global change and sustainability center · 2016-12-07 · global change and sustainability center y...

Global Change and

Sustainability Center

The GCSC is an inclusionary and

interdisciplinary hub that promotes,

coordinates, and conducts local to global

environmental- and sustainability-related

research and training at the University of

Utah. The GCSC is a faculty-led initiative

developed to bridge colleges, departments,

and disciplines, facilitating broad reaching

engagement that stimulates research toward

solutions to complex environmental and

sustainability issues and challenges.

2012 Annual Report

1GCSC 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Introduction to the GCSC

Message from the Director 2

What is the GCSC? 3

GCSC Faculty Successes

GCSC Affiliates 5

Faculty Research 7

Faculty Publication Highlights 12

GCSC Student Training

Fall Retreat 21

Graduate Fellows 22

Seminar Series 30

Student Research Grants 31

Contents

Global Change and Sustainability Center University of Utah Mailing address: 257 South 1400 East, Room 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Physical address: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Building Room 522 www.environment.utah.edu

Email: [email protected] (801) 581-6414 Follow on Twitter: @UU_GCSC and Facebook: GCSCUtah

2 GCSC 2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Message from the Director Jim Ehleringer Distinguished Professor, Biology

Today, our planet and its citizens are impacted by unprecedented change. Across the planet, human activities are impacting Earth’s climate and habitability. How do we achieve sustainability? No other challenge today is more important than this. The Global Change and Sustainability Center (GCSC) is a faculty-led initiative that addresses the complex challenges of sustaining human-built and natural systems— life as we know it— by bringing together researchers and educators from all colleges to tackle the questions of today and to train the leaders of tomorrow. From engineering to law, from urban planning to ecosystem ecology, and from commerce to environmental humanities, faculty are coming together through the GCSC to build the cross-college nuclei necessary to understand, and to solve, global challenges.

We have tremendous progress to report. Through the GCSC, a campus-wide community and program in the environment and sustainability are emerging that build on the world-class research, outstanding scholars, and individual strengths that have long brought recognition to the University of Utah. There is a renewed sense of excitement with research projects, seminars, training opportunities, and facilities that bring faculty and students together for new collaborations.

We have been successful in attracting talented new faculty to the University for whom collaborative and interdisciplinary research and training programs are key. There are nearly 80 faculty now affiliated with the GCSC, and more will certainly become part of this expanding collaboration in the coming year. Much of this progress is the result of efforts by Drs. Brenda Bowen (Geology & Geophysics) and Steven Burian (Civil & Environmental Engineering) as Associate Directors of the GCSC. They have played key roles in several multi-investigator research and training proposals, a graduate certificate and its curriculum, and the expanded use of our campus as an outdoor laboratory for sustainability research.

Part of the GCSC effort focuses on lowering the silos that separate colleges so that we can form research teams to address issues in the environment and in sustainability. Cross-disciplinary teams are focusing on air, water, urban systems, environmental records, ecosystems, climate, and climate change impacts.

This report highlights some of the research by GCSC-affiliated faculty whose cutting-edge research focuses on reconstructing the past, understanding current and complex environmental challenges, and predicting future scenarios – all with the same overall goal of sustainable solutions.

Training students to conduct environmental and sustainability research is essential. We educate the students who will join the work force to solve these sustainability challenges. Our novel approaches are bringing rewards as we attract outstanding new students to work with our world-class faculty.

The University of Utah is becoming a leader in the environment and sustainability. Here the GCSC and its affiliated centers serve as a nexus for bringing together stakeholders, policy makers, and faculty to address fundamental regional challenges: air quality, water availability, and the sustainability of our treasured Wasatch Mountains.

I hope that you will enjoy learning more about our University’s tremendous faculty and their efforts to advance our understanding of the environment and sustainability, and that we can apply this knowledge to sustaining our planet and our quality of life.

James Ehleringer Distinguished Professor and Director

Jim Ehleringer Distinguished Professor and Director


What is the GCSC?

Brenda B. Bowen,

Geology and Geophysics, Associate Director

Steve Burian,

Civil Engineering, Associate Director

Ming Li,

Accountant

Laurie Mecham, Program Coordinator

Environmental and sustainability issues and challenges are extraordinarily complex. The plurality of legitimate perspectives and approaches among different disciplines makes it apparent that such questions are broader in scope than can be addressed within any single department, college, or discipline. Such complex problems require interdisciplinary exploration. The GCSC provides the University of Utah, our community, and stakeholders with an interdisciplinary nexus for addressing these issues, naturally developing the links between research, education, and outreach at both programmatic and project scales. The GCSC initiates, promotes, and sustains broad-reaching, multi-disciplinary initiatives. We facilitate communication, foster interdisciplinary education, and create opportunities for engagement on campus, in the community, and beyond.

“The interdisciplinary graduate training, cross-campus collaborations, and solutions-oriented approach to sustainability fostered by the GCSC were the impetus for moving to the University of Utah.”

- Diane Pataki, Biology


GCSC Fellows and other graduate students join the Alta Environmental Center to plant trees in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

74 Affiliated faculty

8 Participating Colleges

20 Graduate Fellowships

Awarded

24 Student Travel & Research

Grants Awarded


FIELD WORK ON ANTARCTIC SEA ICE Ken Golden, Mathematics

Faculty Affiliates


One of the major cross-college foci linking GCSC-affiliated faculty is sustainability of urban systems, the human-built environment. Here GCSC-affiliated colleagues are exploring the design of sustainable communities, the effects of transit on traffic, and the consequences of fossil fuel use on air quality as well as the carbon cycle.

Still others are focusing on the sustainability of urban water sources and of the connectivities and feedbacks between montane water-source regions and urban water- consumption regions.

Climate and the water cycle are major themes that link faculty in departments across campus: atmospheric science, biology, city and metropolitan planning, engineering, geography, and mathematics. GCSC-affiliated faculty research provides a framework for policy advisors as they adopt solutions critical to sustaining Utah’s quality of life and economic vitality in the face of future reduced water availability.

Another strength of the GCSC is bringing together faculty who explore both modern and geological histories of environmental change, and who use modeling to make predictions of future climates, information that is critical to informing our approaches to sustainability.

Architecture and Planning—Tariq Banuri, Keith Bartholomew, Reid Ewing, Sarah Jack Hinners, A. Chris Nelson, Jörg Rügemer, Ryan Smith Engineering—Steve Burian, Eric Pardyjak, Christine Pomeroy, R.J. Porter, Rob Stoll Health—Matthew Brownlee Humanities—Kevin DeLuca, Danielle Endres, Anya Plutynski Law—Robert Adler, Lincoln Davies, Robert Keiter, Amy Wildermuth Mines and Earth Sciences—Brenda Bowen, Gabe Bowen, Frank Brown, Thure Cerling, Marjorie Chan, Diego Fernandez, Tim Garrett, Sebastian Hoch, John Horel, Randy Irmis, Paul Jewell, Bill Johnson, Cari Johnson, Steven Krueger, John Lin, Barb Nash, Zhaoxia Pu, Thomas Reichler, Kip Solomon, Jim Steenburgh, Court Strong, Dave Whiteman, Ed Zipser Science—Fred Adler, David Bowling, Sarah Bush, Dale Clayton, Phyllis Coley, Denise Dearing, Jim Ehleringer, Colleen Farmer, Don Feener, Ken Golden, Tom Kursar, Diane Pataki, Jon Seger, Cagan Sekercioglu, Pat Shea, John Sperry Social and Behavioral Sciences— Haimanti Bhattacharya, Simon Brewer, Andrea Brunelle, Phil Dennison, Rick Forster, Andrew Jorgenson, Zach Lundeen, Dan McCool, Harvey Miller, Jim O’Connell, Dennis O’Rourke, Mitch Power, Michael Timberlake, Yehua Dennis Wei, Carol Werner

Faculty Membership by College


A COMPREHENSIVE BIOTIC SURVEY OF PHILIPPINE LAND VERTEBRATES AND THEIR PARASITES — Sarah Bush, Biology and Dale Clayton, Biology (NSF)

ABILITY OF IMPOUNDED WETLAND SEDIMENT TO MOBILIZE METALS, AMMONIA, SULFIDES & POTENTIAL TOXICITY TO SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION AND MACROINVERTEBRATES — Bill Johnson, Geology & Geophysics (Jordan River-Farmington Bay Water Quality Council & Central Davis Sewerage Improvement District)

ADVANCING ANALYSIS, FORECAST AND WARNING CAPABILITIES FOR HIGH IMPACT WEATHER EVENTS — John Horel, Atmospheric Sciences (National Weather Service)

ANNUAL SATELLITE ERA ACCUMULATION PATTERNS OVER WAIS DIVIDE: SHALLOW ICE CORES, NEAR-SURFACE RADARS AND SATELLITES — Rick Forster, Geography (NSF)

BINGHAM MINE COLD-AIR POOL STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION — David Whitman, Atmospheric Sciences (Kennecott Utah Copper)

CARBON CYCLING DYNAMICS IN RESPONSE TO PINE BEETLE INFECTION AND CLIMATE VARIATION — Dave Bowling, Biology (DOE)

CAREER: MODELING AND MEASURING PATTERNS OF AIRFLOW IN SAUROPSID LUNGS, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON INTEGRATING RESEARCH WITH EDUCATION OF THE BLIND AND ON BROADER IMPACTS — Colleen Farmer, Biology (NSF)

CENTER FOR MULTI-SCALE MODELING OF ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES — Steven Krueger, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

CHARACTERIZATION OF PERMIAN WHITE RIM SANDSTONE IN SOUTHEASTERN UTAH: RESERVOIR PROPERTIES, IRON OXIDE CONCRETIONS, AND APPLICATIONS TO CO2 STORAGE — Margie Chan, Geology & Geophysics (Utah Geological Survey)

CHEMICAL ECOLOGY OF HOST SPECIALIZATION IN PHORID PARASITOIDS OF ANTS: AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS — Donald Feener, Biology and Jon Seger, Biology (NSF)

CI WATER: CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE TO ADVANCE HIGH PERFORMANCE WATER RESOURCE MODELING — Steve Burian and Christine Pomeroy, Civil & Environmental Engineering and Courtenay Strong, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

As part of a Cyberinfrastructure (CI) research grant from NSF, GCSC researchers are developing models, databases, model linkages, and computational analysis tools to assess vulnerabilities and risk of Salt Lake City (SLC) water supply, stormwater management, and flood control infrastructure to climate variability. The team is working closely with Tim Bardsley of Western Water Assessment and the SCL Department of Public Utilities. Specifically, Strong and his post-doctoral researcher Adam Kochanski are conducting dynamical downscaling simulations using the regional climate model WRF and developing a new approach to provide stochastically generated weather simulations (Figure above). Burian and Pomeroy are working with doctoral student Erfan Goharian to create a new dynamic model of the SLC urban water supply system and data access and analysis tools to determine the resiliency and sustainability of SLC urban water systems. In the NSF CI project, the UU team is working with a larger group of researchers from Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Wyoming to develop a broader set of CI tools for climate and water research.

