Fall, 2020

Project Icebreaker: Offshore Wind Project in Lake Erie

Xiangwu (David) Zeng, Stevens Institute of Technology

Wind energy is one of the most promising renewable energy resources. The Great Lakes region in the US has huge potential for offshore wind energy development. However, ice loading in winter brings a unique challenge to the foundations for wind turbines. Model tests and numerical simulation have been conducted to investigate different types of foundations and techniques to reduce the ice loading. The ultimate goal is to design a safe and economical foundation for future large-scale wind farms in the Great Lakes.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Application of Net Zero Principles to the Army’s Industrial Base

Christos Christodoulatos

In January 2014, the Secretary of the Army distributed Army Directive 2014-02 "Net Zero Installations Policy". The Net Zero Policy requires installations to: (1) reduce overall energy use, maximize efficiency, implement energy recovery and cogeneration opportunities, and offset the remaining demand with the production of renewable energy from onsite sources and (2) reduce overall water use, regardless of the source; increase use of technology that uses water more efficiently; recycle and reuse water. The Army's industrial base and especially munitions manufacturing facilities generate waste streams with high nutrient and carbon content and therefore present unique opportunities for development and application of sustainable technology and environmental management. In this presentation we will explore approaches that have the potential to convert these water-intensive and energivorous operations into shining examples of environmentally sustainable practices and at the same time help the Army achieve its vision to manage the natural resources with a goal of Net Zero in energy, water and solid waste at its installations.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Systems Microbiology: From Genomes to Ecosystems

Jizhong Zhou, University of Oklahoma

Twenty-first century microbiology faces several grand challenges, e.g., linking structure to functions, mechanisms controlling extremely high diversity, information scaling from genomes to ecosystems, modeling simulation and predictions. With the recent advances of omics technologies, microbiologists have begun to tackle some of these challenges. In this talk, I will report the most recently progresses in these areas at the Institute for Environmental Genomics, with respect to genomic technologies, global microbial diversity and biogeography of wastewater treatment plants, climate warming, community assembly and network tool development, and ecosystem modeling.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Taking the Fingerprints of Sea Level Changes

Jerry Mitrovica, Harvard University

The concept of eustasy, that is, the assumption that ice mass changes are accompanied by a globally uniform change in sea level, has -- until relatively recently -- been pervasive in the analysis of paleo and modern sea level records, and has stymied progress in both fields. I will demonstrate, using examples ranging from the last tens of millions of years to the modern world, that a variety of geophysical processes drive sea level changes with significant geographic variability. Modeling of these processes has improved estimates of global mean sea level change, but it has also motivated recent efforts to "fingerprint" the relative contributions of the processes responsible for the geographic variability, including polar ice mass changes. A notable, and counterintuitive example of this dramatic variability is that sea level will fall within ~2000km of a rapidly melting ice sheet with an amplitude ~10 times higher than the global mean sea level rise associated with the melting.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

What Cities can learn from Trees: Lessons in Urban Ecomimicry

Nathan Phillips, Boston University

Tree physiologists use a vernacular that translates amazingly well as a lens for understanding the structure, function, and sustainability of cities. Concepts of tree architecture such as efficiency, safety, vulnerability and their tradeoffs find parallels in our urban water, energy and food networks. In this talk I will compare and contrast the world of trees with that of cities and explore how urban planners and policymakers can learn from trees how to build more resilient and sustainable cities.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Creating Evidence for Resilience: A case of monsoon floods affected communities in South Asia

Alark Saxena, Northern Arizona University

The concept of resilience has been rapidly accepted across multiple disciplines and applied work, but operationalizing resilience poses several methodological challenges. Taking the case of two monsoon flood affected transboundary communities situated in the Gangetic plains of South Asia, we provide a framework and methodology to create evidence and evaluate resilience. We present and test two propositions focusing on the variation in wellbeing and the coping capacity that need to be simultaneously satisfied for increased resilience. The two propositions and the methodology are robust to a wide range of shocks and social-ecological systems.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Improved Sustainability of Bridges through Better Diagnostics and Deeper Understanding of Deterioration Processes

Nenad Gucunski, Rutgers University

Effective and economic management of bridges depends on an accurate assessment of their current condition, and, in turn, prediction of their future performance. Deterioration processes in reinforced concrete, since they are a result of multiple inputs and actions, are inherently complex. To fully and accurately characterize various types of deterioration and gauge its severity, it requires using multiple nondestructive evaluation (NDE) tools in concert with other technologies. Among all the components, reinforced concrete decks deteriorate fastest, primarily due to their direct exposure to traffic and environmental loading, and maintenance actions. Therefore, the most significant advancements in NDE technologies’ efficacy for detecting and characterizing deterioration, including the automation of data collection, were achieved for bridge decks. The presentation will provide an overview of the advances in NDE technologies, especially those employing rapid and automated data collection and analysis, and benefits for bridge management stemming from periodical multiNDE technology surveys. The presentation will also explore how to gain additional knowledge about bridge performance through the complemental use of NDE and other technologies in accelerated structural testing.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Applications of Thermodynamic Modelling Techniques in Earth and Environmental Sciences

