November 2020 Newsletter

November 17, 2020 arshore

Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama Image Credit: Alan Cressler

November 2020 Newsletter

Welcome to the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center’s November 2020 Newsletter.

For news and upcoming events related to the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center,
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Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center News

Join the second in our SE CASC Science Seminar Series for a presentation by SE CASC researcher, Jacob Lafontaine on Water Availability and Streamflow in Current and Future Climatic and Landscape Conditions. Register here for this Nov.17 virtual seminar.

View a recording of the first SE CASC Science Seminar held on Oct. 20, Refining Tipping Points for Range Expansion of Coastal Mangroves in a Warming Climate, by SE CASC Researcher, Michael Osland, here.

SE CASC Global Change Fellows organized and hosted two great multi-disciplinary panel discussions as part of the Fall Global Change Seminar series:
– Climate Policies and COVID-19 on Oct. 22. View a summary and recording.
– Disaster Recovery During a Global Pandemic, Nov. 5. View a summary and recording.

Mark your calendars for the next SE CASC Science Seminar presentation on Future Habitat Condition Scenarios for Wildlife in the Imperiled Pine Rockland Ecosystem by SE CASC researcher, Suresh Subedi on Dec. 15. Learn more and register.

Two new SE CASC science projects have been initiated:

SE CASC is hiring! A new Geographer/Physical Scientist will support our program’s growing emphasis on climate impacts to at-risk species and ecosystems; open through the USGS Pathways Program to scientists who have completed a degree in the past 2 years. Learn more.

Researcher Spotlights on 2020-21 Global Change Fellows: Kathryn Jewell and Ámbar Torres Molinari.

Take note of the SE CASC staff, researchers, and former and current Global Change Fellows who are presenting at the 2020 American Geophysical Union Meeting.

SE CASC Research Ecologist, Adam Terando and co-authors published a letter in Global Change Biology, Is there a dry season in the Southeast US?, which re-analyzed previously published results, concluding there is little evidence for a pronounced dry season across the Southeast and that regional wildfire risk is predominantly dominated by human ignitions and extreme precipitation anomalies.

Adam Terando and SE CASC Researcher, Jaime Collazo presented their work on vulnerable amphibian species in the U.S. Caribbean during a National CASC webinar on Nov. 12. Check back here for a recording of the presentation.

New post: New Project Aims to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Coastal Southeastern Tribal Communities.

New publication by SE CASC researcher, Michael Osland, Changes in Ecosystem Nitrogen and Carbon Allocation with Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans) Encroachment into Spartina alterniflora Salt Marsh, summarizes work from SE CASC project, Identifying the Ecological and Management Implications of Mangrove Migration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

SE CASC Research Ecologist, Mitch Eaton co-authored A Bayesian Dirichlet process community occupancy model to estimate community structure and species similarity.

SE CASC Researcher, Jared Bowden and Consortium PI, Wendy Graham are presenting in the virtual 7th Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds.

New Post: Publication by Former SE CASC Fellows Describes New Water Resources Tool.

Adam Terando and SE CASC Researcher, Jared Bowden recently presented in the State Climate Office of North Carolina’s Climate Change Webinar Series. View recordings and learn more about the series here.

SE CASC Investigator, Erin Seekamp authored a feature article for The Conversation: Preserving cultural and historic treasures in a changing climate may mean transforming them.

2011-2012 Global Change Fellow, Corey Davis discusses 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.

Conservation Corridor: A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate.

Resources

FEATURED RESOURCE

Flood and Storm Tracker (FaST) Maps.

Storm surge and flood events can have extreme impacts on nonindigenous aquatic species distributions due to flooding resulting from a storm. These events can facilitate the expansion and distribution of these species through connected adjacent watersheds, increased downstream flow, or the creation of freshwater bridges. These FaST maps, produced by USGS, are created within days of a storm event and refined as more data becomes available to assist natural resource managers in determining potential new locations for individual species and identifying potential species to watch for within a specific watershed. Learn more.