CLIMATIC AND BIOTIC TRANSFORMATIONS OF NEOGENE MAMMALIAN FAUNAS OF PAKISTAN —Thure Cerling, Geology & Geophysics (NSF)

CLIMATIC DRIVERS OF WILDLAND FIRE EVENTS AND BURN SEVERITY — Philip Dennison, Geography (BLM)

DEPLOYMENT OF A RADAR INSTRUMENTATION SUITE TO MONITOR LAND AND SEA ICE IN SUPPORT OF OPERATION ICE BRIDGE — Rick Forster, Geography (NASA)

DEVELOPMENT OF A WINDBREAK DUST PREDICTIVE MODEL AND MITIGATION PLANNING TOOL — Eric Pardyjak, Mechanical Engineering (DOD)

DIMENSIONS: COEXISTENCE, HERBIVORE HOST CHOICE, AND PLANT-HERBIVORE EVOLUTION IN THE RECENTLY RADIATED AND SPECIOSE NEOTROPIC — Thomas Kursar, Biology and Phyllis Coley, Biology (NSF)

EFFECTS OF TRANSIT ON TRAFFIC — Reid Ewing, City & Metropolitan Planning (Portland State University)

GCSC 2012 Faculty Research in Progress


INTEGRATED TRAINING FOR CONTINENTAL ECOLOGY (ITCE): BRIDGING SCALES AND SYSTEMS WITH ISOTOPES — Gabriel Bowen, Geology & Geophysics with Jim Ehleringer, Biology and Thure Cerling, Geology & Geophysics (NSF)

The ITCE program represents a 5-year effort to develop and provide integrated training experiences that will help to launch a generation of scientists prepared to tackle the large-scale challenges presented by the ongoing climatic, ecological, and biogeochemical perturbations affecting the USA and the globe. The program emphasizes the use of stable isotopes in biogeochemical and ecological studies as a focal theme, but on this foundation offers coverage of a broad range of systems and techniques that are widely applicable to problems of spatial analysis, scaling, observation, and modeling of Earth system processes. LINKING BMP PERFORMANCE TO RECEIVING WATER QUALITY — Christine Pomeroy, Civil & Environmental Engineering (Water Environment Research Foundation) LONG-TERM DISTURBANCE PATTERNS IN INTERIOR WEST FORESTS — Andrea Brunelle, Geography (US Forest Service)

Andrea Brunelle and a student conduct field work in the Uinta Mountains.

EVALUATION OF SAMPLING INTEGRATION SCALE ON FIELD ESTIMATES OF GROUNDWATER RESIDENCE TIME AND NITROGEN — Kip Solomon, Geology & Geophysics (NSF)

FACIES ANALYSIS, CORRELATION, AND RESERVOIR PREDICTION IN NONMARINE-SHALLOW MARINE STRATA: CRETACEOUS STRAIGHT CLIFFS — Cari Johnson, Geology & Geophysics (Chevron, ConocoPhillips, & Shell)

U of U students discuss stratigraphic correlations in southern Utah (Kaiparowitz Plateau).

FOR HPLC SEPARATION AND MASS SPECTRUM IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS — Jim Ehleringer, Biology (Isoforensics)

FROM TRMM TO GPM: QUANTITATIVE COMPARISON AND DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF PRECIPITATION ALGORITHMS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF METEOROROLOGICAL REGIMES — Edward Zipser, Atmospheric Sciences and Chuntao Liu, Atmospheric Sciences (NASA)

HUD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES — Arthur Chris Nelson City & Metropolitan Planning and Reid Ewing, City & Metropolitan Planning (Salt Lake County)

HURRICANE AND SEVERE STORM SENTINEL —Edward Zipser, Atmospheric Sciences (NASA)

HYDROGEN ISOTOPES IN N-ALKANES OF TREE LEAVES AND NEEDLES: ECOPHYSIOLOGICAL, ECOSYSTEM, CLIMATE, AND DUST-RELATED APPLICATIONS — Jim Ehleringer, Biology (NSF)

IMPACT OF HUMANS ON PRECIPITATION VARIABILITY, CLIMATE, AND THE WATER CYCLE: PREPARING FOR THE GPM ERA — Steve Burian, Civil & Environmental Engineering (NASA)

IMPROVING REPRESENTATION OF DROUGHT STRESS AND FIRE EMISSIONS IN CLIMATE CARBON MODELS: MEASUREMENTS AND MODELING WITH A FOC — Jim Ehleringer, Biology (DOE)

KAIPAROWITS CRITICAL DINOSAURS FOSSIL SITE PROTECTION PROJECT — Randall Irmis, Geology & Geophysics (BLM)

LAB ANALYSIS: AGE DATING OF YOUNG GROUNDWATER — Kip Solomon, Geology & Geophysics (State of MN)



NEAR REAL TIME CANOPY WATER CONTENT AND FUEL MOISTURE CONTENT PRODUCTS FOR THE DIRECT BROADCAST SYSTEM FOR MODIS—Philip Dennison, Geography (NASA)

NEGATIVE SEA ICE-CIRCULATION FEEDBACK ALONG ARCTIC MARGINAL ICE ZONES—Courtney Strong, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

OBSERVING SNOW AND WIND: USING THE ENVIRONMENT TO ENGAGE STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING—John Horel, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

OPUS: THE ECOLOGICAL BASIS OF COEVOLUTIONARY HISTORY- LESSONS FROM LICE—Dale Clayton, Biology and Sarah Bush, Biology (NSF)

OROGRAPHIC INFLUENCES ON LAKE-EFFECT PRECIPITATION—Jim Steenburgh, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOENVIRONMENTS OF THE LATE TRIASSIC CHINLE FORMATION, DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT—Randall Irmis, Geology & Geophysics (National Park Service)

PERFORMANCE OF STORMWATER BIORETENTION SYSTEMS IN UTAH'S CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS—Steve Burian, Civil & Environmental Engineering (NSF)

PERSISTENT WINTERTIME TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS IN THE SALT LAKE BASIN—David Whitman, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

PETROLOGICAL AND PETROPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MOUNT SIMON SANDSTONE AND EAU CLAIRE FORMATION IN SUPPORT OF PHASE III SEQUESTRATION EVALUATION—Brenda Bowen, Geology & Geophysics (DOE)

PHASE TRANSITIONS IN COMPOSITE MEDIA—Kenneth Golden, Mathematics (NSF)

QUANTIFYING NITROGEN UPTAKE IN BIORETENTION DESIGNED FOR SEMIARID CLIMATES—Christine Pomeroy, Civil & Environmental Engineering (NSF)

Bioretention experimental plots at the Green Infrastructure Research Facility (GIRF) QUANTIFYING TRANSIT'S IMPACT ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENERGY USE: THE LAND USE COMPONENT—Reid Ewing, City & Metropolitan Planning (ICF Incorporated)

RETRIEVING 4-DIMENSIONAL ATMOSPHERIC BOUNDARY LAYER STRUCTURES FROM SINGLE LEVEL SURFACE OBSERVATIONS AND PROFILING DATA OVER A SINGLE STATION—Zhaoxia Pu, Atmospheric Sciences (DOE)

iUTAH: INNOVATIVE URBAN TRANSITIONS AND ARIDREGION HYDRO-SUSTAINABILITY — Jim Ehleringer, Biology and Diane Pataki, Biology (NSF)

iUTAH is a statewide effort dedicated to maintaining and improving water sustainability in Utah. Funded by the National Science Foundation's EPSCoR program (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) this five-year, $20 million competitive award will assist in building the human and research infrastructure needed to sustainably manage Utah's water resources. iUTAH will build critical observatory and modeling facilities across watersheds;; create transdisciplinary research teams from many Utah institutions, government agencies, and the private sector;; and enhance expertise and diversity through strategic recruitment of faculty and students. The novel and transformational activities of iUTAH include: the development of fully integrated hydrologic and social sciences observatories that encompass whole watersheds along an urbanization gradient;; collaborative activities to create a community of scholars across the state to address sustainability of coupled human-natural systems;; and integrated education and outreach activities such as participatory and collaborative modeling efforts to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders and policy makers.

