June 2016 Newsletter

News and upcoming events related to the Southeast Climate Science Center.
Subscribe to the monthly newsletter here.

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—— SE CSC NEWS: ——————————————————

SECSC Project PI Accepts Award on Behalf of National Wildlife Federation: Dr. Bruce Stein accepted the Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources award on behalf of the NWF in Washington, D.C. on June 7th. The Department of the Interior’s Climate Science Centers, including the SECSC, recieved an honorable mention as part of this event. This award recognizes exemplary efforts by federal, state, tribal, local, and non-governmental entities to help safeguard America’s living natural resources from climate change. Learn More
How much does animal behavior matter in corridor planning? When relying on a focal species or suite of species for corridor planning, we know that accurately identifying functional corridors depends on our understanding of those species’ dispersal requirements. But do our typical estimates of resource selection actually represent dispersal?  Learn More

Former fellow, Adrienne Wootten, posts blog on working as a climatologist with ecologists in Puerto Rico.  Read the Post
Identifying a nationwide corridor system for the United States:  Protecting large, well-connected landscapes remains one of the best conservation strategies for maintaining biodiversity in the future.  Given the
likelihood of climate change to cause species range shifts, land managers and other decision-makers will need to identify key corridors and key core areas that will contribute to regional connectivity. Read More
Blueprint 2.1 draft corridors for the Southeastern U.S. are now
available. Read the Blueprint
National Geographic has featured the Isle de Jean Charles Band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw tribe.  Read the National Geographic Article
 

—— FEATURED RESOURCE: ——————————————

New Summer Series on Climate Change Impacts to the National Parks: This summer, Climate Central is exploring the National Park Service’s biggest challenge: climate change. After celebrating Memorial Day, let’s consider how climate change will affect our national heritage sites.  Learn More and Read the First Entry

—— RESOURCES: ——————————————————–

Louisiana Climate Refugees: This posting from Yale Climate Connections tells the story of a small island in Louisiana whose residents have to move to higher ground.  Listen to and Read the Post
Eastern US needs ‘connectivity’ to help species escape climate change: For plants and animals fleeing rising temperatures, varying precipitation patterns and other effects of climate change, the eastern United States will need improved ‘climate connectivity’ for these species to have a better shot at survival. Read the Publication
EPA Report: “Stormwater Management in Response to Climate Change Impacts: Lessons from the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes”.  Read the Report
New Publication on Droughts: Drought rewires the cores of food webs.  Read the Publication
Coastal Planning Advisor: This guide provides easy-to-use steps for decision-making centered on 12 key coastal management issues, including climate change and land use planning. Learn More

New Publication: Opportunities to utilize traditional phenological knowledge to support adaptive management of social-ecological systems vulnerable to changes in climate and fire regimes.  Read the Publication
Agriculture and Forestry- Part of the Climate Solution: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released:
“Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry,” the Department’s framework for helping farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners respond to climate change.  Learn More

Historical Climatology: This site shares interdisciplinary climate change research with scholars, journalists, students, policymakers, and the general public, and explains how cutting-edge scholarship about past climate change can shed new light on issues relevant to present and future warming.  View the Website
Artist Uses Climate Facts to Draw Message-Paintings: Alisa Singer takes inspiration from key climate data and makes paintings that communicate concern over global warming. From Yale Climate Connections.  Listen to and Read the Article
 
—— UPCOMING EVENTS AND WEBINARS: ———————

WEBINAR: The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects Database: Past, Present and Future:  June 28th |  12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST |  Every year, more than a hundred large oil and chemical spills occur in aquatic environments. These spills can severely impact ecosystems by compromising the health of aquatic plants and animals, and their surroundings. The Chemical Aquatic Fate and Effects (CAFE) Database was designed to aid responders in their assessment of the environmental fate and relative toxicity of the spilled chemical or oil.  Learn More and Register
WEBINAR: Observations, Ray-tracing, and Data Assimilation in Aerosol Assessment:  June 30th |  12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST |  By tracing rays from natural (Sun, Moon, and other astronomical objects) and artificial (city) light sources and assessing how they are affected by the atmosphere, aerosols, and land / ocean surface, full-color visually realistic images of the environment can be created based on 3D Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) analyses or model forecasts.  Learn More and Register
WEBINAR: Takeaways from the 13th International Coral Reef Symposium:  July 14th  |  1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST  | ICRS is the primary international meeting focused on coral reef science and management. The Symposium will bring together an anticipated 2,500 coral reef scientists, policy makers and managers from 70 different nations in a forum to present the latest research findings, case histories and management activities, and to discuss the application of scientific knowledge to achieving coral reef sustainability. Learn More
WEBINAR: Species in the Spotlight, Part 1: Species and Overview:  July 13th  |  12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST  |  In May 2015, NOAA Fisheries released the Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species FY 2013-2014 Report to Congress and launched Species in the Spotlight, an initiative focused on stabilizing populations of eight endangered species at very high risk of extinction.  Learn More and Register
WEBINAR: VDatum: NOAA’s Vertical Datum Transformation Tool:  July 14th  |  2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST  |  VDatum is a free software tool designed to vertically transform geospatial data among a variety of tidal, orthometric and ellipsoidal vertical datums – allowing users to convert their data from different horizontal/vertical references into a common system and enabling the fusion of diverse geospatial data in desired reference levels.  Learn More and Register
WEBINAR: New Techniques in Bathymetric Mapping and Coastal Change Analysis: from UAVs to
Satellites:  July 18th  |  12:00 PM – 1:00 PM  |  In support of NOAA, NASA and USGS, researchers at Oregon State University are investigating new techniques for coastal mapping, charting and change analysis. New processing methods for bathymetric lidar waveforms are enabling enhanced information about seafloor habitat in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Learn More and Register

