houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
study examines iceberg shifts in north atlanticnov 5 2014some heinrich events – periodic massive iceberg surges into the north atlantic that were previously thought to have weakened the global ocean conveyor belt circulation and sent earths climate into the deep freeze – may actually have been caused by changes in atmospheric circulation patterns say a team of researchers that includes two texas a&m university professorsmatthew schmidt associate professor of oceanography and ping chang professor of oceanography and atmospheric science and director of the texas center for climate studies along with colleagues from georgia tech princeton the woods hole oceanographic institution the university of cambridge and germanys university of bremen have had their findings published in the latest issue of nature geoscience to make this discovery the researchers studied the chemistry of shells produced by benthic foraminifera single-celled organisms that live near the sea floor these benthic foraminifera were collected from sediment cores recovered from the margins of the florida straits by studying the oxygen isotope composition of the shells the researchers were able to reconstruct past changes in florida current transport which is directly related to the strength of the global conveyor belt circulation researchers have known for years about heinrich events periods of extreme cold in the north atlantic these events were named for the geologist who first discovered them hartmut heinrich they occurred during the last ice age when immense icebergs broke loose from glaciers and as they melted deposited ice rafted debris on the sea floor six of these heinrich events have been identified and they are known as h1 through h6 while there is evidence that the last heinrich event that occurred around 17 000 years ago was indeed caused by a dramatic reduction in the oceans conveyor belt circulation our new reconstruction of ocean circulation patterns during some earlier heinrich events that occurred during the last ice age between 20 000 and 30 000 years ago did not reveal significant changes in ocean circulation schmidt explains nevertheless these heinrich events were experienced worldwide so they must have been transmitted via the atmosphere schmidt says that the study has important implications for our understanding of the mechanisms of abrupt climate change in the past the more we know about how climate changed in the past the better prepared we will be for predicting future climate variability new study examines iceberg movement photo: shutterstock
texas a&m program merges art and science to address climate issuesoct 27 2014two texas a&m university programs have partnered to help explain climate change issues facing the statehe sea grant program at texas a&m has teamed up with the university's institute for applied creativity to create a semester-long internship position that will use videos to address topics surrounding weather water and climate changeintern joshua aoki a master's student in the department of visualization in the texas a&m college of architecture will combine visual art and science in the series of educational videos which will be posted online and possibly aired on public television "visualization is a powerful tool " said mona behl with the texas a&m sea grant college program "what we want to do is use visualization as an aid to explain some difficult technical concepts related to climate science and educate texans about the impacts of climate change our goal is to present scientific information in a way that is most credible and objective yet accessible to all texans" this june 4 2014 aerial photograph provided by the lower colorado river authority (lcra) shows lake travis texastexas continues to grind its way out of drought helped by recent steady rains statewide and in the next few months by an el nino weather pattern that promises to bring plentiful rain through winter a national weather service forecaster says (ap photo/lower colorado river authority)
this june 4 2014 aerial photograph provided by the lower colorado river authority (lcra) shows lake travis texastexas continues to grind its way out of drought helped by recent steady rains statewide and in the next few months by an el nino weather pattern that promises to bring plentiful rain through winter a national weather service forecaster says (ap photo/lower colorado river authority)
an elephant's ‘radar can detect rain 150 miles awayoct 27 2014they say elephants never forget – and evidently they can vividly remember the sound of rain so much so that they can tell when a storm is approaching even if its 150 miles away and their ability to do so might one day save them from being killed by the thousands by poachers according to research that includes a texas a&m university professorread more on tamu times
texas a&m program merges art and science to address climate issuesoct 27 2014two texas a&m university programs have partnered to help explain climate change issues facing the statethe sea grant program at texas a&m has teamed up with the university's institute for applied creativity to create a semester-long internship position that will use videos to address topics surrounding weather water and climate change intern joshua aoki a master's student in the department of visualization in the texas a&m college of architecture will combine visual art and science in the series of educational videos which will be posted online and possibly aired on public television "visualization is a powerful tool " said mona behl with the texas a&m sea grant college program "what we want to do is use visualization as an aid to explain some difficult technical concepts related to climate science and educate texans about the impacts of climate change our goal is to present scientific information in a way that is most credible and objective yet accessible to all texans" read more on the eagle
