Research at Coastal Environmental Change Lab

Coastal Environmental Change Lab Feedbacks between vegetation and morphology on barrier islandsVegetation is a key contributor to the development of topographic relief on barrier islands, and thus can be influential in determining barrier island susceptibility to overwash. As global temperatures … Continue reading →

Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment for DoD Coastal Installations Project # 08-410 2009

Background: The consensus of the international scientific community is that future sea-level rise based on climate model output will result in an increase in global eustatic sea-level of between 0.5-3.1 feet by 2100, with a “best estimate” of 1.6 feet. … Continue reading →

Satellite Monitoring of Coastal Wetland and Shoreline Changes

North Carolina Coastal Management: Satellite Monitoring of Coastal Wetland and Shoreline Changes in Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, North Carolina     NDVI image of part of Dare County, showing distinct difference of wetlands  from surrounding units. Gold outline indicates location … Continue reading →

Cool Toys in Ocean Research

At the May League of Women Voters of Dare County, Bill Birkemeier did a wonderful talk about “cool toys” used in ocean reasearch.   Below are the links he provided.

Web Links from: Gliders, Floats, Satellites & Buggies

Google Earth: A free download from Goggle: http://www.google.com/intl/en/earth/index.html

Ocean Observing Links

US Integrated Ocean Observing System: http://ioos.gov

Global Ocean Observing: http://www.gosic.org/

European Ocean Observing: http://www.seprise.eu/

NOAA National Data Buoy Center – direct data access: http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/

Gliders

California’s Glider Program: http://www.sccoos.org and http://www.sccoos.org/data/spray/?r=0

Rutgers and the Scarlet Knight’s crossing of the Atlantic in 2009: http://rucool.marine.rutgers.edu/atlantic/

ARGO floats: http://www.argo.ucsd.edu/index.html

Sea Level Rise

Sea Level Rise Trends from Tide Stations: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/index.shtml

Sea Level from Satellite Altimetry: http://ibis.grdl.noaa.gov/SAT/SeaLevelRise/

Some other ocean science sites:

Exciting Science on the ocean floor: http://www.neptunecanada.ca/about-neptune-canada/

Scripps Institution of Oceanography: http://sio.ucsd.edu/

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute: http://www.whoi.edu/

Monterey Aquarium Research Institute: http://www.mbari.org/default.htm

The Field Research Facility in Duck: http://frf.usace.army.mil

A good site for state information including erosion rates and maps – North Carolina Division of Coastal Management: http://dcm2.enr.state.nc.us/Maps/mapsdata.htm

Managing and Sharing the Data: Knowing what we know

In October 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will require scientists to complete data management plans, submitted as two-page supplementary documents, with all new proposals for NSF funding. This change to data sharing illustrates the importance of publicly funded research that is available to the public and accessible to broad scientific communities. “Science is becoming data-intensive and collaborative,” noted Ed Seidel, acting assistant director for NSF’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences directorate.

“Researchers from numerous disciplines need to work together to attack complex problems; openly sharing data will pave the way for researchers to communicate and collaborate more effectively.””This is the first step in what will be a more comprehensive approach to data policy,” added Cora Marrett, NSF acting deputy director. “It will address the need for data from publicly-funded research to be made public.”

Seidel acknowledged that each discipline has its own culture about data-sharing, and said that NSF wants to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to the issue. But for all disciplines, the data management plans will be subject to peer review, and the new approach will allow flexibility at the directorate and division levels to tailor implementation as appropriate.

This is a change in the implementation of NSF’s long-standing policy that requires grantees to share their data within a reasonable length of time, so long as the cost is modest.

“The change reflects a move to the Digital Age, where scientific breakthroughs will be powered by advanced computing techniques that help researchers explore and mine datasets,” said Jeannette Wing, assistant director for NSF’s Computer & Information Science & Engineering directorate.  “Digital data are both the products of research and the foundation for new scientific insights and discoveries that drive innovation.