NE CSC Newsletter
News and upcoming events related to the Northeast Climate Science Center.
NE CSC / SE CSC Project Investigator holds workshop (funded by SE CSC) on communicating uncertain information On February 27 and 28, 2013, the Southeast Climate Science Center funded a workshop hosted by Brian Irwin at the University of Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. The workshop, Communicating and Using Uncertain Information in Conservation Decision Making, brought together an interdisciplinary group of practioners to think thoughtfully about identifying research and strategic planning needs to facilitate science based decision support in the presence of uncertainty. NE CSC Communications and Outreach Manager, Addie Rose Holland, joined the group. Read more...
NE CSC January 2013 Stakeholder Meeting materials posted on website! The NE CSC sends a warm thank you to all who participated in the NE CSC's first two Stakeholder Outreach and Science Planning meetings. All participants provided comments on specific science needs essential to their organization in planning for climate change. The NE CSC is incorporating this valuable feedback into the 5-year Strategic Science Agenda, which will guide the future science directions of the Center. Read more...
"I'm excited and very encouraged that the NE CSC is engaging both the scientific and the practitioner community in the critical dialogue needed to inform what climate research is needed and most useful to on-the-ground management of natural resources." -Abigail Derby, Chicago Wilderness
------ NE CSC WEBINAR: ------------------------------------------------------
Monday, March 11, 4:00 PM EST
Northeast Climate Science Center presents,
Fanxing Fan, University of Massachusetts Amherst
To join, visit: http://necsc.umass.edu/webinars/climate-change-northeastern-us-regional-climate-model-validation-and-climate-change-project
Or join us in person, 134 Morrill Science Center, UMass Amherst
A high resolution regional climate model (RCM) is used to simulate climate of the recent past and to project future climate change across the northeastern US. Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) analysis and K-means clustering analysis are applied to divide the northeastern US region into four climatologically different zones based on the surface air temperature and precipitation variability. The RCM simulations tend to overestimate surface air temperature, especially over the northern part of the domain in winter and over the western part in summer. The RCM simulation driven by the quasi-observed boundary data shows better capabilities than the simulations driven by the GCM in reproducing the mean and variability of temperature and precipitation.
Statistically significant increase in surface air temperature under both higher and lower emissions scenarios over the whole RCM domain suggests the robustness in the future warming. Most parts of the northeastern US region will experience increasing winter precipitation and decreasing summer precipitation, but the magnitudes are insignificant. Greater magnitude of the projected temperature increase by the end of the twenty-first century under the higher emissions scenario emphasizes the essential role of emissions choices in determining the potential future climate change.
------ NE CSC OPPORTUNITIES: ------------------------------------------------------
NE CSC Graduate Research Assistant (Ph.D.) Opportunity: NE CSC Project Investigator, Brian Irwin, seeks a qualified Graduate Research Assistant to join a project focused on analysis of fish population data from the Great Lakes basin. Research will explore how spatial and temporal variation in fish populations may respond to climate change and other important drivers and will examine implications of changing variance structure for monitoring programs. Read more...
------ FEATURED RESOURCE: ------------------------------------------------------
NEclimateUS.org (a.k.a. 'neXus') is a searchable online database that provides a gateway to climate information for the Eastern US. It summarizes needs for climate information as articulated in publications; identifies available data, products and services; and captures planned and on-going projects. The goal is to offer a tool to search for regionally relevant climate information, and to facilitate collaborative opportunities across the network of climate-focused programs and partners in the Eastern US. NeclimateUS.org is in its early stages of development. Content will change with time to reflect developments in climate work within the region, and in response to individual sector needs when necessary. Read more...
------ OTHER WEBINARS: -------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 12, 12:00 PM EST
Forest Guild presents,
"Forest Carbon Offsets: Is There a Path to Market?"
Dylan Jenkins, Finite Carbon
To register, visit: http://www.forestguild.org/component/option,com_chronocontact/chronoformname,SW_webinar/
--
Tuesday, March 12, 1:00 PM EST
OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents,
"Drought Prediction"
Bradfield Lyon, International Research Institute for Climate and Society; Kingtse Mo, NOAA Climate Prediction Center; Eric Wood, Princeton University; Siegfried Schubert, NASA Goddard
To join this webinar, visit: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/03-mar.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_12Mar2013_MAPP
--
Tuesday, March 12, 1:00 PM EST
OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents,
"The Snowfall Shuffle: Changes in Global Distributions of Snow in Response to Climate Change"
Sarah Kapnick (NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory)
To join this webinar, visit: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/03-mar.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_12Mar2013_NODCLIB
--
Wednesday, March 13, 1:00 PM EST
EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities (CRWU) presents,
"Adaptation Strategies Guide"
An introduction to the Adaptation Strategies Guide, which helps water utilities learn about and begin climate change adaptation planning. This webinar explains the impacts different regions throughout the country can expect to face along with adaptation strategies that can be used to help prepare systems for impacts.