new endowment establishes a scholarship in oceanographysep 26 2014a gift from a former tamu doctoral student in biochemistry has established the donald and melba ross graduate scholarship in the department of oceanographycarol litchfield was professor emerita and research professor in the department of environmental science and policy at george mason university when she died april 3 2012 total funds were $517 96927 evenly split between oceanography and the department of plant pathology and microbiology the scholarship honors dr litchfields parents dr litchfield graduated from the university of cincinnati in 1960 with a ms in biochemistry and from texas a&m university in 1969 with a phd in organic biochemistry she served on the faculty of rutgers university and worked for dupont in several positions before joining george mason faculty in 1993 a scientist with interests in a wide range of subjects dr litchfields was a member of numerous professional organizations and served on professional and government panels and committees including the new jersey governors panel on coastal waters and the environmental biotechnology working group of the us dept of energy she was president of the society for industrial microbiology and was presented in 2012 with its charles porter award for her achievements in applied microbiology and her exceptional service and dedication to the organization an issue of the society of industrial archeology noted that dr litchfield was among other things a historian of the salt industry as a member of the international commission for the history of salt she traveled the world visiting historic salt mines and processing centers "we are honored that dr litchfield chose the department of oceanography as a benefactor of this incredibly generous gift " said dr debbie thomas department head "her gift will help a new generation of scientists embrace the joy of discovery as enthusiastically as she obviously did in her life" dr litchfield's bequest is just one of several ways texas a&m supporters can use planned gifts to fund specific areas at the university they are passionate about gifts of real estate stocks and bonds retirement assets insurance disbursements and even mineral rights are other methods commonly used there are also a number of trust options that can provide potential income and tax benefits for donors and their family members while helping texas a&m at the same time to learn more visit the texas a&m foundation office of gift planning web page or call (800) 392-3310 karen riedelcommunications manager979-845-0910 dr carol litchfield
hurricane odile helps bring rain chances back to brazos valleysep 26 2014after a wet friday evening that brought lots of heavy rain to the brazos valley (396 inches measured at easterwood airport) we are beginning to see our rain chances tapering off as we start the work weekread more
deepwater fracking could become next offshore drilling frontiersep 26 2014energy companies are taking their controversial fracking operations from the land to the seato deep waters off the us south american and african coastsread more
panel: legacies of texas a&m oil industry tied togethersep 26 2014it might power the cars and cool the campus but oil and a&m have a deeper relationship according to a&m professors at a panel thursday night at the george bush libraryread more
el nino forecast to help texas out of droughtsep 24 2014the long-awaited weather pattern that brings rain to texas is forecast to arrive next month national weather service meteorologist victor murphy in fort worth said el nino raises the chances in many parts of the state for abundant rain through february which would raise lake levels statewide and improve soil moisture he saidread more
the people of weather-ready nation: heather wade coastal planning specialistsep 8 2014as texas sea grants coastal planning specialist heather wade helps communities on the texas coast plan for the future with a toolkit that includes the coastal resilience index wetable and community health and resources management (charm) model she leads community leaders through workshops that help them determine their readiness and plan for future needs with respect to coastal hazards green infrastructure water quality impairment and other issues related to sustainable developmentread more
sec bbq smack downaug 25 2014for texas am it's a no-win with barbecue betif geography is destiny then barbecue in the south is surely the signpost two geography departments are putting their states barbecue bragging rights to the test in a meat-based bet on the outcome of the sec season opener between the university of south carolina and texas a&m in short or short ribs the loser has to send a shipment of his states best to the winner but for texans this so-called bounty could be bust rather than boon after all south carolinas barbecue sauce at least around columbia is mustard based says david cairns head of the department of geography at texas a&m really mustard the bet came about through a longstanding friendship between cairns and his counterpart john kupfer who is department head of geography at south carolina kupfer and cairns met in graduate school studied under the same professor and finished their dissertations a few months apart the close-knit geography community has resulted in longstanding intellectual and collegial ties between the two departments furthermore south carolinas geography department is similar to the one at texas a&m cairns says both in size and research focus like our department south carolinas areas of research focus on human physical and environmental geography and geographic information systems cairns says the two programs also offer bachelors through doctoral degrees texas a&m is still the new kid on the sec block but membership into the fiercest fan-based conference in the nation goes beyond game-day rivalry and legendary tailgates being a member of the sec also gives students and faculty opportunities for cooperation and collaboration cairns points out for instance he says students from one conference school can study for a semester or year at another sec institution and pay the host institutions tuition this includes sharing or collaborating in study abroad programs south carolina geographers are mighty proud of one achievement however they have created a barbecue-based state map indicating where the different kinds of barbecue can be found thats all well and good cairns says but i doubt the university of south carolina has a barbecue camp texas a&m does not to mention texans devour texas monthlys highly anticipated annual listing of the best barbecue in the state and although almost every state has wine trails these days only texas can lay claim to a barbecue trail so in the end who really wins if south carolina prevails cairns will send 10 pounds of beef brisket barbecue and sauce obviously the best on the planet when texas a&m wins kupfer sends 10 pounds of carolina pork barbecue with a variety of mustard vinegar and pepper and ketchup-based sauces again mustard really note: texas a&ms barbecue camp is through the department of animal science for the golden triangleor rather rectangle of texas barbecuesee the trail map karen riedelcommunications managercollege of geosciences979-845-0910 david cairns sits down to a plate of texas barbecue cairns head of the department of geography will get a helping of ersatz barbecue when texas a&m beats the university of south carolina this weekend
david cairns sits down to a plate of texas barbecue cairns head of the department of geography will get a helping of ersatz barbecue when texas a&m beats the university of south carolina this weekend
geology and geophysics students visited a drill site operated by apache corp the site just a few miles from bryan-college station represents one of many opportunities that funds from the heep foundation will address in educating students in unconventional oil and gas recovery
center for teaching excellence names montague scholarjul 29 2014michael c ewers assistant professor of geography has been selected as the montague-center for teaching excellence scholar from the college of geosciencesthe montague-cte program now in its 24th year honors early-career excellence in undergraduate teaching at texas a&m university ewers has exemplified quality of undergraduate teaching in his human geography energy and high impact courses ewers students and colleagues noted his significant contributions to the geography departments undergraduate curricula by developing new courses that strengthen the quality of the program they laud him for fostering new learning environments that enhance the academic experiences of the students these experiences have galvanized many of his students to pursue further research many have gone on to become undergraduate research assistants and those who have already graduated decided to pursue research in graduate school both in and out of the classroom ewers has had an immediate impact in making undergraduate students curious and excited about geography ewers graduated with his ma and phd in geography from ohio state university michael c ewers
dr andrew dessler receives 2014 afs teaching awardjul 28 2014dr andrew dessler a professor in the department of atmospheric sciences has received the texas a&m association of former students teaching award for the college of geosciencesdessler has been teaching at texas a&m for nine years and is presently a full professor during his time at the university he has taught courses on atmospheric science and physics climate modeling and the science and politics of climate change students described dessler as a thought provoking and motivational professor who serves as a mentor and role model the award is the latest of many for dessler this year he also received the ams louis j battan authors award for introduction to modern climate change in 2012 he was recognized with the agu atmospheric sciences ascent award he was also selected as a fellow in the inaugural google science communications program desslers latest research focuses on climate change water vapor and clouds his work has been critical in climate change both in informing the scientific community and introducing students to this important field in addition to teaching he contributes the public discussion on climate change by writing numerous opinion pieces and blogs interviewing in the mainstream media and testifying before us select committees dr andrew dessler
dr brendan roark receives 2014 afs teaching awardjul 28 2014dr brendan roark an assistant professor in the department of geography has received the texas a&m association of former students teaching award for the college of geosciencesroark has taught at texas a&m for six years providing students with rigorous thought-providing courses in earth systems and climate evaluations noted that roarks ability to help them develop problem-solving skills stems from his high expectations for his students and himself this award is the latest of many for roark in recent years he received the college of geosciences deans distinguished achievement award for service the partners in conservation award from the department of the interior for his mid-atlantic canyons project and a montague scholar designation his latest research focuses on proxy development in deep-sea coral and establishing their resilience and recovery rates roarks work has been critical both in informing the scientific community and introducing students to this important interdisciplinary field in addition to his teaching responsibilities roark is also director of the stable isotope geosciences facilities which provides high-quality isotope measurements and training to faculty and students not only in the college of geosciences but also to the texas a&m scientific community dr brendan roark
geox 2014: a week of discovery for future aggiesjul 24 2014twenty-five students from around the state and as far away as ohio were on campus from june 8-14 for an introduction to the geosciences this marks the fourth year for geox a weeklong program for high-achieving high school juniors and seniors funded by bp marathon oil and eddie v gray 57 "despite our state's economy being rooted in the geosciences high school students in texas have relatively little exposure to the field said chris houser faculty lead since the programs inception geox introduces high-achieving junior and senior students to the geosciences and more important to the college of geosciences at texas a&m he said recruitment of these students would not be possible without the continued support of the participating faculty and the academic advisors our goal now is to begin scaling the program to introduce even more high school students to the geosciences" the weeks activities ranged from a balloon launch to the robotic exploration of mars students studied seismic waves demonstrated by slinkies observed the seismic testing being conducted in brazos valley and found their way across campus using gps they visited the core repository and labs at the international ocean discovery program and spent a day at bp headquarters in houston to learn about the oil and gas industry the students also heard from texas a&m representatives about study abroad admissions and scholarships and financial aid counselors for geox were: janet torres (wmhs) rebecca gray (ocng) and pablo banda shelby thomas madison toles and paulina de los santos all envp many were geoxers themselves in summers past faculty participants were: atmo: dr don conlee (balloon launch and weather analysis); dr courtney schumacher (adrad and smart-r); and dr mark lemmon (mars robotic exploration) gepl: dr kate miller (seismic interpretation); dr rick giardino (introduction to geology and geophysics); dr ryan ewing (mars rover from a geology and geophysics perspective); and dr chris houser (ground-penetrating radar) ocng: dr debbie thomas (introduction to oceanography) envp: dr christian brannstrom (introduction to environmental programs) iodp: dr katerina petronotis and denise kulhanek (introduction to scientific ocean drilling) geog: dr christian brannstrom (using geography to understand shale gas development) drs michael bishop dan goldberg and andrew klein (introduction to gist); dr anthony filippi (field spectroscopy); and dr houser (using gps for the amazing race across campus) at the farewell lunch academic advisors missy mathews (atmo and ocng) emily dykes (envp) gail rowe (geog) suzanne rosser (gepl) spoke to the students and their parents about the academic opportunities in each department and what it takes to succeed as a final sendoff the fightin texas aggie yell leaders led the future aggies in a mini-yell practice whoop by karen riedel geox students and counselors on the observation deck of the o&m building after a lesson on atmospheric sciences from drs courtney schumacher and don conlee
geox students and counselors on the observation deck of the o&m building after a lesson on atmospheric sciences from drs courtney schumacher and don conlee
dr wendy jepson has been researching water equity and governance for over 20 years in the lower rio grande region
texas a&m oceanographer advocates ocean observing before presidential paneljul 10 2014anthony h knap director of the geochemical and environmental research group and the james r whatley professor of geosciences will speak friday morning (july 11) before the presidents council of advisors for science and technology (pcast) about the need for a global ocean observing system to monitor changes in the worlds oceansthe presentation is at the national academy of sciences building in washington dc the panel discussion will be webcast live on friday at 10:45 am (est): http://wwwtvworldwidecom/events/pcast/140711/ knap is a pioneer in applying technical advances to ocean observing and since coming to texas a&m in 2012 he has introduced a fleet of glidersautonomous underwater vehicles used to measure physical aspects of oceans including salinity temperature currents and other physical propertiesamong other innovations in ocean observing as the ocean is over 70 percent of the globe and is storing the excess heat we should have a more organized approach to measuring it understanding it and conveying information about its health and activity knap says changes in the oceans directly affect the world around us including our climate marine ecosystems and coastlines we need a sustained global ocean observing system that measures these changes and impacts so that adaptive policies can be put in place knap envisions a worldwide system of ocean-observing instruments that uses underwater surface and satellite technologies as a frontline defense in preparing the world for the changes occurring in our oceans coasts and atmosphere we can only manage what we can measure knap says pcast is an advisory group of the nations leading scientists and engineers who directly advise the president and the executive office pcast recommends policy on science technology and innovation on topics that benefit the american people anthony h knap director of the geochemical and environmental research group presented his vision for ocean observing to a presidential panel
anthony h knap director of the geochemical and environmental research group presented his vision for ocean observing to a presidential panel