Register for the Inclusive Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building Pre-Conference Workshop:  September 12th – 14th  |  Charlotte, NC  |  The impacts of climate variability and change affect everyone, but they disproportionately affect socially vulnerable populations.The Inclusive Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building
Pre-Conference Workshop will support participants in preparing vulnerable or marginalized communities for climate related impacts. Speakers will share proven examples of inclusive programs and adaptation models that empower communities to face climate challenges. Learn More and Register


—— LCC NEWS: ————————————————————

Appalachian:
*Forest Service Honored for Leadership in Promoting Climate Change Adaptation   Learn More
*NOAA, USGS and partners: Chesapeake Bay ‘dead zone’ to vary from average to slightly smaller   Learn More
More News from Appalachian LCC
Caribbean:
*Protected Areas Conservation Team (PA-CAT) celebrates Puerto Rico meeting its target to protect 16% of its lands  Learn More
*New Study Explores Consequences of Projected Climate Changes in Temperature and Rainfall for Puerto Rico  Learn More
More News from Caribbean LCC

Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark:
*Plenty to ruminate on at the Mid-South Prairie Symposium  Learn More
*Creating a Shared Vision in the GCPO LCC  Learn More
More News from Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozark LCC

Peninsular Florida:
*New paper on buffer distances around habitat of bird species of concern on land management areas  Learn More
*2017 Science to Action Fellowship Statements of Interest being accepted now through December 15  Learn More
More News from Peninsular Florida LCC
South Atlantic:
*Thoughts from your Coordinator on the joint Steering Committee meeting  Learn More
*Update on recent LCC projects  Learn More
More News from South Atlantic LCC

 
—— OTHER NEWS: ———————————————–——–
Improving Models to Estimate Changes in Bird Distribution: To better understand how birds will be impacted by a changing climate, researchers from the USGS improved statistical methods for estimating presence and abundance in the face of imperfect detection during point counts of the Breeding Bird Survey. Learn More
Eastern U.S. Needs Connectivity to Help Species Escape Climate Change: A new study has found that only 2 percent of the eastern U.S. provides the kind of climate connectivity required by species that will likely need to migrate, compared to 51 percent of the western U.S.  Learn More
A new bill from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) would create a curriculum for teaching students and others about climate change. Markey introduced his bill, the Climate Change Education Act, on Friday to celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical urging the world to fight climate change. Under the bill, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be required to develop a climate curriculum not just for students, but for people of all ages. Learn More About the Bill
 
—— OPPORTUNITIES: ———————————————–——
Film4Climate Global Video Competition: The Film4Climate Global Video Competition invites filmmakers between the ages of 14-35 years old from all over the world to showcase their talents and create a Public Service Advertisement (PSA) (less than 1 min) or a Short Film (1-5 minutes) about climate action.  Learn More
NOAA seeks proposals for up to $8.5 million for coastal resilience projects: As part of its national effort to build resilient coastal ecosystems, communities and economies, NOAA is announcing today the availability of up to $8.5 million in funding for coastal and marine habitat restoration in 2016. NOAA is seeking proposals for habitat restoration projects under the Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency grant program. The proposed projects should reduce the risks to coastal communities from extreme weather events, changing environmental conditions and known or potential climate change effects.  Learn More
$1 Million from EPA Tribal Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program for Tribal Governments: EPA announced funding to tribal projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions, particularly from fleets operating at or servicing goods movement facilities located in areas designated as having poor air quality. Eligible emission reduction activities include cleaner fuel use (such as biodiesel), idling reduction technologies (such as electrified parking spaces to provide power for truck heating and cooling systems), improved aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, and using energy efficiency and renewable energy to reduce emissions.  Learn More
$20 Million from EPA 2016 Targeted Air Shed Grant Program: EPA announced funding to reduce air pollution in the country’s most polluted areas. Consideration will be given to proposals that include emissions-reducing activities such as renewable energy projects, combined heat and power, clean residential heating, and other clean energy supply options.  Learn More

$600K from EPA Building the Capacity of Tribes to Address the Health Impacts of Climate Change Program: EPA is making available funding to increase tribal capacity to understand the health effects of climate change and plan for new and changing tribal community health needs as the climate changes. Proposals must address each of the following four areas: tribal climate and health curriculum development, refining the curriculum by conducting pilot trainings with select tribes, make curriculum available online, and conduct climate change and tribal health outreach.  Learn More

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