NWRC Weekly Highlights 7/7/2011

Weekly Highlights

MEMORANDUM

From: Gabrielle Boudreaux Bodin
Subject: Weekly Highlights, USGS National Wetlands Research Center, July 7, 2011

Departmental/Bureau News - Current

Executive Management Team Meets To Discuss LCC Work and the GCERTF: On June 30, 2011, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed, Deputy Director Matthew Andersen, Melissa Chavis (USGS Louisiana Business Manager), Sheron Griffin, Jeniefer Pryor, and NWRC Branch Chiefs Tom Doyle, Scott Wilson, and Greg Steyer met to discuss future NWRC work with the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) and the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. Budget concerns for EOY 2011, the 2012 Budget, and other topics were also discussed. (Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)
Carbon Budget and Sequestration Studies May Yield Interdisciplinary Plan: On July 1, 2011, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed and NWRC Research Ecologist Ken Krauss participated in a conference call with the USGS Mississippi Water Science Center Studies Chief Richard Rebich, Hydrologist K. Van Wilson, Jr., and Research Geologists Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Yousif Kharaka, and Randall B. Thomas. They discussed collaborative activities among the science centers and the USGS Water, Ecosystems, and Energy and Minerals Mission Areas. Discussion focused on carbon sequestration studies ongoing in the Lower Mississippi River Basin by personnel from the NWRC, the Mississippi WSC, and the Mineral and Energy Research Groups around the country. The group agreed to continue this collaborative effort with a follow-up teleconference to discuss synergies and begin building more fully developed work proposals in long-term monitoring and modeling associated with bio-carbon studies, CO2 sequestration and application, and carbon cycling/budgeting associated with lower Mississippi River basin and coastal wetlands in the northern Gulf of Mexico. (D. Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)
NWRC Begins Discussion with USGS Coordinators for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP): On July 1, 2011, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed and NBII Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Node Manager Andrea Ostroff had a teleconference to discuss collaborative opportunities for future cooperation for the NWRC in helping develop the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). The geospatial expertise available at the NWRC is of interest to the developers of the NFHAP. Further discussion is planned with NFHAP personnel. (D. Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)
Fenstermaker Engineers Meet with NWRC Director and Spatial Analysis Branch Chief: On July 6, 2011, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed and Spatial Analysis Branch Chief Scott Wilson met with personnel of Fenstermaker and Associates, Inc. to discuss mutual interests in coastal and wetland restoration and protection. (D. Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)
Climate Change Project Reviews Held at NWRC: On July 7, 2011, USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed, NWRC Deputy Director Matthew Andersen, and NWRC Wetlands and Forest Ecosystem Branch Research Ecologist Ken Krauss participated in project reviews with Debra Willard (USGS HQ Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area). They discussed Krauss's climate change ongoing research projects at the NWRC. The headquarters team was very appreciative and complementary on the work being done by the NWRC. (Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)
NWRC Provides RTK GPS Demonstration: USGS National Wetlands Research Center Geographer Chris Wells hosted a vendor demonstration of an integrated Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS with a total station LIDAR scanner, data logger, and associated software providing .2PPM distance and 1 arc-second angular accuracies. The system is wireless, using digital radio communication between all devices. NWRC scientists and engineers discussed capabilities and application with the vendor representatives. (Christopher Wells; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8651)
Students To Visit NWRC: Students from Little Oaks Learning Center in Lafayette, La., will visit the USGS National Wetlands Research Center July 7 – 8, 2011, to learn about Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and research being conducted at NWRC. (Gabrielle Bodin; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8655)
New Land Change Map to be Presented to Louisiana Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation: USGS National Wetlands Research Center Director Phil Turnipseed will present findings from a recently published map during the Governor’s Advisory Commission’s monthly meeting on July 13, 2011, in Baton Rouge. The NWRC has developed a new map that illustrates wetland losses and gains on the Louisiana coastline from 1932-2010. This product provides opportunities to better understand the timing and causes of wetland loss, which are critical for forecasting landscape changes in the future. (D. Phil Turnipseed; Lafayette, La.; 337-266-8501)

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