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NE CSC Newsletter

Monday, February 11, 2013

News and upcoming events related to the Northeast Climate Science Center.

New publication in GCB from NE CSC Investigator and Post doc    "Temperature can interact with landscape factors to affect songbird productivity", led by Andrew Cox and Frank Thompson from University of Missouri.  Read abstract here...

National Climate Assessment Draft release, participation from NE CSC investigators   A federal advisory committee chaired by MBL Distinguished Scientist Jerry M. Melillo has released a draft of the  Third National Climate Assessment Report  for public comment. The report presents the latest science about the current and projected effects of climate change across the United States. It is a scientific document—not a policy document—and does not make recommendations regarding responses to climate change. It does, however, describe some of the actions that society is already taking, and can take, to adapt to and mitigate climate change.  Radley Horton at Columbia University, led the chapter on the Northeast.  Read more...

 

 

 

 

------ OTHER WEBINARS: -------------------------------------------------------------

 

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 8:45:00 AM EST - 4:00:00 PM EST

University of Michigan hosts, 

"National Climate Assessment Midwest Regional Town Hall"

Experts from UM, NCA, MSU, GLISA & US Global Change Research

To register for this webinar, visit:  https://events-na8.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/1090825830/en/events/event/shared/default_template/event_landing.html?sco-id=1111752359

 

This free day-long town hall meeting will bring together approximately 100 climate change experts and users of climate change information, including participants from academia; local, state, tribal, and federal governments; non-profit organizations; and business and industry. 

 

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Tuesday, February 12, 1:00 PM EST

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents, 

"Understanding and Monitoring Drought"

Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine; Christopher Hain, NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; Christa Peters-Lidard, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Andy Wood, NOAA Colorado Basin River Forecast Center

To join this webinar, visit:  http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/02-feb.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_12Feb2013_MAPP

 

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Wednesday, February 13, 1:00 PM EST

EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities Webinar Series presents, 

"Climate Change and the Water Sector"

An overview of how climate change will impact drinking water and wastewater utilities and how utilities can prepare for these impacts. This webinar also includes an explanation of the science and data sources used in CRWU tools and resources.

To register for this webinar, visit:  https://epa.connectsolutions.com/e154b7m3hj5/event/registration.html

 

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Wednesday, February 13, 1:00 PM EST

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents, 

"Tracking US Surface Temperature Normals in Our Changing Climate Using Different Data Sets: Implications for Estimating Probabilities"

Dr. Robert Livezey

To join this webinar, visit:  http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/02-feb.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_13Feb2013_NWS

 

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Tuesday, February 19, 1:00 PM EST

US Forest Service Landscape Science Webinar series presents, 

"Assessing species risk & adaptability to climate change via species distribution models, life history traits & dispersal models."

Dr. Louis Iverson - Landscape Ecologist, U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station

To join this webinar, visit:   https://www306.livemeeting.com/cc/usda/webJoin?id=3W9KRC&pw=b_6dSW@.p&role=attend

 

The climate is changing.  Tree species currently residing at a specific location are at variable levels of risk of change (increase, decrease, or stay put), depending on where they are relative to their overall distribution, their particular traits, and the severity of the changing conditions. We attempt to assess this species risk in various regions of the eastern U.S., and their capacity to adapt to a changing climate, through a series of modeling schemes using species distribution models, life history traits, and dispersal models. We develop species tables, graphs, and maps of risk for particular regions, and have begun to assess some means of adaptation, including models of assisted migration.

 

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Wednesday, February 20, 12:00 PM EST

Bard National Climate Seminar presents, 

"Offshore Wind: Potential and Politics"

Mike Tidwell , Chesapeake Climate Action Network

To join this webinar, visit:  http://www.bard.edu/cep/ncs/schedule.php  (Instructions at top of page)

 

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Thursday, February 21, 1:00 PM EST

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series presents, 

"Not impossible: Integrating Ecological Considerations and Cultural Values into Decision-Making"

Kai Chan, UBC, Canada

To join this webinar, visit:  http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/2013/02-feb.html#OneNOAAScienceSeminars_21Feb2013_NWFSC

 

 

 

 

------ OTHER NEWS: -----------------------------------------------------

 

Great Lakes Water Level Changes   A short video was made by The Nature Conservancy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to promote climate change adaptation in the Great Lakes by highlighting the climate related issue of water levels. The film promotes the use of climate tools and data to make the Great Lakes basin more resilient in the face of a changing climate.  See the video...

 

App-lifying and Enhancing USGS Earth Science Data     USGS scientists are looking for your help in addressing some of today's most perplexing scientific challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. To do so requires a partnership between the best and the brightest in Government and the public to guide research and identify solutions.  The vehicle to achieve this is Challenge.gov, the contest platform administered by the General Services Administration. Challenge.gov is aimed at facilitating creative applications for government agencies to address a range of societal issues more effectively.  Read more...

 

Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC shares three-year history, progress and future direction, in first-ever annual report     Since 2010, the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC has grown to represent more than 30 agencies and organizations across state and international boundaries, committed to healthy ecosystems for current and future generations of fish, wildlife and people.  In January 2013, the LCC released its first ever annual report outlining the partnership’s accomplishments over the past three years including a break down on spending, steering and technical committee membership, research progress, communications efforts and future direction.  Read more...

 

Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers LCC shares history, progress and future direction, in first-ever annual report     Since 2011, the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) has grown into a dynamic partnership committed to delivering practical and pragmatic tools for conservation. In January 2013, the LCC released its first ever annual report outlining the partnership’s accomplishments since 2011 including steering committee membership, strategic direction, research progress, communications efforts and future direction. The report provides a broad perspective on the LCCs strategic direction and identification of focal areas to carry out the mission and vision of the LCC and its partners.  Read more...

 

24th Annual Harvard Forest Ecology Symposium     Tuesday, March 19, 2013, 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. at the Lecture Hall, Fisher Museum, at Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts.  The program features talks about:  The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, LTER/NEON Connections, Biotic Responses to Climate Change.  A poster session will highlight the breadth of current work at the Forest.  This year, we are offering a new Field Research Tour of the Prospect Hill Tract. Please RSVP by Friday, March 8, 2013.  Read more…

 

Mayor Menino Announces Comprehensive Actions to Better Prepare Boston for Storms like Sandy    Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced new planning and policy initiatives to better prepare Boston for Hurricane Sandy-like storms and other effects from the changing climate.  “The government and private sector need to be proactive in planning for a future with rising sea levels and future storms like Sandy,” Mayor Menino said. “The steps that I am announcing today will help make our waterfront and the rest of Boston better prepared to handle future storms and get the city back in business as quickly as possible.”  Read more...

 

Maryland Governor Signs Executive Order to Help State Prepare for Climate Change and Extreme Weather   To increase Maryland's long term resiliency to storm-related flooding and sea level rise, Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley, signed the "Climate Change and Coast Smart Construction Executive Order" in December 2012, directing that all new and reconstructed state structures, as well as other infrastructure improvements, be planned and constructed to avoid or minimize future flood damage.  Read more...

 

 

 

------ RESOURCES: ------------------------------------------------------

 

Ceres Releases Report on Expanding Risks for U.S. Water Providers    As numerous western states are considering massive new water supply projects, a new Ceres report is suggesting caution. Citing shrinking federal funds, uncertain water demand and declining revenues to pay for the projects, the report recommends that utilities move carefully before embarking on major pipelines, reservoirs and other new infrastructure that will create financial risks for investors and utility customers alike. Download...

 

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Publishes Working Paper: "Coastal States' Adaptation Initiatives: Sea Level Rise and Municipal Engagement"    Sea level rise is expected to become an increasingly prominent challenge for all levels of government as the climate changes.  Complicating matters is the multi-jurisdictional nature of coastal zone management in the United States.  Many of the potential measures to reduce the impacts of se level rise are in the hands of municipalities, including changing building codes and land use regulations; maintaining critical infrastructure; and protecting communities from flooding and other risks.   Download...

 

Nature Geoscience and Nature Climate Change Present Series of Publications on "Water in a Warming World"     In a joint online-focus, "Nature Geoscience" and "Nature Climate Change" present overview articles, original research, and opinion pieces that analyze the availability and governance of fresh water in a changing world.  Water is the basis for life, in a biological as well as in a societal sense.  Under the combined influences of human development and a warming climate, supply and demand of water for consumption and irrigation, mineral exploration, and energy production will change.  Read more...  

 

U.S. Forest Service Releases Report on Water Resources Vulnerabilities to Climate Change     The U.S. Forest Service recently released a report detailing innovative approaches to assessing the relative vulnerability of water resources to climate change on national forests.  The report, "Assessing the Vulnerability of Watersheds to Climate Change: Results of National Forest Watershed Vulnerability Pilot Assessments" was sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service Stream Systems Technology Center.   View report...

 

EPA Climate Ready Water Estuaries Program Announces Release of Publications     The first, "Climate Ready Estuaries 2012 Progress Report," describes program accomplishments and projects that have been started by the National Estuary Programs (NEPs) during 2012.  The second publication: "Lessons Learned from the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: New England Climate Ready Estuaries," highlights the results and "lessons learned" from the nine CRE projects in New England.  The third publication, "Climate Change Risk Management: CRE Adaptation Projects and the Risk Management Process," was originally published in the CRE 2011 Progress Report and examines how CRE projects illustrate and support using the risk management paradigm for climate change adaptation.  Read more...

 

NWF report: Wildlife Struggling to Adapt to Warming World     A report released January 30 by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), “Wildlife in a Warming World: Confronting the Climate Crisis,” concludes that the habitats and behaviors of animals are greatly impacted by rising temperatures. The study finds that this has far-ranging impacts for the United States economy, which relies heavily on the services provided by these species. Mark Shaffer, national climate change policy advisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says that the services contributed by wildlife provide “hundreds of billions of dollars each year to the U.S. economy.” Measures outlined in the study include increasing deployment of renewable energy and significantly reducing carbon emissions. Read more...

 

USDA Reports Synthesize Literature on Climate Change Effects and Adaptation Strategies for U.S. Agriculture and Forests      The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released two comprehensive reports today that synthesize the scientific literature on climate change effects and adaptation strategies for U.S. agriculture and forests. The reports, entitled Climate Change and Agriculture: Effects and Adaptation and the Effects of Climate Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest Sector, were created as inputs to the National Climate Assessment.  Scientists from the federal service, universities, non-governmental organizations, industry, tribal lands and the private sector contributed to the peer-reviewed studies.  Read more...