Jihua Hao, Rutgers University

In nature, kinetic laws control how fast one reaction is, but thermodynamic laws determine whether one reaction can happen or not. In this talk, Dr. Hao will introduce some basic thermodynamic theories and explain how to determine affinity of reaction in natural environments. In addition, Dr. Hao will present several examples of using thermodynamics to understand cycles of elements on our Earth based on his own research outputs. Furthermore, this talk will cover some discussions on how to apply thermodynamic simulations to figure out potential ways to maintain sustainability in nature.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Declining CO2 Price Paths

Gernot Wagner, New York University

Pricing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions involves making trade-offs between consumption today and unknown damages in the (distant) future. While decision making under risk and uncertainty is the forte of financial economics, important insights from pricing financial assets do not typically inform standard climate–economy models. Here, we introduce EZ-Climate, a simple recursive dynamic asset pricing model that allows for a calibration of the carbon dioxide (CO2) price path based on probabilistic assumptions around climate damages. Atmospheric CO2 is the “asset” with a negative expected return. The economic model focuses on society’s willingness to substitute consumption across time and across uncertain states of nature, enabled by an Epstein–Zin (EZ) specification that delinks preferences over risk from inter-temporal substitution. In contrast to most modeled CO2 price paths, EZ-Climate suggests a high price today that is expected to decline over time as the “insurance” value of mitigation declines and technological change makes emissions cuts cheaper. Second, higher risk aversion increases both the CO2 price and the risk premium relative to expected damages. Lastly, our model suggests large costs associated with delays in pricing CO2 emissions. In our base case, delaying implementation by 1 y leads to annual consumption losses of over 2%, a cost that roughly increases with the square of time per additional year of delay. The model also makes clear how sensitive results are to key inputs.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Modeling Biotic & Abiotic Drivers Affecting Biogeomorphic Coastal Foredunes

Bianca Charbonneau

Coastal dunes are exceptionally dynamic terrestrial habitats that will only grow increasingly vulnerable with climate change. A structured approach to protect and restore these and other coastal biogeomorphic interface habitats is needed to maintain their invaluable ecosystem services. Vegetation in these habitats acts as ecosystem engineers such that, to achieve this, one must understand and accurately forecast vegetation dynamics at the nexus of shifting abiotic conditions and drivers of change. We developed a process-based model for coastal dune vegetation ecology, specifically, growth, density, and colonization as it affects and is affected by shifting habitat topography and storm event impact. The model is complex enough to capture biologically and abiotically relevant drivers of habitat change with usability in mind for managers, and underlying theory guided by extensive fieldwork.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

Climate change and ecosystem transformation: Plant wax evidence from Indian Ocean drilling

Sarah Feakins, University of Southern California

Plants – from lush rainforests to desert shrublands – map climatic differences on the landscape. The waxy molecules coating plant leaves are some of the most resilient biochemicals made by plants and they contribute to the sedimentary legacy of past environment, archived in deep sea sediments. The International Ocean Discovery Program has recently drilled the two largest submarine fans in the world, the Bengal Fan (Expedition 354) and Indus Fan (Expedition 355). These megafans yield thick deposits of dominantly terrestrial organic matter derived from the GangesBrahmaputra and Indus River systems respectively. In addition, legacy cores from the Gulf of Aden (Expedition 24) contain wind-blown terrestrial organic material from NE Africa. From each of these expeditions we have uncovered a record of vegetation and climate change. Plant waxes are key to this story as their C isotopic composition reflects photosynthetic pathway and their H isotopic composition that of precipitation. Dual analyses in the same plant wax molecules allow climate and ecology to be tracked in tandem. Using this approach, we answer longstanding questions as to whether changes in monsoon rainfall coincided with the expansion of C4 grasslands.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

The Wonders of the Galapagos Islands: Experiential Learning is Deep Learning

Paul AX Bologna, Montclair State University

Experiential learning is one way of creating deep understanding of subject matter, as well as developing a passion for the field. I have been engaged in leading extended field experiences with students for almost 20 years to ‘immerse’ students in the natural world. In March 2020, Dr. Krumins and I led a group of graduate and undergraduate students to Ecuador to explore and learn about the incredible wildlife and the enduring legacy of revolutionary ideas that this region has generated. Our time in the Galapagos, while short, spanned centuries of scientific thought and millions of years of geologic history. The Galapagos Islands have shaped our understanding of chemosynthesis and the origins of life on Earth and that radical idea of Evolution. Join me on an immersive journey.

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM