First-ever Coastal Adaptation Report Card published
The first-ever Maryland Coastal Adaptation Report Card was released on January 21, 2022. The online webinar was attended by nearly 200 people from across the state of Maryland, including Senator Ben Cardin. Maryland received an overall score of B- in coastal adaptation, indicating that we are well-prepared for ongoing and oncoming climate-related coastal changes, but that more work is needed. The report card features 15 indicators sorted into four categories. Some indicators measured already meet, or are close to meeting, current adaptation goals, while others require significant investment to achieve adaptation goals.
Farewell, Dylan!
This month, IAN says a very fond farewell to science communicator extraordinaire Dylan Taillie. In his almost seven years at IAN, Dylan worked on a variety of projects, from the Tennessee River Basin Report Card to our ongoing USGS partnership. Dylan's hard work and friendly attitude were widely appreciated. Dylan is joining the Department of Natural Resources to continue valuable work on conserving Maryland's habitat. Best of luck, Dylan! You will be missed.
Paper publication: NOAA Coral Reef Assessment
Several IAN staff participated in writing a paper on the methods and results of our far-reaching coral reef ecosystem status reports. This project lasted for six years and generated ten separate reports on the status of the coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction. The national report in 2020 summarized jurisdiction reports. U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coral reefs were scored separately; each region of coral reefs is in fair condition overall. The reefs range from moderately impacted to very impacted by changing conditions such as disease and habitat degradation.
Virtual scicomm course
Several IAN science communicators taught a two-day science communication course to the 4-D Reef Early Stage Researchers through the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Nearly 20 students joined us for discussions of data visualization and group activities like conceptionary.