In the News:

COAPS and Florida State Join the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

November 2009: Under the initiative of COAPS, The Florida State University has joined the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GC-CESU). The GC-CESU is part of a national organization which facilitates collaborative research, education and technical assistance pertaining to the human and natural environment, within and beyond the region, among federal and state agencies, universities and non-governmental organizations. The federal agencies who are participants in the CESU include Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA, National Park Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey - Biological Resources Division. Members of the GC-CESU are afforded streamlined processes for funding, purchase / work orders, overhead and cost sharing. In particular, participation in the CESU will allow COAPS to develop stronger ties with the National Park Service's Southeast Archeological Center, which is collocated in the R.M. Johnson Building.

Sea Level Rise Research Continues to Draw Attention

November 2009: Research conducted by COAPS scientist Jianjun Yin on sea level rise is continuing to attract attention from a variety of media and research organizations. Yin was recently quoted in a Miami Herald article on the lack of concern among Floridians for sea level rise issues, saying, "The public needs to understand that it's a real threat that sea levels will rise a meter by the end of this century." Yin's research was also referenced in the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Magazine in an article on regional sea level rise projections. Last spring, Yin published a study on sea level rise in Nature Geoscience showing that regional sea level along the northeastern coast of the U.S., particularly near New York, is expected to rise almost twice as fast as global sea levels during the twenty-first century.

Miami Herald Article

UCAR Magazine Article

Nature Geoscience Study

COAPS PhD Student Wins High Performance Computing Competition

November 2009: Henry Winterbottom, COAPS PhD student in meteorology, recently won the Florida State University High Performance Computing (HPC) student competition for best research research paper. Henry's paper, titled "Using High-Performance Computing at FSU for Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Models," demonstrated efficient utilization of the HPC and a novel computational approach, among other selection criteria. As winner, Henry is receiving an expense paid trip to the SC09 supercomputing conference in Portland, Oregon.

Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lectureship

November 2009: During the first week of November, The Florida State University will present the annual Sir James Lighthill Distinguished Lectureship Award and host an accompanying lecture series. Provost Lawrence G. Abele established the award to honor leaders in mathematical sciences, and this year's award will be presented to Professor Alexandre J. Chorin from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Chorin will give three lectures, including a public lecture titled "Prediction and Optimal Prediction," and an engineering, meteorology, and oceanography lecture on "Non-Bayesian Particle Filters." For more information, please see the flyer below.

Download Flyer (PDF, 423 KB)

Graduate Student Symposium - 6

November 2009: The Thalassic Society (the FSU Oceanography graduate student organization) will be holding its 4th annual Student Symposium on Friday, November 6. The symposium is open to the departments of Oceanography, Meteorology, and Geology, as well as any graduate students working on aquatic research in other FSU departments. The symposium provides students with an opportunity to present their research or research plans.

For more information, download the flyer, program, and schedule.

El Niño's Effect on Winter Weather

Fall 2009: David Zierden, Florida State Climatologist and Associate in Research at COAPS, was recently consulted by several news outlets about the effects of the current El Niño on winter weather. El Niño occurs when sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal and, according to Zierden, this could mean more rainfall and colder temperatures this winter in Florida and surrounding states. El Niño's "actually good for a lot of crops here in Florida and South Georgia," said Zierden, since many fruits grown in the region require a certain number of chill hours in order to flower properly.

Related WCTV Article

Related Florida Today Article

COAPS Fall Newsletter

Fall 2009: The fall COAPS newsletter is now available! The newsletter includes educational articles about current research efforts at COAPS, as well as alumni and student profiles. It will be passed out to the public at outreach events, and emailed to alumni and other supporters.

COAPS Fall 2009 Newsletter