews.ac.uk ) or Dr Charles Warren, Tel: 01334 463693; email: crw2 at st-andrews.ac.uk Closing Date: Friday 8 June 2007 Please quote ref: PS230/07 Application forms and further particulars are available from Human Resources, University of St Andrews, College Gate, North Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AJ, (tel: 01334 462571, by fax 01334 462570 or by e-mail Jobline at st-andrews.ac.uk. The advertisement and further particulars can be viewed at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/hr/ recruitment/vacancies. ******************** (JOBS 5) Post Doc Positions - Land Cover and Land Use Change and Carbon Dynamics - Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University (USA) Applications are sought for one or two postdoc positions in the general area of land cover and land use change, and the implications of forest change on carbon dynamics. Opportunities will exist to work closely with the USGS/NASA Landsat Science Team, the NASA Land Cover and Land Use Change Science Team and the Land Cover Implementation Team of GOFC/GOLD. Expertise in remote sensing and ecosystem processes is desired. There may be opportunities to participate in teaching in support of development of skills for future faculty positions. Please send inquiries or applications to Curtis Woodcock, Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston Ma 02215. Consideration of applicants will commence when applications arrive. If possible, use email (curtis at bu.edu) for all inquiries and applications (or for questions call 617-353-5746). For applications please include your resume, a brief statement of career objectives and research interests, and the names and contact information for 3 references. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070601/87f141ec/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jun 8 13:19:39 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 11:19:39 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 6/8/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 6/8/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES New NSF Grant Proposal Guide - Please consult before writing proposals to the U.S. National Science Foundation http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07140 NSF publication to help PIs identify and talk about NSF-related broader impacts http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf Nature has opened a blog on climate change issues. To subscribe: http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/ FORUM Negotiation in the Academic Workplace - Women Should Ask: Negotiation in the Academic Workplace (see FORUM 1 below) Message from James Hanson regarding his comments about NASA Administrator's 31 May NPR interview (see FORUM 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS U.S. Compromise on Global Warming Plan Averts Impasse at Group of 8 Meeting The U.S. agreed to ?seriously consider? a European proposal to combat global warming by halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/world/europe/08climate.html? ex=1339041600&en=baccfbc81a8a0d9a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=perma link UN Warning Over Global Ice Loss http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6713139.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2nolk8 (see NEWS 1 below) They Call This a Consensus? http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html? id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af Or: http://tinyurl.com/3a7b7s (see NEWS 2 below) Slump in NIH Funding Is Taking Toll on Research (see NEWS 3 below) Baghdad Burns, Calgary Booms http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070618/klein (see NEWS 4 below) Brazil Eyes Ethanol as Fast Track to Power http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0606/p06s02-woam.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2xm43j (see NEWS 5 below) China Unveils Climate Plan http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- climate_tuesjun05,1,1267507.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/228csu (see NEWS 6 below) U.S. Space Monitoring of Warming Cut Back http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003734645_warming05.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2fprmn (see NEWS 7 below) Icy Island Warms to Climate Change - Greenlanders Exploit 'Gifts From Nature' While Facing New Hardships http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003739219_greenland08.htm Or: http://tinyurl.com/ywvahn (see NEWS 8 below) Carbon footprint' depends on where you live http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/promos/wirepicks/story/77224.html (see NEWS 9 below) The News item in The Samaj (Oriya daily) dated. 29.5.07 (see NEWS 10 below) JOBS Climate change adaptation analyst/policy analyst, Boulder, CO (USA) http://www.stratusconsulting.com/Employment/CCPolicyAnalyst_tea.pdf Post-doc - Marine Ecology - Norwegian College of Fishery Science - University of Tromso (Norway) (see JOB 1 below) Post-doc - "Three-dimensional modelling of past and future trends in the stratosphere" - McGill Univ (Canada) (see JOB 2 below) Asst. Prof - Physical Geography (tenure track) with specialisation in the field of water/climate impact - Faculty of Science of the University of Zurich (Switzerland) (see JOB 3 below) Communications Officer - IHDP Secretariat (part time: 60-80%) ? Bonn (Germany) www.ihdp.org (see JOB 4 below) Nature Correspondent ? reporter - Washington, D.C. (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Faculty Positions - Ocean Sensors - Scripps Institution of Oceanography - University of California, San Diego (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Research scientist - Statistical analysis/spatial modeling - Climate Department - Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Norway) (see JOB 7 below) *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) Negotiation in the Academic Workplace - Women Should Ask: Negotiation in the Academic Workplace Submitted by Patricia Yager - From a recent political science association posting: A recent book by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever suggests that in business, men and women may negotiate differently, with important consequences for their compensation and employment conditions (see Women Don?t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, Princeton University Press, 2003). Do female and male faculty negotiate differently? If so, with what consequences? Besides salary, new faculty need to negotiate start-up packages, research support, teaching loads, spousal accommodation, and the like. Continuing faculty may negotiate promotions, outside offers, administrative appointments, and changing professional needs. Anecdotal evidence suggests some differences in negotiating style, and expectations exist between men and women in political science. Further, women face inconsistency in gender expectations and negative stereotypes if they are tough negotiators, while driving a hard bargain is consistent with men and masculinity. These factors led the Midwest Women?s Caucus for Political Science to sponsor a panel on workplace negotiation in its continuing quest to promote professional equity for women in the discipline. Panelists included current or former academic administrators from a variety of institutions: Georgia Duerst-Lahti (Beloit College), chair; Susan Welch (Pennsylvania State University); Nancy McGlen (Niagara University); Kay Lehman Schlozman (Boston College); Kristi Andersen (Syracuse University); Lynn Maurer (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville). The following advice emerged from the panel: ? If you don?t ask for it, you probably won?t get it. ? Research the institution and department with which you are negotiating. Panelists strongly cautioned against seemingly unreasonable demands given the resources and norms of the institution. Make sure that you are asking for things that they can give you; making and sticking to demands that are unrealistic only makes you look unprofessional and ignorant. For example, if a university is governed by a union bargaining agreement, there may be real constraints in terms of salary and leave. Other schools may have much greater leeway. ? The AAUP publishes salary ranges by university that may give you some insight into what?s possible, although overall ranges can mask variation by discipline, especially if the university has a law, business, or medical school. State schools often must make salaries public, so they are particularly attentive to equity issues. ? Ask questions, especially of other junior female colleagues, during the interview that will help you determine what the norms are in terms of such factors as teaching load, research support, and leave time. ? Know who the real decision makers are. Does the chair have authority to provide salary increases, leave time, and other support, or are these decision in the hands of the dean or provost? ? Negotiating on the basis of an outside offer can be productive, but be careful. Be prepared to actually leave; otherwise, you are not credible and/or might end up losing your appointment altogether if your university chooses not to counter. Use outside offers infrequently; if you go back time and again, administrators may no longer be interested in countering. If you are seen as likely to leave, there is less reason for the university to invest resources in you. ? Know what you want and what your priorities are. Is salary the most important issue, or is it research resources or time off? Have a clear list of your needs, and present them to your chair or other administrator all at once. Do not make your chair run back to the dean multiple times with new requests. ? Explain/justify your request in terms of how it will help you do your job better and, thus, benefit the department and university. In the business world, most models of negotiating focus on the threat (usually to leave), but in academia, such a threat is not always credible. This frame helps administrators see why it is in their interest to support you, even if you are not threatening them with departure. ? Be flexible. For example, if a salary increase is not possible, consider asking for summer salary for a set time. ? Be frank. If something is a deal breaker, say so. Don?t waste people?s time. ? Be assertive, but not argumentative. Work with administrators, not against them. ? Talk to your mentors about your offer, what to ask for, how to ask, and what you should prioritize. ? Keep in mind that your initial negotiation is not your last interaction with your chair and other administrators. Work to establish a positive working relationship. Of course the exact dynamics of any negotiation can vary by many factors such as the gender, race, age, and subfield of both the job candidate and administrator involved in the negotiation. It also varies greatly by the type of institution and its norms. So, do your homework and negotiate in good faith, with an eye toward the future. ************************** (FORUM 2) Message from James Hanson regarding his comments about NASA Administrator's 31 May NPR interview Part A: Several members of the public (politely or, mostly, impolitely) inform me that my comments regarding NASA Administrator's 31 May NPR interview were excessive. I note the following: (1) Our junior high school English teacher (Steve J.: what was her name?) admonished us that 'ignorant' was not a derisive word, it means 'uninformed', not 'stupid'. Given that 15 years ago, under George Bush the elder, the United States (and practically all other countries in the world) signed and ratified the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which calls for stabilizing climate, it seems that 'ignorant' or 'uninformed' is an appropriate adjective for describing his remarks. Not to mention all the research results of NASA, other agencies, the IPCC, etc. (2) The other word that offended, 'arrogant', was an intentional rebound of the adjective Administrator Griffin used for people who suggest that rapidly changing climate is a danger. 'Arrogant', it seems to me, fits humans who ignore destruction of other species when that is convenient, fits the well-off people and nations who fail to acknowledge their responsibility for climate change and thus their greater obligation for actions to mitigate climate change, and fits especially well those people who choose to remain ignorant and uninformed. The significance of the Administrator's remarks is the insight it provides into the February 2006 massacre of the Earth Science Research and Analysis budget (which funds NASA support of Earth Science research at universities as well as NASA Centers, primarily Goddard Space Flight Center), as discussed at http://www.columbia.edu/ ~jeh1/worldwatch_nov2006.pdf This was done via a stealth budgeting maneuver, a 20 percent reduction in Earth Science R&A funding retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year, inserted at the time NASA delivered a mid-fiscal year operating plan to Congress. By making the reduction retroactive, the about-to-be-released budget for the next year, the one that Congress pays attention to, appeared to show nearly flat funding for Earth Science R&A. In the same document, the NASA Mission Statement was revised to drop the first line: "to understand and protect the home planet". The Mission Statement had been developed by a committee with representation from NASA Centers and communication with the NASA troops. In contrast, the changes appeared with the submission of the operating plan, which is a joint product of the Administrator and the White House OMB, to Congress, without consulting or even informing lower levels in the agency. An interesting question is: was Congress explicitly informed about these changes (Earth Science R&A budget and NASA Mission Statement) when the Administrator presented the spending plan? Is there a record of proceedings that would clarify the matter? Does Congress, despite recent public attention to global warming, really care about the topic, or about the fact that a unitary executive is usurping their constitutional authority? Part B: "Climate change and trace gases" has been published on-line in Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abstracts/2007/ Hansen_etal_2.html We are not writing a press release, as we just did one for the "Dangerous" paper, the media must be saturated with our papers, and there are only 24 hours in a day. However, in my opinion, among our papers this one probably does the best job of making clear that the Earth is getting perilously close to climate changes that could run out of our control. Emphasis in this paper is on the Earth's history. I believe that in the Plio-Pleistocene section we make clear why the periodicity of ice ages shifted from 41 ky to ~100 ky about one million years ago. Abstract of the paper is below. Jim Abstract of "Climate Change and Trace Gases" follows: Hansen, J., Mki. Sato, P. Kharecha, G. Russell, D.W. Lea, and M. Siddall, 2007: Climate change and trace gases. Phil. Trans. Royal. Soc. A, 365, 1925-1954, doi:10.1098/rsta.2007.2052. Paleoclimate data show that the Earth's climate is remarkably sensitive to global forcings. Positive feedbacks predominate. This allows the entire planet to be whipsawed between climate states. One feedback, the "albedo flip" property of water substance, provides a powerful trigger mechanism. A climate forcing that "flips" the albedo of a sufficient portion of an ice sheet can spark a cataclysm. Ice sheet and ocean inertia provides only moderate delay to ice sheet disintegration and a burst of added global warming. Recent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions place the Earth perilously close to dramatic climate change that could run out of our control, with great dangers for humans and other creatures. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the largest human-made climate forcing, but other trace constituents are important. Only intense simultaneous efforts to slow CO2 emissions and reduce non-CO2 forcings can keep climate within or near the range of the past million years. The most important of the non-CO2 forcings is methane (CH4), as it causes the 2nd largest human-made GHG climate forcing and is the principal cause of increased tropospheric ozone (O3), which is the 3rd largest GHG forcing. Nitrous oxide (N2O) should also be a focus of climate mitigation efforts. Black carbon ("black soot") has a high global warming potential (~2000, 500, and 200 for 20, 100 and 500 years, respectively) and deserves greater attention. Some forcings are especially effective at high latitudes, so concerted efforts to reduce their emissions could still "save the Arctic", while also having major benefits for human health, agricultural productivity, and the global environment. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) UN Warning Over Global Ice Loss http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6713139.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/2nolk8 BBC News Online - Hundreds of millions of livelihoods will be affected by declining snow and ice cover as a result of global warming, a UN report has warned. The risks facing people included losing access to drinking water, and rising sea levels, the study concluded. The findings were published by the UN's Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP chief Achim Steiner said the report showed that time was running out for political leaders to reach a global agreement on curbing emissions. ..."The report underlines that the fate of the world's snowy and icy places in a climatically challenged world should be cause for concern in every ministry, boardroom and living room across the world," he said.... The study warns of a range of threats that could destabilise ecosystems around the world, with potentially devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people. ******************** (NEWS 2) They Call This a Consensus? http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html? id=c47c1209-233b-412c-b6d1-5c755457a8af Or: http://tinyurl.com/3a7b7s Financial Post (Canada) - "Only an insignificant fraction of scientists deny the global warming crisis. The time for debate is over. The science is settled." So said Al Gore ... in 1992. Amazingly, he made his claims despite much evidence of their falsity. A Gallup poll at the time reported that 53 percent of scientists actively involved in global climate research did not believe global warming had occurred; 30 percent weren't sure; and only 17 percent believed global warming had begun. Even a Greenpeace poll showed 47 percent of climatologists didn't think a runaway greenhouse effect was imminent; only 36 percent thought it possible and a mere 13 percent thought it probable. Today, Al Gore is making the same claims of a scientific consensus, as do the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and hundreds of government agencies and environmental groups around the world. But the claims of a scientific consensus remain unsubstantiated. They have only become louder and more frequent. ******************** (NEWS 3) Slump in NIH Funding Is Taking Toll on Research Washington Post - May 28, 2007 - Stanford University biochemist Roger D. Kornberg won a Nobel Prize last year for work he began in the 1970s, but he is pretty sure that if he had been born a generation later, he never would have had the chance. The scientist, 60, is convinced that his groundbreaking research, in which he figured out how information in the DNA of a gene is copied to provide instructions for building and running a living cell, would never have gotten the necessary funding support in today's tight budget environment at the National Institutes of Health. "In the present climate especially, the funding decisions are ultraconservative," he said in an interview. "If the work that you propose to do isn't virtually certain of success, then it won't be funded. And of course, the kind of work that we would most like to see take place, which is groundbreaking and innovative, lies at the other extreme." Kornberg, who testified before a Senate committee this month, is one of a growing number of high-profile biomedical researchers who are buttonholing members of Congress, cajoling the Bush administration and generally sounding the alarm over what they see as a slump in NIH funding that is starving important projects of cash and driving young scientists away from research careers. That, they say, is undermining prospects for scientific breakthroughs of the sort that have led to new treatments for cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and raised hopes for tackling Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injuries. "Unless we pursue these basic discoveries, we're going to really miss fundamental understandings of disease processes," said Joan S. Brugge, the head of the department of cell biology at Harvard Medical School, who appeared in March before the Senate Appropriations labor, health and human services subcommittee. NIH officials do not dispute that times are tough, especially in light of rising federal deficits and spending on antiterrorism efforts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The pot of discretionary funding is not very large, relatively speaking, and there are a lot of competing priorities for it," said Norka Ruiz Bravo, NIH deputy director for extramural research. At the heart of the problem, scientists say, is not merely the absolute level of funding for the NIH, the primary federal agency sponsoring and conducting medical research. Rather, it is the way funding levels have fluctuated dramatically -- with big increases followed by periods of stagnation -- instead of climbing predictably to allow for sound research planning. Congress nearly doubled NIH's budget -- to $27.1 billion between 1998 and 2003 -- as officials sought to capitalize on new lines of research opened up by the Human Genome Project. Medical schools and other research institutions responded accordingly, adding faculty and beginning construction on new facilities. At the same time, the number of grant applications rose 44 percent, from 24,151 in 1998 to 34,710 in 2003. But eventually the flood of new cash slowed to a trickle. At $28 billion, the NIH's fiscal budget for 2004 was only 3.3 percent higher than the previous year's. President Bush has recommended $28.9 billion for fiscal 2008 -- $379 million less than the NIH got this year, according to agency figures. Moreover, because the budget would increase by $201 million the government's contribution through NIH to an international AIDS fund, the reduction for research in 2008 actually would be more than $500 million. A flat budget, plus rising demand for new research dollars, equals plenty of angst in laboratories and science departments across the country. Although the number of grant applications has continued to rise, the percentage that win federal funding has shrunk from 32.1 percent in 2001 to 20 percent in 2006, according to NIH figures. Researchers say the situation is worse than those figures suggest. Many established scientists are having to submit grant applications two or three times before getting an award, and success rates for applications from younger researchers are in the single digits. "It is really a very scary, sad situation out here," said E. Chester Ridgway, head of endocrinology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. Ridgway said a tenured professor in his mid-50s who directs a training program in cancer pathology there recently learned that none of the three NIH grants that support his research would be renewed. "In previous years, he would have anticipated renewing all of them," he said. "That's his only source of support. I don't know what this guy is going to do." In the endocrinology division, four young research fellows who were unable to land a crucial first grant decided to abandon research for careers in medicine or industry, Ridgway said. "They don't come back after they do that," he said. "I was very distressed by that." Ruiz Bravo, the NIH official, said the agency is trying to mitigate the effects of a budget that has been "flat" since 2003 with new programs that help first-time investigators get a shot at grants and other initiatives to funnel funding to more established researchers. "In terms of purchasing power of the dollar, it is in fact a reduction in the overall NIH budget," she said. "That's just the reality of it. So when investigators feel the pinch, it's a real pinch." Of course, supporters of other federal agencies that could not dream of having their budgets double over five years might wonder whether the ruckus is an overreaction. Brent L. Iverson, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, said it's not a fair comparison. "Science and research and engineering research is different, because that's the engine that drives the economy," Iverson said. "Several billion more dollars spent on Medicare is not going to solve the Medicare problem. But it is quite possible that that same amount of money invested in medical research may create the breakthrough which helps solve the Medicare problem." Help may be on the way. In a March 6 hearing, Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, noted that the Democratic-controlled Congress increased the NIH's fiscal 2007 budget by over $600 million more than Bush requested. He pledged to increase it again for fiscal 2008, although he gave no specifics. "I'd suggest that the investments that you're talking about in this area are tremendously important -- not just to the public's health, but also to the productivity of the economy," Obey said during the hearing. "Healthy people are a whole lot more productive than sick ones." ******************** (NEWS 4) Baghdad Burns, Calgary Booms http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070618/klein The invasion of Iraq has set off what could be the largest oil boom in history. All the signs are there: multinationals free to gobble up national firms at will, ship unlimited profits home, enjoy leisurely "tax holidays" and pay a laughable 1 percent in royalties to the government. This isn't the boom in Iraq sparked by the proposed new oil law-- that will come later. This boom is already in full swing, and it is happening about as far away from the carnage in Baghdad as you can get, in the wilds of northern Alberta. For four years now, Alberta and Iraq have been connected to each other through a kind of invisible seesaw: As Baghdad burns, destabilizing the entire region and sending oil prices soaring, Calgary booms. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 5) Brazil Eyes Ethanol as Fast Track to Power http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0606/p06s02-woam.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2xm43j Christian Science Monitor - SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - Flying over the heart of Brazil, a vast savannah known as the cerrado here, one could be forgiven for mistaking the setting for Iowa, Kansas, or virtually anywhere along the US farm belt. Neat acres of cotton, corn, and soybean extend into the horizon, and even American farmers have arrived to join a boom that over the past few years has positioned Brazil to overtake the US as the world's agricultural superpower. Last year, Brazil surpassed the US as the largest exporter of soybeans. That followed its scoring the No. 1 spot in beef exports in 2004. And now, as the high price of oil and concerns over climate change spark global demand for alternative fuels, Brazil is aiming to double its production of sugarcane for ethanol in the next decade. As investors flock to this colossal country with its ideal growing climate, Brazil is hoping ethanol will help speed its sluggish rise as an economic power. ******************** (NEWS 6) China Unveils Climate Plan http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi- climate_tuesjun05,1,1267507.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/228csu Chicago Tribune (Registration Required) - BEIJING -- With global warming high on the agenda for the world's industrial powers gathering this week in Germany, China staked out its position on Monday by releasing its first national strategy on climate change, a plan that promises to improve energy efficiency but rejects any mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions. The 62-page plan, two years in the making, served at least partly as a rebuff to efforts by President Bush and European nations to draw China and other developing countries into a commitment to reduce emissions, which was expected to be a focal point at the summit meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations, which begins Wednesday. China has resisted mandatory reductions in emissions, arguing that it is still a developing country and needs to balance environmental improvements with maintaining economic growth. ******************** (NEWS 7) U.S. Space Monitoring of Warming Cut Back http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003734645_warming05.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2fprmn Seattle Times - WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the U.S. is ready to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. A confidential report to the White House, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that U.S. scientists will soon lose much of their ability to monitor warming from space using a costly and problem-plagued satellite initiative begun more than a decade ago. Because of technology glitches and a near-doubling in the original $6.5 billion cost, the Defense Department has decided to downsize and launch four satellites paired into two orbits, instead of six satellites paired in three orbits. ...The reduced system of four satellites will now focus on weather forecasting. Most of the climate instruments needed to collect more precise data over long periods are being eliminated. ******************** (NEWS 8) Icy Island Warms to Climate Change - Greenlanders Exploit 'Gifts From Nature' While Facing New Hardships http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003739219_greenland08.htm Or: http://tinyurl.com/ywvahn QAQORTOQ, Greenland -- The biggest island in the world is a wind- raked place, gripped by ice over four-fifths of its land, prowled by polar bears, its coastlines choked by drifting icebergs and sea ice. Many of its 56,000 people, who live on the fringes of its giant ice cap, see the effects of global warming -- and cheer it on. "It's good for me," said Ernst Lund, a lanky young man who is one of 51 farmers raising sheep on the southern tip of Greenland. His animals scramble over the cold granite hills of a dramatic fiord, his farm isolated from the nearest town by a long boat ride threading past drifting mounds of ice, followed by a jolting truck trip along seven miles of gravel road. "I can keep the sheep out two weeks longer to feed in hills in the autumn. And I can grow more hay. The sheep get fatter," he said. In few parts of the world is climate change more real -- and personal -- than here. The Arctic is feeling the globe's fastest warming. At a science station in the ice-covered interior of Greenland, average winter temperatures rose nearly 11 degrees Fahrenheit from 1991 to 2003. Winters are shorter, ice is melting, and fish and animals are on the move. A rapid meltdown and fast-sliding glaciers in Greenland could raise sea levels around the world and flood coastal cities and farmland. The infusion of cold water could jolt the Gulf Stream, alter weather throughout the Northern Hemisphere and scatter fish and marine stocks. Yet this sweeping reworking of humanity's global accommodations will likely be fickle. While Greenland has many people who fear what warming will bring, it has quite a few others who reckon they may do quite well by it. (continued,,,) ******************** (NEWS 9) Carbon footprint' depends on where you live http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/promos/wirepicks/story/77224.html After seeing Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," Gregg Cawley used one of the calculators available online to determine his "carbon footprint." The University of Wyoming professor lives in a small one-bedroom apartment in Laramie and drives a moderately efficient Subaru, so he figured he contributes less to global warming than the average American. Wrong. The calculations suggested Cawley produces more carbon dioxide than most Americans. Even if he reduced his energy consumption, the numbers hardly budged. Then he changed his home state in the equation. He took out Wyoming and plugged in Washington state. "I came in way low. I said, 'That's the problem. I live in the wrong ? state.'" (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 10) Coal mining digs Talcher into a hot spot - The News item in The Samaj (Oriya daily) dated. 29.5.07 Talcher in India is situated at 20.57 North (latitude) and 85.16 East (longitude) and about 200 km away from sea shore i. e, Bay of Bengal. The thermal power houses here burn everyday about 80,000 tons of coal. Besides, this coal in open collieries also burn in tons daily. The temperature of the area therefore maintain about 12?C higher compared to other areas of the state. In earlier days the temperature of the area used to be 35?C in summer days. Presently, due to establishment of industries the temperature at Talcher is 48?C today (28 May, 2007) and 50?C in colliery areas. Last year three persons died due to heat stroke and many fell sick. About 70% of ponds, water stream, tube well and open well have dried up and this has created acute water shortage for about one lakh population. Now a day?s water is supplied in water tankers. We are aware that the increase in coal consumption and establishment of industries in developing countries would add to global warming. Related article from the Statesman - TALCHER: With northwesterly winds blowing since Monday the temperature in Talcher industrial belt touched 46 degree Celsius today, the highest so far this summer, bringing fears of a heat wave similar to 2005. After midday the excessive heat and humidity forced most people to stay indoors giving streets a deserted look. Temperatures hit 45 degrees on Tuesday and 44 degrees on Wednesday according to the local sub-collector's office. As the temperature is always measured in the shade, it can be expected to be two to three degrees above 46 degrees in the sun. According to mining officials the heat inside the coal mines has remained more than 50 degrees. Northwesterly winds are always a matter of concern for local residents as all the operating open cast coal mines are situated either to the west or north of residential areas. The heat, dust and smoke from the mines begin to blow towards the inhabited areas causing temperatures to rise. The exposed coal bed of the mines, spread over several kilometers, absorbs the heat in the daytime and emits heat during the night. There are other contributing factors for the abnormal temperature in Talcher. Angul, nearby, for example, always remains two to three degrees lower. For one thing, forest cover has almost been depleted in Talcher due to coal mining and no effort has been made to reforest the area. Although hundreds of crores of rupees have been deposited with state forest department for compulsory afforestation they have yet to do anything. Mounds of earth resembling hills, created by coal mining excavation in the area, are barren. There are about 20 of these earth dumps. In addition, around 80,000 tons of coal is burnt everyday for the boilers of the power plants and sponge units about 30 km away from the town, also increasing the overall temperature. The 2000 coal transporting heavy vehicles also add to the problem. In the past, apart from Talcher achieving the status of being one of the 14 most polluted spots in the country, it has also had the distinction of being the one of the hottest spots. *************************************************** 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) Post-doc - Marine Ecology - Norwegian College of Fishery Science - University of Tromso (Norway). Application Deadline: Monday, 11 June 2007 http://csd.tamu.edu/news/news_item.2007-06-04.0844569332 The Norwegian College of Fishery Science (NCFS) at the University of Tromso announces a three-year postdoctoral research fellow position in marine ecology within the project "Climate variations and planktonic foraminifera in the water column." The position is affiliated with the Department of Aquatic BioSciences. The research fellow will work on the research team of Professor Paul Wassmann and the ARCTOS research network, which focuses on arctic and subarctic marine ecosystems. A close collaboration with paleoceanographers at the Department of Geology, University of Tromso is also expected. The successful candidate will mainly study living planktonic foraminifera and associate micro plankton in arctic and subarctic seas, including transects between northern Norway-Svalbard and East Greenland. The work tasks will include marine biological cruises with collection of plankton samples, quantification and identification of planktonic foraminifera and associated plankton, and stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis. Applicants should have a PhD and be able to document knowledge in marine biology and/or marine geology at a PhD level or equivalent. Expertise in plankton ecology, oceanography, and statistics will be acknowledged. The successful candidate must be willing to engage in the ongoing development of the discipline and the university as a whole. Applications are to be submitted electronically on the application form available at: http://www.jobbnorge.no ******************** (JOB 2) Post-doc - "Three-dimensional modelling of past and future trends in the stratosphere" - McGill Univ (Canada) The successful candidate will complete the development of a fast chemistry scheme and use it in a three-dimensional chemistry-climate model (CCM) to perform ensembles of multi-decadal simulations of stratospheric ozone. Further information on the project can be found at http://www.meteo.mcgill.ca/bourqui/postdocposition2007.pdf. The successful candidate must have a PhD in atmospheric sciences or in a related discipline awarded within the three years preceding the start date of this postdoctoral fellowship. Preference will be given to candidates with an experience in numerical modelling and/or stratospheric chemistry. The postdoctoral fellowship is for 17 months, starting as soon as possible. Review of applications will begin June 15, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. The interested candidates should send a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, a short research interest statement, and must arrange for two recommendation letters to be sent separately to: Dr. M. Bourqui, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Burnside Hall, Office 815, 805, Sherbrooke Street W. H3A 2K6 Montreal Fax: (514) 398 6115 Phone: (514) 398 5450 Email: michel.bourqui at mcgill.ca http://www.meteo.mcgill.ca/bourqui ******************** (JOB 3) Asst. Prof - Physical Geography (tenure track) with specialisation in the field of water/climate impact - Faculty of Science of the University of Zurich (Switzerland) The successful candidate will have scientific expertise in the field of climate impacts on the water cycle and the potential to build up corresponding transdisciplinary research as part of national and international programs. She or he will have the interest and ability to measure and numerically model reactions of complex systems (atmospheric, surface and subsurface water) under growing disequilibrium in nature and increasing human demands. The newly appointed professor will contribute to building up a teaching program in climate-related hydrology at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels and will lead one of the divisions of the Department of Geography. Close collaboration within the Department as well as with the ETH Zurich is expected. The Department of Geography of the University of Zurich is the largest geography department in Switzerland. Its Physical Geography chairs are well established internationally and so far offer MSc and PhD specialisations in glaciology, geomorphology, soil science and biogeography. See also http://www.geo.uzh.ch and http:// www.geo.uzh.ch/phys. The position will commence in spring to autumn 2008. Applications received by the 31st July 2007 will be guaranteed full consideration, but the committee will be open to late applications of exceptional quality and will search until the position is filled. Applications, including a curriculum vitae, a list of publications and an outline of current and future research plans should be sent to the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the following address: Prof. D. Wyler, Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. The full application package should also be submitted in a single PDF file to jobs at mnf.uzh.ch. All inquiries about this position should be directed to Prof. Wilfried Haeberli, haeberli at geo.uzh.ch , Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. The University of Zurich is an equal opportunity employer. Applications from women are particularly encouraged. ******************** (JOB 4) Communications Officer - IHDP Secretariat (part time: 60-80%) ? Bonn (Germany) www.ihdp.org The International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change is a joint programme of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the United Nations University (UNU). The IHDP Secretariat is administered and hosted by the United Nations University at the United Nations Campus in Bonn, Germany. IHDP Secretariat staff is employed by UNU and based in Bonn. IHDP is an international, interdisciplinary science programme. It promotes, co-ordinates and communicates research on the human dimensions of global environmental change. This research focuses on the ways human beings and societies (a) contribute to and drive global environmental change; (b) are influenced by and impacted upon by global environmental change, and (c) respond to global environmental change. IHDP takes a social, human, behavioural and economic science perspective and works at the interface between science and practice. IHDP entertains a world- wide network of distinguished scientists, runs and/or co- sponsors about a dozen international science projects and organizes capacity development and training activities. IHDP is a member of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP). The IHDP Secretariat is the central node of the programme's activities and is mandated to oversee and implement its operations. It is administered and hosted by the UNU at the UN Campus Bonn, which hosts a variety of UN agencies working in the field of environment and sustainable development. A team of professionals from different national and academic backgrounds staffs the IHDP Secretariat. The main working language of the IHDP is English. The IHDP Secretariat is currently seeking to fill the position of Communications Officer (CO). The position is central to the Secretariat's goal of promoting, co-ordinating, and communicating research, policy advice and capacity development. The CO works closely with IHDP's Scientific and Programme Officers and our International Project Offices and partner programmes, and reports directly to the IHDP Executive Director. The CO is in charge of a portfolio of ongoing and fast-track activities in the area of public information, communication and outreach, and oversees and/or conducts a number of publication and editing activities. He/ She contributes to programme planning, reporting, and the development of new activities. QUALIFICATIONS: 1) Advanced (post)graduate degree(s) preferably in the communications and journalism disciplines. Some study background or training in the environmental or social sciences. 2) Demonstrated interest and/or experience in global environmental change research and policy, knowledge of international scientific collaboration and network development. 3) Significant professional experience (3-5 years) in outreach, public information and communication, press and media work, especially in scientific contexts. 4) Excellent in spoken and written English. Other languages desirable. Strong drafting, writing and editing skills. Computer literate (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Website design and maintenance - Html or other tools, CMS, Databases). 5) Demonstrated ability to coordinate multiple tasks and prioritize job functions. Able to work efficiently and exercise sound judgement under minimal supervision. Able to supervise colleagues and able to work effectively as a member of a team. 6) Willingness to travel internationally and perform under time pressure. Principal Responsibilities: 1. Act as the IHDP Secretariat's key liaison to press, media, experts and the public. Provide clearing house functions to various IHDP Science Projects and joint research projects with partner programmes. 2. Develop, organize, implement and monitor IHDP's various publications, its public information and outreach strategies and products. 3. Organize and oversee the Secretariat's web, reference and database management. 4. Act as the programme's main spokesperson. Individual Responsibilities 1. Design and implementation of the IHDP communications strategy, including information and outreach activities and production of relevant information material 2. Editor-in-Chief of IHDP's scientific newsletter UPDATE, including contacts to authors, editing and writing of texts, supervising layout and distribution 3. Editor-in-Chief of IHDP's Annual Report, supervising layout and distribution 4. Editor-in-Chief of IHDP's E- zine, supervising layout and distribution 5. Acting as the spokesperson of the IHDP SC Chair and the IHDP Executive Director 6. Drafting of IHDP Press Releases; organizing outreach and press activities for IHDP and the core research projects 7. Editing of IHDP Research Science Plans 8. Drafting and editing of IHDP general information materials (for example project information flyers, posters) and supervision of their production 9. Representing IHDP at conferences, meetings and public events 10. Managing and supervising the development and maintenance of IHDP's website (www.ihdp.org) 11. Managing and supervising the development and maintenance of the IHDP Database 12. Participating in the activities of the communications team of the Earth System Science Partnerships (ESSP, consisting of IHDP, IGBP, WCRP and DIVERSITAS) 13. Performing other duties as instructed by the IHDP Executive Director The preferred starting date is 1 September 2007. Please submit your full application (letter of motivation, CV, references, work samples and salary expectations). Deadline for application: 30 June 2007 The successful candidate will be based at the UN Campus in Bonn. The position is initially meant to be filled on a part-time basis. Weekly working hours can be discussed. Monthly remuneration shall be tax-free and commensurate with the incumbent's relevant experience and academic qualification. Please address your application BY POST OR EMAIL to: Dr. Andreas Rechkemmer, Executive Director IHDP, UN Campus, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, D-53113 Bonn, Germany, Tel.: + 49 (0) 228-815 ? 0602, Fax: + 49 (0) 228-815 ? 0609. Email: siklossy at ihdp.unu.edu. ******************** (JOB 5) Nature Correspondent ? reporter - Washington, D.C. (USA) Nature is looking for a full-time reporter to join its office in Washington DC. This position requires flexibility in covering a range of areas from policy issues to developments in various research communities to major scientific discoveries. Key areas of responsibility include climate/energy/environment issues and US science policy. To apply, send three to five clips, a r?sum? and a covering letter explaining your interest in and qualifications for the position, by 15 June to: admin at natureny.com. Please put 'News Correspondent' in the subject line. ******************** (JOBS 6) Faculty Positions - Ocean Sensors - Scripps Institution of Oceanography - University of California, San Diego (USA) The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) (http:// scripps.ucsd.edu) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) invites applications to fill one or more positions at the Assistant (tenure-track), Associate or Full Professor (tenured) levels in fields related to the research on, and development of, ocean sensors, with particular emphasis on sensors for biological and chemical variables. We seek an innovative individual who will establish a vigorous independent research program that complements established capabilities at Scripps. The successful candidate will be expected to teach graduate level courses, and will be encouraged to participate in undergraduate teaching at UCSD. The position requires a Ph.D. degree and a competitive record of publication as well as evidence of the ability to conduct and fund an active research program and, for more senior candidates, of the ability to mentor graduate students and junior colleagues. The salary will depend on the experience of the successful applicant and will be based on the University of California pay scale. Review of applications will begin July 16, 2007, and will continue until position(s) are filled. Applicants should submit their CV, a letter including descriptions of research interests and teaching interests/experience, a list of publications, immigration status, and the names of at least five potential referees, along with their complete institution address, email address, phone and fax numbers, to: Chair, Ocean Sensors Search Committee, 0208, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0208, USA. Please clearly label applications "Ocean Sensors Search". Applicants are welcome to include in their cover letter a personal statement summarizing their contributions to diversity. ******************* (JOB 7) Research scientist - Statistical analysis/spatial modeling - Climate Department - Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Norway) The Norwegian Meteorological Institute ( met.no) provides public meteorological services for both civil and military purposes. The main activities of the institute are to issue weather forecasts, risk management, climate monitoring and also research and development within meteorology, climatology, and oceanography. The Climate Department has as its main objective to provide the society with best information about the Norwegian climate for the present, past and the future, and to conduct general climate and applied research. The department has the responsibility for the Institute's climate data base, data processing for further use in information and research activities, establish climate services, and products for general users based on the climate data base. The department also participates in national and international scientific collaboration. The department has at the present 39 members of staff, and is organised into three sections and one secretary unit. A main objective at the Climate Department is to utilize meteorological data to describe the spatial distribution of various climate elements. In order to strengthen this effort there is a vacancy of a permanent position as research scientist at the climate research section. The focus area for this position will be to take part in developing methodology for deriving high resolution spatially distributed climate datasets by developing and applying advanced analysis tools in a GIS (Geographical Information System) environment. The objective is to utilize meteorological observations, remote sensed data and information from numerical weather prediction models. Working Area: 1) Statistical analysis of relations between geographical parameters and various climate elements. 2) Spatial modelling (mapping) of climate elements using GIS-tools or equivalent. 3) Study relations between atmospheric circulation patterns and spatial distribution of climate elements. 4) Operationalisation and implementation of production lines to establish gridded climate datasets. 5) Develop and implement database solutions for spatially distributed climate information. 6) Apply gridded datasets in quality control routines and for interpolation of meteorological data. 7) Participate in national and international research on spatial distribution of climate elements. Qualifications: 1) University degrees (cand.scient, M.Sc, PhD or equivalent) within climate science, meteorology, hydrology, geophysics or equivalent; 2) Experience within research and development and with the use of geographical information systems. 3) Knowledge to climatology and climate data. 4) Broad knowledge in data handling, programming, statistical analysis tools, databases. 5) Systematic, reliable and result oriented; 6) Team working, skills, yet able to work independently as well as in groups; 7) Good oral and written communication skills in Norwegian and/or English. Working conditions: 1) Friendly working environment 2) Scientific challenges in a modern technological environment 3) Good opportunities for self development 4) Salary as 1108 researcher or 1109 researcher depending on qualifications; 5) Membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund; 6) Six months mutual trial period. According to our policy, we aim at a staff complement that reflects the population of Norway with respect to gender as well as cultural diversity. The institute employs researchers from a number of different nations. For further information, please contact section leader Inger Hanssen-Bauer or senior scientist Ole Einar Tveito, tel: +47 22 96 30 00. Applications must be submitted electronically, see "Vacancies" at http://met.no/english Closing date: 15.June 2007. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070608/fbd56e15/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Mon Jun 18 14:28:37 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:28:37 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] Fwd: DISCCRS News 6/15/2007 References: <09CCD89A-FB28-4D2F-9FDC-916EC2DF6F20@whitman.edu> Message-ID: <5B718B24-58D2-4AFB-9663-74F8529AC8CA@whitman.edu> > DISCCRS News > 6/15/2007 > ************************************ > TABLE OF CONTENTS > > RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES > On Mentoring: Nature journal's Guide for Mentors > We here at DISCCRS encourage everyone to read this article and pass > it on to their advisors or Department Chairs: > http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7146/full/447791a.html > (see RESOURCES 1 below) > New Climate Group report available online - In the Black: The > Growth of the Low Carbon Economy > http://theclimategroup.org/index.php/resources/ > The report describes the upward global trends across the board > in the take-up of solutions for a low carbon economy, e.g., > renewables, hybrid cars, the carbon markets. It also demonstrates > the value creation and jobs growth in all these areas. > Invitation to Join New Research and Media Network > http://researchandmedia.ning.com/ for fast, free registration > The Research and Media Network is an online social network for > journalists, scientists, press officers and others who communicate > about research - whether on health, environment, water, > biodiversity, energy, agriculture, forestry, sustainable > development or communications. The aim is to create a space for > people to share information, contacts, news and resources. > resources > > FORUM > Yale Conference on Americans and Climate Change > http://environment.yale.edu/climate/ > americans_and_climate_change.pdf > (see FORUM 1 below) > NASA Leader Regrets Global Warming Comments > http://tinyurl.com/35u2aw (NY Times - Registration required) or > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/science/09griffin.html? > _r=1&ref=environment&oref=slogin > (see FORUM 2 below) > > SCIENCE NEWS > Podcast of President Bush's May 31 speech on energy policy > http://youtube.com/watch?v=GoeDEV8H7L8 > Climate change brings toxic moth to England > http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL1387952020070613 > (see NEWS 1 below) > Coal use rise looks bad for climate aims > http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/ > idUSL1281872620070612 > (see NEWS 2 below) > Nitrogen pollution drives trees to soak up more CO2 > http://tinyurl.com/39mhkb or http://environment.newscientist.com/ > article/dn12058-nitrogen-pollution-drives-trees-to-soak-up-more- > cosub2sub.html > (see NEWS 3 below) > Global warming is speeding up ocean waves > http://tinyurl.com/3eyjrz or http:// > environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19426075.400-global-warming- > is-speeding-up-ocean-waves.html > (see NEWS 4 below) > Senate takes up energy bill, push for increase auto fuel economy > http://climate.weather.com/articles/senate061207.html > (see NEWS 5 below) > Carbon storage deep down under > http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0706/full/climate.2007.2.html > (see NEWS 6 below) > Averting disaster: at what cost? > http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0706/full/climate.2007.3.html > (see NEWS 7 below) > Dangerous summer heat to increase as Mediterranean region warms > American Geophysical Union Press Release 07-13 > (see NEWS 8 below) > Many Arctic Plants Have Adjusted to Big Climate Changes, Study Finds > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/science/15arctic.html Or: > http://tinyurl.com/ynjej6 > (see NEWS 9 below) > > JOBS > Reviewer - Tebtebba Foundation > (see JOB 1 below) > Post-doc Oceanographer - Project Engineer, Scientific Planning > Postdoctoral Oceanographer for Science Planning, Consortium for > Ocean Leadership ? Washington DC (USA) > (see JOB 2 below) > Project Engineer - Ocean Observatories ? Consortium for Ocean > Leadership ? Washington DC (USA) > (see JOB 3 below) > Postdoc or Senior Research Fellowship - Coral Reef Biodiversity - > ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies - James Cook > University, Townsville (Australia) > (see JOB 4 below) > > *************************************************** > Resources and Funding Opportunities > (RESOURCES 1) On Mentoring: Nature journal's Guide for Mentors > We here at DISCCRS encourage everyone to read this article and pass > it on to their advisors or Department Chairs: > http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7146/full/447791a.html > Having a good mentor early in your career can mean the > difference between success and failure in any field. Adrian Lee, > Carina Dennis and Philip Campbell look at what makes a good mentor. > The Nature awards for creative mentoring in science were created > on the premise that the mentorship of young researchers ? although > fully deserving of recognition ? is perhaps the least remarked on > of all the activities that take place in the lab. Indeed, there is > no established definition of what constitutes good scientific > mentoring. This article attempts to remedy that situation, drawing > on the evidence from competitions for Nature's awards. These are > held on a national or regional basis, with the most recent taking > place last year, when the focus was on Australasia. Previous > competitions have been held in the United Kingdom, and the next > competition will be in South Africa (see http://www.nature.com/ > nature/mentoringawards/southafrica/index.html). (Continued.. with > many interesting quotes such as: > "First, her door is always open, even now in her retirement she > can never say 'come back later'. I now greatly admire this skill > for I find myself struggling with administration and feeling guilty > in making appointments to see students. M always put scientific > discussion first." > "Going to M's office with your head down, armed with a plot or > calculation showing that the project seemed to be going nowhere, > you will leave believing that you've solved the mysteries of the > Universe." > "Those who are good mentors get incalculably more out of it than > they put into it.") > > *************************************************** > Forum > (FORUM 1) Yale Conference on Americans and Climate Change > http://environment.yale.edu/climate/ > americans_and_climate_change.pdf > The Yale report on the Yale Conference on Americans and Climate > Change is worth reading, even if you are not a U.S. citizen. Read > the report if you have time. If not, at least read the following > preface to the report, which quotes the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther > King: > "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are > confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding > conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too > late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves > us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The > ?tide in the affairs of men? does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. > We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but > time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones > and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the > pathetic words: ?Too late. . . .?" > ? Reverend Dr.Martin Luther King > ******************** > (FORUM 2) NASA Leader Regrets Global Warming Comments > http://tinyurl.com/35u2aw (NY Times - Registration required) or > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/09/science/09griffin.html? > _r=1&ref=environment&oref=slogin > NY Times (registration required) - NASA administrator Michael D. > Griffin said Friday that he regretted having sparked a furor last > week when, in an interview with National Public Radio, he said he > was not sure climate change "is a proble m we must wrestle with." > "To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of > Earth's climate today is the optimal climate," he said during the > NPR interview, stumbling into the rancorous debate over climate > change. > Among his own troops, James Hansen, who manages NASA's climate > research as the head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in > New York, and who has said that the Bush administration has told > him to soften his comments about warming, said he was shocked by > the comments. > Dr. Griffin said that he regretted that the comments became a > "distraction for NASA." Whatever his personal opinion about climate > change, he said that it has no effect on NASA's role in providing > the technical data on climate change. (continued...) > > *************************************************** > Science News > (NEWS 1) Climate change brings toxic moth to England > http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL1387952020070613 > LONDON (Reuters) - A species of toxic moth which has been moving > steadily north from the Mediterranean because of global warming has > reached England, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew said on Wednesday. > Emergency measures have been put in place to protect trees in > Kew Gardens in West London, where a number of Oak Processionary > Moths (Thaumetopoea processionea) have been discovered, Kew Gardens > said in a statement. > "The Oak Processionary Moth's natural range is the Mediterranean > regions of Europe. However, in recent years, its range has extended > northwards, possibly as a result of climate change," it said. > The moth was last reported to have reached Belgium, where its > presence caused areas of forest to be closed to the public. > The Oak Moth lays its eggs in oak trees, and the caterpillars eat > the trees' foliage. The poisonous hairs on the caterpillars' back > can cause itchy rashes, breathing difficulties and severe allergic > reactions in humans. > Kew said the moths found in England were believed to have > entered the country as eggs laid on imported trees, so the > immediate danger was limited. > ******************** > (NEWS 2) Coal use rise looks bad for climate aims > http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/ > idUSL1281872620070612 > LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Ambitious goals to fight climate > change look less achievable as coal use continued to soar last year > in China and India, data compiled by BP Plc showed on Tuesday. > The data confirmed that China was on track to overtake the > United States as the world's number one carbon emitter this year, > one analyst said. > "I would still say 2007, this is the year," said Gregg Marland, > senior scientist at Austria's International Institute for Applied > Systems Analysis, and the U.S. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis > Center (CDIAC). > China's CO2 emissions in 2006 were over 5.7 billion tonnes > versus nearly 5.9 billion tonnes in the United States, with China > up 8.5 percent and the United States falling slightly, Marland > estimated on Tuesday, using the new BP data. > Coal releases more of the planet-warming greenhouse gas carbon > dioxide (CO2) than any other fossil fuel. But coal was the fastest > growing fuel globally worldwide last year, BP's annual Statistical > Review of World Energy showed, rising at a rate that was slightly > down on last year but well above the average for the last decade. > A U.N. panel of climate scientists last month said that global > CO2 emissions should peak by 2015, to keep atmospheric > concentration at levels which the European Union says will avoid > the worst effects of climate change. > ******************** > (NEWS 3) Nitrogen pollution drives trees to soak up more CO2 > http://tinyurl.com/39mhkb or http://environment.newscientist.com/ > article/dn12058-nitrogen-pollution-drives-trees-to-soak-up-more- > cosub2sub.html > Nitrogen pumped into the environment by human activities such as > driving cars and farming is fertilising tree growth and boosting > the amount of carbon being stored in forests outside the tropics, > say researchers. > Their study provides a surprising example of how one type of > human pollution is helping to counter another. But the researchers > caution that they do not yet know what proportion of carbon dioxide > emissions are being offset by the anthropogenic release of nitrogen. > Nitrogen is an important plant nutrient, widely used as an > agricultural fertiliser, and two studies in 2006 suggested that its > availability in nature will ultimately limit the capacity of > forests to soak up human CO2 (Nature, p 440, vol 922 and > Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas. > 0509038103). But until now, no one had quantified the effect that > human deposits of nitrogen were having on forests. > Federico Magnani of the University of Bologna in Italy and his > colleagues have now done just that for temperate and sub-Arctic > (boreal) forests. They looked at 20 clusters of forests, from > Alaska to Italy, and Siberia to New Zealand, to see how much carbon > they are storing and what is driving the growth. (continued...) > ******************** > (NEWS 4) Global warming is speeding up ocean waves > http://tinyurl.com/3eyjrz or http:// > environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19426075.400-global-warming- > is-speeding-up-ocean-waves.html > Gigantic ocean waves, spanning hundreds of kilometres from crest > to crest, have been speeding up thanks to global warming, a new > model suggests. > Geophysicists predict that as the ocean surface warms, these so- > called planetary waves should speed up. To test this idea, John > Fyfe and Oleg Saenko at the University of Victoria in British > Columbia, Canada, modelled the changes to ocean wave patterns over > the 20th and 21st centuries. > "We were really surprised at how quickly the ocean responded to > temperature change," Fyfe says. According to the model, global > warming has already increased the speed of the waves, but no one > noticed because satellites have not been monitoring their speeds > for long enough, he says. The model also shows that by the end of > the 21st century, the waves will be a further 20 to 40 per cent > faster compared with pre-industrial speeds (Geophysical Research > Letters, vol 34, p L10706). > "We knew we'd see an effect, but we didn't think it would be > significant for at least another two centuries," Fyfe says. The > faster planetary waves will have an effect on global weather, he adds. > From issue 2607 of New Scientist magazine, 12 June 2007, page 23 > ******************** > (NEWS 5) Senate takes up energy bill, push for increase auto fuel > economy > http://climate.weather.com/articles/senate061207.html > WASHINGTON (AP) ? As motorists face near record gasoline prices, > the Senate took up an energy bill Tuesday that would raise auto > fuel economy standards for the first time in nearly 20 years and > make oil industry price gouging a federal crime. > Democratic leaders in both the Senate and House said they want > broad energy legislation passed before the Fourth of July > congressional recess, hoping to dampen growing voter anger over > paying well above $3 a gallon at gasoline pumps across the country. > The Senate bill urges automakers to boost their fuel economy to > a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, about a 40 percent > increase over what new cars and the less fuel efficient SUVs and > pickup trucks are required to attain today. The auto standard of > 27.5 mpg was last increased 18 years ago. SUVS and small trucks > must achieve a fleet average of 22.2 mpg. > Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday the bill would > help reduce the country's reliance on oil ? an addiction that > consumes more than 21 million barrels a day, nearly two-thirds of > it imported. > The White House issued a statement opposing many of the bill's > most critical parts, including the mandatory increase in automobile > fuel economy. It also said President Bush would be urged to veto > the legislation if it contained the price gouging language. > ******************** > (NEWS 6) Carbon storage deep down under > http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0706/full/climate.2007.2.html > As the world's largest trial carbon storage project gets > underway, some are questioning its necessity. Hannah Hoag reports > from Australia. > Perched on the southern edge of Australia, the Otway Basin > spreads offshore from Cape Jaffa in South Australia, through > Victoria, to the northwest coast of Tasmania. For nearly 100 years, > gas wells have been drilled into the onshore portion of the basin > that was formed when Antarctica broke free of Australia. Now > researchers are probing the basin for its capacity to store carbon > dioxide generated from Australia's coal-burning power plants. But > some are asking if the world needs another demonstration project. > The Otway Basin Pilot Project, Australia's first carbon > sequestration demonstration project ? and perhaps the most > intensely monitored ? kicked off in February when the drilling of a > 2,100-metre well began near the small town of Warrnambool, about > 250 kilometres from Melbourne. Peter Cook, head of the Canberra- > based Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies > (CO2CRC) that runs the project, says they plan to begin injecting > gas into the new well in July. By the end of the year, up to > 100,000 tonnes of supercritical carbon dioxide will have been > injected into the natural reservoir. (continued...) > ******************** > (NEWS 7) Averting disaster: at what cost? > http://www.nature.com/climate/2007/0706/full/climate.2007.3.html > Avoiding dangerous climate change will require considerable > global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A daunting > challenge, but one that is practically and economically achievable, > argues Jeffrey D. Sachs. > The basic economics of climate change have been explained > clearly in the Stern Review1. The global business-as-usual (BAU) > path, in which fossil fuel use continues unabated without reducing > carbon emissions or capturing and sequestering them, will raise > atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases during the coming > decades to dangerous levels. The higher the greenhouse gas > concentrations the greater the societal costs will be, in terms of > more frequent and extreme droughts and storms, loss of > biodiversity, declining crop yields, rising sea levels and much > more2. Emissions can be averted, and thereby greenhouse gas > concentrations can be reduced below the BAU path, at an extra cost > to society. As long as the resulting social benefits exceed this > abatement cost, then it should be adopted. The optimum pace and > intensity of emissions reduction are found by balancing the > additional costs of aggressive greenhouse gas stabilization against > the incremental benefits of reduced climate change. > The bargaining game: So far, so good. But the translation of > these ideas into practice is extremely challenging, both > conceptually and practically. The costs of reducing emissions are > unknown, because their control will depend on a myriad of > technologies that are potentially effective but not yet proved. The > societal costs of climate change are known with even less > precision. Moreover, both societal and abatement costs will vary > widely across geographical space and across generations. At a > conceptual level, there is an enormous bargaining game, marked by > potential winners and losers, high uncertainty, potential side > payments, tendencies towards free riding, and future generations > who are not even at the bargaining table. The current generation > plays its own hand, as well as that of future generations. Some > might say the game is rigged. (continued...) > ******************** > (NEWS 8) Dangerous summer heat to increase as Mediterranean region > warms > American Geophysical Union Press Release 07-13 > WASHINGTON - The number of dangerously hot days in the > Mediterranean region could increase by 200 percent to 500 percent > in this century, if current rates of greenhouse gas emissions > continue, a new analysis finds. Of nations covered by the study, > France would undergo the greatest upswing in high-temperature > extremes. Mitigating these grim projections, reductions of > greenhouse gas emissions may lessen the intensification of > dangerously hot days by as much as 50 percent, the study shows. > In France in 2003, 15,000 people died in an extraordinary heat > wave. In Italy, the high temperatures resulted in almost 3,000 > deaths. The researchers find that global warming causes summer > temperatures to dramatically exceed the range that correlated with > the increased number of deaths. > "Rare events today, like the 2003 heat wave in Europe, become > much more common as greenhouse gas concentrations increase," says > Noah S. Diffenbaugh, of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., > who led the study. Indeed, they "become the norm and the extreme > events of the future are unprecedented in their severity," he says. > The analysis indicates that daily temperatures currently found > in the hottest two weeks of the summer instead will be found in the > coldest two weeks of the summer. In Paris, for example, > temperatures that occurred there during the heat wave in 2003 are > exceeded a couple dozen times every year in the simulated future. > Fueling the new projections is an intensified impact of global > warming at the high end of the Mediterranean's summer temperature > range. The researchers find that warming and reduced precipitation > in the region contribute to preferential warming of the hottest > days. The most scorching summer days "warm more than the typical > summer days warm," Diffenbaugh explains. "One might expect that an > average warming of four degrees would equate to each day warming by > four degrees, but in fact the hottest days warm quite a bit more," > he says. > This is due, in large part, to a surface moisture feedback, the > scientists propose. The surface gets dryer as it gets hotter and > the dry soil leads to less moisture in the area and less > evaporative cooling. The locations of intensified warming on > hottest days of the year match the locations where surface drying > occurs, Diffenbaugh says. > In addition to threatening people's lives, soaring temperatures > could harm the Mediterranean region's economy, notes study co- > author Jeremy S. Pal of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, > Calif. The region extends into 21 European, African, and Asian > countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. Its metropolitan areas > include Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Algiers, Cairo, Istanbul, and Tel > Aviv. Negative consequences in the area could affect human health, > water resources, agriculture, and energy demand, Pal adds. > The ultimate severity of the damage depends on what steps are > taken today. "Technological and behavioral changes that are made > now will have a big influence on what actually happens in the > future," says Diffenbaugh. "Decreases in greenhouse gas emissions > greatly reduce the impact." > Still, "we see negative effects even with reduced emissions," he > notes. > In the new work, Diffenbaugh, Pal, and colleagues in Italy and > China, analyze climate simulations covering two time periods: 1961 > to 1989 and 2071 to 2099. They report their results in the June 15 > Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American > Geophysical Union. > The simulations assume emissions scenarios as proposed in 2000 > by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change > (IPCC), a leading scientific organization that evaluates climate- > change-related science. One scenario anticipates that greenhouse > gas emissions will continue to increase exponentially. The other, > reduced-emissions scenario incorporates diminished population > growth and greater environmental concern. > Although newer emissions scenarios have been generated since > 2000, a recent assessment by IPCC found that those scenarios differ > little in their emissions ranges from the older ones, Diffenbaugh > says. > The Mediterranean region study also uses the National Weather > Service Heat Index in the analysis of the heat stress response to > increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. > The areas most likely to face substantial increases in dangerous > heat index are concentrated largely in coastal areas, the > researchers find. The team can discern such localized effects > because the climate model used in the study has a resolution of 20 > kilometers (12 miles) -- perhaps the highest spatial resolution > available for the Mediterranean region. Much as increased > resolution in a photograph makes a clearer picture and allows one > to zoom in without blurring the image, the powerful resolution of > the climate model allows researchers to gather detailed information > about particular areas. The researchers used a supercomputer in the > National Climate Center in Beijing to run the climate model. > "This is the first time this amplification signal over coastal > areas could be seen and quantified," says co-author Filippo Giorgi > of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, > Italy. "Coastal regions are particularly vulnerable because they > will likely be affected by other important climate change related > stresses, such as a rising sea level." Many large cities in the > Mediterranean region are on the coast, Giorgi notes. > The study was funded by the Italy-USA collaborative agreement on > climate change research and the National Science Foundation. > Publication-quality images of temperature projections are > available from the Purdue University website at: > http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2007/diffenbaugh-heat2.jpg > http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS//images/+2007/diffenbaugh-heat.jpg > ******************** > (NEWS 9) Many Arctic Plants Have Adjusted to Big Climate Changes, > Study Finds > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/science/15arctic.html Or: > http://tinyurl.com/ynjej6 > New York Times (Registration Required) Many Arctic plant species > have readily adjusted to big climate changes, repeatedly > recolonizing the rugged islands of the remote Svalbard archipelago > off Norway's coast through 20,000 years of warm and cool spells > since the frigid peak of the last ice age, researchers report in > today's issue of the journal Science. > Their finding implies that, in the Arctic at least, plants may > be able to shift long distances to follow the climate conditions > for which they are best adapted as those conditions move under the > influence of human-caused global warming, the researchers and some > independent experts said. > Some experts on climate and biology who were not involved with > the study, which was led by scientists from the University of Oslo, > said it provided a glimmer of optimism in the face of generally > bleak scientific assessments of the vulnerability of ecosystems to > the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases. > *************************************************** > 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) Reviewer - Tebtebba Foundation > Tebtebba Foundation - a well known indigenous peoples-run > research and policy organization based in the Philippines (for more > information see: www.tebtebba.org ) - is launching an initiative > that intends to use positive developments within the global system > and other opportunities available to operationalise the human > rights based approach in order to strengthen the protection and > enhancement of biological and cultural diversity of indigenous peoples > Amongst the various activities to be carried out under this > initiative, it is envisaged to commission review papers on > indigenous ecological management practices, including the adaptive > ones in the face of globalisation and similar global trends, such > as climate change, economic integration, instantaneous > communication, urbanisation and others. > In this regard, Tebtebba Founation is looking for a couple of > young people, preferably doc and post doc students, preferably but > not necessarily indigenous, who have worked on the topic, both in > the South and the North, and are very knowledgeable about the > existing literature, willing to prepare review papers on the topic. > Could you suggest a few names as well as their contacts? > If you have any suggestions, please send them to Vanda Altarelli > - v_altarelli at yahoo.co.uk - who is assisting Tebtebba in her > personal capacity. > ******************** > (JOB 2) Post-doc Oceanographer - Project Engineer, Scientific Planning > Postdoctoral Oceanographer for Science Planning, Consortium for > Ocean Leadership ? Washington DC (USA) > The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, a new corporation resulting > from the merger of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc. (JOI) > and the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), > has an immediate opening in its Washington, D.C. office for a > postdoctoral oceanographer to assist with science planning for the > Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The OOI, which will be funded > by the National Science Foundation, will construct an integrated > observatory network to provide ocean, earth, and atmospheric > scientists and educators with continuous, interactive access to the > ocean. > The postdoctoral oceanographer will analyze science > requirements, provide liaison with the scientific community and the > NSF, coordinate discussions with community experts and the > project?s implementing organizations, develop presentations for > design reviews, review, edit, and write documents, represent the > corporation at scientific meetings and workshops, monitor progress > against milestones, and perform related activities that require > domain expertise in oceanography and basic understanding of current > research areas. > The successful candidate must have a Ph.D. in physical, > chemical, or biological oceanography with experience and/or > knowledge in the acquisition of in situ oceanographic data. > Experience with experimental ocean observation platforms is > advantageous. Demonstrated planning, decision-making, and problem- > solving capabilities, demonstrated initiative to work independently > to prioritize work and complete projects with general direction, > and excellent communication and editorial skills are also > required. This position will be for 12 months, extendable to 24 > months, at a postdoctoral salary of $55,000 per year. The > Consortium for Ocean Leadership provides an excellent benefit and > retirement package. Review of applications will begin immediately > and will continue until the position is filled. For consideration, > please forward your letter of interest, complete resume/CV, the > names of four references, and a representative writing sample to > orion at joiscience.org. > ******************** > (JOB 3) Project Engineer - Ocean Observatories ? Consortium for > Ocean Leadership ? Washington DC (USA) > The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, a new corporation resulting > from the merger of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Inc. (JOI) > and the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), > has an immediate opening in its Washington D.C. office for an > experienced project engineer for the Ocean Observatories Initiative > (OOI). The project engineer will lead development and technical > management efforts required for planning for the purchase, > installation and maintenance of a high reliability, long term > science-driven ocean observatory network. This position will focus > on the development of the Coastal and Global scale network > subsystems with both buoyed and cabled ocean-observing components. > Initial project tasks will include completion of user requirements, > development of system requirements, architectural and engineering > design of the system, preliminary cost estimates, development of a > project execution plan and execution of formal requirements and > design reviews in collaboration with research scientists and > engineers. Funding for the Ocean Observatories Initiative is > provided by the National Science Foundation. The ability to work > constructively with research scientists and engineers to define a > system that will meet the unique science and research needs of the > academic ocean research community will be a key trait of the > successful applicant. > The successful candidate will possess excellent leadership and > interpersonal skills critical for successful collaboration, a > degree in engineering, a minimum of 5 years experience as a project > engineer involved in large projects, and demonstrated success in > the development of complex multi-sensor systems. A familiarity with > scientific ocean observing activities or other complex submarine > system development is desirable. > The Consortium for Ocean Leadership provides an excellent > benefit and retirement package. Review of applications for this > position will begin immediately and will continue until the > position is filled. For consideration, please forward your letter > of interest, complete resume/CV, and the names of four references > to orion at joiscience.org. > ******************** > (JOB 4) Postdoc or Senior Research Fellowship - Coral Reef > Biodiversity - ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies - > James Cook University, Townsville (Australia) > The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies seeks a > postdoctoral or senior research fellow to work in any area of coral > reef biodiversity (e.g., biogeography, phylogeography, > paleobiology, evolution, mathematical modelling, biodiversity > conservation, ecosystem function). Based at James Cook University > in Townsville (Australia), the appointee will contribute to > improving understanding of mechanisms and processes that maintain > local and global biodiversity of coral reefs. The successful > applicant will have substantial freedom to forge a research program > that suits her or his interests and abilities. > Selection criteria include: 1) PhD in a relevant discipline (PhD > candidates who will complete their degrees before late 2007 are > also encouraged to apply). 2) An excellent publication record for > stage of career. 3) Capacity to bring fresh approaches to the > study of coral reef biodiversity (either conceptual or technical, > preferably both) that will complement and enhance, rather than > duplicate, existing areas of strength in the Centre. 4) Prior > knowledge of coral reefs is desirable, but not essential. > The position is available immediately; applications will be > accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. > Appointment will be through June 2010, subject to a probationary > period. > The ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, > administered by James Cook University, is one of the world?s > largest providers of the knowledge that underpins our capacity to > understand and manage coral reefs. It includes 30 Chief > Investigators and research fellows, distributed across multiple > universities in Australia. For further information about the > Centre, visit http://www.coralcoe.org.au. > Enquiries to: Associate Professor Sean Connolly, Phone: +61 7 > 4782 4242 Sean.Connolly at jcu.edu.au > To apply, please forward a CV, email addresses of 3 potential > referees, and a 1-2 page description of research interests > addressing Selection Criterion #3, above, to Sean Connolly at > Sean.Connolly at jcu.edu.au > ************************************************** > 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/ > > > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070618/65230067/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jun 22 12:40:20 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:40:20 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 6/22/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 6/22/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES New Website Available: World Ocean Forum On-Line Event: International Polar Year http://www.thew2o.net/events/polaryear/index.html (see RESOURCES 1 below) Job Success http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/leadership/36877 This article offers advice for new college graduates when they enter the workplace, but it applies at any level. FORUM The latest issue of New Left Review contains an essay by Clive Hamilton on George Monbiot's book "Heat". It is a critical assessment of proposals for a 90 per cent cut in carbon emissions. http://www.newleftreview.org/A2671 (see FORUM 1 below) Your input requested on Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife in U.S. Rocky Mountains (see FORUM 2 below) (see FORUM 3 below) SCIENCE NEWS A Climate Culprit In Darfur http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/ AR2007061501857.html (registration required) (see NEWS 1 below) Senate votes to raise mileage standards to 35 mpg for cars, SUVs http://climate.weather.com/articles/mileage062207.html (see NEWS 2 below) WWF: Desalination could aggravate climate change http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/europe/EU-GEN- Switzerland-Desalination.php (see NEWS 3 below) Company plans 'eco' iron dump off Galapagos http://tinyurl.com/3xykhy (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Living with climate change: are there limits to adaptation? Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and University of Oslo ? February 7-8, 2008 http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/research/programme3/adaptation2008/ index.html (see MEETING 1 below) Advanced Biology Training Course - "Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms" - McMurdo, Antarctica - January 2008 http://antarctica.usc.edu (see COURSE 1 below) JOBS Field biologist and Laboratory Technician - Position: Regular, full- time, salaried ? Prince William Sound Science Center ? Cordova, Alaska (USA). (see JOB 1 below) Post-doc - Natural Hazards social scientist - Natural Hazards Center - University of Colorado - Boulder, Colorado (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor - Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence (CoRE) - Macquarie University - New South Wales ? (Australia) http://www.jobs.mq.edu.au to apply online (see JOB 3 below) Post-doc - Running global climate models to investigate the origin of anthropogenic influence on global climate - Center for Climatic Research (CCR) - University of Wisconsin ? Madison, Wisconsin (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Tenure-track climate scientist - Environmental Studies Department - Macalester College - Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA) (see JOB 5 below) ost-doc - Mesoscale meteorological modeling - Division of Atmospheric Sciences - Desert Research Institute - Reno, Nevada (USA) http://jobs.dri.edu/cgi-bin/JobPostProd/jobPost?url_rec_num=230 (see JOB 6 below) Visiting Asst Prof (1 yr) - Teach GIS, 2 grad courses, & world regional geography - Department of Geography and Regional Studies - University of Miami, Florida (USA) (see JOB 7 below) Post-doc - Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change in Agricultural Systems - School of Earth and Environment, Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) and Institute for Atmospheric Science (IAS) - University of Leeds (UK) http://www.leeds.ac.uk and click on 'jobs' Job ref 315077 (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - Interdisciplinary project on riparian stream systems in the Great Plains - Department of Geosciences and School of Natural Resources - University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) (USA) (see JOB 9 below) Program Design Officers - Democratic Republic of Congo and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) - Kinshasa, (DRC) & Nairobi (Kenya) (see JOB 10 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCE 1) New Website Available: World Ocean Forum On-Line Event: International Polar Year http://www.thew2o.net/events/polaryear/index.html The World Ocean Observatory (W2O), an organization dedicated to information, education, and public discourse about the ocean defined as an integrated global social system, announces the website, World Ocean Forum On-Line Event: International Polar Year. Many physical and biological systems on Earth appear to be experiencing substantial recent changes, beyond the expected range of natural variability. These changes show most clearly, and appear to happen most quickly, at the poles. Between 2007 and 2009, thousands of physical, biological, and social scientists from more than 60 nations will study the polar regions as part of the International Polar Year (IPY). The World Ocean Observatory is working in partnership with IPY on several projects during this time that will be accessible on the website as they occur over the next two years. The website features scientist interviews and the W2O newsletter. *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) The latest issue of New Left Review contains an essay by Clive Hamilton on George Monbiot's book "Heat". It is a critical assessment of proposals for a 90 per cent cut in carbon emissions. http://www.newleftreview.org/A2671 Given the psychological grip of capitalist consumption patterns, and the forces blocking attempts to tackle climate change ? the fossil fuel lobby, heavy industry, airlines ? what is the best strategy for environmental action? Can ambitious targets and moral exhortations bring any improvement on existing treaties? Monbiot replies to Hamilton's critique in the same issue. To read the debate go to http://www.newleftreview.org/A2671 ******************** (FORUM 2) Your input requested on Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife in U.S. Rocky Mountains The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have partnered to conduct a search for information on climate change impacts on wildlife throughout the Rocky Mountains. They are hoping assess published studies addressing climate change impacts, as well as identify datasets/papers that may not have been originally gathered to look at climate impacts, but that can provide relevant insight into how future climate change could impact wildlife throughout the region. Please note that although the general focus of this search is on ?wildlife? responses to climate change, NRDC and WCS recognize that many factors (e.g., changes in invasive plant species and pathogen dynamics) are likely to act as indirect climate change influences on wildlife populations. Therefore, they also welcome information from studies applicable to wildlife, but not necessarily on wildlife. If you do or have worked on issues relevant to wildlife responses in the Rocky Mountains, please contact Dr. Jamie K. Reaser (ecos at nelsoncable.com) no later than July 20th to request a survey form. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) A Climate Culprit In Darfur http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/ AR2007061501857.html (registration required) Just over a week ago, leaders of the world's industrialized nations met in Heiligendamm, Germany, for their annual summit. Our modest goal: to win a breakthrough on climate change. And we got it -- an agreement to cut greenhouse gases by 50 percent before 2050. Especially gratifying for me is that the methods will be negotiated via the United Nations, better ensuring that our efforts will be mutually reinforcing. This week, the global focus shifted. Tough but patient diplomacy produced another win, as yet modest in scope but large in humanitarian potential. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accepted a plan to deploy, at long last, a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. This agreement, too, is personally gratifying. I have made Darfur a top priority and have invested considerable effort, often far from public view, toward this goal. Clearly, uncertainties remain. This deal, like others before it, could yet come undone. It could be several months before the first new troops arrive and longer before the full 23,000-member contingent is in place. Meanwhile, the fighting will probably go on, even if less intensely and despite our many calls for a cease-fire. Still, in a conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives during four years of diplomatic inertia, this is significant progress, especially considering that it has come in only five months. It would be natural to view these as distinct developments. In fact, they are linked. Almost invariably, we discuss Darfur in a convenient military and political shorthand -- an ethnic conflict pitting Arab militias against black rebels and farmers. Look to its roots, though, and you discover a more complex dynamic. Amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 2) Senate votes to raise mileage standards to 35 mpg for cars, SUVs http://climate.weather.com/articles/mileage062207.html WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate voted Thursday to require average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon for new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs by 2020, raising efficiency standards that have not changed significantly for nearly two decades. The fuel economy measure was added to a broad energy bill without a roll call vote even as senators were holding a news conference announcing the compromise. Republicans earlier blocked Democratic efforts to raise oil taxes by $29 billion and use the money to promote renewable fuels and other clean energy programs. Democratic leaders hoped to complete the energy bill Thursday night, but senators close to the auto industry began an effort to derail the entire bill. "We will be continuing to oppose it," said Sen. Carl Levin, D- Mich., "This is not over by any stretch." The legislation for the first time would establish a single fuel economy standard applicable to not only cars, but also SUVs and pickups which currently have to meet less stringent requirement. Fuel efficiency requirements would vary for different classes of vehicles based on weight and size. But manufacturers would be required to meet an overall fleetwide average of 35 mpg. "It closes the SUV loophole," declared Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., referring to current requirements that allow much less stringent fuel efficiency standards for SUVs and pickup trucks than for cars. "This is a victory for the American public." (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 3) WWF: Desalination could aggravate climate change http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/europe/EU-GEN- Switzerland-Desalination.php GENEVA: Extracting salt from seawater to make it drinkable is the wrong way to handle water shortages around the world and could exacerbate climate change, a leading conservation group said Tuesday. But independent scientists disputed the findings and said desalination plays a minor role in global warming. The World Wide Fund for Nature said its study found that desalination uses large amounts of energy, emits greenhouse gasses and destroys marine life in some coastal areas. The rate of building these desalination plants seems to be growing exponentially," said Jamie Pittock, who heads WWF's freshwater program. "If that continues ... greenhouse gas emissions would accelerate and increase climate change dramatically," he told The Associated Press. WWF estimates that there are about 1,000 desalination plants around the world, Pittock said, adding that it was difficult to obtain good data and that more research was needed. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 4) Company plans 'eco' iron dump off Galapagos http://tinyurl.com/3xykhy A private company's plans to dump 100 million tonnes of iron particles into the Pacific Ocean off the Galapagos, to trigger a plankton bloom, are being discussed by the International Maritime Organization today. The chief executive of carbon-offsetting firm Planktos says the scrutiny is unwarranted as the amounts of iron his company will dump are minuscule. Planktos is a private company which sells UN-approved carbon credits and uses the money for forestry projects. The US company is also one of a few budding organisations seeking to operate large-scale experiments to dump fine iron particles into the ocean in order to boost the growth of tiny plant plankton, called phytoplankton. Natural clouds of iron dust deposited on the sea by the winds can trigger large plankton blooms that can be seen from space as greenish patches in the midst of blue ocean waters. In the past 20 years, 10 ocean expeditions around the world have attempted to trigger phytoplankton blooms by purposefully seeding the waves with fine iron dust. (continued...) *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) Living with climate change: are there limits to adaptation? Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and University of Oslo ? February 7-8, 2008 http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/research/programme3/adaptation2008/ index.html The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the University of Oslo, with the support of the Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) project, announce a two day international conference to be held on 7 and 8 of February 2008 at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the subject of ?Living with climate change: are there limits to adaptation?? The overall objective of this conference is to consider strategies for adapting to climate change, in particular to explore the potential barriers to adaptation that may limit the ability of societies to adapt to climate change and to identify opportunities for overcoming these barriers. The conference is aimed at researchers and practitioners with an interest in understanding how societies adapt to climate change. Abstracts are invited to be submitted by 10th August 2007 under one of following three themes: Theme 1: Adapting to thresholds in physical and ecological systems (Keynote speaker: Garry Peterson, McGill University) Theme 2: The role of values and culture in adaptation (Keynote speaker: Benjamin Orlove, University of California) Theme 3: Governance, knowledge and technologies for adaptation (Keynote speaker: Susanne Moser, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)) ******************** (COURSE 1) Advanced Biology Training Course - "Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms" - McMurdo, Antarctica - January 2008 http://antarctica.usc.edu This National Science Foundation sponsored course will be held in Antarctica at the United States' McMurdo Station for one month, starting January 2008. This is an international course, open to all nationalities. Applications are invited from graduate students currently enrolled in a PhD program, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty-level research scientists who are interested in the study of extreme environments and the biology of Antarctic organisms. The course will accommodate up to 20 students. Full scholarships are available for each student accepted into the course to cover the cost of travel from home institution to Antarctica, and room and board while in Antarctica. The emphasis of the Antarctic Biology Course is on integrative biology, with laboratory- and field-based projects focused on adaptations in an extreme polar environment. A diverse teaching faculty will offer students the opportunity to study a wide range of Antarctic organisms (bacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fish), as well as studying several different levels of biological analysis (molecular biology, biomechanics, physiological ecology, species diversity, and evolution). Deadline for receipt of completed applications is August 15, 2007. For more information and on-line applications, please see -- http://antarctica.usc.edu. *************************************************** 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) Field biologist and Laboratory Technician - Position: Regular, full-time, salaried ? Prince William Sound Science Center ? Cordova, Alaska (USA). Duties: The biologist/lab technician will assist both in the lab and on research cruises collecting data related to a herring forage contingency project. The majority of work involves preparation and analysis of fish and zooplankton laboratory samples, sample management, and data entry. Some of the lab samples are prepared for staple isotope analysis at labs outside of Cordova. Additional labs and field duties as prescribed by Dr. T. Kline. Presently, the field work requires 7-14 day cruises approximately four times each year. When not in the field (on cruises), the work week will be a regular 40-hour week, although the hours may be worked on a flexible schedule (i.e., four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days); when in the field (on cruises), the workload will require more than 40 hours and often more than eight hours per day. As a salaried employee, the biologist/lab technician's work days in the immediate pay period following a cruise may be adjusted to approximate a regular work schedule. Requirements: Minimum requirements: Associate degree with biology course and basic computer skills. Bachelor's degree and zoological taxonomic experience preferred. Salary range: $2,464 ? 3,036 monthly and includes full benefit package (medical/dental/vision, paid time off and pension plan). Starting date: June 25, or as soon as possible thereafter. For more information about this position, contact Dr. Thomas Kline, tkline@ pwssc.gen.ak.us , or call Nancy Bird, PWSSC President, (907) 424-5800 x 225. For further information about the Prince William Sound Science Center, visit our web site: www.pwssc.gen.ak.us Application process: Please submit a cover letter explaining your interest in this position and a resume including your educational background, degrees earned and your work experience. Please also include at least two references with contact information. Submit these documents electronically to Dr. Thomas Kline, kline@ pwssc.gen.ak.us with a copy to Nancy Bird, PWSSC President, bird@ pwssc.gen.ak.us Review of preliminary applications received will begin on Wednesday, June 20, 2007. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 2) Post-doc - Natural Hazards social scientist - Natural Hazards Center - University of Colorado - Boulder, Colorado (USA) The Natural Hazards Center is seeking to hire a professional research assistant/post-doctoral scholar to assist with the coordination of its research program. This soft-money appointment extends for one year with the possibility of extension to two-three years. The purpose of the position is to collaborate with the Natural Hazards Center director, program manager, research coordinator, and other staff on Center projects funded by NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and others. The position will play a lead role in a newly funded Center project on preparedness among community-based and faith-based organizations and other nonprofits providing services to at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Minimum Requirements: * Education: PhD in a social/behavioral science discipline or closely related field (e.g., public health). * Skills & Knowledge: Comprehensive knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, procedures, and techniques; experience coordinating fieldwork teams; advanced knowledge of qualitative data analysis techniques; excellent oral and written communication skills, accompanied by the ability to communicate with diverse audiences both inside and outside academia; excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with others; and the ability to design, plan, implement, troubleshoot, and administer all phases of the research work. Must be willing to travel. * Experience: Two or more years of experience in fieldwork related to hazards and disasters. Applications will be considered beginning June 1, 2007, and will continue until the position is filled. Send vitae, samples of written work, and the names of three professional references to: Kathleen Tierney, Director Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, 482 UCB Boulder, CO 80303 Via email: tierneyk at colorado.edu ******************** (JOBS 3) Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor - Climate Risk Concentration of Research Excellence (CoRE) - Macquarie University - New South Wales ? (Australia) http://www.jobs.mq.edu.au to apply online Macquarie University has well established strengths in climate science and climate risk. It has cross-campus expertise in science and social science disciplines that are striving to understand the extent of climate-associated risks and vulnerability to ecological and social systems, and how we might respond to these risks via policy and integrated solutions. It is home to a number of well- respected Centres, including the insurance industry-funded Risk Frontiers (previously the Natural Hazards Research Centre http:// www.riskfrontiers.com/). Profiles of Macquarie University staff involved in the Climate Risk CoRE and further details about the objectives of this initiative may be found at http:// www.els.mq.edu.au/research/CORE/ClimateRisk/ We are seeking dynamic researchers to join and further develop our Climate Risk CoRE. Up to six appointments will be made at a variety of levels including Professor (Level E), Associate Professor (Level D), Senior Lecturer (Level C) and Lecturer (Level B). Macquarie University?s Climate Risk CoRE is specifically interested in appointments of researchers with expertise in the following areas: - Climate predictability and climate change projection (including abrupt climate change and extreme events) - Biodiversity and natural ecosystems (terrestrial, marine and fresh water) - Hydrological systems (hydrology and geomorphology) - Coastal risk and vulnerability (coastal dynamics, inundation and erosion) - Built environment (impacts and/or planning and design) - Social, economic and environmental impacts - Policy, regulatory and legal responses (including emissions trading systems, and adaptation vs mitigation tradeoffs) The appointees will contribute to the supervision of postgraduate students, maintain an active research program, and contribute to the teaching, administrative and outreach activities of their Department and Division. Relative contributions to teaching vs other activities will be subject to negotiation between successful applicants and the relevant Department heads. In addition to the usual range of domestic and international higher degree research scholarships, Macquarie University offers scholarships to fund postgraduate PhD students of exceptional research promise in the University's identified concentrations of research excellence. Essential Selection Criteria for all levels: PhD or equivalent qualification in relevant discipline area (Level B applicants will also be considered if they are nearing completion of a PhD); ability to undertake independent research and teaching; established track record demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications in national and/or international journals; excellent communication skills. Additional Essential Selection Criteria for Level C: Demonstrate ability to supervise research students; demonstrate a role in providing leadership in scholarly, research and/or professional activities relevant to the discipline; previous success in obtaining external research grants; and administrative capacity. Additional Essential Selection Criteria for Level D: Demonstrate national and international recognition and leadership in their discipline and show strong potential to build networks and links with government or industry partners. Additional Essential Selection Criteria for Level E: Demonstrate distinguished leadership of a substantial research group and proven ability to attract external research funding on a sustained basis. Enquiries: Prof. Lesley Hughes on (02) 9850 8195 or email lhughes at rna.bio.mq.edu.au The positions are available on a full-time (continuing) basis and probationary conditions may apply. Selection criteria must be addressed in the application. These appointments are currently governed by the terms of the Macquarie University Enterprise Agreement 2006-2009. The successful applicant(s) will be offered the choice of an Australian Workplace Agreement. Please visit http://www.jobs.mq.edu.au to apply online. Closing Date: 29 June 2007. Ref. 20576++ ******************** (JOB 4) Post-doc - Running global climate models to investigate the origin of anthropogenic influence on global climate - Center for Climatic Research (CCR) - University of Wisconsin ? Madison, Wisconsin (USA) The Center for Climatic Research (CCR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for a postdoctoral research position to investigate the origin of anthropogenic influence on global climate. This NSF-funded project involves climate model tests of the "Early Anthopogenic Hypothesis", a bold proposal that humans began altering global climate thousands of years ago through the release of greenhouse gases as agriculture expanded. We are seeking applicants with experience running global climate models (especially NCAR's CCSM3), processing and analyzing model output, publishing articles in scientific journals, and presenting at national conferences. In addition, scientific training in one or more of the following areas would be an advantage: atmospheric or oceanic dynamics, glaciology, numerical modeling, carbon cycle modeling, and paleoclimatology. The successful candidate will work with scientists in CCR and at the University of Virginia to perform GCM simulations of the climatic response to greenhouse forcing. These simulations involve testing the impact of ancient land clearance, with particular attention to the effect of ocean dynamics, sea ice and vegetation feedbacks, and aerosol changes. This position is available for up to two years, depending on the availability of funding and successful progress by the candidate. Applications should be submitted by 31 July and include a curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and up to three professional references. Please send the application either electronically or through postal mail to: Dr. Steve Vavrus (sjvavrus at wisc.edu), Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225 W. Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53706 Phone: 608-265-5279 http:// ccr.aos.wisc.edu/ ******************** (JOB 5) Tenure-track climate scientist - Environmental Studies Department - Macalester College - Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA) The Environmental Studies Department of Macalester College invites applications for a tenure-track climate scientist to begin Fall 2008. Appointment will be at the Assistant, Associate or Full Professor rank. We seek applicants who are committed to participating in a broadly interdisciplinary department. The Department currently has tenure-track faculty in environmental history and environmental policy and we seek a scientist with interests that will complement these areas. The position will include the opportunity to forge curricular links with disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs as appropriate (including a dynamic geography department). Specific areas of climate related interest could include climate dynamics, biosphere-climate interaction (including agricultural systems), biogeochemical cycles, climatology, meteorology, oceanography, geochemistry, and geophysics, among others. The successful candidate is expected to build and maintain an active research program with students. Teaching duties include Environmental Science, courses in the area of specialty, including climate change, and rotating responsibility for the Senior Seminar course. The Environmental Studies Department is housed in a renovated/expanded science building with state of the art laboratory facilities and equipment. Competitive start-up funds are available. Send letter of application, CV, statement of teaching philosophy and research plans, and 3 letters of reference to Dr. Dan Hornbach, Chair, Department of Environmental Studies, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105. Applications received by October 15, 2007 will receive first consideration. Macalester College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college in the vibrant Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, with a population of approximately three million people and home to numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota. Macalester's diverse student body comprises over 1800 undergraduates from 50 states and the District of Columbia and over 90 countries. The College is proud of its long-standing, mission- driven commitment to outstanding academic excellence with a special emphasis on internationalism, multiculturalism, and service to society. We are especially interested in applicants dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in both teaching and research/creative activity within a liberal arts college community. ******************** (JOB 6) Post-doc - Mesoscale meteorological modeling - Division of Atmospheric Sciences - Desert Research Institute - Reno, Nevada (USA) http://jobs.dri.edu/cgi-bin/JobPostProd/jobPost?url_rec_num=230 Desert Research Institute's Division of Atmospheric Sciences seeks an enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to participate in an operational mesoscale meteorology forecast facility in support of wildland fire and smoke management activities. This position provides operational services, applied research and program development support to the Director of DRI's program for Climate, Ecosystem and Fire Applications (CEFA). Ph.D. in atmospheric or physical sciences with emphasis on mesoscale meteorological modeling, skilled in working with mesoscale model physics, computer programming, and data analysis, experience running mesoscale models on SGI servers are required. ******************** (JOB 7) Visiting Asst Prof (1 yr) - Teach GIS, 2 grad courses, & world regional geography - Department of Geography and Regional Studies - University of Miami, Florida (USA) The Department of Geography and Regional Studies (GRS) at the University of Miami invites applications for an open Visiting Assistant Professor position in geography. This position is for one year, as a temporary replacement for faculty on research and administrative leave. The teaching load will be three courses per semester and we are specifically looking for someone to teach (1) introductory GIS, (2) one or two graduate courses, and (3) a beginning world regional geography class. GRS currently offers both BA and MA degrees in Geography, with emphases in urban, environmental, and development studies. Situated in the College of Arts and Sciences, GRS faculty and students collaborate actively with a range of other academic units at the University of Miami, including the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, the Miller School of Medicine, the Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and the Miami Consortium for Urban Studies. Successful candidates should possess a Ph.D. in Geography. ABD students also may be considered. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a maximum of three sample publications, a statement of interest that outline his/her research and teaching philosophy, and the names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of three references to Dr. Douglas O. Fuller, Chair, Department of Geography & Regional Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124-2221 (Phone: 305-284-6695 and e-mail: DOFuller at Miami.edu). Interested parties are encouraged to visit the GRS website at http:// www.as.miami.edu/geography to learn more about the department. ******************** (JOB 8) Post-doc - Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change in Agricultural Systems - School of Earth and Environment, Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) and Institute for Atmospheric Science (IAS) - University of Leeds (UK) http://www.leeds.ac.uk and click on 'jobs' Job ref 315077 Available from 1 October 2007 for a fixed term until 1 April 2008. You will work with Interdisciplinary Scientists in the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) and the Institute for Atmospheric Science (IAS) to identify the characteristics of regions adaptable to climate change by examining the impact of past droughts, looking specifically where relatively small water shortages had large impacts on food production and comparing these cases to those where relatively large water shortages had small impacts. The project will develop "drought adaptability formulae" for different regions and for different types of agricultural systems to aid prediction of regions that are at risk to future droughts. You will have a PhD in Environmental Science or related discipline (this would include environmental economics and atmospheric sciences). You should also have a proven ability of working with large datasets and performing statistical analysis with these, preferably within a UNIX environment using software packages such as MATLAB and/or IDL. Working to deadlines and as part of a team is also essential. It is important that you have broad interdisciplinary interests in environmental topics and can contextualize quantitative results in terms of the broader environmental debate. Regional expertise (possibly including languages) in either Sub-Sahara Africa or China and evidence of existing academic publications are desirable. Further details concerning the School, its research activities and structure are available at http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/ Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Evan Fraser, email evan at env.leeds.ac.uk ,+44 (0) 113 343 6429. To apply on line please visit http://www.leeds.ac.uk and click on 'jobs'. Application forms and further particulars may also be obtained from Mrs K. Higham, School of Earth and Environment: E C Stoner Building, The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK, email K.Higham at see.leeds.ac.uk, tel +44 (0) 113 343 5201, fax +44 (0) 113 343 5259. Job ref 315077 Closing date 15 July 2007 Interviews week commencing 20 August 2007 ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc - Interdisciplinary project on riparian stream systems in the Great Plains - Department of Geosciences and School of Natural Resources - University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) (USA) The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) has multiple positions available through the Department of Geosciences and School of Natural Resources to participate in an interdisciplinary project on riparian stream systems in the Great Plains. Individuals with backgrounds in climate, hydrology, environmental science, and related fields are encouraged to apply. Please see the descriptions below for more details on each of the positions. Postdoctoral Research Associate, Environmental Science / Climatology / Hydrology A postdoctoral position is currently available to participate in an interdisciplinary project involving water, energy, and nutrient cycling within riparian - stream systems in the Great Plains. The project involves researchers with strengths in climatology, biogeochemistry, land-surface hydrology, and geomorphology. Aspects of the project include a combination of field-scale experimentation and regional-scale modeling. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits. Candidates with field experience and hydrologic modeling experience are highly desirable. Applicants are encouraged to contact Durelle Scott, John Lenters, or Erkan Istanbulluoglu for more information. Applicants should email a cover letter, resume, college transcript, and the names of 3 references to Durelle Scott (dtscott at unl.edu). The position is located in Lincoln, Nebraska, a thriving college community with a population of 225,000. Through UNL's campus-wide Water Initiative, the candidate will have the opportunity to interact with a strong group of hydrologic and aquatic scientists during their residence. ******************** (JOBS 10) Program Design Officers - Democratic Republic of Congo and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) - Kinshasa, (DRC) & Nairobi (Kenya) The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), an international conservation organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, invites applications for the post of Program Design Officer for the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will be responsible for raising funds from government and professional foundation donors, and for all aspects of donor relationship management, for all AWF's work in DRC as well as co-responsible for fundraising from specific donors across the growing AWF Program in Central Africa. The position will be based in Kinshasa, DRC. The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), an international conservation organization headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, invites applications for the post of Senior Program Design Officer who will be responsible for raising funds from government and professional foundation donors, and for all aspects of donor relationship management, for all AWF's work in Tanzania as well as co-responsible for fundraising from specific donors across the whole of AWF's Program in Africa. The position will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. Email Jenn at DISCCRS to obtain documents with further details: jennmarlon at gmail.com ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070622/6598f1f1/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jun 29 13:05:20 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:05:20 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 6/29/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 6/29/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS FORUM New Website: World Ocean Forum On-Line Event: International Polar Year http://www.thew2o.net/events/polaryear/index.html The latest issue of C3 Views looks at the development of a vibrant bioeconomy in Alberta (Canada). www.climatechangecentral.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=846 MYRES Proposal Organizing Committee requests vote on Proposal http://www.safl.umn.edu/myres08/ (see FORUM 1 below) Jim Hansen: President Eisenhower and his scientists (see FORUM 2 below) Gloom and Doom in A Sunny Day http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/24/ AR2007062401374.html (see FORUM 3 below) Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (EEA) an online, peer- reviewed journal, announces the publication of its 2007 issue. Please visit our website: http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/index (see FORUM 4 below) SCIENCE NEWS UN Issues Desertification Warning http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6247802.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/278s9k (see NEWS 1 below) Drifting Icebergs Are Hotspots of Life http://www.examiner.com/ a-793008~Drifting_Icebergs_Are_Hotspots_of_Life.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yozfgw (see NEWS 2 below) Undersea Search Begins for Life at Top of the World http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0622/p01s03-stss.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2fmnjp (see NEWS 3 below) Experts Warn Darfur Is "An Early Warning" of Climate Change's Effects http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003758040_darfur22.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/26gwnr (see NEWS 4 below) In Case We Can't Give Up the Cars -- Try 16 Trillion Mirrors (see NEWS 5 below) NASA Airborne Expedition Chases Climate, Ozone Questions (see NEWS 6 below) Ocean less of a buffer to global warming than thought http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/May/05/local/ stories/11local.htm (see NEWS 7 below) Study: All forests not created equal http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php? feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070625-10510400-bc-us-forests.xml or http://tinyurl.com/2yuhl3 (see NEWS 8 below) Greenhouse gas burial http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/ip-ggb062107.php (see NEWS 9 below) Desert Dust Cuts Mountain Snow, May Spur Warming http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=13025&ref=rss (see NEWS 10 below) Study Sees Climate Change Impact on Alaska http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/us/28climate.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2agrul (see NEWS 11 below) JOBS Asst Prof - Climate Science - University Of California - Santa Barbara, CA (USA) http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/about/positions/faculty.php (see JOB 1 below) Postdoc - Sea Ice Physics, Norwegian Polar Institute ? Tromso (NORWAY) (see JOB 2 below) Program Director - Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, National Science Foundation - Arlington, Virginia (USA) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=e20070082a (see JOB 3 below) Antarctic Research Support Manager - Ocean Projects, Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Division - National Science Foundation - Arlington, Virginia (USA) http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/ (Please refer to announcement number E20070087) (see JOB 4 below) Asst Prof/Assoc Prof - Marine Science/Aquarium Science ? University of Georgia ? Savannah, GA (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Post-doc - Aerosol group - PM exposure and health effects - University of Southern California ? Los Angeles, CA (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Postdoc - meteorological modelling - Univ of Trier (Germany) (see JOB 7 below) PhD and Postdoc - 3D Modelling Of Lithosphere Extension - Department of Geosciences - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - University of Bergen (Norway) (see JOB 8 below) *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) MYRES Proposal Organizing Committee requests vote on Proposal http://www.safl.umn.edu/myres08/ We have proposed that the 2008 Meeting of Young Researchers in Earth Sciences (MYRES) conference focus on ?The Dynamic Interactions of Life and It?s Landscape? but we need your vote to have this specific proposal chosen! The MYRES conference is a biannual, 4-day meeting planned and hosted by younger members of the international Earth Sciences community. The theme for each meeting is chosen by an open vote. Our intention for this meeting is to bring together researchers from a diverse range of disciplines to examine feedback loops between ecology and geomorphology in order to identify the relevant space and time scales for these geomorphic/biotic/anthropogenic interactions. We have assembled a diverse, exciting roster of speakers and discussion moderators and hope to make this meeting accessible to a wide range of participants to tackle this emerging field and to bridge international barriers in the geomorphic community. Please visit our website (http://www.safl.umn.edu/myres08/), click on the ?VOTE NOW? tab, enter your email address and select ?Dynamic Interactions of Life and its Landscape? and VOTE! Voting closes on July 14th. ******************** (FORUM 2) Jim Hansen: President Eisenhower and his scientists President Eisenhower was arguably the last United States President to seek and value advice of scientists. As discussed by John Rigdon in June 2007 Physics Today, scientists played important roles in the World Wars, but they did not have substantial access to and influence upon policymakers. The brief window of influence under Eisenhower was in the wake of Sputnik, being preconditioned by Eisenhower's tenure as President of Columbia University, where he grew to respect I.I. Rabi. Following Sputnik, Eisenhower established the President's Science Advisory Committee with Rabi as chairman. Rigdon describes a conversation of James Killian with Eisenhower in Walter Reed Hospital shortly before Eisenhower's death, with the former President surrounded by instruments relevant to cardiac care, and his heartbeats visible on an oscilloscope. Eisenhower asked about "my scientists" and said "You know, Jim, this bunch of scientists was one of the few groups that I encountered in Washington who seemed to be there to help the country and not to help themselves." Rigdon is probably right about the lack of substantial influence of scientists on national policymakers today. Congress does not call on the National Academy of Sciences for broad assessment on how to deal with global climate change, nor does the President call on a Science Advisory Committee. Unless the public becomes sufficiently concerned to demand otherwise, it seems that special interests will continue to have undue sway in energy/climate policies. Until community advisory pathways are sought, we can still try to provoke needed discussions in various ways. "How Can We Avert Dangerous Climate Change" is a slightly edited version of recent congressional testimony to which I have added a number of references that I did not have time to compile prior to the testimony. This paper has been submitted to the physics electronic preprints ArXiv where it will be permanently available at http://arxiv.org/ abs/0706.3720 It is encouraging that recent discussions in Congress have at least recognized the demerits of proposals such as corn-based ethanol to fuel automobiles and coal-to-liquid fuels. In the absence of an overall strategy, it is still useful to avoid big steps in the wrong direction. I will be on travel the next two weeks. Jim ******************** (FORUM 3) Gloom and Doom in A Sunny Day http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/24/ AR2007062401374.html Op Ed in Washington Post By Emily Yoffe - Monday, June 25, 2007 - It was a mild January evening, and people had filled the restaurant's outdoor patio. As our group walked past the tables, one of my friends said, "This terrifies me." I don't know if she was reassured later by the chilly April, but we are all supposed to be terrified of the weather now. In "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore tells us that unless drastic global changes are made, our cities will be inundated and those of us who haven't drowned will face a world wracked by cataclysmic weather and swarming with pestilence. One of his devotees, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is coming out with his own environmental horror movie warning of human extinction if we continue living as we are. This would have a negative effect on the box office, but extinction might be preferable to the future Gore envisions. (continued...) Also: Response from John McQuaid (Huffington Post) The Global Warming Alarm: Too Shrill? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mcquaid/the-global-warming- alarm_b_53604.html ******************** (FORUM 4) Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (EEA) an online, peer-reviewed journal, announces the publication of its 2007 issue. Please visit our website: http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/index *EEA* is currently accepting submissions for 2008 from diverse disciplines including anthropology, conservation biology, ecology, environmental studies, geography, political science, and sociology, as well as practitioners who specialize in conservation, health, resource management and other issues in human ecology. The mission of *EEA* is to engage in the exploration of the complex, dynamic, and multifaceted relationships between humans and their social and physical environments. We hope to provide fertile ground for the integration of the various subfields of anthropology and foster interdisciplinary dialog among academics within anthropology, scholars in other social and natural science fields, and non-academic professionals in all fields engaged in the study of human-environment relationships. Through the online format of this journal, we strive to be on the cutting edge of technological innovations that aid in the dissemination of research in ecological and environmental anthropology. In addition to traditional written articles, we encourage submissions that take full advantage of the medium and push the boundaries of conventional scholarly communication, from audio/ visual presentations to online symposia. Peer-reviewed submissions will present original research, critical reviews of published works, and new eco-cultural models and paradigms. Interested contributors should refer to our web site for submission guidelines: http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/about/ submissions#onlineSubmissions. Electronic submissions are preferred and should be sent to eea at uga.edu. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) UN Issues Desertification Warning http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6247802.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/278s9k BBC News Online - Tens of millions of people could be driven from their homes by encroaching deserts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia, a report says. The study by the United Nations University suggests climate change is making desertification "the greatest environmental challenge of our times." If action is not taken, the report warns that some 50 million people could be displaced within the next 10 years. The study was produced by more than 200 experts from 25 countries. This report does not pull any punches, says BBC environment reporter Matt McGrath. One third of the Earth's population - home to about two billion people - are potential victims of its creeping effect, it says. ******************** (NEWS 2) Drifting Icebergs Are Hotspots of Life http://www.examiner.com/ a-793008~Drifting_Icebergs_Are_Hotspots_of_Life.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yozfgw San Francisco Examiner - WASHINGTON - Icebergs that break off Antarctica and drift away turn out to be hotspots of life in the cold southern ocean, researchers report. Climate warming has led to an increase in the number of icebergs breaking away from the Antarctic in recent years, and a team of researchers set out to study the impact the giant ice chunks were having on the environment. Turns out, the melting ice also dumps particles scraped off Antarctica into the ocean, providing a pool of nutrients that feed plankton and tiny shrimplike creatures known as krill. Indeed, the researchers led by Kenneth L. Smith Jr., of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, Calif., found an increase in life forms surrounding a pair of icebergs they studied. The abundance extended nearly 2 1/2 miles away from the drifting ice, they report in this week's online edition of the journal Science. ******************** (NEWS 3) Undersea Search Begins for Life at Top of the World http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0622/p01s03-stss.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2fmnjp Christian Science Monitor - Ice-covered and isolated, the Arctic Ocean has been stingier with its deepest secrets than any other of Earth's oceans. It might as well be on another planet. Now, armed with a unique set of robotic tools, an international team of scientists is heading there to hunt for life along a little- explored gash in the ocean floor known as the Gakkel Ridge. A decade ago, the project would have seemed quixotic. But since then, scientists have uncovered evidence suggesting that spots along this oddball ridge might be capable of supplying the heat and nutrients to support colonies of creatures that thrive in the pitch- black water thousands of feet below the surface. Once that evidence emerged, the search for basic life in one of the world's most inaccessible places became a must, say several of the scientists involved. The voyage begins July 1. ******************** (NEWS 4) Experts Warn Darfur Is "An Early Warning" of Climate Change's Effects http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003758040_darfur22.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/26gwnr Seattle Times - DAMRAT SURMI, Sudan - Decades of drought helped trigger Darfur's violence as rival groups fought over scarce water and arable land. Now, experts fear the war and its refugee crisis are making the environment worse, leaving the land increasingly uninhabitable and intensifying tensions. Darfur's disaster could be repeated in much of North Africa and the Middle East, experts say, because growing populations are straining a limited water supply. Data show rainfall steadily declining in the region, possibly because of weather changes linked to global warming. "The consciousness of the world on the issue of climate change has to change fast," said Muawia Shaddad, of the Sudan Environment Conservation Society. "Darfur is just an early warning." ******************** (NEWS 5) In Case We Can't Give Up the Cars -- Try 16 Trillion Mirrors WSJournal June 22, 2007- What if we wait too long to act on global warming? What if nothing we do is enough? Already, scientists are working up plans of last resort: stratospheric sprays of sulfur, trillions of orbiting mirrors and thousands of huge off-shore saltwater fountains. Each is designed to counteract global warming by deliberately deflecting sunlight, rather than by retooling the world's economy to eliminate carbon-rich oil, coal and natural gas. Some scientists argue that such actions might be easier and relatively cheaper. Until recently though, whenever University of Maryland economist Thomas Schelling, recipient of a 2005 Nobel Prize, raised such geo-engineering ideas, "half the audience thought I was crazy and the other half thought I was dangerous," he said. As global temperatures rise and greenhouse-gas emissions accelerate, however, even wild ideas are becoming respectable. One now under more serious scrutiny was inspired by volcanoes. Climate researcher Tom Wigley at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, last year proposed that an overheated planet could be safely cooled by an artificial haze of sulfur particles, which would reflect solar radiation. The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo spewed enough sulfates to lower the average world temperature by almost one degree Fahrenheit for a year, with no apparent ill effects. A sulfate sunshade might cost $400 million a year. Earlier this month, researchers at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., released the most precise computer studies yet evaluating the controversial sunshade idea. Their findings, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealed that a last-ditch engineering effort to block sunlight could reverse global warming -- at least temporarily. Indeed, it could lower average temperatures to levels not seen since 1900. "Every study we do seems to indicate it would work," said Carnegie climate modeler Ken Caldeira. Dr. Caldeira and his colleague Damon Matthews at Concordia University in Montreal calculated the effects of curbing solar radiation instead of CO2 emissions over the next 75 years. They tested 11 different scenarios in a complex computer simulation of the world's climate. They didn't weigh the merits of any particular engineering plan but instead evaluated the broad effects of lowering solar radiation as a counterweight to rising carbon-dioxide emissions. In every case, the planet quickly cooled, often in as little time as five years. The computer scenarios also revealed the quandaries of climate control without emissions reductions. Even on a cooler planet, oceans still would become more acidic because excess carbon dioxide would continue to leach into sea water, endangering marine wildlife and commercial fisheries. Regional rainfall also would be disrupted, the researchers reported. The world would become much drier. All in all, geo-engineering is no substitute for reducing greenhouse gases because it can only suppress the symptoms of global warming, the scientists calculated. It might even make things worse. "If the system failed, for technical or political reasons, you would be compressing a century's worth of climate change into a decade or so," said Dr. Caldeira. Depending on the scenario they tested, the rebounding climate could heat up 10-to-20 times faster than today, or as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. "The dangers clearly are very large," said ocean chemist Peter Brewer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Even the most fervent proponents of geo-engineering are reluctant to sound enthusiastic. "Nobody likes geo-engineering at all," added University of Arizona astronomer Roger Angel. Even so, Prof. Angel proposed a plan in the journal Science last year to cool Earth by orbiting 16 trillion tiny mirrors -- at a cost also in the trillions. "Just as insurance, we ought to be thinking about it," Prof. Angel said. Many geo-engineering advocates are desperate for a safety net, worried that people can't cut greenhouse gas emissions quickly enough to make a difference. Since 2000, world-wide CO2 emissions have risen at a faster rate than the most pessimistic trends envisioned by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Carnegie researchers reported last month. "I don't think we can globally reduce emissions enough," said Dr. Wigley. "Forget the politics; I don't think we can do it technologically." For Nobel laureate Schelling, the political advantages of geo- engineering outweigh its technical risks. It may be easier to launch a climate-control project than to persuade people all over the world to stop using fossil fuels. "It drastically converts the whole subject of climate change from one of regulation involving six billion people to a simple matter of a budgetary agreement about how to manage the modest cost," Prof. Schelling said. "I think geo- engineering is going to be the deus ex machina that will save the day." In case of climate emergency, please break glass. Inside, find contingency plans. ******************** (NEWS 6) NASA Airborne Expedition Chases Climate, Ozone Questions June 27, 2007 - RELEASE: 07-144 WASHINGTON -- NASA's Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) field campaign will begin this summer in San Jose, Costa Rica, with an investigation into how chemical compounds in the air are transported vertically into the stratosphere and how that transport affects cloud formation and climate. The study will begin the week of July 16 with coordinated observations from satellites, high-flying NASA research aircraft, balloons and ground-based radar. The targets of these measurements are the gases, aerosols and ice crystals that flow from the top of the strong storm systems that form over the warm tropical ocean. These storm systems pump air more than 40,000 feet above Earth's surface, where it can influence the composition of the stratosphere, home of our planet's protective ozone layer. The outflow of these storms also produces vast swaths of icy cirrus clouds that play an important role in how much infrared energy is trapped in Earth's atmosphere. Scientists want to document the full life cycle of these widespread clouds -- down to the size and shape of their tiny ice crystals -- to better understand how Earth will react to a warming climate. "This campaign is an unprecedented opportunity to use NASA's complete suite of satellite and airborne Earth-observing capabilities to investigate a largely unexplored region of the atmosphere," said Michael J. Kurylo, a TC4 program scientist at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "This tropical transitional layer of the atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere plays a key role in both climate change science and atmospheric ozone chemistry. The data will yield new insights into the composition of this layer and the impact of the deep clouds that penetrate the atmosphere up into this layer." The effort runs through Aug. 8. It is NASA's largest Earth science field campaign of the year. "A mission this complex, with three aircraft, deployment sites in Costa Rica and Panama, and more than 400 people involved, can be a real challenge," said Mission Project Manager Marilyn Vasques of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Soaring high above the cloud systems will be a NASA ER-2 aircraft, which can reach an altitude of 70,000 feet, or 3 miles into the stratosphere. A NASA WB-57 aircraft will fly into the cirrus clouds and sample the chemical make-up of the storm systems' outflow. NASA's DC-8 aircraft will probe the region between the troposphere and the stratosphere (known as the tropopause transitional layer) with remote-sensing instruments. It also will sample cloud particles and air chemistry at lower altitudes. A weather radar and meteorological balloons will be deployed in Panama to support the campaign. Additional balloons will be launched from Costa Rica and San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Archipelago. Observations from seven satellites will complement the aircraft measurements with large-scale views of many different features of the atmosphere. For example, the Aura spacecraft will focus on the chemical composition of the tropopause transitional layer and measure ozone, water vapor, carbon monoxide and particles. NASA's Aqua satellite will map thin cirrus clouds, some of which are so faint they are nearly invisible to the naked eye. Instruments on the CALIPSO and CloudSat satellites will pierce the atmosphere to provide vertical profiles of clouds and aerosol particles that can change how clouds form. Along the coasts of Colombia and Panama south of Costa Rica, the warm summer waters of the Pacific Ocean are a fertile breeding ground for the type of heat-driven, or convective, storm systems the mission is targeting. Clouds produced by these maritime systems produce heavy rainfall and cloud tops that can reach into the transitional layer. Mission scientists want to know what effect a warming climate with rising ocean temperatures will have on the intensity of these storm systems. Another unknown is how aerosol particles swept up in these systems change the clouds and are, in turn, affected by the clouds. These tropical convective systems also may play a role in the recovery of the ozone layer. Estimates of ozone destruction in the stratosphere typically minimize the impact of short-lived chemical compounds that presumably could not survive the long journey there. Mission scientists will investigate whether the rapid movement of air in these strong convective systems provides an express route for ozone-destroying compounds to reach the stratosphere. The Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters is sponsoring the $12 million mission. Costa Rica's National Center for High Technology, San Jose, and the University of Panama, Las Tablas, are cooperating with NASA on the mission as are other U.S. agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation. For more information about NASA's TC4 mission, visit: http:// www.espo.nasa.gov/tc4 ******************** (NEWS 7) Ocean less of a buffer to global warming than thought http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/May/05/local/ stories/11local.htm A new study of Pacific Ocean plankton throws a wrench into scientists' understanding of how the world's oceans will respond to climate change. While researchers have long viewed the seas as a deposit for carbon dioxide - the lead cause of human-influenced warming in the atmosphere - two deep-water expeditions looking at plankton suggest the ocean might not be able to store as much carbon as previously thought. "Without long-term carbon storage at depth, the ocean can do little to stem the increase in atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide," said Ken Buesseler a biogeochemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts who led the study. UC Santa Cruz was also involved in the research, which was published in the April 27 edition of the journal Science. The publication comes as an international panel of scientists commissioned by the United Nations warns that greenhouse gas levels must be stabilized or dire environmental damage will result. The oceans research was prompted by two monthlong voyages to probe the ocean's twilight zone - the murky waters between the sunny surface and the profoundly dark deep sea, about 300 to 3,000 feet below the surface. "We know very little about this layer, the twilight zone, where organic material either passes through or gets burned up and returns as carbon dioxide to the atmosphere," said Mary Silver, a UC Santa Cruz marine biologist. She was part of the team of scientists that sampled plankton in the warm waters off Hawaii and in the frigid northwest Pacific, off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Plankton, a humble drifter that feeds many of the ocean's larger creatures, outweighs all other marine life in the deep ocean. Some plankton, such as algae and cyanobacteria, sop up man-made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Half of the carbon dioxide that humans produce is locked away in oceans, Buesseler said. When plankton dies, it can fall to the ocean floor, preventing its carbon biomass from returning to the Earth's atmosphere. Alternatively, other organisms such as bacteria can gobble up the dead plankton as it descends through the ocean's twilight zone. Eventually, that carbon will re-enter the atmosphere. Those two possibilities determine how much carbon the oceans can keep from reaching the atmosphere. Once at the ocean's floor, dead plankton - also called marine snow - can remain there for centuries or millennia because of low water circulation. To gauge the ocean's role as a carbon graveyard, the international team of researchers collected ocean samples at various depths in the ocean's twilight zone during voyages in 2004 and 2005. "We worked our little tails off for a month collecting water samples over the side, and trawling nets," Silver said. At one site, off the coast of Hawaii, the team discovered that just 20 percent of the carbon stored in marine snow made it through the twilight zone to the ocean's floor. While in the northwest Pacific, off the coast of Japan, more than 50 percent of the dead matter went uneaten. That difference could complicate efforts to predict how the oceans will guard against the effects of climate change. The make-up of the marine snow could explain the difference between the two sites. The colder site, near Russia, had larger and heavier and bits of plankton waste that sunk to the ocean floor faster. Furthermore, the warmer waters in Hawaii may have spurred bacteria to consume more of the marine snow and kept the carbon afloat. If global warming increases ocean temperatures and makes them more like the Hawaiian site, less carbon would make its way to the bottom of the ocean. The difference could have a profound effect on climate, Buesseler said. "Temperatures would rise faster than current models would predict" ******************** (NEWS 8) Study: All forests not created equal http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php? feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070625-10510400-bc-us-forests.xml or http://tinyurl.com/2yuhl3 Science magazine - BOULDER, Colo., June 25 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led science team has determined forests in northern mid- and upper- latitudes are less effective than tropical forests in reducing global warming. The study, led by Britton Stephens of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, concluded that intact tropical forests are removing an unexpectedly high proportion of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby partially offsetting carbon entering the air through industrial emissions and deforestation. "This research fills in another piece of the complex puzzle on how the Earth system functions," said Cliff Jacobs of the National Science Foundation. "These findings will be viewed as a milestone in discoveries about our planet's 'metabolism.'" Stephens and colleagues analyzed air samples collected by aircraft around the world for decades and found some 40 percent of the carbon dioxide assumed to be absorbed by northern forests is instead being taken up in the tropics. "Our study will provide researchers with a much better understanding of how trees and other plants respond to industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, which is a critical problem in global warming," Stephens said. "This will help us better predict climate change and identify possible strategies for mitigating it." ******************** (NEWS 9) Greenhouse gas burial http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/ip-ggb062107.php Deep coal seams that are not commercially viable for coal production could be used for permanent underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by human activities, thus avoiding atmospheric release, according to two studies published in Inderscience's International Journal of Environment and Pollution. An added benefit of storing CO2 in this way is that additional useful methane will be displaced from the coal beds. Finding ways to store (sequester) the greenhouse gas CO2, indefinitely, is one approach being investigated in efforts to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels and so help combat climate change. CO2 might be pumped into oil wells to extract the last few drops of oil or be placed deep underground in brine aquifers or unmineable coal seams. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory have carried out initial investigations into the potential environmental impacts of CO2 sequestration in unmineable coal seams. The research team collected 2000 coal samples from 250 coal beds across 17 states. Some sources of coal harbor vast quantities of methane, or natural gas. Low-volatile rank coals, for instance, average the highest methane content, 13 cubic meters per tonne of coal. The researchers found that the depth from which a coal sample is taken reflects the average methane content, with much deeper seams containing less methane. However, the study provides only a preliminary assessment of the possibilities. The key question is whether methane can be tapped from the unmineable coal seams and replaced permanently with huge quantities of carbon dioxide; if so, such coal seams could represent a vast sink for CO2 produced by industry. The researchers point out that worldwide, there are almost 3 trillions tonnes of storage capacity for CO2 in such deep coal seams. To replicate actual geological conditions, NETL has built a Geological Sequestration Core Flow Laboratory (GSCFL). A wide variety of CO2 injection experiments in coal and other rock cores (e.g., sandstone) are being performed under in situ conditions of triaxial stress, pore pressure, and temperature. Preliminary results obtained from Pittsburgh No. 8 coal indicate that the permeability decreases (from micro-darcies to nano-darcies or extremely low flow properties) with increasing CO2 pressure, with an increase in strain associated with the triaxial confining pressures restricting the ability of the coal to swell. The already existing low pore volume of the coal is decreased, reducing the flow of CO2, measured as permeability. This is a potential problem that will have to be overcome if coal seam sequestration is to be widely used. The research team has also investigated some of the possible side- effects of sequestering CO2 in coal mines. They tested a high volatility bituminous coal with produced water and gaseous carbon dioxide at 40 Celsius and 50 times atmospheric pressure. They used microscopes and X-ray diffraction to analyze the coal after the reaction was complete. They found that some toxic metals originally trapped in the coal were released by the process, contaminating the water used in the reaction. "Changes in water chemistry and the potential for mobilizing toxic trace elements from coal beds are potentially important factors to be considered when evaluating deep, unmineable coal seams for CO2 sequestration, though it is also possible that, considering the depth of the injection, that such effects might be harmless" the researchers say. "The concentrations of beryllium, cadmium, mercury, and zinc increased significantly, though both beryllium and mercury remained below drinking water standards." However, toxic arsenic, molybdenum, lead, antimony, selenium, titanium, thallium, vanadium, and iodine were not detected in the water, although they were present in the original coal samples. ******************** (NEWS 10) Desert Dust Cuts Mountain Snow, May Spur Warming http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=13025&ref=rss Reuters - WASHINGTON -- Desert dust blown onto Rocky Mountain peaks has cut the duration of snow-cover by a month or more, and the same thing is probably happening in the Alps and Himalayas, researchers reported Monday. In a phenomenon likely to spur global warming, the reflective white of snow is replaced by darker dust deposits that absorb the sun's rays, heating up the lower atmosphere, said Tom Painter, a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. Speaking by telephone from Mont Blanc in Switzerland, Painter described an orange tinge he had seen on the snow of nearby Dome de Miage, which he attributed to dust carried from the Sahara in Africa. Painter said he had observed dust-laden snow on the Tien Shan Mountains in China, and the same likely held true for parts of the Himalayas. "I don't know of any mountain ranges that are not experiencing dust deposition," Painter said. Dust in small doses can help to form snowflakes, but the dust that cuts the length of snow-pack in the Rockies by about 20 to 35 days a year comes in a swirling blanket, spawned by wind storms in desert or drought-stricken areas, Painter and his co-authors wrote online in Geophysical Research Letters. The fact that dust deposits can melt mountain snow by decreasing the ability to reflect sunlight has long been established; what is new, Painter said, is the degree to which this affects snow cover. One month less of snow "is an enormous change," he said. The desert dust-mountain snow system warms up the lower atmosphere in what climate scientists call a positive feedback loop, Painter explained: "The hotter it gets, the less snow cover you have ... and that provides a darker surface that can absorb more solar radiation and that warms things even more." The cause for the diminished snow cover in Colorado's San Juan Mountains is dust carried from the Colorado Plateau, some 200 miles away, where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico come together in an area known as Four Corners, the researchers said. The underlying reason for the increased dust is changes in land use starting in the mid-19th century, Painter said. "About 75 percent of the Western United States has been affected by grazing, by agriculture, by mining," he said. "Generally these lands were pretty stable prior to the large-scale introduction of grazing and agriculture." Without natural grasses to stabilize the soil, more of it turned to desert and more dust blew into the mountains. Most climate models predict more drying and warming in the U.S. desert Southwest, causing soil moisture to decrease, which means less vegetation to stabilize the soil and probably more dust emission, Painter said. This, in turn, could mean even more intense snow melt, earlier in the year, spurring the whole cycle, he said. ******************** (NEWS 11) Study Sees Climate Change Impact on Alaska http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/us/28climate.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2agrul New York Times (Registration Required) - Many of Alaska's roads, runways, railroads and water and sewer systems will wear out more quickly and cost more to repair or replace because of climate change, according to a study released [Wednesday]. Higher temperatures, melting permafrost, a reduction in polar ice and increased flooding are expected to raise the repair and replacement cost of thousands of infrastructure projects as much as $6.1 billion for a total of nearly $40 billion - about a 20 percent increase - from now to 2030, according to the study by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The cost estimates are based on the needs of nearly 16,000 pieces of public infrastructure, including airports and small segments of roads. The researchers speculated that in the distant future the costs would level off as the agencies adapted their practices to the warmer climate. *************************************************** 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 - Climate Science - University Of California - Santa Barbara, CA (USA) http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/about/positions/faculty.php University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Geography, invites applications for a tenure-track position for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in Climate Science effective July 1, 2008, Ph.D. required. The Department seeks candidates whose research and teaching interests focus on understanding coupled climate processes using numerical modeling and observations. Research focus areas include climate scale interactions of the atmosphere with terrestrial, oceanic and/or cryospheric processes; global climate change and its feedbacks with regional climates; climate impacts on humankind and potential feedbacks; and the role of the mesoscale atmospheric processes in climate and climate change. The successful applicant should be versed in the use of observational data (e.g., remote sensing, historical or paleo records) as well as in the numerical and/or mathematical modeling of climate. It is expected that the candidate should be able to (1) conduct state of the art research in association with the diverse group of scholars in the Departments of Geography, Earth Science and Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, the Institute for Computational Earth System Science, the Marine Science Institute, and the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; (2) help focus interdisciplinary graduate training and research programs in the study of Earth's climate and its changes; and (3) to teach classes at both the graduate and undergraduate level in physical geography and atmospheric sciences. Application deadline is October 15, 2007. Qualified applicants should send their complete curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching interests, and names of three referees with addresses preferably by email to: climate_search at geog.ucsb.edu or by mail to: Search Committee , Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060 ******************** (JOB 2) Postdoc - Sea Ice Physics, Norwegian Polar Institute ? Tromso (NORWAY) Application Deadline: Friday, 13 July 2007 The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Polar Climate Program, invites applications for a 2.5-year postdoctoral research position in sea ice physics. The successful applicant will conduct research on climate-related physical processes in sea ice, with special focus on the surface albedo feedback process. Studies will include detailed sea ice and snow physics observations, optical measurements with spectroradiometers, and observations of the relevant physical and meteorological parameters and fluxes in the atmosphere-ice-ocean system. Substantial parts of the fieldwork will be conducted on ship- based drifting ice stations. The main area of this work will be the Arctic Ocean, the Greenland Sea and Fram Strait, and adjacent seas. This work will be a part of the Norwegian activities within the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 on the project " integrated Arctic Ocean Observing System (iAOOS) Norway: Closing the Loop." Close collaboration with other national project partners (e.g. Norwegian Meteorological Institute) and international partners on this project and closely related projects, such as DAMOCLES (EU), is expected. The candidate must be willing to participate in scientific cruises and fieldwork in the Arctic. NPI seeks candidates with background in areas including snow physics, sea ice physics, optical properties of sea ice, and their roles in the climate system. The applicant must hold a PhD or possess equivalent experience within sea ice physics or related fields. Experience from sea ice fieldwork/cruises and data analysis is an asset. The position is open and the successful candidate may start at the earliest possible time. Female scientists are encouraged to apply for the position. Applications should include a CV, names of at least two referees, list of publications, and details of the relevant qualifications and experience. NPI prefers that an electronic application be submitted at: http://www.jobbnorge.no Paper copies may be sent to: Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Centre, 9296 Tromso, Norway NPI is Norway's central institution for research, environmental monitoring, and mapping of the polar regions. NPI is the Norwegian authorities' consultant and supplier of knowledge, and contributes to the best possible administration of Norwegian polar areas. Approximately 115 persons are employed at NPI in Tromso, Svalbard, and Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica (DML). For further information about iAOOS, please go to: http:// www.iaoos.no/ For further information about this position, please contact: Sebastian Gerland, Phone: +47-7775-0554 E-mail: gerland at npolar.no ******************** (JOB 3) Program Director - Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, National Science Foundation - Arlington, Virginia (USA) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=e20070082a Application Deadline Extended To: Monday, 9 July 2007 The Division of Antarctic Sciences in the Office of Polar Programs at the National Science Foundation seeks an outstanding scientist for the position of Program Director, Antarctic Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Program. The Program Director will lead, develop, and manage a world-class, proposal-driven research program across the broad range of sub-fields of Antarctic ocean, atmospheric, and climate sciences. The incumbent will be responsible for proposal evaluation, project development and support, program planning, and related administrative duties. Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent experience in ocean, atmospheric, or climate sciences, preferably with knowledge of Antarctic or polar sciences. In addition, six years of successful research or related experiences beyond the PhD are required. Deployment to the Antarctic is required. Consequently, applicants must be able to pass a comprehensive medical and dental examination to qualify for travel to the Antarctic. Applicants may also obtain a copy of the full announcement by contacting Myra Loyd at 703-292-4363. Hearing impaired individuals may call TDD 703-292-8044. ******************** (JOB 4) Antarctic Research Support Manager - Ocean Projects, Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Division - National Science Foundation - Arlington, Virginia (USA) http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/ (Please refer to announcement number E20070087) NSF's Office of Polar Programs seeks qualified candidates for the position of the Antarctic Research Support Manager?Ocean Projects in the Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics Division. The incumbent annually will plan, develop, and coordinate operations support plans for up to 50 scientific projects that are supported on one of two research vessels, as well as other special projects that are supported on land by these vessels or are on other contracted or foreign nation vessels. Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. For the AD-4 level, applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience in an appropriate field. Please refer to announcement number E20070087, for position requirements and application procedures located on NSF's Division of Human Resource Management website at http://www.nsf.gov/about/ career_opps/ Applicants may also obtain additional information about the announcements by contacting Yvonne Woodward on 703-292-4386. Hearing impaired individuals may call TDD (703) 292-8044. Applications must be received by 7/24/2007. ******************** (JOB 5) Asst Prof/Assoc Prof - Marine Science/Aquarium Science ? University of Georgia ? Savannah, GA (USA) POSITION DESCRIPTION: Savannah State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia, located in Savannah, Georgia, seeks a faculty member to serve as lead instructor for a new aquarium science certificate program. The position involves developing and teaching new courses (e.g. Aquaculture/aquarium systems design and life support, Nutrition, disease and health management, Water and environmental quality, Aquarium science internship), possible other relevant teaching assignments, developing advertising and recruitment materials and recruiting, coordinating student internships at partner national, regional, and/or local public aquaria, and contributing to implementation of a Savannah State University/The Georgia Aquarium Cooperative Agreement. We seek an individual who can also advise undergraduate students, graduate students, and develop research programs. Marine Science degree programs, faculty, and other information are all available at http://www.savstate.edu/scitech/ scmath/html/marine/index.html. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants should have earned a Ph.D. degree in a field related to marine sciences. APPLICATION DEADLINE/START DATE: Review of applications will begin September 4, 2007. Position begins in January 2, 2008. HOW TO APPLY: Send application including a current curriculum vita, names, addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers of three references, and a letter summarizing research/teaching experience, career goals, and ability to teach undergraduate and graduate classes currently offered at SSU to: Chair, Marine Science Faculty Search Committee, Post Office Box 20600, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA 31404 ******************** (JOB 6) Post-doc - Aerosol group - PM exposure and health effects - University of Southern California ? Los Angeles, CA (USA) Starting this fall (around September 2007), we will have 3 new post doctoral positions available in the aerosol group at USC (www.usc.edu/aerosol). Funding for these positions will be for approximately 3-4 years, renewed annually, depending on performance. The work will be in the area of PM exposure and health effects and will be funded by the California Air Resources Board and the EPA Southern California Particle Center. Aerosol Group Web Site: www.usc.edu/aerosol *********************** (JOB 7) Postdoc - meteorological modelling - Univ of Trier (Germany) We are currently seeking a scientist for meso/microscale simulations. The work is part of the DFG priority programme 'Quantitative precipitation forecast' . The main goal of the project is to examine the influence of the orography and surface conditions associated with mesoscale mountains for convection. The simulations will be performed using our FOOT3DK model, which is run in a LINUX environment. We offer a 50% position TV-L EG13 (formely BAT-IIa) for one year with a possible prolongation for three years. We expect: - experience of computer programming in Fortran and LINUX - some familiarity with numerical modelling of the atmosphere - analytical skills and team spirit Of advantage is also knowledge in mesoscale meteorology, cloud physics and flow dynamics. The place of employment is Trier, your office can be located at Trier or K?ln. Deadline for applications is 11 August 2007. Please send your application to: University of Trier, Fac. of Geography / Geosciences, Dept. of Environmental Meteorology, 54286 Trier, Germany Or per email to menkhaus.klima at uni-trier.de For further information please contact the project leaders: Prof. Dr. G?nther Heinemann, University of Trier, Fac. of Geography / Geosciences, Dept. of Environmental Meteorology Email: heinemann at uni-trier.de Tel.: +49 (0)651/201-4623 Or Prof. Dr. Michael Kerschgens, Institut f?r Geophysik und Meteorologie, Universit?t zu K?ln Email: mk at meteo.uni-koeln.de Tel.: +49 221 470-3683, -3682 (secretary) Fax: +49 221 470-5161 ****************** (JOB 8) PhD and Postdoc - 3D Modelling Of Lithosphere Extension - Department of Geosciences - Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - University of Bergen (Norway) One research fellow (PhD student) position, for a period of 3 years, ref no 07/8898. One post doctoral fellow position, for a period of 3 years, ref no 07/9703. The successful candidates for the postdoc and research fellowship positions will be engaged in the research project ?Numerical Modelling in 3D of Rift Segmentation, Rift Propagation, and Oblique Rifting? funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR). The project will be executed in close collaboration with research partners in the Dalhousie Geodynamics Group (Prof. Christopher Beaumont) and in Rennes University (Prof. Jean Braun). The main goal of the project is to enhance the understanding of the evolution of sedimentary basins and passive margins in 3 dimensions. Newly developed 3D finite element techniques will be used to model study: 1) rift segmentation; 2) rift propagation; and 3) orthogonal versus transtensional extensional deformation. Candidates must have a suitable background in earth science, physics, or an equivalent quantitative background. Experience in computational fluid/solid dynamics, extensional tectonics, and/or in application and development of finite element modelling is desirable. Additional information about the position is available from Prof. Ritske Huismans, Phone: +47 55 58 81 17, Email: ritske.huismans at geo.uib.no and in attached pdf document. Applications should include (all in 3 copies): 1) Application letter including a statement of interest (related to the list of research tasks above) and indicating a preferred starting date. 2) Curriculum vitae including one set of certified copies of certificates. 3) A list of published and unpublished works. 4) Three copies of scientific works (printed or non-printed) that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee. 5) Names and contact information of three references. The application may be written in Norwegian or English and should be marked with the appropriate reference number. Applications should be sent to the Department of Earth Sciences, Attn: Heidi Espedal, University of Bergen, All?gaten 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway, email: Heidi.Espedal at geo.uib.no Closing date for application is 31 August 2007 ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070629/ec89d2f1/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jul 6 13:02:04 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 11:02:04 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 7/6/2007 Message-ID: <2B3BBDFF-DEBB-41AF-99EB-748FEFBC64B8@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 7/6/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Natural and social science Fellowships: Smith Fellows 2008 Call for Proposals Announced http://www.smithfellows.org/proposalguidelines.cfm (see RESOURCES 1 below) Global Science Gateway Now Open: WorldWideScience.org opens public access to more than 200 million pages of international research information http://www.worldwidescience.org/ US contribution: http:// www.science.gov/ (see RESOURCES 2 below) Applications wanted for studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) on coastal communities and identify opportunities to mitigate these impacts. (see RESOURCES 3 below) FORUM Moving Beyond Kyoto - Op-Ed Contributor: Al Gore (see FORUM 1 below) Which City is Worse Off Today: New York or New Orleans? Fiddling While America Sizzles (see FORUM 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Scorching Heat, Floods Wreak Havoc across Europe http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php? article_id=73677 UK Public 'in denial' about climate change http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/07/03/ eawarm103.xml Nuclear Energy Hot Topic Once Again http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/07/01/ nuclear_energy_hot_topic_once_again/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mcfnx (see NEWS 1 below) Congress Strives to Increase Funding for NSF, NOAA, EPA, and USGS (see NEWS 2 below) Hurricanes Heal Reefs in Surprising Cases http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070702-hurricane- coral.html http://tinyurl.com/yqkerz (see NEWS 3 below) Scientists find clues to ice cap longevity: study http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070705/sc_nm/glacier_greenland_dc (see NEWS 4 below) UN climate change chief warns of impact on poverty, hunger http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/ unenvironmentclimate;_ylt=AhNLGUdd5onInVuWngBvH6Nhr7sF (see NEWS 5 below) Nearly half of electricity from renewable resources by 2030: Berlin http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/ germanyclimatewarmingeconomyenergy;_ylt=AkY0iGQIUPlw92LNczjKJw5hr7sF o r http://tinyurl.com/24wuu8 (see NEWS 6 below) Rich Nations Accused of Green Imperialism on Climate Change http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=13019 (see NEWS 7 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Advanced Biology Training Course In Antarctica - January 2008 "Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms" http://antarctica.usc.edu/ (see PROGRAM 1 below) JOBS Post Doctoral Fellow ? Reefbase Pacific, Penang (Malaysia) http://www.worldfishcenter.org/resource_centre/Post%20Doc.% 20Fellow%20(27-June)_website.pdf To conduct poverty and vulnerability analysis of small-scale fisheries and coral reef resource dependent coastal communities in developing nations of the Pacific region. Postdoc - Physical Oceanographer - Norwegian Polar Institute ? Tromso (Norway) http://www.jobbnorge.no/visstilling2.aspx?stillid=40122&lang=EN (see JOB 1 below) Assoc Prof/Prof - Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology - Central European University ? Budapest (Hungary) (see JOB 2 below) Policy Director - Environmental and Energy Study Institute - Washington, DC (USA) http://www.eesi.org/employment/policy_director_061707.html (see JOB 3 below) Post-doc - Crops and Climate Group of the Walker Institute for Climate Systems Research - Departments of Meteorology & Agriculture - Univ of Reading (UK) (see JOB 4 below) Post-doc - Modeling - "Remote impacts of West African and/or South Asian monsoons" - CNRM, M?t?o-France in Toulouse (France). (see JOB 5 below) Post-doc - Ice sheet and earth system modelling. Free University of Brussels (VUB) (Belgium) (see JOB 6 below) Post-docs: Geography/Climatology/Geomorphology - Univ of Lisbon (Portugal) http://www.eracareers.pt/opportunities/index.aspx? task=showAnuncioOportunities&jobId=5985 (see JOBS 7 below) Asst Prof - Environmental Studies - Ursinus College - Collegeville, PA (USA) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - Spatial Vegetation Modeling and Landscape Ecology - Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems Team, Ecosystem Processes Program - Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon (USA) (see JOB 9 below) Managing Editor - Climate and Energy Programme - Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Stockholm (Sweden) (see JOB 10 below) Forwarded from the list serve climate-l (see JOBS 11 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Natural and social science Fellowships: Smith Fellows 2008 Call for Proposals Announced http://www.smithfellows.org/proposalguidelines.cfm The Society for Conservation Biology is pleased to solicit applications for the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program. These two year post-doctoral fellowships enable outstanding early-career scientists to improve and expand their research skills while directing their efforts towards problems of pressing conservation concern for the United States. Each Fellow is mentored by both an academic sponsor who encourages the Fellow's continued development as a conservation scientist, and a conservation practitioner who helps to connect the Fellow and her/his research to practical conservation challenges. Fellows will spend up to four weeks per year during their fellowship attending orientation and training events. These offerings provide opportunities to cultivate professional networks and to gain better understanding of applied research needs. Fellows will participate as a group in three or more of these Program-sponsored meetings, conferences, or professional development events each year. The Program especially encourages individuals who want to better link conservation science and theory with pressing policy and management applications to apply. We envision that the cadre of scientists supported by the Smith Fellows Program eventually will assume leadership positions across the field of conservation science. Fellows are selected on the basis of innovation, potential for leadership and strength of proposal. The deadline for receipt of application materials is 28 September 2007. The Program expects to select four Fellows in January 2008 for appointments to start between March and September 2008. Fellowship awards include an annual salary of more than $38,000, benefits, and generous travel and research budgets. For detailed proposal guidelines, please visit http://www.smithfellows.org/ proposalguidelines.cfm. Questions may be directed to Shonda Foster, Program Coordinator, by emailing sfoster at conbio.org. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Global Science Gateway Now Open: WorldWideScience.org opens public access to more than 200 million pages of international research information http://www.worldwidescience.org/ US contribution: http:// www.science.gov/ WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the British Library, along with eight other participating countries, today opened an online global gateway to science information from 15 national portals. The gateway, WorldWideScience.org http:// www.worldwidescience.org/, gives citizens, researchers and anyone interested in science the capability to search science portals not easily accessible through popular search technology such as that deployed by Google, Yahoo! And many other commercial search engines. "Scientific research results are archived globally in a plethora of sources, many unknown and unreachable through usual search engines," Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, DOE Under Secretary for Science, said. "This international partnership will open up this vast reservoir of knowledge in a rapid and convenient manner, something that will add great value to our existing knowledge." Relying on a novel technology called federated search, WorldWideScience.org gives science information consumers a single entry point for searching far-reaching science portals in parallel, with only one query, saving time and effort. As WorldWideScience.org grows, it will capitalize on existing technology to search vast collections of science information distributed across the globe, enabling much-needed access to smaller, less well-known sources of highly valuable science. Following the model of Science.gov, the U.S. interagency science portal that relies on content published by each participating U.S. agency, WorldWideScience.org will rely on scientific resources published by each participating nation. The U.S. contribution to WorldWideScience.org is Science.gov http://www.science.gov/, the U.S. government's one-stop searchable portal to major science databases of federal science agencies. In addition to the U.S. and the U.K., the inaugural WorldWideScience.org portal provides access to research information in English from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. The intent is for WorldWideScience.org to become a world-class Web facility that lets any scientist, any citizen, anywhere, easily find the research results of any nation in any language. WorldWideScience.org was developed and is maintained by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), a program within DOE's Office of Science. OSTI has extensive experience in offering searching of distributed, deep Web databases, having played a central role in the development of Science.gov and other Web products that scientists and citizens access over 50 million times per year. DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the nation and helps ensure U.S. world leadership across a broad range of scientific disciplines. Additional information is available at the Office of Science http:// www.science.doe.gov/. ******************** (RESOURCE 3) Applications wanted for studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) on coastal communities and identify opportunities to mitigate these impacts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program, is seeking applications for studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) on coastal communities and identify opportunities to mitigate these impacts. Risk communication specialists and others with an interest in the human dimensions of coastal resource management are encouraged to apply. The RFP can be found at http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/ 2008/2008_star_ecohab.html. The deadline is October 4th. A recent report, Harmful Algal Research and Response: A Human Dimensions Strategy, summarizes human dimensions research needs (including risk communication) to support HAB mitigation. This report can be found at: http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/ extremeevents/hab/human_dimensions.html. It is a companion document to the National HAB Plan - Harmful Algal Research and Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy (HARRNESS) - which can be found at: http://www.esa.org/HARRNESS/. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Marybeth Bauer, Ph.D., Human Dimensions Research Coordinator, NOAA National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Email: marybeth.bauer at noaa.gov NCCOS Website: http://www.nccos.noaa.gov/ *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1 ) Moving Beyond Kyoto - Op-Ed Contributor: Al Gore The New York Times - July 1, 2007 Nashville - WE ? the human species ? have arrived at a moment of decision. It is unprecedented and even laughable for us to imagine that we could actually make a conscious choice as a species, but that is nevertheless the challenge that is before us. Our home ? Earth ? is in danger. What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings. Without realizing the consequences of our actions, we have begun to put so much carbon dioxide into the thin shell of air surrounding our world that we have literally changed the heat balance between Earth and the Sun. If we don?t stop doing this pretty quickly, the average temperature will increase to levels humans have never known and put an end to the favorable climate balance on which our civilization depends. In the last 150 years, in an accelerating frenzy, we have been removing increasing quantities of carbon from the ground ? mainly in the form of coal and oil ? and burning it in ways that dump 70 million tons of CO2 every 24 hours into the Earth?s atmosphere. The concentrations of CO2 ? having never risen above 300 parts per million for at least a million years ? have been driven from 280 parts per million at the beginning of the coal boom to 383 parts per million this year. As a direct result, many scientists are now warning that we are moving closer to several ?tipping points? that could ? within 10 years ? make it impossible for us to avoid irretrievable damage to the planet?s habitability for human civilization. Just in the last few months, new studies have shown that the north polar ice cap ? which helps the planet cool itself ? is melting nearly three times faster than the most pessimistic computer models predicted. Unless we take action, summer ice could be completely gone in as little as 35 years. Similarly, at the other end of the planet, near the South Pole, scientists have found new evidence of snow melting in West Antarctica across an area as large as California. This is not a political issue. This is a moral issue, one that affects the survival of human civilization. It is not a question of left versus right; it is a question of right versus wrong. Put simply, it is wrong to destroy the habitability of our planet and ruin the prospects of every generation that follows ours. On Sept. 21, 1987, President Ronald Reagan said, ?In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. Perhaps we need some outside, universal threat to recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.? We ? all of us ? now face a universal threat. Though it is not from outside this world, it is nevertheless cosmic in scale. Consider this tale of two planets. Earth and Venus are almost exactly the same size, and have almost exactly the same amount of carbon. The difference is that most of the carbon on Earth is in the ground ? having been deposited there by various forms of life over the last 600 million years ? and most of the carbon on Venus is in the atmosphere. As a result, while the average temperature on Earth is a pleasant 59 degrees, the average temperature on Venus is 867 degrees. True, Venus is closer to the Sun than we are, but the fault is not in our star; Venus is three times hotter on average than Mercury, which is right next to the Sun. It?s the carbon dioxide. This threat also requires us, in Reagan?s phrase, to unite in recognition of our common bond. Next Saturday, on all seven continents, the Live Earth concert will ask for the attention of humankind to begin a three-year campaign to make everyone on our planet aware of how we can solve the climate crisis in time to avoid catastrophe. Individuals must be a part of the solution. In the words of Buckminster Fuller, ?If the success or failure of this planet, and of human beings, depended on how I am and what I do, how would I be? What would I do?? Live Earth will offer an answer to this question by asking everyone who attends or listens to the concerts to sign a personal pledge to take specific steps to combat climate change. (More details about the pledge are available at algore.com.) But individual action will also have to shape and drive government action. Here Americans have a special responsibility. Throughout most of our short history, the United States and the American people have provided moral leadership for the world. Establishing the Bill of Rights, framing democracy in the Constitution, defeating fascism in World War II, toppling Communism and landing on the moon ? all were the result of American leadership. Once again, Americans must come together and direct our government to take on a global challenge. American leadership is a precondition for success. To this end, we should demand that the United States join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy Earth. This treaty would mark a new effort. I am proud of my role during the Clinton administration in negotiating the Kyoto protocol. But I believe that the protocol has been so demonized in the United States that it probably cannot be ratified here ? much in the way the Carter administration was prevented from winning ratification of an expanded strategic arms limitation treaty in 1979. Moreover, the negotiations will soon begin on a tougher climate treaty. Therefore, just as President Reagan renamed and modified the SALT agreement (calling it Start), after belatedly recognizing the need for it, our next president must immediately focus on quickly concluding a new and even tougher climate change pact. We should aim to complete this global treaty by the end of 2009 ? and not wait until 2012 as currently planned. If by the beginning of 2009, the United States already has in place a domestic regime to reduce global warming pollution, I have no doubt that when we give industry a goal and the tools and flexibility to sharply reduce carbon emissions, we can complete and ratify a new treaty quickly. It is, after all, a planetary emergency. A new treaty will still have differentiated commitments, of course; countries will be asked to meet different requirements based upon their historical share or contribution to the problem and their relative ability to carry the burden of change. This precedent is well established in international law, and there is no other way to do it. There are some who will try to pervert this precedent and use xenophobia or nativist arguments to say that every country should be held to the same standard. But should countries with one-fifth our gross domestic product ? countries that contributed almost nothing in the past to the creation of this crisis ? really carry the same load as the United States? Are we so scared of this challenge that we cannot lead? Our children have a right to hold us to a higher standard when their future ? indeed, the future of all human civilization ? is hanging in the balance. They deserve better than a government that censors the best scientific evidence and harasses honest scientists who try to warn us about looming catastrophe. They deserve better than politicians who sit on their hands and do nothing to confront the greatest challenge that humankind has ever faced ? even as the danger bears down on us. We should focus instead on the opportunities that are part of this challenge. Certainly, there will be new jobs and new profits as corporations move aggressively to capture the enormous economic opportunities offered by a clean energy future. But there?s something even more precious to be gained if we do the right thing. The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what few generations in history have had the privilege of experiencing: a generational mission; a compelling moral purpose; a shared cause; and the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict of politics and to embrace a genuine moral and spiritual challenge. Al Gore, vice president from 1993 to 2001, is the chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection. He is the author, most recently, of ?The Assault on Reason.? ******************** (FORUM 2) Which City is Worse Off Today: New York or New Orleans? Fiddling While America Sizzles This piece was posted to EANTH news by Brian McKenna, with the following preface: The author of today's piece (pasted below) is one of the most brilliant environmental historians writing today. Worster is also known for saluting James O'Conner, one of the most dazzling theoretical thinkers in political ecology with his seminal "Natural Causes (1998). I use his book in most every environmental class I teach. See: http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Causes-Essays-Ecological- Marxism/dp/1572302739 Counterpunch Weekend Edition - June 30 / July 1, 2007 - By DONALD WORSTER The United States is the richest, most powerful nation in history -- this you have heard many times before. What you have not heard so often is that America has also been, for nearly 200 years, the safest, most secure nation ever. Far from being aware of that fact and enjoying it, we have become a nation filled with fear and anxiety. But we fear the wrong invader. Not since the British burned our capital in 1814 has a foreign army succeeded in invading our continental domain. Pearl Harbor lay thousands of miles from our mainland homes. And the World Trade Center bombing was no real invasion or victory of a foreign power, but one act by a handful of fanatics, all killed. Their brothers are hiding in caves along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, no more able to invade America, if we keep our eyes open, than camels could take over our national parks. Yet a far more serious threat has appeared that our leaders are ignoring. It is global climate change. And it has the potential to bring the United States down economically, socially and agriculturally, making us a much poorer and weaker nation. In February the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest major report of scientific data. Based on the greenhouse gases already affecting the atmosphere, and on expected increases in those gases under various economic scenarios, the IPCC projects ? too cautiously, many say -- that the Earth's overall surface temperature will rise 3 to 7 degrees by the end of this century, and the sea may rise almost 2 feet. In an April IPCC report, world policy-makers were told to expect long-term flooding of coastal areas, more intense tropical storms, increased drought in drought-prone areas, and a decline in crop productivity with increased risk of hunger. Here is where the danger comes to the United States: Not only may we be forced to protect people on the coasts, or move them inland, we will also be in great danger of losing our agricultural heartland -- the Corn Belt and the Wheat Belt. Today, half of our wheat crop goes overseas. In a few decades we may not have enough food to support our own population, let alone share with others. And our Western cities may be paying a lot more for water, if they can find any, than for the last drops of oil. We are most threatened today, not by terrorists, but by impersonal physical forces. And as the century goes on, that invasion will gather speed and effect with biological threats like invasive plants and malaria. Such talk, we are told, is scare mongering. We also are told that defensive measures would cost too much. Yet which place is worse off today? New York, which lost two major buildings and thousands of lives to terrorists? Or New Orleans, which lost many lives as well and may never recover much of its displaced population or destroyed territory after being hit by a hurricane that drew its energy from warming gulf waters? And how can we not afford to invest in conservation and alternative energy sources to defend our own land against the ravages of global climate change, but afford to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which cost $120 billion a year? And pay four to five times that, depending on the calculation, for the military as a whole? And spend more than $40 billion more on the Homeland Security Department? All that money to defend a country that is the most secure and safe in the world from outside human invasion! Our homeland is facing a change of unprecedented danger, one that we have helped create by wasteful consumption. This is likely to be the greatest threat to security and prosperity in our history. When will our leaders stop beating the drums about "a war on terrorism" and start facing the real dangers we face? When will they wake up and take action -- today, this year? Will they wait until Washington is under water and the Great Plains are a burning desert? Donald Worster is an environmental historian at the University of Kansas. He is the author of Dust Bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930s, Nature's Economy, and Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity and the American West. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Nuclear Energy Hot Topic Once Again http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/07/01/ nuclear_energy_hot_topic_once_again/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mcfnx Boston Globe (Registration Required) - BOSTON -- Thanks to global warming, nuclear energy is hot again. Its promise of abundant, carbon emissions-free power is being pushed by the president and newly considered by environmentalists. But any expansion won't come cheap or easy. The enormous obstacles facing nuclear power are the same as they were in 1996, when the nation's last new nuclear plant opened near the Watts Bar reservoir in Tennessee after 22 years of construction and $7 billion in costs. Waste disposal, safe operation and security remain major concerns, but economics may be the biggest deterrent. Huge capital costs combine into an enormous price tag for would-be investors. There is also fervent anti-nuke opposition waiting to be re-stoked. Jim Riccio of Greenpeace said nuclear advocates are exploiting global warming fears to try to revive an industry that's too risky to fool with. "You have better ways to boil water," Riccio said. But environmentalists aren't in lockstep on the issue. Bill Chameides, chief scientist for Environmental Defense, said anything that helps alleviate global warming must be an energy option. ******************** (NEWS 2) Congress Strives to Increase Funding for NSF, NOAA, EPA, and USGS NCSE news - June 29, 2007 ? Congress is making rapid progress on appropriations bills that would provide substantial increases in funding for the National Science Foundation, NOAA, EPA, and the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year 2008. The bills are far from complete and the President has announced his intention to veto some of the appropriations bills that contain funding for science programs. National Science Foundation. A House Appropriations panel approved a bill that would increase funding for NSF by $593 million or 10.0 percent to $6.51 billion in FY 2008. Not to be outdone, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill on June 28 that would increase the NSF budget by $637 million or 10.8 percent to $6.55 billion. As part of his American Competitiveness Initiative, President Bush proposed increasing the NSF budget by $513 million or 8.7 percent to $6.43 billion in FY 2008. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. On June 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would provide $4.2 billion for NOAA in FY 2008, an increase of $137 million or 3.4 percent above the FY 2007 level and an increase of $405 million or 10.6 percent above the President's budget request. Sen. Barbara Milulski (D-MD) said NOAA is "undervalued, underappreciated, and underfunded." The Senate bill includes a total of $795 million to implement the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative's recommendations for ocean stewardship. It directs the Initiative to focus on research, education, observation, and exploration. A corresponding bill is pending before the House Appropriations Committee, but few details about NOAA are available at this time. Environmental Protection Agency. Funding for EPA would increase by $887 million to $8.1 billion in FY 2008 under the House appropriations bill. The corresponding Senate bill would increase EPA funding by $574 million to $7.8 billion. The President proposed cutting EPA's budget by $526 million to $7.2 billion in FY 2008. Funding for EPA's Science and Technology account would increase by $55 million or 7.5 percent to $788 million under the House bill and it would increase by $39 million or 5.3 percent under the Senate bill. NCSE is playing a lead role in restoring funding for EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) programs. The House bill would increase funding for EPA's STAR graduate fellowship program by $2.8 million to $11.2 million. The House Appropriations Committee also emphasized the importance of EPA's STAR research grants program: "The Committee continues to stress the importance of the STAR program and has attempted to target increases to areas that will both expand research and support the STAR program. Funding reductions to the STAR program are not acceptable because such reductions ultimately result in gaps in critical environmental research." U.S. Geological Survey. The budget for the U.S. Geological Survey would surpass $1 billion for the first time under legislation that that passed the House of Representatives on June 27. The House bill would increase funding for the U.S. Geological Survey by $50 million or 5 percent to $1.03 billion in FY 2008. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill on June 21 that would provide $1.01 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey in FY 2008, an increase of $27 million above the FY2007 enacted level. The President's budget request proposed cutting the USGS budget $8 million to $975 million in FY 2008. Both the House and Senate appropriations bills would restore proposed reductions to scientific programs assumed in the President's budget request, including large cuts in the Mineral Resources program and the Water Resources Research Institutes. President Bush has announced his intention to veto the Interior appropriations bill. ******************** (NEWS 3) Hurricanes Heal Reefs in Surprising Cases http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070702-hurricane- coral.html http://tinyurl.com/yqkerz National Geographic News - Hurricanes may actually provide a healing balm of sorts for dying coral reefs, a new study shows. By mixing up cool deep layers of the ocean, a distant hurricane reduces sea-surface temperatures by several degrees - enough to help heat- stressed corals survive bleaching. Bleaching occurs when sea temperatures warm, even slightly. This causes corals to eject their symbiotic, food-producing algae known as zooxanthellae (zoo-zan-thell-ay), leaving behind only the transparent coral tissue and bone white skeletons. "It is well known that hurricanes can be catastrophic for reefs," said study co-author Derek Manzello, a marine biologist from the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies in Miami, Florida. "[But] our results show that in [the study's Florida test area] hurricanes may actually have been beneficial," he said. ******************** (NEWS 4) Scientists find clues to ice cap longevity: study http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070705/sc_nm/glacier_greenland_dc LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists using DNA extracted from ice buried deep below the surface have found evidence that a lush forest once existed in southern Greenland, a finding that sheds light on how climate change affects Earth's frozen areas. The researchers analyzed ice cores 2-3 km below the surface from several locations in southern Greenland and discovered what they believe to be the oldest authenticated DNA ever recorded. Eske Willerslev, a biologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, said scientists know very little about fossils hidden below ice and glaciers -- which cover about 10 percent of the earth's surface -- because usable DNA samples tend to be buried so deep and are difficult to get. "We have shown a principle and now you can move around to other ice cores and try to do the same thing," he said in a telephone interview. "We have limited knowledge about the Antarctic ice sheet and the biology there." Willerslev said drilling techniques developed over the past few years allowed him and his colleagues to search far below the surface to discover evidence of an ancient forest. Writing in the journal Science on Thursday, they said their research showed it was possible to explore and understand Earth's vast frozen areas by sampling basal ice that sits far below the surface. Basal ice is soil trapped at the bottom of ice and, because the dirt holds on to biological material, offers a richer source of DNA to study past life and climate change than clean ice near the top. In southern Greenland they found a wide range of plant and insect life, including pine, spruce and alder tries along with beetles, flies, spiders, butterflies and moths, from 450,000 to 800,000 years ago. Scientists had thought the area was last ice-free about 120,000 years ago during the last interglacial but the study showed southern Greenland was still covered in ice at that time. This suggests the southern Greenland ice sheet is more stable than thought and might not be as big a contributor to sea level rises caused by rising temperatures, Willerslev said. This does not change the view that climate change is problematic but could force scientists to rethink their models looking at the impact of warming temperatures, he said. "If we have found evidence that the ice didn't melt away then people have to take that into account when modeling how ice caps might react in the future to climate change," he said. ******************** (NEWS 5) UN climate change chief warns of impact on poverty, hunger http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/ unenvironmentclimate;_ylt=AhNLGUdd5onInVuWngBvH6Nhr7sF GENEVA (AFP) - The UN's top climate change scientist on Thursday urged the world body to take greater account of the impact of global warming on hunger and poverty. Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the world's poor would be the first to suffer from predicted increases in global temperatures, rainfall and extremes like drought and flooding. "There'll be two types of impacts on poor and the hungry -- firstly the increases in temperature, because we've predicted an increase in heatwaves. This increase has health implications," he told journalists. "The other major impact would be on agriculture -- and about two- thirds of the world lives in rural areas and the bulk of them are in developing countries," Pachauri added. The Indian scientist underlined that even the most vulnerable in European countries with well-developed health care systems had struggled with heatwaves in recent years. Meanwhile, the IPCC's predicted decline in rainfall in tropical and sub tropical areas would affect the "very large majority" of people in developing countries who depend on agriculture, he added. In Africa, "we can project that there would be a decline in the availability of water," Pachauri said. Already sparse agricultural yields would be cut, food stocks which are already vulnerable to flooding and drought would decline further, while food prices would rise, he said. Rising sea levels predicted by the IPCC also threatened coastal areas. One of the most vulnerable areas of the world will be the megadeltas of Asia," Pachauri said. Those nine river deltas include heavily populated and often impoverished areas like Bangladesh. Pachauri took part in a meeting of the UN's Economic and Social Council this week and also met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva on Thursday. ******************** (NEWS 6) Nearly half of electricity from renewable resources by 2030: Berlin http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/ germanyclimatewarmingeconomyenergy;_ylt=AkY0iGQIUPlw92LNczjKJw5hr7sF o r http://tinyurl.com/24wuu8 BERLIN (AFP) - Germany plans to boost the percentage of electricity generated by renewable resources to 45 percent by 2030 in a bid to curb global warming, environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said Thursday. Gabriel told reporters that a progress report on a renewable energy law (EEG) passed in 2000 showed that the country had already surpassed the quota of 12.5 percent set for 2010. He said Berlin was now setting a more ambitious target to produce at least 20 percent of electricity used in the country with renewable resources such as wind and solar power by 2020 and 45 percent by 2030. "We can and must raise the bar for 2020 to generate at least 27 percent of all the electricity used with renewable resources," Gabriel said. "This is the only way we can make a significant contribution to reaching our ambitious EU goals that we passed under the German presidency in March." Berlin held the rotating EU presidency for the first six months of this year and made curbing climate change one of its top priorities. The European Union set a goal in March of a 20-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels, but Germany is aiming to cut up to 40 percent. Gabriel said Germany had prevented 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being spewed into the atmosphere last year thanks to renewable energy sources, adding that there were now 214,000 jobs in fields such as wind and solar power. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday at a meeting of political officials, industry representatives and environmental campaigners that Germany would seek to increase energy efficiency by three percent a year until 2020. She cited fuel-efficient cars, houses with innovative heating systems and energy-saving household appliances as areas the government wanted to see developed. ******************** (NEWS 7) Rich Nations Accused of Green Imperialism on Climate Change http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=13019 SINGAPORE -- Rich countries are being hypocritical in criticizing China's greenhouse gas emissions while using the country's cheap labor in industries that pollute, Asian business and government leaders said Monday. "This is green imperialism," Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's deputy finance minister, told a panel discussion on global warming at the World Economic Forum on East Asia, a two-day conference that ended Monday. The next meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main city, in June 2008. China has come under increasing pressure from the United States in particular to take more forceful measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions. China relies on coal, among the dirtiest fuels, to provide two-thirds of its energy. Asian leaders also criticized the U.S. and Australia for not signing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which caps the amount of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases that can be emitted in industrialized countries. China signed the treaty but is exempt from emission reductions because it is considered a developing country, a situation often cited by the U.S. and Australia for rejecting the treaty. Nor Mohamed said there was no point singling out one country when climate change is a global problem. "Companies that are polluting in China are owned by American, European, Japanese and others. They are benefiting from the cheap labor, from the resources and at the same time accusing China of pollution," the Malaysian official said. "Let's take the hypocrisy out of the equation," he said. Addressing another session, Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., said the private sector must play a leading role in addressing climate change while governments take their time formulating laws to limit carbon dioxide emissions. The industry has to make technically sophisticated cars that are less polluting, he said. "You cannot forget the fact that when someone's going to go and buy a car, you want him or her to be relieved of the guilt of emitting CO2, and that's something that we need to address." China overtook the United States in carbon dioxide emissions by about 7.5 percent in 2006, according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's report. While China was 2 percent below the U.S. in carbon dioxide emissions in 2005, voracious coal consumption and increased cement production caused the numbers to rise rapidly, the agency said. China also uses other numbers to contend that it is not the worst offender: With 1.3 billion people, China spews about 10,500 pounds of carbon dioxide per person, while the United States releases nearly 42,500 pounds per person, about four times as much. Chen Feng, the chairman of China Hainan Airlines, said now was not the time to assign blame but to create an international solution, saying developed nations were the original polluters. "So the way I see it is, you were bandits before you became right- minded people," he said. President Bush recently proposed a meeting of the 15 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to set an emissions goal. Japan's environment minister called the proposal "significant" but said it was crucial that the top emitters participate. "Without the participation of United States, China and India _ the main emitters _ we will not stop global warming," Masatoshi Wakabayashi said. Ralph R. Peterson, the chairman of a U.S. management, design and construction firm, said Asia's economic growth path appears unsustainable because of high and inefficient energy consumption that contributed to pollution. He said Southeast Asian nations produce 11 percent of global output and use 21 percent of world oil. China's output is 5.5 percent of world gross domestic product while it uses 15 percent of global energy. India's energy efficiency is one-tenth the global average, while China's water use per unit of GDP is four times the world's average. "If it takes much more energy to produce one unit of GDP in Asia, then we have a problem," he said. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (PROGRAM 1) Advanced Biology Training Course In Antarctica - January 2008 "Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms" http://antarctica.usc.edu/ This National Science Foundation sponsored course will be held in Antarctica at the United States' McMurdo Station for one month, starting January 2008. This is an international course, open to all nationalities. Applications are invited from graduate students currently enrolled in a PhD program, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty-level research scientists who are interested in the study of extreme environments and the biology of Antarctic organisms. The course will accommodate up to 20 students. Full scholarships are available for each student accepted into the course to cover the cost of travel from home institution to Antarctica, and room and board while in Antarctica. The emphasis of the Antarctic Biology Course is on integrative biology, with laboratory- and field-based projects focused on adaptations in an extreme polar environment. A diverse teaching faculty will offer students the opportunity to study a wide range of Antarctic organisms (bacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fish), as well as studying several different levels of biological analysis (molecular biology, biomechanics, physiological ecology, species diversity, and evolution). Deadline for receipt of completed applications is August 15, 2007. *************************************************** 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) Postdoc - Physical Oceanographer - Norwegian Polar Institute ? Tromso (Norway) http://www.jobbnorge.no/visstilling2.aspx?stillid=40122&lang=EN The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Polar Climate Program, invites applications for a 2.5-year postdoctoral research position in physical oceanography. The successful applicant will conduct research on the role of fresh water in the dynamics of the Nordic Seas. The research will mainly focus on the fate of arctic freshwater exported through Fram Strait and will be based on analysis of data from moorings and recent cruises. The position is part of iAOOS-Norway, an IPY project running through 2010. The candidate must be willing to participate on scientific cruises and fieldwork in the Arctic. NPI seeks candidates with good knowledge of Nordic Seas properties and their role in the climate system. The applicant must hold a PhD or possess equivalent experience within physical oceanography. Experience from cruises and/or oceanographic data analysis is an asset. The candidate will start as soon as possible. Female candidates are encouraged to apply for the position. The application should include a CV, name of referees, list of publications, and details of relevant qualifications and experience. NPI prefers that an electronic application be submitted at: http:// www.jobbnorge.no/visstilling2.aspx?stillid=40122&lang=EN Paper copies may be submitted to: Norwegian Polar Institute, Polar Environmental Center, 9296 Tromso, Norway Applications must be received by Wednesday, 25 July 2007. Applicants should not submit original documents as enclosures will not be returned. For more information contact: Edmond Hansen, Phone: +47-77-75-05-36 E-mail: edmond.hansen at npolar.no or contact: Nalan Koc, Phone: +47-77-75-06-54 E-mail: nalan.koc at npolar.no ******************** (JOB 2) Assoc Prof/Prof - Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology - Central European University ? Budapest (Hungary) Central European University (www.ceu.hu) is a graduate research- intensive university specializing primarily in the social sciences, located in Budapest, Hungary and accredited in the United States and Hungary. CEU's primary mission is to promote academic excellence, state of the art research and civic commitment, so as to contribute to the development of open societies in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and other emerging democracies. CEU offers both master's and doctoral programs, and it enrolls about 1000 students from more than 60 countries, including all former communist countries. The teaching staff consists of around 100 faculty members from more than 30 countries. The language of instruction is English. CEU promotes a comparative, interdisciplinary scholarly approach that integrates the Central and Eastern European region and the former Soviet Union into a wider, global perspective. CEU faculty members are encouraged to engage in high-level research and the university supports such research through appropriate institutional mechanisms. Paying systematic attention to the policy implications of the research conducted at CEU is also encouraged. The candidates for this position should be dynamic international scholars with an outstanding record of publication and teaching in sociology and/or social anthropology. They should have thought critically and reflexively about the current state of anthropology and sociology in relation to each other in terms of theory and methods and they should be eloquent in placing their specialization in the broader context of the social sciences. We particularly welcome applicants with a strong profile in historical comparative research. Thematic specialization is open but should reflect, in approach and priorities, current global realities. Inclusion of non- European subjects/areas is seen as an advantage. The ideal candidate connects local and global perspectives and easily straddles the divides between anthropology and sociology. In addition to an excellent record of refereed publications in scholarly journals and with recognized academic publishers, the candidates are expected to have a recognized international profile. A record of research projects and grants is an advantage. The initial appointment is for 4 years and is renewable. The teaching load is 12 credits (1 credit equals 12 classroom hours) a year plus supervision of MA theses and doctoral dissertations. Salary and benefits are dependent upon qualifications and experience. The compensation package is subject to Hungarian taxation regulations. The university assists its employees who are not citizens or permanent residents of Hungary in order to obtain a work permit. The position is open from August 2008. Please send applications to Rector of CEU, c/o dr. Judit Pallos, Human Resources Office, Central European University, H-1051 Budapest, N?dor u. 9., Hungary (Fax: + 36 (1) 235-6135, e-mail: recruitment at ceu.hu). The application package should include: C.V., a list of publications, a sample publication, a short statement of the applicant's vision of shaping the research and graduate teaching environment at CEU, and the names and addresses of at least three referees. The deadline for applications is August 31 2007. For queries of an academic nature please contact Prem Kumar Rajaram (rajaramp at ceu.hu) ******************** (JOB 3) Policy Director - Environmental and Energy Study Institute - Washington, DC (USA) http://www.eesi.org/employment/policy_director_061707.html Position open until filled. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) in Washington, DC is accepting applications for the position of Policy Director. EESI is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally sustainable societies. EESI believes meeting this goal requires transitions to social and economic patterns that sustain people, the environment, and the natural resources upon which present and future generations depend. EESI produces credible, timely information and innovative public policy initiatives that lead to these transitions. These products take the form of publications, briefings, workshops, and task forces. Major responsibilities of the Policy Director position include: - Develop and manage an Institute-wide effort to contribute to the design and adoption of policies that control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with a focus on the contribution that green buildings and energy efficient/renewable energy technologies can play. The applicant will provide strategic direction to a multi-disciplinary team of associates, analysts, and others working on U.S. climate policy. - Develop and implement a Congressional strategy and engage with senior legislative staff as well as members of Congress to achieve desired federal policy outcomes. The applicant will also work with other stakeholders to design and help implement climate and energy policies. The applicant will be called on to provide media interviews, as well as represent EESI in meetings with government officials, industry representatives, and others in the policy community. It is essential that the Policy Director be able to engage different constituencies and views with clarity and good humor. - EESI holds several briefings a year on various green building, renewable energy, energy efficiency and environmental topics, which are timely to policymakers. The Policy Director will be responsible for helping to develop the briefing panels, writing related materials, and performing outreach and follow-up for the briefing. - Give presentations at conferences, workshops, and other events related to U.S. climate policy, green buildings, and other energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. - Build, maintain, and update the green buildings network, including Congressional contacts. - Help set research and analysis agenda. - The Policy Director will be responsible for helping draft proposals and reports to funders and will be responsible for handling other duties as assigned. - Responsibilities may shift depending upon organizational resources and priorities and obligations to funders. Qualifications for the position include: - advanced degree in public policy, law, economics, environmental policy, political science, public administration, natural sciences, engineering, or related field; - 5-8 years work experience, with minimum of 2 years direct policy experience at the federal or state level; - knowledge of U.S. government, including familiarity with Capitol Hill and federal executive agencies; - sound understanding of and demonstrated interest in climate change and energy policy; - efficient, accurate, and timely research for program information and interest in being a public spokesperson on EESI's activities; - strong and demonstrable writing, quantitative, and analytical skills, including the ability to design and write original policy research; - strong communication skills and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in teams and independently from staff and consultants; and - self-starter, flexible, able to manage multiple tasks, and ability to think strategically and creatively to help further EESI's mission. Applications must consist of a cover letter explaining interest and experience with U.S. climate policy, green building, renewable energy and energy efficiency technology; current resume and list of publications, if applicable; two- to five-page writing sample; list of references; and salary history/requirements. Please reference "Policy Director Position" in the subject field of an e-mail and submit the above materials to: jobs at eesi.org. ******************** (JOB 4) Post-doc - Crops and Climate Group of the Walker Institute for Climate Systems Research - Departments of Meteorology & Agriculture - Univ of Reading (UK) Closing Date: 31/07/2007 Reference Number: R0732 Contact Details: Further information and application forms are available at www.reading.ac.uk/Jobs or telephone 0118 378 6771 (voicemail). We are seeking a dynamic Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join the Crops and Climate Group of the Walker Institute for Climate Systems Research. You will research the global scale impacts of climate change using crop simulation models as part of a recently-awarded project under the NERC QUEST 3 programme. You will have: 1) A PhD, or submitted PhD, in meteorology, physics or mathematics; or in agricultural / ecological science with a very strong quantitative modelling 2) component. 3) Drive and enthusiasm for research 4) The ability to work in a research team 5) The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing 6) Research experience that demonstrates your ability to work across different scientific disciplines would be an advantage. Applications forms from http://www.rdg.ac.uk/humanresources/ , or email humanresources at rdg.ac.uk For enquiries please contact Dr Tim Wheeler. Tel +44(0)118 378 8495 or email t.r.wheeler at reading.ac.uk ******************** (JOB 5) Post-doc - Modeling - "Remote impacts of West African and/or South Asian monsoons" - CNRM, M?t?o-France in Toulouse (France). A research post-doctoral position is offered jointly by CNRM and CERFACS at the M?t?o-France campus in Toulouse (France). It is funded by the French ANR project IRCAAM (Influence R?ciproque des Climats d'Afrique de l'Ouest, du sud de l'Asie et du bassin M?diterran?en) coordinated by CNRM. The deadline for application is 20 August 2007. Job description: The M?t?o-France research institute, CNRM, and CERFACS are recruiting a post-doc scientist. The task will be the design and analysis of original global atmospheric simulations devoted to the understanding of the reciprocal influence of the West African and South Asian monsoons at the intra-seasonal to seasonal timescales, and of their possible remote impacts particularly on the Mediterranean basin. The original experiment design will be based on a regional nudging technique in which the Arp?ge-Climat AGCM is relaxed towards the ERA40 reanalyses (grid-point nudging of U, V and T) over a specified 3D monsoon domain. Besides control experiments with prescribed SSTs and interactive soil moisture, sensitivity experiments will be also conducted in which the AGCM is coupled to a mixed layer ocean model (addition of the SST feedback) or relaxed towards its own soil moisture climatology (suppression of the land surface feedback). Particular attention will be paid to the occurrence of extreme climate events, their potential sensitivity to the monsoon diabatic forcing, their potential predictability at the sub-seasonal to seasonal timescale, and their potential amplification through SST or soil moisture feedbacks. Besides idealized experiments with climatological SSTs, case studies will also be used to explore the relative contribution of observed SSTs and observed West African or South Asian monsoon variability to global climate anomalies, especially those found in the free monsoon domain and over the Mediterranean basin. The first task will be to conduct idealized global atmospheric experiments using a regional nudging technique in which the model is relaxed towards the ECMWF reanalysis over a limited tropical domain. These experiments are aimed at answering the following questions: - What is the reciprocal influence of, and the Mediterranean response to, the diabatic heating associated with the annual cycle of the South Asian and West African monsoon climates ? - What is the reciprocal influence of, and the Mediterranean response to, the interannual variability of the monsoon climates ? - What are the respective roles of intra-seasonal and interannual modes of variability in the apparent teleconnections ? The second step will be the coupling of Arp?ge-Climat with a mixed layer ocean model provided by CERFACS. The objective is to study the potential contribution of the SST feedbacks to the global atmospheric response to the monsoons' annual cycle and intra-seasonal/interannual variability. It will be conducted at CERFACS in close collaboration with CNRM. Required qualifications: - Ph.D thesis in atmospheric sciences or equivalent, at the time of selection jury - experience in atmospheric numerical modelling - communication and team work abilities - familiarity with Unix systems or equivalent, and Fortran language - good English language level (written and spoken) - previous knowledge and experience on West African and/or South Asian monsoon intra-seasonal and/or interannual variability would be an advantage. The selection of candidates will be based on the above elements, with particular emphasis on scientific competence, publication record, and technical competence. Please send CV, list of publications, letter of intent, two letters of recommendation plus any relevant document, until 20 August 2007, to: Herv? Douville, M?t?o-France, CNRM/GMGEC/UDC 42 Avenue Coriolis 31057 Toulouse cedex 01, France e-mail: herve.douville at meteo.fr as well as a copy to: Christophe Cassou, CNRS-CERFACS, 42 Avenue Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse (FRANCE) email: christophe.cassou at cerfacs.fr Application by e-mail is encouraged ! CNRM (http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/) is an associated laboratory of the CNRS (French Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques). ******************** (JOB 6) Post-doc - Ice sheet and earth system modelling. Free University of Brussels (VUB) (Belgium) The Ice and Climate Group of the Department of Geography at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) invites applications for a research position in ice sheet and earth system modeling in the framework of the project ASTER (Assessment of modelling uncertainties in long-term climate and sea-level change projections) funded by the Belgian Federal Government Science Policy Office. The job entails numerical studies with LOVECLIM, a newly developed global Earth System Model of intermediate complexity including the atmosphere, oceans, and ice sheets, with the main objective to improve climate and sea level projections over the next millennia validated by a large number of ensemble simulations covering the whole Holocene. The project is part of a collaborative effort with groups at the Universit? catholique de Louvain (Thierry Fichefet) and the Universit? de Li?ge (Anne Mouchet). At the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the successful applicant will be responsible for the cryospheric component of LOVECLIM. This will entail (i) refinements of the ice-sheet model components and its coupling procedure, (ii) the conduct and analysis of numerical experiments focusing on the behaviour of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and (iii) the coupling of a northern hemisphere ice sheet model component to improve insight in the 8.2 kyr abrupt cooling event. The desired qualifications are a degree in earth or physical sciences, excellent programming skills in a Fortran/Unix-type of environment including familiarity with graphics tools ( e.g. GMT), and good communication skills, both orally and in writing. Previous experience with the operation of large-scale ice-sheet and/or climate models would be beneficial. Candidates will be considered at either the postdoctoral level or at the PhD level with relevant experience and the right qualifications. The position is funded until the end of 2009 subject to a project review after 6 months and forms part of a long-term research effort by the Belgian Federal Government Science Policy Office under their Global Change/ Plan for Sustainable Development Research Programme. Applicants should email a cover letter and a Curriculum Vitae to Philippe Huybrechts, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, phuybrec at vub.ac.be http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~phuybrec/ Applications will be evaluated on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. ******************** (JOBS 7) Post-docs: Geography/Climatology/Geomorphology - Univ of Lisbon (Portugal) http://www.eracareers.pt/opportunities/index.aspx? task=showAnuncioOportunities&jobId=5985 Job/Fellowship Reference: C2007-UL-334-CEG Job summary: The Centre of Geographical Studies opens a search for five PhD researchers (Geography or related research fields, including CLIMATOLOGY), with a minimum of postdoctoral three years experience (in exceptional cases, candidates with less than three years research experience might be considered eligible), to develop research on the following areas: 1) Environmental Change and Spatial Vulnerability; 2) Demographic Ageing, International Migration and Social Cohesion; 3) Cities, Innovation, Creativity and Territorial Governance; and 4) Economic Integration and Regional Development. ******************** (JOB 8) Asst Prof - Environmental Studies - Ursinus College - Collegeville, PA (USA) Ursinus College invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor of environmental studies to begin in fall 2008. A Ph.D. in environmental studies or a related field is expected by the start of employment. Applicants are welcome from all areas of environmental research and pedagogical interests within environmental studies. Prior experience teaching in an interdisciplinary environmental program is highly desirable. Teaching responsibilities will include core courses in environmental studies and courses in the candidate's area of expertise. The successful candidate must demonstrate a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching in a liberal arts setting and will be expected to participate in the College's interdisciplinary liberal studies freshman seminar, mentor student research, oversee campus sustainability projects, implement a program of scholarly activity, and participate in the continuing development of our thriving Environmental Studies Program. Send letter, c.v., undergraduate and graduate transcripts, copies of original teaching evaluations, statement of teaching philosophy, research plan (including student involvement), and three letters of recommendation (at least one of which must address teaching) to Richard L. Wallace, Chair, Environmental Studies, Ursinus College, P.O. Box 1000, Collegeville, PA 19426. To ensure full consideration, applications must be received by Oct. 1, 2007. For inquiries contact Dr. Wallace at rwallace at ursinus.edu (no e-mail applications, please). For more information on the Ursinus Environmental Studies Program, please see http://academic.ursinus.edu/env/. ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc - Spatial Vegetation Modeling and Landscape Ecology - Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems Team, Ecosystem Processes Program - Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon (USA) Research Ecologist, GS-408-11 or -12, salary range $52,912 - $63,417 Location: Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems Team, Ecosystem Processes Program, Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon. Start Date: October 1, 2007 (negotiable). Application Closing Date: August 2, 2007. The Position: The Forest Landscapes and Ecosystems Team seeks a motivated individual to pursue research in spatial vegetation modeling and landscape ecology. The position is with the PNW Research Station at the Forestry Sciences Lab in Corvallis, Oregon. The researcher also will be a member of the Landscape Ecology, Modeling, Mapping, and Analysis (LEMMA) team (http://www.fsl.orst.edu/lemma), comprised of two other scientists and three Faculty Research Assistants from PNW and Oregon State University. At least two years of funding are available, with the possibility of extension up to two more years given additional funding. The position will support a national pilot study to develop novel methods for k-nearest-neighbor (kNN) mapping of forest vegetation and landscape pattern. The kNN method of predictive vegetation mapping uses statistical or gradient models to integrate detailed data on vegetation composition and structure collected on field plots with spatial data from satellite imagery, climate and topographic models, and other sources. Resulting maps are used regionally in landscape scenario analysis; wildland risk assessment for fire, insects and diseases, and climate change; land management planning; and biodiversity assessment and conservation planning. The national pilot will evaluate kNN for seven ecoregions across the United States, in collaboration with scientists from other regions. This position will be responsible for three western ecoregions. The kNN methods developed in this study ultimately will be applied nationally, to develop maps and related products for a variety of applications. The national pilot is a collaborative and jointly-funded effort among Forest Service Research, State and Private, and National Forest Systems. The scientist will be responsible for original research related to the project, including study design, data analysis, and oral and written communication of research findings to a variety of audiences. Research questions may address alternative methods for spatial modeling of plant communities and land cover, spatial scaling issues in mapping vegetation and landscape pattern, monitoring landscape change, methods for spatial accuracy assessment, or other topics within the scientist's areas of interest and expertise. Qualifications: * Ph.D. in ecology, geography, remote sensing, forestry, or related field. * Knowledge of methods and software for quantitative ecology, gradient analysis, spatial modeling, and statistics. * Demonstrated ability to manipulate and analyze a variety of large, complex spatial and relational databases. * Experience with geographic information systems (GIS) analysis and software. * Knowledge of remote sensing, vegetation sampling designs and data formats, and biogeography of plant communities of the Pacific Northwest are desirable. * Demonstrated scholarship through peer-reviewed publications and presentations. * Ability to work relatively unsupervised, plan work, achieve results, and meet deadlines. * Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment. To Learn More About the Position: Contact Janet Ohmann, e-mail johmann at fs.fed.us. To Apply: By August 2, 2007, send electronic (preferred) or printed copies of: (1) statement of interest describing your qualifications and experience and availability dates; (2) complete curriculum vitae with dates of employment, hours per week worked, and descriptions of duties; (3) transcripts from graduate and undergraduate study (unofficial copies are OK); (4) names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of three references; (5) reprints of up to five publications; and (6) Federal Application OF 612 (available at http://www.opm.gov/forms/html/of.asp) to Janet Ohmann, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, johmann at fs.fed.us. Incomplete applications will not be considered. ******************** (JOB 10) Managing Editor - Climate and Energy Programme - Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Stockholm (Sweden) http://www.sei.se/index.php?page=jobitem&item=5613 Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is currently looking for a Managing Editor to work with the Climate and Energy Programme on the launch of a new academic journal, as well as on several other publications aimed at both researchers and policymakers. The Climate and Energy Programme engages in research, communication and capacity- building in the fields of energy access, bio-resources and climatepolicy to support decision-making at all levels. The tasks and responsibilities of the Managing Editor will include: ? Day-to-day management of the new journal Climate and Development, which will be published by Earthscan and complement its existing journal Climate Policy. This task will involve initiating and maintaining contact with authors, reviewers, editors and the publisher; screening submitted papers and editing accepted papers; and maintaining the journal website. The technical production of the journal will be the responsibility of Earthscan. ? Coordinate thematic syntheses on climate change research for development targeted at policy and decision makers ? Assume editorial responsibility for newsletters, policy briefs and the website of the Stockholm-based Climate and Energy Programme. ? Provide editorial support in producing research reports. ? Assist in developing a long-term communication strategy for the Climate and Energy Programme. The successful applicant will have an affinity with climate, energy and development issues and be a native English speaker (or have similarly strong command of written English). S/he will have been exposed to different international audiences, including from developing countries. In addition, the successful applicant will have: ? Excellent skills in editing scientific writing in English (technical editing and copy-editing). ? Strong organisational and motivational skills. ? Experience with synthesising scientific information for a non- expert audience. ? Experience with or interest in web publishing. ? Ability to work independently as well as in a team. ? Ability to travel occasionally. The position is available immediately; the appointment will be until the end of 2009, with possibility of renewal. Applications, including a cover letter describing yourself and highlighting relevant skills and experience, a CV and up to three samples of previous work, should be written in English and arrive at SEI as soon as possible but no later than 20 July 2007. They should be sent by e-mail to Karin Sch?le, Human Resources Manager ( karin.schele at sei.se). Attachments should be sent as PDF files only. Further details are available from the Climate and Energy Group Leader, Richard Klein (richard.klein at sei.se). The SEI Academic Union Club representative is Charmaine Poutiainen (charmaine.poutiainen at sei.se). ******************** (JOBS 11) Forwarded from the list serve climate-l Anthropology, University of Kent - Stockholm Environment Institute, Oxford, UK http://www.sei.se/ CASE funded PhD post for independent research and policy advice- http://www.sei.se/index.php?page=jobitem&item=5612 Duty Station: Oxford, UK Deadline: 9 July 2007 - Online Application form http://records.kent.ac.uk/external/admissions/pg_application.php **************** Stockholm Environment Institute - http://www.sei.se/ Managing Editor - http://www.sei.se/index.php?page=newsitem&item=5615 Duty Station: Stockholm, Sweden Deadline: 20 July 2007 - Karin Sch?le, Human Resources Manager, karin.schele at sei.se ***************** Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center - http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia Finance and Administrative Service Division Manager - http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-26655.html Duty Station: Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines Deadline: 25 July 2007, 5:00pm, Manila time - Ms. Agatha Diaz < adiaz at adb.org>, REFERENCE: Finance and Administrative Service Division Manager ******************* World Resources Institute - www.wri.org Senior Associate / Director of U.S. Climate Policy - http://www.wri.org/joblist/job.cfm?jid=256 Duty Station: Washington DC, USA Deadline: none - Seth Ort, sort at wri.org ******************* World Resources Institute - www.wri.org Senior Associate / Deputy Director of Business, Engagement, Climate and Energy Program - http://www.wri.org/joblist/job.cfm?jid=255 Duty Station: Washington DC, USA Deadline: none - Seth Ort, sort at wri.org ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070706/3d9226ad/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jul 13 13:21:14 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:21:14 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 7/13/2007 Message-ID: <3B4C4434-51AB-47E6-9237-2B3F109A1742@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 7/13/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS FORUM China's Climate Change Strategy By Joanna I. Lewis http://www.jamestown.org/china_brief/article.php?articleid=2373503 Live Earth's Critics By Carl Pope, gleaned from The Huffington Post by Sue Weiler http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/live-earths- critics_b_55421.html SCIENCE NEWS Australia plans climate corridor http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM. 20070709.waustclim0709/EmailBNStory/Science/home New Analysis Counters Claims that Solar Activity Is Linked to Global Warming http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2123447,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/yuywz8 (see NEWS 1 below) Compromise Measure Aims to Limit Global Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/27xjuw (see NEWS 2 below) Study Paints Dire Picture of Warmer Northeast http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/science/12warm.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/27s23g (see NEWS 3 below) Crist Sets Florida on a Green Path http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/169185.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3ex3sa (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Call for Authors: Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change - Sage Publications For further information, please contact: Maria Siano E-mail: golsonbooks2 at hotmail.com JOBS Physical Oceanographer - Prince William Sound Science Center - Cordova, Alaska (USA) http://www.pws-osri.org/whatsnew/employment.shtml (see JOB 1 below) Research Scientist - Ocean Modeling - Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute - Norrkoping (Sweden) http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5242&l=en or contact: Markus Meier Phone: +46-11-495-8612 E-mail: markus.meier at smhi.se (see JOB 2 below) Postdoc ? University of Essex Colchester (UK) http://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_essex01.asp?ewms=jj&id=30896 (see JOB 3 below) Postdoc ? The WorldFish Center ? Penang (Malaysia) www.worldfishcenter.org (see JOB 4 below) 2-Year term Appointment - working with the long-term Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite record - Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies - University of Wisconsin at Madison (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Asst Prof, tenure track - Climate Science ? Department of Geography ? University of California ? Santa Barbara, CA (USA) www.geog.ucsb.edu (see JOB 6 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) New Analysis Counters Claims that Solar Activity Is Linked to Global Warming http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2123447,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/yuywz8 Guardian (UK) - It has been one of the central claims of those who challenge the idea that human activities are to blame for global warming. The planet's climate has long fluctuated, say the climate sceptics, and current warming is just part of that natural cycle - the result of variation in the sun's output and not carbon dioxide emissions. But a new analysis of data on the sun's output in the last 25 years of the 20th century has firmly put the notion to rest. The data shows that even though the sun's activity has been decreasing since 1985, global temperatures have continued to rise at an accelerating rate. ..."The temperature record is simply not consistent with any of the solar forcings that people are talking about," said lead author Mike Lockwood at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. "They changed direction in 1985, the climate did not ... [the temperature] increase should be slowing down but in fact it is speeding up." ******************** (NEWS 2) Compromise Measure Aims to Limit Global Warming http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/washington/11climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/27xjuw New York Times (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON, July 10 - Influential senators from both parties, backed by unions and some large electrical utilities, will unveil a new global warming proposal on Wednesday that could form the basis of a climate change compromise that has so far eluded Congress. The complex measure, sponsored by Senators Jeff Bingaman, Democrat of New Mexico, and Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, would put in place a firm limit on emissions of heat- trapping gases that most scientists say are causing the warming of the planet. Like other so-called cap-and-trade schemes, it would allow companies to buy and sell the right to emit carbon dioxide, which is seen as the chief culprit in global warming. But to secure labor and corporate support, the measure also places a limit on the price industry would have to pay for such permits. And to win the endorsement of Alaska's two Republican senators, the bill contains billions of dollars in new money to help their state cope with the effects of climate change on roads, bridges and coastal areas. ******************** (NEWS 3) Study Paints Dire Picture of Warmer Northeast http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/science/12warm.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/27s23g New York Times (Registration Required) - By the end of this century, 100-year floods could hit New York City every 10 years, Long Island lobsters could disappear and New York apples could be hard to come by if nothing is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report released yesterday by a group of scientists and economists. "The Northeast can anticipate substantial - and often unwelcome or dangerous - changes during the rest of this century," concluded the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which examined the impact of global warming on the region. "The very character of the Northeast is at stake." The report, which covers nine states, is the product of a two- year collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group, and a team of several dozen independent scientists and economists. ******************** (NEWS 4) Crist Sets Florida on a Green Path http://www.miamiherald.com/884/story/169185.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3ex3sa Miami Herald (Registration Required) - Surrounded by foreign officials but no one from the Bush administration, Gov. Charlie Crist warned Thursday that global warming poses such a dire threat to Floridians that the state must take immediate, dramatic and unilateral action. The first phase of that initiative begins today as Crist signs unprecedented orders intended to help reduce pollution, slow global warming and position the state as a national model -- even as the federal government remains on the sidelines. "We cannot afford to ignore this issue any longer," Crist told about 600 people attending his Summit on Global Climate Change. "We have a responsibility to face this reality head-on and take action to address it." *************************************************** 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) Physical Oceanographer - Prince William Sound Science Center - Cordova, Alaska (USA) http://www.pws-osri.org/whatsnew/employment.shtml Application Deadline: 31 August 2007 The Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC) in Cordova, Alaska is accepting applications for the position of Physical Oceanographer. This position is partially funded by a grant from the Oil Spill Recovery Institute (OSRI) to conduct routine oceanographic transects and maintain fixed moorings and meteorological arrays, as well as telemetry networks, as part of the Prince William Sound Ocean Observing System. Position requirements include a PhD in physical oceanography or documented experience relevant to the duties for conducting oceanographic research projects. The candidate must be self-motivated and capable of working both independently and within an interdisciplinary team. Programming in IDL and/or MatLab, as well as expertise in quantitative analyses of oceanographic and meteorological time series data and graphical display of complex data analyses is essential. The candidate must be able to participate on a minimum of four seasonal oceanographic cruises of up to one-week duration per year. The candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Preference will be given to candidates with experience in coastal and near-shore circulation dynamics, oceanographic instrumentation (including CTD's, ADCP's, wave gauges, CODAR, and meteorological arrays), ocean observing systems (including real-time data relay networks), and a working knowledge of numerical circulation Modling. All candidates must either be U.S. citizens or Canadian or Mexican nationals eligible for a TN visa. The position is for two years with possible extensions depending on funding. The salary is $45,000 to $65,000 USD depending on experience, plus an excellent benefits package. To apply, please send a one-page cover letter with research interests, names and contact information of three references, and curriculum vita by 31 August 2007 to: Nancy Bird, E-mail: bird at pwssc.gen.ak.us Inquiries about this position may also be directed to: Scott Pegau, OSRI Research Program Manager, Phone: 907-424-5800 ext. 222 E- mail: wspegau at pwssc.gen.ak.us ******************** (JOB 2) Research Scientist - Ocean Modeling - Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute - Norrkoping (Sweden) http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=5242&l=en or contact: Markus Meier Phone: +46-11-495-8612 E-mail: markus.meier at smhi.se The Division of Oceanography in the Research Department of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute seeks a research scientist on a permanent position to work on a high-resolution, 3- dimensional coupled biogeochemical-physical ocean model. The model system is used as a tool to investigate the Baltic Sea and Arctic Ocean response to climate variations and anthropogenic activities (e.g. nutrient reduction and greenhouse gas emission scenarios) on long timescales (100 years). The model system is also used for process studies. Applicants should have demonstrated experience in ocean research, preferably with a PhD in oceanography, meteorology, or in a related field; familiarity with Linux/UNIX, Fortran, and preferably MPI; experience on 3-dimensional ocean circulation models; and command of the English language. Good organization and communication skills are requested. Applicants should be able to work on own initiative and be able to prioritize. Written applications marked with reference number 1351 should be sent not later than Monday, 20 August 2007 to: registrator at smhi.se, or via regular mail to: Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SE-601 76, Norrkoping Sweden ******************** (JOB 3) Postdoc ? University of Essex Colchester (UK) http://gs12.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_essex01.asp?ewms=jj&id=30896 A three year position, starting September/October 2007 at the University of Essex, U.K., is available for a postdoctoral researcher to conduct analyses on the production, characterisation and novel roles of sea-ice diatom exopolymers (EPS). The project ?Production, characterisation and novel roles of sea- ice diatom exopolymers (EPS)? will be a combination of biochemical characterisation of EPS from Antarctic sea ice samples, physiological experiments with sea ice diatoms, and determining properties of EPS produced by diatoms under conditions experienced in sea ice. There is the possibility of field work in the Arctic or Antarctic. Based in Essex, the project is a collaborative NERC-funded study between Prof. Graham Underwood (Essex), Prof. David Thomas (Bangor) and Dr John Hallsworth, (Queens, Belfast), and some travel between locations will be required. Applicants must have (or have recently submitted) a Ph.D. in a relevant life science, and preference will be given to applicants with experience in microalgal biology, microbiology, carbohydrate chemistry or analytical water chemistry. Closing Date: 31 July 2007 ******************** (JOB 4) Postdoc ? The WorldFish Center ? Penang (Malaysia) www.worldfishcenter.org The WorldFish Center, located on the island of Penang, Malaysia, is a world-class scientific research organization. Our mission is to reduce poverty and hunger by improving fisheries and aquaculture. We have offices in eleven countries and engage in collaborative research with our partners in more than 50 countries. The Center is a nonprofit organization and a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Responsibilities: * To conduct poverty and vulnerability analysis of small-scale fisheries and coral reef resource dependent coastal communities in developing nations of the Pacific region. To provide synthesis and integration of small scale fishery-related information with biophysical (coral reef status, climate change) and socioeconomic data in selected target countries (PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, New Caledonia) and the wider central Western Pacific. * To publish results of research in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and through web pages, newsletters and other popular media * To prepare scientific reports and policy briefs for donors and WorldFish as required. * To develop project proposals in consultation with Portfolio Directors, Discipline Directors and other scientific staff. * To contribute to strategic science discussions and the development of science directions within ReefBase and the Pacific region and provide expert opinions on relevant subject matters to the Discipline Director and Portfolio Directors. * To work with the ReefBase Pacific project leader and ReefBase management team to ensure effective integration of activities across all regions with coral reef habitats and associated fisheries. * To interact with ReefBase Pacific Coordinator, partners and donors to ensure project meets its objectives and contribute to ReefBase management as required. * To present the results of research at national, regional and international scientific meetings and relevant fora. * To synthesize results of the research being carried out within and outside ReefBase. Requirements: * PhD in ecology, fisheries or related discipline. * Experience in fisheries ecology, coral reef ecology, and climate change with demonstrated research innovation, and the application of research to management issues. * Strong analytical and technical skills in fisheries ecology, climate change, and statistics. * Strong research knowledge, demonstrated research innovation. * Strong project management skills, including planning, organisation, budgeting, timeline and tasks and resources. * Strong interpersonal, communication and coaching skills * Demonstrated record of inter-disciplinary, partnership and team- building and the desire to work in a collaborative environment. * Excellent written and verbal English proficiency with good presentation skills. Interested applicants are invited to submit a detailed resume that includes a cover letter, names and contacts (telephone, fax, and e-mail address) of three (3) professional referees who are familiar with the candidate's qualifications and work experience via email to worldfish-hr at cgiar.org, no later than 28 July 2007. This position will be based at the WorldFish's headquarters in Penang. Only short- listed candidates will be notified. ******************** (JOB 5) 2-Year term Appointment - working with the long-term Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite record - Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies - University of Wisconsin at Madison (USA) Start date is as soon as possible, vacancy will be open until filled. Basic Job Function: Responsible for investigating several different calibration techniques for the AVHRR and ascertaining the relative merits of each. The successful candidate will need to present results at two workshops and write a technical report outlining the findings at the end of this project. In addition, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to perform other fundamental science using this more than 25-year data set. Duties Include: Calibration analysis: Comparing several different calibration techniques for the AVHRR within the Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x) climate data set. The candidate will need to develop methods for determining merits and shortcomings of each technique and use that information to recommend the calibration that is most conducive to using the AVHRR for climate studies Consensus building: The candidate will present results at two different workshops, get feedback from other groups, formulate a consensus calibration, and detail the results in a technical report. Fundamental science: The opportunity will also exist for the candidate to perform fundamental science with this AVHRR record. Due to its temporal range, questions related to climate will be most appropriate. Additionally, by using the results of the calibration efforts, the opportunity also exists to make authoritative long-term studies of global changes in cloud properties and/or aerosol activity, among other topics. Requirements Include: Master's degree in atmospheric science, or related field. PhD in atmospheric science, or related field, or equivalent research experience. Preference will be given to candidates with research experience in remote sensing and global climate change. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Background in statistical methods. Good knowledge of Fortran and IDL. Excellent oral and written communication skills and aptitude for public speaking to scientific audiences. If interested please send a CV to Amato Evan amatoe at ssec.wisc.edu, along with a potential start date. ******************** (JOB 6) Asst Prof, tenure track - Climate Science ? Department of Geography ? University of California ? Santa Barbara, CA (USA) www.geog.ucsb.edu University Of California Santa Barbara, Department of Geography invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level in Climate Science effective July 1, 2008, Ph.D. required. The Department seeks candidates whose research and teaching interests focus on understanding coupled climate processes using numerical modeling and observations. Research focus areas include climate scale interactions of the atmosphere with terrestrial, oceanic and/or cryospheric processes; global climate change and its feedbacks with regional climates; climate impacts on humankind and potential feedbacks; and the role of the mesoscale atmospheric processes in climate and climate change. The successful applicant should be versed in the use of observational data (e.g., remote sensing, historical or paleo records) as well as in the numerical and/or mathematical modeling of climate. It is expected that the candidate should be able to (1) conduct state of the art research in association with the diverse group of scholars in the Departments of Geography, Earth Science and Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, the Institute for Computational Earth System Science, the Marine Science Institute, and the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; (2) help focus interdisciplinary graduate training and research programs in the study of Earth's climate and its changes; and (3) to teach classes at both the graduate and undergraduate level in physical geography and atmospheric sciences. Application deadline is October 15, 2007. Qualified applicants should send their complete curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching interests, and names of three referees with addresses preferably by email to climate_search at geog.ucsb.edu, or by mail to Search Committee, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070713/5a9ef598/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jul 20 13:24:41 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:24:41 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 7/20/2007 Message-ID: <4216FE95-D66E-4A75-B28B-C3A0B41761CF@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 7/20//2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Global Climate Change: A Challenge to Policy, by Kenneth J. Arrow (2007), The Economists' Voice: Vol. 4: No. 3, Article 2. http://www.bepress.com/ev/vol4/iss3/art2 Nobel Laureate Kenneth J. Arrow explains why something must be done to limit global warming even if the Stern Report inadequately discounted future costs. Climate Change: The Uncertainties, the Certainties and What They Imply About Action, by Thomas C. Schelling (2007) The Economists' Voice: Vol. 4: No. 3, Article 3. http://www.bepress.com/ev/vol4/iss3/art3 Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling argues although the uncertainties regarding climate change are many, the certainties create certain urgencies and inaction is an extreme position; he emphasizes technological advance and governmental sponsorship. National Science Foundation Regional Grants Conference - 22-23 October 2007 - Portland, Oregon (USA) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=reggrntsconf07 Similar conferences are held in other parts of the U.S. This is a great opportunity to learn how the NSF system works. FORUM The Biofuel Myths http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/10/opinion/edholt.php (see FORUM 1 below) The world has two energy crises but no real answers By Gideon Rachman http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0a97e57e-2e34-11dc-821c-0000779fd2ac.html (see FORUM 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Al Gore sponsors a Create-an-Ad Contest to Raise Awareness of Climate Change http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/business/media/13green.html? Mark Abbott of Oregon State University to become National Science Foundation's Assistant Director for Geosciences http://presszoom.com/story_136346.html Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/ AR2007071500882.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2qayqp (see NEWS 1 below) Invasive Species Are Wreaking Ecological Havoc http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/ 20070716_They_Came__They_Stayed__They_Conquered.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2xyfzm (see NEWS 2 below) Energy Use 'Drove Human Walking' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6902379.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2tdcv3 (see NEWS 3 below) Glaciers in Retreat http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/earth/17glacier.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/337544 (see NEWS 4 below) So You Think It's Hot? Southwest to Sizzle for 90 Years Megadrought Could Cause Social Conflicts Over Water, Energy, Immigration http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3352465&page=1 (see NEWS 5 below) The Energy Challenge: Solar Power Wins Enthusiasts but Not Money http://www.nytimes.com/ref/science/earth/energy.html (see NEWS 6 below) Teachers to Learn About Climate Change http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/07/18/ teachers_to_learn_about_climate_change/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bbu4w (see NEWS 7 below) Megaflood 'Made Island Britain' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6904675.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yqvpat (see NEWS 8 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Course for Developing Environmental Journalism Skills http://ej.msu.edu/index2.php If interested in developing your environmental journalism skills, contact Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. They offer scholarships for an excellent 5-day field school. JOBS Future Generation Fellowships, University of Melbourne, Australia www.jobs.unimelb.edu.au - position number (FGF2007) (see JOB 1 below) Post-doc - Physical Oceanography and Ocean Circulation - Earth and Space Research, Seattle, WA (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Staff Scientist/ Policy Analyst - transportation and climate change - International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) - San Francisco (USA (see JOB 3 below) Post-doc - Spatial Modeling of Human-Environment Interactions, Center for Applied Geographic Information Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Policy Director & Policy Analyst - Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Program Director - Social Sciences - Earthwatch - Maynard, MA (USA) http://www.earthwatch.org/atf/cf/{BB294090-7E6A-477F- AE67-1A6A3A3288B3}/SOCSCIPROGRAMDIRECTOR.PDF (see JOB 6 below) Asst Profs ? environmental policy, land use, population and environment and coupled and human and natural systems - Environmenal Science & Sociology ? Michigan State University ? Lansing, MI (USA) (see JOBS 7 below) *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) The Biofuel Myths http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/10/opinion/edholt.php The term "biofuels" suggests renewable abundance: clean, green, sustainable assurance about technology and progress. This pure image allows industry, politicians, the World Bank, the United Nations and even the International Panel on Climate Change to present fuels made from corn, sugarcane, soy and other crops as the next step in a smooth transition from peak oil to a yet-to-be-defined renewable fuel economy. But in reality, biofuel draws its power from cornucopian myths and directs our attention away from economic interests that would benefit from the transition, while avoiding discussion of the growing North-South food and energy imbalance. (continued...) ******************** (FORUM 2) The world has two energy crises but no real answers By Gideon Rachman http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0a97e57e-2e34-11dc-821c-0000779fd2ac.html How very shocking! Brendan Nelson, Australia's defence minister, has caused sharp intakes of breath by saying something that is obviously true. He remarked last week that the Middle East was "an important supplier of energy, oil in particular" and that - as a result - people "need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq". Mr Nelson did not say that Iraq was a "war for oil". He merely noted that there was a lot of the stuff sitting under the ground there - and that this mattered. This is not news. If you look at the biggest geopolitical questions facing the world, energy is at the heart of most of them. The world is, in fact, facing two energy crises. The first is rooted in scarcity and traditional power politics. It involves the struggle by the world's largest and most energy-hungry economies to get hold of the natural resources they need. Just yesterday the International Energy Agency warned that the world oil market would be "extremely tight" over the next five years. Demands from China and other emerging economies are rising. But Mary Kaldor - co-author of a new book called Oil Wars (Pluto) - points out the struggle to find new oil is a familiar sort of conflict, reminiscent of the 19th century "great game" or earlier imperial clashes. The second energy crisis is new. It is driven by climate change. It demands international co-operation rather than competition. While the first crisis leads politicians and businessmen to search out ever more oil and gas, the second demands that they radically reduce their economies' dependence on hydrocarbons. Politicians find themselves pulled in two directions. Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, spent much of his last few months in office trying to promote an international agreement on climate change. But he also thinks that one of his most important - if least heralded - achievements was to secure a long-term deal for Britain on gas supplies from Norway. In theory, the two energy crises could point in the same direction. The development of alternative, "clean" energies would reduce dependence on oil and gas. It is also crucial to any effort to cut emissions of carbon dioxide. The trouble is that there is little sign that alternative energy can be developed fast enough to rein in demand for oil and gas. Mr Blair is a firm believer in the need to develop nuclear energy. But even this policy - controversial as it is - seems unlikely to fill the gap. One report published last week argued that four new nuclear reactors a month would have to be built from now to 2070 to make any difference to global carbon dioxide emissions (Too Hot to Handle? The Future of Civil Nuclear Power , Oxford Research Group). But while the debate about global warming continues to generate more hot air than real change, the pursuit of new sources of oil and gas is now central to the foreign policies of all the world's biggest powers. China's controversial foray into Africa is its first real effort to build power and influence outside Asia. The search for oil is fundamental to this policy - in particular, China's controversial relationship with the government of Sudan. At home, China is opening a new coal-fired power station every week, to the despair of global- warming activists. (continued...) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Clues to Rising Seas Are Hidden in Polar Ice http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/ AR2007071500882.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2qayqp Washington Post (Registration Required) - Few consequences of global warming pose as severe a threat to human society as sea-level rise. But scientists have yet to figure out how to predict it. And not knowing what to expect, policymakers and others are hamstrung in considering how to try to prevent it or prepare for it. To calculate sea-level rise, the key thing researchers need to understand is the behavior of the major ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. The disintegration of one would dramatically raise the ocean. But while computer models now yield an increasingly sophisticated understanding of how a warming atmosphere would behave, such models have yet to fully encapsulate the complex processes that regulate ice sheet behavior. "The question is: Can we predict sea level? And the answer is no," said David Holland, who directs New York University's Center for Atmosphere Ocean Science. ******************** (NEWS 2) Invasive Species Are Wreaking Ecological Havoc http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/daily/ 20070716_They_Came__They_Stayed__They_Conquered.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2xyfzm Philadelphia Inquirer - For several years, foresters and entomologists have watched with horror - and dread - as a half-inch green bug spread outward from Detroit, leaving 25 million dead ash trees behind. Survey crews from Michigan to Pennsylvania stalked the forests; if it showed up, they wanted to know. Three weeks ago in western Pennsylvania, two surveyors pulled to the side of the road and got out of their car. "Stand still," said one, noticing an iridescent insect on the other's back. The emerald ash borer had landed. Now, with reports of suspicious ash tree damage from surrounding counties, state and federal officials are planning still more surveys - and trying to figure out what on earth to do next. ******************** (NEWS 3) Energy Use 'Drove Human Walking' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6902379.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2tdcv3 BBC News Online - Humans evolved to walk upright because it uses less energy than traveling on all fours, according to researchers. A US team compared the energy used by humans and by chimpanzees in walking. The human bipedal gait is about four times more efficient than chimps getting around on either two or four legs, the researchers found. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they say this may explain why we walk bipedally, and some of our anatomical features. Other research groups have proposed alternative explanations for our two-legged gait. Some suggest it evolved because early humans needed to reach upwards to collect food or pass it to a mate, while others maintain it predates four-legged locomotion in primates, citing the often upright posture of orangutans as they move across slim branches. ******************** (NEWS 4) Glaciers in Retreat http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/science/earth/17glacier.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/337544 New York Times (Registration Required) - ON CHORABARI GLACIER, India - This is how a glacier retreats. At nearly 13,000 feet above sea level, in the shadow of a sharp Himalayan peak, a wall of black ice oozes in the sunshine. A tumbling stone breaks the silence of the mountains, or water gurgles under the ground, a sign that the glacier is melting from inside. Where it empties out - scientists call it the snout - a noisy, frothy stream rushes down to meet the river Ganges. D.P. Dobhal, a glaciologist who has spent the last three years climbing and poking the Chorabari glacier, stands at the edge of the snout and points ahead. Three years ago, the snout was roughly 90 feet farther away. On a map drawn in 1962, it was plotted 860 feet from here. Mr. Dobhal marked the spot with a Stonehenge-like pile of rocks. Mr. Dobhal's steep and solitary quest ? to measure the changes in the glacier's size and volume - points to a looming worldwide concern, with particularly serious repercussions for India and its neighbors, ******************** (NEWS 5) So You Think It's Hot? Southwest to Sizzle for 90 Years Megadrought Could Cause Social Conflicts Over Water, Energy, Immigration http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3352465&page=1 As the country sizzles from Phoenix to Las Vegas, scientists and environmentalists are saying, "I told you so." Although it's hard to judge long-term trends from individual seasons, a study co-written by researchers at Columbia and Princeton universities confirms that long-term drought is already under way in the American Southwest ? one that may last the rest of this century, if not longer. These scientists attribute this new climatology in one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States to global warming. "It's already on the way," said senior researcher and geophysicist Richard Seager of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Institute at Columbia University. "Even if we intervene, it will persist for a few more decades. It takes that long to respond." Seager and his colleagues at Lamont-Doherty, and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab at Princeton, looked at 19 different computerized climate models from around the world. Similar to those used for weather forecasting, the models dated back to 1860 and projected to 2100. The models showed a marked increase in arid climate beginning around now and worsening through the current century. The team reported its findings this year at the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, often called the supreme court of climate science. Its research was also published in April in the journal Science. ******************** (NEWS 6) The Energy Challenge: Solar Power Wins Enthusiasts but Not Money http://www.nytimes.com/ref/science/earth/energy.html The trade association for the nuclear power industry recently asked 1,000 Americans what energy source they thought would be used most for generating electricity in 15 years. The top choice? Not nuclear plants, or coal or natural gas. The winner was the sun, cited by 27 percent of those polled. It is no wonder solar power has captured the public imagination. Panels that convert sunlight to electricity are winning supporters around the world - from Europe, where gleaming arrays cloak skyscrapers and farmers' fields, to Wall Street, where stock offerings for panel makers have had a great ride, to California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Million Solar Roofs" initiative is promoted as building a homegrown industry and fighting global warming. But for all the enthusiasm about harvesting sunlight, some of the most ardent experts and investors say that moving this energy source from niche to mainstream - last year it provided less than 0.01 percent of the country's electricity supply - is unlikely without significant technological breakthroughs. And given the current scale of research in private and government laboratories, that is not expected to happen anytime soon. Even a quarter century from now, says the Energy Department official in charge of renewable energy, solar power might account for, at best, 2 or 3 percent of the grid electricity in the United States. In the meantime, coal-burning power plants, the main source of smokestack emissions linked to global warming, are being built around the world at a rate of more than one a week. Propelled by government incentives in Germany and Japan, as well as a growing number of American states, sales of solar panels made of silicon that convert sunlight directly into electricity, known as photovoltaic cells, have taken off, lowering manufacturing costs and leading to product refinements. But Vinod Khosla, a prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur who focuses on energy, said the market-driven improvements were not happening fast enough to put solar technology beyond much more than a boutique investment. "Most of the environmental stuff out there now is toys compared to the scale we need to really solve the planet's problems," Mr. Khosla said. Scientists long ago calculated that an hour's worth of the sunlight bathing the planet held far more energy than humans worldwide could use in a year, and the first practical devices for converting light to electricity were designed more than half a century ago. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 7) Teachers to Learn About Climate Change http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/07/18/ teachers_to_learn_about_climate_change/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bbu4w Boston Globe (Registration Required) - FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- School teachers from across Alaska are getting lessons this month at the University of Alaska Fairbanks so they can more effectively teach their students back home about climate change. Sixty teachers are scheduled to participate in this year's Science Teacher Education Program hosted by the Geophysical Institute at the university. During the program's two-week sessions, teachers learn from scientists and develop lesson plans together. "The plan is to have teachers better prepared to teach science," Mary Martin, the program's coordinator said. "This year it's about scientists teaching about global climate change." The first session of the program started last week and runs through Friday with 30 teachers participating. Another batch of teachers is scheduled to arrive on campus next week. Each day, teachers will spend several hours in the morning talking with UAF scientists about the latest research on sea ice, coastal erosion, glaciers, permafrost and hydrology. ******************** (NEWS 8) Megaflood 'Made Island Britain' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6904675.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yqvpat BBC News Online - Britain became separated from mainland Europe after a catastrophic flood some time before 200,000 years ago, a sonar study of the English Channel confirms. The images reveal deep scars on the Channel bed that must have been cut by a sudden, massive discharge of water. Scientists tell the journal Nature that the torrent probably came from a giant lake in what is now the North Sea. Some event - perhaps an earthquake - caused the lake's rim to breach at the Dover Strait, they believe. Dr Sanjeev Gupta, from Imperial College London, and colleagues say the discharge would have been one of the most significant megafloods in recent Earth history, and provides an explanation for Britain's island status. "This event, or series of events, that caused [the breach] changed the course of Britain's history," Dr Gupta told BBC News. *************************************************** 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) Future Generation Fellowships, University of Melbourne, Australia www.jobs.unimelb.edu.au - position number (FGF2007) The University of Melbourne's strategic direction sets three priorities for the University - a continuing focus on research, learning and teaching and an expanded focus on knowledge transfer - and envisages a 'triple helix' in which the three strands of research, learning and teaching and knowledge transfer are closely bound, each reinforcing the other. In seeking to foster and develop excellence in research and related activities, the University is offering Future Generation Fellowships to outstanding early career researchers. Selection Criteria: 1) Candidates must hold a PhD or demonstrate equivalent standing through other expertise and experience Have an outstanding research record relative to opportunity. 2) Be in a research field that aligns with the strategic direction of the University: - Asian and Middle Eastern Interactions ? Communications - Cultural, Economic and Social Analysis - Health and Medicine - Physical and Biological Systems 3) Having research expertise that encourages cross-disciplinary research with linkages extending beyond Department and Faculty boundaries will be an advantage 4) Have completed at least one period of postdoctoral training, or equivalent, at the time of taking up the Fellowship Benefits Successful Fellows will be offered a Fellowship of up to 3 years providing them with an opportunity to develop and extend their career with the University of Melbourne. At the end of this term, a continuing Lectureship will be subject to advertisement and competition. Salary in the range A$68,256 - $73,376 p.a. will be negotiated in accordance with experience and suitability. In addition, the University also offers generous employer superannuation benefits of 17%. We invite exceptional candidates in the sciences, humanities, music, visual and performing arts and social sciences to submit their CV, a proposal outlining a broad research plan and a statement demonstrating how they meet the selection criteria. Applicants should discuss their application with the appropriate Head or Dean of the Department/Faculty in which they would work. Closing Date: 31 August 2007. To submit your application, you must access the online advertisement at www.jobs.unimelb.edu.au by using the position number (FGF2007) as the keyword in the Job Search screen. ******************** (JOB 2) Post-doc - Physical Oceanography and Ocean Circulation - Earth and Space Research, Seattle, WA (USA) Earth & Space Research (ESR), a small non-profit oceanographic research company, seeks a qualified oceanographer to carry out guided as well as self-directed research related to upper ocean circulation and dynamics using the OSCAR satellite-derived surface current fields ( www.oscar.noaa.gov). Scientific analyses may include seasonal to interannual variability, ENSO dynamics, heat and freshwater transports, mixed layer dynamics, merged analysis with surface drifters, model assimilation, Lagrangian statistics and other relevant topics. In addition, several substantive improvements to the OSCAR data are planned over the next two years. The successful candidate will be given primary responsibility to manage the day-to-day operations of the OSCAR processing system at ESR, which will include implementing new algorithms, automated processing functions, data transfers, ongoing validation analysis and liaison with the NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry and the NOAA Ocean Prediction Center for implementing and evaluating a parallel operational data system. Minimum qualifications include post graduate degree (PhD preferred) in physical oceanography or closely related field. Experience and skill with Unix/Linux, automated scripting and Matlab are highly desired. Skill with C, Fortran, Perl or other coding languages is also beneficial. The position is available Summer/ Fall 2007, and has funding for up to two years. The successful candidate will find opportunities for longer term employment along with encouragement and mentoring to develop future scientific proposals and formulate his/her own research program. ESR (www.esr.org) is a Seattle-based, nonprofit institute specializing in oceanographic and climate related research with projects that cover a wide range of topics from polar oceanography to equatorial studies involving field measurement programs and satellite remote sensing. The organization's mission is to increase societal understanding of the Earth system through scientific research and public education. ESR provides a unique research environment by encouraging excellence in scientific inquiry through a supportive and responsive management structure and generous benefits program. To respond to this announcement, please send brief statement of interest and C.V. to Dr. Gary Lagerloef, ESR President, at employment at esr.org. ******************** (JOB 3) Staff Scientist/ Policy Analyst - transportation and climate change - International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) - San Francisco (USA) The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) currently has an immediate opening in the San Francisco office, primarily intended to support California-based policy making efforts related to implementation of AB32 and the cross-fertilization of climate change policy-making between California and the rest of the world. This position is intended to support strong policy-making on climate change, both in California and internationally. This position will work on implementation of AB32 in California, international information exchange related to California’s climate legislation, and other ICCT transportation projects related to climate change. This position will work directly with Dr. Alan Lloyd, president of ICCT, and other ICCT staff. Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have strong policy and technical skills, with a background in climate change mitigation. An emphasis in transportation-related issues is desirable. International work or study experience and/or fluency in another language is desirable. The candidate must have excellent written and verbal communications skills and strong quantitative, analytic, and research skills. He or she should also be well-organized and self-directed, strategic in identifying policy needs and how to meet them, and able to accurately and concisely summarize complex information. Candidates should have at least 2-3 years of relevant work experience with a government, environmental or consulting organization, or a development agency and/or a master’s degree in environmental science, engineering, energy and resources, economics, or public policy. Job details: Salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience and a generous benefits package is provided. Please send a resume, cover letter, a writing sample, three references (letters not necessary), and salary expectations to Kate Blumberg (kate at theicct.org). Candidates will be considered on a first come, first served basis and the position will remain open until filled. The International Council on Clean Transportation is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to dramatically reduce conventional pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from personal, public and goods transportation in order to improve air quality and human health, and mitigate climate change. The Council is made up of leading government regulators and experts from around the world that participate as individuals based on their experience with air quality and transportation issues. The ICCT promotes best practices and comprehensive solutions to improve vehicle emissions and efficiency, increase fuel quality and sustainability of alternative fuels, reduce pollution from the in-use fleet, and curtail emissions from international goods movement. The ICCT has offices in Washington, DC and San Francisco, California. For more information, visit http:// www.theicct.org ******************** (JOB 4) Post-doc - Spatial Modeling of Human-Environment Interactions, Center for Applied Geographic Information Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (USA) We seek a post-doctoral associate whose research interests focus on the spatial dimensions of human-environment interactions, with emphasis on urbanizing metropolitan regions. Supported by state funding to the Center for Applied GIS, this position will contribute to research on the application of advanced geospatial concepts and technologies to social and environmental problems. A wide range of research topics are appropriate for investigation in this position. Qualified candidates will possess a multidisciplinary background applicable to the understanding of environmental and human systems, such as work in environmental geography, landscape ecology, land-use change dynamics, conservation planning, urban and regional planning, sustainable development, and/or environmental management and policy. Strong quantitative and spatial modeling skills are required. Experience with field methods and integration of field data with GIS and remote sensing data for multi-scalar spatial analysis is desired. Evidence of strong publication potential and ability to generate external funding is essential. Salary and Benefits: $40,000 per year, student health benefits, plus $10,000 annual budget for research and travel. The position will be located at UNC Charlotte in the Center for Applied Geographic Information Science ( www.gis.uncc.edu ) with an appointment of 2 to 4 years pending performance. As part of a rapidly growing research university, the Center is integrally involved in several federally funded projects in both basic and applied GIScience research ranging from modeling impacts of urban growth on forest loss to predicting the spread of emerging forest disease. Start date: Review of applications will begin on September 15, 2007 and will remain open until a suitable candidate is identified. Start date is negotiable. To apply: please send an electronic application via e-mail with curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and the names of three references to Dr. Ross Meentemeyer ( rkmeente at uncc.edu ). Include 1)Center Post-Doc Search 2) in the subject line. For more information, please feel free to contact Dr. Meentemeyer by e-mail. University of North Carolina at Charlotte is an AA/EOE. ******************** (JOB 5) Policy Director & Policy Analyst - Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), (USA) The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) is a non- profit organization dedicated to promoting environmentally sustainable societies. EESI believes meeting this goal requires transitions to social and economic patterns that sustain people, the environment and the natural resources upon which present and future generations depend. EESI produces credible, timely information and innovative public policy initiatives that lead to these transitions. These products take the form of publications, briefings, work shops and task forces. Policy Director: Major Responsibilities: Develop and manage an Institute-wide effort to contribute to the design and adoption of policies that control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with a focus on the contribution that green buildings, energy efficient and renewable energy technologies can play. The applicant will provide strategic direction to a multi-disciplinary team of associates, analysts, and others working on U.S. climate policy Develop and implement a Congressional strategy and engage with senior legislative staff as well as members of Congress to achieve desired federal policy outcomes. The applicant will also work with other stakeholders to design and help implement climate and energy policies. The applicant will be called on to provide media interviews, as well as represent EESI in meetings with government officials, industry representatives and others in the policy community. It is essential that the Policy Director be able to engage different constituencies and views with clarity and good humor. EESI holds several briefings a year on various green building, renewable energy, energy efficiency and environmental topics which are timely to policymakers. The Policy Director will be responsible for helping to develop the briefing panels, writing related materials, outreach and follow-up for the briefing. Give presentations at conferences, workshops and other events related to U.S. climate policy, green buildings and other energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Build, maintain and update the green buildings network, including Congressional contacts. Help set research and analysis agenda. The Policy Director will be responsible for helping draft proposals and reports to funders and will be responsible for handling other duties as assigned. Responsibilities may shift depending upon organizational resources and priorities and obligations to funders. Additional Qualifications: Advanced degree in public policy, law, economics, environmental policy, political science, public administration, natural sciences, engineering, or related field. 5-8 years work experience, with minimum of 2 years direct policy experience at the federal or state level. Knowledge of the U.S. government, including familiarity with Capitol Hill and federal executive agencies. A sound understanding of and demonstrated interest in climate change and energy policy. Efficient, accurate, and timely research for program information and interest in being a public spokesperson on EESI's activities. Strong and demonstrable writing, quantitative and analytical skills, including the ability to design and write original policy research. Strong communication skills, and a demonstrated ability to work effectively in teams and independently from staff and consultants. Self-starter, flexible and able to manage multiple tasks. Ability to think strategically and creatively to help further EESI's mission. Application Requirements: The EESI Policy Director position is full time; start date is flexible. To apply please submit the following items via email to jobs at eesi.org. Please reference Policy Director Position in subject field. a) cover letter explaining your interests and experience with U.S. climate policy, green building, renewable energy and energy efficiency technology. b) current resume, list of publications if applicable c) writing sample, two-five pages in length d) list of references e) salary history/requirements Position is paid and open till filled. ******************** (JOB 6) Program Director - Social Sciences - Earthwatch - Maynard, MA (USA) http://www.earthwatch.org/atf/cf/{BB294090-7E6A-477F- AE67-1A6A3A3288B3}/SOCSCIPROGRAMDIRECTOR.PDF Earthwatch is seeking a dynamic PhD scientist to lead the development of a social science research program at the organization. Earthwatch has a long history of supporting a diverse portfolio of social science related projects throughout the world, including field research in archaeology, public health, and cultural anthropology among others. Earthwatch is now moving towards a more applied focus for all programs and will evaluate all projects against global sustainability agendas. Recognizing the importance of social sciences in addressing global agendas, Earthwatch is hiring a Social Science Program Director to build a global program of volunteer-supported field research that addresses these agendas. This person will support the evaluation and incorporation of social sciences in the other conservation and educational programs in the organization as well. The Social Sciences Program Director will be expected to recruit and develop field research projects appropriate for volunteers as well as support the evaluation process and reporting for these projects. The Social Sciences Program Director will report to the Director of Research, and work with Program Directors in other disciplines to support the organization?s Research Program. Earthwatch is searching for candidates with significant experience in the following areas: field research, project management, evaluation and reporting, communication and fund raising. ******************** (JOBS 7) Asst Profs ? environmental policy, land use, population and environment and coupled and human and natural systems - Environmenal Science & Sociology ? Michigan State University ? Lansing, MI (USA) Michigan State University seeks aculty members in the areas of coupled human and natural systems and population and environment or environmental policy, land use, population and environment and coupled and human and natural systems. Appointments will be joint between the Environmental Science and Policy Program and the Departments of Geography (land use position), Political Science (environmental policy position) or Sociology (population and environment or environmental policy position). These are positions in a cluster of several focusing on coupled human and natural systems. We are especially interested in researchers who apply modeling to understanding human-environment interactions. The appointment will be tenure system at the Assistant Professor level on an academic year basis. Ph.D. or equivalent is required at the time of the appointment. Candidates should have strong methodological skills and rigorous theoretical focus. International experience or demonstrated interest in international issues is an advantage. The positions will be structured to allow development of internationally renowned research programs with extramural support. Preference will be given to candidates who could engage in an initiative to introduce computational and other formal modeling techniques into the undergraduate social science curriculum. Letters of application should be accompanied by a curriculum vitae, short statement of professional goals, 3 letters of reference and examples of published work. Applications will be reviewed starting October 1, 2007, and will be accepted until the positions are filled. Applications can be mailed or sent electronically. Mailed applications should be addressed to: ESPP CHANS Search Committee, Environmental Science & Policy Program, Michigan State University, 274 Giltner Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1101. Electronic applications should be sent to ESPP at MAIL.MSU.EDU and directed to Search Committee. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070720/6b56429a/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Jul 27 13:04:26 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:04:26 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 7/27/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 7/27/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES National Science Foundation Report: The Changing Research and Publication Environment in American Research Universities http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07204 Overview of Funding Opportunities at the NSF - powerpoint talk by Tom Baerwald at the AAG (American Association of Geographers) in San Francisco in April, 2007 http://www.disccrs.org/career.html Tom Baerwald gave a great overview of NSF Funding Opportunities at the last AAG, and his powerpoint slides are now posted on the DISCCRS career resources web page. The talk includes information on how NSF is organized, how the proposal process works, what they're most interested in funding ( e.g. Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems), and much more. A New Climate Treaty: US Leadership after Kyoto by Eileen Claussen and Elliot Diringer of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/1594/ European Water Partnership's Web Blog www.questjournalists.com or www.ewp.eu This is an invitation to register for and contribute to Blue Gold, the European Water Partnership's water blog at. Blue Gold, one of the very few if not the only pure water blog on the Net, serves as an information and discussion platform for the water community and welcomes members and contributions from across the globe. FORUM Good read: "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. From Sue Weiler: I haven't read this book yet, but it has been highly recommended on the Eanth listserve. For a review by Gary Kamiya see http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/07/23/weisman/ index.html SCIENCE NEWS Renewable Energy Not Green - Science Live http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070726/sc_livescience/ studyrenewableenergynotgreen A Godsend for Darfur, or a Curse? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/weekinreview/22polgreen.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/3acdso (see NEWS 1 below) London Science Museum Chief: Cut Birthrate to Save Earth http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2132219,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mta4n (see NEWS 2 below) Humans 'Affect Global Rainfall' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6912527.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/272m2n (see NEWS 3 below) Ozone Has 'Strong Climate Effect' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6916162.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/ywvtxt (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Marie Curie Training Course 2008 ? 18th to 27th February 2008 - Freie Universit?t Berlin (Germany) www.fu-berlin.de/ffu/hdgec-school (see COURSES 1 below) JOBS Air Pollution Specialists (multiple positions) - ARB's Research Division: climate change and greenhouse gas program ? Sacramento, CA (USA) http://www.spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=325551 Principal Researcher - International Institute of Environment & Development (IIED) - Drylands Programme, Natural Resources Group - Edinburgh or Central London (UK) (see JOB 1 below) Research - Biogeochemistry, ecosystems, and climate research - Princeton University ? Princeton, NJ (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Asst Prof, Tenure track - Physical Geographer (fluvial geomorphology, soils, or hydro-climatology) - University of Oklahoma - Norman, OK (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Postdoc - Research & Evaluation Associate - The Dynamics of Cross- Disciplinary Science and Technology Research - University of Delaware Education Research & Development Center - Delaware Biotechnology Institute ? Newark, DE (USA) (see JOB 4 below) *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) A Godsend for Darfur, or a Curse? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/weekinreview/22polgreen.html? ref=science Or: http://tinyurl.com/3acdso New York Times (Registration Required) - The announcement by researchers at Boston University last week that a vast underground lake the size of Lake Erie had been discovered beneath the barren soil of northern Darfur, a blood-soaked but otherwise parched land racked by war for the past four years, was greeted by rapturous hopes. Could this, at last, bring deliverance from a cataclysmic conflict that has killed at least 200,000 people and pushed more than 2.5 million from their homes? ..."There is a very strong link between land degradation, desertification and conflict in Darfur," said [a new] United Nations Environmental Program report, which noted that rainfall in northern Darfur has decreased by a third over the last 80 years. "Exponential population growth and related environmental stress have created the conditions for conflicts to be triggered and sustained by political, tribal or ethnic differences," the report said, adding that Darfur "can be considered a tragic example of the social breakdown that can result from ecological collapse." ******************** (NEWS 2) London Science Museum Chief: Cut Birthrate to Save Earth http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2132219,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mta4n Guardian (UK) The new head of [London's] Science Museum has an uncompromising view about how global warming should be dealt with: get rid of a few billion people. Chris Rapley, who takes up his post on September 1, is not afraid of offending. 'I am not advocating genocide,' said Rapley. 'What I am saying is that if we invest in ways to reduce the birthrate - by improving contraception, education and healthcare - we will stop the world's population reaching its current estimated limit of between eight and 10 billion. 'That in turn will mean less carbon dioxide is being pumped into the atmosphere because there will be fewer people to drive cars and use electricity. The crucial point is that to achieve this goal you would only have to spend a fraction of the money that will be needed to bring about technological fixes, new nuclear power plants or renewable energy plants. However, everyone has decided, quietly, to ignore the issue.' ******************** (NEWS 3) Humans 'Affect Global Rainfall' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6912527.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/272m2n BBC News Online - Human-induced climate change has affected global rainfall patterns over the 20th Century, a study suggests. Researchers said changes to the climate had led to an increase in annual average rainfall in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. But while countries such as Canada, Russia and northern Europe had become wetter, areas including India and parts of Africa had become drier, they added. The findings will be published in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday. Climate models have, for a number of years, suggested that human activity has led to changes to the distribution of rain and snow across the globe. However, the computer models have been unable to pinpoint the extent of our influence, partly because drying in some regions have cancelled out moistening in others. ******************** (NEWS 4) Ozone Has 'Strong Climate Effect' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6916162.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/ywvtxt BBC News Online - Ozone could be a much more important driver of climate change than scientists had previously predicted, according to a study in Nature journal. The authors say the effects of this greenhouse gas - known by the formula O3 - have been largely overlooked. Ozone near the ground damages plants, reducing their ability to mop up carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. As a consequence, more CO2 will build up in the atmosphere instead of being taken up by plants. "Ozone could be twice as important as we previously thought as a driver of climate change," co-author Peter Cox, from the University of Exeter, UK, told the BBC News website. "Arguably, we have been looking in the wrong place for the key impacts of ozone." *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (COURSES 1) Marie Curie Training Course 2008 ? 18th to 27th February 2008 - Freie Universit?t Berlin (Germany) www.fu-berlin.de/ffu/hdgec-school The Marie Curie Training Course will be held from 18th to 27th February 2008 in Berlin at the Freie Universit?t Berlin. The Training Course is the second in a series of four Marie Curie Training Courses and is hosted by Environmental Policy Research Centre of the Freie Universit?t Berlin. The training course is the second in a series of four training courses on the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change, which are organised biannually in rotation with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, IVM. The theme of the 2008 Training Course will be ?The Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change ? Participation in Earth Governance? and is held around the 2008 Berlin Conference ?Long- Term Policies: Governing Social-Ecological Change?, which takes place at the 22nd and 23rd February 2008 at the Freie University in Berlin as well. The series of courses aims to train and educate advanced doctoral students and young researchers about the latest theoretical developments and empirical and practical implications from the field. It also provides the opportunity for participants to present the results of relevant research. It finally aims at establishing a network of young researchers and developing a research agenda for the future . For further information about the application contact hdgec.school at fu-berlin.de Note: Submissions should be sent by email before October 15, 2007 to: hdgec.school at fu-berlin.de. Important dates: Application submission deadline: 15th October, 2007 Notification of acceptance: 15th November, 2007 Training course paper due: 21st January, 2008 *************************************************** 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) Principal Researcher - International Institute of Environment & Development (IIED) - Drylands Programme, Natural Resources Group - Edinburgh or Central London (UK) http://www.iied.org/aboutiied/HR/PR_Dry.html Are you a dynamic water professional with experience of developmental work in Africa? IIED, an international policy research institute working for more sustainable and equitable development, has an exciting opportunity for someone to lead its water-related research and policy advocacy activities in West Africa. Natural resource governance and water rights are critical themes addressed by all the groups within IIED, particularly the Natural Resource Group. The Drylands programme within the Natural Resources Group is now recruiting a Principal Researcher to coordinate the Global Water Initiative in West Africa. The post-holder will also drive the programme?s related work on water rights, governance and conflict, and participate in the Making Decentralisation Work initiative. They will be responsible for building links on water- related work within the Natural resources group and with the Climate Change, Sustainable Markets and Human Settlements groups at IIED. This will include liaison with IIED?s on-going work on climate change and sustainable markets. Educated to postgraduate level in a relevant discipline, you will have a proven ability to manage and lead a research team working on large, multi-country research projects involving multiple stakeholders. Excellent people management and communication skills, including the ability to communicate with both specialist and non- specialist audiences in English and French, are also needed. Other essential requirements include: experience of designing and implementing policy-orientated research, particularly on natural resource management in the water sector in dryland Africa; and a significant record of innovative and influential work demonstrated by lead authorship of peer-reviewed publications and/or impact on policy. How to apply: CVs without a completed application form will not be accepted. Closing date for applications: Friday 17 August 2007 Interviews: w/c 3 September 2007 ******************** (JOB 2) Research - Biogeochemistry, ecosystems, and climate research - Princeton University ? Princeton, NJ (USA) We invite applications for several postdoctoral or more experienced researcher positions involving model and data based studies of ocean, atmosphere, and terrestrial biogeochemical cycles with relevance to the carbon cycle, climate change, and the response of ocean life to climate change. Areas of particular interest include but are not limited to: Southern Ocean processes; use of observations and models to infer the spatial and temporal distribution of carbon sources and sinks; applications of satellite observations; and response of ocean biology to global warming, including fisheries. The successful candidates will join a vigorous interdisciplinary research group and will be able to take advantage of a wide range of related research at Princeton University and GFDL/ NOAA. Applicants are asked to send vitae, a statement of research experience and interests, and names of at least 3 references to Jorge Sarmiento c/o Laura Rossi (lrossi at princeton.edu), Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Program, Princeton University, 300 Forrestal Road, Princeton, NJ 08540. We will begin reviewing applications as soon as they are received, and continue until the positions are filled. For general information about applying to Princeton University and how to self-identify, please see http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm. ******************** (JOB 3) Asst Prof, Tenure track - Physical Geographer (fluvial geomorphology, soils, or hydro-climatology) - University of Oklahoma - Norman, OK (USA) The Department of Geography at the University of Oklahoma invites applications for a nine-month, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Physical Geography, beginning August 16, 2008. Ph.D. required at time of appointment. Salary commensurate with experience. The Department of Geography seeks a broadly trained physical geographer with research interests in fluvial geomorphology, soils, or hydro-climatology. Research and teaching in environmental conservation with a regional interest in the Great Plains or other semi-arid regions preferred. The University and the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences provides collaborative opportunities with the School of Meteorology and National Weather Center programs, ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics, and Departments of Life Science. The candidate must engage in both graduate and undergraduate education programs, including introductory courses. Letters of application should include a statement of teaching experience and goals and a C.V. and the names and contact information for three referees. Applicants must also provide an outline of their current and continuing research program including potential for extramural funding. Review of applications will begin October 15, 2007 and continue until the position is filled. Apply by email to Dr. Bruce Hoagland (bhoagland at ou.edu), Committee Chair, Department of Geography, The University of Oklahoma. Norman, OK 73019. ******************** (JOB 4) Postdoc - Research & Evaluation Associate - The Dynamics of Cross-Disciplinary Science and Technology Research - University of Delaware Education Research & Development Center - Delaware Biotechnology Institute ? Newark, DE (USA) Position Description: We seek a recent Ph.D. to join an exciting collaboration at the intersection of the social studies of science and science and technology (S&T) project evaluation. The person in this two-year position will play a major role in an NSF-funded ethnographic study of innovation and organizational change in two emerging multidiscipline university research centers. The position will also involve participating in mixed-methods evaluations of NSF and NIH-funded cross-disciplinary research initiatives in Delaware. These S&T studies and evaluation activities are complementary efforts to understand the social structure, cultural dynamics, and project management of cross-disciplinary S&T research. The Research & Evaluation Associate will work closely with the project leader and other team members to develop and implement innovative methods of data collection, analysis, and reporting. The Associate will assist in supervising and mentoring graduate and undergraduate research assistants. In addition to co-authoring evaluation reports, the Associate will have the opportunity to co- author research articles based on these projects for peer-reviewed journals. Qualifications: Applicants must have a Ph.D. in science & technology studies, anthropology, sociology, education, evaluation, or a related field. Candidates who have conducted ethnographic studies of groups or organizations are strongly preferred. In addition, the strongest candidates will possess some or all of the following: ? Familiarity with social network analysis and/or bibliometric analysis. ? Subject matter knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and/or medicine. ? Experience in mixed-method research and/or project evaluation This position calls for a person who can manage multiple tasks, respond creatively to ambiguity and unexpected challenges, and collaborate across disciplines. The work will sometimes require a car to travel to field sites. Salary & Start Date: This is a two-year position, with the possibility of a third year if funding is available. Annual salary is $50,300, plus medical and other benefits. A start date in September- October, 2007 will be negotiated. Application Information: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send (by postal service or email) 1) cover letter, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) graduate transcript (unofficial is acceptable), 4) sample of academic writing relevant to this position, and 5) contact information for three professional references to: Steve Fifield, Ph.D., University of Delaware, Delaware Education Research and Development Center, 108B Pearson Hall, Newark, DE 19716 fifield at udel.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://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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070727/51e31cb3/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Aug 3 14:46:28 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 12:46:28 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 8/3/07 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 8/3/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Presentations available from Royal Society March 2007 Showcase of the IPCC WG1 report http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=3494 http://tv.royalsoc.ac.uk/dpx_live/dpx.php?dpxuser=dpx_v12 (see RESOURCES 1 below) FORUM Climate Catastrophe: DISCCRSnews encourages you to read Hansen, J. 2007. Climate Catastrophe. New Scientist 195 no. 2614: 30-34. http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abstracts/2007/Hansen_2.html Jumbo Squid Invade California Coast http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/jumbo-squid-invade- california-coast Or: http://tinyurl.com/2gwjt4 (see FORUM 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Nigeria: Climate Change - 13 million citizens at risk http://allafrica.com/stories/200707300344.html Jumbo Squid Invade California Coast http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/jumbo-squid-invade- california-coast Or: http://tinyurl.com/2gwjt4 (see NEWS 1 below) Big Oil drills for vote of approval http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7e3a8690-3acc-11dc-8f9e-0000779fd2ac.html (see NEWS 2 below) Algae aids corals in hot water http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20071207-16093-2.html (see NEWS 3 below) Global Warming Debate Is Stormy http://www.miamiherald.com/574/story/186619.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2vj837 (see NEWS 4 below) Bush Awards Medals to National Science and Technology Laureates http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070727-1711-bush- medals.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ytsppq (see NEWS 5 below) 'Dead Zone' Forms Again Off Oregon's Coast http://www.oregonlive.com/science/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/ science/1185933323144640.xml&coll=7 Or: http://tinyurl.com/yrstgy (see NEWS 6 below) House Passes $600 Million Increase in National Science Foundation Budget (see NEWS 7 below) Russia Plants Flag on North Pole Seabed http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2140202,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2cajqy (see NEWS 8 below) Lake Superior Changes Mystify Scientists http://www.examiner.com/ a-861403~Lake_Superior_Changes_Mystify_Scientists.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2nmwbc (see NEWS 9 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Speakers needed: Fall 2007 AGU Session on "Including Land Use and Land Cover Change in Earth System Models" - 10-14 December 2007, San Francisco, CA (USA) (see MEETING 1 below) nternational Conference Climate Changes Spatial Planning (CcSP) - 12-13 September 2007 - Netherlands www.climatechangesspatialplanning.nl (see MEETING 2 below) JOBS (see below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Presentations available from Royal Society March 2007 Showcase of the IPCC WG1 report http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=3494 http://tv.royalsoc.ac.uk/dpx_live/dpx.php?dpxuser=dpx_v12 In early March 2007 in London the Royal Society held a two-day discussion meeting titled The science of climate change: A showcase of the IPCC 4th Assessment Working Group 1 Report. The programme can be found at http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/ downloaddoc.asp?id=3494. The presentations and linked videos can now be found at http:// tv.royalsoc.ac.uk/dpx_live/dpx.php?dpxuser=dpx_v12 by clicking on the Environment and Climate tab, and then scrolling down to the list of 15 sessions, each titled 'Climate Change Discussion Meeting'. They are in reverse chronological order. The meeting was of great interest because it was the first occasion when a broad scientific audience was exposed to the underlying content of the work carried out by IPCC WG1. Each of the WG1 chapter lead authors gave a detailed presentation of their findings and were quizzed at length by participants. The event included panel discussions that are well worth watching, as these covered at length the IPCC process itself, along with a host of qualifications and new comments. Since that meeting, the 11 chapters that make up the report have been hosted at http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/wg1-report.html. You may find that watching the RS presentations, together with reading of the relevant chapter, does effectively bring alive the dense content, making it easier to assimilate the information along with the implications. *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Jumbo Squid Invade California Coast http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/jumbo-squid-invade- california-coast Or: http://tinyurl.com/2gwjt4 Discover - ...over the last few years, millions of jumbo squid- often called red devils, or Humboldt squid-have taken up permanent residence off the coasts of California in the Northern Hemisphere and Chile in the Southern. Sightings have been reported as far north as Alaska, where wolves gnaw on the washed-up carcasses. Why Dosidicus gigas has made its recent move to higher latitudes is something of a mystery. A new study in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says a combination of factors, including changes in the global climate and fishing practices, have caused the jumbo squid population to grow and expand its range. Since the squid are originally from lower latitudes with warmer waters and the most recent invasions were during El Nino events in 1997 and 1998 and in 2002 and 2003, the researchers originally suspected global climate change. But a recent jumbo squid tagging study by William Gilly at Stanford University showed that the cephalopods routinely survive 50-degree temperature fluctuations in a single day, suggesting that relatively gradual global warming might not have that much effect. ******************** (NEWS 2) Big Oil drills for vote of approval http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7e3a8690-3acc-11dc-8f9e-0000779fd2ac.html When Conoco Phillips was battling to prevent a state takeover of its multibillion-dollar investments in Venezuela last month, why was one of its top executives talking to elementary school teachers about lightbulbs? Jim Gallogly, head of refining and marketing, was conducting a day of questions and answers on recycling and other issues in Columbia, South Carolina. The third-biggest oil company in the US had sent him to a small city ? where it has no operations ? at this a critical time. "People are mad at us," Mr Gallogly explains. "We have to get out and answer their questions." Explaining its activities is something Conoco, and the industry at large, has started to do in the hope of turning round the poor reputation of the oil and gas sector. The public might be more sympathetic to $3-a-gallon petrol, executives reason, if it understands how the money is spent. Companies such as Conoco spend billions of dollars each year to find hydrocarbons in remote lands and deep under the ocean. The precious chemicals fuel everything from cars to power stations and are used to make everyday products such as toys and medicines. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 3) Algae aids corals in hot water http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20071207-16093-2.html Australian Institute of Marine Science - Thursday, 12 July 2007 - AIMS researcher observing the 2006 bleaching event at the Keppels. Coral geneticists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) are closer than ever before to unravelling the 'hidden' microscopic dynamics of reef coral. Dr Madeleine van Oppen and Jos Mieog (PhD student) from AIMS say their new highly sensitive genetic technique- 100 times more powerful than conventional methods - has provided the first evidence that many corals store several types of algae, which can improve their capacity to cope with warmer water temperatures. "Simply, when conditions warm the more heat tolerant algae provide back-up, become more abundant. Some algal types impart greater resistance to environmental extremes," said Mr Mieog. Since the discovery of this 'shuffling' effect some years ago there has been much debate amongst marine scientists, many suggesting it is an infrequent event due to the small number of corals that were shown to host several types of algae. But this is where the high-powered genetic investigations of Dr van Oppen's team (in collaboration with the Netherland's University of Groningen) reveal the contrary. Their study shows that most common corals on the Great Barrier Reef harbour more than one type of algae, and that conventional genetic methods have failed to detect some types which occur in low abundance. "This work shatters the popular view that only a small percentage of corals have the potential to respond to warmer conditions by shuffling live-in algal partners," said van Oppen "The potential for this hidden back-up type (algae) to step in and provide nutrition to coral during heat stress is far greater than currently thought," Mr Mieog added. The ability of reef corals to adapt or acclimatise to projected climate change is critical, but it has been an incredibly controversial question in contemporary coral reef science and conservation. "It is clear now that the previous techniques were unable to detect symbionts (algal partners) at low abundance." Since the 1980s, reefs around the world have been devastated by bleaching, where temperature increases of just 1?C above the long- term average can cause coral animals to expel the photosynthetic algae that keep them supplied with nutrients. "This flexibility discovered in our research is important in understanding the past evolutionary success of these coral species and their future survival capacity in the face of a changing climate," Dr van Oppen added. ******************** (NEWS 4) Global Warming Debate Is Stormy http://www.miamiherald.com/574/story/186619.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2vj837 Miami Herald (Registration Required) - Hurricanes are forming twice as often as they did a century ago, largely because of global warming caused by humans, according to a new scientific study. Other scientists say the report draws improper conclusions from partial data. The study, conducted by two respected researchers and scheduled to be released today in a peer-reviewed publication, found that four hurricanes and two tropical storms developed during an average year between 1900 and 1930. Between 1995 and 2005, however, the average shot up to eight hurricanes and seven tropical storms, the report said. The scientists attributed the sharp increases to warmer ocean temperatures and altered wind patterns linked to human-induced global warming. ******************** (NEWS 5) Bush Awards Medals to National Science and Technology Laureates http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070727-1711-bush- medals.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ytsppq San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON - President Bush awarded 30 science and technology medals Friday for breakthroughs in such fields as astrophysics, laser technology, climatology and tissue engineering. The National Science Foundation administers the Medal of Science, which was established by Congress in 1959. The Medal of Technology was established by Congress in 1980 and is administered by the Commerce Department. "We have researchers who have drilled into glaciers, isolated the DNA of mobile genes and pioneered the distributed feedback laser," Bush said before presenting the medals in the White House's East Room. "In other words, we've got some smart people here. And we're glad you're Americans." ******************** (NEWS 6) 'Dead Zone' Forms Again Off Oregon's Coast http://www.oregonlive.com/science/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/ science/1185933323144640.xml&coll=7 Or: http://tinyurl.com/yrstgy Oregonian (Registration Required) - For the sixth year in a row, a suffocating blanket of oxygen-starved water is forming off the central Oregon coast, with marine life struggling to endure the repeated trauma, Oregon State University scientists say. The return of the "dead zone," where water holds so little oxygen that fish and other life cannot survive, suggests a fundamental shift in wind and water patterns off Oregon that may reflect global warming trends, the scientists said. Last year's unusually severe and long-lasting dead zone turned sections of the seafloor into graveyards of dead crabs, starfish and sea anemones. Observations by a remote control submarine this summer suggest that marine life such as starfish may take as long to return as plants and animals did after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, said Jane Lubchenco, an OSU professor of marine biology. ******************** (NEWS 7) House Passes $600 Million Increase in National Science Foundation Budget July 27, 2007 --The U.S. House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill that would increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by nearly $600 million or 10 percent to $6.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. The bill would put NSF on track to double its budget in less than 10 years. Funding for NSF is included in the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Act that passed the House by a vote of 281 to 142 on July 26. Two days before the vote, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy saying that the President would veto the bill if it is presented to him. The Administration ?strongly opposes? the bill because it ?includes an irresponsible and excessive level of spending and includes other objectionable provisions.? Regarding the National Science Foundation, the Statement of Administration Policy says, ?the Administration supports neither the additional $72 million above the [President?s budget] request allocated to NSF education programs that lack proven effectiveness, nor [Appropriations Committee] report language that seeks to allocate funds away from the NSF research programs that most directly contribute to America?s economic competitiveness.? Although the House passed the appropriations bill by a large majority, the margin of victory was several votes short of the number needed to override the threatened veto. If the bill is vetoed, funding for NSF and other science agencies could be reduced in a subsequent bill. The National Science Foundation got off to a good start in the FY 2008 appropriations process. President Bush proposed increasing the NSF budget by $513 million or 8.7 percent to $6.4 billion as part of his American Competitiveness Initiative. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would increase the NSF budget by $637 million or 10.8 percent to $6.55 billion in FY 2008. The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill within the next two months and then a conference committee will be appointed to reach a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The House and Senate appropriations bills and the President?s budget request would provide similar funding levels for NSF except for Education and Human Resources (EHR) programs, which have strong bipartisan support in Congress. The President?s budget request would increase funding for EHR by 7.5 percent in FY 2008. The House appropriations bill would increase EHR funding by approximately 18 percent and the Senate bill would increase EHR funding by approximately 22 percent. NSF has fared well at each stage in the appropriations process so far. The President proposed a substantial increase in funding for NSF in FY 2008. The House appropriations bill would increase funding for NSF above the level proposed by the President. The Senate appropriations bill would increase funding above the level passed by the House. The final funding level for NSF remains uncertain, especially if Congress is unable to override the threatened veto of the House appropriations bill. ******************** (NEWS 8) Russia Plants Flag on North Pole Seabed http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,2140202,00.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2cajqy Guardian (UK) - Russia today planted a flag on the North Pole's seabed in an attempt to declare sovereignty of the unclaimed land. The journey to the bottom of the sea began at an ice hole near the North Pole and the two Russian submarines dived to over 4200 metres, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. The expedition leader and famed polar scientist, Artur Chilingarov, told colleagues on the surface that his craft had reached the seabed. "The landing was smooth, the yellowish ground is around us, no sea dwellers are seen," he said, according to Tass. Expedition members said the biggest challenge for the sub crews will be to find their way back to the surface through an opening in the 1.5 metre-thick polar ice, before exhausting air supplies. ********************** (NEWS 9) Lake Superior Changes Mystify Scientists http://www.examiner.com/ a-861403~Lake_Superior_Changes_Mystify_Scientists.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2nmwbc MARQUETTE, Mich. - Deep enough to hold the combined water in all the other Great Lakes and with a surface area as large as South Carolina, Lake Superior's size has lent it an aura of invulnerability. But the mighty Superior is losing water and getting warmer, worrying those who live near its shores, scientists and companies that rely on the lake for business. The changes to the lake could be signs of climate change, although scientists aren't sure. Superior's level is at its lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Meanwhile, the average water temperature has surged 4.5 degrees since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region's air temperature during the same period. That's no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) Speakers needed: Fall 2007 AGU Session on "Including Land Use and Land Cover Change in Earth System Models" - 10-14 December 2007, San Francisco, CA (USA) This AGU2007 Fall Meeting Session on ?Including Land use and Land Cover Change in Earth System Models? is an initiative of the Analysis, Integration and Modelling of the Earth System (AIMES) Young Scholars Network 2007. CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Session B32: Including Land Use and Land Cover Change in Earth System Models Land use and land cover change are both driver and target of physical and social components of the earth system. Economic, political, demographic and cultural forces together with climate and other environmental drivers (e.g. soil fertility and water availability) influence decision making and lead to changes in land cover and land use. In turn, land cover and land use affect the biophysical and biochemical processes of the earth system (e.g. via albedo, heat fluxes, surface roughness, emissions, water fluxes) and thereby modify the environmental setting (e.g. climate, climate variability, soils, water availability) societies are embedded in. Despite the integral role in the earth system, land use dynamics are not yet well represented in most earth system models, and feedbacks between the social and biophysical sphere have only been addressed in very few modeling frameworks. This session seeks to provide a platform both for earth system modelers who account for land use changes in their models, and for land use modelers who work on the continental to regional scale. Papers are invited that explore the interaction of physical and social constraints and drivers in land use decision Abstract submission requirements: Please refer for full submission guidelines to the 2007 AGU Fall Meeting Web site: www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/. Note the abstract submission deadline of 6 September 2007. Abstracts can be submitted only when the first author is an AGU member in good standing or a nonmember whose abstract submission is sponsored by an AGU member in good standing. (If you or a colleague would like to present, but are not an AGU member, please contact me, as I am happy to consider sponsoring your abstract. Lara Kueppers lkueppers at ucmerced.edu - DISCCRS II) Abstracts must be accompanied by submission fees. All accepted abstracts will be published in a supplement to Eos. For questions, please contact: For questions about the AGU2007 Fall Meeting, please visit : http:// www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ For questions related to this session: Elke Verbeeten e.verbeeten at cgiar.org, Lara Kueppers lkueppers at ucmerced.edu, Marko Scholze marko.scholze at bristol.ac.uk ******************** (MEETING 2) International Conference Climate Changes Spatial Planning (CcSP) - 12-13 September 2007 - Netherlands www.climatechangesspatialplanning.nl We would like to invite you to participate in this conference. The conference will take place at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague. There is no conference fee. Climate change is a reality. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has provided a mount of new and convincing evidence that human influence on climate is undeniable and should be regarded as a factor of major importance. Currently the climate science community and policy makers are converging at a concept of combining mitigation efforts with climate adaptation measures and strategies. In 2004, a unique and ambitious research programme started in The Netherlands, called ?Climate changes Spatial Planning?. A budget of 80 million Euro has been made available, jointly by government and stakeholders on a 50/50 basis for the programme. It includes interdisciplinary research to improve climate models and scenarios, as well as strategies for adaptation and land use related mitigation in close dialogue with stakeholders. On the first day of the conference results from the CcSP programme are presented and key note presentations on climate change and spatial planning are given by internationally well-known scientists and policy makers such as dr. Rajenda K. Pachauri (chair Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC), prof.dr. Carlos Nobre (chair International Geosphere-Biosphere research Programme), dr.Terry Barker (Cambridge University), representatives from the European Commission and representatives from the government of the Netherlands. On the second conference day CcSP research results are presented by leading scientists from the Netherlands in dialogue with regional stakeholders and international experts. Attached you will find a description of the conference programme. Further information on registration, venue of the conference and hotel reservations can be found on our website (www.climatechangesspatialplanning.nl). *************************************************** 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' ************************************************** 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://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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070803/4367398e/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Aug 10 14:10:23 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:10:23 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 8/10/2007 Message-ID: <4E4510E3-B36B-4717-804C-6B5CC15EB665@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 8/10/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) GHG Emissions Data is now available online In English: http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cdm/report.html In Japanese: http://www.iges.or.jp/jp/cdm/report.html (see RESOURCES 1 below) Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) - School on Climate Extremes - 21-25 January 2008 ? Lecce (Italy) http://www.cmcc.it:8080/web/public/eventi_CMCC. (see RESOURCES 2 below) SCIENCE NEWS Researchers Work To Track North American Climate Change http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070806170331.htm (see NEWS 1 below) Namibia: Country Seeks Help to Curb Climate Change http://allafrica.com/stories/200708060585.html (see NEWS 2 below) Siberian Forests Threatened by Climate Change http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/uol-cct073007.php (see NEWS 3 below) Extreme global weather in line with climate change predictions: UN expert http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/07/news/UN-GEN-UN-Extreme- Weather.php (see NEWS 4 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Abstracts requested: Fall 2007 AGU Session on "Carbon Sequestration: Reservoirs, Techniques, Policy" - 10-14 December 2007, San Francisco, CA (USA) http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ (see OPPORTUNITIES 1 below) International conference: "Food Security and Environmental Change: Linking science, development and policy for adaptation" April 2-4, 2008 - University of Oxford (UK) www.foodsecurity.elsevier.com (see OPPORTUNITIES 2 below) Workshop: Climate Information: Responding to User Needs: Bringing Observations, Data Management, Modeling, and Prediction into the Decision Process - October 22-23, 2007 - University of Maryland, College Park (USA) (see OPPORTUNITY 3 below) JOBS Asst Prof - Physical Meteorology - SUNY-Oneonta (USA) http://www.oneonta.edu/admin/humres/Pages/Faculty_Positions/ 1030Gearthsciencephysmeteor.asp Instructor - Fall 2007 - Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences - CU Denver (Colorado, USA) (see JOB 1 below) Manager/professional research assistant - Natural Hazards Center Program ? University of Colorado ? Boulder, CO (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Asst Prof, tenure-track ? Geography, Earth Systems Science (ESS) - Clark University, Massachusetts (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Two postdocs - vegetation and meteorological modelling of tropical forests - Oxford University Centre for the Environment (UK) http://www.ouce.ox.ac.uk/news/jobs/070804.php (see JOB 4 below) Postdoc positions - climate modelling - Danish Climate Centre ? Copenhagen (Denmark) (see JOB 5 below) Asst Prof - Human-Environment Interaction - Indiana University - Bloomington (USA) (see JOB 6 below) 2 Post-doc positions: Meteorology/Climatology - University of Lisbon (Portugal) http://www.eracareers.pt/opportunities/index.aspx? task=global&jobId=5977 (see JOB 7 below) Postdocs: Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Predictions Studies (COAPS) - Florida State Univ (USA) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc: Centre for Global Change Science, Earth System Evolution - University of Toronto (Canada) (see JOB 9 below) Asst. Prof - Political Science/environmental politics - Davidson College, North Carolina (USA) (see JOB 10 below) Principal Researcher - Climate Change: International Institute of Environment & Development (IIED) - Central London (UK) (see JOB 11 below) 10+ Assorted vacancies - 10+ Vacancies at the Met Office - Hadley Centre, Exeter (UK) http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/recruitment/index.html (see JOB 12 below) Carbon markets; Assorted UNFCC positions (see JOB 13 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) GHG Emissions Data is now available online In English: http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cdm/report.html In Japanese: http://www.iges.or.jp/jp/cdm/report.html The IGES GHG Emissions Data aimed at providing comprehensive, organised information on the GHG emissions from Annex I countries to the UNFCCC in an easy-to-understand way. This spreadsheet enables users to use relevant information for their own analytical purposes. All information is extracted from the publicly available sources on the UNFCCC web-site and this data will be updated regularly. ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) - School on Climate Extremes - 21-25 January 2008 ? Lecce (Italy) http://www.cmcc.it:8080/web/public/eventi_CMCC. The school covers a wide spectrum of topics on extremes and climate. It is mainly addressed to PhD students and young post docs. Lectures include a general introduction to climate extremes, to methods for their analysis and description, assessment of trends and changes, data collection, analysis of climate records, identification of observed trends and future projected changes with focus on the European-Mediterranean region. Call for Applications: Application form and more details on the programme can be found at http://www.cmcc.it:8080/web/public/ eventi_CMCC. All applications must be received by September 15th, 2007. No registration fee is requested for attending the school. A financial support might be available in special cases to cover the cost of accommodation. For further information please contact the School Secretariat. E-mail: alessandra.lezzi at cmcc.it , Phone: +39 0832 293287 *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Researchers Work To Track North American Climate Change http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070806170331.htm "There is no question now that the climate is changing on a global scale," says Takle, an Iowa State University professor of geological and atmospheric sciences and agronomy. "The evidence is so overwhelming." But what does that mean on a smaller scale? How are greenhouse gases changing the climate in North America? In the United States? In Iowa? After all, "You and I are not affected by a few tenths of a degree of temperature change on a global scale," Takle said. Takle is working with Bill Gutowski, an Iowa State professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, and Ray Arritt, an Iowa State professor of agronomy, to find some answers about regional climate change. The three have worked together on climate studies for 15 years. And now they've joined an international group of scientists collaborating on the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program. The assessment program is led by Linda Mearns, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. The National Science Foundation is funding the Iowa State work on the project with a $353,000 grant. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 2) Namibia: Country Seeks Help to Curb Climate Change http://allafrica.com/stories/200708060585.html AS an extremely arid country, Namibia is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and has a limited capacity to adapt to climate change impacts, a top Namibian diplomat has said. For this reason, donors should meet Namibia halfway, as the country is taking decisive measures to adapt to the reality of climate change, says Dr Kaire Mbuende, Namibia's ambassador to the United Nations. "Namibia has a relatively small economy with few options for economic development," he told the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday during its debate on climate change as a global challenge. "Namibia has identified specific research needs related to climate change and in addition there is a need for interpretive and policy development capacity to be developed within Namibia," Mbuende said. "The development of a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan is planned for 2008, which will be a consultative process to ensure climate change is further integrated into policies at a national level. Important activities will be identified and prioritised in an implementation plan with appropriate budgets." The third National Development Plan (NDP3) would ensure that climate change issues were mainstreamed into the national development framework, he said. The Namibian Desert Research Foundation (DRFN) was currently developing a model on Namibia's climate vulnerability by modelling climate change through rainfall patterns from 1960 to 2010. Another adaptation project was looking at the development and improvement of indigenous livestock as an adaptation strategy, he added. "It is recognised that the industrialised countries are responsible for the bulk of the greenhouse gas emissions and there is awareness that developing and developed countries have different needs and responsibilities," Mbuende said. "Namibia is an insignificant emitter (of greenhouse gases) even though the country has been affected by the effects of climate change. We take our responsibility to protect the climate seriously." Namibia has already set up a National Climate Change Office under the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. (continued...) ******************** (NEWS 3) Siberian Forests Threatened by Climate Change http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/uol-cct073007.php An international team of scientists has found that Siberian fires are influenced by climate change. The scientists used 18 years of satellite images to estimate the timing of the onset and end of the growing season. ''Last century a typical forest in Siberia had about 100 years after a fire to recover before it burned again,'' said Professor Heiko Balzter of the Department of Geography at the University of Leicester. ''But new observations by Russian scientist Dr. Kharuk have shown that fire now returns more frequently, about every 65 years. At the same time annual temperatures in Siberia have risen by almost 2?C, about twice as fast as the global average. And since 1990 the warming of Siberia has become even faster than before.'' ******************** (NEWS 4) Extreme global weather in line with climate change predictions: UN expert http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/07/news/UN-GEN-UN-Extreme- Weather.php International Herald Tribune - GENEVA: Floods in Asia, a cyclone in the Middle East and extreme temperatures around the globe since the start of the year have borne out warnings made by a key climate change report, an expert with the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. "The start of the year 2007 was a very active year in terms of extreme climatic and meteorological events," said Omar Baddour, a climatologist with the World Meteorological Organization. In May the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its fourth report, warning that global warming would increase the number of extreme weather events and cause more natural disasters, which will hit the poor hardest. Global surface temperatures in January ? when Europe experienced an unusually mild winter ? were the highest since records began. According to data compiled by WMO measurements were 1.89 degrees Celsius (3.4 Fahrenheit) above the 127-year average. The Geneva-based agency said April temperatures around the world rose 1.37 degrees Celsius (2.46 Fahrenheit) above the historical average since 1880. Record storms, floods and heat waves have since occurred in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Hundreds have died and thousands have lost their livelihoods in floods since the start of the year in China, South Asia, Mozambique, Sudan and Uruguay, while the period from May to July was the wettest in England and Wales since records began in 1766, WMO said. It said two heat waves in southeastern Europe in June and July broke previous records, with temperatures in Bulgaria hitting 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) on July 23. Other extreme events this year include rare snowfall in South Africa and Argentina, and the first cyclone ever documented in the Arabian Sea, according to WMO. "When we observe such extremes in individual years, it means that this fits well with current knowledge from the IPCC report on global trends," Baddour told The Associated Press. Baddour said it was too soon to say whether global temperatures for the whole of 2007 would remain at such high levels. But he added that climate scientists had reached a consensus that weather extremes have increased over the past 50 years and that this trend would likely continue. "There is no other consensus model than this one," he said. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITIES 1) Abstracts requested: Fall 2007 AGU Session on "Carbon Sequestration: Reservoirs, Techniques, Policy" - 10-14 December 2007, San Francisco, CA (USA) http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ This Union session particularly encourages abstracts that consider the climate efficacy, technical feasibility, and political/ economic needs of any large-scale carbon sequestration technique. U18: Carbon Sequestration: Reservoirs, Techniques, Policy Carbon sequestration from the atmosphere may be a critical aspect in the mitigation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions into the Earth?s atmosphere. A number of natural carbon sinks exist and several different artificial sequestration schemes have been suggested. This session solicits presentations regarding the 1) research into natural carbon dynamics relevant to sequestration strategies; 2) research on the potential to enhance carbon sequestration in the various natural reservoirs (geosphere, soils, biosphere, ocean) and artificial reservoirs; and 3) the policy implications of these various strategies. As the goal of the session is to make a hard look at sequestration options, we encourage research presentations that emphasize either positive or negative elements of proposed sequestration initiatives. ******************** (OPPORTUNITIES 2) International conference: "Food Security and Environmental Change: Linking science, development and policy for adaptation" April 2-4, 2008 - University of Oxford (UK) www.foodsecurity.elsevier.com The purpose of the conference is to engage the research and policy communities addressing food security, environmental change and food policy by: - Presenting and discussing research on GEC, food security and food systems, and decision support dialogues from the broad international community - Presenting and discussing findings from conceptual and regional research supported by the ESSP Joint Project "Global Environmental Change and Food Systems" (GECAFS) - Bringing together scientists and policy makers from diverse backgrounds to forge new partnerships Conference themes include: - Concepts and methods for GEC research related to food systems; vulnerability and adaptation; scenarios; and decision support - Regional research, including case studies from the Indo- Gangetic Plain, Southern Africa, Caribbean, Europe and elsewhere - Development agenda and policy processes regarding GEC and food security - Emerging issues and frameworks for analysis and policy development of adaptation options for food systems to GEC The Call for Papers is now open and further information about sessions and how to submit abstracts can be found on www.foodsecurity.elsevier.com. ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 3) Workshop: Climate Information: Responding to User Needs: Bringing Observations, Data Management, Modeling, and Prediction into the Decision Process - October 22-23, 2007 - University of Maryland, College Park (USA) A national workshop sponsored by the University of Maryland in partnership with NOAA, NASA, and the American Meteorological Society Workshop Co-Chairmen: James R. Mahoney, Environmental Consultant and former Director, U.S. Climate Change Science Program (2002 ? 