Land Ocean Interactions of the Coastal Zone workshop
The Integration and Application Network staff recently ran a workshop on developing conceptual syntheses using conceptual diagrams at the LOICZ II (Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone) conference in the Netherlands in late June. A synthesis of the 10-year LOICZ I program was recently published, entitled "Coastal Fluxes in the Anthropocene." This synthesis aims to address how changes in land use, sea level rise, and climate will alter coastal ecosystems, and includes conceptual diagrams produced by IAN staff. This book is available from Springer and copies will soon be placed in the libraries at AL, CBL, and HPL. LOICZ is one of the eight core projects of IGBP (International Geosphere-Biosphere Program) and their latest newsletter (No. 61, March 2005) contains a summary of the LOICZ science plan and implementation strategy, including use of conceptual diagrams.
Littoral 2006 Conference
On September 18-20, Jane Thomas from the IAN group traveled to Gdansk, Poland, to attend the Littoral 2006 conference, and participate in a LOICZ (Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone) workshop. As part of the workshop, which presented the various tools used by LOICZ, Jane gave a lecture on the use of conceptual diagrams in science communication, and led the group in an exercise where they drew their own conceptual diagrams.
The role of the coastal ocean in the disturbed and undisturbed nutrient and carbon cycles: A management perspective
This report was recently published by the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project with the support of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). It provides new assessment tools for coastal management programs and discusses the key science outputs of the project. Science communicators at IAN worked with authors and designers to create nine figures for the 40-page report. These figures describe themes ranging from the features of coastal zones to terrestrial nutrient inputs.
Environmental problem solving in coastal ecosystems: A paradigm shift to sustainability
This article, recently published in Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 77(2): 185-196, highlights pressures on coastal ecosystems and the need for a major paradigm shift directed at sustainability, and in a shift in scientific focus on solving rather than just studying our current environmental problems. Traditionally, science has been extremely effective at data acquisition and then successively less effective at translating this into information, knowledge and finally environmental problem solving. A key element in turning this process around is better science communication between scientists, key stakeholders and the community.
Environmental report cards: A tool for better management, monitoring, and research
Environmental report cards are an important tool for integrating assessments of ecosystem health and for communicating scientific understanding to decision-makers and the general public. This poster won a prize in the public poster category at the recent Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) conference in Cape Town, South Africa. It describes the impact that effective environmental report cards can have on management, monitoring, and research, as well as detailing the five step process used to develop a report card.
LOICZ Dahlem-type Workshop
The Dahlem workshop model aims to foster scientific creativity, the exchange of information and ideas between different fields, and the development of new theses on the basis of well-founded research. Bill Dennison and Michael Williams from IAN participated in a week long Dahlem-type workshop on the outskirts of Oslo, Norway. The workshop (pdf), entitled "Global environmental change in the coastal zone: A socio-ecological integration" was sponsored by the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ), part of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Climate Change. Four teams of natural, social, and economic scientists from six continents addressed issues like coastal syndromes, innovation, scale, and governance. IAN products like report cards will be featured in the conference outputs.
Tim Carruthers new member of LOICZ SSC
Tim Carruthers from IAN has been confirmed as a new member of the Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ), Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), specifically to assist in facilitating effective scientific communication. LOICZ is one of the sub-committees of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP). Tim takes over from Bill Dennison, who has sat on the SSC for the past six years, teaching courses, developing products and working with LOICZ staff to promote good science communication.
Storm Surges Congress 2010
Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) and GKSS Research Centre would like to invite you to the Storm Surges Congress on Risk and Management of current and future Storm Surges. The Storm Surges Congress 2010 will take place from the 13 – 17 September 2010 at the University of Hamburg, Germany.LOICZ Scientific Steering Committee Meeting in Chennai, India
Taking over from Bill Dennison, Tim Carruthers is continuing UMCES and IAN representation on the LOICZ (Land Ocean Interactions of the Coastal Zone) SSC (Scientific Steering Committee). At his first meeting in March, held in Chennai, India (check out his blog post), Tim continued to promote synthetic science communication within LOICZ and specifically engaged in the current focus of actively linking natural, social and economic sciences for more effective coastal management. The other two new members of the committee are Valerie Cummins from University College Cork, Ireland and Bruce Glavovic from Massey University, New Zealand.
LOICZ Open Science Conference
The LOICZ (Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone) Open Science Conference 2011 is being held from 12-15 September, 2011, in Yantai, China. The aim of the "Coastal Systems, Global Change, and Sustainability" conference is to bring together the international research community working on land–ocean issues, showcase the width and scope of ongoing research, help to build a community in this highly interdisciplinary field, and to inspire new research, theory-building, and applied science. The conference is integrative in nature, amalgamating different experiences and disciplinary 'angles' worldwide to generate new levels of understanding and improve decision-making in policy and practice. LOICZ particularly invites innovative approaches, coastal practitioners and early stage researchers (see Young LOICZ Forum).