MARS FOR EARTHLINGS: A TERRESTRIAL ANALOG APPROACH FOR EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE TEACHING AND OUTREACH — Margie Chan, Geology & Geophysics (NASA)

MATHEMATICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH NETWORK — Kenneth Golden, Mathematics (NSF)

MELTING ARCTIC SEA ICE PACK—Kenneth Golden, Mathematics (Office of Naval Research)

MITOCHONDRIAL FITNESS VARIATION IN A NATURALLY REPLICATED EVOLUTIONARY EXPERIMENT—Jon Seger, Biology and Fred Adler, Mathematics & Biology (NSF)

MOUNTAIN TERRAIN ATMOSPHERIC MODELING AND OBSERVATIONS (MATERHORN) PROGRAM—Eric Pardyjak, Mechanical Engineering, Zhaoxia Pu, Atmospheric Sciences, Jim Steenburgh, Atmospheric Sciences, David Whiteman, Atmospheric Sciences, and Sebastian Hoch, Atmospheric Sciences (Office of Naval Research)

MULTISCALE MODELING OF WIND AND WILDFIRES—Steven Krueger, Atmospheric Sciences (National Institute of Standards)



THE ROLE OF LOCAL WATER RESOURCES IN THE WATER SUSTAINABILITY OF LOS ANGELES—Diane Pataki, Biology (NSF)

THE WASATCH HYDROMETEOR AGGREGATION AND RIMING EXPERIMENT—Timothy Garrett, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF GREEN INFRACTRUCTURE ON URBAN MICROCLIMATE AND ENERGY USE—Eric Pardyjak, Mechanical Engineering, Rob Stoll, Mechanical Engineering and Jim Steenburgh, Atmospheric Sciences (NSF)

UNDOCUMENTED SHORELINES OF LAKE BONNEVILLE: NEW PALEOCLIMATIC AND HYDRODYNAMIC INTERPRETATIONS—Paul Jewell, Geology & Geophysics and Kathleen Nicoll, Geography (NSF)

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH CONTRIBUTION TO MESOUS (MESOWEST)—John Horel, Atmospheric Sciences (NOAA)

UNLOCKING THE BLACK BOX OF FEATHER LOUSE DIVERSITY, A COMPREHENSIVE REVISION OF THE HYPER-DIVERSE GENUS BRUEELIA—Sarah Bush, Biology (NSF)

SPRAWL INDEX 2011 UPDATE— Reid Ewing, City & Metropolitan Planning (NIH)

STORMWATER MODEL COMPARISON—Christine Pomeroy, Civil & Environmental Engineering (Washington State Dept. of Transportation)

SPATIAL VARIATION OF MERCURY METHYLATION IN THE SEDIMENT AND THE DEEP BRINE LAYER OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE— Bill Johnson, Geology & Geophysics (Utah Department of Natural Resources)

SPECTRAL THEORY OF ADVECTIVE DIFFUSION IN THE OCEAN—Kenneth Golden, Mathematics (Office of Naval Research)

SPLITT-FFF-BASED DETECTION AND MONITORING OF ENGINEERED NANOMATERIALS IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS—Bill Johnson, Geology & Geophysics, Diego Fernandez, Geology & Geophysics and Bruce Gale, Mechanical Engineering (NSF)

This research will develop methods for the detection and monitoring of engineered nanomaterials in aquatic systems. Advanced low-invasive fractionation techniques will be refined to fractionate across the nanoscale (e.g. between 2 and 450 nm). Elemental distributions, size and charge distributions, as well as isotopic signatures and morphology, will be explored among various sources of engineered and other nanomaterials. Critical steps in the research include developing a new analytical methodology (SPLITT) that splits elements into dissolved versus particulate fractions. Research will explore to what extent SPLITT fractionates nanomaterials that have equilibrated with aquatic media. It will also examine the optimal fields for different nanomaterial sources, and to what extent composition, size, and charge distributions affects differentiation: (a) between natural and incidental/engineered nanomaterials and (b) among various sources of a nanoparticle class. The research will determine to what extent existing manufacturing processes produce nanomaterials with distinct isotopic signatures relative to natural and incidental nanomaterials and among various sources of a nanoparticle class.

Bill Johnson and graduate student collect water samples from a stream in the upper Amazon Basin of Ecuador.

THE PROJECTED EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND INVASIVE SPECIES ON THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE—Philip Dennison, Geography (CA Energy Commission)


As Superstorm Sandy approached the US East Coast in late October 2012, GCSC faculty affiliate Gabe Bowen (Geology & Geophysics) launched an effort to rapidly organize a citizen scientist network to collect rainwater samples documenting water cycling in the landfalling storm. More than 120 volunteers were engaged through email lists, Facebook, Twitter, and community crowdsourcing websites, ultimately providing 685 samples. Stable isotope data from these samples, generated in Bowen’s SPATIAL lab, provide an unprecedented look at the evolution of isotope distributions in an extratropical cyclone. The data are currently being analyzed by a team of GCSC researchers including Bowen, John Lin (Atmospheric Sciences), G&G postdoc Stephen Good, and GCSC graduate fellow Derek Mallia to improve our understanding of how changing water vapor additions from oceanic, land, and atmospheric sources influenced storm structure and damage. Initial results have been presented at the 2013 GCSC research symposium and European Geophysical Union General Assembly.


HELICOPTER LIFT OF DINOSAUR FOSSIL JACKET IN GRAND STAIRCASE ESCLANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

Randy Irmis, Geology & Geophysics


Bowen, G.J., et al. (2012). "Cyberinfrastructure for isotope analysis and modeling." Eos 93: 185-187.

Moyes, A.B. & D.R. Bowling (2012). "Interannual variation in seasonal drivers of soil respiration in a semi-arid Rocky Mountain meadow." Biogeochem: 1-15.

Bush, S., et al. (2012). "Influence of bill and foot morphology on the ectoparasites of barn owls." J Parasitol 98(2): 256-261.

O'Grady, S.P., L.O. Valenzuela, C.H. Remien, L.E. Enright, M.J. Jorgensen, J.R. Kaplan, J.D. Wagner, T.E. Cerling & J.R. Ehleringer (2012). "Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in body water and hair: modeling isotope dynamics in nonhuman primates." Am J Primatol 74(7): 651-660.

Blumenthal, S.A., K.L. Chritz, J.M. Rothman & T.E. Cerling (2012). "Detecting intraannual dietary variability in wild mountain gorillas by stable isotope analysis of feces." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(52): 21277-21282.

Jessica, L.W., A.R. Henry & D.H. Clayton (2012). "How effective is preening against mobile ectoparasites? An experimental test with pigeons and hippoboscid flies." Int J Parasitol 42(5): 463-467.

Waite, J.L., A.R. Henry, F.R. Adler & D.H. Clayton (2012). "Sex-specific effects of an avian malaria parasite on an insect vector: support for the resource limitation hypothesis." Ecology 93(11): 2448-2455.

Knutie, S.A., J.L. Waite & D.H. Clayton (2012). "Does avian malaria reduce fledging success: an experimental test of the selection hypothesis." Evo Eco 27(1): 185-191.

Sinimbu, G., P.D. Coley, M.R. Lemes, J. Lokvam & T.A. Kursar (2012). "Do the antiherbivore traits of expanding leaves in the Neotropical tree Inga paraensis (Fabaceae) vary with light availability?" Oecologia 170(3): 669-676.

GCSC Faculty Publication Highlights

Ecological Dynamics

Cao, L., T.J. Cova, P.E. Dennison & M.D. Dearing (2011). "Using MODIS satellite imagery to predict hantavirus risk." Global Ecology and Biogeography 20(4): 620-629.

Nagler, P.L., T. Brown, K.R. Hultine, C. van Riper, D.W. Bean, P.E. Dennison, et al. (2012). "Regional scale impacts of Tamarix leaf beetles on the water availability of western U.S. rivers as determined by multi-scale remote sensing methods." Rem Sens Env 118: 227-240.

Qi, Y., P.E. Dennison, et al. (2012). "Monitoring Live Fuel Moisture Using Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing Proxies." Fire Ecology 8(3): 71-87.

Wiescher, P.T., J.M. Pearce-Duvet & D.H. Feener (2012). "Assembling an ant community: species functional traits reflect environmental filtering." Oecologia 169(4): 1063-1074.

Hinners, S.J., et al. (2012). “Roles of scale, matrix and native habitat in supporting a diverse suburban pollinator assemblage.” Eco App 22(7): 1923-1935.

Irmis, R. B. & J. H. Whiteside (2012). "Delayed recovery of non-marine tetrapods after the end-Permian mass extinction tracks global carbon cycle." Proc Biol Sci 279(1732): 1310-1318.

Litvak, E., H.R. McCarthy & D.E. Pataki (2012). "Transpiration sensitivity of urban trees in a semi-arid climate is constrained by xylem vulnerability to cavitation." Tree Physiol 32(4): 373-388.

Pataki, D.E., et al. (2011). "Transpiration of urban forests in the Los Angeles metropolitan area." Ecol Appl 21(3): 661-677.

Kaltenpoth, M., P. Showers Corneli, D.M. Dunn, R.B. Weiss, E. Strohm & J. Seger (2012). "Accelerated evolution of mitochondrial but not nuclear genomes of Hymenoptera: new evidence from crabronid wasps." PLoS One 7(3): e32826.

Dodge, M., S.L. Guers, C.H. Sekercioglu & R.N. Sehgal (2012). "North American Transmission of Hemosporidian Parasites in the Swainson's Thrush (Catharus Ustulatus), a Migratory Songbird." J Parasitol.

Sekercioglu, C.H. (2012). "Bird functional diversity and ecosystem services in tropical forests, agroforests and agricultural areas." Journal of Ornithology 153(S1): 153-161.

Choat, B., S. Jansen, T.J. Brodribb, H. Cochard, S. Delzon, R. Bhaskar, S.J. Bucci, T.S. Feild, S.M. Gleason, U.G. Hacke, A.L. Jacobsen, F. Lens, H. Maherali, J. Martinez-Vilalta, S. Mayr, M. Mencuccini, P.J. Mitchell, A. Nardini, J. Pittermann, R.B. Pratt, J.S. Sperry, et al. (2012). "Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought." Nature 491(7426): 752-755.

Anderegg, W.R., J.A. Berry, D.D. Smith, J.S. Sperry, et al. (2012). "The roles of hydraulic and carbon stress in a widespread climate-induced forest die-off." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(1): 233-237.

Yi Qi, a graduate student working with Phil Dennison, makes spectral measurements on sagebrush

“The most pressing and challenging scientific problems are at the interface of our disciplines, and the GCSC inspires and sustains interactions needed for their pursuit and solution.”

- Court Strong, Atmospheric Sciences



Neufelder, R. J., B. B. Bowen, et al. (2012). "Lithologic, mineralogical, and petrophysical characteristics of the Eau Claire Formation: Complexities of a carbon storage system seal." Env Geosci 19(3): 81-104.

Leifer, I., W.J. Lehr, D. Simecek-Beatty, E. Bradley, R. Clark, P. Dennison, et al., (2012). "State of the art satellite and airborne marine oil spill remote sensing: Application to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill." Rem Sens of Env 124: 185-209.

McKain, K., S.C. Wofsy, T. Nehrkorn, J. Eluszkiewicz, J.R. Ehleringer and B.B. Stephens (2012). "Assessment of ground-based atmospheric observations for verification of greenhouse gas emissions from an urban region." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(22): 8423-8428.

Carling, G.T., D.P. Fernandez and W.P. Johnson (2012). "Dust-mediated loading of trace and major elements to Wasatch Mountain snowpack." Sci Total Env 432: 65-77.

Deubner, D.C., P. Sabey, W. Huang, D. Fernandez, A. Rudd, W.P. Johnson, J. Storrs & R. Larson (2011). "Solubility and chemistry of materials encountered by beryllium mine and ore extraction workers: relation to risk." J Occup Env Med 53(10): 1187-1193.

Air and Water Quality

Urban CO2 cycles within the Salt Lake Valley: A multiple-box model validated by observations (Strong et al., 2011)

Researchers from the Ehleringer lab collecting real-time high spatial resolution CO2 data via the instrumented “nerd-mobile”.

“The GCSC for me is a way for the U to formally encourage and enhance interdisciplinary environmental science that doesn't fit into a single department.”

- Dave Bowling, Biology

Strong, C., C. Stwertka, D. R. Bowling, B. B. Stephens & J. R. Ehleringer (2011). "Urban carbon dioxide cycles within the Salt Lake Valley: A multiple-box model validated by observations." J Geo Res 116(D15).

Dimkpa, C.O., A. Calder, P. Gajjar, S. Merugu, W. Huang, D.W. Britt, J.E. McLean, W.P. Johnson & A.J. Anderson (2011). "Interaction of silver nanoparticles with an environmentally beneficial bacterium, Pseudomonas chlororaphis." J Haz Mater 188(1-3): 428-435.

Jorgenson, A. K., et al. (2012). "The Temporal (In) Stability of the Carbon Dioxide Emissions/Economic Development Relationship in Central and Eastern European Nations." Soc & Nat Res 25(11): 1182-1192.

Ramamurthy, P. & E.R. Pardyjak (2011). "Toward understanding the behavior of carbon dioxide and surface energy fluxes in the urbanized semi-arid Salt Lake Valley, Utah, USA." Atm Env 45(1): 73-84.

Townsend-Small, A., D.E. Pataki, et al. (2011). "Nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment and water reclamation plants in southern California." J Env Qual 40(5): 1542-1550.

Silcox, G.D., K.E. Kelly, E.T. Crosman, C.D. Whiteman & B.L. Allen (2011). "Wintertime PM2.5 concentrations during persistent, multi-day cold-air pools in a mountain valley." Atm Env 46: 17-24.


Bowen, B.B., et al. (2012). “Remote and field-based imaging spectroscopy for the diagenetic mineralogy of sedimentary rocks.” In Quantitative Mineralogy and Microanalysis of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks, ed. P. Sylvester. Mineralogical Assoc of Canada Short Course Series 42: 115-132.

Bowen, B.B., et al. (2012). “Early diagenesis by modern acid brines in Western Australia and implications for the history of sedimentary modification on Mars.” In Mars Sedimentology, eds., Grotzinger, J. and Milliken R., SEPM Spec Pub 102: 229-252.

Abels, H.A., W.C. Clyde, P.D. Gingerich, F.J. Hilgen, H.C. Fricke, G.J. Bowen & L.J. Lourens (2012). "Terrestrial carbon isotope excursions and biotic change during Paleocene hyperthermals." Nature Geo 5: 326-329.

Bataille, C.P. & G.J. Bowen (2012). "Mapping 87Sr/86Sr variations in bedrock and water for large scale provenance studies." Chem Geol 304-305: 39-52.

Brown, F.H., et al., (2012). "Correlation of the KHS Tuff of the Kibish Formation to volcanic ash layers at other sites, and the age of early Homo sapiens (Omo I and Omo II)." J Hum Evol 63(4): 577-585.


Records of Environmental Change Morris, J.L. & A. Brunelle (2012). "Pollen

accumulation in lake sediments during historic spruce beetle disturbances in subalpine forests of southern Utah, USA." The Holocene 22(9): 961-974.

Morris, J.L., A. Brunelle, A.S. Munson, J. Spencer & M. J. Power (2012). "Holocene vegetation and fire reconstructions from the Aquarius Plateau, Utah, USA." Quat Int.

Cerling, T.E., et al. (2011). "Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years." Nature 476(7358): 51-56.

Uno, K.T., T.E. Cerling, et al. (2011). "Late Miocene to Pliocene carbon isotope record of differential diet change among East African herbivores." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(16): 6509-6514.

Chan, M.A., S. Potter, B.B. Bowen, et al. (2012). “Characteristics of ferric oxide concretions on Earth and Mars.” In Mars Sedimentology, eds., Grotzinger, J. and Milliken R., SEPM Spec Pub 102: 253-270.

Godsey, H.S., C.G. Oviatt, D.M. Miller & M.A. Chan (2011). "Stratigraphy and chronology of offshore to nearshore deposits associated with the Provo shoreline, Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, Utah." Palaeogeo, Palaeoclim, Palaeoeco 310(3-4): 442-450.

Skorko, K., P.W. Jewell & K. Nicoll (2012). "Fluvial response to an historic lowstand of the Great Salt Lake, Utah." Earth Surf Proc Land 37(2): 143-156.

Johnson, C.L., & Ritts, B.D. (2012). “Plate Interior Polyphase Basins.” in Recent Advances in Tectonics of Sed Basins, eds., Busby, C. and Azor, A. Blackwell Sci 28: 567-582.

Moore, J.A., Taylor, A., Johnson, C.L., et al. (2012). “Facies analysis, reservoir characterization, and LIDAR modeling of an Eocene lacustrine delta, Green River Formation, Southwest Uinta basin, Utah.” Am Assoc of Pet Geo (7): 183-208.

Nash, B.P. & M.E. Perkins (2012). "Neogene fallout tuffs from the Yellowstone hotspot in the Columbia Plateau region, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, USA." PLoS One 7(10): e44205.

Faith, J.T. & J.F. O'Connell (2011). "Revisiting the late Pleistocene mammal extinction record at Tight Entrance Cave, southwestern Australia." Quat Res 76(3): 397-400.

Andrea Brunelle and collaborators core lake sediments in Sierra de Juarez, Northern Baja California, Mexico

“The GCSC provides a unique opportunity for faculty and students from across campus to engage in interdisciplinary research and training. Externally funded sustainability research is inherently interdisciplinary;; the GCSC is the only unit at the University of Utah that enhances our ability to engage in that research.”

Dan McCool, Political Science


Bowen, G.J., et al. (2012). "Footprint of recycled water subsidies downwind of Lake Michigan." Ecosphere 3(6): 53.

Hossain, F., A.M. Degu, W. Yigzaw, S. Burian, et al. (2012). "Climate Feedback–Based Provisions for Dam Design, Operations, and Water Management in the 21st Century." J of Hydro Eng 17(8): 837-850.

Kalyanapu, A.J., D.R. Judi, T.N. McPherson and S.J. Burian (2012). "Monte Carlo-based flood modelling framework for estimating probability weighted flood risk." J of Flood Risk Manag5(1): 37-48.

Carling, G.T., D.C. Richards, H. Hoven, T. Miller, D.P. Fernandez, A. Rudd, E. Pazmino & W.P. Johnson (2012). "Relationships of surface water, pore water, and sediment chemistry in wetlands adjacent to Great Salt Lake, Utah, and potential impacts on plant community health." Sci Total Environ 443C: 798-811.

McCool, D. (2012). River republic: the fall and rise of America's rivers. New York, Columbia University Press.

Froidevaux, M., C.W. Higgins, V. Simeonov, P. Ristori, E. Pardyjak, et al. (2012). "A Raman lidar to measure water vapor in the atmospheric boundary layer." Adv Water Res.

Steffen, J., Jensen, M., Pomeroy, C.A. & Burian, S.J. (2012). “Water Supply and Stormwater Management Benefits of Residential Rainwater Harvesting in U.S. Cities.” J Am Wat Res Assoc.

Houdeshel, C.D., Pomeroy, C.A., & Hultine, K.R. (2012). “Bioretention Design for Xeric Climates Based on Ecological Principles.” J Am Wat Res Assoc: 1-12.

Medina, D.M. & C.A. Pomeroy, eds. (2012). Design of Urban Stormwater Controls. Water Env Fed Manl Prac 23. Am Soc of Civil Eng Man of Prac 87.

Masbruch, M.D., D.S. Chapman & D.K. Solomon (2012). "Air, ground, and groundwater recharge temperatures in an alpine setting, Brighton Basin, Utah." Wat Resources Res.

Massoudieh, A., S. Sharifi & D.K. Solomon (2012). "Bayesian evaluation of groundwater age distribution using radioactive tracers and anthropogenic chemicals." Wat Resources Res 48(9).

GCSC Faculty Publication Highlights Water

Estimated climatological mean annual (1961-1990) precipitation amounts derived from recycled lake water (Bowen et al., 2012)

Remains of Teton Dam, Dan McCool

B Davies, L.L. (2011). “Beyond Fukushima: Disasters, Nuclear Energy, and Energy Law.” BYU Law Rev: 1937-1989.

Davies, L.L. (2012). “Reconciling Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs.” Utah Env Law Rev 32(2): 311-61.

Davies, L.L. (2012). “State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Is There a 'Race' and Is It 'To the Top'?” San Diego J of Clim & Energy Law 3(1): 3-78.

Clark, B., A. K. Jorgenson & D. Auerbach (2012). "Up in Smoke: The Human Ecology and Political Economy of Coal Consumption." Org & Env 25(4): 452-469.

Jorgenson, A. K. (2012). "Analyzing Fossil-Fuel Displacement " Nature Climate Change 2: 398-399.

