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The Second Death of Long-Submerged Shipwrecks
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Credit: Robert Schwemmer, CINMS, NOAA/CC-by 2.0 |
Climate change is coming for underwater archaeological sites. For years, archaeologists have been concerned with what climate change (e.g., sea level rise) might do to archeological sites. Climate-related threats facing submerged sites include sea level rise, storm surges, violent weather (e.g., hurricanes), changes in ocean temperature and acidity. "One way to get a handle on all of these dangers is to track them. That can be tricky, because archaeologists and rangers don't always stop by to regularly check in on watery wrecks as easily as they do terrestrial sites, says
Sara Ayers-Rigsby, director of the southwest and southeast branches of the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), a project based out of the division of archaeology and anthropology at the University of West Florida and Florida Atlantic University.
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UF Researchers Make New Strides in Predicting Dengue Fever Outbreaks
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Image credit: C. Lippi.
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Medical geography researchers from the University of Florida recently participated in a study that successfully predicted dengue fever outbreaks on the Caribbean island of Barbados, using climate data. The paper is part of a special issue ofPLOS MEDICINE, focusing on the impacts of climate change on health, and is a result of an unprecedented collaborative project, funded by USAID to address climate driven health impacts in the Caribbean.
The study, led by Dr. Rachel Lowe from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, tested whether dengue outbreaks in the Caribbean island of Barbados could be predicted using weather station data for temperature and a precipitation index used to monitor drought and extreme rainfall. UF Medical Geography professor
Dr. Sadie Ryan and doctoral student Catherine Lippi collaborated on models that explored the delayed effect of climate indicators like extreme rainfall and drought on future outbreaks of dengue fever on the Caribbean island. "This study highlights the importance of keeping long term records of climate and health data so that we can learn about how a changing climate will impact our health and well-being in the future," said Dr. Ryan.
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Volcanic Activity, Declining Ocean Oxygen Triggered Mass Extinction of Ancient Marine Organisms
Global climate change, fueled by skyrocketing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, is siphoning oxygen from today's oceans at an alarming pace - so fast that scientists aren't entirely sure how the planet will respond. Their only hint? Look to the past. In a study published recently in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Florida State University did just that -- and what they found brings into stark relief the disastrous effects a deoxygenated ocean could have on marine life. Millions of years ago, scientists discovered, powerful volcanoes pumped Earth's atmosphere full of carbon dioxide, draining the oceans of oxygen and driving a mass extinction of marine organisms."We want to understand how volcanism, which can be related to modern anthropogenic carbon dioxide release, manifests itself in ocean chemistry and extinction events," said study co-author
Jeremy Owens, an assistant professor in FSU's Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science. "Could this be a precursor to what we're seeing today with oxygen loss in our oceans? Will we experience something as catastrophic as this mass extinction event?"
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Obeysekera Takes the Helm of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center
Jayantha Obeysekera has been named director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center. He will lead the research, education and outreach hub designed to develop and implement solutions for the impacts caused by one of the greatest threats facing Florida today - rising seas. Founding Director Tiffany Troxler has been named director of science. As director, Obeysekera will focus on developing national and international collaborations, expanding research initiatives and assisting local and regional governments with adaptation and resilience. The center is a key program in FIU's Institute of Water and Environment. "The Sea Level Solutions Center at FIU has a tremendous potential to be a national center of excellence for sea level rise research," Obeysekera said. "It is a hub where expert faculty and students at FIU can collaborate with national and international partners to build resiliency to communities in South Florida and elsewhere." More >>
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Adapting Land Use and Water Management Plans to a Changing Climate in Miami-Dade
and Broward counties, Florida
A new report from the RAND Corporation seeks to address:
- How vulnerable is current and planned future urban development in Broward County and the urban portion of Miami Dade County (UMD) to groundwater flooding?
- What are the key drivers of future risks, including SLR, precipitation, and change in economic assets?
- What areas in Broward and UMD are most at risk?
- How can different adaptation measures reduce risk?
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New Report: Understanding the Long-Term Evolution of the
Coupled Natural-Human Coastal System
The U.S. Gulf Coast is a complex, dynamic region where natural processes and human activities are deeply intertwined. As sea levels rise, severe weather intensifies, and the population continues to grow, this coupled natural-human coastal system is under increasing pressure from environmental stressors. A NAS new report identifies critical knowledge gaps where research is needed to increase understanding of the interactions between human and natural processes along the Gulf Coast, along with a research agenda and strategies to help address these gaps. The report also presents barriers to effective communication between scientists and stakeholders and opportunities to address these barriers. More >>.
