Posted 16 October 2007
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre (MDFRC), Wodonga, Australia
Posted 11 October 2007
Posted 11 October 2007
Posted 9 October 2007
Posted 9 October 2007
Posted 20 September 2007
Posted 4 September 2007
Posted 30 August 2007
Posted 30 August 2007
Posted 28 August 2007
Posted 28 August 2007
Geobiologist
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware
Posted 23 August 2007
Posted 16 August 2007
Posted 15 August 2007
PhD Position in Biogeochemistry
The Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Posted 7 August 2007
Posted 1 August 2007
The AP Environmental Science course is designed to be the equivalent of a one semester, introductory college course in environmental science. The goal of the AP Environmental Science course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand the inter-relationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions to resolving or preventing them.
Posted 31 July 2007
Posted 31 July 2007
Posted 29 June 2007
Posted 27 June 2007
This National Science Foundation sponsored course will be held in Antarctica at the United States' McMurdo Station for one month, starting January 2008. This is an international course, open to all nationalities. Applications are invited from graduate students currently enrolled in a PhD program, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty-level research scientists who are interested in the study of extreme environments and the biology of Antarctic organisms. The course will accommodate up to 20 students. Full scholarships are available for each student accepted into the course to cover the cost of travel from home institution to Antarctica, and room and board while in Antarctica. The emphasis of the Antarctic Biology Course is on integrative biology, with laboratory- and field-based projects focused on adaptations in an extreme polar environment. A diverse teaching faculty will offer students the opportunity to study a wide range of Antarctic organisms (bacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fish), as well as studying several different levels of biological analysis (molecular biology, biomechanics, physiological ecology, species diversity, and evolution). For more information and on-line applications, please see the course website.
Deadline for receipt of completed applications was 15 August 2007.
Posted 25 July 2007
Posted 20 July 2007
Posted 10 July 2007
Ecological Modelling Reopening
Center for Ocean and Ice at the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI)
Posted 29 June 2007
Lake Superior Carbon Cycle Postdoctoral Scholar
Center for Climatic Research and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Posted 15 June 2007
Posted 15 June 2007
Posted 15 June 2007
Posted 11 June 2007
Posted 31 May 2007
Posted 30 May 2007
Posted 24 May 2007
Posted 16 May 2007
Posted 11 May 2007
A position leading to a PhD Degree is available for a highly-motivated student, devoted to productive scholarship, to conduct research on river ecology and biogeochemistry.
The successful candidate will investigate the relationship between habitat heterogeneity (i.e. composition, configuration, and connectivity of surface and subsurface habitats), generated through river restoration, and ecosystem processes (i.e. bacterial transformations of organic compounds on a molecular base, N-transformations). This thesis is part of a large interdisciplinary project on developing coupled ecological and hydrological models in restored river corridors.
M.S. degree required, with a thesis topic that addressed some aspect of riparian or stream ecology/biogeochemistry. Preference will be given to those who have papers published, manuscripts submitted, or demonstrated writing skills. Ability to work cooperatively in an interdisciplinary team effort is essential. Research will involve empirical and experimental field and laboratory work. Basic skills in ecological modeling are considered an advantage. This is a three-year position with a starting salary of about 42,000 Swiss Francs per year and a planned starting date 1 January 2008. To apply, please send a CV, transcripts, a brief description of your M.S. research and scientific interests, and the names (address/phone/e-mail) of three references electronically to: Prof. Dr. Klement Tockner, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag/ETHZ, Box 611, 8600, Duebendorf, Switzerland, E-mail:
or Dr. Edith Durisch-Kaiser, Inst. of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETHZ, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland, E-mail: .
Posted 24 April 2007
The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, two organizations of the National Academies, have released their latest publication on the field of Geology and Health, a book entitled, "Earth Materials and Health: Research Priorities for Earth Science and Public Health." It is a report in response to a request by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (see Summary). For copies of the report or to purchase the book in its entirety, visit the National Academies Press website.
Posted 10 March 2007
On behalf of ESA’s Biogeosciences Section, we are pleased to announce the creation of two new awards to be first given at the 2007 ESA/SER Meetings in San Jose, and hopefully each year thereafter. It is our belief that two of the most important roles that the ESA Biogeosciences section can play are to promote graduate student and postdoctoral researchers in our field, and to highlight our best science. Thus, these new awards seek to do both. Each award will be for the first author of a notable paper in biogeosciences that is published between January 2006 and May 2007. One will be for a current graduate student (must still be in graduate school in August of 2007), and one will be for a postdoctoral scientist who received his or her degree in or after August of 2004. The winner of each award will receive a modest cash prize and formal recognition by ESA.
