PAGES SSC 2015 Meeting and new SSC members
The next PAGES Scientific Steering Committee will meet 24 - 25 January 2015 in Las Cruces, Chile. Issues on the agenda include the implementation of PAGES’ scientific structure and collaborations with Future Earth and the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). A regional paleoscience symposium on the 22 and 23 January will precede the SSC meeting.
This year we are pleased to welcome two new members to the SSC:
• Blas Valero-Garcés - a paleolimnologist and sedimentologist in the Limnogeology & Global Change Group at the Institute Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC in Zaragoza, Spain
- • Darrell Kaufman - a specialist in Arctic paleoclimate, paleolimnology, and geochronology at the School of Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability at Northern Arizona University. He is also one of the coordinators of the 2k Network and the PAGES endorsed group, Arctic Holocene Transitions.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Steven Colman, who rotated off the SSC at the end of 2014. We are grateful for his commitment and stewardship throughout his two terms.
New Human/Environment working groups
Three new working groups with a focus on environmental change and the impact of humans have recently launched:
- • GloSS (Global Soil and Sediment transfers in the Anthropocene)
- • LandCover6k
- • Aquatic Transitions
You can read more about each of them in their Program News articles in this issue. As all PAGES working groups, these are open to participation by scientists from everywhere in the world who are interested in contributing.
Databases and tools
A number of database and tools have been developed by our groups recently:
- • The Global Paleofire Working Group (GPWG) produced an open source R package, paleofire, for analyzing sedimentary charcoal series in the Global Charcoal Database. It is discussed and applied in a recent study by Blarquez et al. (2014, Comput Geosci 72).
- • Arctic Holocene Transitions, a PAGES-endorsed group, has published an extensive compilation of Holocene proxy climate records from the Arctic (Sundqvist et al. 2014, Clim Past 10).
- • A sub-group of the former MARGO (Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean Surface) project, which was supported by IMAGES and PAGES, has published a study addressing the constraints on surface seawater oxygen isotope change between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Late Holocene (Waelbroeck et al. 2014, Quat Sci Rev 105).
Future Earth update
Future Earth’s Strategic Research Agenda 2014 has been published after a year-long global consultation on the priorities for global change research. It identifies priority areas for research and collaboration between funders, policymakers, and researchers over the next 3-5 years.
www.futureearth.org/news/future-earth-strategic-research-agenda-2014-published
The Future Earth Engagement Committee was recently announced. This is a strategic advisory group, comprising thought-leaders from business, policy, and civil society. Its primary purpose is to foster interactions between science and society working alongside the Future Earth Science Committee.
www.futureearth.org/news/future-earth-engagement-committee-announced
Upcoming issues of PAGES Magazine
The next issue of PAGES Magazine will be on volcanic forcing and climatic response. Contact the guest editors Allegra LeGrande (allegra.n.legrande@nasa.gov) and Kevin Anchukaitis (kja@whoi.edu), or the PAGES office to enquire about contributing to this issue.
We are also planning an issue on abrupt changes and tipping points in the Earth system. Contact the PAGES office if you are interested in contributing or exploring ideas.
In general, if you wish to lead a special section of the magazine on a particular topic, let us know at the PAGES office or have a discussion with any PAGES SSC member.