Principal Investigator: Gregory Jenkins

Status: Active

Funding Organization: National Science Foundation

Start Date: 11 January 2021

End Date: 31 October 2025

Research Focus: Dust, CMIP, Forecasting, Weather, West Africa

More Details: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2129594

Abstract:

Satellite images sometimes show a great brown plume of airborne dust covering the Atlantic ocean from West Africa to the Caribbean. The dust plume, lofted from the Sahara desert and blown downwind for thousands of miles, is extensive and thick enough to affect world climate through its radiative effects, and enough dust crosses the Atlantic to affect air quality in the Carribean and the southeast US. More locally, the dust is a public health challenge throughout North and West Africa, linked to asthma, bronchitis, acute respiratory infections, and other conditions. The substantial impacts of Saharan dust motivate research on the likely changes in dust emission and transport due to global climate change.

This project considers likely changes in Saharan dust emission and transport over the 21st century using computer simulations from a regional model, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with the dust module from the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model. WRF is integrated over West Africa and the downwind Atlantic using boundary conditions from global reanalysis products and global model simulations of future climate change. Global model simulations are taken from the archive of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5) and use three different estimates of likely future emissions of greenhouse gases.

The work focuses on changes in atmospheric circulation and their likely effects on the lofting and transport of Saharan dust. Motivation for the work comes from the association between Saharan dust and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a large-scale oscillation in sea level pressure between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High that causes changes in the strength of the surface winds over the Atlantic north of the equator. A further consideration is the extent to which intensification of the Saharan Heat Low in a warming climate could cause strengthening of surface winds which could in turn stir up more dust from the desert. Warming-induced changes in the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) are also examined as a potential influence on Saharan dust transport across the Sahel and into the Guinea region.

The health impacts of Saharan dust make the project societally relevant as well as scientifically interesting. One consideration here is that West Africa is currently home to roughly 350 million people and the population is expected to more than double by 2050. Another is that changes in the dust content of air over the Atlantic has implications for both US air quality and the formation of landfalling hurricanes. In addition, the project would provide support and training to a postdoctoral fellow and a graduate student, as well as an undergraduate student working on an hourly basis. Project participants participate in the campus EnvironMentors program, developing a project for a high school student to work on during the academic school year.

Principal Investigator: Gregory Jenkins

Co-Principal Investigator: Christopher Blaszczak-Boxe

Status: Active

Funding Organization: National Science Foundation

Start Date: 1 September 2021

End Date: 31 August 2024

Research Focus: Social Sciences, Student, Minority, Research Project, Mentoring, Social Status

More Details: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2119953

Abstract:

Diversity in STEM continues to be a critical issue in postsecondary and workforce realms. In the disciplines of Earth, Oceanic, and Atmospheric Sciences, the problem is amplified with very limited success for attracting, retaining, and graduating students from historically underrepresented groups at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Several factors inhibit STEM engagement for these individuals including content exposure, mentoring, experiential learning, and math and science preparation. To counteract the impact of these limiting factors, a focused geoscience component, designated GEOENV, will be added to the Penn State EnvironMentors program, which provides high school students a research experience throughout the academic year through group mentorship from faculty, postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students. GEOENV will provide additional opportunities for STEM engagement for high school students, with the aim of steering students toward college/university Geoscience majors/disciplines and careers/jobs.

GEOENV will recruit 16 freshman, sophomore, and junior year high school students per year from 4 locations located in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, representing varied demographic and socioeconomic status. Initiating recruitment prior to declaring majors or accepting enrollment at a university/college is a strategic time to introduce participants to geoscience content and related activities. High school student participants are assigned to a research team and develop a research project as part of the EnvironMentors program and focus on a geoscience discipline in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University. From yearlong work on a research project, high school student participants present a research poster and papers as final products. GEOENV will also include seminars with cross-cutting themes during the academic year to increase exposure of participants to geoscience disciplines. High school teachers will also participate to deepen their knowledge of education of STEM education and research activities in geoscience disciplines.

Investigator: Ida Djenontin

Status: Active

 More Details: https://sites.google.com/view/ida-n-djenontin/research/current-future-projects?authuser=0

Abstract:

This research focuses on the Forest (and) Landscape Restoration paradigm and explores ways to achieve integrated governance for collective restoration of lands, trees, and forests at the landscape scale in sub-Sahara African contexts.

Principal Investigator: Raymond Najjar 

Co-Principal Investigator: Gregory Jenkins

Status: Active

Funding Organization: National Science Foundation

Start Date: 15 September 2021

End Date: 31 August 2024

Research Focus: Climate, Student, Minority, Water Quality, Communication Sciences

More Details: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1852428

Abstract:

This project supports a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site at Pennsylvania State University. Undergraduate students will conduct authentic research on topics related to climate science. The research topics will take in interdisciplinary look at climate science and the societal relevance, spanning beyond atmospheric science to also include impacts of a changing climate such as human health, ecology, and engineering solutions. New statistical and computational approaches will be introduced to students to make sense of the ever-larger data being collected on the climate system. Mentors to the participants will bring expertise in impacts (wildfires, forests, health, and water quality), climate dynamics (ice sheets), measurement systems (drones and remote sensing), and climate remediation (carbon storage).

The program is a complete, summer-long immersion in the research process complemented with weekly activities to enhance students’ professional development through workshops and seminars on science communication, graduate school, and career opportunities. Students will choose to work with one or more leading climate science researchers who have designed a clear and concise research project with achievable goals. A small research group made up of faculty, research associates, post-doctoral scholars, and senior graduate students will mentor each student. Students will report their research in the form of a peer-reviewed journal article, a conference-style poster, and a short (2-3 minute) oral presentation. Students will be encouraged to present research at national meetings and produce peer-reviewed publications. With the aid of an education specialist, surveys and focus groups will be used to obtain feedback from students and mentors during and after the summer session, which will be used to improve the program. Specific improvements to this REU renewal include: (1) interdisciplinary expansion using faculty from seven departments, (2) co-mentoring of students, and (3) enhanced targeting of underrepresented groups. The program will accommodate 14-15 students each year, targeting women, minorities, and students from institutions outside of those with the highest research activity, as these constituencies are underrepresented in climate science. The program will provide students with sufficient knowledge so that they not only contribute to solving societally relevant scientific problems but also to the improvement of scientific literacy within academia and throughout our educational systems and society at large.

Co-Principal Investigator: Ida Djenontin

Status: Active

Funding Organization: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and Environment

More Details: https://forestlab.partners/about

Abstract:

The collaborative research in this project revolves around understanding and improving the governance models and arrangements in forest concessions and in community forestry to achieve inclusive and sustainable conservation and development goals in Gabon