Models Portal

The Lake States Fire Science Consortium (LSFSC) is committed to ensuring that the ‘best available science’ is available for planning and managing northern fire-dependent ecosystems of the Lake States. Where there are current gaps in the science, the goal of the LSFSC is to assist in filling those gaps so that science informs practice and vice-versa. Unfortunately, for many local fire management issues, there are few resources available to bring managers and scientists together to solve these important issues.

In an effort to enhance the opportunities for managers and scientists to work together, and to expose future professionals to opportunities of management and research collaborations, the LSFSC requests proposals to fund research internships that address relevant fire science and management issues associated with northern fire-dependent ecosystems of the Lake States region (See our Ecosystems page for a description of fire-dependent ecosystems that are the focus of the Lake States Fire Science Consortium). Proposals must be developed by joint manager-scientist teams (i.e. both must be listed as co-PIs and equally contribute to proposal development) and outline how the research internship will address a critical need that will help improve management of fire-dependent ecosystems locally. Preference will be given to partnerships that have not yet received funding from the program.

The LSFSC anticipates awarding several $4,000 research internship awards. It is expected that 100% of the funds should go to support the undergraduate internship experience (preferably for salary, though a limited amount of funds may be used to purchase materials and supplies needed to complete the project - funds should not be used as a supplement or summer salary for graduate students). All proposals must be submitted by 5:00 PM Eastern / 4:00 PM Central on Monday, December 9, 2019 by email to Jack McGowan-Stinski. There will be no exceptions to this closing date and time.

USGS Core Science Systems and Office of Enterprise Information leadership is excited to announce the FY20 USGS Community for Data Integration (CDI) Request for Proposals.

All interested scientists and staff are urged to consider participating in this opportunity to engage with a dynamic team that spans all mission areas and regions. With more than 1300 members, a major program goal is to support the advancement of USGS science through technical innovation and data integration. This year, CDI is encouraging proposals that produce building blocks for an Integrated Predictive Science Capacity with the following themes:

1. Projects that address one of the major components of the USGS Director’s vision to:
   a. Integrate USGS data into a comprehensive data lake;
   b. Develop, test, and apply an integrated predictive science capability (EarthMAP) that incorporates data, interpretations, and knowledge spanning discipline boundaries, geographies, and sectors;
   c. Provide actionable intelligence that can be used via dashboards and applications to enhance situational awareness, provide new operational capabilities, and inform decision making, using technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high performance computing.
2. Tools and methods supporting wildland fire and water prediction, aligned with the EarthMAP (Earth Monitoring, Analyses, and Projections) vision (Jenni et al., 2018).
3. Producing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data and tools for Integrated Predictive Science Capacity (see the Enabling FAIR Data site).
4. Reusing or repurposing modular tools such as those that were developed by previous CDI projects, including the CDI Risk Map

One-page statements of interest are invited for submission and are due by Friday, October 11, 2019 at 5 pm ET.

Refer to the Related Event link to the right (or below) regarding a webinar that will provide more information about the proposal process.
 

The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW) invites applications for a permanent full-time Research Meteorologist (series 1401) / Research Air Quality Engineer (series 0819) positionat the rank of GS-12, GS-13, or GS-14. The position is located at the Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory in Seattle, Washington and is part of the AirFire Team of the Threat Characterization and Management Program. Applications can be submitted via the USAJOBS website:https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/544454700
 
The PNW Research Station is one of seven research units in the USDA Forest Service. The Forest Service conducts the most extensive and productive program of integrated forestry research in the world. Scientific information produced by the USDA Forest Service AirFire Team focuses on understanding fire-atmosphere interactions, air quality, and climate with respect to wildland fire. AirFire’s research has application the across United States and in other parts of the world. The Station’s programs reflect the changing character of the questions that science is being asked to help answer.
 
The scientist will provide expertise to generate knowledge about fire, atmosphere, and chemistry interactions that can lead to better modeling of wildland fire emissions, plumes, and smoke. The knowledge is used to develop and deliver innovative and effective strategies, methods, and tools so people can plan, manage, or mitigate the changes, causes, and consequences associated with fire emissions and smoke.
 
