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August 2020

LTER Network News is a forum for sharing news and activities from across the LTER Network. This is our water cooler. If you have personnel changes, new grants, or cross-Network activities that might interest your LTER colleagues, please send them along to weiss@nceas.ucsb.edu.

Announcements

2020 Request for Proposals: LTER Synthesis Working Groups. The LTER Network Office has announced a new request for synthesis working group proposals. The groups support scientific collaboration across and beyond LTER sites using LTER and other datasets. In the 2020 competition, the LNO expects to award 2-4 synthesis working groups at a funding level of up to $55,000 per year for up to two years. Proposals are due October 14, 2020, 5:00 p.m. PDT.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Resource of the Month

As the reinvigorated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee expands network-wide activities, we’ll be highlighting a new diversity resource in this space each month. Learn more at the DEI resources page.

Safe Fieldwork Strategies for At-Risk Individuals – Certain individuals are at higher risk for conflict and violence when they are in the field due to prejudice against their race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, and/or religion. This paper provides strategies for acknowledging and reducing the risk of conflict, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment, and maintaining the safety of researchers in the field.

LTER Graduate Student Spotlight

This month we feature a Q&A with Brian Kim, Chair of the LTER graduate student committee and a PhD student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. He researches benthic biogeochemistry at the Beaufort Lagoon LTER in Alaska, and has helped organize a number of community-building and professional development events for LTER grad students.

Around the Network

Congratulations to David Tilman of Cedar Creek Ecosystem LTER who was awarded the prestigious 2020 Blue Planet Prize for his work on the “diet-environment-health trilemma” and his advocacy for changes in agriculture and consumption.

Congratulations to Emeritus McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER PI Berry Lyons, who was awarded the 2020 SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

Florida Coastal Everglades LTER supported efforts to help create the first map showing global mangrove habitats between 2000 and 2016 – a valuable tool to aid conservation efforts for these vital coastline defenders. Liza Goldberg, a NASA Goddard intern and freshman at Stanford University, was one of the map developers and created a website to explore the data.

The Baltimore Ecosystem Study LTER’s Integrating Chemistry and Earth Science (ICE) was featured in the CADRE Spotlight on Analyzing & Interpreting Data. The ICE Project created 3-D Earth science infused chemistry units and subsequent assessments that bring together lab and field investigations and exploration of local data sets to support teaching and learning about compelling phenomena in the Baltimore environment.

Scott Simon of Santa Barbara Coastal LTER ran a 3-day, remote, teacher professional development workshop this summer with approximately 25 local teachers, who also received a copy of The Golden Forest, the SBC LTER children’s book. The LTER education team also runs a VirtualREEF YouTube Channel which contains videos about both the SBC and Moorea Coral Reef LTERs and related topics.

Cedar Creek LTER has been hosting monthly Lunch with a Scientist live broadcasts to offer remote education opportunities on topics including bison, fungi, and bees. They also host a Cedar Creek Ecology book club that gathers on zoom, and a video series on FlipGrid.

Several Hubbard Brook LTER researchers held a Virtual Climate Change Roundtable with New Hampshire Representative Annie Kuster to discuss the latest research and findings on climate change in the region.

Save the Dates

National Diversity in STEM Conference, October 22-24 2020, hosted by the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

The Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union is scheduled for December 7-11 2020, as a mainly virtual meeting with the theme “Shaping the Future of Science.”

Recent Press

Papers of Interest

Funding Opportunities

Jobs and Fellowships

Committees and Interest Groups

Feeling a little isolated under COVID19? It is only by drawing on the energy and expertise of LTER participants that the Network can be relevant to your needs. Visit the LTER committees page to learn what’s happening and how to get involved.

Twitter Pics of the Month

We love welcoming new people and projects to our LTER sites, and are extra excited when we folks share about it on Twitter. Keep those Tweets coming and tag us at @USLTER so we don’t miss any!