November 2023 Newsletter

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Brett Scheffers Named FCI Co-Director

Congratulations to Dr. Brett Scheffers, Assistant Professor in the UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, who has been named Florida Climate Institute Co-Director! Along with Dr. Sadie Ryan, Brett will co-lead the FCI @ UF starting November 1. Many thanks to Dr. Rachata Muneepeerakul for his leadership over the past 3 years as the FCI has continued to grow and add programs.

Read more

Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America

A new report from the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences calls for a coordinated, cross-sector effort to combat climate change with five strategies and 21 recommendations rooted in justice, pragmatism, and accountability.


The report, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, was developed over a two-year period by a diverse commission of leaders sharing their expertise and priorities. The Commission’s report recommends how corporations, frontline communities, government, and environmental groups can work together to mobilize investments, build infrastructure, reduce emissions, and prepare for the impacts of climate change.

full report

Climate Resilience Tech Hub in South Florida Designated as one of Thirty-One Nationwide

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced that the South Florida Climate Resilience Tech Hub, led by Miami-Dade County, has been designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs in the country, selected from a competitive pool of nearly 200 applicants across the United States and its territories. This designation will elevate and accelerate South Florida’s advances in climate action and resiliency, and unlocks access to tens of millions of dollars in potential funding. The Tech Hubs Program is a federal economic development initiative designed to drive regional technology and innovation-led growth by strengthening capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy key climate technologies.

full press release

The Rights of Nature: Developments and Implications for the Governance of Nature Markets

The Taskforce on Nature Markets, the initiative of Nature Finance (previously: Finance for Biodiversity Initiative – F4B), recently published this report with the objective of shaping a new generation of purposeful nature markets. Building on the Taskforce’s "The Future of Nature Markets" white paper, this document:


  • responds to a rise in “nature markets” that explicitly monetize & trade nature,
  • explores the developments in environmental law & their implications, and
  • aims to support the Taskforce in delivering its mandate: ensuring the global economy interfaces with nature in ways that deliver nature positive, equitable & net-zero outcomes
Read the full report

Can AI Make Better Weather Predictions? UM is Giving a Look

WLRN 91.3 FM | By John Pacenti | Key Biscayne Independent

Published October 27, 2023 at 3:57 PM EDT


Scientists are looking at the latest advance in computer science — artificial intelligence to better predict mammoth hurricanes, raging wildfires and increased coastal flooding.

Professor Ben Kirtman at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel school is leading the AI effort with three new federal grants totaling more than $3 million.

Published article

Video Explains Key Takeaways from 2022 Interagency Sea Level Rise Technical Report

A new video shares the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for the United States, and encourages viewers to take some initial steps. The video highlights key takeaways from the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, with a focus on the impacts on coastal communities. Viewers are encouraged to consider actions they can take within their communities, and directed to existing web tools for assessing the timing and severity of local impacts from sea level rise.

Learn more
Awards & Achievements

Dr. Whittaker Schroder, Assistant Professor in the UF Department of Anthropology, for was named the 2023-24 FCI Global Climate Fellow! He will participate in several workshops designed to increase international collaborative capacity and travel to Mexico in 2024 to further his research partnerships.


Dr. Ebrahim Ahmadisharaf’s PhD student Maryam Pakdehi at FSU was selected as a winner of AGU GeoHealth Early Career Elevator Pitch Competition. Her research was about hurricane impacts on allergy and asthma, with a focus on Hurricanes Ida and Ian.

 

Dr. Nasrin Alamdari’s postdoc Sara Kamanmalek's research entitled "Bridging the Gap in Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning: An Equity Index for Socioeconomic and Environmental Metrics Across the US" was selected as the third winner at FSU's 5-minute Research Competition.


CONGRATULATIONS!

