2018-2019 Academic Year

News and Highlights in June 2019

Explore the effect of climate change in Mid-Atlantic forests with a new vulnerability assessment map here. Foresters, biologists, and land managers are working together as part of the Mid-Atlantic Climate Change Response Framework to understand changes in forests due to climate change.


Rutgers Climate Institute in partnership with Duke Farms is conducting research on natural solutions to climate change, mostly through carbon sequestration. The project is intended to help Duke Farms develop strategies to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in soils and vegetation.


RCI affiliate Pam McElweediscusses her role as part of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) global assessment report, as she was one of the lead authors on the report. The report finds that behind land use change and direct exploitation of nature, climate change is the next main driver of ecosystem loss and biodiversity decline.


In a Yahoo News article about strategies for sea level rise in Manhattan, RCI affiliate Robert Kopp says that given current projections, the financial district may not necessarily need to move to a higher elevation. However, contingency plans, such as redesigning the area to accommodate flooding, should take into consideration continued sea level rise past 2100.


The risks of geoengineering the Earth to slow climate change are discussed in an article in Science Focus. RCI affiliate Alan Robock weighs on the potentially harmful consequences of ozone loss and monsoon disruption.


The effects of climate change on New Jersey specifically are explored in an article in NJTV. RCI affiliate Robert Kopp gives the worst case scenario, where 9 feet of sea level rise takes out Port Newark, Newark Airport, and much of Jersey City. Already, the winters are warming three times as fast as the summers in New Jersey, causing earlier buds that are vulnerable to the cold snaps that still come despite winter being overall warmer.


Rutgers University and Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind have partnered to advance research and monitoring to support offshore wind development. The Rutgers Center for Ocean Observing Leadership (RUCOOL) have entered into a five-year cooperative agreement to bolster already on-going efforts in developing research to advance offshore wind development.


Saving New Jersey from the Rising Tide is a series of four essays featuring RCI affiliates and leadership members including  Lisa Auermuller,George Guo,Jeanne Herb, Marjorie Kaplan, Robert Kopp, and Karen O’Neill. Read and learn more.