Seminar: Dr. Charles Ichoku on "In Search of Lake Chad"
Africa’s Great Lake
Location
Sondheim Hall : 001
Seminar: Dr. Charles Ichoku on "In Search of Lake Chad" – Online Event
Date & Time
April 26, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Description
The GES Department cordially invites you to join us for the next seminar of Spring 2023.
Topic: In Search of Lake Chad: Africa’s Great Lake
Speaker: Dr. Charles Ichoku, Professor, GES and Director, GESTAR II, UMBC
Email: cichoku@umbc.edu
Abstract: Lake Chad, located near the center of Africa, is shared by four countries and is the main source of water supply and livelihood for more than 30 million inhabitants. Because of severe droughts along the African Sahel in the 1970s and 1980s, the lake’s surface water coverage went down by more than 90%. Scientists have been studying this phenomenon to understand its causes and predict the lake’s future, in order to recommend possible scientific approaches to mitigate any adverse impacts on the population that depends on it for survival. In this presentation, I will share: (1) some of the research we have conducted on this topic over the last decade using mostly satellite and ground-based observational datasets; and (2) some of the potential solutions proposed to mitigate the hardships suffered by the communities that depend on Lake Chad.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Charles Ichoku is a Professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Systems at UMBC and Director of GESTAR II, a research consortium between UMBC, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and multiple other universities and organizations. Dr. Ichoku came to GESTAR II from concurrent roles as Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Howard University and as the Distinguished Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M). Prior to that, he served at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland for 20 years in various research and management roles. He earned his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris, France, after earning both his M.S. in Remote Sensing and his B.S. in Surveying from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
Dr. Ichoku’s research program focuses on applying remote sensing—collecting data from a significant distance, most often from satellites orbiting Earth—and other data to study large-scale processes that affect the environment on land, weather, and air quality. His work is influenced by his youth in West Africa, and focuses on phenomena that especially affect that region. For example, frequent agricultural fires send various particles into the atmosphere, which can affect air quality, precipitation, and more. A few years ago, Ichoku joined with colleagues to initiate the U.S.-West African Coastal Resilience Research Consortium (CRRC). In addition, he recently played an important role in the inauguration of the African Meteorological Society (AfMS), where he serves as chair of the Diaspora and Friends of Africa Committee. The committee involves a significant number of colleagues who are similarly passionate about the advancement of scientific research and applications in Africa – including GESTAR II’s inaugural director, Belay Demoz, whose research is similarly inspired by experiences with drought, displacement, and resulting conflict during his youth in East Africa.
Memorandum of Understanding Ceremonial Signing Event
Linking UMBC Academics, Environmental Federal Agencies
Location
On Campus
Date & Time
April 21, 2023, 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Description
UMBC is hosting a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony symbolizing increased collaboration between its academic programs and environmentally focused federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The signing itself will take place partway through a series of events happening over the course of the afternoon across a couple locations, as outlined below:
1:30 – 2:30 PM USGS Science Talks and Lab Tour Main Conference Room, 5522
Research Park Dr, Catonsville, MD 21228
2:30 – 3:15 PM Refreshments and Poster Gallery Main Conference Room, 5522 Research Park Dr, Catonsville, MD 21228
3:30 – 4:00 PM MOU Signing Event UMBC, Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery ground floor, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
For more details, please see the attached schedule.
Earth Day Symposium
Panel, Posters, and Prizes
Location
On Campus
Date & Time
April 21, 2023, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Description
UMBC's Seventh Annual Earth Day Symposium is this Friday, brought to you by the Geography and Environmental Systems Department and the Atmospheric Physics Graduate Program! This year's theme is "Synergy in Science". Events include a panel of researchers from the local scientific community, presentations by speakers invited from various departments across UMBC, and a poster session featuring UMBC student research (details in the schedule below).
You can sign up via this link to attend and receive free breakfast and lunch.
GESCOM - Making Art From Recyclables
Earth Week Event
Location
The Commons : Terrace
Date & Time
April 20, 2023, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Description
Come make arts and crafts for Earth week Thurs April 20th 3-4 PM on the Commons Terrace! You can bring your own recyclables. Some recyclables will be provided as well. This event is hosted by GESCOM and UMBC Crafters.
Seminar: Dr. Lucy R. Hutyra - Forest Structure, Carbon Cycle
Impacts of Urbanization & Landscape Fragmentation
Location
Online
Seminar: Dr. Lucy R. Hutyra - Forest Structure, Carbon Cycle – Online Event
Date & Time
April 19, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Description
The GES Department cordially invites you to join us for the next seminar of Spring 2023.
Topic: Impacts of Urbanization & Landscape Fragmentation on the Carbon Cycle
Speaker: Dr. Lucy R. Hutyra, Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
Email: lrhutyra@bu.edu
Abstract: Forest fragmentation is ubiquitous across urban and rural areas. While there is mounting evidence that forest fragmentation alters the terrestrial carbon cycle, the extent to which differences in ambient growing conditions between urban and rural landscapes mediate forest response to fragmentation and climate remains unexamined. This seminar will explore patterns of landscape change across the Northeastern U.S. and the impacts on forest structure, growth rates, and soil respiration. The effects of fragmentation and urbanization on forest structure and carbon cycling highlight the need to include the influences of both of these facets of land cover change when quantifying regional carbon balance and its response to a changing climate.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Lucy R. Hutyra is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University. She received her PhD in Earth and Planetary Sciences in 2007 from Harvard University for her thesis “Carbon and Water Exchange in Amazonian Rain Forests.” In 1998 she received her BS in Forest Ecology and Management from the University of Washington. Professor Hutyra’s areas of specialization include urban climate and biogeochemistry, remote sensing, and vegetation ecology. Trained as a physical scientist, over the years Professor Hutyra’s research has become ever more focused on the climate and ecology of cities, working at the science-policy interface. She is a national leader on measuring and modeling urban greenhouse gas fluxes and advancing our understanding of carbon cycling in cities. Her current research centers on improving our understanding of the urban carbon cycle, particularly the role of vegetation and land use change on the flows of carbon between the biosphere and the atmosphere.
