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Climate projections for the southern Great Plains, and elsewhere in the U.S., indicate that a hotter future with changes in precipitation amount and seasonality is to be expected. As plants become stressed from these changes, wildfire risk increases. One of the most valuable approaches to reducing the impacts of wildfires is fuel reduction through prescribed burns. Fuel reduction helps minimize the destruction of ecological communities, threats of future flooding, and extensive damages by lessening the intensity of future wildfires. Although safe burning practices can largely minimize the risks, prescribed burns may bring some degree of concern among practitioners. The real and perceived risks may include bodily...
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The Ogallala Aquifer lies beneath 111 million acres of land in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The aquifer provides water for approximately 1.9 million people and has been instrumental in the development of the robust agriculture economy of the Great Plains region. It is also vitally important to the ecology of the region, serving as a critical source of groundwater and sustaining creeks and streams that would otherwise run dry during periods of water scarcity. However, the various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing this aquifer are expected to increase with climate change as hotter, drier summers exacerbate already unsustainable water demands....
Led by university consortium institutions of the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (South Central CASC), this project builds on the successes of similar workshops in 2014, 2016, and 2018 to bring together a cohort of graduate students, post-docs, and early-career environmental professionals within the South Central CASC region and mentor this cohort to become the next generation of USGS leaders and partners. The objectives of the workshop were to: (1) develop the early-career participants’ knowledge, leadership skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) introduce participants to the goals, structure, and unique research-related challenges of the South Central CASC, its place within the U.S. Department...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Future climate projections illuminate our understanding of the climate system and generate data products often used in climate impact assessments. Statistical downscaling (SD) is commonly used to address biases in global climate models (GCM) and to translate large‐scale projected changes to the higher spatial resolutions desired for regional and local scale studies. However, downscaled climate projections are sensitive to method configuration and input data source choices made during the downscaling process that can affect a projection's ultimate suitability for particular impact assessments. Quantifying how changes in inputs or parameters affect SD‐generated projections of precipitation is critical for improving...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
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The South Central CASC supports Communities of Practice who are dedicated to finding solutions to the challenges of a changing climate. The Communities of Practice comprise researchers and stakeholders who share a common interest and choose to invest their time in learning from others and developing new collaborations. As of March 2021, the South Central CASC is actively supporting six Communities of Practice. The Communities of Practice members meet together regularly and engage in a formal check-in with South Central CASC staff on a quarterly basis. The groups are also a key part of our Annual Fall Science Meeting where they outline goals and objectives for their group over the next year. The topics of interest...
This guide is intended to provide lessons learned and best practices for developing and implementing an early-career researcher-based training, including integrating educational sessions on interdisciplinary topics. Such a guide can be useful as a blueprint for future regional or national trainings that bring together students, post-docs, and early-career faculty members from research organizations, such as the USGS Climate Science Centers. The following guide is split into pre-event, the event itself, and post-event items to consider.
The greater Mississippi River Basin (MRB) drains 3.2 million square kilometers of land and spans 31 U.S. states. Ninety percent of all U.S. agricultural exports are grown in the MRB, and about 40 percent of the nation's total exports are transported through its major rivers. Ecologically, 24 terrestrial ecoregions comprise MRB, supporting amphibious, reptile, and mammal species. MRB provides habitat for almost 250 fish and 50 mussel species, its floodplain supports about 40 percent of North America’s wading birds and waterfowl, and over 180 National Wildlife Refuges operate across this region. Climate change is projected to disrupt the amount, frequency, extent, and timing of precipitation events across the MRB....
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Abstract Although decision-making in response to tornado warnings is well researched, most studies do not examine whether individual responses to these warnings vary across different geographical locations and demographic groups. This gap is addressed by using data from a decision experiment that places participants virtually in a simulated tornado warning and asks them to minimize the costs of their decisions. The authors examine the following: 1) what demographic attributes may contribute to choices to minimize costs to protect assets at a specific location in a tornado warning, 2) whether there is a spatial component to how these attributes influence decision-making, and 3) if there are specific U.S. regions...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
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The greater Mississippi River Basin (MRB) is the largest river basin in North America and the fourth largest basin in the world. The MRB encompasses 24 terrestrial ecosystems, providing habitat for 100 species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians Its floodplain supports 40% of the waterfowl and wading birds in North America, and the MRB’s rivers transport 40% of the nation’s total exports. Dozens of different cultures are scattered across the MRB with different policy structures, worldviews, and economic strengths. The heterogeneity in the environmental and socio-cultural settings across the MRB poses a challenge to climate adaptation and actionable resource management recommendations. Yet climate change has disrupted...
