Announcements
February 6, 2013: A new website, the Early Career Climate Forum, was recently launched to facilitate collaboration and networking among early career scientists, managers, and others working at the science-management interface on climate change issues. The Early Career Climate Forum grew out of a summer workshop, the Northwest Climate Science Bootcamp, sponsored by the Northwest Climate Science Center. The website provides a space for users to explore new ideas, share research and project findings, and improve climate change communication.
January 30, 2013: A new report, "Wildlife in a Warming World" was released today from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The report discusses some of the effects that plants, fish, and wildlife are already facing as the planet's climate changes. The report also presents several recommendations for dealing with the climate crisis.
Research for this publication was informed by the "Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services: Techncial Input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment" that was released in Fall 2012. Shawn Carter, Senior Scientist, and Michelle Staudinger, Post-Doctoral Fellow, at the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center were lead authors for the Technical Input. Dr. Staudinger was also featured, today, in USA TODAY in an article announcing the NWF report.
1/26/2013: Please join Drs. Virginia Burkett and Michelle Staudinger for a webinar on Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at 1:00 PM Eastern. This presentation will provide participants with an overview of the 1,100+ page National Climate Assessment report that was posted for 90-day public review on January 14, 2013.
The second part of the webinar will focus on the key findings of a report by 60 co-authors that was written to underpin the Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services chapter of the National Climate Assessment. This webinar is a part of the National Conservation Training Center's "Safeguarding Wildlife from Climate Change Web Conference Series".
Please click here for more information about the webinar.
Presenters:
Dr. Virginia Burkett, Chief Scientist, Climate and Land Use Change at the U.S. Geological Survey
Dr. Michelle D. Staudinger, Postdoctoral Fellow, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and USGS National Climate Change & Wildlife Science Center
The U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers (CSCs) are seeking proposals for FY 2013 and/or FY 2014 (as appropriate). Proposals are invited for projects that support CSC science priorities. Eligible applicants are principal investigators from the USGS and university consortium partners of CSCs. Other interested parties (federal, tribal, state, and others) are encouraged to collaborate with eligible applicants. Statements of Interest for this funding opportunity are due by February 1, 2013.
For more details on the funding opportunity or to submit a Statement of Interest, please click here.
The publication, "Predicting Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability of Terrestrial Habitat and Wildlife of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands," by Michelle H. Reynolds, Paul Berkowitz, Karen N. Courtot, Crystal M. Krause, Jamie Carter, and Curt Storlazzi is available online. This publication was developed with support from the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center as part of an FY 2009 project.
The USGS team led by biologist Michelle H. Reynolds of the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center modeled what is known as passive sea-level rise (excluding wave-driven effects such as wave flooding and erosion) for islands in this biologically important region. General climate models that predict a temperature rise of 1.8–2.6 degrees Celsius and an annual decrease in rainfall of 24.7–76.3 millimeters by 2100 were applied across the study area. For the most biologically diverse low-lying island of Laysan, dynamic wave-driven effects on habitat and wildlife populations were modeled for a range of sea-level rise scenarios.
For more information, please view the original press release.
Dec. 11, 2012: The book "Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: A Technical Input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment" will be published by Island Press and posted on the National Climate Assessment (NCA) website this week.
This report was co-led by NOAA's Coastal Services Center and the USGS Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area. To insure that this effort was responsive to the needs of the intended users, NOAA and USGS co-hosted a workshop for coastal stakeholder groups and NCA leaders in January 2012. The final 185-page synthesis of knowledge of climate change effects on US coastal systems involved 80 co-authors and will serve as a key supporting document for the coastal chapter of the third National Climate Assessment, a report to the President and the Congress. A public review draft of the third National Climate Assessment is scheduled to be posted on January 12, 2013. NCA technical inputs can be found here.
