December

December 2012

Antarctic Quest: Racing to Understand a Changing Ocean. Oscar Schofield, Rutgers IMCS Professor and CECI affiliate, along with Rutgers filmmakers Dena Seidel and Chris Linder have traveled to Antarctica to join the Long Term Ecological Research Team at Palmer Station. They will be making a documentary film while exploring one of the most rapidly warming areas on the planet. Their adventure can be followed on their daily Antarctic Quest Blog.

December 8, 2012

Officials Urge Some Parts of LBI, Toms River to Vacate Instead of Rebuild. At the “Rebuilding A Resilient New Jersey Shore” conference held at Monmouth University on December 7, speakers warned that it may be prudent to vacate some areas along the New Jersey coastline that were hit especially hard by Hurricane Sandy. The combination of rising sea levels and the nature of barrier islands which shift and migrate over time mean that rebuilding in some areas will simply lead to more destruction in the future. Anthony Broccoli, Rutgers University Professor and Director of the Climate and Environmental Change Initiative, explained how storms in the future significantly weaker than Sandy will produce similar amounts of flooding because of rising sea levels. Other speakers explained that it may take up to ten years to rebuild a smarter, more resilient Jersey Shore and that it is essential not just to repair damaged infrastructure but to implement infrastructure and building standards for the next century that can withstand climate change.