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The Invading Sea: An Editorial Collaboration to Urge Action on Sea-level Rise
The editorial boards of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, along with WLRN Public Media are collaborating to address the threat South Florida faces from sea-level rise through a series of newspaper editorials, reports, roundtable discussions, and other community engagement events. Visit TheInvadingSea.com to learn more.
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Honors & Awards
Mark E. Luther at the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida (USF) has received an award from the Tampa Bay Estuary Restoration Fund to examine the environmental conditions causing sewer and storm water overflows in the Tampa Bay region, and to develop a risk model for these events based on precipitation and storm surge records. The model will be used to predict future probability of overflow events under accepted sea level rise scenarios. Co-PIs on the proposal are Steven D. Meyers (USF, College of Marine Science) and Shawn Landry (Director, USF Water Institute).
GSA elects two FCI co-directors to 2018 GSA Fellowship
The
Geological Society of America (GSA) Fellowship is an honor bestowed on the best of the profession by election at the spring GSA Council meeting. GSA members are nominated by existing GSA Fellows in recognition of their distinguished contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic, and library responsibilities.
Ellen E. Martin (University of Florida)
"Ellen has an impressive combination of a distinguished research program in addition to an assiduous dedication to mentoring and leadership within her department, university, and international scientific community." -Andrea Dutton
Michael C. Sukop (Florida International University).
"Dr. Sukop's nomination is for his outstanding research publications and service to the GSA Hydrogeology Division. His research includes using Lattice Boltzman Modeling for investigating complex hydrogeological processes, such as multi-phase flow, movement of droplets, and flow in karst. Dr. Sukop also investigates water management and coastal flooding in Florida." -Larry McKay
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article204971334.html#storylink
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Upcoming Events & Webinars
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Available Now! A New Book from the FCI:
Florida's Climate: Changes, Variations, & Impacts
Florida's Climate: Changes, Variations, & Impacts provides a thorough review of the current state of research on Florida's climate, including physical climate benchmarks; climate prediction, projection, and attribution; and the impacts of climate and climate change on the people and natural resources in the state. The book is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle format at
Amazon.com.
Individual chapters may be accessed on the
FCI website.
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Publications
FCI affiliates and/or authors from FCI member universities are in bold.
Hydrological Processes,
32(11), 1648-1663.
Biasutti, M., Voigt, A., Boos, W. R., ... Mapes, B. E., et al. (2018). Global energetics and local physics as drivers of past, present and future monsoons. Nature Geosci, 11(6), 392.
Bunting, E., Southworth, J., Herrero, H., Ryan, S.J., and Waylen, P. 2018. Understanding Long-Term Savanna Vegetation Persistence across Three Drainage Basins in Southern Africa. Remote Sens.10(7), 1013
Dvorak, A. C., Solo-Gabriele, H. M., Galletti, A., Benzecry, B., Malone, H., Boguszewski, V., et al. (2018). Possible impacts of sea level rise on disease transmission and potential adaptation strategies, a review. J Environ Manage, .
García, P. E., Menénendez, A. N., Podestá, G., Bert, F., Arora, P., & Jobbágy, E. (2018). Land use as possible strategy for managing water table depth in flat basins with shallow groundwater. International Journal of River Basin Management, 16(1), 79-92.
Gintert, B. E., Manzello, D. P., Enochs, I. C., Kolodziej, G., Carlton, R., Gleason, A. C. R., et al. (2018). Marked annual coral bleaching resilience of an inshore patch reef in the Florida Keys: A nugget of hope, aberrance, or last man standing? Coral Reefs, 37(2), 533-547.
Jeong, A., Lee, J. I., Seong, Y. B., Balco, G., Yoo, K. - C., Yoon, H. I., Domack, E., et al. (2018). Late Quaternary deglacial history across the Larsen B embayment, Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 189, 134-148.
Jisan, M. A., Bao, S., Pietrafesa, L. J., Shen, D., Gayes, P. T., & Hallstrom, J. (2018). Hurricane Matthew (2016) and its impact under global warming scenarios. Model. Earth Syst. Environ., 4(1), 97-109.