2006) Antonio J. Busalacchi, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland The Earth System will experience real climate change over the next 50 years, substantially exceeding the scope of natural variability. A paramount question facing society is how to adapt to these changes. Success will require unprecedented collaborations and powerful partnerships between climate scientists and the consumers of climate information - businesses, government agencies from federal to local, policy organizations and planning offices that need specific kinds of information to ensure the best decisions in adapting to climate change. The University of Maryland, College Park invites you to attend a two-day workshop at their Inn and Conference Center, October 22-23, 2007. This event will foster dialogue between the providers of climate information and its diverse user community to define specific measures needed to enhance the use of climate observations, data management, modeling, and predictions in support of business and policy decisions. The workshop will consist of plenary and breakout panel sessions, and a peer-reviewed poster session. Conference Objectives: * To identify how users, stakeholders, and decision makers are influenced by climate on time scales from seasons to decades * To identify the needs and requirements of users, stakeholders, and decision makers for climate information, observations, predictions, and services from global to local scales * To identify what adaptation measures are being considered in the private and public sectors, and how this might result in new classes of information for decision support * To recommend principal elements of the path forward toward more effective use of climate services in decision making Watch your e-mail for further details on the event or contact csuplee at umd.edu for more information. *************************************************** 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) Instructor - Fall 2007 - Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences - CU Denver (Colorado, USA) In the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at CU Denver we need an instructor for a course (GEOG2202 Natural hazards) for the Fall 2007 August 22-December 16. Minimum qualification is a Master Degree in a related field. Could you please pass the word and have any interested people contact me as soon as possible? Thank you in advance for your attention and help. ? Rafael Rafael Moreno, Ph.D., Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado at Denver, Campus Box 172 P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364 Phone: 303-352-3762 Fax: 303-556-6197 ******************** (JOB 2) Manager/professional research assistant - Natural Hazards Center Program ? University of Colorado ? Boulder, CO (USA) The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado seeks applications for the position of Center Program Manager. Since 1976, the Natural Hazards Center has served as the nation's clearinghouse for knowledge on the societal aspects of hazards, disasters, and risk. The Program Manager will report to the Center director, and in cooperation with the director, oversee the development and operations of Center programs. In particular, the Program Manager will perform the following duties: 1) Providing assistance to the director with respect to writing grant proposals and engaging in other fundraising activities 2) Planning and coordinating the Center's annual July workshop 3)Communicating and coordinating with the Center's national advisory committee, funding agencies, and the broader hazards loss- reduction community 4)Managing the Center's budget 5) Supervising staff activities in various areas, including (but not limited to) the Center's publications, Web site, library and information services, and Quick Response Research program 6) Coordinating with professional staff who oversee the Center's research activities 7) Managing day- to-day Center operations 8) Representing the Center at meetings, conferences, and other events Required Qualifications: 1) A minimum of a Master's degree in a discipline related to hazards research and applications 2) Knowledge of and experience with hazard-related policies, programs, research, and knowledge transfer activities 3)Experience in project and budget management 4) Experience in staff supervision 5) Willingness to travel 6) Demonstrated success in proposal writing and fundraising is highly desirable For more information about the Natural Hazards Center, go to www.colorado.edu/hazards/. Please send a letter of application for the position, a CV or resume, a sample of written work, and the names and contact information for three references to Natural Hazards Center Director Kathleen Tierney at tierneyk at colorado.edu. Review of candidates will begin on September 10, 2007, and will continue until a successful candidate has been identified. ******************** (JOB 3) Asst Prof, tenure-track ? Geography, Earth Systems Science (ESS) - Clark University, Massachusetts (USA) Tenure-track position starting August 2008. Assistant Professor. PhD required at time of appointment. Clark's School of Geography seeks a scholar with expertise in linked to one of our three research foci: GIScience, Nature-Society Studies, and Globalization, Cities, and Development (see http:// www.clarku.edu/departments/geography/). We seek a faculty member to join our growing ESS concentration in the Environmental Science major at Clark, and whose research interests link systematically to one or more of geography's graduate- level foci. Applicants are expected to engage in cutting edge scholarship in integrated environmental science and to be committed to securing extramural funding and teambased activities to support our research program. All facets of ESS will be considered. Examples of linkages to our research foci include geoscience and land degradation, climate change and ecological processes, and biodiversity and urban ecology. Strong undergraduate and graduate teaching, advising, and mentoring are required. Send CV, statements about current and future [1] research program and [2] teaching interests and philosophy, and contact information for three references to: Ms. Jean Heffernan, School of Geography, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610. ******************** (JOBS 4) Two postdocs - vegetation and meteorological modelling of tropical forests - Oxford University Centre for the Environment (UK) http://www.ouce.ox.ac.uk/news/jobs/070804.php Applications are invited for two post-doctoral research associate positions to work on developing a coupled high-resolution vegetation- atmosphere model for the lowland and montane forests of the Andes and Amazon, based at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment. The work will nest into an extensive ongoing field work program looking at the interaction between cloud forests and climate. One postdoctoral position is to develop a high resolution vegetation physiology and dynamics model modified from existing vegetation models to incorporate key montane forest processes. The second postdoctoral position is to implement a mesoscale meteorological model run in multiple nested modes from continental to sub-km resolution. In both cases the model development will utilise ecological and meteorological data being collected from our field sites, and use data assimilation techniques such as Bayesian network analysis to help inform model set-up and development. The ultimate aim is to develop a fully coupled vegetation-atmosphere model that utilises and integrates the field observations. There are likely to be opportunities to travel to the Andes to participate in field data collection. ******************** (JOBS 5) Postdoc positions - climate modelling - Danish Climate Centre ? Copenhagen (Denmark) The Danish Climate Centre is responsible for the provision of plausible future climate conditions for Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Danish Climate Centre (DKC) is involved in many international collaborative projects, where modelling and analysis of the results are central elements. Both Global Climate Models (GCMs) and Regional Climate Models (RCMs) are used. We seek two post-docs to join our energetic research team. You should have some experience running a GCM or RCM, be literate in UNIX, and have a working knowledge of C or FORTRAN. As part of the DKC team you will work on refining climate models, utilize and improve climate models, implement ensemble simulations, or undertake research on methods for assessing probabilistic climate change from multi-model ensembles. Within the many projects that the group is involved in, you will have scope to develop your own specific foci while supporting the broader project objectives. DKC is a leading climate research group in northern Europe, active in applied modelling activities in climate change, seasonal forecasting, and climate system processes. The group has a strong emphasis on multi-disciplinary integration and is seeking to get further engaged with stakeholders in the water, agricultural, and policy communities, particularly within Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Employment and salary will be according to existing Danish agreements. It will be possible to apply for an addition to the basic salary. For further details about the positions, contact Director Anne Mette J?rgensen +45 3915 7450 / amj at dmi.dk or Head of Programme Jens Hesselbjerg Christensen +45 3915 7428 / jhc at dmi.dk or senior scientist Martin Stendel +45 3915 7446 / mas at dmi.dk. The application marked "07-041-xxx" enclosed relevant documentation, including examination results and CV, a brief letter of interest, and the names and contact details for three referees, should be sent to DMI not later than September 10, 2007 to: The Director General, Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen ? or job at dmi.dk Duration 3 years, starting October 1, 2007 or as soon as possible after this date. DMI is an institution under the Ministry of Transport and Energy. DMI is responsible for the meteorological service to society within the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland with surrounding seas and air space). DMI performs forecast and warning duties as well as surveillance of weather, climate and related topics in the atmosphere, on land and at sea - on one hand with the purpose of securing human lives and material values, and on the other hand for use in economical and environmental planning of the society. Besides these tasks, research and development within the expertise of DMI is also important in order to ensure an optimal solution to the tasks. ******************** (JOB 6) Asst Prof - Human-Environment Interaction - Indiana University - Bloomington (USA) The position announcement below is broadly written, but applications from climatologists are strongly encouraged. The Department of Geography at Indiana University ? Bloomington invites applications for a tenure-track position. Research and teaching specialization is open, but we seek candidates who can contribute to our programs in atmospheric science or geographic information science. Examples include, but are not limited to, biogeography, climate impacts, hydroclimatology, land-cover change, landscape ecology, and water resources. Teaching duties include both undergraduate and graduate courses. Applicants should have or expect to receive the doctoral degree by August 2008. Applications received by October 15, 2007 are guaranteed full consideration; the position will remain open until filled. Applicants should send a letter of application describing research and teaching interests, c.v., sample publications, and syllabi. Three letters of reference should be mailed under separate cover. Apply: Scott M. Robeson, Chair, Department of Geography, Indiana University, 701 E Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405-6101, USA. ******************** (JOBS 7) 2 Post-doc positions: Meteorology/Climatology - University of Lisbon (Portugal) http://www.eracareers.pt/opportunities/index.aspx? task=global&jobId=5977 The University of Lisbon is offering 2 research positions at the IDL research institute. The contracts require a PhD in Meteorology, Climatology or related subject. The contracts are for 5 years at a gross salary of about 42k?, and applications must be received before August 27. Applications must include a motivation letter and a full cv sent to pmmiranda at fc.ul.pt Any questions, please contact Pedro Miranda at pmmiranda at fc.ul.pt ******************** (JOB 8) Postdocs: Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Predictions Studies (COAPS) - Florida State Univ (USA) The Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Predictions Studies (COAPS) at the Florida State University (FSU) invites applications for a) a postdoctoral position in the area of seasonal climate prediction using coupled ocean-atmospheric models. The candidate will be based at FSU, but will work closely with the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and their Coupled Forecast System (CFS). Research foci will be on the evaluation and improvement of the CFS seasonal prediction capabilities. The successful candidate will be part of a strong climate modeling group and will have many opportunities for independent research. Experience with weather or climate models and familiarity with Fortran, UNIX, shell scripting, etc. are essential. b) a postdoctoral position in the area of ocean model evaluation and validation. The candidate will work closely with the Naval Research Laboratory (Stennis Space Center, MS) to validate the performance of the global HYCOM ocean prediction system. The successful candidate will be required to identify processes and observational datasets suitable for validation against global HYCOM. Validation efforts will focus on both model analysis and forecast skill out to 5 days. Applications will be reviewed until the positions are filled. A Ph. D. in Meteorology, Physical Oceanography, or related field is required. A curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, and three letters of recommendation should be sent electronically to: mslaton at coaps.fsu.edu ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc: Centre for Global Change Science, Earth System Evolution - University of Toronto (Canada) The Centre for Global Change Science (CGCS), University of Toronto has openings for two or more positions in interdisciplinary research in any aspect of Earth System Evolution. The goal of the CGCS programme for postdoctoral scholars is to foster interactions between the disciplines involved in global change science. Successful applicants will be co-supervised in their research by faculty from two different university departments. Potential applicants may wish to visit the CGCS website < http://www.cgcs.utoronto.ca/> to learn more about its activities and about the affiliated research faculty. The CGCS committee will begin to review applications on September 15th, 2007. Successful applicants may begin their appointments at a date to be determined by their individual circumstances. Applicants for these positions should forward a curriculum vitae, together with a statement of research interests, and have three letters of reference sent directly to: Mrs. Ana Sousa, CGCS Secretary, Department of Physics, University of Toronto, 60 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A7, e-mail: ana at atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca, tel: 416-978-2933, fax: 416-978-8905. ******************** (JOB 10) Asst. Prof - Political Science/environmental politics - Davidson College, North Carolina (USA) Davidson College seeks applications for an Assistant Professor of Political Science beginning August, 2008. Emphasis will be on environmental politics. Teaching load is five courses per year and would include both a course in public policy and an interdisciplinary course in environmental studies. This position is intended to strengthen the college's offerings in environmental studies, supporting a curricular option in that area. The initial appointment will be for three years. At end of that period, the College will review the appointment and likely conduct a national search for a permanent tenure-track position in the same field. Completed Ph. D. and a record of exemplary teaching are required. If interested, complete the online application at https://jobs.davidson.edu/ https://jobs.davidson.edu Your CV, a statement of teaching philosophy, three letters of recommendation, and reports of teaching experiences/student evaluations can be sent by regular mail to: Michelle Gruslin, Human Resources, Box 7163, Davidson, NC 28035-7163. Alternatively, these documents can be emailed to igruslin@ davidson.edu. Review of applications will begin September 21, 2007, and continue until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 11) Principal Researcher - Climate Change: International Institute of Environment & Development (IIED) - Central London (UK) Are you a flexible team player with excellent people management skills who enjoys networking and building relationships? The Climate Change Group is now recruiting a Principal Researcher to develop its research and policy advocacy activities and help with the Group's management. The post-holder will help the Group Head coordinate projects and activities and develop his/her own area of climate change and development related work. This position is the most senior of the researcher grades at IIED, and could evolve into the Group Head position. Educated to postgraduate level in a relevant discipline, you will have a proven ability to manage and lead a research team working on large, multi-country research projects involving multiple stakeholders. You will have excellent project management and planning skills, and the ability to design and implement policy-orientated research. Other essential requirements include a significant record of innovative and influential work demonstrated by lead authorship of peer-reviewed publications and/or impact on policy. An application form and job description can be downloaded from www.iied.org CVs without a completed application form will not be accepted. Closing date for applications: Friday 31 August 2007 Interviews: 18/19 September 2007 ******************** (JOBS 12) 10+ Assorted vacancies - 10+ Vacancies at the Met Office - Hadley Centre, Exeter (UK) http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/recruitment/index.html - Head of Climate Impacts Team - Climate Applications Scientists: tropical cyclones and seasonal forecasting - Climate Prediction group (modeller) - Research Scientist - Climate Variability Group - Climate Scientists: Mitigation advice - Climate Consultants - Climate Impacts Team: urban areas - Climate Impacts Team: agriculture - Climate Impacts Team: fresh water resources - Climate Impacts Analyst ******************** (JOBS 13) Carbon markets; Assorted UNFCC positions PDD and Climate Change Documentation Specialist BalanceCO2 Ltd. - www.balanceco2.com Duty Station: Pune, India Deadline: 15 August 2007 - hr at balanceco2.com Special Requirements: Must have at least one complete UNFCCC registration UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Associate Information Systems Officer (P2) - Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme - http://unfccc.int/2860.php http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie07.034.pdf - http://unfccc.int/secretariat/employment/vacancies/items/1216.php Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 24 August 2007 - Chief - Human Resources Unit - mailto: vacancies at unfccc.int UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Associate Information Systems Officer (P2) - Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme - http://unfccc.int/2860.php http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie07.033.pdf - http://unfccc.int/secretariat/employment/vacancies/items/1216.php Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 24 August 2007 - Chief - Human Resources Unit - mailto:vacancies at unfccc.int _ UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Project Assistant (Data) (G5) - Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme - http://unfccc.int/2860.php http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie07.035.pdf - http://unfccc.int/secretariat/employment/vacancies/items/1216.php Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 27 August 2007 - Chief - Human Resources Unit - mailto:vacancies at unfccc.int _ UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Associate Programme Officer - 4 posts (P2) - Sustainable Development Mechanisms Programme - http://unfccc.int/2860.php http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie07.037.pdf - http://unfccc.int/secretariat/employment/vacancies/items/1216.php Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 29 August 2007 - Chief - Human Resources Unit - mailto:vacancies at unfccc.int _ UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Programme Officer (P4) - Executive Direction and Management Programme http://unfccc.int/2860.php http://unfccc.int/tools_xml/ie07.036.pdf - http://unfccc.int/secretariat/employment/vacancies/items/1216.php Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 29 August 2007 - Chief - Human Resources Unit - mailto:vacancies at unfccc.int _ CDM Executive Board - CDM Methodologies Panel - Panel Expert Members- http://cdm.unfccc.int/EB/index.html http://cdm.unfccc.int/Panels/meth/callforMP.html Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 31 August 2007 - Lydia Braun - lbraun at unfccc.int CDM Executive Board - CDM Accreditation Panel - Panel Expert Members - http://cdm.unfccc.int/EB/index.html http://cdm.unfccc.int/Panels/accreditation/call_apmembers.html Duty Station: Bonn, Germany Deadline: 31 August 2007 - Lydia Braun - lbraun at unfccc.int AgRefresh - Sales & Marketing Manager - Carbon Credit Sales to Corporate Accounts http://agrefresh.org/Sales_Marketing_Manager.pdf Duty Station: Burlington, VT. U.S.A . Deadline: Open till filled - Jeffrey Frost - jfrost at agrefresh.org ************************************************** 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://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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070810/a29d26c1/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Thu Aug 16 16:56:07 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:56:07 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 8/17/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 10/17/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES International Polar Year (IPY): Second Funding Opportunity for "Humans in Polar Regions" deadline September 14, 2007 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501036&org=OPP NSF's IPY solicitation (NSF 07-536) provides a second deadline - September 14, 2007 - for proposals submitted under the "Humans in Polar Regions" subtopic area of Human and Biotic Systems in Polar Regions. There are several million dollars slotted for this competition, and we hope to have a strong representation of the social, behavioral and economic sciences in the pool of proposals to be considered during the fall panel review cycle. Warming the Extremities - The summer 2007 issue of Planet Earth, a magazine published by the U.S. National Environment Research Council, has a cover story related to warming in the extremities. http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2007/summer/ National Science Board Approves NSF Plan to Emphasize Transformative Research file://localhost/Users/weilercs/Library/Mail%20Downloads/ news_summ.htm (see RESOURCES 1 below) FORUM This paper is the result of a talk given by James Hansen in Des Moines, Iowa. It includes a description of Declaration of Stewardship slightly edited for clarity http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/Iowa_70805.pdf Gore cranks heat on Big Oil http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/world/ny- wosing085324119aug08,0,3596566.story SCIENCE NEWS Man-Made Soot Contributed to Warming in Greenland in the Early 20th Century URL : http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07098 Extreme global weather in line with climate change predictions: UN expert http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/world/ny- wosing085324119aug08,0,3596566.story Global warming and cooling linked to the sunspot cycle http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19526164.800? DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19526164.800 (see NEWS 1 below) Iron Fertilization Of Oceans: A Real Option For Carbon Dioxide Reduction? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070608142214.htm (see NEWS 2 below) First short-term climate change forecast http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-10-02.asp (see NEWS 3 below) Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa (see NEWS 4 below) U.S. Coal-Burning Boom Drastically Warmed Arctic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070809-coal- arctic.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ynm46e (see NEWS 5 below) Ten-Year Climate Model Unveiled http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6939347.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2a9ccp (see NEWS 6 below) Arctic Neighbours Draw Up Battle Lines http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6941569.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2bpn9w (see NEWS 7 below) 1934: New Hottest Year in U.S on Record http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- temp15aug15,1,6151233.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/27gjqg (see NEWS 8 below) Record temperatures increase fire danger in the Mediterranean Rural- urban migration can increase vulnerability to forest fires http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000640/index.html (see NEWS 9 below) Advanced Electricity Technologies Could Lower Costs by 50 Percent http://global-warming.accuweather.com/2007/08/ advanced_electricity_technolog_1.html http://epri-reports.org/ DiscussionPaper2007.pdf (see NEWS 10 below) Climate Tipping Points Loom Large http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns? id=mg19526173.900&feedId=online-news_rss20 (see NEWS 11 below) Sierra trees dying faster due to warming U.S. study: Death rate along 400-mile range doubled since 1983 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20177286/- (see NEWS 12 below) Cost of Saving the Climate Meets Real-World Hurdles http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/15/ AR2007081502432.html?referrer=emailarticle (free registration required) (see NEWS 13 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES 2007-2008 Earth System Science Student Professional Development Opportunity (see OPPORTUNITY 1 below) Climate change policy conference - September 28, 2007 - Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://www.wlu.ca/viessmann/html_pages/conferences.htm (see OPPORTUNITY 2 below) Early-career workshop - Environmental and Resource Economics - 12-13 November 2007 - Bathurst, NSW (Australia) (see OPPORTUNITY 3 below) JOBS Climate Adaptation Specialists (2) - Freshwater and Terrestrial - World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ? Washington DC (USA) or (UK) www.worldwildlife.org/jobs http://www.worldwildlife.org/about/ jobs_iframe.cfm (see JOB 1 below) Post-Doc Research Associates (2) - Atmospheric chemistry ? University of Washington - Bothell, WA (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Post-Doc - Atmospheric chemistry - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia (UK) (see JOB 3 below) Post-Doc - Climate/Ecosystem Modeling - Effects of Land Use Practices on the Earth System - Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) - University of Wisconsin (USA) (see JOB 4 below) Task Leader - Information Systems - NASA Global Change Master Directory (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Researcher - Climate Policy Project (CP) ? IGES - Kanagawa 240-0115 (Japan) http://www.iges.or.jp/en/news/saiyo/200708cp/index.html (see JOB 6 below) Postdocs - Nat'l Resource Economics/Politics Economy - University of California, Berkeley CA (USA) http://research.chance.berkeley.edu/ciriacy/ (see JOB 7 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) National Science Board Approves NSF Plan to Emphasize Transformative Research file://localhost/Users/weilercs/Library/Mail%20Downloads/ news_summ.htm Press Release 07-097 - August 9, 2007 - The National Science Board (Board) has unanimously approved a motion by National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Arden L. Bement, Jr. to enhance support of transformative research at the NSF. Additionally, Bement proposed -- and the Board adopted -- a change to the intellectual merit review criterion to specifically include evaluation of proposals for potentially transformative concepts. Both actions were taken at the Board's August 6-8, 2007 meeting, at the NSF in Arlington, VA. The Board approved a change in NSF Merit Review Criteria I from the NSF Grant Proposal Guide http://www.nsf.gov/publications/ pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg to specifically include review of the extent to which a proposal also suggests and explores potentially transformative concepts. The change in the intellectual merit section of the NSF Grant Proposal Guide would add "potentially transformative research" language: "To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?" During its last meeting in May, the Board issued a report, Enhancing Support of Transformative Research at the National Science Foundation, that included a recommendation that NSF "develop a distinct, Foundation-wide Transformative Research Initiative." The Board defined transformative research as "research that has the capacity to revolutionize existing fields, create new subfields, cause paradigm shifts, support discovery, and lead to radically new technologies." In response, Bement proposed a three-pronged strategy to the Board's Task Force on Transformative Research. Under Bement's plan, the NSF will: 1. Infuse support of potentially transformative research throughout NSF and all of its programs; 2. Learn how to facilitate potentially transformative research; and 3. Lead the community through opportunities for potentially transformative research proposal submissions. Bement highlighted that much can be done with improved communication and existing award mechanisms to infuse the concept of potentially transformative research across the Foundation. He highlighted the importance of learning from small scale pilots and from community feedback. For example, the results of a recent survey revealed that while the majority of respondents (proposers) perceive that NSF already welcomes transformative research, and while NSF was strongly preferred over other funding sources as the place to submit a transformative idea, there is room for improvement. To lead the community, Bement will charge an NSF working group to develop the framework and recommend implementation details for a new funding mechanism for "early-concept" research projects, including a mechanism to monitor and track the impact. NSF will broadly advertise the new funding mechanism to the community once it has been finalized. Related Websites: National Science Board: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb Enhancing Support of Transformative Research at the National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2007/tr_report.pdf Impact of Proposal and Award Management Mechanisms Working Group (IPAMM) - 2007 Proposer Survey: http://nsf.gov/od/ipamm/ ipamm_2007survey.jsp *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Global warming and cooling linked to the sunspot cycle http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19526164.800? DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19526164.800 PLANET-wide heating and cooling of the atmosphere during the 11- year sunspot cycle has been measured for the first time. Climate- change sceptics may seize on the findings as evidence that the sun's variability can explain global warming - but mathematician Ka-Kit Tung says quite the contrary is true. Tung and colleague Charles Camp, both of the University of Washington in Seattle, analysed satellite data on solar radiation and surface temperatures over the past 50 years, covering four-and-a-half solar cycles. They found that global average temperatures oscillated by almost 0.2 ?C between high and low points in the cycle, nearly twice the amplitude of previous estimates (Geophysical Research Letters, DOI: 10.1029/2007GL030207). The finding adds to the evidence that mainstream climate models are right about the likely extent of future human-generated warming, Tung says. It also effectively rules out some lower estimates in those models. ******************** (NEWS 2) Iron Fertilization Of Oceans: A Real Option For Carbon Dioxide Reduction? http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070608142214.htm Science Daily - Over the last weeks, commercial efforts have been launched to manipulate a portion of the Pacific Ocean to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide by artificially enhancing phytoplankton activity. A research vessel is currently sailing to the Galapagos Sea to seed an area larger than Puerto Rico with tonnes of iron, to stimulate the CO2 sequestration into the deep ocean. However, such iron fertilization is also a way of generating carbon offsets, whereby CO2 polluters can buy "ecosystem restoration credits" and shrink their carbon footprint. This experiment is based on the fact that in about one-third of the surface ocean, the growth of phytoplankton is limited by the lack of iron; a well researched phenomenon. However, a valuable question to raise is to what extent artificial iron fertilization represents a real option for CO2 reduction. Indeed, a group of EUR-OCEANS scientists using the Kerguelen Plateau as a site study for natural iron fertilization of the Southern Ocean, recently showed that artificial iron fertilization of the surface ocean is a mechanism 10 to 100 times less efficient than the naturally occurring processes, in increasing CO2 capture through the biological pump. While the scientific community, governments, private sectors and society are coming to a consensus regarding the anthropogenic causes of global warming, the need to consider concrete actions and to develop strategies to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations and the greenhouse effect is becoming urgent. It is then crucial to examine to what extent oceans could be use to store our excess atmospheric CO2. The CO2 Problem: Today, concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide far exceed the natural range over the last 650,000 years... ******************** (NEWS 3) First short-term climate change forecast http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-10-02.asp EXETER, UK, August 10, 2007 (ENS) - Get ready for the heat. In the world's first near-term global warming forecast, British climate scientists say the planet's temperature will plateau for two years and then rise sharply through 2014. Using powerful computer models, scientists at the British meteorological service's Hadley Center predict that at least half of the years after 2009 will exceed temperatures during 1998, the warmest year currently on record. The year 2014 is likely to be 0.3 Celsius (.5 Fahrenheit) warmer than 2004, the Met Office scientists predict. This forecast means that while it has taken a century for the global temperature to rise 0.8 C (1.44 F) it will take only 10 years for the planet to heat up half again as much. Published in the journal "Science," today, the forecast indicates that a natural cooling trend in the eastern and southern Pacific Ocean has kept global warming in check, but that trend is about to end. Scientists at the Met Office Hadley Centre present the first decadal climate prediction model covering the decade from 2004 to 2014... ******************** (NEWS 4) Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa American Geophysical Union - Paul Smith's College Joint Release AGU Release No. 07-19 - 6 August 2007 - WASHINGTON - A new study reveals correlations between plentiful sunspots and periods of heavy rain in East Africa. Intense rainfall in the region often leads to flooding and disease outbreaks. The analysis by a team of U.S. and British researchers shows that unusually heavy rainfalls in East Africa over the past century preceded peak sunspot activity by about one year. Because periods of peak sunspot activity, known as solar maxima, are predictable, so too are the associated heavy rains that precede them, the researchers propose. "With the help of these findings, we can now say when especially rainy seasons are likely to occur, several years in advance," says paleoclimatologist and study leader Curt Stager of Paul Smith's College in Paul Smiths, New York. Forewarned by such predictions, public health officials could ramp up prevention measures against insect-borne diseases long before epidemics begin, he adds. The sunspot-rainfall analysis is scheduled to appear on 7 August in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Increasing sunspot numbers indicate a rise in the sun's energy output. Sunspot abundance peaks on an 11-year cycle. The next solar maximum is expected in 2011-2012. If the newfound pattern holds, rainfall would also peak the year before. "We expect East Africa to experience a major intensification of rainy season precipitation, along with widespread Rift Valley Fever epidemics, a year or so before the solar maximum of 2011-2012," the team reports. Because mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects thrive in wet conditions, heavy rains may herald outbreaks of diseases such as Rift Valley Fever. The new analysis relies on rainfall data going back a century. The scientists also used historical records of water levels at lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Naivasha. The work counters previous research that found no connection between sunspot cycles and rainfall in East Africa. Stager's team concludes that, although the link between sunspots and rainfall was weak between 1927 and 1968, the cyclic pattern held true throughout the 20th century. Previous statistical analysis discounted the link for a variety of reasons, including the influence of El Nino and other climatic disturbances not associated with sunspots. Scientists have investigated apparent correlations between solar variability and Lake Victoria's water levels since the beginning of the last century, says co-author Alexander Ruzmaikin of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The new research "shows that these correlations are, in fact, not accidental, effectively resolving a longstanding historical puzzle and improving our knowledge of how solar variability affects Africa's climate," he adds. Stager, Ruzmaikin and their colleagues offer several reasons why sunspot peaks may affect rainfall. In a simple scenario, increased solar energy associated with sunspots heats both land and sea, forcing moist air to rise and triggering precipitation. While sunspot peaks augur extraordinarily wet rainy seasons, heavy rains are possible at other times as well, Stager acknowledges. But, most of the rainiest times, he says, are consistently coupled with the predictable rhythms of sunspot peaks. And, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. "The hope is that people on the ground will use this research to predict heavy rainfall events," Stager says. "Those events lead to erosion, flooding, and disease." The National Science Foundation funded the study. ******************** (NEWS 5) U.S. Coal-Burning Boom Drastically Warmed Arctic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070809-coal- arctic.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ynm46e National Geographic News - Soot emissions from U.S. coal burning may have significantly contributed to pre-1950 global warming in the Arctic, a new study suggests. Soot, emitted naturally into the atmosphere by forest fires, is also a pollutant from human activities such as burning fossil fuels. Winds carried soot from the United States and possibly other countries to the Arctic, where it fell on the snow. The darkened snow then absorbed more solar energy, warming the Arctic climate. Because the sunlight is not reflected back into the atmosphere, the Arctic climate warmed. At its worst, U.S. soot pollution was eight times more powerful in warming the Arctic springtime than the soot from forest fires, said study lead author Joseph McConnell, a snow hydrologist at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. ******************** (NEWS 6) Ten-Year Climate Model Unveiled http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6939347.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2a9ccp BBC News Online - Scientists say they have developed a model to predict how ocean currents, as well as human activities, will affect temperatures over the next decade. By including short-term natural events, such as El Nino, a UK team says it is able to offer 10-year projections. Models have previously focused on how the globe will warm over a century. Writing in Science, Met Office researchers project that at least half of the years between 2009 and 2014 are likely to exceed existing records. However, the Hadley Centre researchers said that the influence of natural climatic variations were likely to dampen the effects of emissions from human activities between now and 2009. But over the decade as a whole, they project the global average temperature in 2014 to be 0.3C warmer than 2004. ******************** (NEWS 7) Arctic Neighbours Draw Up Battle Lines http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6941569.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2bpn9w BBC News Online - The Arctic is one of the world's most remote, pristine and for most people, inhospitable parts of the world. But in recent years, there has been intense interest in the region from the countries that border it. No-one knows for certain, but it is strongly suspected that the seabed below the Arctic Ocean contains vast deposits of oil, minerals and natural gas. Last week crews aboard Russian submarines, explored and mapped out part of the Lomonosov Ridge which Moscow says extends from Russia's continental shelf. For good measure one crew took a diversion below the North Pole and in a gesture that made headlines across the world, dropped a Russian flag on the ocean floor. The Canadian government was not amused by the Russian action, prompting the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay to comment...But with Denmark the latest country to announce that it is sending its own team of scientists to the region, there seems no end to the international scramble for one of the last relatively untouched parts of the world. ******************** (NEWS 8) 1934: New Hottest Year in U.S on Record http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- temp15aug15,1,6151233.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/27gjqg Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - A slight adjustment to U.S. temperature records has bumped 1998 as the hottest year in the country's history and made the Dust Bowl year of 1934 the new record holder, according to NASA. But the re-ranking did not affect global records, and 1998 remains tied with 2005 as the hottest year on record, climatologist Gavin A. Schmidt of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York said Tuesday. The data adjustment changes "the inconsequential bragging rights for certain years in the U.S.," he said. But "global warming is a global issue, and the global numbers show that there is no question that the last five to 10 years have been the hottest period of the last century." The re-ranking occurred Aug. 7 with little fanfare, but it touched off a firestorm among climate bloggers and commentators, who took the new rankings as evidence that global warming was a hoax. But the uproar was really "much ado over nothing," Schmidt said. The brouhaha was triggered Aug. 4 when Steve McIntyre of the blog Climateaudit.org e-mailed NASA scientists pointing out an unusual jump in temperature data from 1999 to 2000. ******************** (NEWS 9) Record temperatures increase fire danger in the Mediterranean Rural-urban migration can increase vulnerability to forest fires http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000640/index.html 30 July 2007, Rome - Record summer temperatures and hot dry winds have made parts of the Mediterranean a tinder box with fire-fighters working around the clock to control blazes threatening people and vegetation on thousands of hectares of southern Italy, Greece, and other parts of the Mediterranean, FAO said today. About 50 000 fires sweep through as many as one million hectares of Mediterranean forest and other woodlands each year, according to FAO. In the Mediterranean, up to 95 percent of fires are caused by people. Arson and negligence, especially in the disposal of discarded cigarettes and the careless handling of barbecues and fires in camping sites, are the cause of many wildfires. FAO notes that while fire is an important and widely used tool in land management and maintaining ecological processes, wildfires destroy millions of hectares of forest and vegetation with a loss of human and animal lives causing immense economic and environmental damage. Approximately 30 000 workers are mobilized... (continued) ******************** (NEWS 10) Advanced Electricity Technologies Could Lower Costs by 50 Percent http://global-warming.accuweather.com/2007/08/ advanced_electricity_technolog_1.html http://epri-reports.org/ DiscussionPaper2007.pdf EPRI STUDY SHOWS A "FULL TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO" CAN REDUCE COST OF CO2 CONTROLS Palo Alto, Calif. ? August 13, 2007 The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) today released a study that shows that the aggressive development and implementation of a full portfolio of advanced electricity technologies could reduce the economic cost of cutting future U.S. CO2 emissions by more than 50 percent while meeting the continuing growth in demand for electricity. "EPRI's analysis clearly shows that if we can deploy a 'full technology portfolio,' we can provide lower-carbon electricity throughout the economy while simultaneously meeting additional demand for electricity due to population growth and economic expansion," said Steve Specker, EPRI president and chief executive officer. Previous EPRI work has shown that absent investments in advanced technologies, significant reductions in future emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases will result in higher prices for electricity and natural gas, and reduced economic growth. However, by developing and deploying advanced electricity technologies, such as a "smart" electricity grid, plug-in hybrid vehicles, new advanced nuclear reactors, and clean coal technologies with carbon capture and storage, this EPRI study shows that the same cuts in future U.S. CO2 emissions could be accomplished at much lower cost ? saving as much as $1 trillion in future U.S. economic growth under some scenarios analyzed. The study builds upon prior work in which EPRI estimated the technical feasibility of achieving large-scale CO2 emissions reduction using advanced electricity technologies, and includes new work that identifies the research, development and deployment pathways necessary for these technologies to reach their full potential. EPRI released its analysis following its annual Summer Seminar, which brings together leaders of the electric power industry, academia, regulators and advocacy groups to address critical industry issues. EPRI will use the study to inform the work of the electricity industry, government and other interested parties in preparing a long- term action plan for research, development and demonstration projects related to these technologies. The study, "The Power to Reduce CO2 Emissions ? The Full Portfolio," is available in the Newsroom on the EPRI website at www.epri.com. ******************** (NEWS 11) Climate Tipping Points Loom Large http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns? id=mg19526173.900&feedId=online-news_rss20 Fred Pearce, New Scientist - SOME climate tipping points may already have been passed, and others may be closer than we thought, it emerged this week. Runaway loss of Arctic sea ice may now be inevitable. Even more worrying, and very likely, is the collapse of the giant Greenland ice sheet. So said Tim Lenton of the University of East Anglia, UK, speaking on Monday at a meeting on complexity in nature, organised by the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. Lenton warned the meeting that global warming might trigger tipping points that could cause runaway warming or catastrophic sea- level rise. The risks are far greater than suggested in the current IPCC report, he says. Yet climate modellers are in a quandary. As models get better and forecasts more alarming, their confidence in the detail of their predictions is evaporating. The IPCC says the Greenland ice sheet will take at least ... (subscription required) ******************** (NEWS 12) Sierra trees dying faster due to warming U.S. study: Death rate along 400-mile range doubled since 1983 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20177286/- SACRAMENTO, California - Conifer trees in the Sierra Nevada are dying at nearly double the rate as they were two decades ago, stressed by hotter temperatures and lower precipitation, according to a study to be presented later this week. The 400-mile-long range has endured dry spells in the past, but its trees now are more likely to die during such periods because they are struggling with the effects of a new challenge ? global warming. "What surprised us are how sensitive these trees are to short- term changes in climate," said Phillip van Mantgem, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and author of the report. "That was kind of a shock." Geological Survey researchers will present their findings Friday at a meeting of the Ecological Society of America in San Jose, Calif. They say their report is the first of its kind, coming after researchers spent 22 years examining coniferous trees in Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. ******************** (NEWS 13) Cost of Saving the Climate Meets Real-World Hurdles http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/15/ AR2007081502432.html?referrer=emailarticle (free registration required) On the Internet, erasing your role in climate change seems as easy as ordering a DVD -- and cheaper than a cup of coffee a day. With a click, a credit card and $99, visitors can pay a Silver Spring nonprofit group, Carbonfund.org, to "offset" a year's worth of greenhouse-gas emissions. Whatever the customer put into the atmosphere -- by flying, driving, using electricity -- the site promises to cancel out, by funding projects that reduce pollutants. The business of selling carbon "offsets" to individuals who want to minimize their footprint on the environment didn't exist 20 years ago. Organizations that sell offsets promise to balance out household and business contributions to climate change. However, the market is chaotic and unregulated, and some researchers say offsets don't always deliver what they promise... While some trees have grown faster in other parts of the U.S.... (continued) *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITY 1) 2007-2008 Earth System Science Student Professional Development Opportunity The NSF and NASA funded initiative, entitled Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success in Earth System Science Professional Development Program (MS PHD'S PDP)? is selecting its fifth cohort! The MS PHD'S PDP provides professional development experiences to facilitate the advancement of undergraduate and graduate underrepresented minority students who are committed to achieving outstanding Earth system science careers. Shortly, we will begin the process of selecting the 2007-2008 MS PHD'S PDP participant cohort. The successful MS PHD'S PDP applicants will engage in a series of science exposure, professional development and virtual community building activities that include participation in two professional society meetings, web-based discussions and workshops, and a capstone event hosted by the National Academies, NSF, NASA, NOAA and EPA! Phase I of the Professional Development Program will be held December 8th-14th in San Francisco, CA, in conjunction with the 2007 Fall American Geophysical Union meeting. I would greatly appreciate your assistance in broadly disseminating this year's program announcement. Mentor and student participant applications for the MS PHD'S PDP 2007-2008 cohort are available at www.msphds.usf.edu . Please take a few moments to complete the appropriate survey as well as to encourage all qualified and interested individuals to submit the completed forms by September 10, 2007. Thanks in advance for your assistance in broadly disseminating this information! Sincerely, Dr. Ashanti J. Pyrtle, MS PHD'S Director Assistant Professor College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 tel: 727.553.1301, fax: 727.553.1189, E-mail: apyrtle at marine.usf.edu http://www.marine.usf.edu/faculty/ashanti-pyrtle.shtml http://msphds.usf.edu http://www.womenoceanographers.org/Default.aspx? pid=E1E3254E-1C80-4e6d-ABBF-1EC5F5436C3E&id=AshantiPyrtle ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 2) Climate change policy conference - September 28, 2007 - Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://www.wlu.ca/viessmann/html_pages/conferences.htm The Viessmann European Research Centre http://www.wlu.ca/ viessmann/ at Wilfrid Laurier University invites you to attend a conference focussing on comparing North American and European approaches to climate change. The conference will be held on Friday, September 28, 2007 at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university is about an hour's drive from the main Toronto, Ontario airport. Since the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 the Canadian, American, and European Union approaches to climate change have diverged. This conference seeks to examine these approaches, the reasons for and impact of divergence, and the possible future of climate change policy in these countries. A preliminary program and registration form may be found at http://www.wlu.ca/viessmann/html_pages/conferences.htm See Upcoming Events on the above web page to download a registration form, which we ask all attendees to fill out and return. Please return the form to Pierre Siklos, the Director of the Viessmann Research Centre psiklos at wlu.ca as soon as possible, but no later than September 14. Due to space and budget constraints we may have to limit attendance. Please contact me if you have questions. Frank Millerd Professor Emeritus of Economics Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3C5 Canada Phone: 519 576-3468 Email: fmillerd at wlu.ca ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 3) Early-career workshop - Environmental and Resource Economics - 12-13 November 2007 - Bathurst, NSW (Australia) www.ecrew.org.au I would be grateful if you would pass on the attached information to appropriate people in your school or department about E-CReW 2007, which is a workshop for Early Career Researchers in the area of Environmental and Resource Economics that is to be held on 12-13 November 2007, in Bathurst, NSW, Australia. The goal of the workshop is to provide a forum for early career researchers to get feedback on their research, interact with and receive advice from more experienced academics, and to meet other researchers at a similar stage in their research careers. The workshop is targeted primarily at people who are currently completing their PhD or Masters degrees, or early career researchers who have up to 10 years post-doctoral experience. We have seven mentors helping with the workshop, including: ? Professor Michael Hanemann who is the Director of the California Climate Change Center at the University of California ? Professor Laura Taylor who is the Director of the Center for Resource and Environmental Economics Policy at North Carolina State University ? Professor Allan Curtis who until recently was the Director of the Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University ? Dr David Godden who is the Manager of Economics Services at the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change ? Dr Deborah Peterson who is a Deputy Secretary with the Victorian Department of Primary Industries ? Professor John Rolfe who is a resource economist from Central Queensland University ? Dr Don Gunsekera who is the Chief Economist at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics The workshop costs $150 to attend, which includes all meals. Scholarships and transport subsidies are available for students who would have difficulty attending without financial support. Please see the workshop's website www.ecrew.org.au or contact Therese Formosa at tformosa at ecrew.org.au or on (61 2) 6338 6129 for further information. *************************************************** 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) Climate Adaptation Specialists (2) - Freshwater and Terrestrial - World Wildlife Fund (WWF) ? Washington DC (USA) or (UK) www.worldwildlife.org/jobs http://www.worldwildlife.org/about/ jobs_iframe.cfm World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation organization seeks two Climate Adaptation Specialists, one to work on freshwater ecosystems, the other on terrestrial ecosystems. This Senior Program Officer position plans, manages, communicates, and implements project as part of the EpiCenter of Climate Adaptaiton and Resilience Building. Leads the development of successful adaptation field projects and manages other strategic efforts to build WWF's profile and knowledge around adaptation/resilience-building in order to protect nature from the impacts of climate change. Works under the supervision of the Chief Climate Change Scientist/Director of the EpiCenter of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building and is part of the WWF Climate Change Global Program Unit. Basic Requirements: Basic requirements include a graduate degree in a relevant field. Position requires a minimum of five years of work experience in conservation biology, ecology or climate change science. Candidates should be a strong persuasive communicator, in person and in writing and have proven ability to work with scientists and funding agencies. Demonstrated knowledge of fundraising and proposal development is a plus. Excellent organizational and project management skills required. ******************** (JOBS 2) Post-Doc Research Associates (2) - Atmospheric chemistry ? University of Washington - Bothell, WA (USA) Position #1-Mercury scientist This position is primarily focused on mercury observations and interpretation. The successful candidate will be within 6 years after PhD completion. The selected scientist will lead our mercury research program at Mt. Bachelor and assist in other mercury field programs including possibly the NASA-ARCTAS experiment. Key questions for the work at Mt. Bachelor focus on developing a better understanding of (1) the global sources or mercury, and (2) the oxidation processes that convert Hg(0) to Hg(II). For this position, I am looking for an outstanding scientist who has the ability to think creatively about global mercury pollution issues and who has experience with mercury measurement systems. In addition, the selected candidate must have a strong publication record and be dedicated to outstanding communication of their scientific work in both written and oral presentations. Finally, the selected candidate must be a good team player and have the ability to work with other students and scientists at a variety of levels. Position #2: O3/NOx/PAN This position is focused on understanding the implications of increasing NOx emissions from Asia on global tropospheric ozone. The successful candidate will be within 6 years after PhD completion. The selected candidate will make measurements at Mt. Bachelor of one or more relevant chemical species, integrate our observations with global chemical transport models and utilize satellite data to augment our understanding of this issue. This person may also play a role in new aerosol studies at Mt. Bachelor. For this position, I am looking for an outstanding scientist who has the ability to think creatively about global pollution issues and who has experience with relevant measurement systems. Experience integrating with global models and satellite data is also highly desirable. In addition, the selected candidate must have a strong publication record and be dedicated to outstanding communication of their scientific work in both written and oral presentations. Finally, the selected candidate must be a good team player and have the ability to work with other students and scientists at a variety of levels. The salary range for this position is $3083-$3800 per month. Further information on both positions: Both positions are based at the University of Washington's Bothell Campus (www.uwb.edu), located approximately 20 km from the main UW Seattle campus. For both positions field work is required. This will mainly include measurements at our Mt. Bachelor Observatory (http://research.uwb.edu/jaffegroup), but may include other field campaigns as opportunities arise. Both positions will also involve extensive collaboration with scientists in Atmospheric Science at the UW Seattle campus (www.atmos.washington.edu). To apply for either position, please send a letter describing your relevant experience and CV to Prof. Dan Jaffe, University of Washington Bothell, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011-8246 or by email (preferred) to djaffe at u.washington.edu and arrange for 3 reference letters to be sent directly. Priority will be given to applications received by September 10th. Questions about either of these positions can be addressed to D. Jaffe at the email address given above. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research, and service. For further information about our research group please see http://research.uwb.edu/jaffegroup . ******************** (JOB 3) Post-Doc - Atmospheric chemistry - School of Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia (UK) (Ref: RA415) We are seeking an atmospheric scientist to work on data collected over West Africa during 2006. These data were collected as part of the international African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA) (http://www.amma-international.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=1 ) programme funded by the NERC AMMA-UK project (http:// www.env.leeds.ac.uk/research/ias/dynamics/amma/) and the AMMA-EU Integrated Project ( https://www.amma-eu.org/). This post is in the Atmospheric Chemistry Group (ACG) (http://www.uea.ac.uk/env/ tracegaslab/), and is to examine data collected on the FAAM (Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements) BAe-146 research aircraft, primarily concentrations of isoprene. These data have been qualitatively related to the surface vegetation and we wish to extend this further through the use of the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) developed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the USA. We also wish to examine the impact of the observed isoprene on the photochemical processing over West Africa. Applicants should have a PhD or equivalent research experience, preferably in an atmospheric science discipline. They should have experience in computer programming, preferably in FORTRAN, and ideally have experience of one or more of the following software packages: ArcGIS, IGOR and FACSIMILE. Prof. Jonathan Foley, Director Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin - Madison www.sage.wisc.edu ******************** (JOB 4) Post-Doc - Climate/Ecosystem Modeling - Effects of Land Use Practices on the Earth System - Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) - University of Wisconsin (USA) The Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin is searching for a postdoctoral scholar to help us better understand the role of global land use practices, particularly within modern agricultural systems, on the planetary cycles of water, energy, carbon and nutrients. The postdoctoral scholar will work with a new generation of coupled atmosphere-biosphere models (based on versions of the NCAR CCSM climate model and the IBIS terrestrial biosphere model) to explore the importance of land use practices ? including irrigation, fertilizer use, crop selection, fire management ? on the whole earth ystem. The work will particularly focus on changes in climate, hydrology and biogeochemical processes resulting from changes in global agricultural practices. The work will be done in coordination with scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Candidates with graduate training in climate and ecosystem modeling will be strongly considered. Backgrounds in agricultural systems, global ecosystem processes, hydrology, and biogeochemistry would be extremely helpful. Excellent quantitative and modeling skills are required; excellent communication and writing skills desired. The ability to work within, and contribute to, an interdisciplinary team is a must. Please send a complete c.v., cover letter and the names of at least three references to Prof. Jonathan Foley (email: jfoley at wisc.edu), Director - Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. Only electronic applications will be considered. We will begin reviewing applications on September 15, 2007. ******************** (JOB 5) Task Leader - Information Systems - NASA Global Change Master Directory (USA) Primary responsibilities: Manage the professional aspects of the GCMD task, including interactions with the NASA customer and contract management. Represent the task at professional meetings, promote current collaborations and identify others. Monitor all aspects of the task: software development (with developer "lead") and all operations; provide direction to contract staff, and perform staff evaluations. Participate in the ongoing Earth science keyword upgrades and their ontological evolution. Assess new technology and advise on appropriate applications as needed, in conjunction with the NASA ATR. Prepare monthly project reports and biannual assessments of contract work to the government. Prepare metrics on system population, web usage, and assist in the preparation of task documents, such as the annual "State of the GCMD". Examine and implement methods to decrease overhead for all tasks. Qualifications: Master's Degree in one or more of the Earth Sciences with expertise in Meteorology, Climatology, Oceanography, Soil Science, Remote Sensing, the Hydrosphere, the Cryosphere, Land Surface, Paleoclimatology, or Sun-Earth Interactions. Knowledge and experience with web-based information technology essential; three years supervisory experience desirable. Please submit cover letter and resume to: Larry Klein, Group Manager, RS Information Systems, 301-352-4674 lklein at sesda2.com ******************** (JOB 6) Researcher - Climate Policy Project (CP) ? IGES - Kanagawa 240-0115 (Japan) http://www.iges.or.jp/en/news/saiyo/200708cp/index.html The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is recruiting a researcher or a senior policy researcher for its Climate Policy Project (CP), the mission of which is to evaluate and recommend pragmatic climate policies for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific in an era of evolving global climate regime. Masato Watanabe?Research Supporting Section) Institute for Global Environmental Strategies(IGES) 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115 Japan Tel?+81-46-855-3720 Fax?+81-46-855-3709 URL?http://www.iges.or.jp Email?recruit-climatepolicy at iges.or.jp ******************** (JOB 7) Postdocs - Nat'l Resource Economics/Politics Economy - University of California, Berkeley CA (USA) http://research.chance.berkeley.edu/ciriacy/ Salary: Starting at 52,512.00 Type: Full Time The University of California, Berkeley invites applications for the 2008-2009 S.V. Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellowships in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy. The S.V. Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellowships in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy will be awarded for the 2008-2009 academic year to support advanced research at the University of California, Berkeley. For the purposes of this fellowship, natural resources are defined broadly to include environmental resources. The fellowship encourages, but is not limited to, policy-oriented research. Applications are open to scholars from any social science discipline, and related professional fields such as law and planning, who will make significant contributions to research on natural resource economics broadly defined. Preference will be given to proposals whose orientation is broadly institutional and/or historical, and which are conceptually and theoretically innovative. Proposals with a primarily statistical or econometric purpose are not eligible for consideration. Requirements: PhD Required Education: Doctorate NOTES: 5 openings. International Candidates Will Be Considered Apply online at http://aaanet.jobcontrolcenter.com/jobdetail.cfm? job=2639037.32 ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070816/7600a0f9/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Aug 24 21:31:31 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:31:31 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 8/24/2007 Message-ID: <042676D3-BF59-481C-9FEF-9CA43EAF7908@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 8/24/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES U.S. National Science Foundation Releases Survey on the Impact of Proposal and Award Management Mechanisms (IPAMM) NOTE: We at DISCCRS think all those registered with DISCCRS should read this document if they plan to submit a proposal to the US National Science Foundation. http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07096 (see RESOURCES 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Atlantic Yields Climate Secrets http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6946735.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/yoo45s (see NEWS 1 below) Forget Biofuels - Burn Oil and Plant Forests Instead http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12496-forget- biofuels--burn-oil-and-plant-forests-instead.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yt9omy (see NEWS 2 below) Antarctic Icebergs Teem with Diverse Life http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070816-9999- lz1c16grow.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ytgdn4 (see NEWS 3 below) Clues from Hurricane 'Fingerprints' http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0816/p13s03-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2hybk3 (see NEWS 4 below) Warming Will Exacerbate Global Water Conflicts http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/ AR2007081900967.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2yqms7 (see NEWS 5 below) Scramble for the Arctic http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0821/p08s01-comv.html (see NEWS 6 below) Research Boom in Arctic Village as Oil Reserves Draw Big Powers http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/22/ energy.oilandpetrol Or: http://tinyurl.com/yvq5ad (see NEWS 7 below) Change in Hottest Year Fuels Global Warming Skeptics http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0823/p02s01-wogi.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yqs34o (see NEWS 8 below) Saltier North Atlantic Should Give Currents a Boost http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12528-saltier-north- atlantic-should-give-currents-a-boost.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ 2ofzvs (see NEWS 9 below) Arctic sea ice expected to hit record low in Sept http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16582142.htm (see NEWS 10 below) Arctic summer sea ice hits record low http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20316390/ (see NEWS 11 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) - request for proposals for workshop topics at the 2008 NCAR Junior Faculty Forum on Future Scientific Directions http://www.asp.ucar.edu/ecsa/jff/jff08.jsp (see OPPORTUNITY 1 below) Abstract Submission: Biogeochemistry in Polar Environments ? Fall AGU meeting ? San Francisco, CA (USA) (see OPPORTUNITY 2 below) JOBS Asst Prof - Water and Sustainability - Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability - College for Interdisciplinary Studies - University of British Columbia ? British Columbia (Canada) (see JOB 1 below) Researcher - Environmental Microbiology - Institute of Marine Sciences of UNC - Chapel Hill, NC (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Analyst - Geological sequestration - Climate Change Policy Partnership - Duke University - Durham NC (USA) http://tinyurl.com/3262va (see JOB 3 below) Post-Doc - Species Invasions and Global Change - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island (USA) http://tinyurl.com/387plm (see JOB 4 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) NOTE: We at DISCCRS think all those registered with DISCCRS should read this document if they plan to submit a proposal to the US National Science Foundation. U.S. National Science Foundation Releases Survey on the Impact of Proposal and Award Management Mechanisms (IPAMM) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07096 The National Science Foundation's Impact of Proposal and Award Management Mechanisms Working Group (IPAMM) presented its findings to the National Science Board (Board) during its August 2007 meeting at NSF headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, USA. The working group was created in 2006 "to recommend policies and preferred practices to improve NSF's program announcement and solicitation processes in ways that achieve appropriate balances between proposal funding rates, award sizes and award durations." The IPAMM Final Report is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsmedia/IPAMM_Report_Final.pdf Findings: - NSF funding rates declined due to a surge in proposals, as NSF was making a concerted effort to increase the average award size (absorbing overall NSF budget growth). The annual number of awards stayed constant. Funding rates dropped between fiscal year (FY) 2000 and FY 2004, and leveled off in FY 2005 and FY 2006. - Proposals have increased as the applicant pool has increased - due in part to growth in the research community's capacity, decreases in funding from other sources, and increases in targeted solicitations in new areas - and the number of proposals per applicant has increased. - NSF's peer review system is under stress with great demands on reviewers, posing challenges in order for NSF to maintain scientific integrity and stellar quality. - The overall decrease in funding rate has affected the entire NSF proposer community proportionately - there has been no disparate effect on any particular group. - Reduced funding rates and increased proposal submission rates have increased the work for all involved. - The quality of proposals submitted and awarded has not declined due to increased competition or lowered funding rates. Because the results of this study do not support a single best or preferred approach to managing proposal submissions and funding rates, or in establishing an appropriate balance between funding rate and award size, IPAMM presented to the Board several recommendations for consideration. IPAMM's Recommendations 1. NSF should require that each of the directorates and research offices develop an overarching strategic framework, incorporating flexible management approaches. 2. Long-term planning for accommodating growth in the communities and infrastructure built by research investments (including both physical infrastructure and human resources) must be incorporated when developing new funding opportunities. 3. The practice of limiting the number of proposals that a principal investigator or institution may submit is appropriate in some situations but should be considered in the context of relevant trade- offs and impacts on the community. 4. Careful consideration should be given to the short-term use of various management practices to increase the number of awards and reduce the need to revise and resubmit highly rated proposals. 5. NSF management should inform the appropriate internal and external communities when implementing new proposal management practices and should monitor their concerns during implementation. 6. NSF should ensure that the community has access to specific and accurate statistical data on funding rates; this will include evaluating the Budget Internet Information System (NSF's public portal to award information) and updating it, as needed. 7. NSF should annually update trend analyses for internal review and include them in the Annual Report on the NSF Merit Review Process to the Board. Media Contact: Lisa-Joy Zgorski, NSF Phone: 703-292-8311 E- mail: lisajoy at nsf.gov Program Contact: Joanne S. Tornow, NSF Phone: 703-292-7134 E- mail: jtornow at nsf.gov The full NSF press release is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07096 The IPAMM Final Report is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsmedia/IPAMM_Report_Final.pdf *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Atlantic Yields Climate Secrets http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6946735.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/yoo45s BBC News Online - Scientists have painted the first detailed picture of Atlantic ocean currents crucial to Europe's climate. Using instruments strung out across the Atlantic, a UK-led team shows that its circulation varies significantly over the course of a year. Writing in the journal Science, they say it may now be possible to detect changes related to global warming. The Atlantic circulation brings warm water to Europe, keeping the continent 4-6C warmer than it would be otherwise. As the water reaches the cold Arctic, it sinks, returning southwards deeper in the ocean. Some computer models of climate change predict this Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, of which the Gulf Stream is the best-known component, could weaken severely or even stop completely as global temperatures rise, a scenario taken to extremes in the Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow. ******************** (NEWS 2) Forget Biofuels - Burn Oil and Plant Forests Instead http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12496-forget- biofuels--burn-oil-and-plant-forests-instead.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yt9omy NewScientist - It sounds counterintuitive, but burning oil and planting forests to compensate is more environmentally friendly than burning biofuel. So say scientists who have calculated the difference in net emissions between using land to produce biofuel and the alternative: fuelling cars with gasoline and replanting forests on the land instead. They recommend governments steer away from biofuel and focus on reforestation and maximising the efficiency of fossil fuels instead. The reason is that producing biofuel is not a "green process." It requires tractors and fertilisers and land, all of which means burning fossil fuels to make "green" fuel. In the case of bioethanol produced from corn ? an alternative to oil - "it's essentially a zero- sums game," says Ghislaine Kieffer, programme manager for Latin America at the International Energy Agency in Paris, France. ******************** (NEWS 3) Antarctic Icebergs Teem with Diverse Life http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070816-9999- lz1c16grow.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ytgdn4 San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - Fractured from the ancient ice sheets that encrust Antarctica, the bergs of the Weddell Sea may appear at first glance to be cold and sterile places, as lifeless as ice cubes bobbing in a glass of water. But like their proverbial tips, they have much more below the surface. New research - perhaps the first of its kind - suggests that at least some free-floating Antarctic icebergs are biological hot spots featuring everything from microscopic plankton and diatoms to krill, fish, seabirds and seals. "It was the scale that was substantial and surprising," said Ken Smith, an oceanographer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Science. "There was more abundance and variety than we expected." ******************** (NEWS 4) Clues from Hurricane 'Fingerprints' http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0816/p13s03-sten.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2hybk3 Christian Science Monitor - Hard hats and head lamps are not tools one usually associates with hurricane hunters. But for Amy Frappier they are indispensable. The Boston College geochemist and her colleagues have been searching for signs of hurricanes in stalagmites that rise like jagged stone fangs from the floors of caves in Latin America. In the formations' tree-ringlike growth layers, she and her colleagues have shown that stalagmites record individual hurricanes by the unique chemical fingerprints the storms leave on the rain they dump. Buoyed by results published last April from a field trip to Belize in 2001, the team this summer has been focusing its hunt on caves on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Meanwhile, a group of scientists at the University of Tennessee has been looking for similar signatures hidden in tree rings. ******************** (NEWS 5) Warming Will Exacerbate Global Water Conflicts http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/19/ AR2007081900967.