Personal research assignment: The scientist serves as a fire/meteorology/air quality modeler and as one of four permanent, principal staff scientists with the AirFire Team. The AirFire team works closely together and the scientist is expected to collaborate on team projects within their area of expertise. The scientist is further expected to become the AirFire lead for one or more of the following critical areas of knowledge and research for the team, and participate in advancing the others: fire smoke modeling frameworks and real-time tools; coupled fire/atmosphere/smoke modeling; field work; and remote sensing. In this role the scientist is expected to serve both leadership roles within the team and also to be a national and international resource for the U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and broader air quality community.
 
The scientist has roles across all three of AirFire’s problem areas: air quality, meteorology, and climate. Air Quality: The scientist helps lead advancements in atmospheric/air quality modeling, including acquisition and implementation of remotely-sensed data into models. The scientist has a primary role in assessing new satellite products for their utility towards the smoke modeling frameworks. The scientist is expected to participate in and potentially lead field campaigns focused on wildland fire smoke. Meteorology: The scientist works to understand the coupled dynamics of fire-atmosphere and fire-atmosphere-smoke interactions including how these dynamics affect fire behavior and consumption and lead to the development of fire plumes that loft emissions into the atmosphere. Additionally, the scientist works to understand how advances in meteorological ensemble modeling can be applied to fire and smoke and how to codify this knowledge within numeric models and tools. Climate: The scientist, as one of the lead modelers, will assist with development of improved modeling strategies to quantify the above issues and the uncertainty surrounding them in future climate projections.
 
The scientist is expected to work nationally and to collaborate with the broader scientific community to create specific projects that can advance these goals. The scientist is also expected to engage directly with the management community including land managers, fire managers, and air quality regulators, and to support training of managers in areas related to their individual areas of expertise.
 
Location: Seattle and its surrounding areas are the major population center for Washington State. It is home to a number of research institutions and universities including the University of Washington, and numerous technical and environmental companies and non-profits. It is an innovative, highly-educated city featuring outstanding schools, diverse cultural centers, many outdoor activities, a thriving arts community, acclaimed restaurants, and a temperate climate. Seattle is served by both the SeaTac International Airport and the Paine Field Regional Airport as well as by train, bus, and ferry services.

We are seeking a motivated and independent postdoc to advance the state of the art in remote sensing and geospatial data integration in the field of ecosystem ecology. The successful candidate will work with the Landsat and Sentinel archive in conjunction with very high resolution drone acquired imagery to investigate how vegetation and topography govern microclimatic variability in post-wildfire landscapes. The objective of this project is to quantify influences on post-disturbance microclimatic variability and its effects on tree seedling survival.  The Earth Systems Ecology Lab (www.hurteaulab.org) is an interdisciplinary group of ecosystem ecologists in the Department of Biology at the University of New Mexico.  We work collaboratively to tackle a range of question related to global change and forest ecosystems.

The Earth Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is seeking a postdoctoral position in modeling of current/future fire activity and current/future vegetation characteristics. 

In particular, this project aims to assess data and models of plant moisture content (e.g., live fuel moisture) in different species across California and how those patterns in space and time alter wildfire occurrence and severity patterns. Responsibilities include analysis of biophysical models and data related to soil moisture, plant water relations, historical mapped fire patterns, and projections of future conditions under global change (e.g., climate and land use) scenarios.

This position will involve using statistical and/or machine learning models, processing environmental spatial data from a variety of sources (e.g., remote sensing, GIS) at various scales, publishing research results in peer-reviewed journal articles, and proposal development.

Basic Qualifications: Applicants must have completed all requirements for a PhD (or equivalent), except the dissertation, in plant ecology, geography or related field at the time of application.

Nominations are now open for new members of the International Association of Wildland Fires' (IAWF) Board of Directors. Nominations will be accepted through September 30, 2019 and successful candidates will begin their 3-year term on January 1, 2020. Individuals meeting the requirements may self-nominate.