Dr. Hutyra has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in edited volumes, including serving as a contributing author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Working Group III Mitigation of Climate Change chapter on Urban and Systems and Other Settlements. She is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a National Academy of Science Kavli Fellow, and currently serves on the NASA Earth Science Federal Advisory Committee. Hutyra also serves as the Director of the BU Biogeosciences Program and the Associate Director for the BU URBAN interdisciplinary doctoral program.
Earth Day Celebration
Sustainability with Student Orgs, Small Businesses, and More
Location
The Quad
Date & Time
April 19, 2023, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Description
Come on by to celebrate earth day and learn about sustainable initiatives! Student organizations, non-profits, and sustainable vendors will be on the Quad, so don't miss out!
Film Screening - Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative
Black Displacement and Climate Change
Location
Off Campus : Senator Theatre 5904 York Rd,
Date & Time
April 18, 2023, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Description
Three short films on Black displacement and related local environmental justice issues will be screened in succession together at the Senator Theatre in Baltimore this evening. Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead, founder and executive director of the Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice, will moderate a filmmaker discussion after the screening.
To attend, you will need to register for tickets here.
The films were produced by The Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative and their partners. For more information about the film Eroding History and about EJJI, please visit https://www.ejji.org/media or follow us on Twitter @EnvJustJourn, Instagram @ejji_journ, and Facebook at @EnvJustJourn
Films:
Eroding History - tells the story of two Black communities on Deal Island that are in danger of losing their history and culture due to rising seas, and how they are fighting to hold on to what remains
Sponsor: Loyola University of Maryland
Director: Award-winning journalist and photographer Andre Chung
Producer: longtime Chesapeake Bay reporter Rona Kobell
Co-Producer & Co-Writer: renowned West Baltimore radio host, columnist, and filmmaker Sean Yoes
Disruption: The Highway to Nowhere - about the wound in West Baltimore’s neighborhoods
Executive Producer & Director: Sean Yoes
Smithville - about environmental displacement
Directors: Morgan State University alums Wyman Jones and Jalysa Mayo
Producer & Writer: Rona Kobell
Additional Sponsers of Screening: The Center for the Humanities at Loyola, Messina at Loyola, Department of Communication, Department of Management & Organizations, and Global Sustainable Business Club
Environmental Dialogue Webinar from Goucher College
The Rights of Rivers
Location
Online
Environmental Dialogue Webinar from Goucher College – Online Event
Date & Time
April 18, 2023, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Description
Details from original announcement:
Join host, Jenn da Rosa, EdD, for a discussion with water law and policy specialist, Erin O’Donnell, PhD for a Goucher Environmental Dialogues webinar on "The Rights of Rivers."
Topic: In this webinar, Dr. Erin O’Donnell will discuss her research on the legal rights of rivers and the benefits and drawbacks these new rights bring for protecting natural, social, and cultural values of rivers. In keeping with the Rights of Nature concept, a river or ecosystem is entitled to legal personhood status and has the right to defend itself in a court of law against harms, including environmental degradation.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Erin O’Donnell is a research fellow at Melbourne Law School, focusing on water markets, environmental flows, and water governance. She has worked in water resource management since 2002, in both the private and public sectors. Dr. O’Donnell is recognized internationally for her research into the groundbreaking new field of legal rights for rivers, and the challenges and opportunities these new rights create for protecting the multiple social, cultural, and natural values of rivers. Her work is informed by comparative analysis across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, India, Colombia, and Chile. Her latest book, Legal Rights for Rivers: Competition, Collaboration, and Water Governance, is available now from Routledge.
Webinar Series: Goucher Environmental Dialogues feature cultivated conversations with environmental, sustainability, and climate leaders, visionaries, and innovators. This series is hosted by Goucher College’s MA in Environmental Sustainability & Management program and is open to all students, faculty, alumni, and the public.
Earth Week Trivia w/ GESCOM
Kahoot & Prizes!
Location
Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (ILSB) : 233
Date & Time
April 17, 2023, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Description
GESCOM is hosting Earth Week Trivia in ILSB 233 to kick off a series of Earth Week events. Come test your Earth Week knowledge for fun and prizes!
Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi on Landscape as Knowledge
Citizen Science, Racial Capitalism, and Knowledge Production
Location
Online
Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi on Landscape as Knowledge – Online Event
Date & Time
April 14, 2023, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Description
Come hear our department's own Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi speak to UNC Greensboro's Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability on "Landscape as Knowledge: Citizen Science, Racial Capitalism, and Knowledge Production"!
Abstract: Citizen science has the potential to engage non-scientists in scientific research, thereby fostering a better understanding of science among the public. The use of citizen science as a method for collecting large amounts of data over wide geographic areas has resulted in significant advancements in precipitation models, biodiversity models, and species migration, among other fields. At the same time, new research has shown the interlinked geography between humans, society, and numerous ecological systems. What then is the geography of citizen science data? Given that society is shaped by the logics of racial capitalism, it is important to consider the implications of unmanaged citizen science projects on the science they produce. Is there potential for citizen science to inadvertently reinforce existing hierarchies of difference? To address these concerns, this talk will draw on insights from economic geography and the emerging sub-field of critical GIS to examine these relationships and ensure that citizen science can contribute to the realization of emancipatory and liberatory futures.
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