National Coral Reef Monitoring Program – Status Reports. NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program conducts sustained observations of biological, climatic, and socioeconomic indicators throughout the U.S. Pacific, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coral reef areas. This national report utilized that data to provide an assessment on the status and current trends of U.S. coral reef areas. Learn more.

Integrated Water Portal. This map-driven data exploration tool is designed for water supply and natural resource managers in the southeast to easily explore regional and local water conditions. Learn more.
Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign. The NOAA Climate Program Office collaborated with community scientists to map the hottest areas of 13 cities in the summer of 2020. The southeastern cities of New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS are both referenced in this recorded webinar. Learn more.
‎Can’t Take the Heat podcast. In this podcast hosted by Roop Singh, a climate Risk Adviser at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, experts weigh in on how climate change will impact people around the world and potential solutions that are being explored. Learn more.
Preparing for the Regional Health Impacts of Climate Change in the United States. This report, funded by CDC’s Climate and Health Program, details the impacts of climate change that will affect various regions of the United States and how the CDC’s health department partners are preparing and responding to these risks in their respective communities. Learn more.
USGS National Water Dashboard. This dashboard allows you to view real-time data from USGS stream, lake, reservoir, precipitation, water quality, and groundwater stations for the lower 48 United States, in addition to current weather and hazard conditions in the area. Learn more.

In the Media

Intensifying hurricanes are helping invasive species spread across the U.S.. National Geographic

Coastal Louisiana tribes team up with biologist to protect sacred sites from rising seas. Southerly Magazine

Climate change: Hurricanes get stronger on land as world warms. BBC

Our Burning Planet: Why We Must Learn to Live With Fire. YaleEnvironment360

Notable Publications

Building capacity for societally engaged climate science by transforming science training. In this paper, authors argue that collaborative science training is necessary at various career stages to develop a strong community of scientists skilled to conduct actionable climate science. While many of the competencies and pedagogical practices that they are in favor of have been implemented in many interdisciplinary graduate programs, they acknowledge a lack of this specialized training in disciplinary science programs. Graduate fellowship programs and seminars are important to early career scientists in developing the capabilities of a societally engaged scientist. Interactive, immersive and real world learning are integral science training experiences to develop this community of societally engaged scientists. Link to article.
COVID-19 pandemic impacts on global inland fisheries. This report provides an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on global inland fisheries within the context of reported inland fish catch, the human development index, and fishery provisioning value. This data was collected from 79 countries and 93 hydrological basins to determine that increased pressure on inland fisheries was experienced in southeastern Asia and eastern Africa, lessened pressure in southeastern South America and Oceania, and highly mixed responses were collected from North America and Europe. Overall, researchers concluded that inland fisheries with higher provisioning value for upholding livelihoods and nutrition were perceived by respondents to be at a higher risk of increased pressures due to COVID-19. Link to article.
Indigenous knowledge on climate change adaptation: a global evidence map of academic literature. Considering various knowledge systems, specifically Indigenous knowledge is important in climate change adaptation research, as has been acknowledged in the fifth assessment report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This group of authors sought to understand the thematic and geographic gaps in the academic literature about Indigenous knowledge on climate change adaptation. Their results include the first global evidence map of Indigenous knowledge in climate adaptation literature which brings light to the gaps in areas and themes that should be addressed in the IPCC AR6 to increase our understanding of this topic. Link to article.
Preparing Wildlife for Climate Change: How Far Have We Come? Researchers examined 1,346 peer‐reviewed publications that include management recommendations that address the consequences of climate change on wildlife populations to assess the current state of knowledge on climate adaptation for wildlife species. Protected areas, invasive species, ecosystem services, adaptive management, stepping stones, assisted migration, and conservation easements were common strategies that emerged in their review, but authors note that the potential for local‐scale management interventions was rarely addressed and that only 1% of publications mentioned reproduction, survival, disease, or the human-wildlife conflict. Overall, the team recommends to implement research that identifies and evaluates climate adaptation strategies that reduce the vulnerability of wildlife to the impacts of climate change. Link to article.
Slower decay of landfalling hurricanes in a warming world. Journal Abstract: When a hurricane strikes land, the destruction of property and the environment and the loss of life are largely confined to a narrow coastal area. This is because hurricanes are fuelled by moisture from the ocean, and so hurricane intensity decays rapidly after striking land. In contrast to the effect of a warming climate on hurricane intensification, many aspects of which are fairly well understood, little is known of its effect on hurricane decay. Here we analyse intensity data for North Atlantic landfalling hurricanes over the past 50 years and show that hurricane decay has slowed, and that the slowdown in the decay over time is in direct proportion to a contemporaneous rise in the sea surface temperature. Thus, whereas in the late 1960s a typical hurricane lost about 75 per cent of its intensity in the first day past landfall, now the corresponding decay is only about 50 per cent. We also show, using computational simulations, that warmer sea surface temperatures induce a slower decay by increasing the stock of moisture that a hurricane carries as it hits land. This stored moisture constitutes a source of heat that is not considered in theoretical models of decay. Additionally, we show that climate-modulated changes in hurricane tracks contribute to the increasingly slow decay. Our findings suggest that as the world continues to warm, the destructive power of hurricanes will extend progressively farther inland. Link to article.

