add_filter('bloginfo_url', function($output, $property){ error_log("====property=" . $property); return ($property == 'pingback_url') ? null : $output; }, 11, 2);
 

Extreme Weather

...now browsing by category

 

TEMPEST Experiment Mimics Future Storms Inside Forests

Monday, December 7th, 2020

by Aliya Uteuova

Woman standing with outstretched arms on one of four giant grey tanks, with an orange ladder propped up beneath her.

Postdoc Anya Hopple stands atop freshwater tanks for the new TEMPEST experiment. Each tank can hold 10,000 gallons of water, which will saturate forest soils to simulate heavy rainfall events. (Credit: Rick Smith)

Heavy rainfall and storm surges rank among the most common natural-weather events in the United States. They can occur in every state. They’re also one of the most widely felt impacts of climate change, making it impossible to ignore the economic and physical harm they leave in their wakes.

In a forest at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), scientists are working to uncover how sudden deluges could impact forests in decades to come. Called TEMPEST, the new experiment will mimic intense freshwater rainstorms and saltwater storm surges by inundating parts of the forest.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Research Amid COVID, SERC Sites and Scenes | Comments Off on TEMPEST Experiment Mimics Future Storms Inside Forests

Intern Jessenia Suarez Talks Heatwave Biology, Being Latina in STEM

Friday, February 14th, 2020

by Alison Haigh

Young woman in a blue jacket standing on hill overlooking ocean

Jessenia Suarez (Credit: Alison Haigh/SERC)

Science comes with some wacky challenges. In the world of marine invasions, that might include sunburns from afternoons tying equipment to docks or worrying about how much seafood powder to feed a plate of invertebrates. But when someone dons a lab coat, they don’t shed their homelife, background, and personal responsibilities. At SERC-West, intern Jessenia Suarez got to know some of those unique challenges while working on her research project. But one of her biggest challenges was outside the lab.

Suarez is a senior marine biology major at San Francisco State University who found her passion for biology in her second year at community college. In summer 2019, she studied how a group of underwater creatures known as the fouling community responds to changes in water temperature. She found the work exciting and refreshing—but she admits that her biggest challenges were balancing the internship with a two-hour commute and finding childcare for her two-year-old daughter, Leia.

“I would spend about an hour and a half with her when I got home, and then it would be time to sleep,” she said. “Not only that, but I was still working my other job [as a CVS pharmacy technician]—very few hours, but it’s still time away from her. It was hard for me, and it was hard for her too.”

Besides caring for her daughter and working a second job, she also had to balance classes. Yet despite a heavier workload than the average intern, Suarez loved the internship experience, and she’s passionate about pursuing research after her degree.

“I had an idea that I liked doing research, but being in charge of my own project brought it to a whole new level, ” Suarez said. “I now know what to expect, and have a feeling that I can handle it.” Click to continue »

Share

Posted in California, Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Fisheries, Interns, Tidings from the Sunset Coast | Comments Off on Intern Jessenia Suarez Talks Heatwave Biology, Being Latina in STEM

8 Ways Nature Can Help Us Conquer
Climate Change

Thursday, November 15th, 2018

by Kristen Minogue

The United States may be officially pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, but scientists are still brainstorming ways the country could meet its original goals. Mother Nature can lend a far more powerful hand than we thought, if given the chance.

Led by The Nature Conservancy, a team of scientists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and other organizations looked at 21 “natural climate solutions,” like restoring forests and wetlands or planting cover crops. According to the report published Wednesday in Science Advances, these tactics could knock an estimated 1.2 trillion kilograms off the U.S.’s yearly carbon emissions—just enough to hit the country’s 2025 targets for the Paris agreement. And they come with a range of side benefits, including increased yields for farmers and decreased risks of catastrophic wildfires.

But to work, they would also require a serious rethinking of how our society values carbon. Today, saving 1,000 kg of carbon is worth about $10. To provide enough incentive to make these solutions widespread, the authors estimated those credits would need to go for at least $100 per 1,000 kg.

We’ve highlighted eight of these solutions below, but you can read about all 21 in the full report.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Land Use, Publications | Comments Off on 8 Ways Nature Can Help Us Conquer
Climate Change

In San Francisco, One Wet Winter Can Switch Up Bay’s Invasive Species

Thursday, December 7th, 2017

Winter rains make Bay less salty, knocking back some invaders

by Kristen Minogue

Man in sunglasses on rocky beach

Marine ecologist Andrew Chang tracks invasive species in California, and is discovering ways climate change and extreme weather can alter the playing field. (Credit: Julia Blum)

For many Californians, last year’s wet winter triggered a case of whiplash. After five years of drought, rain from October 2016 to February 2017 broke more than a century of records thanks to a series of “Pineapple Express” storms, referring to atmospheric rivers that ferry moisture from Hawaii to the Pacific Coast. In San Francisco Bay, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center biologists discovered a hidden side effect: All that freshwater rain can turn the tables on some of the bay’s invasive species.