If you have any climate-related research, news items, or events that you would like to submit for consideration in the next newsletter, please email them to info@floridaclimateinstitute.org
Other Upcoming Events & Webinars

Climate Service Providers Academy | October 17 - November 28, 2023 | virtual

Playing Models | November 2 & 3, 2023 | Gainesville, FL & virtual

EV Fleet Ride & Drive Event | November 7 - 9, 2023 | Auburndale, FL

Climate Cafe Series | November 8, 2023 & January 17, 2024 | Miami, FL

Optimizing Solutions for Resilient Coasts | December 1, 2023 | Gainesville, FL

DEP Resilient Florida Grants Webinar Series | various dates | virtual

Job, Internship, and Fellowship Opportunities

Florida

Assistant Professor, Climate Change Ecologist, Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton

Water Resources & Hydrology Posdoc, Florida State University | Tallahassee

Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council | Pinellas Park or flexible/hybrid

Post Doctoral Associate, Climate Change Disinformation and Propaganda, University of Miami | Miami

Senior GIS Analyst, RED Resilience Unit, Broward County | Fort Lauderdale

Climate Resilience Project Manager, AECOM | Tampa or remote or hybrid

Water Resources Manager, Resilient Environment Dept, Broward County | Fort Lauderdale

National, International, and Remote

Special Assistant, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of Global Change, U.S. Department of State | hybrid/Washington, DC

Senior Director, Climate Strategy, Audubon | remote

Applied Researcher, Natural Climate Solutions, Conservation International | flexible

Coordinator, Coastal Resilience, Carbon and Conservation Finance Facility, Conservation International | Arlington, VA

Community and Climate Resiliency Manager, The Nature Conservancy | any TNC office in Missouri

Climate Change & Energy Director, The Nature Conservancy | Bejing, China

Maryland Sea Grant Coastal Climate Specialist, University of Maryland Sea Grant | Queenstown, MD

Publications
 

Allen, K. L., Garwood, J. A., Hu, K., Meselhe, E. A., & Lewis, K. A. (2023). Simulating synergistic impacts of climate change and human induced stressors on a northern Gulf of Mexico estuarine food web. Front. Mar. Sci., 10.


Arthington, A. H., Tickner, D., McClain, M. E., Acreman, M. C., & Alireza Araghi, M. R. J., Mohsen Maghrebi, Christopher J. Martinez, Clyde W. Fraisse, et al. (2023). Accelerating environmental flow implementation to bend the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss. Environmental Reviews.


Ashworth, A. J., Marshall, L., Volenec, J. J., Casler, M. D., Berti, M. T., & et al. (2023). Framework to develop an open-source forage data network to improve primary productivity and enhance system resiliency. Agronomy Journal.


Bitting, M., Johanson, E. N., Haberyan, K. A., & Horn, S. P. (2023). Response of diatom communities to climate and human disturbance: A 4200-year record from Costa Rica. Holocene.


Blackwell, R., Aranda, E., & Rosa, A. (2023). We always remember the Island: Puerto Rican climate migrants emotional meanings of home. Emotion, Space and Society, 49.


Crino, O. L., Bonduriansky, R., Martin, L. B., & Noble, D. W. A. (2023). A conceptual framework for understanding stress-induced physiological and transgenerational effects on population responses to climate change. Evolution Letters.


Daher, H. and K., B. (2023). Future climate change in the Agulhas system and its associated impact on South African rainfall. South African Journal of Science, 119(7-8).


Dias, H. B., Cuadra, S. V., Boote, K. J., Lamparelli, R. A. C., Figueiredo, G. K. D. A., Suyker, A. E., et al. (2023). Coupling the CSM-CROPGRO-Soybean crop model with the ECOSMOS Ecosystem Model An evaluation with data from an AmeriFlux site. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 342.


Du, Y. X., Chen, F. Z., Zhang, Y. L., He, H., Wen, S. L., Huang, X. L., et al. (2023). Human Activity Coupled With Climate Change Strengthens the Role of Lakes as an Active Pipe of Dissolved Organic Matter. Earth's Future, 11(9).


Friedman, E. (2023). Climate-changed development: organizing climate risk and response through an economic growth lens. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 64.


Hoover DL, Abendroth LJ, Browning DM, et al. (2023). Indicators of water use efficiency across diverse agroecosystems and spatiotemporal scales. Science of the Total Environment (Vol. 864).


Howard, J., Sutton-Grier, A. E., Smart, L. S., Lopes, C. C., Hamilton, J., Kleypas, J., et al. (2023). Blue carbon pathways for climate mitigation: Known, emerging and unlikely. Marine Policy, 156.


Kaalstad, S., Osland, M. J., Devlin, D. J., Proffitt, C. E., Feher, L. C., & et al. (2023). Temperature Thresholds for Leaf Damage from Two Extreme Freeze Events (2018 and 2021) Near the Northern Range Limit of Black Mangroves (Avicennia germinans) in Southeastern North America. Estuaries and Coasts.