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The South Central CASC supports several graduate students in their Masters and Doctoral research through providing salary support as well as intellectual support. Each student is part of a broad team of researchers who examine issues relevant to the CASC through funding from a host of federal and state agencies (e.g., USDA, NOAA, NSF, state departments of wildlife conservation or water resources). The students support the mission of the South Central CASC and their work is highlighted here through publications and other related products.
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To support cultural resources and better understand the regional implications of climate change, the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) has found it critical to be directly engaged in research activities with the Federally recognized Tribes across the South Central United States. The South Central CASC Tribal Sustainability Science Manager will engage in scientific research that addresses Tribal needs for adaptive management and sustainability in the South-Central U.S. through an a extended network of connections to Tribal governments. This work is key to enhancing the Trust relationship of the Tribes with the Department of the Interior. This project will provide supplemental support for the...
The Ogallala Aquifer (OA) is a groundwater source beneath 111 million acres of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It provides water for aquatic, riparian, range, and agricultural ecosystems as well as approximately 1.9 million people. The various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing the aquifer are expected to increase with climate change. Hotter, drier summers are expected to increase already unsustainable demands on the aquifer’s water. There has been little success in reducing the rate of depletion, in spite of a preponderance of data available to support research, resource management, and outreach. Prior to this project, there was no single...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
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The South Central CASC has made it a priority to focus on working with the many Tribes and Pueblos located within their region. Many of these Tribes and Pueblos have already experienced the effects of climate change and have found ways to adapt over time. With Tribes and Pueblos representing a major landowner group in the region having a significant role in water management due to tribal treaty water rights, it is crucial that they be involved in CASC work. The Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma became consortium members at the South Central CASC conception. Under this arrangement, the South Central CASC employs a full-time Tribal Liaison through the Chickasaw Nation and a New Mexico Tribal Liaison...
Led by members of the South Central Climate Science Center (SC CSC) consortium, this project developed and implemented a professional development workshop for graduate students, post-docs, and early-career researchers within the SC CSC region. The workshop (1) introduced participants to the goals, structure, and unique research-related challenges of the SC CSC and its place within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the larger CSC network, offering them insight into how their research fits into the broader research priority goals and its eventual applicability to end-user needs across the region; (2) provided an opportunity for participants to present their research to fellow peers; (3) facilitated interdisciplinary...
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The South Central CASC supports post-doctoral researchers to address key research questions related to the key science themes in the region: i) sustainable and usable water resources; ii) coastal ecosystems; iii) resilience of indigenous, rural and vulnerable communities; iv) product sensitivities and uncertainties; v) changes in species distribution and ecosystems; and vi) teleconnections that influence landscape-scale resilience. Postdocs are hosted by individual consortium members, but are encouraged to engage with faculty and staff across the network.
Abstract (from AGUPubs): To assist water managers in south-central Oklahoma prepare for future drought, reliable place-based drought forecasts are produced. Past-, present-, and future-forecasted climate indices (Multivariate ENSO Index, Pacific Decadal Oscillation index, and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation index) and past and present Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) are employed as predictor variables to forecast PDSI using a multivariate regression technique. PDSI is forecasted 18 months in advance with sufficient skill to provide water managers early warning of drought. Using a training data set obtained from the period January 1901 to November 2021, a second-order model equation that contains, without...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation


    map background search result map search result map Organizing and Synthesizing Ogallala Aquifer Data to Facilitate Research and Resource Management Tribal Engagement Program Post-Doc Researchers Graduate Student Projects Communities of Practice Future of Fire in the South Central: Towards a National Synthesis of Wildland Fire Under a Changing Climate Future of Aquatic Flows in the South Central U.S.: Toward Sustainable Water Management in the Mississippi River Basin Supporting Cultural Resources Affected by Climate Change in the South-Central United States Tribal Engagement Program Post-Doc Researchers Graduate Student Projects Communities of Practice Future of Fire in the South Central: Towards a National Synthesis of Wildland Fire Under a Changing Climate Supporting Cultural Resources Affected by Climate Change in the South-Central United States Organizing and Synthesizing Ogallala Aquifer Data to Facilitate Research and Resource Management Future of Aquatic Flows in the South Central U.S.: Toward Sustainable Water Management in the Mississippi River Basin