A second and closely-related NCA document, "Global Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the US National Climate Assessment", was released by NOAA on December 6, 2012. USGS Scientists, Virginia Burkett and Dan Cayan, were two of the twelve contributing authors of this report. The report provides a synthesis of the scientific literature on global sea level rise, and a set of four scenarios of future global sea level rise. The report provides guidance on the consideration of local processes, such as subsidence or uplift, in the development of local and regional sea level rise scenarios for coastal planning and natural resource management. This report can be accessed here.
Several staff members from NCCWSC and the Climate Science Centers (CSCs) participated in the Fall 2012 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Conference from Mon., Dec. 3 to Fri., Dec. 7.
NCCWSC Scientist, Shawn Carter, and Alaska and North Central Climate Science Center Directors, Steve Gray and Jeff Morisette, convened the session “Strategic Climate Change Partnerships: Integrating Regional Research, Conservation and Natural Resource Management” for AGU. This session provided concrete, real-world examples that demonstrate how tight linkages between climate science, ecosystem science and resource management can 1) drive comprehensive vulnerability assessments; 2) inform adaptation planning; and 3) predict the outcome of management actions.
Click here for more information on AGU.
As an organizer, NCCWSC invites participation at NOAA's 11th Annual Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop on April 23-25, 2013 in Logan, Utah!
Integrated Theme: Climate Information for Natural Resource Management
NOAA invites abstracts demonstrating a broad array of climate information applications in water, energy, land, forest, wildlife, habitat, and other natural resources management. Presentations may illustrate the use of climate prediction in special-purpose programs such as wildfire risk reduction, species recovery, ecosystem restoration, and flood and drought response. Special emphasis may be on the synthesis of scientific information for user applications, various aspects of social sciences as a cross-cutting discipline for extended range preparedness, vulnerability assessments, or scenario development and planning. Presentations may focus on examples of web-based tools for climate-sensitive decision support, sustainability of resources, product usability, and performance evaluation. We encourage submission of abstracts on topics of environmental data stewardship including data access, distribution, quality, and availability, and their impact on decision support. We also invite discussions on climate science and service partnership between government, non-government, public and private organizations.
Abstract deadline is December 14, 2012. The abstract submit form is NOW AVAILABLE at this site below: http://climate.usurf.usu.edu/CPASW/index.php?show=abstracts
Registration and logistics information will be available on December 14, 2012. For more information, please visit: http://climate.usurf.usu.edu/CPASW/index.php
November 14, 2012
The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) is recruiting for an administrative professional to support several Climate Science Centers (CSC) in the Western United States.
The position will be located in either Tucson, Arizona or Corvallis, Oregon, and will be housed at either the Southwest CSC or Northwest CSC, respectively. The position will report to NCCWSC headquarters in Reston, VA and will provide administrative (budget planning and execution, agreements and contracts, travel management and the like for multiple CSCs.
Details can be found on the USAJOBS website. Recruitment remains open until December 14.
ATL-2013-0073 Administrative Officer GS-0341-9/11 (DE-LD) Open to All US Citizens can be found on USAJOBS tomorrow from the following website: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/331349000
ATL-2013-0054 Administrative Officer GS-0341-9/11 (MP-LD) Open to Merit promotion eligibles, status candidates and those who can be appointed under special appointing authority can be found on USAJOBS tomorrow from the following website: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/331349600
USGS Press Release - October 10, 2012
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has announced funding of more than $10 million awarded by Interior's regional Climate Science Centers to universities or other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
The 69 studies at eight climate science centers focus on how climate change will affect natural resources. For example, various projects identify how sea-level rise will affect coastal resources, how climate will affect vegetation, how these changes will affect valued species such as sage grouse, and how changes in water availability will affect both people and ecosystems—and ecosystem services such as fisheries. Several studies address the potential effects on resources of concern to Native Americans, some by using traditional ecological knowledge to advance adaptation planning. Read more >>
View the list of 2012 projects by Climate Science Center
View a map showing the consortium of universities involved in each CSC