Mangrove Monitoring
A complete application consists of:
- An application
- Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
- A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
- Two educational or professional references
All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.
If you have questions, send an email to EPArpp@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.
A research participation training opportunity is currently available at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD)/National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL). This appointment will be served with the Exposure Methods and Measurements Division (EMMD) in Research Triangle Park, NC.
The overall goal of this project is to improve scientific understanding of mangrove forest distribution and dynamics of the world. In 2011, USGS prepared the most comprehensive, accurate, and consistent mangrove database of the world using Landsat 30 m spatial resolution satellite data for the year 2000. The data is freely available from a number of organizations including Google, the World Resource Institute’s Global Forest Watch, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, CIESIN, and USGS. The data has been cited more than 700 times since its publication in 2011. The data is being used from local scales to global scales because the data is globally consistent and locally relevant. Although, extremely useful, the 2000 data is becoming increasingly dated.
Moreover, information on past changes on mangrove forests and associated changes in carbon stocks and other ecosystem goods and services is of interest. With the availability of free Landsat/Sentinel-2 data, improvement in classification algorithms, and cloud computing, it is now possible to derive such information.
The Participant may be involved in building on the global mangrove database for the year 2015, as EPA and USGS plan to:
- Update 2000 global mangrove database to 2015
- Perform mangrove classification for the year 1990, and 1980
- Perform annual mangrove change from 1980 to present
- Perform metaanalysis on carbon sequestration in mangrove forests worldwide and using remote sensing data analysis, quantify carbon stock change on an annual basis
- Perform mangrove change analysis globally to identify rates, patterns, causes and consequences of mangrove forests change on ecosystem goods and services.
The EPA and USGS will monitor both natural and anthropogenic changes. Mangrove could serve as an indicator of climate change and both landward and seaward expansion will be monitored. The mangrove and change database will be extremely useful for a number of applications including identification of priority mangrove conservation areas, identification of mangrove restoration areas, and enumeration of blue carbon sequestration potential. It is anticipated that this opportunity will involve project-related travel.
This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and EPA. The appointment is full time for one year and may be renewed upon recommendation of EPA and contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend. Funding may be made available to reimburse the participant’s travel expenses to present the results of his/her research at scientific conferences. No funding will be made available to cover travel costs for pre-appointment visits, relocation costs, tuition and fees, or participant’s health insurance. The participant must show proof of health and medical insurance. The participant does not become an EPA employee.
The mentor for this project is Chandra Giri (giri.chandra@epa.gov). The desired start date is October 2, 2017.
Applicants must have received a master's or doctoral degree in environmental science, geographic information systems, forest resources and science, geography, or a closely related field within five years of the desired starting date, or completion of all requirements for the degree should be expected prior to the starting date. Experience in mapping and monitoring mangroves is desired.
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