Leorri, E., Zimmerman, A. R., Mitra, S., Christian, R. R., Fatela, F., & Mallinson, D. J. (2018). Refractory organic matter in coastal salt marshes-effect on C sequestration calculations. Sci Total Environ, 63, 391-398.
Liu, J., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., Guan, Y., Dong, J., & Li, T. (2018). A multi-proxy record of environmental changes during the Holocene from the Haolaihure Paleolake sediments, Inner Mongolia. Quaternary International, 479, 148-159.
Lowe, R.A., Gasparrini, A., Van Meerbeeck, C.J., Lippi, C.A., Mahon, R., Trotman, A.R., Rollock, L., Hinds, A.Q.J., Ryan, S.J., Stewart Ibarra, A.M. 2018. Non-linear and delayed impacts of climate on dengue risk in Barbados: a modelling study. PLOS MED 15(7): e1002613
Mirchi, A., Watkins, D. W., Engel, V., Sukop, M. C., Czajkowski, J., Bhat, M., Rehange, J., Letson, D., ... & Weisskoff, R. (2018). A hydro-economic model of South Florida water resources system. Science of The Total Environment, .
O'Connell, C. S., Carlson, K. M., Cuadra, S., Feeley, K. J., Gerber, J., West, P. C., et al. (2018). Balancing tradeoffs: Reconciling multiple environmental goals when ecosystem services vary regionally. Environ. Res. Lett., 13(6), 064008.
Rovai, A. S., Twilley, R. R., Castañeda-Moya, E., Riul, P., Cifuentes-Jara, M., Manrow-Villalobos, M., et al. (2018). Global controls on carbon storage in mangrove soils. Nature Clim Change, 8(6), 534.
Ryan, S.J., Lippi, C.A., Carlson, C.J., Stewart-Ibarra, A.M., Romero, M., Cox, S., Mahon, R., Trotman, A., Rollock, L., King, D., Daniel, S., Gittens-St. Hillaire, M. 2018. Zika Virus Outbreak, Barbados, 2015-2016. Am J. Trop Med Hyg. 98(6): 1587-1589
Song, C., Dodds, W. K., Rüegg, J., ... Kominoski, J. S., et al. (2018). Continental-scale decrease in net primary productivity in streams due to climate warming. Nature Geosci, 11(6), 415.
Song, J., Fu, X., Wang, R., Peng, Z. - R., & Gu, Z. (2018). Does planned retreat matter? Investigating land use change under the impacts of flooding induced by sea level rise. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change, 23(5), 703-733.
Them, T. R. I. I., Gill, B. C., Caruthers, A. H., ... & Owens, D. D. (2018). Thallium isotopes reveal protracted anoxia during the Toarcian (Early Jurassic) associated with volcanism, carbon burial, and mass extinction. PNAS, .
Wahl, T., Brown, S., Haigh, I. D., & Nilsen, J. E. O. (2018). Coastal Sea Levels, Impacts, and Adaptation. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 6(1).
Wurl, O., Bird, K., Cunliffe, M., Landing, W. M., Miller, U., Mustaffa, N. I. H., et al. (2018). Warming and Inhibition of Salinization at the Ocean's Surface by Cyanobacteria. Geophys Res Lett, 45(9), 4230-4237.
Xiao, H., Wang, D., Medeiros, S. C., Hagen, S. C., & Hall, C. R. (2018). Assessing sea-level rise impact on saltwater intrusion into the root zone of a geo-typical area in coastal east-central Florida. Sci Total Environ, 630, 211-221.
Zimmerman, J. K., Hogan, J. A., Nytch, C. J., & Bithorn, J. E. (2018). Effects of hurricanes and climate oscillations on annual variation in reproduction in wet forest, Puerto Rico. Ecology, 99(6), 1402-1410.
Zscheischler, J., Westra, S., van den Hurk, B. J. J. M., ... Wahl, T., et al. (2018). Future climate risk from compound events. Nature Clim Change, 8(6), 469-477.
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About Us
The Florida Climate Institute (FCI) is a multi-disciplinary network of national and international research and public organizations, scientists, and individuals concerned with achieving a better understanding of climate variability and change.
Email: [email protected] Website: floridaclimateinstitute.org
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