Smith, R.E. & J. Ruegemer (2012). "Energy Efficiency Benchmarks for Housing: A Comparative Study of Energy Efficiency Benchmark Housing Systems." Int J of Tech, Know, & Soc 8(1): 85-102.

Wildermuth, A. (2011). "The Next Step: The Integration of Energy Law and Environmental Law." Utah Env Law Rev 31(2): 369-388.

Energy

“To me the GCSC is a nexus for faculty, graduate-, and undergraduate students to share research, and research efforts, and to learn about environmental processes shaping our climate and environmental resources.”

- Bill Johnson, Geology & Geophysics


Carter, M., J.M. Shepherd, S. Burian & I. Jeyachandran (2012). "Integration of Lidar Data into a Coupled Mesoscale–Land Surface Model: A Theoretical Assessment of Sensitivity of Urban–Coastal Mesoscale Circulations to Urban Canopy Parameters." J Atm Ocean Tech 29(3): 328-346.

Garrett, T.J. & C. Zhao (2012). "Ground-based remote sensing of thin clouds in the Arctic." Atm Meas Tech Disc 5(6): 8653-8699.

Hoch, S.W., C. D. Whiteman & B. Mayer (2011). "A Systematic Study of Longwave Radiative Heating and Cooling within Valleys and Basins Using a Three-Dimensional Radiative Transfer Model." J App Met Clim 50(12): 2473-2489.

GCSC Faculty Publication Highlights Atmospheric Dynamics and Weather

Lareau, N.P. & J.D. Horel (2012). "The Climatology of Synoptic-Scale Ascent over Western North America: A Perspective on Storm Tracks." Month Weather Rev 140(6): 1761-1778.

Zhang, L., Z. Pu, et al. (2012). "The Influence of Airborne Doppler Radar Data Quality on Numerical Simulations of a Tropical Cyclone." Weather & For 27(1): 231-239.

Alcott, T.I., W.J. Steenburgh & N.F. Laird (2012). "Great Salt Lake–Effect Precipitation: Observed Frequency, Characteristics, and Associated Environmental Factors." Weather & For 27(4): 954-971.

Rutz, J.J. & W.J. Steenburgh (2012). "Quantifying the role of atmospheric rivers in the interior western United States." Atm Sci Let 13(4): 257-261.

Steenburgh, W.J., et al. (2012). "Episodic Dust Events of Utah’s Wasatch Front and Adjoining Region." J App Met Cli 51(9): 1654-1669.

Jewell, P.W. & K. Nicoll (2011). "Wind regimes and aeolian transport in the Great Basin, U.S.A." Geomorph 129(1-2): 1-13.

Sun, R., & S.K. Krueger (2012). “Mesoanalysis of the interactions of precipitating convection and the boundary layer.” J Adv Model Earth Sys 4: M04004.

Lin, J.C., et al. (2011). "Studying Atmospheric Transport Through Lagrangian Models." EOS 92(21): 177-184.

Wen, D., J.C. Lin, et al. (2012). "A backward-time stochastic Lagrangian air quality model." Atm Env 54: 373-386.

Thatcher, L., Y.N. Takayabu, C. Yokoyama & Z. Pu (2012). "Characteristics of tropical cyclone precipitation features over the western Pacific warm pool." J Geo Res 117(D16).

“Through the GCSC, I was able to meet more students and faculty from different departments at the U and engage in more collaborative discussions over the past 6 months than over the entire 5 years at my previous university!”

- John Lin, Atmospheric Science

Yeager, K.N., W.J. Steenburgh & T.I. Alcott (2012). "Contributions of Lake-Effect Periods to the Cool-Season Hydroclimate of the Great Salt Lake Basin." J App Met Cli.

Strong, C. & J. Liptak (2012). "Propagating Atmospheric Patterns Associated with Midwest Winter Precipitation." J Hydromet 13(4): 1371-1382.

Adler, B., C.D. Whiteman, S.W. Hoch, et al. (2012). "Warm-Air Intrusions in Arizona’s Meteor Crater." J App Met Clim 51(6): 1010-1025.

Fierro, A.O., E.J. Zipser, et al. (2012). "Tropical Oceanic Hot Towers: Need They Be Undilute to Transport Energy from the Boundary Layer to the Upper Troposphere Effectively? An Answer Based on Trajectory Analysis of a Simulation of a TOGA COARE Convective System." J Atm Sci 69(1): 195-213.

Xu, W. & E.J. Zipser (2012). "Properties of deep convection in tropical continental, monsoon, and oceanic rainfall regimes." Geo Res Let 39(7).

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences maintains several observing stations near the Great Salt Lake. The Hat Island station has been in operation since 1997 and helps delineate the environmental conditions affecting the level and ecology of the Great Salt Lake.

Frequency occurrences of radar reflectivity (accumulating snow) during 128 studied lake-effect periods between1998-2009 (Yeager et al., 2012)


Liu, Y., S. Brewer, et al. (2012). "Temporal density of pollen sampling affects age determination of the mid-Holocene hemlock (Tsuga) decline." Quat Sci Rev 45: 54-59.

Djamali, M., S. Brewer, et al., (2012). "Climatic determinism in phytogeographic regionalization: A test from the Irano-Turanian region, SW and Central Asia " Flora. Morph Dist Function Eco Plants 207(4).

Daniau, A.L., P.J. Bartlein, S.P. Harrison, I.C. Prentice, S. Brewer, P. Friedlingstein, T.I. Harrison-Prentice, J. Inoue, K. Izumi, J.R. Marlon, S. Mooney, M.J. Power, et al., (2012). "Predictability of biomass burning in response to climate changes." Glo Biogeo Cy 26(4).

Ewing, R. (2011). "Is Anyone Listening as Climate Change Speeds Up?" Amer Plan Assoc 1.

Burgess, E.W., R.R. Forster, et al. (2012). "Surge dynamics on Bering Glacier, Alaska, in 2008-2011." The Cryo 6(6): 1251-1262.

Rennermalm, A.K., L.C. Smith, V.W. Chu, J.E. Box, R.R. Forster & M. van den Broeke (2012). "Evidence of meltwater retention within the Greenland ice sheet." The Cryo Disc 6(4): 3369-3396.

VanLooy, J.A., R.R. Forster, et al. (2012). "Spatially variable surface elevation changes and estimated melt water contribution of Continental Glacier in the Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA: 1966–2011." Geocarto Int: 1-16.

Garrett, T. J. (2012). "Diverse Views on Climate Change." EOS 93(15).

GCSC Faculty Publication Highlights Climate Change

Garrett, T. J. (2012). "No way out? The double-bind in seeking global prosperity alongside mitigated climate change." Earth Sys Dyn 3: 1-17.

C. Hohenegger, B. Alali, K.R. Steffen, D.K. Perovich, & K.M. Golden (2012). “Transition in the fractal geometry of Arctic melt ponds.” The Cryo Disc 6: 2161–2177.

Power, M., et al. (2012). "Climatic control of the biomass-burning decline in the Americas after AD 1500." The Holocene 23(1): 3-13.

Whitlock, C., W.E. Dean, S.C. Fritz, L.R. Stevens, J.R. Stone, M.J. Power, et al. (2012). "Holocene seasonal variability inferred from multiple proxy records from Crevice Lake, Yellowstone National Park, USA." Palaeogeo, Palaeoclim, Palaeoeco 331-332: 90-103.

Pennell, C. & T. Reichler (2011). "On the Effective Number of Climate Models." J Climate 24(9): 2358-2367.

Reichler, T., et al. (2012). "A stratospheric connection to Atlantic climate variability." Nature Geosci 5: 783-787.

Wang, S.Y., R.R. Gillies & T. Reichler (2012). "Multidecadal Drought Cycles in the Great Basin Recorded by the Great Salt Lake: Modulation from a Transition-Phase Teleconnection." J Climate 25(5): 1711-1721.

Sekercioglu, C.H., et al. (2012). "The effects of climate change on tropical birds." Bio Conserv 148(1): 1-18.

Antarctic “pancakes” of sea ice, Ken Golden, Mathematics


Bhattacharya, H. & R. Innes (2012). "Income and the Environment in Rural India: Is There a Poverty Trap?" Am Jour Ag Eco 95(1): 42-69.

Valenzuela, L.O., L.A. Chesson, G.J. Bowen, T.E. Cerling & J.R. Ehleringer (2012). "Dietary heterogeneity among western industrialized countries reflected in the stable isotope ratios of human hair." PLoS ONE 7(3): e34234.

Costanza, R., S. van der Leeuw, K. Hibbard, S. Aulenbach, S. Brewer, et al., (2012). "Developing an Integrated History and future of People on Earth (IHOPE)." Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 4(1): 106-114.

Ewing, R., K. Bartholomew & A.C. Nelson (2011). "Compactness vs. Sprawl – Have Energy, Climate, Health, and Demographics Resolved the Debate?" T. Banerjee & A. Loukaitou-Sideris Urban Design: Roots, Influences, & Trends. Routledge.

Ewing, R. (2012). Eco-Friendly Transportation and the Built Environment. The Praeger Handbook of Env Health, Praeger.


Humans and Their Environment

Isunju, J. B., K. Schwartz, M. A. Schouten, W. P. Johnson & M. P. van Dijk (2011). "Socio-economic aspects of improved sanitation in slums: a review." Pub Health 125(6): 368-376.

Clark, B. & A. K. Jorgenson (2012). "The Treadmill of Destruction and the Environmental Impacts of Militaries." Soc Comp 6(7): 557-569.

Jorgenson, A. K. (2012). Footprints: The Divisions of Nations and Nature. Ecology and power: struggles over land and material resources in the past, present and future. A. Hornborg, B. Clark & K. Hermele. London;; New York, Routledge.

Jorgenson, A. K. & B. Clark (2012). "Are the Economy and the Environment Decoupling? A Comparative International Study, 1960–2005." Amer Jour Soc 118(1): 1-44.

Miller, H.J., et al. (2012). "Developing context-sensitive livability indicators for transportation planning: A measurement framework," J Trans Geog 26: 51-64.

Raff, J.A., D.A. Bolnick, J. Tackney & D.H. O'Rourke (2011). "Ancient DNA perspectives on American colonization and population history." Am J Phys Anthropol 146(4): 503-514.

Iriarte, J., M.J. Power, et al. (2012). "Fire-free land use in pre-1492 Amazonian savannas." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(17): 6473-6478.

Marlon, J.M., P.J. Bartlein, C. Long, D.G. Gavin, R.S. Anderson, C. Briles, K. Brown, D. Colombaroli, D.J. Hallett, M.J. Power, et al. (2012). "Natural versus human causes of fire in the western U.S." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109(9): E535-E543.

Sekercioglu, C.H. (2012). "Promoting community-based bird monitoring in the tropics: Conservation, research, environmental education, capacity-building, and local incomes." Bio Cons 151(1): 69-73.

Smith, R.E. & T.P. Wu (2011). "Green Roof Cost Benefits for Utah." Int J Design Nature & Ecodyn 6(2): 122-138.

Newly published textbook on urban ecology by Fred Adler, Biology

Timberlake, M., et al. (2012). "Testing a Global City Hypothesis: An Assessment of Polarization across US Cities." City & Community 11(1): 74-93.

Wei, Y.H.D. & M. Timberlake (2012). "Restructuring for growth in urban China: Transitional institutions, urban development, and spatial transformation." Hab Int 36(3): 396-405.

Wei, Y.H.D. & I. Liefner (2012). "Globalization, industrial restructuring, and regional development in China." Appl Geog 32(1): 102-105.

Brown, B.B. & C.M. Werner (2012). Healthy physical environment and eating: Environmental supports for health. New York, Oxford University Press.

Gallimore, J.M., B.B. Brown & C.M. Werner (2011). "Walking routes to school in new urban and suburban neighborhoods: An environmental walkability analysis of blocks and routes." J Env Psych 31(2): 184-191

Werner, C.M., et al. (2012). ““Lights out” in university classrooms: Brief group discussion can change behavior." J Env Psych 32(4): 418-426.

Arthur C. Nelson, City and Metropolitan Planning, addresses long-range planning


Recr

uitin

g an

d T

rain

ing

a N

ew G

ener

atio

n

Recr

uitin

g an

d T

rain

ing

a N

ew G

ener

atio

n


The GCSC has introduced a new model to the University for recruiting outstanding graduate students that share a common interest in the environment and in sustainability. While these students will receive their degrees in different departments across campus, the GCSC provides the inter-disciplinary training experiences, seminar programs, and sense of community to develop the broad perspective required for sustainability studies.

The GCSC-affiliated faculty are committed to attracting these students and preparing them with the inter-departmental and inter-college training and research that will best prepare them to solve tomorrow’s challenges.

Many of today’s brightest students want

training opportunities and research

experiences that go beyond traditional

departmental boundaries.


The possibilities are endless when you have a sociologist, geographer,

lawyer, and architect talking sustainability at 9,000 ft

Work hard…

“The most important scientific opportunities for me and my students lay at the boundaries between disciplines. The GCSC helps us explore these boundaries.”

- Gabe Bowen, Geology & Geophysics

2012 Fall Retreat

The Annual Fall Retreat is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to gather In an inspiring Wasatch Mountain setting and explore the

possibilities that lie in interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability.


2011-2012 Graduate Fellows

Vachel is from Salt Lake City and attended the University of Utah for all three of her degrees. She loves the outdoors (why she never left Salt Lake) and enjoys hiking, climbing, camping, snowboarding and gardening.

Vachel is researching forest disturbances using long-term records from sediments. She is particularly interested in fire, mountain pine beetle and mistletoe inter-relations from a management perspective. Understanding the natural range of variability of forest disturbances and their relationships and interaction with each other over long time scales aid forest managers in current and future management applications. As future climate change and land use change alter or shift these disturbance regimes, it's important to understand how these disturbance regimes have shifted in the past.

Vachel Carter Geography Advisor: Andrea Brunelle

Allison is a second year Ph.D. student in the Biology department. Her research interests include terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecohydrology, and disturbance ecology, primarily in high elevation ecosystems. She has spent the last year as a research assistant investigating the effect of bark beetle outbreaks on forest carbon cycling in subalpine forests in Colorado. Before coming to Utah, she attended Bowdoin College in Maine, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies.

Allison’s research focuses on the impact of mountain pine beetle outbreaks on forest ecohydrology. She is examining the stand-level effects of tree mortality on snowpack dynamics and the water use of surviving vegetation in forests in the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah.

Allison Chan Biology Advisor: Dave Bowling

Youcan received a Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information System from China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, and a Master of Science in Natural Resources from Beijing Normal University, China. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Besides research, he is also a big fan of sports.

Youcan’s current researches focus on hydrologic modeling and green infrastructures design in urban areas. He is interested in using knowledge and techniques in Ecology, Geography, Hydrology, and Micrometeorology to contribute to the sustainable design and planning for urban environments.

Youcan Feng Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisor: Steve Burian

The GCSC First Year Fellowship Program attracts top students who are interested in a multidisciplinary approach to their graduate training along with research experience focused on how different global changes impact the dynamics and sustainability of natural ecosystems, human-built systems, and regional-to-global climate systems.


Shima earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Shiraz University, Iran, and held a position as research and teaching assistant at Iran University of Science and Technology for two years. During this time, she researched sustainable principles of traditional Persian architecture. Shima then moved to Malaysia for her Master’s degree at the University Teknologi Malaysia. In her final project, she focused on urban design qualities of the walking environment to optimize the walkability of routes. After completing her degree, she worked as research associate for almost one year. She is enjoying living in Utah and goes skiing as much as possible, besides doing research.

Shima’s current interests are urban sprawl and its association to transportation, housing affordability, residential energy consumption and walkability. Across the nation, growing numbers of communities are discovering links between urban sprawl and a wide range of problems, from traffic and air pollution to central city poverty, housing affordability and energy consumption related costs. This research represents a rigorous effort to measure the characteristics of sprawl and improve the understanding of the effects of sprawl.


Shima Hamidi City & Metropolitan Planning Advisor: Reid Ewing

John Heiberger Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisor: Christine Pomeroy

John was born and raised in South Dakota. He received his bachelor’s degree from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology prior to moving to Utah for work and graduate school. Currently, he is finishing his M.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering degree with an emphasis in Water Resources. He will be graduating in May, 2013. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and mountain biking.

John’s research is focused on infiltration and potential groundwater recharge performance of two stormwater bioretention sites on the University of Utah campus and in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. He was responsible for all aspects of the projects including design, construction of the sites, maintenance, data collection, and analysis. Specifically, his thesis focuses on the design and performance of bioretention in Utah’s semiarid climate. The projects are sponsored in part by the University of Utah Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund and the USGS, with additional contributions from the City of Cottonwood Heights, Gilson Engineering, Miller Paving, and the Utelite Corporation.

Olivia grew up in both Portland, Oregon, and Kauai, Hawaii. She received her undergraduate degree in Earth & Environmental Science from Wesleyan University. She enjoys skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing (really any kind of outdoor adventure).

Olivia’s research focuses on dust biogeochemical cycling, isotope geochemistry, and groundwater hydrology. Currently, she is using strontium isotopes to investigate whether or not a record of dust deposition in the Wasatch Mountains is recorded in tree rings.

Olivia Miller Geology & Geophysics Advisor: Kip Solomon



Gerald Schneider Biology Advisor: Phyllis Coley

Gerald grew up in suburban Southern California, interested in natural history and its human variations, including music and technology. He studied in a range of biological and social sciences the University of California, San Diego, where he obtained his B.Sc. in Biology. Outside of doing research, he enjoys collecting music, gardening, hiking, and biking. He is currently learning to play the fiddle.

Gerald is studying the effects of ozone and NOx air pollution on plant chemistry and chemically-mediated plant-insect interactions in tropical forests. Much of the biodiversity in tropical forest communities is reflected in chemical diversity, and air pollution may alter community dynamics through and the differential effects of pollutants on sensitive species.

Kyle is a native of Salt Lake City. He enjoys mathematics and the sciences, as well as outdoor recreation such as skiing, hiking, and biking.

Kyle Steffen’s interests lie at the interface between real world phenomena and mathematics. Examples include fluid dynamics;; partial differential equations (PDE's – calculus equations modeling phenomena such as electromagnetics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer);; and scientific computation (including design and analysis of numerical approximations of equations such as PDE's).

Kyle Steffen Mathematics Advisor: Ken Golden

Thomas Walsh Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisor: Christine Pomeroy

Thomas was raised in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, educated on the Front Range of Colorado at CSU, and polished in the Wasatch Range of Utah. When not running models or analyzing data, he enjoys trail/road running, backpacking, fishing, traveling, perusing a thrift shop, and sampling a farmers market. Ultimately, his aim is to become a professor and inspire as he has been inspired. As a water resources engineer, Thomas focuses on the urban hydrologic cycle and how to more sustainably manage stormwater. His research consists of hydrologic modeling of distributed low impact development practices (e.g. rainwater harvesting), with the goal of quantifying volumetric reductions and the potential for potable water supplementation. Additionally, insight into the design and spatial configuration of these decentralized networks are a primary objective.


“Global Changes and Society”

The GCSC graduate fellows have the opportunity to engage in unique interdisciplinary courses including “Global Changes and Society.” This is a project-based course that allows the students to build on their own expertise while also learning to communicate and collaborate with a group of colleagues with diverse disciplinary backgrounds.

The Spring 2012 students chose to focus their class project on the sustainability and stewardship of Red Butte Creek. They worked to promote awareness of the creek as an educational, research, and environmental asset on the University of Utah campus.

Red Butte Creek transitioning from the relatively pristine Research Natural Area to U of U Research Park.

Spring 2012 Global Changes and Society class. L to R: Thomas Walsh, Youcan Feng, Vachel Carter, Tim Price, Olivia Miller, Jim Ehleringer, John Heiberger, Jerry Schneider, Kyle Steffen, and Shima Hamidi

The GCSC has “facilitated opportunities for me to meet faculty (and) collaborate with professors outside of my department to guide my research. As a result, I am receiving

training from professors in both Engineering and Biology, allowing me to address my research questions from a truly interdisciplinary perspective.”

- Dasch Houdeshel, PhD candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering



Kenneth Dudley Geography Advisor: Phil Dennison

Kenneth graduated from the University of Utah in Environmental and Sustainability Studies B.S., Japanese B.A., and Geography B.S. in December 2011. He is currently a part of the Geography M.S. program. He was born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah. He participated in a one year study abroad program in Japan where he discovered a profound interest in man-nature relationships and geographic differences between areas. In his spare time he enjoys studying Japanese and watching Japanese television.

Kenneth is studying the use of remote sensing to identify plant species and species level characteristics at large spatial scales. He is focused on the use of remote sensed imagery in tracking and assessing invasive species distribution and vegetation responses to climate change.

Derek Mallia Atmospheric Sciences Advisor: John Lin

Derek grew up in Upstate New York just outside of Albany. He did his undergraduate studies at the University at Albany with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science. He received his M.S. degree in Meteorology at Plymouth State University where he did his thesis on the modeling ice accretion in cold and alpine environments. During his free time he enjoy biking, running and watching baseball when it is in season!

Currently, Derek is investigating the sources and sinks of air pollution in the Salt Lake using the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport Model (STILT) coupled with Weather Research and Forecast model WRF-ARW which will output the meteorological fields needed to drive the STILT model. This model will allow us to quantitatively identify the upstream regions that are producing the most air pollution (both anthropogenic and natural sources).

Sabrina McNew Biology Advisor: Dale Clayton

Sabrina is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and graduated from Pomona College in 2009 with a BA in Biology. She has lived and traveled throughout South America and loves meeting new people, seeing new animals and trying new food. Here in Salt Lake Sabrina is enjoying learning and teaching at the U as well as exploring Utah’s fantastic wilderness.

Sabrina is fascinated by the ways that organisms interact with each other-- from the mutualisms between plants and seed dispersers to host-parasite relationships. As global change reshapes species’ ranges, novel contacts between organisms will continue to increase and understanding their impact on one another will be key for species’ management and conservation. Sabrina joined the Clayton-Bush Lab at the University of Utah in 2009 to study malaria parasites of invasive birds. She hopes to better understand how parasites shape host behavior, distribution and diversity.



David Proffitt City & Metropolitan Planning Advisor: Reid Ewing

David is a Ph.D. student in the U's Urban Planning, Policy & Design program. Before coming to Salt Lake City, he spent 2011-2012 researching the urban heat island in Pune, India as a Fulbright scholar. He also worked at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Lower Sonoran Field Office in Phoenix. Planning is a second career for David, who started professional life as a journalist at The Arizona Republic, Dwell, America West Airline Magazine, and other publications. David holds a Master's in Urban & Environmental Planning and a bachelor's in English literature, both from Arizona State University.

David's broad research interest is urban environmental policy that link urban systems to natural resource use, air pollution, and climate change. At the U, he is working on projects dealing with the urban heat island, international governance for sustainable development, and regional climate change mitigation policies.

Jeffrey Ross Biology Advisor: Jim Ehleringer

Jeffrey is from the Northwest Angle #33 First Nation in Ontario, Canada. He holds degrees from the University of Montana (B.Sc.) and Yale University (M.F.S.). Prior to moving to Utah, Jeffrey was employed as an Environmental Specialist for a consulting firm in Winnipeg, Canada. In this position, he advised several First Nation communities on environmental issues related to hydroelectric development in Northern Canada. When not preoccupied with his studies, Jeffrey enjoys skiing, surfing, mountain biking, and running in City Creek Canyon.

Jeffrey’s master’s research focused on studying the impacts of disturbance such as drought, fire, and insect outbreaks on aboveground carbon storage. Evidence from this study reveals that natural disturbance regimes plays a key role in forest carbon flux, and suggests that any additional disturbance events will shift temperate hardwood forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources. His proposed PhD research will assess the responses of several important aridland native herbaceous species and one invasive species to changes in climate and competitive interactions.

Pratibha Sapkota Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisor: Christine Pomeroy

Born in a country blessed with high hills and mountains, Pratibha likes to go for uphill hiking and off road biking during weekends and free time. She completed her Masters in Civil Engineering from University of Toledo, Ohio. Pratibha’s master’s research was focused on modeling pollutant removal using constructed wetland.

After completing her master’s, she returned to her home county Nepal and worked in International Water Management Institute (IWMI) as a consultant for over a year. Her research in IWMI focused in surface water quality modeling. She has experience modeling the influence of land use change and climate change impacts using WEAP (Water Evaluation and Planning) models. Her specific research interests are in the areas of stormwater management, climate change impacts and sustainable water resources management.



Kimi Smith Atmospheric Sciences Advisor: Court Strong

Kimi grew up in Boise, Idaho, and in elementary school, she become deeply fascinated by weather. In junior high school, she fell in love even more with the Earth sciences. She studied geosciences (specifically hydrology) and applied math at Boise State University. When she has the time, she loves jumping horses, doing ballet, and listening to music.

Kimi is currently studying the projected changes in the climate of the Wasatch Front and Range, specifically the changes in precipitation timing, type, and amount, and the effects these changes will have on water availability for those of us living along the Wasatch.

Hassan Tavakol-Davani Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisor: Steve Burian

Hassan was born in the capital city of Iran, Tehran. He pursued his elementary and higher education there, as well as bachelor and master in Civil Engineering. Both his bachelor and master theses focused on water resources engineering which guided him towards a professional career in Iran. Beside research, he spends time on his hobbies, such as watching theater, listening to music, playing soccer and swimming. Hassan is working on an Urban Water Infrastructure Sustainability Evaluation (uWISE) project. The goal of the uWISE is to develop a stormwater model for the studied area, Toledo, Ohio, to evaluate the performance of Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) systems in terms of sustainability, flood control and environmental impacts;; then the optimum scheme according to the usage and placement of the RWH system will be proposed for current and future conditions. This work studies the advantages of RWH systems in controlling the impacts of future climate change, land use change and urban expansion.

Rebecca Terry Mathematics Advisor: Fred Adler

Rebecca is from Schenectady, a city in upstate NY. Growing up, she would spend Sunday afternoons on her grandparents' farm and summers in the Adirondack Park with her grandparents. As a result, she became interested in the impact humans have on the environment. As an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, she majored in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Economics. After working as a research assistant in the field of Environmental Economics, she realized she was most interested in the mathematical techniques used in the development of models that helped explain natural phenomena and anthropogenic effects. In addition to mathematical puzzles, she enjoys hiking, skiing, and exploring Utah. Before entering the Mathematics Ph.D. program at the University of Utah, Rebecca received a Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Mathematics from the Center for Women in Mathematics at Smith College. Her research areas of interest include climate modeling, natural resource modeling, mathematical biology, and dynamical systems.



Crystal Tulley-Cordova Geology & Geophysics Advisor: Gabe Bowen

Crystal is an enrolled Navajo tribal member, and she grew up on the Navajo Nation. She received a M.W.R. in Water Resources and a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico. One thing people might not know about Crystal is she was a part of TNT’s TV miniseries, Into the West. Crystal loves learning new skills;; currently she is learning Spanish. Crystal’s research interests span the fields of hydrology, chemistry and geology, and this is reflected in the breadth of past and current research projects. Currently, she is interested in studying stream water isotopes in Red Butte Creek. Her study will provide hydrological data for the Red Butte Creek system. The collected data will be effective in understanding the human impacts on a natural system by conducting high frequency monitoring.

David Wheatley Geology & Geophysics Advisor: Marjorie Chan

David is originally from Corona del Mar, CA. He did his undergrad at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL and received a B.S. in geology. In addition to his geologic interests, he is interested in archaeology, especially of the ancient near East. He enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and bird watching.

David’s research focuses on clastic liquefaction features and their associated soft sediment deformation in the Jurassic Carmel Formation in Southern Utah. These liquefaction features called clastic pipes or injectities can further our understanding of reservoir characterization and can be used as analogs for Martian geomorphic features. Additionally, these features have specific formation conditions, which allow for paleoenvironment and paleoclimate reconstruction.

The 2013 Global Change and Society class is building on the work of the 2012 class to establish a community dedicated to understanding and revitalizing Red Butte Creek. Pictured on left (clockwise): Pratibha Sapkota, Zacharia Levine, Kimi Smith, Kenneth Dudley, David Proffitt, Jeffrey Ross, Christy Mancuso, Becky Terry, Crystal Tully-Cordova, Dr. Brenda Bowen, David Wheatley, and Jacob Hansen (Derek Mallia, not in photo).


Spring 2012 Seminar

Ken Golden, Mathematics, University of Utah MATHEMATICS AND THE MELTING POLAR ICE CAPS

Li Yin, City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah INFORMED DECISIONS AND PLANNING: PROACTIVE USE OF GIS AND OTHER PLANNING TECHNOLOGIES

Julio Betancourt, Geoscientist, U.S. Geological Survey FOR EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON: PHENOLOGY IN A CHANGING WORLD

Nancy Huntly, Ecology Center Director, Utah State University LONG-TERM HUMAN ECOLOGY: APPLYING ECOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLES OF THE ALEUT IN THEIR NORTH PACIFIC ECOSYSTEM OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS

Robin Craig, Law, University of Utah CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE OCEANS: PROTECTING SPECIAL PLACES IN AN ERA OF CHANGE

Richard Reynolds, Geoscientist, U.S. Geological Survey LINKING ATMOSPHERIC DUST, LANDSCAPE CHANGE, AND BIO-DYNAMICS IN NORTH AMERICA

Chad Higgins, Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University TURBULENT WATER VAPOR TRANSPORT, ADVECTION AND THE SURFACE ENERGY BUDGET

Seminar Series

Now in its third year, the GCSC seminar series presents some of the best researchers- from around campus and across the country- whose work sheds light on global change and sustainability. Seminars are open to all. Students who enroll in the 1 credit course have additional opportunities to engage with the speakers and with each other as an interdisciplinary student cohort.

