In May and June, the Science Update Newsletter covers: laboratory findings, by Santa Barbara Coastal LTER and other researchers, that show the sensitivity of sea urchin fertilization success to ocean acidification, published in Ecology and Evolution; public preferences of cultural ecosystem services, amassed by researchers at Coweeta LTER; from Luquillo LTER, long-term patterns of arthropod abundance… Read more »
Antarctica Is Practically Defined by Ice. What Happens When It Melts? For prepared observers, a single season of melting offers clues to the future of the southern continent. October 13, 2016—A single season of intense melting buffeted Antarctica in 2001-2002. It yielded changes that ranged from speeding up microbial food webs to shifting penguin populations…. Read more »
A historian travels back a century into the cold, windblown Antarctic, landing at the edge of McMurdo Sound. A group of explorers recently returned to the coast recount their trip into a series of “curious” dry valleys, where the pervasive snow and ice encountered elsewhere on the continent is almost entirely absent. Forced to abandon… Read more »
View the September issue of LTER Science Update.
The United Nations estimates that 33% of global soils are moderately to severely degraded, and that given average rates of erosion, topsoil could be gone in 60 years. In response, the UN General Assembly declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. Their goal: to take a decidedly prosaic topic — soil health — and make… Read more »
From August 7 to August 12, the Ecological Society of America will hold its annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This year’s theme, “Novel Ecosystems in the Anthropocene,” will build on discussions initiated during last year’s centennial meeting, “Ecological Science at the Frontier.” Human influence now represents the dominant influence on ecosystems worldwide– and a… Read more »
Breakout sessions from the Science Council meetings often evolve into synthesis working groups. The 2016 meeting was no exception, with a lively and challenging series of discussions resulting in six potential synthesis groups. If any of the descriptions below pique your interest, please follow up with the designated lead scientist or correspondent. How Do Abiotic Factors… Read more »
In January, as part of its mission to enhance collaboration across the LTER network, the NCO called for Synthesis Working Group proposals. The request elicited 24 highly competitive proposals that together harnessed data from all 24 LTER sites. Selection was based on scientific merit, contribution to LTER Network science, and use of novel approaches. We… Read more »
OCTOBER 2, 2012 BOULDER, COLORADO – Where does our water come from and how does climate change affect its future availability? In the arid West, mountain snowpack holds the answers to these and other questions. Mark Williams, professor of geography and fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), is an expert in… Read more »
The Niwot Ridge (NWT) Long Term Ecological Research program is sponsoring a new award project in the Himalayas. The Partnership for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) is a new collaborative venture between the USAID and the National Science Foundation (NSF), administered by the National Academy of Sciences. Titled “Establishing a collaborative assessment of the impacts… Read more »
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