To register for this webinar, visit: https://epa.connectsolutions.com/e9cqxisamm3/event/registration.html
--
Wednesday, March 13, 2:00 PM EST
OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents,
"NOAA Climate.gov version 2.0: How you can contribute and put th"
David Herring, NOAA Climate Office
To join this webinar, visit: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/03-mar.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_13Mar2013_OCWWS
--
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 2:00 PM EST
NCTC Climate Academy Webinar series presents,
"Adaptation in Action: Putting climate change adaptation strategies to work for fisheries and wildlife"
Matthew G. Mitro, Coldwater Fisheries Research Scientist, Wisconsin DNR
To join this webinar, visit: http://nctc.fws.gov/courses/climatechange/climateacademy/announcements/march_2013_announcement.pdf
--
Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 1:00pm to 2:00pm
California Landscape Conservation Cooperative presents,
"Climate Change/Land Use Scenarios for Habitat Threat Assessments on CA Rangelands"
Kristin Byrd, Physical Scientist, USGS Western Geographic Science Center
To join, visit: http://californialcc.org/webinars/climate-changeland-use-scenarios-habitat-threat-assessments-ca-rangelands
--
Thursday, March 14, 2013, 1:15 to 2:45 PM ET
Security and Sustainability Forum presents,
"Implications of the National Climate Assessment"
Join us for the second session in the National Climate Assessment series and hear from NCA lead authors and sustainability leaders from local government, higher education, and industry, discussing priorities for addressing destabilizing threats posed by a changing climate.
To register, visit: http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/events
--
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:00-1:30 PM EDT
Security and Sustainability Forum presents,
"Community Engagement on Climate Response Decisions – The COAST Model"
Sam Merrill, professor at the Muske School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, and president of Catalysis Adaptation Partners will demonstrate COAST (COastal Adaptation to Sea level rise Tool)
To register, visit: http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/events
--
Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 12:00 PM EST
Bard National Climate Seminar presents,
"Lobbyists for Climate Action"
Mark Reynolds , Executive Director, Citizens Climate Lobby
To join this webinar, visit: http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/schedule.php
--
Tuesday, March 26 at 3:00 PM EST
NCCWSC Spring 2013 Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series
"Breaking Traditional Barriers to Model Climate Change and Land Use Impacts on Freshwater Mussels"
Thomas Kwak, USGS North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
To register, visit: https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/webinars?q=webinar/180
------ OTHER NEWS: -----------------------------------------------------
Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks LCC 2012 Annual Report available In 2012, the Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC) embarked upon the development of a science agenda that will support the research and applications we need to enhance conservation measures across a 180-million-acre landscape. We added significant new staffing capacity and expanded representation of partner agencies and organizations within both our Steering Committee and our Partnership Advisory Council. New tools for conservation planners and land managers developed throughout 2012 are coming online in early 2013. Read more...
Making climate change data relevant to land managers In cooperation with the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC, Dan Vimont (NE CSC Investigator), associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his team of climate scientists are releasing a newly developed set of downscaled climate data developed specifically to address climate change challenges at a local level. The data set will be housed and available to conservation and land managers through a U.S. Geological Survey web portal in early 2013. Read more...
Chicago Wilderness Highlighted Species: Franklin’s ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii) Estimates for “temperature maintaining distance” projected for small mammals in northern Indiana (Francl et al. 2010) suggest that to track changes in average January temperature that occurred during the mid 20th century, species would have needed to move north at between 0.4 and 2.1 km/year, with that estimate increasing in projections for this century. Read more…
Acid test: Threat to oceans may also harm Great Lakes The increased carbon dioxide changing the water chemistry and ecology of oceans may also be affecting freshwater and the organisms that live in it. It’s called ocean acidification. But some researchers suspect it will impact the Great Lakes. “Based on our preliminary modeling and understanding of carbon cycles, we think similar acidification trends will take place in the Great Lakes to the degree that researchers are expecting in the oceans,” said Galen McKinley, a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Wisconsin. Read more…
GVSU scientist talks climate change, future of Great Lakes area Temperatures are rising. The water in the Great Lakes is dropping. Summers in Michigan are getting hotter. Winters are getting milder. So what does all this climate change mean to people in Michigan in the next 90 years? “By the end of the century, winter temperatures in Michigan will be 6 to 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) warmer, summers will be 7 to 13 degrees hotter,” said scientist Alan Steinman during a discussion Monday on climate change and its impact on the Great Lakes area. Read more…
USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Featured Research Enhanced Adaptation to Climate Change of Conifer Species and Provenances in Northern Forest Ecosystems Millions of trees are distributed from Wisconsin state forest nurseries each year. The success of such regeneration programs depends upon the development of adaptation strategies for enhanced ecosystem sustainability under changing climates. There is a need to identify species and seed sources with enhanced adaptation to climate change pressures to ensure biologically and economically sustainable reforestation, afforestation, and gene conservation. Read more...