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2yqms7 Washington Post (Registration Required) - FRESNO, Calif. -- Steve Johnson scans the hot, translucent sky. He wants to make rain -- needs to make rain for the parched farms and desperate hydro companies in this California valley. But first, he must have clouds. The listless sky offers no hint of clouds. Inside a darkened room near the Fresno airport, Johnson's colleagues study an array of radar screens. If a promising thunderstorm appears, Johnson will send his pilots into it in sturdy but ice-battered single-engine planes, burning flares of silver iodide to try to coax rain from the clouds. This year, there have been few promising clouds, to the dismay of the farmers, ranchers and power companies who hire Johnson's cloud seeders. "We can increase the rainfall by 10 percent. But Mother Nature has to cooperate. Ten percent of zero is zero," says Johnson, a meteorologist and director of Atmospherics Inc. ******************** (NEWS 6) Scramble for the Arctic http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0821/p08s01-comv.html Christian Science Monitor - To help protect this ocean from exploitation, the US must first join the UN Law of the Sea Treaty. The prospect of Arctic ice melting in about 36 years has brought the prospector out of countries that covet its gas, oil, and new sea lanes. It's a pity then that the US, with a thousand miles of Arctic coastline, may not have a good seat at the table to decide this frontier's future. In recent weeks, Russia, Canada, Denmark, and the US have all launched various types of Arctic ventures to mark some claim on this frosty region that's twice the size of France. But the US is the only Arctic-bordering nation not party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. That treaty is the legal venue that can help resolve competing claims beyond each nation's offshore economic zone, based on still-unresolved findings of continental shelves. For the US to be a legitimate player in this race for the Arctic, the Senate must take the long-delayed step of ratifying the 1982 ocean treaty. Happily, hearings on whether to do so start in September. But any talks between Arctic countries should include ways to protect rather than exploit this liquefying ocean, as experience has shown. In the mid-20th century, the contest to exploit the Antarctic led to a treaty calling for the southern polar region to be used "in the interests of all mankind." That was in contrast to the 1884-85 Berlin Conference that tried to resolve claims on Africa between imperialist Britain, France, and Germany ? only to see a damaging "scramble for Africa." And in Southeast Asia today, oil riches under the Spratly Sea remain a source of high tension between China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other bordering nations. Would-be Arctic exploiters must recognize an irony in the fact that global warming, caused in part by burning fossil fuels, is helping to open up a race to tap the Arctic's fossil fuels. For humanity's sake, this valuable but polluting resource should be left for the day when other oil wells start to run dry. By one very rough estimate, the Arctic holds a quarter of the planet's undiscovered petroleum. One practical reason to keep it underground is that technology to drill and transport it in such frigid, watery conditions remains underdeveloped. An Arctic oil spill would not be pretty or short term. Canada and the US need to set an example for other claimants. The two long time allies can start moves toward protecting the Arctic by resolving their own dispute over the long-sought Northwest Passage. Soon, ships may be able to pass through these now-frozen waters, cutting 2,500 miles off the normal transit from Europe to Asia. Canada claims them as their own. The US and many nations see them as international waters. (US naval subs have long plied the area.) Meanwhile, Russia, which this month placed a rust-free flag on an underwater ridge near the North Pole to stake a critical claim, needs to end such belligerent antics if it wants to be taken seriously in coming talks on Arctic rights. Such a nationalist move may play well at home before an election, but it's not 21st-century diplomacy. The Law of the Sea Treaty was designed to resolve claims over ocean territory and mineral resources. So far, it has worked fairly well. The US should join, and in doing so, work to give the Arctic a special status, one that preserves its unique environment. ******************** (NEWS 7) Research Boom in Arctic Village as Oil Reserves Draw Big Powers http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/22/ energy.oilandpetrol Or: http://tinyurl.com/yvq5ad Guardian (UK) - Lying barely 650 miles from the North Pole and shrouded in freezing darkness for several months of the year, the Norwegian islands of Svalbard make an unlikely property hotspot. Yet at Ny-Alesund, a tiny former coal-mining settlement on the west side, an international boom is under way. The Chinese have moved in, bringing with them two marble lions that stand guard outside their Arctic Yellow River research station, and so too have Japan and South Korea. Scientists from India's first expedition to the Arctic are poised to join them. In June, a visiting delegation from Washington talked of beefing up US interests at Ny- Alesund, while the Russians are in negotiations. Should, as some on Svalbard expect, the two former cold war superpowers move in, they will join established bases run by Norway, Holland, France, Germany and Britain. On the surface, the multinational invasion of Ny-Alesund ... is in the name of science. Experts who visit Svalbard are in an ideal position to study the atmosphere, glaciers and the region's unique wildlife. ******************** (NEWS 8) Change in Hottest Year Fuels Global Warming Skeptics http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0823/p02s01-wogi.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yqs34o Christian Science Monitor - Was 1998 the hottest year in United States history, as most reporting on climate change has presumed? Or was that record set back in 1934 before "global warming" became a scary household phrase? A corrective tweak to National Aeronautics and Space Administration's formulation shows that the hottest year on record in the US indeed was back during the Dust Bowl days. But does this mean that all the concern about global warming being a relatively recent phenomenon tied to carbon-belching power plants and hulking SUVs is a bunch of Al Gore hooey? Climate change skeptics and their cheering section among conservative bloggers and radio shoutmeisters think so - even though most scientists say, no, the tweak is not a big deal and overall trends are in the direction of toastier days around the globe. ******************** (NEWS 9) Saltier North Atlantic Should Give Currents a Boost http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn12528-saltier-north- atlantic-should-give-currents-a-boost.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/ 2ofzvs NewScientist - The surface waters of the North Atlantic are getting saltier, suggests a new study of records spanning over 50 years. And this might actually be good news for the effects of climate change on global ocean currents in the short-term, say the study's researchers. This is because saltier waters in the upper levels of the North Atlantic ocean may mean that the global ocean conveyor belt ... will remain stable. ...Tim Boyer of the US National Oceanographic Data Center and colleagues compiled salinity data gathered by fisheries, navy and research ships travelling across the North Atlantic between 1955 and 2006. They found that during this time, the layer of water that makes up the top 400 metres has gradually become saltier. ******************** (NEWS 10) Arctic sea ice expected to hit record low in Sept http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N16582142.htm Reuters - NEW YORK - The extent of Arctic sea ice will likely have melted to a record low this September partially due to man-made greenhouse gas emissions, researchers at the University of Colorado said on Thursday. There is a 92 percent chance that Arctic sea ice extent in September will melt to its lowest level at least since the 1970s, when satellite measuring efforts began, the researchers said. They had predicted a 33 percent chance of a record low in April, but changed the forecast after a rapid disintegration of sea ice during July. Such high levels of ice melting could have wide implications in coming years such as changes in temperature and rain patterns across much of the United States. ******************** (NEWS 11) Arctic summer sea ice hits record low http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20316390/ Expert: In July 'it started to disappear at rates we had never seen before' MSNBC staff - The summer sea ice in the Arctic is melting at a rate never before seen by experts, setting a record low the last two days that's likely to continue through September, top sea ice experts said in two new reports that suggest mankind's emissions of greenhouse gases are at least partly responsible. The National Snow and Ice Data Center on Friday said conditions on Thursday and Friday were already below the 2005 record and would likely stay that way through the end of summer. ?Today is a historic day,? said Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist with the center, which is located at the University of Colorado-Boulder. ?This is the least sea ice we?ve ever seen in the satellite record and we have another month left to go in the melt season this year.? *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (OPPORTUNITIES 1) NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) - request for proposals for workshop topics at the 2008 NCAR Junior Faculty Forum on Future Scientific Directions http://www.asp.ucar.edu/ecsa/jff/jff08.jsp The Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA) at NCAR is requesting proposals for workshop topics at the 2008 NCAR Junior Faculty Forum on Future Scientific Directions. The forum is to be held at NCAR (Boulder, CO) for 3 days during the week of July 7-11, 2008. The Forum is aimed at junior scientists from US Universities and NCAR to discuss future scientific directions of selected topics. Approximately 15-20 University and 20 NCAR attendees are expected for each accepted workshop topic. The goals of the Forum are to: 1.have junior scientists create research plans for future science directions; 2. encourage collaboration between early career scientists at NCAR and universities; and 3. expose junior faculty to the facilities that NCAR provides to the broader community (models, computers, observational facilities, collaborative opportunities). 1-page proposals outlining proposed workshop topics are due on 1 November 2007. Proposals should be sent to Andrew Gettelman (andrew at ucar.edu). Proposals must include a description of the proposed discussion topic, and why it is timely to hold such a workshop. In order to ensure significant participation from both the University Community and NCAR, we request that each workshop be co-chaired by a university member and an NCAR researcher. Funding for attendance of outside participants and administrative support for the workshops will be provided by the NCAR Early Career Scientists Assembly (ECSA). If you are a University faculty member and are unsure whom you could contact at NCAR to co-chair a potential workshop, let us know and we will provide you with the contact information of relevant scientists. For further information on the proposals and past Junior Faculty Forums, visit http://www.asp.ucar.edu/ecsa/jff/jff08.jsp ******************** (OPPORTUNITY 2) Abstract Submission: Biogeochemistry in Polar Environments ? Fall AGU meeting ? San Francisco, CA (USA) We are hosting a session entitled "Biogeochemistry in Polar Environments" that will provide a forum for researchers investigating the interactions of microbes with geology and chemistry in polar and general cryosphere environments. We invite you to submit an abstract for presentation at the2007 Fall AGU meeting in San Francisco. The deadline for submission in September 7. To submit an abstract, visit the AGU Fall Meeting website at http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm07/ . The session title and description are listed below. Biogeochemistry in Polar Environments The polar regions are unique in many ways, containing ecosystems that are subject to extended periods of annual light and dark cycles as well as extreme temperatures. These environments have proven to be much more dynamic than expected, given the cold, dark conditions for significant periods of time. Polar ecosystems, though extreme, can serve as ideal systems to study the relationship between the microbial world, geology, and chemistry because of limited direct human impacts and the lower complexity of trophic structure. In fact, 14% of our planet is polar, yet we know little about it. As the climate continues to change, polar regions are affected quickly and dramatically, with potential feedbacks to the rest of the globe. Understanding polar biogeochemical cycles is essential for better prediction of impacts of increased temperatures and other climate change effects. Polar biogeochemical research reveals the workings of unique ecosystems, documents a baseline of material transformation for more ?complex? temperate regions and highlights ecosystem functions sensitive to climate change. We propose a session to bring together an array of researchers investigating biogeochemical processes and cycling in marine, terrestrial, atmospheric, and freshwater polar environments, as well as those that cross over these systems. Studies investigating a range of biogeochemistry, from trace metals to nutrient cycling are encouraged, with special emphasis on studies integrating field, lab, molecular and/or computational techniques. Hope to see you in December. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact any one of us. Sincerely, Jenny Baeseman, Arctic Research Consortium of the US baeseman at arcus.org Lydia Zeglin, University of New Mexico lzeglin at unm.edu Michael Gooseff, Pennsylvania State University mgooseff at engr.psu.edu *************************************************** 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 - Water and Sustainability - Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability - College for Interdisciplinary Studies - University of British Columbia ? British Columbia (Canada) The Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) invites applications for a tenure track position at the rank of Assistant Professor in the area of water and sustainability, to commence July 1, 2008. Salary will be commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the candidate. IRES has enjoyed over three decades of leading edge interdisciplinary research on environment and sustainability. It serves as a crucible of new research partnerships from across the UBC campus and supports a graduate program of over 80 PhD and 40 master students. Additional information about the research and teaching programs, as well as our state-of-the-art research facilities, can be found at http://www.ires.ubc.ca. This appointment will be shared with the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences (www.eos.ubc.ca). We seek an outstanding interdisciplinary scholar in the natural or social sciences who aspires to develop an internationally recognized research program on water and sustainability, broadly defined to include research areas as diverse as water quality and chemistry, water systems ecology, or aquatic resource decision- making. An orientation to interdisciplinary, integrative approaches that incorporate linkages among human and natural systems is required. The successful candidate will be joining a strong and cohesive unit with a wide range of skills and interests who has succeeded in competing for and training the very best students. The successful candidate must have a completed PhD and must have demonstrated potential in teaching at the graduate and undergraduate level and in research. The ability to integrate GIS into both research and teaching is a highly desirable attribute. Applicants should mail a cover letter identifying teaching and research interests, a curriculum vitae, and copies of representative publications to the following address no later than September 30th, 2007. All queries and applications should be directed to: Professor Gunilla ?berg, Director, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, The University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z4., e-mail faculty_search at ires.ubc.ca. UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Please indicate your legal status to work in Canada. ******************** (JOB 2) Researcher - Environmental Microbiology - Institute of Marine Sciences of UNC - Chapel Hill, NC (USA) The Institute of Marine Sciences of UNC Chapel Hill invites applications for a postdoctoral associate or highly trained Masters level employee in environmental water quality/environmental microbiology. We seek a highly qualified individual with research experience and interest in the fields of microbial water quality, environmental microbiology, hydrology, groundwater pollution, and molecular biology. A Ph.D. or M.Sc. at the time of appointment in environmental microbiology, hydrology, marine science, molecular biology, or related fields is required for this position, as well as a record of research productivity. We particularly seek individuals who have expertise in the application of molecular techniques to environmental water quality issues. Experience with field sampling approaches, boat navigation, wastewater treatment and septic system design, hydrological modeling, and TMDL development are also desired, but not requisite. We especially seek individuals who complement existing department strengths and can work collaboratively in the marine science/ microbial ecology/water quality research groups at the Institute of Marine Sciences of UNC Chapel Hill in Morehead City, NC. The position is available immediately and will be for one year, renewable for up to 3 years based upon funding availability. To apply, please send a CV, relevant publications and the contact information of three references to: Rachel Noble, Institute of Marine Sciences, 3431 Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC 28557, or send electronic copies of information to rtnoble at email.unc.edu. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, special preference will be given to applications received prior to September 30, 2007. ******************** (JOB 3) Analyst - Geological sequestration - Climate Change Policy Partnership - Duke University - Durham NC (USA) http://tinyurl.com/3262va The Duke University Climate Change Policy Partnership (CCPP) is seeking an analyst with expertise in geological sequestration to conduct a comprehensive study of a national CO2 pipeline and storage system, including technical feasibility, expected cost, environmental implications, and social, political, and regulatory barriers. The analyst is expected to translate findings into appropriate policy proposals that can complement national climate change legislation. This position is located in Durham, NC and is open to both postdoctoral and full time permanent hire candidates. For more detailed information including salary, see http:// www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/ccpp/professionals.html Postdoctoral candidates: The position is fully funded for two years, with potential for extension based on funding and mutual interest. Requirements include a PhD in geological scie nces, engineering or a technology-related field; will also consider a PhD in environmental policy or economics with background in geology or engineering. Candidate must have prior experience analyzing geological sequestration and carbon capture and storage technology. Familiarity with climate policy, technology policy, and experience in project management a plus Permanent hire candidates: Applicants must have either: 1) an MS in geology, engineering or other relevant technical discipline and experience (or degree) in policy or 2) an MA in policy with a BA in geology, engineering or other relevant technical discipline. PhDs are also welcome, but not required. Must have prior experience analyzing geological sequestration and carbon capture and storage technology. Familiarity with climate policy, technology policy, and experience in project management are also required. Additional desirable qualifications include: 1. Knowledge of scientific and engineering theories, concepts, and practices related to fossil and other energy systems. 2. Ability to assess the impacts of policy on energy technologies and systems. 3. Ability to analyze and recommend mitigation strategies and related policies 4. Ability to perform a technology risk analysis in the context of carbon markets, liability concerns, and international policies/ frameworks. 5. Ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, complex technical problems and issues The CCPP is a collaborative effort of the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, the Center on Global Change, and the Nicholas School of the Environment. Please see http:// www.env.duke.edu/institute/ccpp for more information. TO APPLY: Send cover letter and resume (electronic preferred) to Hallie Knuffman, CCPP Coordinator; hakk at duke.edu; tel: 919-613-8748; fax: 919-681-7176 ******************** (JOB 4) Post-Doc - Species Invasions and Global Change - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island (USA) http://tinyurl.com/387plm We seek a post-doctoral research associate, for one year with additional years possible, pending funding, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University; for participation in a collaborative project with Qinfeng Guo (US Forest Service) and Dov Sax (Brown University). This project will investigate the role of climate, land use and other environmental characteristics on plant invasions in the US, with a focus on forecasting future distributions of non-native plants. Analyses will include consideration of climatic conditions in the native range of non-native species. Long-term project goals include consideration of global change as a driver for future species invasions. The project has key defined goals, but there is substantial room for independent and collaborative exploration of related topics. Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Geography or climate-related studies; strong analytical and GIS skills are a plus. Salary will be approximately $37,000 (subject to experience-level) with full benefits. Please send a CV, a brief statement of research interests, and the names and contact information for three references to Dov Sax, . Review of applicants will begin on September 3 and will continue until the post is filled. We would like the postdoc to begin the position on or before October 1, 2007. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070824/2d5710c5/attachment-0001.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Sat Sep 1 19:39:35 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 17:39:35 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 8/28/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 8/28/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES NSF Funding Opportunity: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07582# (see RESOURCES 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Scientists See First Signs Of Long-Term Changes In Tropical Rainfall http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/ rainfall_increase.html (see NEWS 1 below) United Nations launches new Climate Change Internet site http://www.un.org/climatechange/ (see NEWS 2 below) Study Links C02 to Demise of Grazing Lands http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- prairie28aug28,1,2662992.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bcok9 (see NEWS 3 below) Greenhouse gases likely drove near-record U.S. warmth in 2006 Joint Release: American Geophysical Union and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (see NEWS 4 below) Change in the Water Paleoceanography 22, 10.1029/2006PA001384 (2007). (see NEWS 5 below) Toronto Turns to Lake Water for Air Conditioning http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p13s01-stgn.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/28l2dw (see NEWS 6 below) Global Warming Will Get Wetter Yet - Forecasters Forgot the Plants Times (London) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/ article2351170.ece Or: http://tinyurl.com/294nzm (see NEWS 7 below) When Climate Patterns Line Up and 'Beat' in Sync, It Can Change Everything http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070830-9999- lz1c30weather.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mdk9c (see NEWS 8 below) Study Predicts More Severe U.S. Storms http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/08/30/ study_predicts_more_severe_us_storms/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2moy4p (see NEWS 9 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES International Conference on Complex Systems 2007 - Oct 28 - Nov 2, 2007 - Boston, MA http://necsi.org/events/iccs7/ Preliminary Conference Program is now online. Abstracts can still be submitted. Special Session: Predicting the impact of climate change on marine population connectivity - 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting March 2-7 - Orlando, Florida (USA) http://www.aslo.org/meetings/orlando2008/ (see MEETING 1 below) JOBS Asst Prof, Tenure Track - Climate Change Policy and Science - Departments Of Political Science And Earth And Atmospheric Science with Purdue Climate Change Research Center ? Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Air Resources Engineer (2 openings) - Atmospheric Modeling and Support Section - California Air Resources Board (ARB) ? Sacramento CA (USA) http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=328134>http:// spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=328134 http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=327377>http:// spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=327377 (see JOB 2 below) Postdoc Researcher - Organic Aerosol-Climate Modeling - Department of Marine, Earth, Atmospheric Sciences - North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Climate Modeling Scientist Tenure-track - Climate Modeling at NCAR http://www.fin.ucar.edu/hr/careers/uco.cfm? do=jobDetailExt&job_ID=874 (see JOB 4 below) Postdoc - Theoretical Solid Earth Geosciences ? Yale ? New Haven, CT (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Postdoc // Research Faculty - Numerical Formulation Of The Fluid Dynamical Equations (The So-Called Dynamical Core) In Climate And Weather Models - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences - University of Michigan (see JOB 6 below) Manager - Climate Change Training - Climate Change Initiatives Program - Crystal City, VA (Washington DC area) (USA) http://web.conservation.org/xp/CIWEB/about/jobs/mgr_cct_rp.xml (see JOB 7 below) Post Doc ? Carbon Cycle Modeller - National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) - Wellington (New Zealand) (see JOB 8 below) Post-doc - Remote Sensing and Climate Change - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences - University of Miami Florida (USA) (see JOB 9 below) Post-docs - Physical Oceanography - School of Environmental Sciences - Univ of East Anglia (UK) (see JOB 10 below) Assistant or Associate Scientists (2 openings) - Global Change/ Forests & Infectious Diseases - Institute of Ecosystem Studies - Hudson River Valley of New York (USA) (see JOB 11 below) Asst Prof Tenure-track - Ecology of climate change -Purdue University initiative in Climate Change - Research and the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC) West Lafayette, IN (USA) http://www.purdue.edu/climate (see JOB 12 below) Faculty position - Urban and regional air quality - Rice University ? Houston - TX (USA) (see JOB 13 below) Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure track - Environmental Change Initiative - Dept of Sociology, Geological Sciences, Political Science or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology depending on the affinities of the candidate - Brown University ? Providence RI (USA) (see JOB 14 below) Ecosystem climate scientist - Union of Concerned Scientists - Berkeley, CA www.ucsusa.org and _www.climatechoices.org (see JOB 15 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) NSF Funding Opportunity: Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07582# Program Solicitation NSF 07-582 Full Proposal Deadlines: Institutional Transformation Planning Grants (IT-Start): 6 December 2007 Institutional Transformation (IT): 6 December 2007 Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation and Dissemination (PAID): 17 January 2008 The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces Program Solicitation NSF 07-582: "Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE)." Synopsis of Program: The pursuit of new scientific and engineering knowledge and its use in service to society requires talent, perspectives, and insight that can only be assured by increasing diversity in the science, engineering, and technological workforce. One of NSF's key strategic goals is to cultivate a world- class, broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce and expand the scientific literacy of all citizens. Investments are directed at programs that strengthen scientific and engineering (S&E) research potential and education programs at all levels. These outcomes are essential to the nation as we progress toward an increasingly technological job market and a scientifically complex society. To meet the continuing strong demand for a highly educated and technologically savvy workforce it is important that every American has an opportunity to achieve and to contribute in mathematics, engineering, and science. Women comprise an increasing percentage of the overall U.S. workforce and of science and engineering majors at academic institutions, but constitute only 27 percent of the science and engineering workforce at large. Although women earn half of the bachelors degrees in science and engineering, they continue to be significantly underrepresented in almost all science and engineering fields, constituting 29 percent (in 2003) of doctoral science and engineering faculty in four-year colleges and universities and only 18 percent of full professors. Women from minority groups are particularly underrepresented in science and engineering, constituting approximately 3 percent of science and engineering faculty in four-year colleges and universities. The goal of the ADVANCE program is to develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce. Creative strategies to realize this goal are sought from women and men. Members of underrepresented minority groups and individuals with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply. Proposals that address the participation and advancement of women with disabilities and of women from underrepresented minority groups are encouraged. In 2008, this program will support the following types of ADVANCE Projects: - Institutional Transformation Planning Grants (IT-Start), which support basic data collection and analysis functions necessary to understand the status of women faculty in academic science and engineering at institutions seeking institutional transformation. This category of award is intended to broaden the spectrum of institutions participating in ADVANCE activities. IT-Start awards seek to include institutions with varying institutional scope, sizes, experiences, and perspectives, for example (but not limited to): primarily undergraduate institutions, teaching intensive colleges, community colleges, minority-serving institutions (e.g., tribal colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic serving institutions) as well as women's colleges. Full proposal deadline: 6 December 2007 - Institutional Transformation (IT) Awards, which support academic institutional transformation to promote the increased participation and advancement of women scientists and engineers in academe. These awards support innovative and comprehensive programs for institution- wide change. Full proposal deadline: 6 December 2007 - Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID) Awards, which support analysis, adaptation, dissemination, and use of existing innovative materials and practices that have been demonstrated to be effective in increasing representation and participation of women in academic science and engineering careers. This category of award also supports proposals for developing national and/or discipline-specific leadership in enabling the full participation and advancement of women in academic science and engineering careers. Full proposal deadline: 17 January 2008 Cognizant Program Officers: Jessie DeAro, Program Director for ADVANCE Phone: 703-292-5350 E-mail: jdearo at nsf.gov Laura Kramer, Program Director for ADVANCE Phone: 703-292-8575 E-mail: lkramer at nsf.gov *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) Scientists See First Signs Of Long-Term Changes In Tropical Rainfall http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/ rainfall_increase.html NASA Press Release: 07-181 WASHINGTON - NASA scientists have detected the first signs that tropical rainfall is on the rise, using the longest and most complete data record available. The international scientific community assembled a 27-year global record of rainfall from satellite and ground-based instruments. The researchers found the rainiest years between 1979 and 2005 occurred primarily after 2001. The wettest year was 2005, followed by 2004, 2003, 2002 and 1998. The study appeared in the August 1 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate. The rainfall increase was concentrated over tropical oceans, with a slight decline over land. "When we look at the whole planet over almost three decades, the total amount of rain falling has changed very little. But in the tropics, where nearly two-thirds of all rain falls, there has been an increase of 5 percent," said lead author Guojun Gu, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Climate scientists predict that a warming trend in Earth's atmosphere and surface temperatures would produce an accelerated recycling of water between land, sea and air. Warmer temperatures increase the evaporation of water from the ocean and land and allow air to hold more moisture. Eventually, clouds form that produce rain and snow. "A warming climate is the most plausible cause of this observed trend in tropical rainfall," said co-author Robert F. Adler, senior scientist at Goddard's Laboratory for Atmospheres. Adler and Gu are now working on a detailed study of the relationship between surface temperatures and rainfall patterns to investigate the possible link further. Obtaining a global view of our planet's rainfall patterns is a challenge. Only since the satellite era have regular estimates of rainfall over oceans been available to supplement the long-term, but land-limited record from rain gauges. Recently, the many different land- and space-based data have been merged into a global record: the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, organized under the World Climate Research Program. Using this global record, the scientists identified a small upward trend in overall tropical rainfall since 1979. To assess whether this pattern was a long-term trend rather than natural year- to-year variability, they removed the effects of the two natural phenomena that change rainfall: the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation and large volcanic eruptions. El Nino is a cyclical warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific that generally occurs every three to seven years and alters weather patterns worldwide. Volcanoes that loft debris into the upper troposphere and stratosphere create globe- circling bands of aerosol particles that slow the formation of precipitation by increasing the number of small cloud drops and temporarily shielding the planet from sunlight. The result lowers surface temperatures and evaporation that fuels rainfall. Two such eruptions - El Chicon in Mexico and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines - occurred during the 27-year period. The scientists found that during El Nino years, total tropical rainfall did not change significantly, but more rain fell over oceans than usual. During the two years following each volcanic eruption, overall tropical rainfall was reduced by about 5 percent. With these effects removed from the rainfall record, the long-term trend appears more clearly in the rainfall data both over land and over the ocean. According to Adler, evidence for the rainfall trend is holding as more data come in. The latest numbers for 2006 show another record- high year for tropical rainfall, tying 2005 as the rainiest year. Adler's research group at NASA produces the Global Precipitation Climatology Project's monthly rainfall updates. "The next step toward firmly establishing this initial indication of a long-term tropical rainfall trend is to continue to lengthen and improve our data record," said Adler, who is project scientist of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint effort between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The satellite's three primary instruments are providing the most detailed view of rainfall ever provided from space. Since 1997, Adler's group has been incorporating the mission's rainfall data into the global rainfall record. NASA plans to extend the success of monitoring rainfall over the tropics to the entire globe with the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, scheduled for launch in 2013. This international project will measure both rain and snow around the world. ******************** (NEWS 2) United Nations launches new Climate Change Internet site http://www.un.org/climatechange/ A new United Nations Internet site, "Gateway to the UN System's Work on Climate Change", that highlights the wide-ranging work of the various parts of the United Nations system on climate change has been launched. The new website makes it easier for Internet users to find information on climate change from across the United Nations system. ******************** (NEWS 3) Study Links C02 to Demise of Grazing Lands http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci- prairie28aug28,1,2662992.story Or: http://tinyurl.com/2bcok9 Los Angeles Times (Registration Required) - Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be contributing to the conversion of the world's grasslands -- crucial for livestock grazing -- into a landscape of useless woody shrubs, according to a study released today. By artificially doubling carbon dioxide levels over enclosed sections of the Colorado prairie, researchers created a dramatic rise in Artemisia frigida, commonly known as fringed sage. The study paints a harsh picture of what grazing lands could look like in 2100, when some project carbon dioxide levels will be double today's. "To the extent that CO2 is driving this conversion, this suggests the problem is going to become more intractable in the future," said Jack Morgan, a plant physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and lead author of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ******************** (NEWS 4) Greenhouse gases likely drove near-record U.S. warmth in 2006 Joint Release: American Geophysical Union and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration AGU Release No. 07-21 - 28 August 2007 - WASHINGTON ? Greenhouse gases likely accounted for over half of the widespread warmth across the continental United States in 2006, according to a new study that will be published 5 September in Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Last year?s average temperature was the second highest since recordkeeping began in 1895. The team found that it was very unlikely that the 2006 El Ni?o played any role, though other natural factors likely contributed to the near- record warmth. When average annual temperature in the United States broke records in 1998, a powerful El Ni?o was affecting climate around the globe. Scientists widely attributed the unusual warmth in the United States to the influence of the ongoing El Ni?o. El Ni?o is a warming of the surface of the east tropical Pacific Ocean. The research team, led by Paul Hoerling at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Lab in Boulder, Colorado, also found that greenhouse gas increases in Earth?s atmosphere enhanced the probability of U.S. temperatures breaking a record in 2006 by approximately 15-fold compared to pre- industrial times. The authors also estimate that there is a 16 percent chance that 2007 will bring record-breaking warmth. ?We wanted to find out whether it was pure coincidence that the two warmest years on record both coincided with El Ni?o events,? Hoerling said. ?We decided to quantify the impact of El Ni?o and compare it to the human influence on temperatures through greenhouse gases.? Preliminary data available in January 2006 led NOAA to place that year as the warmest on record. In May 2007, NOAA revised the 2006 ranking to second warmest after updated statistics showed the year was .08 F cooler than 1998. The annual average temperature in 2006 was 2.1 F above the 20th Century average and marked the ninth consecutive year of above-normal U.S. temperatures. Each of the contiguous 48 states reported above-normal annual temperatures, and for the majority of states, 2006 ranked among the 10 hottest years since 1895. Using data from 10 past El Ni?o events observed since 1965, the authors examined the impact of El Ni?o on average annual U.S. surface temperatures. They found a slight cooling across the country. To overcome uncertainties inherent in the data analysis, the team also studied the El Ni?o influence using two atmospheric climate models. The scientists conducted two sets of 50-year simulations of U.S. climate, with and without the influence of El Ni?o sea-surface warming. They again found a slight cooling across the nation when El Ni?o was present. To assess the role of greenhouse gases in the 2006 warmth, the researchers analyzed 42 simulations of Earth's climate from 18 climate models provided for the latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The models included greenhouse gas emissions and airborne particles in Earth's atmosphere since the late 19th century and computed their influence on average temperatures through 2006. The results of the analysis showed that greenhouse gases produced warmth over the entire United States in the model projections, much like the warming pattern that was observed last year across the country. For a final check, the scientists compared the observed 2006 pattern of abnormal surface temperatures to the projected effects of greenhouse-gas warming and El Ni?o temperature responses. The U.S. temperature pattern of widespread warming was completely inconsistent with the pattern expected from El Ni?o, but it closely matched the expected effects of greenhouse warming. ?That attribution was not confirmed at the time,? says Hoerling. ?Now we have the capability, on the spatial scale of the United States, to better distinguish natural climate variations from climate changes caused by humans.? The research was supported by NOAA's office of Global Programs. ******************** (NEWS 5) Change in the Water Paleoceanography 22, 10.1029/2006PA001384 (2007). The rapid, millennial-scale cooling episodes (called Dansgaard- Oeschger events) that occurred repeatedly throughout the last glacial period are normally associated with climate change in the North Atlantic region. However, research over the past decade has also implicated their expression in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, leading to two competing explanations for the connection: atmospheric or oceanic transmission of the signal. Schmittner et al. used an ocean-atmosphere climate model to show that changes in buoyancy- forced ocean circulation can cause large variations in subsurface oxygen levels by changing oxygen demand. This result suggests that the climate signal of Dansgaard-Oeschger events originating in the North Atlantic was transmitted by oceanic, rather than atmospheric, teleconnections; further, it is consistent with the association of Dansgaard-Oeschger events with changes in the Meridional Overturning Circulation of the Atlantic Ocean. The influence of changes in wind stress and North Pacific Intermediate Water formation was also notable, though somewhat weaker than that of thermohaline circulation. Thus, ocean ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles appear to respond sensitively to ocean circulation changes. ******************** (NEWS 6) Toronto Turns to Lake Water for Air Conditioning http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p13s01-stgn.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/28l2dw Christian Science Monitor - Toronto - The Toronto Dominion Centre is the most distinctive set of office towers in the city's financial district. Three of the five black buildings were designed by Mies van der Rohe and built in the late 1960s. So was their air conditioning. The three original towers, which contain about 3 million square feet of office space, were among the first buildings connected to Toronto's Deep Lake Water Cooling System in September 2004, saving the local electric utility 7.5 megawatts of electrical demand every working day. "This conservation measure takes the pressure off Toronto's electrical system," says Blair Peberdy, vice president of Toronto Hydro, the local utility. ...The first stage of the project's construction ran three 63-inch diameter pipes along the city's lake bed about three miles out into Lake Ontario. There it draws water 272 feet below the surface. At that depth, the water's temperature is almost always constant [39 degrees Fahrenheit], protected by a strata of water above it called a thermocline. ******************** (NEWS 7) Global Warming Will Get Wetter Yet - Forecasters Forgot the Plants Times (London) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/ article2351170.ece Or: http://tinyurl.com/294nzm Global warming could leave Britain facing more severe flooding than existing models predict because they have failed to take account of the way that plants' consumption of water will change with the atmosphere, scientists said yesterday. Although computer projections already suggest that Britain will experience heavier winter rainfall as the climate warms, the picture may be even worse because rising carbon dioxide levels will cause plants to mop up less groundwater than at present, research has shown. Land that is saturated with water will not be able to absorb heavy rainfall, leading to more floods, scientists said. Increased rainfall alone will boost the volume of river flows in Europe by 11 per cent when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches double preindustrial levels, which is forecast by the middle of the century. The lower uptake of water from plants, however, will increase this still further, adding two percentage points to swell rivers by 13 per cent compared with preindustrial levels, according to the study by the Met Office and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Oxfordshire. ******************** (NEWS 8) When Climate Patterns Line Up and 'Beat' in Sync, It Can Change Everything http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070830-9999- lz1c30weather.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2mdk9c San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required) - Most climatologists believe a rise in global temperatures has been going on for more than a century. But the warming trend has occurred against a backdrop of other fluctuations. Every few decades, the Earth's climate appears to undergo a major shift. Temperature trends reverse, from warmer periods with frequent and strong El Ninos, to relatively cooler, stable eras and vice versa. It's as if someone flips a switch. ...Scientists have long looked for the thing that trips the switch, the atmospheric trigger that causes big climate shifts. What would make the system lurch into a new pattern? The answer has been elusive. Mathematicians and climatologists at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee believe they have found the solution. Their theory, published in the July issue of the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters, might best be summed up under the heading of "synchronized chaos." ******************** (NEWS 9) Study Predicts More Severe U.S. Storms http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/08/30/ study_predicts_more_severe_us_storms/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2moy4p Boston Globe (Registration Required) - WASHINGTON -- As the world warms, the United States will face more severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes, a trailblazing study by NASA scientists suggests. While other research has warned of broad weather changes on a large scale, like more extreme hurricanes and droughts, the new study predicts even smaller events like thunderstorms will be more dangerous because of global warming. The basic ingredients for whopper U.S. inland storms are likely to be more plentiful in a warmer, moister world, said lead author Tony Del Genio, a NASA research scientist. And when that happens, watch out. "The strongest thunderstorms, the strongest severe storms and tornadoes are likely to happen more often and be stronger," Del Genio said in an interview Thursday from his office at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. The paper he co- authored was published online this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. *************************************************** Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings, Opportunities (MEETING 1) Special Session: Predicting the impact of climate change on marine population connectivity - 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting March 2-7 - Orlando, Florida (USA) http://www.aslo.org/meetings/orlando2008/ Dear Colleagues, We would like to invite you to the special session on population connectivity co-chaired by Iliana Baums and Claire Paris to be held at the 2008 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Orlando, Florida from March 2-7 The central them of our session is Predicting the impact of climate change on marine population connectivity: Marine species often can be described as metapopulations with varying levels of subpopulation connectivity across time and space. Evolutionary studies aim at exploring long-term processes such as, speciation, biogeography, historical exchanges events, and population persistence (Hanski, 1989). Low dispersal rates are sufficient to shift the metapopulation distribution pattern over time by turnover of local populations: some go extinct and becoming re-established elsewhere (! Levins, 1969). Ecological studies focus on the larval fluxes required to sustain a population (e.g. design of MPAs to protect a fished stock, explanation of recent or current genetic population structure). Such demographic connectivity usually implies that a substantial number of individuals are exchanged each generation. Dispersal at all scales is influenced by the physical and chemical environment propagules encounter due in part to behavioral response of propagules to their dispersal environment. Increasing sea-surface temperatures, changing water chemistry and shifts in marine community structure are likely to influence dispersal patterns. This session invites papers that integrate multiple disciplines to understand the influence of climate change on the dispersal potential and its consequence on connectivity among marine populations. Scientific Theme of the Conference: Water connects and binds us all. It moves from the top of the highest mountain to the depths of the deepest oceans. As limnologists, oceanographers, and educators, water is the lifeblood of our endeavors. Now, as never before, we recognize the interconnections between land and sea, and at the 2008 bi-annual Ocean Sciences Meeting we are going to recognize the important nature of these connections. The Abstract Submission deadline is 2 October 2007 Best Wishes, Claire and Iliana cparis at rsmas.miami.edu, Baums at psu.edu Claire B. Paris-Limouzy PhD Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences 305 421 4978 *************************************************** 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 - Climate Change Policy and Science - Departments Of Political Science And Earth And Atmospheric Science with Purdue Climate Change Research Center ? Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana (USA) The Purdue Departments of Political Science and Earth and Atmospheric Science, along with the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, announce an opening for a tenure track position in the area of Climate Change Policy and Science, beginning August 2008. The successful candidate must have a promising, theoretically driven research agenda and an ability and commitment to provide effective graduate and undergraduate teaching. Applicants should have a demonstrated research interest in issues related to climate change policy and science. The ideal applicant will have interest in and experience with interdisciplinary teaching or research, and have a commitment to working with the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, an emerging area of interdisciplinary research and teaching emphasis at Purdue. A Ph.D. in political science, public policy, or another appropriate interdisciplinary program is required. The position will be appointed 75% in the Department of Political Science and 25% in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, with the tenure home in Political Science. Teaching obligations will be shared between the two departments with the majority of courses taught in Political Science. Application should include curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, samples of written work, instructional materials such as syllabi and course evaluations, and a cover letter discussing the applicant?s commitment to and experience with interdisciplinary research and teaching. Send materials to: Prof. Leigh Raymond, Search Committee Chair, Department of Political Science, Purdue University, 100 N. University St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098. Review of applications will begin October 15 and will continue until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 2) Air Resources Engineer (2 openings) - Atmospheric Modeling and Support Section - California Air Resources Board (ARB) ? Sacramento CA (USA) http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=328134>http:// spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=328134 http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=327377>http:// spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=327377 Dear Colleague: I currently have two open positions in my group, the Atmospheric Modeling and Support Section, at the California Air Resources Board (ARB). If you are aware of any qualified candidates, I'd appreciate it if you could forward this information to them. I'm particularly interested in graduates with degrees in Chemical Engineering, Atmospheric Chemistry, Chemistry, or Atmospheric Science and am open to candidates with or without postgraduate degrees. Experience in air quality modeling is desirable, but excellent written/verbal communication skills and a demonstrated ability to learn is more important to me. The ability to process and analyze large data sets via programming is also important. Modeling Position: http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm? recno=328134>http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=328134 Development/Coordination of Agency-wide Particle Size & Chemical Profiles: http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm? recno=327377>http://spb.ca.gov/employment/more_info.cfm?recno=327377 To facilitate scheduling interviews with the most qualified candidates, I'd like to receive resumes and e-mails of interest as soon as possible. A signed and dated State of California Application Form can be sent later via mail. More information on the formal ARB application process is below*. Thanks in advance for any leads that you are able to provide! Sincerely, Vernon Hughes vhughes at arb.ca.gov>vhughes at arb.ca.gov (916) 324-4069 ******************** (JOB 3) Postdoc Researcher - Organic Aerosol-Climate Modeling - Department of Marine, Earth, Atmospheric Sciences - North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC (USA) http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/hr/employment/jobapfaq.asp Refer to position number: 07-70-0714 The Department of Marine, Earth, Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is accepting applications for a post- doctoral research position. The position will involve development, application and evaluation of two advanced 3-D atmospheric chemistry- aerosol-cloud models based on NCAR CAM4 with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Model for Integrated Research of Atmospheric Global Exchanges (MIRAGE) and Weather Research and Forecast Model with Chemistry (WRF/Chem). The successful candidate will have a recent PhD degree in atmospheric sciences or a closely related field with a strong background in atmospheric chemistry, aerosol/cloud microphysics and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Candidate must also be familiar with FORTRAN 90 and UNIX/Linux systems. Experience in 3-D atmospheric chemistry-climate modeling using MIRAGE and WRF/Chem as well as parallel computing is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills are essential. The initial appointment will be for 1 year period, with a possibility for extension of 2 more years depending on satisfactory performance and the availability of funding. Salary is commensurate with qualification and experience. Qualified candidates should submit application materials via NCSU's online job site: http:// www7.acs.ncsu.edu/hr/employment/jobapfaq.asp Refer to position number: 07-70-0714. Required materials include cover letter containing contact address and visa status (if any), complete curriculum vitae, copies of transcripts, statement of research interests, and names and contact information for three references and sample publications. Review of the applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. More information can be found at http://amirani.meas.ncsu.edu/~nicholas/ HomePage.htm and http://www.meas.ncsu.edu/aqforecasting/ ******************** (JOB 4) Climate Modeling Scientist Tenure-track - Climate Modeling at NCAR http://www.fin.ucar.edu/hr/careers/uco.cfm? do=jobDetailExt&job_ID=874 I am writing to let you know that the Climate Modeling Section is searching for a new "tenure-track" scientist to augment recent losses in the group. We are looking for someone who will work on the the following atmospheric process that we particularly want to strengthen with regard to their parameterized treatment in global models: * Radiative Transfer * Boundary Layer and Boundary Layer Cloud Processes * Representations of convection We would appreciate it if you would bring this opportunity to the attention of people you believe could fill one of these roles. Please note that the application deadline is 7 September 2007. ******************** (JOB 5) Postdoc - Theoretical Solid Earth Geosciences ? Yale ? New Haven, CT (USA) Highly motivated postdoctoral candidates in theoretical solid earth geosciences are encouraged to apply for a postdoctoral position at the Department of Geology and Geophysics of Yale University. Possible research areas include, but not limited to, the dynamics of crust, mantle, and/or core, geophysical inverse problems, theoretical geochemistry such as chemical geodynamics, and the thermal evolution of terrestrial planets. Those who have good implementation skills in scientific computing are preferred. Please send CV, the statement of research interest (including the description of past research experiences), and the names of three references to Professor Jun Korenaga (jun.korenaga at yale.edu). The starting date is flexible. ******************** (JOB 6) Postdoc // Research Faculty - Numerical Formulation Of The Fluid Dynamical Equations (The So-Called Dynamical Core) In Climate And Weather Models - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences - University of Michigan The University of Michigan, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences is seeking candidates for a Postdoctoral Fellow. An Assistant Research Scientist position, which is a regular staff position and not limited to the fixed-year duration, may be sought if the applicant has substantial relevant experience. The research will focus on the numerical formulation of the fluid dynamical equations (the so-called dynamical core) in climate and weather models. Of special interest is the representation of subgrid-scale processes,/ i.e./ mixing, and how the representation of mixing impacts the results of climate model simulations. The research will focus on disentangling the physical and numerical roles of subgrid-scale mixing, and the relationship of dynamical mixing to other sources of physical mixing such as boundary layer turbulence and gravity wave drag. The successful candidate should have experience with finite volume (esp.), finite difference, or spectral methods of representing the fluid dynamic equations. Experience studying the relationship of resolved flow to subgrid-scale mixing, experience with NCAR?s Community Atmosphere Model CAM, and FORTRAN/UNIX environments are an advantage. Candidates with experience other than geophysical fluid dynamics are encouraged to apply; it?s a cool project! The successful candidate will work with Professors Christiane Jablonowski and Richard Rood, and will be encouraged to develop their own research proposals. Funding is from the Department of Energy?s Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Program. Interested applicants should send a CV, brief statement of research experience and goals, and contact information (including email addresses) for three references as one pdf file to Prof. Christiane Jablonowski (cjablono at umich.edu < mailto:cjablono at umich.edu>) and Prof. Richard Rood (rbrood at umich.edu < mailto:rbrood at umich.edu>). For more information, please contact them via email or visit http://climateknowledge.org/figures/Proposal_Intro_for_Advertisement.pdf The position is available immediately but the starting date is negotiable. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 7) Manager - Climate Change Training - Climate Change Initiatives Program - Crystal City, VA (Washington DC area) (USA) http://web.conservation.org/xp/CIWEB/about/jobs/mgr_cct_rp.xml This is a new position within the Climate Change Initiatives Program in Regional Programs, which is leading CI's strategic work on Climate Change Mitigation. The program aims to establish a diverse portfolio of forestry carbon projects that conserve biodiversity, sustain rural livelihoods and mitigate climate change, and enhance the capacity of CI and its partners to take advantage of emerging opportunities to channel carbon finance towards conservation outcomes. The Carbon Training Manager will be responsible for designing and implementing training activities that enhance the capacity of CI's regional programs to effectively develop and implement forest carbon projects (in avoided deforestation, reforestation, restoration and agroforestry). The manager will work as part of a larger team that includes a Program Leader, a Carbon Project Manager, and a program coordinator. S/he will also work closely with other divisions within CI. The manager's main responsibility will be to lead training activities related to climate change mitigation. S/he will compile existing training materials and develop comprehensive training modules on topics related to climate change and forest carbon projects (e.g., climate change mitigation, carbon markets, climate change policy, forest carbon project design and implementation). Together with other CI staff and partners, the manager will design and deliver training courses and workshops to CI regional programs that enhance our capacity to develop and implement forestry carbon projects. In addition, the manager will assist in the organization of workshops, presentation and other events related to climate change mitigation. In addition, s/he will support Climate Change initiatives team in providing technical assistance to regional programs in forestry carbon projects, responding to tenders for carbon projects, preparing project descriptions and other related aspects. The manager will also be responsible for documenting lessons learned from both existing and new forest carbon projects. *Responsibilities: 1) - Compile existing training materials and develop comprehensive training modules on topics related to climate change and forest carbon projects (e.g., climate change mitigation, carbon markets, climate change policy, forest carbon project design and implementation). 2) - Deliver training courses and workshops to CI regional programs to enhance the capacity of CI's field programs and partners to develop and implement forestry carbon projects. 3) - Assist in organization of workshops, presentations and other events related CI's forest carbon projects. 4) - Coordinate dissemination of training materials and information, and facilitate exchange of experiences among CI regional programs and partners and document lessons learned from existing and future forest carbon projects. 5) - Support Climate Change initiatives team in providing technical assistance to regional programs in forestry carbon projects, responding to tenders for carbon projects, preparing project descriptions and other related aspects. Qualifications: Qualifications: - M.Sc. in Tropical Forestry, Global Change, Natural Resource Management, or a related field. - Knowledge of Climate Change science, climate change policy, carbon markets, carbon project design, and technical aspects related to forestry carbon project design (including familiarity with CDM). - Experience compiling and developing training materials (presentations, course materials, etc.) related to climate change and forest carbon projects. - Experience providing training and instruction to conservation practitioners, on topics related to climate change mitigation. - Experience making presentations to diverse audiences (scientists, NGO practitioners, community groups, indigenous groups, etc.). - Ability to work within a dynamic, fast-moving, interdivisional team within CI. - Willingness to travel to developing countries to impart training activities. REQUIRED SKILLS: - Strong public speaking and communication skills. - Ability to compile and synthesize large amounts of information and communicate this information in a concise, clear fashion to different audiences. - Ability to work in cross-disciplinary and international teams. - Knowledge of a foreign language (preferably French, Spanish or Portuguese). PREFERRED SKILLS: GIS skills and experience. ******************** (JOB 8) Post Doc ? Carbon Cycle Modeller - National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) - Wellington (New Zealand) www.niwa.co.nz/careers NIWA is a leading environmental research institute and key provider of atmospheric, freshwater and marine research and consultancy services in New Zealand. NIWA has a strong programme of measurement and modelling of atmospheric composition, including greenhouse gases, and including carbon-isotope structure. This is linked to a wider effort to improve knowledge of human impacts on the environment both globally and in the South Pacific region in order to guide local strategies aimed at reducing those impacts on the climate system. We are seeking a two year post-doctoral researcher with expertise in carbon cycle processes and, preferably, with experience in modeling such processes to join a strong carbon observation programme in order to integrate tropospheric and oceanic observations and future remote sensing satellite CO_2 measurements into the development of a regional carbon cycle model. The observational programme includes: (a) long-term measurement of CO_2 , CO and CH_4 mixing ratios and constituent carbon isotopes, including continuous in-situ CO_2 and O_2 measurements, at Baring Head (a WMO/GAW station), (b) a decade long time-series of oceanic pCO_2 to the east of NZ, and (c) atmospheric column measurements of CO_2 and collaborative involvement with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. Through a fusion of these data into a carbon cycle model, a more comprehensive knowledge of the functioning of the global and regional carbon systems will be developed. *Goals:* ? A regional carbon cycle model for the greater New Zealand region that fully incorporates all known drivers of carbon fluxes. ? A carbon budget for the greater New Zealand region and, through closure of this budget, an assessment of poorly-determined sources and sinks of carbon. The primary goal of this project is to develop a regional carbon cycle model for the greater New Zealand area including it's EEZ (0?S to 70?S, 150?E to 180?E). The purpose of the model is to quantify principal carbon fluxes within the greater NZ region, including land- atmosphere (toward a top-down verification of New Zealand's CO_2 inventory), ocean-atmosphere and river-ocean fluxes, as well as carbon transport into and out of the region, with a view to quantifying the regional carbon budget. This model will serve as an integrator for many of the existing and new measurements made within NIWA, by other local research providers, and by international collaborators. Any shortfalls in the closure of the carbon budget may help to identify new carbon sources and/or sinks in this data-sparse area of the globe. Opportunities exist at a range of levels of sophistication to build on existing models / modelling frameworks including the Enting- Lassey model, carbon cycle / biogeochemistry within the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS), and at the regional scale within the UKMO Unified Model. The successful candidate will have a research degree (preferably PhD) in carbon cycling or related Earth systems, oceanographic or atmospheric global climate modelling. *Applications close 5pm Friday 21 September, 2007.* ******************** (JOB 9) Post-doc - Remote Sensing and Climate Change - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences - University of Miami Florida (USA) The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami invites applications for a post-doctoral research scientist in the general area of Remote Sensing and Climate Change. This position involves the use of satellite observations and climate model simulations to study the lifecycle of tropical cloud systems and interactions between clouds and the large-scale tropical circulation. Particular emphasis will be placed on the implications of these studies for cloud feedback in response to global warming. The successful candidate should have a strong background in climate change and experience in analyzing satellite data and climate model simulations. The position is being offered for one year with the possibility of renewal for up to two additional years. Review of the applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send their Curriculum Vitae and a list of three references to: Dr. Brian Soden, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149. For further information please contact Dr. Soden by phone: (305) 421-4202 or email: bsoden at rsmas.miami.edu. ******************** (JOBS 10) Post-docs - Physical Oceanography - School of Environmental Sciences - Univ of East Anglia (UK) We are seeking physical oceanographers to work with us on two NERC-funded research projects studying processes in the Southern Ocean close to Antarctica. You will play a key role in data analysis, interpretation and publication. Post 1 Ref: RA421 The first post is to continue analysis of the ADELIE data set collected in 2007 (see for more details). You are likely to focus on the links between the physics and the biology, using acoustic data as well as drifter and hydrographic data sets. Analysis of high resolution model output is also expected. This post is available for up to two years. The start date is to be mutually agreed and could be immediate. Post 2 Ref: RA422 The second post is to work on the UK SASSI project (see for the international context). This will involve a one year deployment of a moored array on the continental shelf and slope of the Weddell Sea. You are likely to focus on analysis of the currents and water masses. This post is available for up to three years and can start at a mutually agreed date between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2008. Applicants for both posts should ideally have a PhD in Physical Oceanography, with experience of computing in Matlab and Unix. We will consider applicants with other numerate/dynamical backgrounds who have some knowledge of physical oceanography and relevant research experience. Please state whether you wish to be considered for both posts and whether you have a preference. Closing date for both posts: 31 October 2007. Interviews for both posts will be held at the end of November 2007. Further particulars and an application form can be obtained from the University's web page at: or by e- mail at: hr at uea.ac.uk or by calling the answerphone on 01603 593493 or by mail to the Human Resources Division, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ. Informal enquiries to: Prof. Karen J. Heywood, Physical Oceanographer- School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K. Tel. -44-1603-592555 Email k.heywood at uea.ac.uk ******************** (JOBS 11) Assistant or Associate Scientists (2 openings) - Global Change/Forests & Infectious Diseases - Institute of Ecosystem Studies - Hudson River Valley of New York (USA) The Institute of Ecosystem Studies seeks two individuals at the level of Assistant or Associate Scientist. The successful candidates will have a proven track record of research funding and publication in top scientific journals. We are particularly interested in research interests that relate to: 1) The impacts of global change on forest and associated ecosystems. Ecologists studying the future composition, biogeochemical function, and/or management of forested ecosystems in the face of climate change, ex-urban development, invasive species, or potential large-scale biofuel production are particularly encouraged to apply. 