Nominees should be members of ESA (still time to join!), but need not be members of the Biogeosciences section. Nominations for each award should include the following, and self-nominations are allowed:
1. The paper’s citation, and a pdf if possible
2. The first author’s current contact information
3. A statement of eligibility (e.g. current grad student, or postdoc <3yrs from Ph.D.)
4. A short letter in support of the nomination from a colleague or advisor (sent separately from above materials unless also submitting the nomination itself)
We note that while self-nominations are entirely appropriate, the above process does not require that a potential awardee be a part of the process. This, in part, is why we are asking for a statement in support of the nomination from a colleague or advisor.
Nominations must be received by 31 May 2007, and should be sent jointly to Alan Townsend and Emily Bernhardt. A panel of scientists representing a broad array of disciplines within the biogeosciences will then evaluate the submissions and decide upon the winning entries. Award winners will be notified in advance of the San Jose meeting, and the awards will be announced to at the annual section mixer on Wednesday 8 August . Winners need not be present, but we hope they will be! All nominated papers will be listed on the ESA Biogeosciences web site as a way to begin building a community resource of notable papers by junior scientists. Please direct any questions to either Alan or Emily, and please help contribute to the nomination process so that we can have an excellent and diverse pool of entries to consider. Finally, if you are not a section member, please consider joining, and we hope to see you in San Jose.
Sincerely,
Alan Townsend and Emily Bernhardt
Chair and Secretary, ESA Biogeosciences Section
The BART program will be conducting several short courses at The University of Michigan’s Biological Station (UMBS) this summer. Courses include: Essentials in Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions, Flux Measurement Fundamentals, Methods in Plant Physiological Ecology for Climate Change Research, and Carbon Cycle Modeling. These courses are geared towards graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and scientists interested in climate change research and biosphere-atmosphere interactions. For more information, please visit the BART website.
Contact: bartumbs@umich.edu
27, 28, February and 1 March 2007
The USGS is hosting the 2nd Earth Science and Public Health Meeting 27, 28 February and 1 March at the National Center in Reston. This will be a forum to foster collaboration between the Public Health and Earth Science Communities, which can lead to solutions for existing and emerging environmental health problems. The intended audience is organizations and individuals interested in environmental and earth science factors affecting human health. This meeting is designed to provide a broad forum for discussion, bringing together a variety of interested parties, including policy makers, scientists, resource managers, Congressional staffers, Federal and State government, and non-governmental organizations.
Overall, the meeting will be set up along six thematic areas: (1) potential contaminants and pathogens in air, dusts, and soils; (2) drinking water exposure to chemical and pathogenic contaminants; (3) human consumption of bioaccumulative contaminants; (4) pathogen exposure through recreational waters; (5) vector-borne and zoonotic (animal to human) diseases; and (6) animals as sentinels of human health, along which the USGS public health research is aligned.
The first day of the meeting - Tuesday, 27 February - is an overview day. Invited are a variety of people including DOI, Congressional staffers, and managers from public health organizations, as well as the scientists attending the entire meeting. During this day, we will have a poster session centered around the six topical sessions listed above. The following two days will consist of talks, posters, and break out sessions organized around the six topical sessions.
Registration is free.
12-14 March 2007
A special session on Health and Geology in the Northeast is being organized for the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Section, GSA. This session will focus on the relationship between geological factors (both natural and anthropogenic) and disease, pathology and death in modern and fossil humans, animals and plants. This is an eclectic field and the intent of the session is to bring together researchers with various backgrounds and interests in order to facilitate discussion of the interrelationships between geology and health. This session is co-sponsored by GSA Geology and Health Division.
Meeting Site: University of New Hampshire
Deadlines: Registration deadlines have passed.
Contact: Catherine Skinner, Yale University; Nelson Eby, University of Massachusetts-Lowell
27-30 March 2007
EarthScope will hold its 2007 National Meeting in Monterey, California 27-30 March 2007 at the Portola Plaza Hotel. This conference is designed to emphasize integrated, multi-disciplinary science; present the latest results from EarthScope; enhance the role of young scientists in EarthScope research; and examine the future of EarthScope. The meeting will include mini-courses, workshops, and a field trip on Tuesday, and technical and poster sessions on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. There will also be a reception event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Wednesday evening.