Tribal News

Visit USET Climate Change Headlines for updates on information regarding climate science events, funding opportunities, best practices, and highlights from across the USET region.

This article, Preserving Our Place: Isle de Jean Charles, tells the story of the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe of Louisiana and their commitment to preserving their land, culture, and history in south Louisiana. The work was featured in a Nonprofit Quarterly series about environmental justice and Indigenous communities in the United States, curated by Raymond Foxworth of the First Nations Development Institute. Learn more.
US Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy is accepting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional Corporations and Village Corporations, Intertribal Organizations, and Tribal Energy Development Organizations to fund the deployment of energy technology on Tribal lands. Applications will be accepted here until February 11, 2021.
Intertribal Timber Council has curated a variety of scholarship opportunities for Native American/Alaskan undergraduate and graduate students. Learn more.
To honor Native American Heritage Month, USET has released short videos by Tribal leaders and others from the USET/USET SPF family speaking to the significance of Native American Heritage Month.

Jena Band of Choctaw Indians – video by Chief B Cheryl Smith, USET/USET SPF Treasurer
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians – video by Sam Lambert, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians citizen and USET Veterans Affairs Committee Chairperson
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas – video by Cecilia Flores, Chairwoman of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana – video by Marshall Pierite, Chairman of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana
Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut – video by Chief Lynn Malerba.

GEO Indigenous Summit 2020 will be held virtually from December 7-9. This year’s themes include COVID-19, Women Empowerment, Education, Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, and Knowledge Transfer. Abstract submissions will be accepted until November 25. Learn more.

Regional Partner News

Gulf of Mexico Alliance: Final Report: Economic Impacts of Water Quality Issues in the Gulf of Mexico
Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments: Request for Presentations and Speakers for 2021 Hybrid Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference
Southeast Regional Climate Center: October 2020 Southeast Region Monthly Climate Report
NOAA Climate Office: October U.S. climate report, 2020-21 Winter outlook leans warm and dry across southern U.S.
Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy: Recent trends in Southeastern Ecosystems (2020) now available
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Resilient Communities Program Announces Grants to Help Communities Better Respond to Extreme Weather-Related Events
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: Survey on use of prescribed fire by conservation partners and the public.

