Kevin Anchukaitis

LDEO postdocs traversing a volcanic dike on the Olomana Trail in Oahu. Credit: Brandon Shuck

📣 Postdoc opportunity alert! Join our dynamic community of Earth, environmental, and climate scientists as LDEO postdoctoral fellow. Principal criteria: scientific excellence + clear plan to investigate problems at forefront of Earth science. ➡️ Apply by Nov 7: lamont.columbia.edu/about/postdo...

In communicating with some of the scientists affected by grant terminations, it was striking (but not surprising) that many felt abandoned by their institutions and the scientific establishment at large. This was fueled, in part, by the contrast between this acquiescence and the rapid institutional responses, including lawsuits, after the administration had proposed a cap on the rate of reimbursement for so-called indirect costs of research. The scientific establishment had the capacity to push back vigorously when some of their values (financial viability) were threatened but could not seem to muster much energy when other principles were under assault.

6/14

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The Attacks on Science Continue—This Time at the USGS From sea level rise to bee populations, the agency’s wildlife and climate programs shed light on the world around us.

USGS scientists tell us about the effects of invasive species & climate change. Yet their fate, like many other federal employees who work in science & the environment, is unknown. My latest for @nrdc.org. Thank you to @meadekrosby.bsky.social, John Organ, Ed Arnett, and others for speaking with me.

Renowned U.S. climate center trims staff ahead of expected budget cuts NSF-funded National Center for Atmospheric Research is already shuttered during shutdown

Anticipating steep cuts to its budget, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the world’s leading climate research centers, has laid off 29 employees and decided not to fill 21 vacant positions. https://scim.ag/46yaM9g

U of A researchers reveal the importance of data choice in effective flood insurance After testing five sources of flood data, their analysis found that combining or comparing data could improve disaster response and recovery.

great writeup U Arizona did on my student Alex Saunders' new lead authored paper with @arbennett.bsky.social @thirstygecko.bsky.social @benamie.bsky.social + S. Islam, J. Giezendanner, S. Houssain news.arizona.edu/news/u-resea... paper here: agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Three people sit in front of a room

Crowd sits in an auditorium

Three people sit in front of an auditorium

Three people stand and chat

At our Presents event "Life on Earth Over Deep Time," microbiologist Arpita Bose and paleoclimatologist Jessica Tierney joined Quanta Magazine's Hannah Waters to discuss how life and climate have co-evolved across geologic time. #science #biology

⚠️new(-ish) paper in Journal of Climate⚠️ i evaluated CMIP6 models' Pacific decadal SST variability and teleconnections... big takeaway is that models under-simulate temporal PDO/IPO variability on decadal timescales, likely affecting precip trends in the Southwest
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...

Climate-linked escalation of societally disastrous wildfires Climate change and land mismanagement are creating increasingly fire-prone built and natural environments. However, despite worsening fire seasons, evidence is lacking globally for trends in socially ...

Published today: our new paper showing a 44-year trend of increasing global wildfire disasters (fatalities and economic losses) due to climate change-induced extreme weather. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene The projected loss of glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada is likely unprecedented in at least the past 30,000 years.

Very cool work (with a very sobering result) led by Andy Jones (a paleoCAMP alumnus!) in Science Advances: 'Glaciers in California’s Sierra Nevada are likely disappearing for the first time in the Holocene' www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Here is the full document that universities are being asked to sign. It's well worth your time to read.

Trump's higher ed ransom note is here - everyone would have to acquiesce to their unprecedented demands or not be "given priority for grants," plus they can demand "reimbursement" for "violations" www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

A mechanism to enforce fealty. An attack on academic freedom and democracy

screenshot of a NOAA webpage. the main text says: FACTS has been Discontinued

this can't be good right?

Disentangling climate and policy uncertainties for the Colorado River post-2026 operations - Nature Communications Planning for the Colorado River is critical to secure water and hydropower for the western US under climate change. This study highlights how different policies may reduce but not eliminate the risk of losing water and energy supply altogether.

Disentangling climate and policy uncertainties for the Colorado River post-2026 operations www.nature.com/articles/s41... 'under existing policy, both reservoirs will face substantial risks (>80% likelihood) of reaching dead pool before 2060'

Microsoft Sharepoint is like 'what if we took something that is already terrible and we make it more terrible?'

Trump officials shut off funding for climate adaptation centers A third of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Climate Adaptation Science Centers are expected to drastically wind down and possibly close after Sept. 30.

Despite broad political support, one third of the nation's Climate Adaptation Science Centers will wind down in coming days due to lack of funds.

The Northeast, South Central, and Pacific Islands will be left without actionable science on drought, floods, wildfire, sea level rise and other hazards.

Thanks so much for your reporting on this, Ben. I just got an email from my campus's IT office triumphantly advertising free student access to four different AI models -- at the same time as we have a hiring freeze, caps on grad enrollment, and a 7% budget cut -- and wanted to scream.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

That's my understanding

University of Arizona opens groundbreaking TIME Lab to link past and present Run by a team of distinguished researchers, the lab aims to “date the undateable,” linking natural events like eruptions or droughts to human history. With a focus on student training and public outre...

Nice article talking about our new NSF-funded radiocarbon and stable isotope facility (The TIME Lab - Tree-Ring Innovations in Mass Spectrometry of Earth Systems) in the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona! science.arizona.edu/news/univers...

Remembering ecologist Margaret Bryan Davis (1931–2024) | PNAS Margaret Bryan Davis, a prominent ecologist, died on May 22, 2024. She was a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota and a member of the N...

Remembering ecologist Margaret Bryan Davis (1931–2024) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Congratulations to the legendary dendrochronologist Dave Stahle, for being inducted as a new @agu.org Fellow!

Huge congratulations to Ed Cook for receiving the @agu.org Revelle Medal, which 'recognition of outstanding contributions in atmospheric sciences, atmosphere-ocean coupling, atmosphere-land coupling, biogeochemical cycles, climate or related aspects of the Earth system.'

Congratulations to @drspeedydee.bsky.social on the Nanne Weber Early Career Award from the @agu.org!

Congratulations to @dustybowl.bsky.social on being awarded the Piers J. Sellers Global Environmental Change Award from the @agu.org!

At least there is no beer at the poster sessions now … wait

AGU registration fees to increase so they can afford a new server

a man in a suit and tie is running down a sidewalk with the words let me in written on it . ALT: a man in a suit and tie is running down a sidewalk with the words let me in written on it .

Trying to find out who the Emiliani lecture is like…