Deadlines: Registration deadlines have passed.
Summer 2007
The University of Michigan’s Biological Station (UMBS) offers a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program with a focus on biosphere-atmosphere studies. The eight week program provides juniors and seniors with a $4,000 stipend and room and board at the Biological Station. More information can be found at the UMBS website.
Application Deadline has passed.
Contact: bartumbs@umich.edu
Summer 2007
This program is an exciting opportunity for doctoral students interested in atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, biology, chemistry, forestry, and the like. The Biosphere-Atmosphere Research and Training (BART) Program is an NSF-IGERT program for doctoral students across the country wishing to study at the interface of disciplines. BART is an innovative, multi-institutional project designed to provide doctoral students with enhanced interdisciplinary training and research skills required for assuming leadership roles in the emerging field of biosphere-atmosphere interactions.
Based at the University of Michigan, BART is a fellowship opportunity for students enrolled in doctoral programs in the U.S. Fellows participate in a nine-week immersion experience for two summers at the University of Michigan’s Biological Station (UMBS) in Pellston, MI, during which they engage in educational and research activities with the guidance of an atmospheric mentor and biospheric mentor. BART Fellows receive a one-year fellowship (renewable for a 2nd year based upon satisfactory progress) that includes a $30,000 annual stipend, funds to assist in travel to professional conferences, and coverage of lodging and researcher fees while at UMBS. In addition, the BART program negotiates coverage of tuition with the Fellow’s home institution.
The fundamental goal of BART is to create a cadre of young scientists who are uniquely positioned to generate novel and effective approaches to solving many of the crucial and complex environmental issues of the 21st century. We believe the best way to accomplish this goal is to train a core group of students with a thorough understanding of both biospheric and atmospheric processes and with the scientific and networking skills necessary for establishing collaborations with each other and with those they will draw into the study of biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Please visit the BART website to learn more about this program.
Application Deadline: Deadline has passed.
Contact: bartumbs@umich.edu
25 June -3 August 2007
Microbial Oceanography: Genomes to Biomes is a laboratory-field training course at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. The 2007 summer course is sponsored by Agouron Institute, the University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE). The 2007 summer course is offered to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars with interests in marine microbiology and biological oceanography. Interested applicants should visit the 2007 summer course website.
Application Deadline: 16 March 2007
Sponsored by the Mineralogical Society and the Environmental Mineralogy Group, this one-day course is being run straight after the Frontiers in Mineral Sciences 2007 conference. The course is designed primarily for postgraduate students starting out in the field of Geomicrobiology in its broadest sense, but will also be open to all researchers in the field. International students may also apply. This course aims to introduce the principles, capabilities and limitations of the techniques available to the geomicrobiologist. The course will cover: 1. Overview of geomicrobiology; 2. Microbial isolation, culturing, metabolic analysis and enumeration; 3. Molecular geomicrobiology; 4. Imaging and analytical methods at the micro and nano scale; 5. Isotopic techniques; 6. Modelling techniques; 7. Spectroscopic methods.
Meeting Site:Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK
Deadlines: Registration deadline has passed.
Course tutors: Dr. Liane G. Benning, Prof. Simon Bottrell, Prof. Geoffrey Gadd, Prof. Ian Head, Prof. Jonathan Lloyd, Dr. Bryne Ngwenya, Dr. Vernon Phoenix, Prof. Andrew Weightman
Contact: Bryne Ngwenya, Edinburgh University, E-mail:
, Vernon Phoenix, Glasgow University, E-mail:
, Liane Benning, Leeds University, E-mail:
This course at the University of California, Irvine will expose students and postdocs to the uses of radiocarbon in ecology and earth system science, especially in relation to ecosystem and global carbon cycling. The course design is modeled after the stable isotope class at the University of Utah. There will be morning lectures on the theory of radiocarbon by various instructors, followed by laboratory experience with processing and analyzing samples using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry technology in the afternoon. We seek participants with broad interests in ecology and earth system science who are planning on, or are currently, using radiocarbon techniques as part of their research, and wish to expand their understanding of this important and useful tool. The application form for the class can be downloaded from the course website. Please email the completed application to the course organizers. Students will be responsible for their own transportation costs to and from UCI, and for their own food and lodging costs in on-campus shared apartments. Housing reservations will be handled by the course organizers. In addition, there is a lab fee of $500. You can find additional information about course logistics and an overview on the course website.