Webinars

Find more upcoming events in our calendar.
Nov. 17 | 11am – 12pm | SE CASC Science Seminar: Assessment of Water Availability and Streamflow Characteristics in the Southeastern U.S. for Current and Future Climatic and Landscape Conditions
Nov. 17 | 3pm – 4pm | GOMA Virtual Tools Cafe – Coastal Management: Wind, Water, Sand, and Resilience
Nov. 17 | 3:30pm – 4:30pm | Insights from Geocognition Research About How to Effectively Engage Public Audiences with Climate Change Related Information
Nov. 17 | 6pm – 7pm | An Unjust Burden: Climate Change and the Vulnerable
Nov. 17 | 6:30pm – 8pm | Recognizing Indigenous Pasts, Presents, and Futures: A Conversation on Land Acknowledgement
Nov. 18 | 1pm – 3pm | Resiliency & Readiness Virtual Workshop – A National Look at Military Installation Resilience
Nov. 18 | 3pm – 4pm | Measuring Climate Adaptation Success and Progress: Introduction to the Resilience Metrics Toolkit
Nov. 19 | 9:30am – 10:30am | NOAA Eastern Region Climate Services: El Nino Observations for the Eastern Region
Nov. 19 | 10am – 11am | South Atlantic Third Thursday Web Forum
Nov. 20 | 12pm – 1pm | Scoping and Design of Actionable Science: A case study of integrating urban climatology and land-use planning
Dec. 3 | 9am – 10am | Climate and Conservation Coffee
Dec. 4 | 10am – 11:30am | Sea Level Rise webinar
Dec. 8 | 10am – 11am | Southeast Climate Monthly Webinar
Dec. 15 | 10am – 11:30am | Talking about Climate Change webinar
Dec. 15 | 11am – 12pm | SE CASC Science Seminar: Developing Future Habitat Condition Scenarios for Wildlife in the Imperiled Pine Rockland Ecosystem of South Florida

Upcoming Events

Find more upcoming events in our calendar.

Opportunities

Student Announcements
Ecological Society of America and US Geological Survey are accepting applications for their undergraduate summer internship program. Students can be nominated here until Nov. 18.
North Carolina Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve Program announced a request for proposals for the 2021 NC Coastal Research Fellowship. Apply here by Dec. 7.
University of Texas at San Antonio is accepting applications for a MS Assistantship in Urban Avian Ecology and Community Science in the Department of Environmental Science and Ecology. Apply here by Dec. 31.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program. Apply here by Feb. 19, 2021.
NC State is hiring a Graduate/Post-Graduate Researcher in Interdisciplinary Science-in- Society Projects. Apply here.
Hiring Announcements
AGU is accepting applications for 2021-2022 Congressional Science Fellowship, which places qualified scientists, engineers and other professionals with a congressional office or committee for one year. Apply by Jan. 15 2021.
The Bureau for Resilience and Food Security Center for Resilience is hiring a Climate Change Specialist. Apply here until Nov. 24.
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center is accepting applications for a postdoc position involving migratory bird management, structured decision making and statistical modeling. Apply here by Nov. 30.
University of Massachusetts Amherst seeks both a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD-level graduate student to investigate sensitivity of lake ecosystems to winter water level drawdowns and implications for lake management under future climate. Apply here by Dec. 1.
Association of Climate Change Officers features a variety of employment opportunities here.
Research Grants
The FY21 Risk Research and Applications Request for Proposals is now open for all USGS staff. Letters of Intent can be submitted here until Nov. 20.
NC Sea Grant opened its 2022-2024 proposal process for applied research to address problems affecting coastal ecosystems, economies, and communities. Pre-proposals are due Jan. 11, 2021. More info.
The Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program is accepting applications for two funding opportunities. Letters of Intent should be submitted here by Dec. 9, 2020; full applications are due Feb. 8, 2021.
Miscellaneous
Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference is accepting submissions for oral presentations, posters, symposia, workshops, and trainings for the 2021 conference which will be held from May 10-12, 2021 in Durham, NC. Submissions will be accepted here until Dec. 4.
The Journal, Sustainability is accepting manuscripts for a special issue in “Collaborative Management, Environmental Caretaking and Sustainable Livelihoods.” Papers can be submitted here until May 1, 2021.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research seeks six faculty members and one graduate student per faculty member in the social and behavioral sciences for the 2021-2022 Innovators Program. More information.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to downlist the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened is now open for comment in the Federal Register. Interested parties can submit comments through Dec. 7.