Fall 2012 Seminar

Tariq Banuri, City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah BEYOND RIO+20: WHAT NEXT?

Jim Ehleringer, Biology, University of Utah ELEPHANTS, EQUATIONS, MURDER, AND FAST FOOD: HAIR ISOTOPES AS A COMMON THREAD

Simon Brewer, Geography, University of Utah ECOINFORMATICS AND THE PALEO-WORLD: CLIMATE CHANGE AND VEGETATION RESPONSE AT LARGE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES

Sasha Reed, Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey IT'S ALL CONNECTED: LINKING ABOVE- AND BELOWGROUND ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES TO GLOBAL CHANGE Pamela Perlich, Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Utah UTAH'S TRANSFORMATION FROM ISOLATION TO GLOBAL CITY: OUR AIR, OUR WATER, OUR FUTURE Bo Yang, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT


Student Research and Travel Support Semiannual competitions award exemplary graduate students with financial support for their research and/or to present their work at national meetings. Through 2012, we have had the privilege of granting 24 awards to graduate students from 6 different departments. James Arnold Geograpy (Phillip Dennison) Modeling fire conditions in the Western United States using antecedent climate Ann Bryant Geography (Rick Forster) Reflectance characteristics of dust in snow Greg Carling Geology & Geophysics (Bill Johnson) Dust-dominated deposition of mercury and other trace elements to Wasatch Mountain Snowpack Maria Jose Endara Biology (Phyllis Coley / Tom Kursar) Towards sustainable insect management in agroforestry: The relevance of host plant defensive traits and phylogeny in determining herbivore host choice in the speciose Neotropical tree genus, Inga My study is focused on one of the most diverse and abundant Neotropical genera of trees Inga, in the legume family (Fabaceae). This genus is extensively used for agroforestry practices in the entire Neotropics. In the world’s most species-rich forests, I am characterizing all classes of chemical compounds in leaves of target Inga species, as well as other defenses such as attracting protective ants, nutritional quality and phenological escape. I am also quantifying the diversity and abundance of leaf-feeders associated with Inga young leaves, and how defense traits affect rates of leaf damage and host choice by herbivores. With the use of phylogenies for both plants and herbivores, I will discriminate among possible macroevolutionary hypothesis of host use and how these plant-insect interactions facilitate coexistence of plant species. Photo: Ant (Ectatoma tuberculatum) tending an Inga leaf-feeder (Riodinidae sp.).

Greg Maurer

This study is assessing the influence of seasonal snowpack variability, particularly the timing of spring snowmelt, on belowground ecosystem processes in mountain forests. We have found two important drivers of the timing of snowmelt in forested landscapes: dust deposition on the snow surface, and canopy structure above the snowpack. The relative importance of these two drivers varies across the landscape and results in differences in spring snowmelt timing. This has important consequences for ecosystem function, including changes in soil water availability, soil temperature, tree water use, and soil carbon cycling rates. Canopy photo above is a part of the method of assessing canopy structure. The lens used to take the photo above was purchased with research funding supplied by the GCSC. Alex Gonzalez Geology & Geophysics (Brenda Bowen) Geochemical and Mineralogical Evaluation of CO2-Brine-Rock Experiments: Characterizing Porosity and Permeability Variations in the Cambrian Mount Simon Sandstone Becky Hollingshaus Geology & Geophysics (Kip Solomon) Quantification of reservoir characteristics in areas of groundwater discharge – A Hydrolic Study in the Red Butte Canyon Research Natural Area Dasch Houdeshel Civil & Environmental Engineering (Christine Pomeroy) Can Green Stormwater Infrastructure coexist in the Western Legal Landscape of Prior Appropriation Law? Sarah Knutie Biology (Dale Clayton / Sarah Bush) Predicting long-term effects of an invasive parasite: quantifying the observer effect Patrice Kurnath Biology (Denise Dearing) Turning up the heat: Investigating the effects of climate change on liver metabolism in herbivorous mammals David Lubbers Electrical Engineering (Ken Golden) Anistropic AC Measurements of Sea Ice

Biology (Dave Bowling) Sensitivity of soil carbon cycle processes to mountain snowpack variability


Erin Spear

Kevin Uno Geology & Geophysics (Thure Cerling) Intratooth Stable Isotope Profiles in Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Molars: A New Tool for Evaluating Seasonality in Terrestrial Paleoenvironments from Proboscidean Teeth Johanna Varner Biology (Denise Dearing) Too hot to trot? Factors promoting pika survival in a time of global change

American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small mammals that may be excellent indicators of climate change in alpine ecosystems. Despite an apparent reliance on cold climates, pikas thrive near sea level in the warm temperate rainforests of the Columbia River Gorge (CRG). My research focuses on the ecological and environmental factors that promote pika persistence in this atypical habitat. The most notable feature of pika habitat in the CRG is that 40-85% of each rockslide is covered in a thick layer of moss, which appears to promote pika survival in these sites. First, the pikas can consume large amounts of moss, which is available all year. By utilizing this abundant year-round resource, pikas do not have to travel long distances to forage during the summer or construct large food caches to sustain them over the winter. In addition, moss cover significantly buffers the habitat against temperature extremes. In fact, summer habitat temperatures at low elevation mossy sites are actually cooler than in high elevation habitat on nearby Mt. Hood. Taken together, these results suggest that low elevation pika populations may actually be less susceptible to heat stress caused by climate change than their counterparts living in the high mountains, who are obligated to construct substantial food caches during the warmest parts of the summer. Photo by J. Varner. Jennifer Watt Geography (Andrea Brunelle) Bark beetle outbreaks and the role that vegetation plays in their disturbance ecology Brett Wolfe Biology (Tom Kursar) The determinants of drought response in tropical trees

Carina Maron Biology (Jon Seger) Do southern right whales need to eat krill in order to reproduce successfully? Nathan Miller Mechanical Engineering (Rob Stoll) An Experimental Study of Fungal Spore Dispersion in Grape Vineyards Jesse Morris Geography (Andrea Brunelle) High-resolution pollen and charcoal records of Holocene vegetative change and disturbance from wildfire and spruce beetle on the subalpine ranges and plateaus of southern Utah, USA Austin Orr Civil & Environmental Engineering (Christine Pomeroy) Water balance of bioretention garden during months of plant dormancy Yi Qi Geograpy (Phillip Dennison) Seasonal Dynamics of Live Fuel Moisture and Spectroscopic Data in Lodgepole Pine and Sagebrush Jennifer Steffen Civil & Environmental Engineering (Christine Pomeroy) Bioretention Infiltration and Evapotranspiration Performance Bioretention is a stormwater management best management practice designed to treat small yearly occurring storms. Bioretention is typically used on the East Coast, which is a mesic climate, with significant precipitation (500 to 750 mm precipitation annually). For Salt Lake City, UT, a semi-arid climate with lower precipitation (250 to 500 mm precipitation annually), a different bioretention design is used that is better suited for this climate. A hydrologic performance evaluation is performed on a bioretention garden, investigating the three main methods for water movement out of the bioretention garden including evapotranspiration, vertical infiltration and lateral water movement through the installation of sensors on site and modeling software. The majority of water movement is as vertical infiltration, while evapotranspiration has potential to be a significant process of water movement if plants are located close to ponded water. The results are preliminary and more information is needed about each water movement process before a bioretention garden can be effectively modeled.

Student Support Biology (Phyllis Coley / Tom Kursar) Phytopathogens as determinants of tree species distributions across a rainfall gradient Shira Tracy Geography (Phillip Dennison) Paleofire Regimes in Mediterranean Climate Regions

Erin Spear Biology (Phyllis Coley / Tom Kursar) Phytopathogens as determinants of tree species distributions across a rainfall gradient Shira Tracy Geography (Phillip Dennison) Paleofire Regimes in Mediterranean Climate Regions Kevin Uno Geology & Geophysics (Thure Cerling) Intratooth Stable Isotope Profiles in Elephant (Loxodonta africana) Molars: A New Tool for Evaluating Seasonality in Terrestrial Paleoenvironments from Proboscidean Teeth Johanna Varner Biology (Denise Dearing) Too hot to trot? Factors promoting pika survival in a time of global change American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small mammals that may be excellent indicators of climate change in alpine ecosystems. Despite an apparent reliance on cold climates, pikas thrive near sea level in the warm temperate rainforests of the Columbia River Gorge (CRG). My research focuses on the ecological and environmental factors that promote pika persistence in this atypical habitat. The most notable feature of pika habitat in the CRG is that 40-85% of each rockslide is covered in a thick layer of moss, which appears to promote pika survival in these sites. First, the pikas can consume large amounts of moss, which is available all year. By utilizing this abundant year-round resource, pikas do not have to travel long distances to forage during the summer or construct large food caches to sustain them over the winter. In addition, moss cover significantly buffers the habitat against temperature extremes. In fact, summer habitat temperatures at low elevation mossy sites are actually cooler than in high elevation habitat on nearby Mt. Hood. Taken together, these results suggest that low elevation pika populations may actually be less susceptible to heat stress caused by climate change than their counterparts living in the high mountains, who are obligated to construct substantial food caches during the warmest parts of the summer. Photo by J. Varner. Jennifer Watt Geography (Andrea Brunelle) Bark beetle outbreaks and the role that vegetation plays in their disturbance ecology Brett Wolfe Biology (Tom Kursar) The determinants of drought response in tropical trees


Sustainability at the University of Utah

Sustainability is the harmonious and equitable interaction among ecological, social, and economic systems

that provides resources for current generations and leaves future generations with no less access.

Sustainability curriculum provides the necessary breadth and depth

of knowledge, skills, and critical and creative thinking to implement solutions for, and adapt with,

the interconnected ecosystems for present and future generations.

Sustainability research investigates responsible management and the viability of natural, social, and economic systems

so that future generations may have the same opportunities to live, work, and play that we enjoy.

www.environment.utah.edu

global change and sustainability center · 2016-12-07 · global change and sustainability center y...

Documents