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Global Change |
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MEDECOS VIII: October 18-26, 1997: The Effects of Global Change on Mediterranean-type Ecosystems was hosted by Dr. Oechel, the Global Change Research Group, other SDSU faculty and staff, SDSU and the SDSU Foundation. The conference, held at the Princess Resort on Mission Bay, attracted over 175 scientists, including individuals from every Mediterranean-type region world-wide. This nine day conference included field trips to Santa Margarita/Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, Sky Oaks Biological Field Station and Baja California. During the week, there were 5 symposiums that included invited speakers as well as a poster session. This conference is held every three (3) years in a different region of the world. The last one was in Chile in 1994 and in the year 2000 it will be held in Capetown, South Africa. The Drs. Walter Oechel and George Vourlitis and others at the GCRG have received two new research awards from NSF totaling $3,000,000 to study the spatial and temporal effects of climate change on the energy and carbon flux of the arctic tundra in the US and Russia. Research is underway in Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska and is planned for the Seward Peninsula in Alaska and the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia. Another award from NSF is supplying funding for the purchase and instrumentation of a GT 500 very light aircraft capable of determining the carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy fluxes of arctic tundra and chaparral. In addition to CO2 and energy flux capability, the aircraft will have multi spectral imaging, and hyperspectral recording capabilities. Rommel Zulueta and Steve Hastings are in pilot training for the GT 500 while Joe Verfaillie Jr. is writing new computer code for data analysis and reduction for the aircraft. An NSF SGER grant (small grant for exploratory research) was awarded to Dr. Oechel and others at the GCRG to evaluate the possibility of using natural releases of CO2 in FACE research in the INYO forest near Mammoth Lakes. Pablo Bryant and Steve Hastings of the GCRG have made several trips to the site to initiate development and to estimate recoverable CO2 amounts. At the current time, a Memorandum of Understanding and permits are in hand or on the way, and the CO2 and habitat resources look promising for initiation of a prototype manipulation in the Spring on jeffrey pine seedlings and saplings. Research at the MedCO2RE Facility at the Sky Oaks Biological Field Station is proceeding well and is expanding. Mini-FACE rings have been designed and constructed by Pablo Bryant and Steve Roberts for use in the chaparral. Two hundred and eighty acres of land being donated by the Adams Family to the SDSU Foundation will form the site of a new Oak FACE research facility. Plans are underway for upgraded facilities to support this research.
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