2) The ecology of infectious diseases. Ecologists studying zoonoses, wildlife diseases, and plant diseases caused by viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoan, or metazoan parasites are welcome to apply. The Institute, a privately-endowed research and education organization located on a 2000-acre arboretum in the Hudson River Valley of New York, currently hosts a staff of 16 scientists, who investigate human impacts on forest, freshwater and urban ecosystems. We seek an individual who can join this team and establish interdisciplinary collaborations that extend the Institute's work to consider human interactions with ecosystems, especially in light of global change. Visit us at www.ecostudies.org We will begin to review applications on 1 September 2007, with the anticipation of filling this position in early 2008. Apply by sending curriculum vitae, statement of research interests and goals, and the names and addresses of three potential references to: Human Resources, Job Ref. # 07026-I, The Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545; jobs at ecostudies.org ******************** (JOB 12) Asst Prof Tenure-track - Ecology of climate change -Purdue University initiative in Climate Change - Research and the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC) West Lafayette, IN (USA) http://www.purdue.edu/climate In support of the Purdue University initiative in Climate Change Research and the Purdue Climate Change Research Center (PCCRC), the College of Agriculture (CoA) and the College of Science (CoS) invite applicants for a tenure track faculty position, at the rank of Assistant Professor, in the area of Ecological Impacts of Climate Change. We seek candidates who are studying impacts of climate change on the ecology of terrestrial and/or aquatic ecosystems at the population, community or ecosystem level and at landscape, regional or global scales. Research could include addressing such questions as how climate change will influence species distributions and abundances, conservation practices and/or population viability. Experiments and modeling that identify thresholds of responses of communities and species to climate variability and change also are of interest. We seek to expand the strengths of the PCCRC and the related Purdue Interdisciplinary Center for Ecological Sustainability, with its focus on population, community and landscape ecology, and to complement strengths in biogeochemistry, atmospheric science, and climate modeling. These Centers also are working with the Purdue Discovery Park Center for the Environment, which brings more diverse talents to bear on environmental issues including engineering and economics. We anticipate a joint appointment between the departments of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) and Biological Sciences. =20 Candidates must have completed the Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience is preferred. The appointee is expected to develop and maintain a vigorous, externally funded, internationally recognized research program and to teach and mentor students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Screening of applications will begin November 1, 2007 and the search will continue until the position is filled. Additional information on the PCCRC can be found at: http://www.purdue.edu/climate. APPLICATION PROCESS: Submit (1) a cover letter, including the names of three people who have been asked to send letters of reference by the position closing date; (2) a curriculum vita; and (3) statements of research and teaching experience and interests. Application materials can be emailed to mbrown4 at purdue.edu with the subject line "Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Position" or sent via postal mail to: Marty Brown, Faculty Search Coordinator Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, 715 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2061 Specific questions regarding the position can be directed to Dr. Bryan Pijanowski (bpijanow at purdue.edu or 765-496-2215), Chair of the EICC Search Committee. ******************** (JOB 13) Faculty position - Urban and regional air quality - Rice University ? Houston - TX (USA) The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University (http://ceve.rice.edu/) invites applications for an anticipated open rank, tenure track faculty position in urban and regional air quality, commencing Fall 2008. We seek candidates with expertise in experimental techniques and data acquisition to advance our understanding of air pollutant formation and transport and its impacts on ecosystems and human health. Desired expertise includes measurement of trace gases, characterization of particulate matter, and source apportionment. A propensity to conduct interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research relating to public health and urban sustainability is of interest. Rice University is a highly-ranked private research institution that occupies a 300-acre tree-shaded campus adjacent to Houston?s Museum District and the Texas Medical Center, the world?s largest medical complex. Required qualifications include a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Atmospheric Sciences or related disciplines. The application should include a letter summarizing qualifications, curriculum vitae, statements of research and teaching interests, and names and addresses of three (3) references. Please send the application to: Chair, Air Quality Search Committee, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MS 318, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX77005. Review of applications will begin on November 1, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 14) Assistant/Associate Professor, Tenure track - Environmental Change Initiative - Dept of Sociology, Geological Sciences, Political Science or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology depending on the affinities of the candidate - Brown University ? Providence RI (USA) As part of its plan for academic enrichment, the Environmental Change Initiative and Brown University seek a faculty member at the ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR level, with preference for Assistant Professor, who has broad interests between social and environmental systems working across scales. The Environmental Change Initiative (ECI) is aimed at fostering interdisciplinary research and education in the area of the environmental sciences. Brown University is making major investments in the ECI, including additional faculty appointments, new resources for interdisciplinary research training, and a new cooperative graduate program with the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole. This appointment will be tenure track in the Department of Sociology, Geological Sciences, Political Science or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology depending on the affinities of the candidate. We seek candidates that can integrate their research efforts with environmentally relevant natural sciences spanning sociology, ecology, evolutionary biology and geology and who have experience working in an interdisciplinary team. Requirements include a Ph.D. in an environmentally-related discipline, a record of externally funded research and peer reviewed publications, and a commitment to excellence in graduate and undergraduate teaching. To apply, please send a letter describing research and teaching interests and the fit of the candidate within the ECI, a current CV, and 3 letters of reference for Assistant Professors or at least 5 references who may be contacted by the search committee for Associate Professors to: Professor Osvaldo Sala, Director, Environmental Change Initiate, Box 1951, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. For further inquiries, please contact Osvaldo_Sala at brown.edu. Applications will be reviewed starting November 1, 2007 and accepted until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 15) Ecosystem climate scientist - Union of Concerned Scientists - Berkeley, CA www.ucsusa.org and _www.climatechoices.org Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world, is seeking a highly motivated professional for the new position of California Ecosystem Scientist. *The Organization* UCS augments rigorous scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world. UCS connects the best scientific insights with the knowledge and support of an astute citizenry and applies them to the machinery of government at all levels for a future that is free from the threats of global warming and nuclear war and a planet that supports a rich diversity of life. UCS is a powerful voice to secure changes in government policy, corporate practices and consumer choices that will protect and improve the health of the environment globally, nationally, and in communities throughout the United States. *The Position* The Ecosystem Scientist will lead and participate as a team member on a range of assessments related to the role of the land- based sector in climate policy and planning. Initial research will focus on sustainability issues around biofuels and emissions reduction opportunities from agriculture and forestry. In addition, she/He will carry out related global change science, policy, and media activities in support of UCS's Climate Campaign. Design and manage multi-disciplinary assessments around sustainability issues of climate planning and policy. Synthesize assessment findings for non-technical audiences; Working with UCS staff and academic collaborators, carry out analysis as needed to address climate policy questions. The Position will help build understanding among decision-makers and critical segments of the public that action on global warming is urgently needed; Serve as a UCS spokesperson on climate science and impacts in California and, as appropriate, other western states to the media and public, scientific and policy forums Maintain knowledge of scientific developments, trends, and policy developments on key issues relevant to UCS work on climate change impacts and other key aspects of global environmental change. *Qualifications* In-depth knowledge of terrestrial ecosystem ecology, global change science, including inter-disciplinary training in climate change analysis. Demonstrated commitment to the application of science to public policy, especially on climate change issues. Master's degree or completions of a doctoral program in a relevant field (Ecosystem Ecology, Ecology, Environmental Studies, Agroecology). Work requires a strong background in interdisciplinary global change research and two to three years of progressively responsible relevant experience Strong communication skills and aptitude for outreach are essential. Demonstrated ability to manage multi-disciplinary teams. An ability to understand the public policy aspects of climate change and the role of technical analyses and advocacy in shaping public opinion and policy debates. Strong public speaking skills. Demonstrable ability to write for general audiences. Demonstrable ability to work independently and as a member of a multidisciplinary team. Proficiency in office technology including word processing, spreadsheet software and electronic communication systems. Ability to maintain moderate travel schedule. For more information, please visit www.ucsusa.org and _www.climatechoices.org. *To apply*, please forward cover letter, resume and salary history to CAjobs at ucsusa.org E-mail application is preferred (Word documents only please). No need to submit applications by multiple media. Preferred Application Close date: September 10, 2007 ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070901/5dbe8efe/attachment-0001.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Thu Sep 6 18:47:37 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 16:47:37 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 9/7/2007 Message-ID: <6B8F07DC-764F-4BB0-A39E-7D7EE3CBD088@whitman.edu> 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) *************************************************** 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 , 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 Department?s 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 York?s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which adjoins the SU campus, and the Center for Environmental Policy and Administration (CEPA) in Syracuse?s 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 applicant?s 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 Ni?o - 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 Ni?o and La Ni?a 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070906/a48ce065/attachment-0001.html From weilercs at whitman.edu Tue Sep 18 15:39:42 2007 From: weilercs at whitman.edu (Susan Weiler) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:39:42 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] Faculty opening at Whitman Colllege: Field Ecology, Environmental Studies Message-ID: <2D9C02B0-C227-4E66-BA81-FB425AD11311@whitman.edu> Dear all, Sending a job opening separate from the DISCCRS/DIALOG news list is probably some sort of gross violation of ethics, but this is such an interesting position I wanted to make sure you all know about it and if it doesn't fit you, please send it along to others and encourage them to apply. Note the application deadline is October 17. The position involves field ecology AND environmental studies. Whitman isn't kidding about the "generous" sabbatical leave policy -- you get either your 5th semester or 5th year off! GREAT students and a dynamic young faculty!! Please contact me if you have any questions about the position, about Whitman College --. Cheers, Sue BIOLOGY (Ecology): Tenure-track position in biology, at the rank of assistant professor, effective 2008-2009. Ph.D. required, post- doctoral experience preferred. We seek a field biologist with expertise in ecology whose teaching/research interests consider ecological phenomena (such as animal behavior or interactions) in evolutionary contexts. Teaching duties will include courses and laboratories in ecology and field biology, contributions to Whitman?s interdisciplinary environmental studies program, and supervision of student research in biology. Whitman College wishes to reinforce its commitment to enhance diversity, broadly defined, recognizing that to provide a diverse learning environment is to prepare students for personal and professional success in an increasingly multicultural and global society. In their application, candidates are strongly encouraged to address their potential contribution to the promotion of diversity, a core value of the Whitman College community; their interest in working with undergraduates as teachers and scholars in a liberal arts environment that emphasizes close student-faculty interaction; and their interest in participating in the College's general education offerings. Deadline: October 19, 2007. Materials should include a letter of application; curriculum vitae; three letters of reference; undergraduate and graduate transcripts; teaching evaluations or other evidence of demonstrated or potential excellence in undergraduate instruction; and separate statements on the candidate?s teaching interests and scholarly agenda. Send to: Patti Moss, Biology Department, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Ave, Walla Walla, WA 99362. No applicant shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, creed, or disability. Whitman College, located in the scenic Columbia Basin, is a small, selective, liberal arts college dedicated to providing excellent educational opportunities for students. The College has a generous sabbatical leave program and professional development support for both research and teaching. For additional information about Whitman College and the Walla Walla area, see www.whitman.edu and www.wallawalla.org. ********** 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 Interdisciplinary Training for Ph.D. Graduates: http://aslo.org/phd.html http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/biocomplexity/ Aquatic Science: http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf Climate-Change and impacts: http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070918/682b357d/attachment.htm From ladderra at whitman.edu Tue Sep 25 13:18:09 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:18:09 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 9/25/2007 Message-ID: <1601400C-A3F4-408C-BA7A-FE61A2B0C2EA@whitman.edu> DISCCRS News 9/25/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Applications sought for study of socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms - Coastal Management (NOAA) http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2008/2008_star_ecohab.html. (see FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 1 below) FORUM Call for Climate Change Impacts Case Studies to Support Human Rights, Advocacy and Education Efforts (see FORUM 1 below) SCIENCE NEWS Social Scientists Must Help Policy Makers Respond to Climate Change, Report Says. By Jeffrey Brainard http://chronicle.com/daily/2007/09/2007091403n.htm More Progress Urged on Ozone Hole http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6998489.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysqmkt (see NEWS 1 below) Ancient Records Help Test Climate Change http://www.examiner.com/ a-936349~Ancient_Records_Help_Test_Climate_Change.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3cngw8 (see NEWS 2 below) Panel Faults Emphasis of U.S. Climate Program http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/science/13cnd-climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/36cjac (see NEWS 3 below) Eating Less Meat May Slow Climate Change http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/09/12/ eating_less_meat_may_slow_climate_change/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2zcnep (see NEWS 4 below) Neanderthals 'Not Killed by Climate Change' http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070910/full/070910-7.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2uqztl (see NEWS 5 below) Hunting the Holy Grail of Fusion http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/ article2413310.ece Or: http://tinyurl.com/39vokn (see NEWS 6 below) GAO Criticizes Interior Department for Brushing Off Global Warming http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003873011_warmparks07.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2xel45 (see NEWS 7 below) NOAA Scientists Say Arctic Ice Is Melting Faster Than Expected http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/ AR2007090602499.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/37fw9c (see NEWS 8 below) JOBS Lecturer in Geography - Environment, development & international studies - Open University ? Milton Keyns (UK) Closing date for applications: 19 October 2007. http://www3.open.ac.uk/employment/job-details.asp?id=3268 Physical Scientist - NOAA Paleoclimatology - Asheville, NC or Boulder, CO (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Asst Prof tenure-track ? Global Hydrology - Department of Geological Sciences - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Asst Prof - Spatial analysis/modeling - University of Carolina ? Columbia SC (USA) (see JOB 3 below) Three Faculty Positions - Ecology - School of Natural Sciences - University of California, Merced (USA) (see JOBS 4 below) Research asst ? Microbial Ecology ? Michigan State University ? Kellogg Biological Station ? Hickory Corners, MI (USA) (see JOB 5 below) Faculty - Environmental Studies ? Oberlin College ? Oberlin Ohio (USA) (see JOBS 6 below) Asst Prof - Human Geography ? University of Hawaii ? Manoa (USA) (see JOB 7 below) Project Coordinator - NSF-IGERT in Applied Biodiversity Science - Texas A&M University - College Station, TX (USA) (see JOB 8 below) Asst Prof - Climate Science - Department of Geography - University of California, Santa Barbara CA (USA) http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/about/positions/faculty.php (see JOB 9 below) Asst or Assoc Prof. - Marine Life Sciences ? Graduate School Of Oceanography ? University of Rhode Island ? Kingston RI (USA) http://www.uri.edu/human_resources/11842.htm (see JOB 10 below) Asst Prof - Biology (Ecology) ?Whitman College ? Walla Walla WA (USA) (see JOB 11 below) Research asst ? Microbial Ecology ? Michigan State University ? Kellogg Biological Station ? Hickory Corners, MI (USA) (see JOB 12 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 1) Applications sought for study of socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms - Coastal Management (NOAA) http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2008/2008_star_ecohab.html. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program, is seeking applications for studies that assess the socioeconomic impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) on coastal communities and identify opportunities to mitigate these impacts. Anthropologists, sociologists, risk communication specialists, economists, and others with an interest in the human dimensions of coastal resource management are encouraged to apply. The deadline is October 4th. The RFP can be found at http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/ 2008/2008_star_ecohab.html. A recent report, /Harmful Algal Research and Response: A Human Dimensions Strategy/, summarizes human dimensions research needs to support HAB mitigation: http://www.cop.noaa.gov/stressors/extremeevents/hab/ human_dimensions.html. The report is a companion document to the National HAB Plan - /Harmful Algal Research and Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy/ (HARRNESS) - which can be found at: http://www.esa.org/HARRNESS/. *************************************************** Forum (FORUM 1) Call for Climate Change Impacts Case Studies to Support Human Rights, Advocacy and Education Efforts Dear colleagues, The Center for International Environmental Law is developing a database of case studies on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities. The case studies will be used to support climate change work on human rights, advocacy and policy development, adaptation, and education. We invite contributions from the larger climate change community. We think it will be very powerful to have a number of examples of how climate change has and will have a direct and potentially devastating effect on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, and therefore are compiling brief descriptions of how climate change has or will impact people in various countries, regions, or cities. Case studies will be posted on the web and will be cited in educational material we are preparing. Although there is no deadline as will be an ongoing project, we are especially interested in submissions by late October, which can be presented at the December 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties and Meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP) meeting in Bali. Case studies are approximately 2-3 pages focusing on a vulnerable area or group of people threatened by climate change. For a copy of the author's guidelines and a sample case study on the Inuit for reference, or if you have any questions, please contact me at chart at ciel.org. Thank you. Craig Hart *************************************************** Science News (NEWS 1) More Progress Urged on Ozone Hole http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6998489.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/ysqmkt BBC News Online - Faster progress is needed to safeguard the ozone layer, according to one of the scientists who discovered the "ozone hole" over Antarctica. Writing on the BBC News website, Joe Farman calls for faster phase-out of some ozone-destroying chemicals, and for the destruction of stockpiles. The Montreal Protocol regulating these substances is 20 years old this week. Some of Dr Farman's arguments have been echoed by senior figures in the UN, and by European and US politicians. He is of critical of the agreement which allows developing countries to keep on using some ozone-depleting chemicals until 2040. "Frequent reviews rescued the Montreal Protocol from deficiencies in the original draft, and another comprehensive re-examination is clearly needed," he writes in the BBC's Green Room series. ******************** (NEWS 2) Ancient Records Help Test Climate Change http://www.examiner.com/ a-936349~Ancient_Records_Help_Test_Climate_Change.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/3cngw8 San Francisco Examiner - EINSIEDELN, Switzerland - A librarian at this 10th century monastery leads a visitor beneath the vaulted ceilings of the archive past the skulls of two former abbots. He pushes aside medieval ledgers of indulgences and absolutions, pulls out one of 13 bound diaries inscribed from 1671 to 1704 and starts to read about the weather. "Jan. 11 was so frightfully cold that all of the communion wine froze," says an entry from 1684 by Brother Josef Dietrich, governor and "weatherman" of the once-powerful Einsiedeln Monastery. "Since I've been an ordained priest, the sacrament has never frozen in the chalice. But on Jan. 13 it got even worse and one could say it has never been so cold in human memory ..." Diaries of day-to-day weather details from the age before 19th- century standardized thermometers are proving of great value to scientists who study today's climate. Historical accounts were once largely ignored, as they were thought to be fraught with inaccuracy or were simply inaccessible or illegible. But the booming interest in climate change has transformed the study of ancient weather records from what was once a "wallflower science," says Christian Pfister, a climate historian at the University of Bern. ******************** (NEWS 3) Panel Faults Emphasis of U.S. Climate Program http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/14/science/13cnd-climate.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/36cjac New York Times (Registration Required) - An effort by the Bush administration to improve federal climate research has answered some questions but lacks a focus on impacts of changing conditions and informing those who would be most affected, a panel of experts has found. The Climate Change Science Program, created in 2002 by President Bush to improve climate research across 13 government agencies, has also been hampered by governmental policies that have grounded earth- observing satellites and dismantled programs to monitor environmental conditions on earth, concluded the report, issued by the National Academies, the nation's pre-eminent scientific advisory group. In a printed statement, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, the panel's chairman, said that the program's basic scientific efforts had constituted "an important initiative that has broadened our knowledge of climate change." Among other things, the report noted, the effort has helped resolve disputes over whether the earth's atmosphere is warming significantly or not, allowing scientists to compare data and agree that warming is occurring. ******************** (NEWS 4) Eating Less Meat May Slow Climate Change http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/09/12/ eating_less_meat_may_slow_climate_change/ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2zcnep Boston Globe (Registration Required) - LONDON -- Eating less meat could help slow global warming by reducing the number of livestock and thereby decreasing the amount of methane flatulence from the animals, scientists said on Thursday. In a special energy and health series of the medical journal The Lancet, experts said people should eat fewer steaks and hamburgers. Reducing global red meat consumption by 10 percent, they said, would cut the gases emitted by cows, sheep and goats that contribute to global warming. "We are at a significant tipping point," said Geri Brewster, a nutritionist at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York, who was not connected to the study. "If people knew that they were threatening the environment by eating more meat, they might think twice before ordering a burger..." ******************** (NEWS 5) Neanderthals 'Not Killed by Climate Change' http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070910/full/070910-7.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2uqztl Nature News - Whatever it was that sealed the fate of the Neanderthals, it looks unlikely to have been climate change. That is the verdict of a new study that used climate records from Venezuela to deduce what happened at the Neanderthals' last stand at the southern tip of Europe. The research suggests that a switch to a cold, dry climate was probably not the telling factor in the demise of the Neanderthals, because of all the probable dates for their extinction, most do not lie near major cold events in the climate record. Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) lived in Europe until around 30,000 years ago - not long after Homo sapiens arrived on the scene 40,000 years ago. The Neanderthals are thought to have lasted longest in the region around Gibraltar, off the southern tip of Spain. "There are different factors that have been invoked to explain the Neanderthal extinction," says Chronis Tzedakis of the University of Leeds, UK, who led the new research. "Clearly the appearance of anatomically modern humans is the prime suspect..." ******************** (NEWS 6) Hunting the Holy Grail of Fusion http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/ article2413310.ece Or: http://tinyurl.com/39vokn Times (London) - "The mighty Zeta: limitless fuel for millions of years" trumpeted the newspapers. It was January 25, 1958 and Britain's media were alive with the news that the nation's scientists had created the world's first controlled fusion reaction. It was, they promised, the dawn of a new era, when power would be both limitless and free. ...That was 49 years ago. Just a few months later [Sir John] Cockcroft quietly issued a press release. His researchers had, it seemed, been mistaken. Zeta [a massive machine's code name] had never achieved fusion. ...The machine was a dud. Cockcroft's blunder was, however, far from the last. Over the years, fusion's lure of limitless energy has tempted many more scientists and politicians into the same trap of wishful thinking. In 2002 one set of researchers announced that they had achieved bubble fusion, while in 1989 another group announced that they had achieved cold fusion. All have ended in retractions, recrimination and humiliation. What, then, are we to make of a new announcement last week ... that Britain could once more be on the road to achieving nuclear fusion? ******************** (NEWS 7) GAO Criticizes Interior Department for Brushing Off Global Warming http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/ 2003873011_warmparks07.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2xel45 Seattle Times - WASHINGTON - Wildfires are flaring bigger and hotter in Alaska, the northern Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. Bighorn sheep, mountain goats and grizzly bears in Glacier National Park, along with deer and marsh rabbits in the Florida Keys, face a housing crisis. Glacier's alpine meadows are disappearing, sea levels are rising in the Keys and other federal lands are feeling the heat from global warming - and the government is not doing much about it, congressional investigators said in a report Thursday. ...After more than three years of study, the Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress, harshly faulted the Bush administration for doing little to deal with the far-reaching effects of climate change rapidly taking place in national parks, forests, marine sanctuaries and other federal lands and waters - almost 30 percent of the United States. The GAO said the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce departments have failed to give their resource managers the guidance and tools they need ? computer models, temperature and precipitation data, climate projects and detailed inventories of plant and animal species - to cope with all the biological and physical effects from the warming. ******************** (NEWS 8) NOAA Scientists Say Arctic Ice Is Melting Faster Than Expected http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/ AR2007090602499.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/37fw9c Washington Post (Registration Required) The Arctic ice cap is melting faster than scientists had expected and will shrink 40 percent by 2050 in most regions, with grim consequences for polar bears, walruses and other marine animals, according to government researchers. The Arctic sea ice will retreat hundreds of miles farther from the coast of Alaska in the summer, the scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded. That will open up vast waters for fishermen and give easier access to new areas for oil and gas exploration. It is also likely to mean an upheaval in species, bringing new predators to warmer waters and endangering those that depend on ice. The study, by NOAA oceanographer James Overland and meteorologist Muyin Wang, adds to the increasingly urgent predictions of major ice loss in the Arctic. Six years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted major ice loss by 2100. An update by that United Nations-sponsored panel in February said that without drastic changes in greenhouse gas emissions, Arctic sea ice will "almost entirely" disappear by the end of the century. *************************************************** 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) Physical Scientist - NOAA Paleoclimatology - Asheville, NC or Boulder, CO (USA) The NOAA Paleoclimatology Branch of the National Climatic Data Center seeks a physical scientist (ZP-1301-IV) to conduct research and promote the use of paleoclimate data in studies of climate variability and change. The applicant should have expertise in the area of annually-resolved reconstructions of climate variables from tree-rings or other high-resolution proxies, and be interested in developing an archive of paleoclimate data for climate and climate change impacts research. The applicant should also have experience with non-annually resolved proxies and their calibration and interpretation. Responsibilities include research leading to publications and new data sets in the applicant?s area of expertise, and the expansion and improvement of paleoclimate data archived by the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology (working together with a team of data experts and IT specialists) (for information about NOAA Paleoclimatology visit http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo). Requirements include the ability to develop and maintain a reputation as a research scientist and evidence of potential to publish regularly in peer-reviewed literature. Preferred skills include the ability to write computer programs to analyze scientific data, ability to design and perform statistical analyses of paleoclimate reconstruction quality, familiarity with data management, data quality control, relational databases, and Internet delivery of scientific information. This position is in the competitive service, covered under the Department of Commerce Personnel Management Demonstration Project. Pay Band IV is equivalent to the GS-13-14 level. The duty station will be either Asheville, NC or Boulder, CO to be determined at time of selection. Position is open to any U.S. citizen. Applications must be submitted during the open period via the USAJOBS website: http://www.USAJOBS.gov. Vacancy announcement number is NSDIS-NCDC-2007-0004 for any U.S. Citizen and NSDIS-NCDC-2007-0005 for current Federal employees and will close 10/18/2007. Human Resources point of contact is Lars Morales at (303) 497-6292. ******************** (JOB 2) Asst Prof tenure-track ? Global Hydrology - Department of Geological Sciences - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC (USA) The Department of Geological Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the area of global hydrology. We seek candidates whose interests lie in understanding Earth?s water cycle, its response to changing climate, and its interaction with the lithosphere. Particular areas of interest include: response of the hydrosphere and cryosphere to climate change; quantification and calibration of hydrologic processes in global climate models; exchange of water among major Earth reservoirs; the forecast of sea level rise, droughts and floods; interactions of surface processes and the biosphere with the hydrologic cycle; and geochemical signatures of hydrologic processes in the lithosphere. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. at the time of appointment and postdoctoral and teaching experience is highly desirable. The successful candidate will be expected to establish a vigorous, externally funded research program and to demonstrate excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants must submit (print and PDF format on CD) a letter of application, names, addresses, e-mail and phone numbers of four references, statements of teaching and research interests, and curriculum vitae to: Chair, Search Committee for Global Hydrology, University of North Carolina, Department of Geological Sciences, 104 South Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3315. Review of applications will begin on December 17, 2007 and will continue until the position is filled. Members of the Department will be present at the fall GSA and AGU meetings; please contact Patricia Bigelow (pcbigelo at email.unc.edu) to arrange an informal interview. For more information on the Department and the University please visit our web page at www.geosci.unc.edu. ******************** (JOB 3) Asst Prof - Spatial analysis/modeling - University of Carolina ? Columbia SC (USA) The Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina invites applications by specialists in GIScience for a tenure track assistant professor position to begin August 16, 2008. Required characteristics of the successful applicant include a PhD in Geography (in hand at time of appointment) and demonstrated excellence in research and teaching in spatial analysis and modeling. We are particularly interested in applicants with expertise in spatial econometrics, network analysis (especially transportation), and/or location-allocation modeling. Demonstrated interests that complement and extend existing departmental strengths in environmental science, nature-society studies, and human geography are required. Preferred characteristics include the candidates demonstrated success in both theoretical research and applications in cross-disciplinary settings, and experience in publication and grant acquisition. Successful candidates will join an 18-member department (expanding this year to 22 members) that offers bachelors, masters, and PhD programs in integrative geography. The department offers a full range of degree programs and enjoys excellent administrative support for its activities. The department has excellent, renovated facilities that house several specialized activities including the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, Center for GIS & Remote Sensing, and Geographic Alliance. For full consideration by the search committee, applications must be received by October 8, 2007. To apply, send letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names and addresses (including e-mail addresses) of three references to the address below. We prefer E-mail applications. Apply to Professor John R. Jensen, Chair of GIScience Search Committee, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 E-mail jrjensen at sc.edu . For additional information, visit our departmental web site at www.cas.sc.edu/geog . ******************** (JOBS 4) Three Faculty Positions - Ecology - School of Natural Sciences - University of California, Merced (USA) The University of California, Merced, invites applicants for three faculty positions in Ecology. Appointments will be made at both the Assistant (tenure-track) and the Associate or Full Professor (with tenure) ranks. We seek outstanding individuals with research interests in areas such as global change, biodiversity, biocomplexity, microbial ecology, soil ecology, plant ecology, conservation biology, community ecology, biogeography, invasive species, paleoecology, ecology of infectious disease, ecological physiology, and behavioral ecology. We welcome applicants using experimental, field, computational, and/or theoretical approaches and working at population to ecosystem scales. Applications from interdisciplinary teams of ecologists offering an integrated research approach will be considered. UC Merced is ideally located for research in the environmental sciences, with close proximity to a diversity of natural and managed environments from the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific Ocean. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to participate in the Sierra Nevada Research Institute, a research unit at UC Merced focusing on interdisciplinary environmental studies, and in partnerships with Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. UC Merced offers access to the UC Natural Reserve System and opportunities for collaboration with other UC campuses and UC-affiliated national laboratories. The University of California at Merced is an affirmative action/ equal opportunity employer with a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of diversity among its faculty, staff, and students. The University is supportive of dual career couples. Qualifications: Applicants must have a Ph.D. in ecology, biology, microbiology, biogeosciences, or other relevant field, and a record of research, publication, and teaching commensurate with a faculty appointment at the University of California at the appropriate level. Applicants at the Assistant Professor level must have a strong publication record, potential to develop an independent, innovative research program, and ability to teach effectively at undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants for tenured appointments must have a well established, funded, internationally recognized research program as evidenced by publication and grant record, and must have demonstrated effectiveness as educators. For Associate or Full Professor appointments, we seek distinguished scholars who will provide leadership in establishing a program of international repute in ecology and environmental research at UC Merced. At all levels, we seek individuals who will participate actively in the development of innovative, interdisciplinary curricula, and in the teaching and mentoring of a diverse student population. To Apply: Interested applicants are required to submit 1) a cover letter 2) curriculum vitae 3) statement of research 4) statement of teaching and 5) a list of five references with contact information including mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. Please do not submit individual letters of recommendation. For appointment as Assistant Professor, submit materials to Job ASNS1219A For appointment as Associate or Professor, submit materials to Job ASNS1221A Applications must be submitted via the website: http:// www.ucmerced.edu/jobs/ (Academic Positions) For more information: Contact Professor Peggy O'Day, search committee chair (poday at ucmerced.edu) ******************** (JOB 5) Research asst ? Microbial Ecology ? Michigan State University ? Kellogg Biological Station ? Hickory Corners, MI (USA) I am looking for a research assistant to work in the microbial ecology laboratory at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), which is a part of Michigan State University (www.kbs.msu.edu). KBS is located in Hickory Corners, MI, which is approximately 20 minutes from Kalamazoo, MI and one hour from the main campus in East Lansing. Assistant will be responsible for conducting laboratory experiments using molecular techniques (e.g., PCR) and traditional microbiological culturing techniques. In addition, the assistant will be responsible for ordering supplies and managing other aspects of the lab. Assistant should familiar with data management, graphing, and basic statistics. Salary is commensurate with experience. Descriptions of some of the research projects in the microbial ecology lab can be found at http://microbes.kbs.msu.edu/. Interested applicants should send a resume/CV and a brief description of their research experience to Jay T. Lennon (DIALOG VII) at lennonja at msu.edu. ******************** (JOBS 6) Faculty - Environmental Studies ? Oberlin College ? Oberlin Ohio (USA) Friends and Colleagues: Oberlin College has two openings for faculty in our Environmental Studies Program. The first is a tenure track position focused on energy, society and ecological design and the second is a one semester replacement position for the coming semester focused on humanities or arts. Full details on the application process and appointments are included below. Oberlin was the first coeducational institution to grant bachelor's degrees to women and historically has been a leader in the education of African-Americans; the college was also among the first to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. In that spirit, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from individuals who would contribute to the diversity of our faculty. Thank you for posting and circulating these announcements widely. John Petersen, Chair, Environmental Studies Program, Oberlin College. 1. Asst Prof - Environmental Studies The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in the College of Arts and Sciences. Initial appointment to this position will begin August 2008, will be for a term of four years, and will carry the rank of Assistant Professor or higher, depending on experience. We seek a candidate able to integrate the technical, social, political, cultural, and ecological issues surrounding energy acquisition and use, particularly in the built environment. The ideal candidate will be grounded with training in the physical sciences and/ or applied fields such as engineering, architecture, systems dynamics, and energy technology, and will have cross disciplinary interests and experiences. Disciplines in which an incumbent might be cross-trained could, for example, include urban planning, transportation policy, climate change policy, sociology, or psychology. The faculty member occupying this position will teach five courses, including a section of Environmental and Society (an introductory course required for all majors), Energy and Society (an intermediate level course) and additional intermediate or upper level courses appropriate to the individual's area of specialization. Oberlin's Adam Joseph Lewis Center for environmental studies provides rich opportunities for teaching energy issues and ecological design. The applicant will also be expected to participate in the full range of faculty responsibilities, including: supervision of student research, academic advising, service on committees, and sustained scholarly research. Candidates must have a Ph.D. degree in hand or expected when the appointment begins and should demonstrate interest and potential excellence in undergraduate teaching. Successful teaching experience at the college level is highly desirable. To be assured of consideration, complete materials including a letter of application, statement of research and teaching interests, curriculum vitae, undergraduate and graduate academic transcripts, and at least three letters of reference should be sent to John Petersen, Director, Environmental Studies Program, A.J. Lewis Center, 122 Elm Street, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio 44074, by October 19, 2007. Fax (440)775-8946. Application materials received after that date will be considered until the position is filled. 2. Visiting Prof of Environmental Studies The Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time, one-semester replacement position in the College of Arts and Sciences. Appointment to this position will begin January 2008, and will carry the rank of Visiting Assistant Professor. We seek candidates who address environmental issues in compelling and original ways from a humanities perspective. Applications from candidates who bridge two or more disciplines within the humanities (such as religion, ethics, philosophy, law; visual arts, literature, film, history, journalism) are particularly welcome. The incumbent will teach three courses, including one section of our introductory course Environment and Society, which provides majors and non-majors with a broad introduction to the status of the environment, the causes of environmental dilemmas, and the economic, social, political and technical options available for solving environmental problems. Among the qualifications required for appointment is the Ph. D. or appropriate terminal degree in hand or expected by January 2008. Candidates must demonstrate interest and potential excellence in undergraduate teaching. Successful teaching experience at the college level is desirable. To be assured of consideration, a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, graduate academic transcripts, and at least three recent letters of reference, should be sent to John Petersen, Director, Environmental Studies Program, A.J. Lewis Center, 122 Elm Street, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio 44074 by October 1, 2007. Fax (440) 775-8946. Application materials received after that date will be considered until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 7) Asst Prof - Human Geography ? University of Hawaii ? Manoa (USA) The University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Geography (http://www.geography.hawaii.edu) invites applications for a full- time, 9-month, tenure-track position for an Assistant Professor in Human Geography and Globalization, addressing issues such as environmental conflict/security or socio-cultural consequences of global change, to start 1 August 2008. Expertise in a range of methodological approaches will be welcome. Duties: To teach undergraduate and graduate courses; advise undergraduate and graduate students; conduct an active research program; publish research results; seek extramural funding; and engage in departmental governance and activities. Minimum Qualifications: A PhD in Geography or an allied field must be held by the start of the appointment. A record of scholarly achievement as evidenced by publications and research. Desirable Qualifications: A research agenda with relevance to issues in the Asia-Pacific region or Hawaii in particular. Academic interests which complement the department's strengths. Demonstrated excellence in teaching and research. To apply, send letter of application outlining teaching interests and research agenda, curriculum vitae, names and addresses of at least three academic referees, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. Candidates should state clearly how they would expect to fit within the department and link to other programs of the College of Social Sciences and the University. Review of applications will begin on 15 November 2007. Applications should be sent to Professor Krisna Suryanata, Chair of Search Committee, Department of Geography, 2424 Maile Way, 445 Saunders Hall, Honolulu, HI 96822-2223. E-mail: krisnawa at hawaii.edu. Position number: 82332. ******************** (JOB 8) Project Coordinator - NSF-IGERT in Applied Biodiversity Science - Texas A&M University - College Station, TX (USA) A new NSF-funded doctoral training program entitled, ?IGERT: Applied Biodiversity Science, Bridging Ecology, Culture, and Governance for Effective Conservation? is seeking a full-time Coordinator to manage program affairs. Doctoral research in this program is focused on multiple sites in Latin America and USA-Mexico transboundary region. Complementary teams of students and advisors will conduct research aimed at achieving biodiversity conservation in collaboration with local partners and institutions. The ABS-IGERT team consists of 20 faculty from ten departments and five colleges. The Coordinator will report to the ABS-IGERT Co-directors. The position will begin in January 2008 and last five years. More about the ABS-IGERT can be found at http:// biodiversity.tamu.edu. Responsibilities? The Coordinator position is a hub for the ABS- IGERT. S/he will become a central communicator and facilitator for faculty, students, and the international network. Duties include managing day-to-day activities and information requests; supervising website; arranging interviews for applicants to the program; facilitating contacts with partners in Latin America; coordinating logistics for the Amazon Field Course, visits to research sites, and internships at participating partner institutions; helping implement the student recruitment strategy; tracking student progress; coordinating program assessment activities and compiling assessment data. Travel to Latin America is required. Qualifications? The Coordinator will be a Ph.D.-level or 10-year experienced social or biological scientist who is bilingual and has a background in international conservation. Ability to work with faculty and students in interdisciplinary teams and in diverse cultural settings is paramount. The candidate should possess outstanding leadership skills as well as demonstrated success in communicating effectively with diverse groups in Spanish and English. Application Process? Applications should include a letter of interest emphasizing a track record in international conservation research, a complete Curriculum Vitae, and list of references. Materials should be sent by email attachment to: Amanda Stronza and Lee A. Fitzgerald, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2258 Emails: astronza at tamu.edu lfitzgerald @tamu.edu Screening will begin 15 October, 2007, and applications will be accepted until the position is filled. ******************** (JOB 9) Asst Prof - Climate Science - Department of Geography - University of California, Santa Barbara CA (USA) http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/about/positions/faculty.php Application Deadline: Monday, 15 October 2007 The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) Department of Geography invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in the field of climate science effective 1 July 2008. The Department of Geography seeks candidates whose research and teaching interests focus on understanding coupled climate processes using numerical modeling and observations. Research focus areas include climate scale interactions of the atmosphere with terrestrial, oceanic, and/or cryospheric processes; global climate change and its feedbacks with regional climates; climate impacts on humankind and potential feedbacks; and the role of the mesoscale atmospheric processes in climate and climate change. The successful applicant should be versed in the use of observational data (e.g., remote sensing and historical or paleo records) as well as the numerical and/ or mathematical modeling of climate. It is expected that the candidate should be able to (1) conduct state of the art research in association with the diverse group of scholars in the departments of Geography, Earth Science and Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, the Institute for Computational Earth System Science, the Marine Science Institute, and the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; (2) help focus interdisciplinary graduate training and research programs in the study of Earth's climate and its changes; and (3) teach classes at both the graduate and undergraduate level in physical geography and atmospheric sciences. The department is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching, and service. UCSB is an EO/AA Employer. Applicants must have a PhD and should submit a complete curriculum vitae, statement of research and teaching interests, and names and addresses of three referees by Monday, 15 October 2007 to: climate_search at geog.ucsb.edu. E-mail submissions are preferred, though applications may also be sent via regular mail to: Search Committee, Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060 ******************** (JOB 10) Asst or Assoc Prof. - Marine Life Sciences ? Graduate School Of Oceanography ? University of Rhode Island ? Kingston RI (USA) http://www.uri.edu/human_resources/11842.htm The Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) of the University of Rhode Island invites applications from outstanding scientists for a calendar-year, tenure-track position with 8 months of hard money per year. We are particularly interested in scientists who address one or more interdisciplinary topics in marine life sciences. Special attention will be given to applicants with skills in advanced technologies such as: genomics, proteomics, remote sensing, data assimilation and numerical modeling. Please send via e-mail or regular post, a letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of teaching philosophy and research interests, and the names and addresses of four references to: MarineLifeSciencesSearch at uri.edu or Peter Cornillon, Search Chair (Req # 011842), UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, P.O. Box G, Kingston, RI 02881. Review of applications will begin on October 12, 2007 and continue until the position is filled. URI is an AA/EEO employer and values diversity and also is an NSF ADVANCE institutional transformation university, working to advance the careers of women faculty, especially in the science and engineering disciplines. ******************** (JOB 11) Asst Prof - Biology (Ecology) ?Whitman College ? Walla Walla WA (USA) Tenure-track position in biology, at the rank of assistant professor, effective 2008-2009. Ph.D. required, post-doctoral experience preferred. We seek a field biologist with expertise in ecology whose teaching/research interests consider ecological phenomena (such as animal behavior or interactions) in evolutionary contexts. Teaching duties will include courses and laboratories in ecology and field biology, contributions to Whitman?s interdisciplinary environmental studies program, and supervision of student research in biology. Whitman College wishes to reinforce its commitment to enhance diversity, broadly defined, recognizing that to provide a diverse learning environment is to prepare students for personal and professional success in an increasingly multicultural and global society. In their application, candidates are strongly encouraged to address their potential contribution to the promotion of diversity, a core value of the Whitman College community; their interest in working with undergraduates as teachers and scholars in a liberal arts environment that emphasizes close student-faculty interaction; and their interest in participating in the College's general education offerings. Deadline: October 19, 2007. Materials should include a letter of application; curriculum vitae; three letters of reference; undergraduate and graduate transcripts; teaching evaluations or other evidence of demonstrated or potential excellence in undergraduate instruction; and separate statements on the candidate?s teaching interests and scholarly agenda. Send to: Patti Moss, Biology Department, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Ave, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Whitman College, located in the scenic Columbia Basin, is a small, selective, liberal arts college dedicated to providing excellent educational opportunities for students. The College has a generous sabbatical leave program and professional development support for both research and teaching. For additional information about Whitman College and the Walla Walla area, see www.whitman.edu and www.wallawalla.org. ************************************************** 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/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aslo.org/pipermail/dialognews/attachments/20070925/3d57075a/attachment.html From ladderra at whitman.edu Fri Sep 28 20:09:42 2007 From: ladderra at whitman.edu (Ruth Ladderud) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:09:42 -0700 Subject: [DIALOGnews] DISCCRS News 9/28/2007 Message-ID: DISCCRS News 9/28/2007 ************************************ TABLE OF CONTENTS RESOURCES and FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES NSF Program Announcement: Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07598 Program Provides Blueprint for Recruiting Minorities to Science and Engineering URL http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pr07125 Going beyond panaceas - National Academies of Science paper from Ostrom et al (see RESOURCES 1 below) Climate Change and Environmental Anthropology Excel files available (see RESOURCES 2 below) U.S. CCSP - Synthesis and Assessement Products (see RESOURCES 3 below) Nature Reports Climate Change Website Nature has recently launched a new free-access website dedicated to in-depth coverage of climate change at www.nature.com/climate. (see RESOURCES 4 below) SCIENCE NEWS Clouds of Mystery http://www.oregonlive.com/science/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/ science/1190157920139310.xml&coll=7 Or: http://tinyurl.com/2ej3f9 (see NEWS 1 below) Bog Helps Build Climate Insights http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7003668.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2q6zvb (see NEWS 2 below) US Mayors endorse CO2 emissions trading (see NEWS 3 below) Poll: Many Pessimistic About Environment http://www.examiner.com/ a-956850~Poll__Many_Pessimistic_About_Environment.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2dqwow (see NEWS 4 below) Rising Seas Likely to Flood U.S. History http://www.examiner.com/ a-951249~Rising_Seas_Likely_to_Flood_U_S__History.html Or: http:// tinyurl.com/yq5r7s (see NEWS 5 below) Deal Reached to Phase Out Greenhouse Gas http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Science/ Climate_Change_Treaty.html\ Or: http://tinyurl.com/2qou39 (see NEWS 6 below) Scientists Report Severe Retreat of Arctic Ice http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/science/21arctic.html (see NEWS 7 below) Man Causing Climate Change - Poll http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7010522.stm Or: http:// tinyurl.com/2lyp3a (see NEWS 8 below) Global Warming Inaction More Costly Than Solutions? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070924-global- warming.html Or: http://tinyurl.com/2jhlq9 (see NEWS 9 below) ?Crosscutting 3-hr video conference - Oct 16, 2007 - Issues of global climate change and the potentially disastrous consequences, especially for millions of poor and chronically undernourished people Email jennmarlon at gmail.com if you want the details on how to join. (see NEWS 10 below) Lovelock Urges Ocean Climate Fix http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7014503.stm Or: http://tinyurl.com/27aj4n (see NEWS 11 below) SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS, OPPORTUNITIES Climate Information: Responding to User Needs, October 22-23, 2007- University of Maryland, College Park (USA) http://climateneeds.umd.edu/ (see WORKSHOP 1 below) JOBS Conservation International - various climate-related jobs http://web.conservation.org/xp/CIWEB/about/jobs/ Post-doc - Center for the Environment - Tyndall Centre, Oxford University - (UK). http://www.ouce.ox.ac.uk/news/jobs/070831.php Asst Prof- Cultural Anthropology - Hunter College, CUNY ? New York NY (USA) Applications Due: 01/01/2008 http://www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?JobCode=175267221 Asst Prof - Geography - University of South Carolina - Columbia SC (USA) (see JOB 1 below) Asst Prof ? Land-use/land-cover change - Department of Geography - University of California, Santa Barbara (USA) (see JOB 2 below) Research Scientists (2 or more positions) - Computational Ecological & Environmental Sciences Group Microsoft Research - Cambridge (UK) http://research.microsoft.com/ero/compecology.aspx (see JOBS 3 below) Post-doc Fellowship - NOAA C&GC - (USA) http://www.vsp.ucar.edu (see JOB 4 below) Post Doc Research Associate ? Western Water Assessment - Boulder CO (USA) http://cires.colorado.edu/jobs/ (see JOB 5 below) Asst Prof Tenure Track - Critical Political Ecology - University of California, Riverside CA (USA) (see JOB 6 below) Asst Prof Tenure Track - Human Geography - University of California Berkeley http://geography.berkeley.edu/ (see JOB 7 below) Asst Prof/Prof (3 positions) ? Ecology - School of Natural Sciences - University of California, Merced (USA) (see JOBS 8 below) Post-doc - Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech - Atmospheric and climate modeling, analysis and prediction research group (USA) http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc (see JOB 9 below) Asst. or Assoc. Scientist (2 openings) - Institute of Ecosystem Studies - Impacts of global change on forests/Ecology of infectious diseases - Milbrook, NY (USA) http://www.ecostudies.org/ (see JOBS 10 below) 2 Post-docs - Global Climate Division - Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (The Netherlands) (see JOBS 11 below) Asst Prof non-tenure - Practice of Geospatial Analysis- Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences - Duke University ? Durham NC (USA) (see JOB 12 below) Scientists/modelers - Climate change Regional Modelling, Impacts and Risk - NIWA - Wellington (New Zealand). http://www.niwa.co.nz/about/jobs/jobs/scientist_climate_change (see JOB 13 below) Asst. Prof - Sociocultural Anthropology - Dept. of Anthropology - University of Washington ?Seattle ? WA (USA) (see JOB 14 below) Asst Prof - Environmental Policy & Science - McDaniel College - Westminster, MD (USA) (see JOB 15 below) Post-doc - Ice and climate systems modeling - Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography - Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) (see JOB 16 below) Tenure-track position - Human Geography - Department of Geography, Planning and Environment ? Concordia University - Montreal (Canada) (see JOB 17 below) Post-doc - Biogeophysical consequences of expanded cultivation of biofuel feedstocks across the Northern Great Plains - South Dakota State University (SDSU), South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and the USGS Center for EROS (USA) (see JOB 18 below) Asst Prof - Climate Science - University of California - Santa Barbara (USA) (see JOB 19 below) Research scientist - Walker Institute for Climate System Research (UK). www.reading.ac.uk/Jobs Look for Job reference: RS07053 (see JOB 20 below) Post-doc - Climate modeling - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Texas - Arlington (USA) (see JOB 21 below) Asst Prof - Ecological Forecasting - University of South Carolina ? Columbia SC (USA) (see JOB 22 below) Prof - Marine and Atmospheric Sciences - Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS) - Hokkaido University (Japan) (see JOB 23 below) Post-doc - Modeling - Dept. of Meteorology - Univ of Reading (UK) http://www.info.rdg.ac.uk/newjobs/jobdetails/RS07051.pdf (see JOB 24 below) *************************************************** Resources and Funding Opportunities (RESOURCES 1) Going beyond panaceas - National Academies of Science paper from Ostrom et al Published online before print September 19, 2007 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 10.1073/pnas.0701886104 In the context of governance of human?environment interactions, a panacea refers to a blueprint for a single type of governance system (e.g., government ownership, privatization, community property) that is applied to all environmental problems. The aim of this special feature is to provide theoretical analysis and empirical evidence to caution against the tendency, when confronted with pervasive uncertainty, to believe that scholars can generate simple models of linked social?ecological systems and deduce general solutions to the overuse of resources. Practitioners and scholars who fall into panacea traps falsely assume that all problems of resource governance can be represented by a small set of simple models, because they falsely perceive that the preferences and perceptions of most resource users are the same. Readers of this special feature will become acquainted with many cases in which panaceas fail. The articles provide an excellent overview of why they fail. Furthermore, the articles in this special feature address how scholars and public officials can increase the prospects for future sustainable resource use by facilitating a diagnostic approach in selecting appropriate starting points for governance and monitoring, as well as by learning from the outcomes of new policies and adapting in light of effective feedback. Author contributions: E.O., M.A.J., and J.M.A. wrote the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interest. To whom correspondence should be addressed: Elinor Ostrom, E- mail: ostrom at indiana.edu http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0701886104v1?etoc www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0701886104 The articles in this special feature challenge the presumption that scholars can make simple, predictive models of social?ecological systems (SESs) and deduce universal solutions, panaceas, to problems of overuse or destruction of resources. Moving beyond panaceas to develop cumulative capacities to diagnose the problems and potentialities of linked SESs requires serious study of complex, multivariable, nonlinear, cross-scale, and changing systems. Many variables have been identified by researchers as affecting the patterns of interactions and outcomes observed in empirical studies of SESs. A step toward developing a diagnostic method is taken by organizing these variables in a nested, multitier framework. The framework enables scholars to organize analyses of how attributes of (i) a resource system (e.g., fishery, lake, grazing area), (ii) the resource units generated by that system (e.g., fish, water, fodder), (iii) the users of that system, and (iv) the governance system jointly affect and are indirectly affected by interactions and resulting outcomes achieved at a particular time and place. The framework also enables us to organize how these attributes may affect and be affected by larger socioeconomic, political, and ecological settings in which they are embedded, as well as smaller ones. The framework is intended to be a step toward building a strong interdisciplinary science of complex, multilevel systems that will enable future diagnosticians to match governance arrangements to specific problems embedded in a social?ecological context. Author contributions: E.O. contributed new reagents/analytic tools, analyzed data, and wrote the article. The author declares no conflict of interest. Elinor Ostrom, E-mail: ostrom at indiana.edu www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0702288104 http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0702288104v1?etoc ******************** (RESOURCES 2) Climate Change and Environmental Anthropology I've created Excel files on climate change, and will be happy to send them to those who are interested. Two are of a search on all climate change references in the Icons database, split into 2 parts and zipped to make transfer easier (a little over 11,000 references). The other is a search using 'climate' and "indigenous", 'social', 'anthropology', 'community' and 'livelihoods', with about 800 references. I could probably be talked into doing one on 'human dimensions', 'climate adaptation', 'climate justice" etc. - but these will all be contained in the larger files. The Tulalip Tribes has authored three papers on climate change and indigenous peoples (co-authored by Terry Williams and myself) that look at some of the policy issues in climate adaptation from a tribal perspective, and I would be happy to send those to anyone who is interested. We will be tabling another, more in-depth look at the upcoming CBD Article 8(j) meetings, and I'll let people know when that is ready. From an indigenous point of view, one of the greatest threats is what can be called "ecological dispossession". The biotic and socioeconomic impacts of climate change have to be set against the political context in which indigenous peoples find themselves. There is ample evidence that indigenous peoples (and other communities) have suffered climate-induced disasters in the past. Formerly, they were likely able to persist through diet switching, migration and social networks of trade and reciprocity, and similar responses. The Pacific Decadal and Centennial Oscillations, for example, have caused wide fluctuations in salmon runs in the past. Currently, they are tied to their homelands through cosmology, ancestral relations and mostly in reservations that set the political boundaries for their rights. Native Americans, for example, have rights to resources on their territories and to varying extents, "usual and accustomed" and "traditional use" areas. Species range shifts, local extirpations from exceeding bioclimatic tolerances, climate-induced pests and diseases, and invasive species are already disrupting the ecosystems they depend on and moving their culturally-important species out of range. This ecological dispossession is pulling their environments out from under them, moving them to areas where tey don't have tenure, ownership, usufruct or other rights. It is also disrupting their traditional knowledge systems, as they do not always have traditions that can cope with the pace and scale of current change, and they may lack traditional knowledge of the introduced species or the behavior of climate-disturbed ecosystems. This calls into question the long-term viability of some of the policies - such as access and benefit-sharing arrangements under the CBD that have been proposed to aid in the conservation of biodiversity and traditional knowledge. The extremes of climate change effects also pose significant risks, such as the occurrence of megadroughts, El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation-related droughts, sea level rise, etc. Climate change is likely to disrupt patterns of gene flow, putting many local species populations at risk. Where more cosmopolitan cultures may adapt through shifting food production or migration, this is a less available option for indigenous peoples. There are many examples of using ethnoclimatological knowledge to adapt to climate impacts (e.g. in the Peruvian Andes, indigenous communities participating in a climate adaptation project to adjust to the 15 meter vertical migration of the snowline and the accompanying hydrological changes did better than communities who had decided not to participate in adaptation planning). There is great concern that adaptation measures will fall far behind impacts - in the Pacific Northwest, for example, some models that the Tulalip tribes have developed with Battelle Pacific Northwest suggest the streams will be sterilized of salmon in the next 50-100 years through the combined impacts of climate change and land use change. Indigenous peoples are also extremely vulnerable to what I have been calling "ecological teleconnections" - the delivery or disruption of flows of various biotic agents or processes through long-distance ecological transport (e.g. brown dust and dust-borne pathogens, vector-borne pathogens, invasive species, pollinators and other mututalists, gene flow disruption, and so on). Cosmopolitan societies can adapt through resource substitutions and trade flows to a greater extent than the "ecosystem people" who rely on local resources. The food catchments of these communities are often much smaller, and cultural resource substitution is not affordable and a significant threat to cultural identity. Liability regimes need to be put into place, and climate-resilient ecosystems and communities must be started yesterday (the Tulalip Tribes, for example, have been promoting restoring overstream canopies, revegetation and expanding beaver populations to restore water infiltration, manage a climate- forced hydroregime, and cool down salmon rivers). Both climatological and ecological teleconnections can have impacts that constitute unconsented shifts of burdens from carbon exporters to local communities. Some of the polluting countries and indutries have used the equitable defense of "unclean hands" to claim that any inequities are not entirely their fault, as consumers have driven the consumption that drives climate change (see: Gerrard, 2007: Global Climate Change and U.S. Law, pp. 207ff for a discussion). But this is not the case for most indigenous peoples. Regards, Preston Hardison ******************** (RESOURCES 3) U.S. CCSP - Synthesis and Assessement Products The U.S. Climate change Science Program announces the availability for review of public drafts of Synthesis and assessment Products: 3.3 "Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate" www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap3-3/public-review-draft/ default.htm 4.3 "The effects of climate change on agriculture, land resources, water resources, and biodiversity" www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/public-review-draft/ default.htm 4.4 "Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate- sensitive ecosystems and resources" www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-4/public-review-draft/ default.htm 5.1 "Uses and limitations of observations, data, forecasts, and other projections in decision support for selected sectors and regions" www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap5-1/public-review-draft/ default.htm FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Fabien Laurier, Ph.D. Climate Change Science Program Office 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC-20006, Email: flaurier at usgcrp.gov ******************** (RESOURCES 4) Nature Reports Climate Change Website Nature has recently launched a new free-access website dedicated to in-depth coverage of climate change at www.nature.com/climate. Nature Reports Climate Change provides you with free, up-to-date, authoritative information on current climate change research, comprising news, in-depth features, research highlights, commentaries and reviews. As well as highlighting the best peer-reviewed research, it also covers the wider implications of global climate change for policy, society and the economy. Interactive features: The Journal club, a forum where you