Course Organizers: Ted Schuur and Susan Trumbore
The Cardiff School of Earth Ocean and Planetary Sciences is offering a new one year MSc course in Geobiology.
Description
The course consists of two stages, each 6 months in duration; the first stage is a taught course and the second stage is a research project. A written Dissertation will be submitted at the conclusion of the year. Course content will include field excursion, geobiology frontiers, biodiversity and mass extinction, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, Earth’s early biosphere, geomicrobiology, and terrestrialization. The course commences in September, 2007.
Candidates
Applicants with first degrees in Earth, Environmental, or Biological Sciences will find this course appealing. The course is designed for students planning to pursue PhD study as well as those students completing their study with an MSc in Geobiology.
2006
30 May 2006, DFG Establishes the First Exploratories in Germany -- In order to promote ecological research in Germany, the DFG has announced the establishment of the first three large-scale research platforms, so-called biodiversity exploratories, in Germany. The main aim of this research is to study the relationship between changes in biodiversity and the intensity of land use, and the consequences of these changes on processes within the ecosystem. The exploratories will be located in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve (Brandenburg), the Hainich National Park (Thuringia) and in the designated Schwäbische Alb Biosphere Reserve (Baden-Württemberg). The DFG will provide approximately 8 million euros to the project for an initial funding period of three years. The exploratories are intended to concentrate the research activities of various ecological disciplines and to verify and expand upon the findings of model experiments on the field scale. The project primarily combines research into biodiversity and ecosystems, thus making it possible to investigate issues relating to the functional significance of the diversity of species and communities in the context of their original environment. The exploratories being established in Germany are similar to current projects in the USA and elsewhere in Europe in terms of the range of topics they cover, but differ significantly in their highly experimental approach. Each of the planned exploratories will consist of 1000 research areas covering a total area of 100 square kilometres. One hundred of these areas in each exploratory will be used for high intensity research and will be supplemented by experiment areas. In forested territory these areas are at least 30 by 30 metres, and in grassland they are at least 4 by 4 metres in size. The areas are equipped with measuring devices designed to record as much data about the ecosystem functions as possible. They will be distributed between grassland and woodland in such a way as to cover a broad a range of land use scenarios, ranging from semi-natural to intensively used land. Although the experiments will initially concentrate on selected groups of species and processes in the ecosystem, it is planned that further experiments will be added over the course of the project. It is hoped that in future it will be possible to study biodiversity functions in a coordinated manner on the basis of the data obtained in the exploratories.
San Diego, CA, January 17, 2006 -- Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) will build a state-of-the-art computational resource and develop software tools to decipher the genetic code of communities of microbial life in the world's oceans. The new resource will help scientists understand how microbes function in their natural ecosystems, enable studies on the effect humans are having on the environment, as well as permit insight into the evolution of life on Earth. The UCSD Division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) will lead the project in partnership with J. Craig Venter Institute (Venter Institute) in Rockville, MD, and UCSD's Center for Earth Observations and Applications (CEOA) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
For more information please visit: http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/release.php?id=766
Dear Colleague,
We wish to draw your attention to the session:
"BG6.02: Ocean acidification: chemistry, paleo-analogues, response of organisms and ecosystems, and modelling" to be held at the EGU meeting, Vienna, Austria, 02-07 April 2005. We encourage submissions to this session from a broad geographic, thematic and instrumental range. The absolute abstract deadline is 13 January 2006.
Outline:
The aim of this session is to review recent data on the chemical, biological, and geological consequences of rising atmospheric CO2 and resulting ocean acidification. Conceptual, experimental and modelling contributions are welcome and all time scales will be considered.
Conveners:
Jean-Pierre Gattuso (mailto:gattuso@obs-vlfr.fr)
Joanie Kleypas (mailto:kleypas@ucar.edu)
Jim Orr (mailto:James.Orr@cea.fr)
Ulf Riebesell (mailto:uriebesell@ifm-geomar.de)
Further information:
Contributions may be oral or poster, but the programme organizers aim to have 70% or more of the presentations as posters. Authors should indicate their preference, but the conveners and organizers may allocate contributions to either oral or poster in order to reach the desired oral:poster ratio. Further information is available from the meeting web site at http://meetings.copernicus.org/egu2006/.