“As you get wetter and wetter, there are fewer and fewer [marine] species that can tolerate those conditions,” said Andrew Chang, lead author of the new study published Dec. 7 in Global Change Biology.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in California, Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Invasive Species, Publications, Tidings from the Sunset Coast | Comments Off on In San Francisco, One Wet Winter Can Switch Up Bay’s Invasive Species

An Acid Test for the Coasts

Monday, August 1st, 2016
Graham cleans her equipment of marine organisms

SERC intern Jasmin Graham cleans her equipment of marine organisms (Photo: Emily Li/SERC)

by Emily Li

Watching educational programs like Animal Planet or That’s My Baby—a series that documents pregnant animals—might evoke memories of flickering classroom projectors for most. But for Jasmin Graham, an intern with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), these shows were her childhood. Her love for marine science and wildlife followed her through high school science fairs and university research on shark genetics at the College of Charleston. Now, at an internship with SERC’s Ocean Acidification Lab, she studies acidification not in the open ocean, but in a far more dramatic arena, where the marine celebrities she grew up with may be at risk.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Fisheries, From the Field, Interns, Interviews, SERC Sites and Scenes, Water Quality | 1 Response »

Get Crafty During Winter Storm Jonas

Friday, January 22nd, 2016
IMG_3659

Jellyfish, cownose ray and blue crab snowflakes

by Heather Soulen

Winter storm Jonas is knocking on our doorsteps here on the East Coast, threatening blizzard conditions in some areas. Many of us will be hunkering down waiting for the storm to pass. We thought we’d create some fun Chesapeake Bay inspired snowflake designs for you and your family to create during the storm. Simply download the pdfs, print them out and follow the instructions at the bottom.

There are four designs to choose from, the easiest being the cownose ray and the most difficult being the blue crab. We’ve provided a blank template for you to create your own Chesapeake Bay or nature inspired design. Since this requires the use of scissors, parents please assist small children.

We’d love to see your snowflakes – be sure to post pictures of your snowflakes on our Facebook page or on Twitter!

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Extreme Weather, Fisheries, Publications | 1 Response »

Frigid Days Equal Fewer Bluebird Eggs

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015
Male and female bluebirds at a nesting box.

Male and female bluebirds at a nest box. (Matt Storms)

by Chris Patrick

Eastern bluebirds resemble flying, fist-sized jewels. Males are sapphire colored—royal-blue heads, backs, and wings contrast with rust-colored chests. Females are more gray than blue, but their wings are subtly tinted the same sapphire hue.

Since 2008, citizen scientists have monitored bluebirds at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). The Bluebird Project is citizen science intern Caroline Kanaskie’s self-proclaimed “baby” this summer. She is uncovering why bluebird numbers at SERC have been lower than usual.  Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Archaeology, Classes and Events, Ecology, Extreme Weather, From the Field, Interns, SERC Sites and Scenes | 1 Response »

When Hurricanes Strike, Dwarf Trees Hold Their Own

Friday, June 5th, 2015

by Kristen Minogue

Image: Candy Feller inspects a white mangrove stand. (Credit: Anne Chamberlain)

Candy Feller inspects a white mangrove stand in Florida. (Anne Chamberlain)

Mangroves—those tangled trees with strange roots common along tropical coastlines—are masters at protecting their territory from hurricanes. So, logically, tall mangroves should be stronger than short ones.

Except when they’re not. Sometimes tall mangroves are weaker, something Smithsonian ecologist Candy Feller discovered after two hurricanes tore through her experiments in Florida. Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Ecology, Extreme Weather, Publications | 1 Response »

Intern Logs: A Summer Quest
to Understand Winter

Monday, July 21st, 2014

by Dejeanne Doublet

Photo: SERC intern Dejeanne Doublet heads out to sample marsh elder, a plant that in some zones coped surprisingly well with the harsh winter. (Credit Megan Palmer)

SERC intern Dejeanne Doublet heads out to sample marsh elder.
(Megan Palmer)

As we’re knee-deep in the marsh surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, working under the relentless sun during 90-degree weather with 90 percent humidity, sweat dripping down our faces, waving off the summer bugs and trying to collect as much field data as possible, the idea of winter becomes abstract and far-fetched. It’s hard to believe we are out here in the blazing heat of summer studying the effects of this past winter— one of harshest winters this area has endured in many years.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather, Interns, SERC Sites and Scenes | Comments Off on Intern Logs: A Summer Quest
to Understand Winter

Warm enough to snow? Climate Change and Blizzards

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

by Kristen Minogue

SERC pond on the morning of March 25. The short-lived spring snowstorm dumped up to 6 inches throughout Maryland, but most of it melted within 24 hours. (Kristen Minogue)

SERC pond on the morning of March 25. The short-lived spring snowstorm dumped up to 6 inches throughout Maryland, but most of it melted within 24 hours. (Kristen Minogue)

If the massive snowstorms that pummeled the northeast this winter—and at least one downpour in spring—seem out of place in a warming world, climate scientists have a message: Don’t fret, it’s just physics.

For several years, scientists have anticipated a future of “less snow, more blizzards” in the winters ahead. The message may sound like a paradox. But for the planet, it boils down to one simple truth: Warm air holds more moisture than cold air.

Click to continue »

Share

Posted in Climate Change, Ecology, Extreme Weather | 1 Response »

« Older Entries
Shorelines