NEON terrestrial field observations: designing continental-scale, standardized sampling.

Rapid changes in climate and land use and the resulting shifts in species distributions and ecosystem functions have motivated the development of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Integrating across spatial scales from ground sampling to remote sensing, NEON will provide data for users to address ecological responses to changes in climate, land use, and species invasion across the United States for at least 30 years. Although NEON remote sensing and tower sensor elements are relatively well known, the biological measurements are not. This manuscript describes NEON terrestrial sampling, which targets organisms across a range of generation and turnover times, and a hierarchy of measurable biological states. Measurements encompass species diversity, abundance, phenology, demography, infectious disease, ecohydrology, and biogeochemistry. The continental-scale sampling requires collection of comparable and calibrated data using transparent methods. Data will be publicly available in a variety of formats and suitable for integration with other long-term efforts. NEON will provide users with the data necessary to address large-scale questions, challenge current ecological paradigms, and forecast ecological change

Seasonal dynamics and exports of elements from a first‐order stream to a large inland lake in Michigan

Headwater streams are critical components of drainage systems, directly connecting terrestrial and downstream aquatic ecosystems. The amount of water in a stream can alter hydrologic connectivity between the stream and surrounding landscape and is ultimately an important driver of what constituents headwater streams transport. There is a shortage of studies that explore concentration–discharge (C‐Q) relationships in headwater systems, especially forested watersheds, where the hydrological and ecological processes that control the processing and export of solutes can be directly investigated. We sought to identify the temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of stream chemistry at three points along a forested headwater stream in Northern Michigan and utilize C‐Q relationships to explore transport dynamics and potential sources of solutes in the stream. Along the stream, surface flow was seasonal in the main stem, and perennial flow was spatially discontinuous for all but the lowest reaches. Spring snowmelt was the dominant hydrological event in the year with peak flows an order of magnitude larger at the mouth and upper reaches than annual mean discharge. All three C‐Q shapes (positive, negative, and flat) were observed at all locations along the stream, with a higher proportion of the analytes showing significant relationships at the mouth than at the mid or upper flumes. At the mouth, positive (flushing) C‐Q shapes were observed for dissolved organic carbon and total suspended solids, whereas negative (dilution) C‐Q shapes were observed for most cations (Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and biologically cycled anions (NO3−, PO43−, SO42−). Most analytes displayed significant C‐Q relationships at the mouth, indicating that discharge is a significant driving factor controlling stream chemistry. However, the importance of discharge appeared to decrease moving upstream to the headwaters where more localized or temporally dynamic factors may become more important controls on stream solute patterns.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149221/1/hyp13416.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149221/2/hyp13416_am.pd

Chemistry & Biochemistry Newsletter

Inside: Page 2-3 A Semester Break in Antarctica Page 4 Chemistry Student Receives Goldwater Scholarship; Recent Publications by the Department’s Faculty Page 5 Hach Scientific Foundation provides two new scholarships; Recent Publications by the Department’s Faculty Page 6 Chemistry Alum elected to National Academy of Sciences; Recent Funding by the Department Faculty Page 7 2007 Lardy Lecture; Scholarships and Awards Page 8 2007 Chemistry and Biochemistry Graduate

Participation and co-production in climate adaptation:Scope and limits identified from a meta-method review of research with European coastal communities

As climate change impacts increase, there are growing calls for strengthening relationships between researchers and other stakeholders to advance adaptation efforts. Participation and co-production are widely held to be key to such relationships, both intended to open substantive engagement in science and research to non-experts. Gains commonly attributed to participation and co-production include improved understanding of user needs and contexts, enhanced trust, creating actionable knowledge for adaptation planning and decision-making, and other new outcomes and practices supporting adaptation progress. At the same time, scrutiny of existing efforts to use participation and co-production reveals limits and gaps in understanding the conditions and processes required to undertake them in meaningful, appropriate and effective ways. This review assesses such limitations and gaps across the growing volume of research focused on adapting coastal and island communities within Europe. We systematically reviewed 60 peer-reviewed papers, drawing on a novel meta-method review approach to synthesise patterns in participation and co-production implementations, types of outcomes, and the latter’s associations with study research designs. We identify a propensity towards using more simplistic definitions of community, more conventional, extractive research methods in working with study communities, and emphasising knowledge generation over other outcomes. These issues are all limits on participation and co-production effectiveness, and we make recommendations to reduce them. We also recommend further recourse to systematic review methods to aid the development of participation and co-production knowledge for adaptation