Important deadlines:
Deadline for Support Applications: 09 December 2005
Deadline for Receipt of Abstracts: 13 January 2006
Deadlines for Pre-Registration: 10 March 2006
Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Joanie Kleypas, Jim Orr and Ulf Riebesell
2005
Geobiology is an exciting and rapidly developing research discipline that opens new perspectives in understanding Earth as a system. To determine and to exploit its possibilities, this promising scientific field will benefit from a discussion of its definition as a research discipline, its objectives, and its methodological approaches. Such a spirited discussion is the goal of the book "Geobiology: Objectives, Concepts, Perspectives". Geobiology touches various subdisciplines of geology and biology in many ways. The book will serve biogeochemists, paleontologists, biomineralogists, microbiologists and many others as a forum to determine future directions of geobiological research.
The book includes a section on the concept of geobiological studies, which combines the parent disciplines biology and geology. Several case studies describe geobiological investigations that serve to understand Earth in the present and past. The case studies give an overview of the general understanding of geobiology and lead the reader towards the current hot topics in this rising scientific discipline.
Audience:
biogeochemists, paleontologists, biomineralogists, and microbiologists.
Deadline: 4:30 p.m., E.D.T., July 14, 2005.
URL: http://www.science.doe.gov/ober/2006SeqNominations.pdf
Summary: This Federal Register notice seeks the input and nominations of interested parties for candidate microbes, microbial consortia, and 250Mb-or-less-sized organisms for draft genomic sequencing in support of Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) programs, among them, the Genomics: GTL Program, the Climate Change Research Program, the Terrestrial Carbon Processes Program, the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR) Program, the Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP), the Ocean Science Program, and the Program for Ecosystem Research. Additional programs of relevance include the Energy Biosciences, and Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology Programs in the Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Nominated candidates should be relevant to DOE mission needs, e.g., organisms involved in environmental processes, including waste remediation, carbon management, and energy production. This announcement is not an offer of direct financial support for research on these organisms. Those nominations selected will result in the DNA sequence of selected organisms being determined at a draft level (6-8 X coverage) at the DOE Production Genomics Facility (PGF) at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), (http://www.jgi.doe.gov). A subset of the selected organisms may be identified for sequence finishing. This announcement is designed to assist DOE in determining and prioritizing a list of microbes, microbial consortia, or modest-genome sized (not more than 250Mb) organisms (including eukaryotes) that address DOE mission needs. Following merit review, and a determination of satisfactory programmatic relevance, draft sequencing will be carried out at the PGF.
For more information, contact: Dr. Daniel W. Drell, SC-72, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290, phone: (301) 903-4742. The full text of this notice is available via the Internet using the following Web site address: http://microbialgenome.org/.
Nominations should be sent to: Dr. Daniel W. Drell, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, SC-72, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290; e-mail is acceptable and encouraged for submitting nominations using the following addresses: kim.laing (at) science.doe.gov and daniel.drell (at) science.doe.gov. It is anticipated that review will be completed early in the fall of 2005 with draft sequencing at the DOE PGF to commence early in 2006, conditional upon the provision of high quality DNA.
The Microbial Genomics Venture Fund is being established to help support large scale sequencing components of proposals from other programs that contribute significantly to the goals of the Microbial Genome Sequencing Program (MGSP) as stated in the program announcement (see below). Proposal or supplement requests recommended for funding in the current fiscal year (Fy05) will be considered. Support will be handled as joint funding between the MGSP and the primary program for each selected project.
Please note the following guidelines for proposal nomination:
* Proposals must clearly meet the goals of the MGSP, as articulated in the Program announcement: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05512/nsf05512.htm
* The Venture Fund will provide support for the large scale sequencing components of projects (including library construction, sequencing, assembly and annotation) involving prokaryotic or eukaryotic microorganisms as defined in the program announcement or for the informatics analysis or other tools for the comparison of large genomic databases resulting from these sequences.
* The costs of the sequencing components should be competitive and in line with the stated industry standards of $1 per lane or $0.10 per finished base. Any costs in excess of this limit should be fully justified by the applicants of the proposal.
* Proposals must be reviewed and recommended for support from FY05 funds.
* Eligible projects include proposals and supplements but not continuing grant increments.
* Venture funds will be committed only for the current fiscal year.
