Summer ecological forecast
The EcoCheck Project (NOAA-UMCES partnership) has been working closely with the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) and some of its partners to forecast summer ecological conditions. Forecasts of dissolved oxygen in the Bay's mainstem, harmful algal blooms in the Potomac River, and changes in aquatic grass cover were produced this year. The forecast is part of a new communication program being implemented by the Chesapeake Bay Program. IAN and the Chesapeake Bay Program hope to collaborate with interested parties to improve forecasting capacity in coming years. For further information visit: Integration & Application Network (ian.umces.edu) and Chesapeake Bay Program (www.chesapeakebay.net/bayforecast.htm).
National Park Service Workshop
The National Park Service has contracted IAN to assist with effective communication of the results of their Inventory and Monitoring program for 11 National Capital Region (NCR) parks with the use of conceptual diagrams. On May 5-6, 2005, IAN organized a workshop to provide National Park Service (NPS) resource managers with an understanding of how conceptual diagrams can be constructed and used to communicate complex ecological principles and scientific results. This process will lead to a framework for reporting the relative condition of NCR vital signs within the parks, and a preliminary assessment or 'report card' using the proposed framework.
Four-day Science Communication Course
The Integration and Application Network staff conducted a four-day course in science communication on May 24-27, 2005 at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Center Administration in Cambridge, Maryland. Course attendees included national and international scientists from the National Park Service, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Chesapeake Bay Program, Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
Two-day Science Communication Course
The Integration and Application Network staff conducted a short course in science communication on May 19-20, 2005 for Chesapeake Bay Program scientists. The course was conducted on the front porch of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Center Administration in Cambridge, Maryland. In spite of a regional power blackout, science communication skills were developed and honed with the aid of an emergency generator. Course attendees included scientists from Maryland Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service, US Geological Survey, and UMCES.