New PAGES website
PAGES has launched a new version of the website in keeping with the latest trends in website design. During this transition period some web pages and databases may be temporarily unavailable or outdated. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. The new website provides a “My PAGES” section, which is designed to serve as a “one-stop shop” to access PAGES offerings and get involved in PAGES activities.
Staff update
The PAGES Office has seen a lot of staff movement lately due to back-to-back good news; Louise gave birth to a son and Michelle is expecting a child in the coming days! Lucien von Gunten replaces Louise Newman as PAGES Science Officer for the duration of her maternity leave until May 2011. Lucien, a paleoclimatologist working on South American lake sediments, is taking care of the 2k Working Groups and newsletter editing. Christoph Kull, a glaciologist and former PAGES Science Officer, has been roped in to bolster production of newsletters. For the time of her maternity leave, Michelle Kaufmann, the PAGES Finance and Officer Manager, has been replaced by Therese Jost. We congratulate Louise on the birth of her son and welcome Lucien, Christoph and Therese to the PAGES office. We also look forward to welcoming another PAGES baby soon!
PAGES OSM/YSM 2013: an update
In 2010, PAGES invited applications from groups interested in hosting the 4th PAGES Open Science Meeting (OSM) and 2 Young Scientists Meeting (YSM) in 2013. We received 10 exciting bids from 5 different continents and are delighted with this exuberant interest in hosting the events. Bids from Australia, India and Germany have been shortlisted and await a final decision after additional scrutiny.
New PAGES committee members
Heinz Wanner, former Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) co-chair, rotated off the committee after six years of dedicated service but shall continue his association with PAGES as coordinator of the Regional 2k Network.
Two new members have joined the PAGES SSC in 2011:
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Hubertus Fischer, Professor of Experimental Climate Physics at the University of Bern, Switzerland is the new SSC Swiss co-chair alongside the US co-chair Bette Otto-Bliesner. Hubertus is an ice core scientist with broad interests in Quaternary changes in climate and biogeochemical cycles. He is active in the PAGES Working Groups Antarctica2k and ADOM.
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Claudio Latorre is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology at the Pontificial Catholic University of Chile in Santiago. His research interests include paleoecology and paleoclimatology of arid regions. For over a decade, he has been using rodent middens from the Atacama Desert to learn about the desert’s hydrological cycle over the last 40-50 ka. Claudio Latorre also specializes in plant macrofossil analyses and the applications of stable isotopes in these environments. His appointment to the SSC will strengthen and stimulate PAGES Focus 4.
Nominations for the PAGES SSC
PAGES invites nominations for new SSC members for 2012. Bette Otto-Bliesner (USA), Cathy Whitlock (USA) and Mohammed Umer (Ethiopia) will be rotating off the SSC at the end of 2011. The SSC provides overall guidance for PAGES and oversees major scientific activities. Members are chosen on the basis of their scientific excellence and their potential to promote PAGES science and activities. PAGES particularly encourages the nomination of women and scientists from underrepresented regions. The nomination deadline is 30 June 2011. A list of current SSC members and nomination details can be found on the PAGES website (My PAGES>Get involved).
PAGES support for meetings
PAGES Executive Committee (EXCOM) discussed the workshop proposals submitted to the second call in 2010. A total of 13 meetings were awarded financial support. PAGES Working Groups that were allocated workshop support include PALSEA (Sea-Level), LUCIFS (Fluvial Systems), NICOPP (Marine Nitrogen Cycle), Varves, PAGES-CLIVAR Intersection, and the Australasian, Antarctic and North American groups of the Regional 2k Network, as well as a workshop for the entire 2k Network.
In addition, three proposals for general workshops relevant to PAGES science were approved. These include an interdisciplinary workshop on constraining estimates of future climate variability from geological records, a workshop on Greenland Ice Sheet reconstruction, and a regional paleoscience workshop focused on the Balkan and Carpathian region and community. An educational workshop on marine diatoms was also supported.
More information on funded workshops is available on the PAGES website (Meetings>PAGES supported). The next deadline for proposals is 15 June 2011 for evaluation by EXCOM in late July (online proposal submission under My PAGES).
Planet Under Pressure Conference 2012
An open international Planet Under Pressure conference will be held on 26-29 March 2012 in London. It will be led by the PAGES parent organization, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), and involve its sister programs of the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP). The conference is a unique opportunity to bring together global-change scientists with decision-makers in policy, development, resource management, industry and other non-government organizations. It aims to provide scientific leadership towards the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development - Rio+20. (www.planetunderpressure2012.net)
New PAGES publications
A special issue on the timing and geographic extent of extreme arid and humid events during the Holocene, captured in lake sediment records from hydrologically sensitive regions was published recently (Quaternary International, 229: 1-148). The special issue is comprised of 18 selected papers from the 3rd PAGES LIMPACS (Human Impacts on Lake Ecosystems) Conference held in Chandigarh, India in March 2009.
Additionally, the PAGES special issue “Retrospective views on our planet's future – PAGES Open Science Meeting 2009” is now complete with all 10 articles now published open access in Climate of the Past.
Next newsletter issues
The next issue of PAGES news will highlight the PAGES Focus 4 Theme of “Regional integration of past records for management of modern resources and landscapes”. This issue stems from the Regional Integration workshop held in Southampton in September 2010.
The 3rd PAGES news issue for 2010 will highlight the complementary science of PAGES and the other IGBP projects. Paired topical articles will provide different temporal perspectives on global change questions. Please contact the IPO if you would like to contribute to this issue.
You are also invited to submit Science Highlights, Program News and Workshop Reports for the open section of PAGES news. The next deadline for such contributions is 30 June 2011. Guidelines for authors can be found on the PAGES website (Products>Contribute a product)