The MGSP may spend approximately $1,000,000 in Venture Funds in FY05. Proposal nominations will be considered any time during the year, up until May 31, 2005 or until Venture Funds are expended. The only exception to this will be proposals reviewed in panels meeting after May 31, 2005. In these instances requests should be made no later than June 30, 2005 or as soon as possible after the panel has meet and decisions have been made. Nominations of appropriate proposals should be submitted to Christina Kennedy (BIO/MCB, Rm 655). The nominations should include:
* Proposal number, PI name, and title of proposal
* Project Summary
* Funding recommendation of the submitting program
* Description of the sequencing component of the funding recommendation
* The PIs budget justification for this component of the proposal.
* A brief justification by the submitting Program Director for the nomination
* A requested venture fund amount.
The justification should include a clear statement of how the proposed research fits within the goals of the MGSP.
The funding decision will be made by the MGSP Program Directors Working Group and will be based on adherence to the Venture Fund guidelines. We will make every effort to return our decisions as quickly as possible. Please contact Christina Kennedy (ext 7582) if you have any questions about the feasibility of your recommended proposal for Venture Fund consideration or if you would like additional information.
Microbial Genome Sequencing Working Group:
Christina Kennedy, Patrick Dennis, Mark Farmer, Matthew Kane
Many of the challenges we face in Earth system science require not only the
integration of complex physical processes into climate system models (e.g.,
the Community Climate System Model, CCSM, www.ccsm.ucar.edu) but coupling
biogeochemistry and chemistry with climate. Additionally, the global
research community will require components that allow interactions between
policy and decision making with environmental and climate considerations.
The complexity of full biophysical models of Earth's system requires
considerable computational expense and makes deconvolution to understand the
underlying processes difficult. Accordingly, intermediate complexity and simple models are tools that are
valuable toward understanding the more complex models and the real system
they attempt to represent. As a step towards fuller integration of Earth system science, IGBP/AIMES
are planning an international postdoctoral scientist network for Earth
system science. This network will serve as a mechanism for promoting the
development of the next generation of scientists to be increasingly
cross-cutting as will be required by the future of Earth system
modeling. An important element will be including participants from
developing countries to both contribute their expertise in quickly changing
and highly vulnerable environments, as well as to build the human resources
in important regions of the globe for future science projects.
To inaugurate the network we plan a first workshop in June, 2005. The
workshop agenda will include talks from one senior person and several
postdoctoral scientists on two topics:
Topic 1: The end of nature? Human-Earth systems interactions
Topic 2: Is there a scenario in the class? Different views of the future
(Multi-scaled approaches to Earth system modeling).
All participants will be invited to give a talk or present a poster
during the workshop. More information is available at:
www.asp.ucar.edu/ess.html.
Applications:
Applications should be received by March 15, 2005, and include a CV,
statement of research interests (1 page), statement of how the postdoctoral
network can best serve the postdoctoral community (1 page), and a
recommendation letter. We plan to obtain sufficient funding to support 50
postdoctoral scientists to attend, but please indicate in your application
if you can only attend if you receive full support.
Please note: The preferred format of the submitted documents is pdf
(PostScript, MS Word, and ASCII text also accepted). Send applications
to: asp-apply@asp.ucar.edu with the subject "ESS Workshop."
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/esp2/prog.htm
A. Hope Jahren, an associate professor in The Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University, will be awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal on December 7, 2005, at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in San Francisco. For the full article click here.
Although it has been proposed that a significant part of Earth's living biomass is in the deep biosphere, the impact of these ecosystems on CHONS cycles is not understood. Papers on deep biosphere research from cellular to global scale are welcomed in this session designed to address deep biosphere research in its larger context of earth systems science. Abstracts deadline is 26th of April 2005.
For more information please go to:
http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/esp2/prog.htm
The Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) priority area fosters breakthroughs in understanding the dynamics of human action and development, as well as knowledge about organizational, cultural, and societal adaptation and change. HSD aims to increase our collective ability to (1) anticipate the complex consequences of change; (2) understand the dynamics of human and social behavior at all levels, including that of the human mind; (3) understand the cognitive and social structures that create, define, and result from change; and (4) manage profound or rapid change, and make decisions in the face of changing risks and uncertainty. Accomplishing these goals requires multidisciplinary research teams and comprehensive, interdisciplinary approaches across the sciences, engineering, education, and humanities, as appropriate.
