Strategic Cooperation Council Newsletter

 Monday | January 29, 2018

In this edition: 
AGU Open Board Meeting
U.S. Global Change Research Project
Project Update - Kepler Workflow
Critical Zone Observatory Workshop
Publications
Opportunities
COOPEUS STRATEGIC COOPERATION BOARD (SCC) COOP+ CoopEUS OPEN BOARD
The Strategic Cooperation Council, the joint coordinating activity between COOP+ Open Board and COOPEUS SCB, held a web conference on 19 January 2018. During the call, the group continued the conversation started at the December AGU meeting regarding how to define and operationalize the concept of a joint group. A key aspect of the conversation turned on decision-making activities versus advisory activities. The group agreed to operating in a two-track mode for the near-term. One track will be largely focused on COOP+ Open Board activities. The other track will continue to work on defining and operationalizing the Strategic Cooperation Council. The group also decided to convene bi-weekly in the run-up to a proposed meeting at EGU in April. 
Webex Meeting
DATE AND TIME
01/31/18 7:00am - 01/31/18 8:00am

MST
You can dial 173.243.2.68 and enter meeting number (access code): 598 136 342
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I can't make it
U.S. GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROJECT (USGCRP)
Climate Science Special Report (CSSR)

Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4)

This report is an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States. It represents the first of two volumes of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence. The observed increase in carbon emissions over the past 15–20 years has been consistent with higher emissions pathways. In 2014 and 2015, emission growth rates slowed as economic growth became less carbon-intensive. Even if this slowing trend continues, however, it is not yet at a rate that would limit global average temperature change to well below 3.6°F (2°C) above preindustrial levels.

USGCRP, 2017: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I [Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 470 pp, doi: 10.7930/J0J964J6.
PROJECT UPDATE
KEPLER WORKFLOW

Early last November, some of the team met at San Diego Supercomputer Center to discuss the Kepler/RO project and begin implementing web services. There we discussed project direction and created a specific agenda that came out of the meeting. Below are some of the current project updates since
  1. Started out using using Shiny, but limited capabilities for leaflet (map library)
  2. Working to embed the workflow to the Kepler RO. Start with focusing on the Kepler/RO loop in the workflow.
  3. Work to incorporate converted NEON data
  4. Now we have a beta Geoserver exposed externally that can be used to query for GPS stations
  5. End user goal: have possible date range of all the data, overall search for times
Currently, we are working to create a prototype and a proof of concept. We are exploring what works, what doesn’t, what’s scalable and what’s not. Moving forward we plan to show scalability capability and design the scoop of the project with the next phase in mind.

CRITICAL ZONE OBSERVATORY (CZO) WORKSHOP
A Joint CZO / LTER / NEON / ISMC Dialogue
Using Observation Networks to Advance Earth System Understanding:
State of the Art, Data-Model Integration, and Frontiers

Workshop will be held February 13-15, 2018 at NEON HQ in Boulder Colorado

The community-driven rationale for long-term, ‘Big Data’ and ‘networked science’ calls for new questions that span science disciplines and cross time and space scales that have been previously been unavailable. Historically, there are discipline-specific cultural and science constraints in how we as scientists approach our sub-disciplines, and this is reflected in how these networks (NEON, LTER, CZO) focus on their efforts in monitoring and studying the earth system.

We organized a survey to identify pressing gaps in data availability from these networks, in particular for the future development and evaluation of models that represent ESD processes, and drew perspectives for the improvement both in data collection and model integration that guided the focus of this workshop. From this overview of model applications of CZO-LTER observational data, we identified three challenges: 1) improving observational data integration in Earth/ecosystem system modeling, 2) developing coupled models that cross scientific and/or theoretical boundaries, and 3) identifying complementarity and ways to integrate the networks that provide (novel) data. These challenges also guided our perspectives and recommendations to strategically integrate observational network’s capabilities, and provide direction to advance the ESD data-modelling communities. 

Overarching Workshop Goals: through a community-driven process, this workshop will (i) identify the current state-of-the-science to model physical, chemical and ecological processes at and below the Earth’s surface, its strengths, limitations and frontiers; (ii) advance data integration into future model frameworks across networks and sites, thinking specifically about continental scales; and (iii) further build integrative user communities.
PUBLICATIONS
We're extremely proud of relevant publications from the team pertaining to CoopEUS and COOP+ projects. Please see a complete list of related publications on the SCC Publication webpage.

To request a full pdf, please email Melissa Genazzio.
CALL FOR PAPER
In this Focus Collection , the scientific and technological capabilities of current environmental research infrastructures (RIs) will be evaluated for their ability to address global environmental challenges. This call is looking for cooperative and interdisciplinary contributions that put together ideas from ecology, biogeochemistry, Earth sciences and/or social sciences to describe the role of research infrastructures in providing part of the global solution.

Contributors are encouraged to describe fruitful cooperative constellations involving research infrastructures and global networks, academia and industry. In addition, identifying data, technology and social gaps that are hindering global action should also be included to contribute to potential maturation process in regards to the respective global challenge.

Due by April 15, 2018.

SCC Website
Don't forget to visit the SCC Website for more information!
Chris Lenhardt
Strategic Cooperation Council Chair

Henry W. Loescher
Lead PI

Francisco Javier Bonet García
COOP+ H2020
Questions or comments please contact:
Melissa A. Genazzio
SAVI Staff Scientist
mgenazzio@battelleecology.org
CoopEUS is funded by NSF's Science Across Virtual Institutes  (SAVI)