PI Highlight
PanAmerican Advanced Studies Institute (PASI)
The purpose of the NSF funded PanAmerican Advanced Studies Institute Global Climate Change in the Americas was to provide a context for a systemic and interdisciplinary understanding of the issue of climate change currently affecting the PanAmerican countries, and to provide recommendations for the undertaking of actions to prevent, mitigate and adapt to the detrimental impacts by global warming. The vast majority of scientists agree that increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are causing changes in global climate. These increases are generally attributable to burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use. As scientists, we agree that these facts are immutable and that the focus for this PASI should be on recognizing impacts and recommending strategies to reduce further changes to the atmosphere. To that end, this institute brought together scientists from a range of backgroundsecology, soil microbiology, genomics, plant physiology, ecosystem studies, geography, geology, hydrology, atmospheric sciences, computer sciences, and other related disciplinesfrom countries throughout North, Central, and South America in collaboration with emerging and senior scientists, allowing for a crossgenerational, multinational discussion of the wideranging effects of climate change.
A major outcome of this institute is the drafting of broad recommendations for mitigation and adaptation to climate change and its impacts taking into consideration regional issues and impacts. The most important thing that individuals and governments can do to mitigate the impacts of climate change is to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases through energy conservation, exploration of alternative energy sources, and increasing carbon sequestration. Another extremely important recommendation is to increase public knowledge about climate change by bridging the gap between scientists, policymakers, and the public. More research is needed to explore the specific impacts of climate change on ecosystems in developing countries, which can be facilitated by international collaborations such as the PASI.
Dr. Walter C. Oechel
Dr. Oechel is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at San Diego State University, Coordinator for the Joint Doctoral Program in Ecology with the University of California Davis, Director of the Global Change Research Group, and Academic Director of the Field Stations Program. His research currently focuses on developing and understanding the predictive capability of the interconnections of terrestrial, atmospheric, and marine systems on global change. He focuses primarily in the Arctic (Alaska, Russia), the Pacific Basin (including Baja California Sur, Mexico, Indonesia), and the semiarid ecosystems of Italy and San Diego. He incorporates a small research aircraft, eddy covariance towers, soil measurements, remote sensing, and modeling in his research programs. He leads a highly active research group with funding averaging $1.4 million per year, and he advises 8 Ph.D. students and several Master's and undergraduate students.
Dr. Steven Hastings
Steven Hastings, Ph.D., has over 25 years of field and laboratory research experience ranging from chaparral to arctic to marine ecosystems. His current interests include nutrient and ecosystem carbon and methane balance studies. In the photograph above, Dr. Hastings discusses the semiarid ecosystems and their importance to global carbon balance.