The FY 2005 competition will include three emphasis areas (Agents of Change; Dynamics of Human Behavior; and Decision Making, Risk and Uncertainty). Support will be provided for Full Research projects and for shorter-term Exploratory Research and HSD Research Community Development projects.
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
Keith N Crank, Competition Coordinator, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, Office of the Assistant Director, Room 905, telephone: 703-292-4880, email: kcrank@nsf.gov
Deadlines for Exploratory Research Proposals - Research Community Development Proposals:February 9, 2005. Full Research Proposals:
February 23, 2005 For more information see the NSF Web site.
2004
October, 2004 - The Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis (CEKA) is an initiative to catalyze a deeper understanding of molecular issues related to environmental chemical kinetics, especially as related to geochemical cycling of elements, fate and transport of contaminants, and carbon sequestration within the critical zone. The Center will integrate a collaborative community of students, scientists, and engineers drawn from academia, government, and industry to study environmental chemical kinetics and scaling issues in a coherent and integrative framework wherein experimental and theoretical advances can be accomplished with an eye toward better understanding of dynamic natural systems. CEKA will incorporate post-doctoral research, graduate and undergraduate training, and public outreach components. Information regarding research positions, graduate fellowships and summer internships can be found on the website, www.ceka.psu.edu. CEKA is a joint research and education initiative of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Environmental Molecular Science Institute program, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Penn State.
September, 2004 - PASADENA, Calif.--Geobiologists are announcing today their first major success in using a novel method of "growing" bacteria-infested rocks in order to study early life forms. The research could be a significant tool for use in better understanding the history of life on Earth, and perhaps could also be useful in astrobiology.
Reporting in the August 23 edition of the journal Geology, California Institute of Technology geobiology graduate student Tanja Bosak and her coauthors describe their success in growing calcite crusts in the presence and absence of a certain bacterium in order to show that tiny pores found in such rocks can be definitively attributed to microbial presence. Micropores have long been known to exist in certain types of carbonate rocks that built up in the oceans millions of years ago, but researchers have never been able to say much more than that the pores were likely caused by microbes.
The new results show that there is a definite link between microbes and micropores.
The paper is titled "Micron-scale porosity as a biosignature in carbonate crusts," and is available online at www.gsajournals.org/.
Eleven papers have been or still are discussed on the publication's Web site under "Biogeosciences Discussions".
July, 2004 - Announcing the release of a new book that is dedicated to emphasis of transport processes in an ecological context, but much of which is of biogeochemical significance.
This book provides a new perspective on how events or conditions in environmental space have influences at other places in that space. In the first half of the book, the authors introduce the general question of propagation of ecological influences through environmental space (terrestrial, aquatic and aerial), then lay out a system for its analysis by organization into four components: initiating events or conditions, vectors conducting influences over space, entities that are transported, and the consequences of these propagation processes. Methods of representing environmental heterogeneity and for modeling transport processes are discussed in the context of such propagations. In the second half of the book, properties of eight general transport vectors and examples of transport models in realistic ecological situations are explained. For each of the vectors, a simulation model is provided on a CD included with the book (users require access to ArcView GIS software).
16 July, 2004 -
We are pleased to announce a new organizational structure for the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR). For the past 15 years, EAR has been organized in two Sections: 1) the Research Grants Section, providing support for most of the core research programs, and 2) the Special Projects Section, which includes crosscutting programs and a core research program. This two-Section structure is a mixture of core research and Division-wide infrastructure programs. The designations, Research Grants Section and Special Projects Section, no longer reflect the structure and needs of the Earth Sciences community, nor the actual activities within the Sections.
The Division of Earth Sciences will be realigned in two Sections:
Surface Earth Processes Section (SEP): will consist of the programs: Hydrologic Sciences (HS), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology (SGP), Geobiology and Environmental Geochemistry (GEG), and Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics (GLD). The current budget for the SEP section totals approximately $50M per year. The new SEP Section will support research on processes occurring at or near the Earth's surface, studies of the stratigraphic record and paleobiology, and crosscutting studies on education and human interactions with the geosphere.
Deep Earth Processes Section (DEP): will consist of the programs: Geophysics (PH), Tectonics (TE), Petrology and Geochemistry (CH), Continental Dynamics (CD), Instrumentation and Facilities (IF), and EarthScope (ES). The current budget for the DEP section totals approximately $90M per year. The DEP Section will support research on the Earth's crust, mantle, and core, crosscutting programs for the support of Earth Science instrumentation and facilities, and the EarthScope facility and associated science and education activities.
