Woodwell Climate Research Center

Stewardship Manager Rebekah Myers recently worked with researchers from Woodwell Climate Research Center and Sheriff's Meadow Foundation to locate vegetation monitoring plots in the rare sandplain grassland communities on Martha's Vineyard. Despite the plot markers being buried, they found them by using a magnetic field detector. This effort is important for resampling and long-term data collection on vegetation cover and diversity. 📊🌱 Learn more about our sandplain grassland restoration on Martha's Vineyard: https://nature.ly/3RyeM13

In honor of World Health Day, join us and our partners at Woodwell Climate Research Center for a conversation about an overlooked public health crisis affecting nearly two hundred thousand Alaskans: permafrost thaw. 📆 Thursday, April 10, 9:00-10:15am EST - Harvard Kennedy School + Zoom Permafrost thaw in Alaska is more than an environmental or infrastructure crisis: it is a rapidly escalating public health disaster. Destabilization of essential infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, roads, and healthcare centers exposes rural and Native Alaskans to waterborne diseases and pathogens, food insecurity, respiratory illness, and other mental and physical health hazards. The disruption of critical infrastructure also hampers the delivery of medical services, particularly in remote areas where healthcare access is already scarce. Hear from our panel of environmental science and public health experts: 💡 Edward Alexander, Senior Arctic Fellow at Woodwell Climate Research Center and Co-Chair of Gwich’in Council International, will provide a local perspective on the evolving challenges faced by Arctic communities 🧑⚕️ N. Stuart Harris MD MFA, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Founder of the Division of Space, Ecological, Arctic, and Resource-limited Medicine, will discuss the medical and logistical hurdles in responding to these growing health risks 🌎 John P Holdren, Co-Chair of the Arctic Initiative, will offer insight into the science behind permafrost thaw and its far-reaching implications for public health and infrastructure Our Director Jennifer Spence will moderate. We'll also preview a forthcoming brief on the health impacts of permafrost thaw by Aruni Ranaweera and Tessa Varvares. This event is sponsored by Permafrost Pathways, a joint initiative of Woodwell Climate Research Center and Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative. Details and registration: https://lnkd.in/d_CTnwsB

What we’re reading this month at Woodwell Climate. ➡️ 📖 Forest stability: A marker of our oldest, strongest forests https://lnkd.in/gsnSMACF 📖 Costs of permafrost thaw damage to infrastructure in Alaska could double by 2050 https://lnkd.in/gjAZmBsn 📖 How rolling back EPA regulations could impact New England air and water https://lnkd.in/gazjxMCA 📖 This town on the Cape is a hub for climate scientists. Under Trump, its local economy is shaking https://lnkd.in/eW3FuhRj 📖 Arctic sea ice hits record low for its usual peak growth period https://lnkd.in/dUfw3ubn

"As we face challenges to the integrity of US scientific research, it is crucial that we stand together to support and communicate scientifically factual information about the changes happening everywhere." 🤔Do you care about the importance of unbiased science– on both the national and local level? Read the guest commentary by the presidents of #WHOI, Woodwell Climate Research Center, and Marine Biological Laboratory in our hometown newspaper, The Falmouth Enterprise: go.whoi.edu/stand-together

These internships are still open but closing fast. Come join us! 📝 Science Writer Intern (remote optional) 🗺️ Cartography Intern (remote optional) 💧 Water Quality Research Intern 💧 Research Assistant Intern (REU) - Water

It's Community Science Month and the rivers need our help! Climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction threaten our waterways-- but scientists can’t monitor every river alone. That’s where community science comes in. Everyday people are stepping up to track water quality, identify pollution, and document changes in their local watersheds. Programs like Science on the Fly, a project of Woodwell Climate Research Center, empower anglers to collect long-term data on river health. By monitoring nutrient levels and temperature every month, they help scientists understand trends and the impact of climate change. The data then is used to inform policy and conservation efforts. Protecting our rivers is a shared responsibility. Whether you live near a waterway, recreate on the rivers, or simply care about the environment, your engagement matters. Together, we can ensure our freshwater ecosystems remain healthy for generations to come. How are you contributing to protecting our environment this month? #CommunityScience #ScienceOnTheFly #Conservation #ForHealthyRivers #EarthMonth #WoodwellClimateResearchCenter #CommunityScientist #ProtectOurRivers

Frances brings decades of incredible tropical forest policy expertise to the Woodwell Climate Research Center, especially important as we approach COP30 in Brazil.

I'm thrilled to announce that Frances Seymour, a global authority on tropical forests and climate change, has joined Woodwell Climate Research Center as Senior Policy Advisor. Frances most recently served as Senior Advisor for Forests in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate at the US Department of State, leaving that position on January 20, 2025. She is lead author of the book, Why Forests? Why Now? and has published and consulted extensively on forest-climate policy, environmental governance, and development finance. At Woodwell, Frances will work closely with our tropical scientists and with our Brazilian partner organization IPAM Amazonia - Amazon Environmental Research Institute, initially focusing on how to make #COP30 in Brazil a catalytic moment for tropical forests conservation. Frances brings a wealth of international experience to Woodwell. She resided in Indonesia for 11 years, including six years with ambassadorial status leading the CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research) and five years based at the Ford Foundation's Southeast Asia office in Jakarta. She has also consulted for the The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Climate and Land Use Alliance, and was recognized by the Government of France with induction into the Ordre de Merite Agricole for her leadership on forests and climate change. Welcome aboard Frances. We have work to do!

"The presence of WHOI, Woodwell and MBL in Falmouth, as well as our colleagues at NOAA and USGS, is about far more than science; it is about the vibrant community we all enjoy. As we face challenges to the integrity of US scientific research, it is crucial that we stand together to support and communicate scientifically factual information about the changes happening everywhere." Leaders from three of Woods Hole's major scientific institutions—Nipam Patel of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Peter de Menocal of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and R. Max Holmes of Woodwell Climate Research Center—penned a unified op-ed published last Friday by Falmouth Publishing, Inc. 📲 Read more: https://bit.ly/4ldTIL2

This map by Christina Shintani features the expanded plans for oil exploration in northern Alaska. The U.S. Department of the Interior announced plans to increase oil exploration and production in Alaska, including reopening up to 82 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve and “reinstating a program that makes the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge available for oil and gas leasing. The Arctic is warming at three times the global rate, transforming the region, and threatening both Arctic communities and our global climate. The consequences of this rapid warming are—and will increasingly be—catastrophic, as rising temperatures accelerate one of the world’s most significant climate threats: thawing Arctic permafrost.