Kim D, Lee SK, Lopez H, et al. (2023). Increase in Cape Verde hurricanes during Atlantic Nino. Nat Commun, 14(1).


Liu, Y., Heberling, J. M., Wang, Z., Soltis, D. E., & Soltis, P. S. (2023). Niche unfilling dominates the naturalization of species from intercontinentally disjunct genera. Global Ecol Biogeogr, 32(11).


Lteif, L., Nardini, G. R. - C., T, Block, L., Bublitz, M. G., & et al. (2023). Climate action now: How to fuel a social movement. Journal of Consumer Psychology.


Medeiros, C. D., Henry, C., Trueba, S., Anghel, I., Guerrero, S. D. D. D., Pivovaroff, A., et al. (2023). Predicting plant species climate niches on the basis of mechanistic traits. Functional Ecology.


Meehl, G. A., Kirtman, B., Glanville, A. A., Richter, J., Rosenbloom, N., & Yeager, S. (2023). Evaluating skill in predicting the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation in initialized decadal climate prediction hindcasts in E3SMv1 and CESM1 using two different initialization methods and a small set of start years. Climate Dynamics.


Milordis, A. C., Butler, W. H., & Holmes, T. J. (2023). What is slowing progress on climate change adaptation? Evaluating barriers to planning for sea level rise in Florida. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change, 28(8).


Orrock, J. L., Brudvig, L. A., Damschen, E. I., Mattingly, W. B., Cruz, J., & et al. (2023). Long-term, large-scale experiment reveals the effects of seed limitation, climate, and anthropogenic disturbance on restoration of plant communities in a biodiversity hotspot. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(7).


Pappo E, Keene S, Smith H, et al. (2023). Effects of reduced rainfall on coffee quality and volatile composition. J Sci Food Agric.


Rodenhizer, H., Natali, S. M., Mauritz, M., Taylor, M. A., Celis, G., & et al. (2023). Abrupt permafrost thaw drives spatially heterogeneous soil moisture and carbon dioxide fluxes in upland tundra. Global Change Biology, 29(22).


Sanchez-Martinez P, Mencuccini M, Garcia-Valdes R, et al. (2023). Increased hydraulic risk in assemblages of woody plant species predicts spatial patterns of drought-induced mortality. Nature Ecology & Evolution.


Shi, L. D., Butler, W., Holmes, T., Thomas, R., Milordis, A., Ignatowski, J., et al. (2023). Can Florida's Coast Survive Its Reliance on Development? Journal of the American Planning Association.


Stella, T., Webber, H., Eyshi Rezaei, E., Asseng, S., Martre, P., Dueri, S., et al. (2023). Wheat crop traits conferring high yield potential may also improve yield stability under climate change. in silico Plants, 5(2).


Temmink RJM, Angelini C, Verkuijl M, et al. (2023). Restoration ecology meets design-engineering: Mimicking emergent traits to restore feedback-driven ecosystems. Science of the Total Environment (Vol. 902).


Toth LT, Storlazzi CD, Kuffner IB, et al. (2023). The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise. Nature Communications (Vol. 14).


Vahsen ML, Blum MJ, Megonigal JP, et al. (2023). Rapid plant trait evolution can alter coastal wetland resilience to sea level rise. Science, 379(6630).


Webster, M. M., Twohey, B., Alagona, P. S., Arafeh-Dalmau, N., Colton, M. A., Eger, A. M., et al. (2023). Assisting adaptation in a changing world. Front. Environ. Sci., 11.


Weng W, Yan L, Boyle KJ, et al. (2023). COVID-19 and visitation to Central Park, New York City. PLoS One, e0290713.


Williams GM, Ginzel MD, Ma Z, et al. (2023). The Global Forest Health Crisis: A Public-Good Social Dilemma in Need of International Collective Action. Annu Rev Phytopathol (Vol 61).


Zhang, B., Zhao, M., He, H., Soden, B. J., Tan, Z., Xiang, B., et al. (2023). The Dependence of Climate Sensitivity on the Meridional Distribution of Radiative Forcing. Geophysical Research Letters, 50(18).


Zuercher R, Kochan D, & Harborne AR. (2023). Factors influencing the biomass of large-bodied parrotfish species in the absence of fishing on coral reefs in Florida, USA. J Fish Biol.

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.

Member Universities