The new structure redistributes workload among the Sections and Programs to provide for more efficient and balanced operation within the EAR Division and better reflects the natural organization of the Earth Sciences. It combines the programs into logical groups by research interests and function, and brings together programs with similar research objectives. The new organization will provide an impetus for more cross-program integration and sponsorship of interdisciplinary research projects; closely aligned programs within sections will foster interaction and allow more flexibility of resource management at the section level.
This organization will provide a rational Section-level base for the development of our large, visible and complex programs, such as EarthScope, GeoInformatics, and the EAR facilities and will continue to provide a firm base to efficiently serve the individual investigator.
In addition to the realignment at the Section level, we have also reorganized the Geology and Paleontology (GE) Program into a more efficient 3-program structure. It has long been recognized that the GE Program covers an extremely wide range of subdisciplines and no longer reflects the evolving science structure of the Earth Sciences community. Therefore, the GE Program has been reorganized into three disciplinary Programs:
Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology (SGP) will support studies of: (1) life and ecology in past geologic time based on fossil plants, animals, and microbes; (2) stratified rocks and interpretation of the historical information they contain; (3) the science of dating and measuring the time sequence of events of the Earth's past; and (4) the production, transport and deposition of physical and chemical sediments. SGP especially encourages integrative studies at the national and international levels that seek to link traditional subdisciplines, such as paleoclimatology, paleobiogeography, and paleoenvironmental and paleoecologic reconstructions.
Geobiology and Environmental Geochemistry (GEG) will support studies focused on: (1) interactions between biological and geological processes; (2) furthering understanding of the geologic processes that shape the biosphere; (3) the role of biological agents in geophysical and geochemical processes; (4) processes, rates, and mechanisms of inorganic and organic geochemical phenomena, at, or in proximity to, the Earth's surface, including the soil sciences; (5) development of tools, methods, and models for geobiological research, and (6) understanding geochemical phenomena at the broad spectrum of environmental interfaces ranging from planetary and regional to mineral-surface and supramolecular scales. GEG facilitates cross-disciplinary efforts to harness new bioanalytical tools--such as those emerging from molecular biology--in the study of the terrestrial environment.
Geomorphology and Land Use Dynamics (GLD) will support studies of: (1) the dynamic processes that produce landforms and the relationship to atmospheric and hydrologic agents and their underlying structures; (2) the history of geologic changes recorded in surface features; (3) airborne and space borne imaging of the landscape; (4) the study of sustainable landscapes and anthropogenically or naturally modified landscapes, and (5) changes in land uses and land covers that are critical to ecosystem functioning, services, and human welfare. GLD includes computer analysis of remote sensing (airborne, satellite) data using pattern recognition tools. This is a fast-growing area of research because of its applications to ecological, hydrological and social systems (including national security applications).
New avenues of research are fast emerging in the Earth Sciences and EAR must be prepared to cope with increasing demand of many exciting activities. The Division has expanded its research efforts in natural hazards, sustainability science, environmental research, and cyberinfrastructure has become central for forefront research throughout the Earth Sciences. The deployment of the EarthScope facility, the rapid evolution of the water science community, increased management oversight needs for our facilities and centers, and the increased emphasis on geobiologic activities and human dynamics in the Earth sciences have all introduced special challenges for Division management. We are confident that this new alignment of the Division of Earth Sciences will provide a firm base for more effective management of research and education within the Earth Sciences community.
A revised Program Announcement will soon be published to reflect EAR's new organization. We anticipate that the effective date for the new EAR organizational structure will be August 1, 2004.
Sincerely,
Herman B. Zimmerman
Director, Division of Earth Sciences
The goal of this program is to encourage and foster interactions among scientists to create new research directions or advance a field. Innovative ideas for implementing novel networking strategies are especially encouraged. Groups of investigators will be supported to communicate and coordinate their research, training and educational activities across disciplinary, organizational, institutional, and geographical boundaries. The proposed networking activities should have a theme as a focus of its collaboration. The focus could be on a broad research question, a specific group of organisms, or particular technologies or approaches.
Dr.Chris L Greer, Chair, Research Coordination Networks Working Group, Division of Biological Infrastructure, Room 615, telephone: (703) 292-8470, fax: (703) 292-9063, email: biorcn@nsf.gov