NIACS news - Continued Growth of the Climate Change Response Framework In addition to the vulnerability assessments and adaptation demonstration projects that are currently underway, several partners in the northeastern United States are now engaged with the Framework. NIACS member Maria Janowiak recently gave a presentation on forest adaptation to a northeastern audience at a joint meeting of the New England and New York Society of American Foresters. For an update on many of the major Framework activities, please see a recorded presentation on the subject or visit the resources on the Framework website at www.forestadaptation.org.
Great Lakes Sea Grant Helping Communities Prepare for Climate Change “Small communities across the Great Lakes region are really beginning to take note of climate change,” noted Laura Holladay, a climate specialist for GLISA and Michigan Sea Grant. Smaller communities - those with populations Sea Grant Great Lakesunder about 25,000 people - might not have the significant resources that larger cities do when planning and preparing for climate change impacts. The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network is working to help those smaller communities to assess their climate vulnerabilities and identify adaptation strategies. Read more...
------ RESOURCES: ------------------------------------------------------
EPA's Draft Climate Change Adaptation Plan Released for Public Comment President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance in October 2009, setting aggressive targets for reducing waste and pollution in federal operations by 2020, and requiring federal agencies to assemble Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans. In 2013, Agency Sustainability Plans for the first time include Climate Change Adaptation Plans, outlining initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of federal programs, assets, and investments to the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise or more frequent or severe extreme weather. Read more...
Tool Estimates Streamflow for Pennsylvania Waterways NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. -- Water resource managers can now estimate daily baseline streamflows in a matter of minutes for any location along Pennsylvania's waterways. The Baseline Streamflow Estimator, called "BaSE," provides users with estimated daily mean streamflow, minimally altered by human activities, for locations on Pennsylvania streams that don’t have streamgages. Pennsylvania is one of the first states in the nation to have such a tool. Read more...
Report Released: "Water Resources Utility of the Future: A Blueprint for Action" The clean water paradigm in the United States is changing. The Water Resources Utility of the Future will transform the way traditional wastewater utilities view themselves and manage their operations. They also will transform their relationships with their communities and their contributions to local economies. This report presents the clean water industry's vision for the future as well as a series of actions that will help deliver our vision. It is jointly released by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF). Read more...
Forest Restoration Video – “What’s Happening In Our Forests?” An animated short by Aspen Center for Environmental Studies exploring how forests affect, and are affected by, the forces around them. This four minute video shares a good message about forest management and forest health issues and is worth the short time to watch. Watch the video...
USDA Climate Change Adaptation Plan The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Climate Change Adaptation Plan presents strategies and actions to address the effects of climate change on key mission areas including agricultural production, food security, rural development, and forestry and natural resources conservation. Read more...
Study: Climate Change Causes Large-Scale Wave-Like Weather Disruptions New research published March 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that extreme weather events can be tied to atmospheric wave patterns. The study finds that climate change impacts airflow patterns in the northern hemisphere leading to extreme weather conditions. Airflow travels in waves around the planet and is influenced by the difference of temperature between oceans and land. “When they swing up, these waves suck warm air from the tropics to Europe, Russia, or the U.S.,” said lead author Vladimir Petoukhov, professor at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “And when they swing down, they do the same thing with cold air from the Arctic.” Read more...
------ OPPORTUNITIES: ------------------------------------------------------
New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission Funding Opportunity On behalf of the Long Island Sound Study, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission is inviting proposals for the implementation of pilot monitoring of climate change indices (sentinels) at locations within the coastal area boundary of Long Island Sound (LIS). The purpose of this project is to collect, synthesize, and assess new and historical datasets in the context of climate change to identify trends and data gaps for one or more sentinels of climate change in LIS. The results of the project will assist with management of natural resources in and around LIS. Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm (EDT) on Friday, May 3rd. Read more…