Participation and co-production in climate adaptation:Scope and limits identified from a meta-method review of research with European coastal communities

As climate change impacts increase, there are growing calls for strengthening relationships between researchers and other stakeholders to advance adaptation efforts. Participation and co-production are widely held to be key to such relationships, both intended to open substantive engagement in science and research to non-experts. Gains commonly attributed to participation and co-production include improved understanding of user needs and contexts, enhanced trust, creating actionable knowledge for adaptation planning and decision-making, and other new outcomes and practices supporting adaptation progress. At the same time, scrutiny of existing efforts to use participation and co-production reveals limits and gaps in understanding the conditions and processes required to undertake them in meaningful, appropriate and effective ways. This review assesses such limitations and gaps across the growing volume of research focused on adapting coastal and island communities within Europe. We systematically reviewed 60 peer-reviewed papers, drawing on a novel meta-method review approach to synthesise patterns in participation and co-production implementations, types of outcomes, and the latter’s associations with study research designs. We identify a propensity towards using more simplistic definitions of community, more conventional, extractive research methods in working with study communities, and emphasising knowledge generation over other outcomes. These issues are all limits on participation and co-production effectiveness, and we make recommendations to reduce them. We also recommend further recourse to systematic review methods to aid the development of participation and co-production knowledge for adaptation

Fall Commencement [Program], December 22, 2001

The program of the commencement ceremonies, including a list of institutional leadership, a list of the departments by college, awards given at the ceremonies, and a list of undergraduate and graduate degree candidates.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/commencement_programs/1033/thumbnail.jp

Spring Term Commencement [Program], May 31, 1927

The program of the commencement ceremonies, including a list of institutional leadership, a list of the departments by college, awards given at the ceremonies, and a list of undergraduate and graduate degree candidates.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/commencement_programs/1218/thumbnail.jp

Geopolitical Implications of a Successful SETI Program

We discuss the recent "realpolitik" analysis of Wisian & Traphagan (2020, W&T) of the potential geopolitical fallout of the success of SETI. They conclude that "passive" SETI involves an underexplored yet significant risk that, in the event of a successful, passive detection of extraterrestrial technology, state-level actors could seek to gain an information monopoly on communications with an ETI. These attempts could lead to international conflict and potentially disastrous consequences. In response to this possibility, they argue that scientists and facilities engaged in SETI should preemptively engage in significant security protocols to forestall this risk. We find several flaws in their analysis. While we do not dispute that a realpolitik response is possible, we uncover concerns with W&T's presentation of the realpolitik paradigm, and we argue that sufficient reason is not given to justify treating this potential scenario as action-guiding over other candidate geopolitical responses. Furthermore, even if one assumes that a realpolitik response is the most relevant geopolitical response, we show that it is highly unlikely that a nation could successfully monopolize communication with ETI. Instead, the real threat that the authors identify is based on the perception by state actors that an information monopoly is likely. However, as we show, this perception is based on an overly narrow contact scenario. Overall, we critique W&T's argument and resulting recommendations on technical, political, and ethical grounds. Ultimately, we find that not only are W&T's recommendations unlikely to work, they may also precipitate the very ills that they foresee. As an alternative, we recommend transparency and data sharing (which are consistent with currently accepted best practices), further development of post-detection protocols, and better education of policymakers in this space.Comment: 28pp PDF. Accepted to Space Polic

Discovering the Vision in Beth Moore\u27s Breaking Free Message: Applying Bormann\u27s Fantasy Theme Analysis to Evaluate the Message

Beth Moore, Christian speaker and author, has become a prominent figure in Christian circles. She ministers to over a million people a year with her messages. Breaking Free is her life message. This project analyzes 6 of 11 messages from Breaking Free. Using Bormann\u27s Fantasy Theme Analysis, seven fantasies emerged from the messages, which yielded a rhetorical vision that describes what Beth Moore believes a woman should be like after hearing her message. After that analysis, the fantasies where compared to evangelical Christian doctrine. That analysis determined that Moore\u27s underlying message is valid and acceptable to the Christian audience she is trying to minister too

Spring Commencement [Program], May 7, 2016

The program of the commencement ceremonies, including a list of institutional leadership, a list of the departments by college, awards given at the ceremonies, and a list of undergraduate and graduate degree candidates.https://scholarworks.uni.edu/commencement_programs/1001/thumbnail.jp