Welcome!
The Rutgers Climate Institute is a University-wide effort to address one of the most important issues of our time through research, education and outreach. The Institute draws upon strengths in many departments at Rutgers by facilitating collaboration across a broad range of disciplines in the natural, social and policy sciences.
What's New?
Climate Change Resilience and Governance Summit at AAAS
People will respond in many ways as climate change stresses communities, natural systems, and economic systems. Activities to increase resilience will be enabled or impeded by our systems of governance: how collective decisions are made, interpreted, implemented, and challenged--who can do what to whom, and on whose authority. We are hosting a public summit June 5-6 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, DC, to explore these issues. Come join people engaged in finding creative solutions!Registration required. Information at www.resiliencesummit.org
Climate Change and Regional Pine Forests
Read about the impact of climate change on the health of regional pine forests in this article, written by Ben Orlove of Columbia University.Working Group III - IPCC 5th Assessment Update
The recently released Working Group III contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change details mitigation options to limit climate change to less than 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels, and the societal implications of these mitigation policies.Read more about the report and its implications for climate policy at the New York Times.
SCRiM Summer Scholars 2014
The Network for Sustainable Climate Risk Management (SCRiM) links a transdisciplinary team of climate scientists, economists, philosophers, statisticians, engineers, and policy analysts to answer the question, "What are sustainable, scientifically sound, technologically feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible strategies for managing the risks associated with climate change?"
The program runs for 9 weeks, starting 2 June 2014. Housing, travel support, and a stipend of $4500 is provided for all participants.
This is a competitive opportunity with a limited number of openings. To apply, please send a single PDF file to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. containing a cover letter (briefly explaining your interest in the program and what you hope to gain from the experience), a one-page research proposal, a current CV, transcripts (unofficial acceptable), and contact information for two references. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and should be submitted no later than Monday 28 April 2014 to receive full consideration. Women, members of underrepresented groups, and students from small colleges are especially encouraged to apply.
Internship Posting: Energy Intern
New York City's Regional Plan Association is seeking a self-motivated, dynamic individual for the position of Energy Intern. The Intern will report to the Associate Planner for Energy and Environmental Programs and will work closely with a staff of interdisciplinary professionals. The intern will conduct quantitative analysis and policy research. Click here for more information.Applications due on April 25, 2014
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following Rutgers faculty !Cara Cuite (RCI affiliate), Karen O'Neill (RCI affiliate), William Hallman, David Robinson (RCI affiliate), Steven Decker (RCI affiliate), Christopher Obropta, and Rachael Shwom (RCI affiliate)
Their research project, "Best Practices in Coastal Storm Risk Communication," was selected to receive funding by NOAA Sea Grant's Coastal Storm Awareness Program. The project will survey coastal residents to empirically test the effectiveness of a range of message variables including personalization, storm probability formats and social media messaging. The survey will form a basis for a best practices guide to assist emergency managers.
Northeast SARE Graduate Student Awards
This grant is for students in an accredited graduate program in the Northeast region who want to conduct research in sustainable agriculture under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Awards are capped at $15,000.The application deadline is May 13, 2014. Please note that a completed signoff sheet from the applicant, the faculty advisor, and the institution must be uploaded with the proposal by the May 13 due date. If you plan to apply, be sure to work with your institution's grants office well ahead of time. More information available here.
Rutgers faculty and students on coastal geomorphology, climate change, and sea level rise:
RCI affiliate and Rutgers allergist Leonard Bielory, a researcher focused on the long-term effects of climate change on allergic airway disease, expects an increase in the release of tree pollen this spring, which may produce an intense pollen season for allergy sufferers. Read more about his work at the SEBS Newsroom and NorthJersey.com.
State climatologist and RCI affiliate Dave Robinson was interviewed about this year's winter conditions. How does this winter compare to past years? Listen here.
The jet-stream has increasingly taken a longer, meandering path, leading to weather that becomes "stuck" on an area for an extended period. According to RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis, this extreme weather in the middle latitudes could be due to a warming Arctic, but it's too soon to tell for certain. Read more here.
Listen to RCI Affiliate, Michael Kennish on flood threats in Bayside Communities.
Read about RCI Affiliate, Malin Pinsky's award of $50,000 fellowship through the Sloan Foundation to advance his research.
"Anthony Broccoli, co-director of the Rutgers Climate Institute, said January was in the top 20 coldest months in over 100 years, but there have been colder winters." Read more here.
Bitter cold may kill off beetles tearing through Pine Barrens, but RCI affiliate and Geography professor David Robinson maintains that a long-term warming climate will make it more difficult to thwart the beetle. Read more here.
Jennifer Francis, RCI Affiliate and IMCS professor, discusses the polar vortex and how it relates to our weather patterns. Read more here.
Listen to what RU Students are saying about climate change.
RCI Affiliate Malin Pinsky, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, published a study connecting differences in climate velocity—the rate and direction that climate shifts across the landscape—to observed species shifts. Click here for more information.
New publications by RCI Affiliate Ben Horton discusses sea level rise in New Jersey and worldly. Read more here and here.
A recent study by RCI Affiliate Yair Rosenthal, Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences, reconstructs Pacific Ocean heat content over the past 10,000 years, showing that intermediate waters of the Pacific Ocean are absorbing heat 15 times faster over the past 60 years than in the past 10,000. Read more here.
RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis co-authored a study linking Arctic sea ice to shifting weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes. Learn more about the emerging research on Arctic and mid-latitude linkages here.
RCI Affiliates Ken Miller, Robert Kopp, Ben Horton, and James Browning of Rutgers University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences project New Jersey sea level rise 11 to 15 inches higher than the global average for next century. Read more about the analysis here. Read the highlight in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.
RCI Affiliate Ben Horton elicited sea level rise projections from 90 experts in the field. The future sea-level rise ranges provided by the experts are on average higher than those of the IPCC 5th assessment. Read more here.
Watch RCI Affiliate Robert Kopp and other experts discuss local and global impacts of climate change from the 5th IPCC Report.
Learn about the effects of dunes, development, storms, and sea level rise along Barnegat Bay in this Q&A and video clip interview with RCI Affiliate, Rutgers Professor Emeritus, Norbert Psuty.
Listen to Anthony Broccoli, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Co-Director of RCI, speaking about historical climate trends, says that with the changing weather and development patterns in the region "the past cannot be used to predict the future."
Watch this video clip of the boat shed at the Rutgers University Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Port Norris, NJ from October 2013. Lab Director, Professor David Bushek notes, "This is the height of a typical fall (October or November) spring tide. When built over 100 years ago, the permit to build was 1 foot above high tide. It rarely flooded when I was a grad student in early 1990s. The surge from Hurricane Sandy was at least three feet higher than shown here."
See how RCI affiliate Lisa Auermuller, Watershed Coordinator for the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve is helping citizens understand sea level rise with tools developed by RCI affiliate Richard Lathrop, Director Rutgers Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis. Watch here.
THINK GLOBAL, BIKE LOCAL
Check out the Rutgers Bike Rental Program and commit to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, which will improve the quality of life for all.
