IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

2011 Magothy River Index (Page 1)

2011 Magothy River Index

15 February 2012

This report card is an assessment of the aquatic health of the Magothy River, and is based on data collected by the Magothy River Association and various partners. It reports the status of vital habitats and water quality in the Magothy during 2010 based on three different indicators.

Read more

Explaining our catchment (Page 1)

Explaining our catchment

31 January 2012

Conceptual diagrams are science communication tools that aim to communicate complex ideas about systems and processes in a simple, visual way. This education resource prepared by the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, through their "Water: Learn it for Life" program, provides teachers with a detailed lesson plans to take their students through the story of a river to identify the positive and negative features that most influence the health of the waterway.

Read more

South East Queensland Floods 2011 (Page 1)

South East Queensland Floods 2011

Udy J and Soustal N ·
31 January 2012

During the January 2011 flood, millions of tonnes of soil were washed from the upper catchments into the Brisbane River by fast flowing flood waters. The soil formed a brown plume which extended from the river mouth into Moreton Bay. As the flow of the water slowed, fine soil particles (mud) settled within the Brisbane Estuary and Moreton Bay.

Read more

Bacteria sampling and data analysis protocol addendum for Mid-Atlantic tidal tributary indicators (Page 1)

Bacteria sampling and data analysis protocol addendum for Mid-Atlantic tidal tributary indicators

Wicks EC, Kelsey RH, Fries AS, Kellogg JP ·
13 January 2012

This document provides guidelines for the successful production of tidal ecosystem health report cards. Specifically, this document serves as an addendum to the Sampling and data analysis protocols for Mid-Atlantic tidal tributary indicators which develops a clear and consistent protocol for the identification, collection, and analysis of the indicator of bacteria.

Read more

A Habitat-Based Framework for Communicating Natural Resource Condition (Page 1)

A Habitat-Based Framework for Communicating Natural Resource Condition

Carruthers TJB, Carter SL, Lookingbill TR, Florkowski LN, Hawkey JM, and Dennison WC ·
2012

Progress in achieving desired environmental outcomes needs to be rigorously measured and reported for effective environmental management. Two major challenges in achieving this are, firstly, how to synthesize monitoring data in a meaningful way at appropriate temporal and spatial scales and, secondly, how to present results in a framework that allows for effective communication to resource managers and scientists as well as a broader general audience.

Read more

Channel head locations in forested watersheds across the mid-Atlantic United States: A physiographic analysis

Julian JP, Elmore AJ, and Guinn SM ·
2012

Channel heads are the beginning of river networks and thus knowing their location is important in assessing water resources and health threats to fluvial ecosystems. Despite their importance, most channel heads are unmapped. Remote sensing technologies have not yet proven effective under forested canopies, suggesting that predictive models of channel head locations are the best solution to the impracticality of field-mapping the millions of these features that exist in the U.S. alone.

Read more

Impacts of Hypoxia on Zooplankton Spatial Distributions in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Page 1)

Impacts of Hypoxia on Zooplankton Spatial Distributions in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Roman MR, Pierson JJ, Kimmel DG, Boicourt WC, and Zhang X ·
2012

The northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOMEX) was surveyed to examine the broad-scale spatial patterns and inter-relationships between hypoxia (< 2 mg L-1 dissolved oxygen) and zooplankton biovolume. We used an undulating towed body equipped with sensors for conductivity, temperature, depth, oxygen, fluorescence, and an optical plankton counter to sample water column structure, oxygen, and zooplankton at high spatial resolution (1 m-vertical; 0.25-1 km-horizontal).

Read more

Landscape controls on the timing of spring, autumn, and growing season length in mid-Atlantic forests

Elmore AJ, Guinn SM, Minsley BJ, and Richardson AD ·
2012

The timing of spring leaf development, trajectories of summer leaf area, and the timing of autumn senescence have profound impacts to the water, carbon, and energy balance of ecosystems, and are likely influenced by global climate change. Limited field-based and remote-sensing observations have suggested complex spatial patterns related to geographic features that influence climate.

Read more

Megacities in the coastal zone: Using a driver-pressure-state-impact-response framework to address complex environmental problems (Page 1)

Megacities in the coastal zone: Using a driver-pressure-state-impact-response framework to address complex environmental problems

Sekovski I, Newton A, and Dennison WC ·
2012

The purpose of this study was to elaborate on the role of coastal megacities in environmental degradation and their contribution to global climate change. Although only less than 4 percent of the total world's population resides in coastal megacities, their impact on environment is significant due to their rapid development, high population densities and high consumption rate of their residents.

Read more