2011 - Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences ...

Milestone 3. Explore the expanding frontiers of virtual
worlds, simulation and visualization tools to aid NOAA
education and outreach, science, and support to the public,
in line with NOAA’s mission
This last year has seen a technology upgrade and change of
focus in the development of virtual worlds. The virtual worlds
group has successfully transitioned to the latest generation of
visualization tools; has been recognized as a national leader in
government and education; has delivered products to customers
both within and outside NOAA; and continues to expand
its skill set with standalone, massively multiuser online and
mobile applications. The biggest change has been a switch
from proprietary existing platforms like Second Life to Unity3D,
a cutting-edge graphics engine. This technology allows
NOAA’s Technology Outreach Branch (TOB) to create virtual
worlds directly within a web browser; to deliver simulations
for classroom use on a CD; and to create mobile visualization
applications. This switch also allows TOB to directly use models
created by data-visualization labs and other groups within
and outside of NOAA.
The increase from part-time to full-time of Brandon Lynge
has allowed the virtual worlds group to expand from education
to data visualizations and simulations, to better fit
customers’ needs. This effort has required significant training,
but the group continues to reach significant milestones. For
instance, the group has created what is perhaps NOAA’s first
3-D role-playing simulation, which was delivered to students
at the Interdisciplinary Scientific Environmental Technology
(ISET) Cooperative Science Center (CSC). Another deliverable
was made to the Department of Energy (DOE), and work on
web products is ongoing with DOE and the National Ocean
Service. TOB’s efforts are at the bleeding edge of government
and education, and as a result, all team members have been
asked to present work at national gaming and virtual worlds
conferences.
IA-04 Resource Development
for Educators and Decision Makers
n Policy-02 Outreach to Decision Makers through the Internet
n Policy-03 Outreach to Decision Makers through Newsletters
Policy-02AgriculturalAdjustmentstoDrought
FEDERAL LEAD: CHRISTINA ALVORD
CIRES LEAD: WILLIAM R. TRAVIS
NOAA Goal 2: Climate
Project Goal: Explain the mixture of findings of an earlier
WWA-funded project (Drought Impact Indicators); determine
how farmers, ranchers and the federal grazing system respond
to climate variability and what role climate information plays
in decision-making.
Milestone 1. Design field project, conduct interviews and
write up findings for peer review.
Graduate student Kristin Gangwer completed this
study, which formed the basis for her thesis. She
received her master’s in geography in spring 2011.
Her abstract follows:
Ranchers in the Rocky Mountain West navigate a com-
138 CIRES Annual Report 2011
plex land-tenure system comprised of deeded, leased and
public grazing lands. Droughts create management challenges
for ranchers across their land holdings and impose
physical, social and economic impacts on the ranching
system. However, while some studies have explored Western
ranchers’ drought experiences and management strategies,
none have looked specifically at the role land tenure
plays in their drought responses, and most literature on
the relationship between land tenure and drought has
thus far focused outside the United States. The goal of this
study, then, was explore the implications of land tenure on
ranchers’ drought coping behaviors and adaptive capacity.
What adjustments and adaptations do ranchers deploy to
cope with drought? How do ranchers’ drought experiences
and management strategies differ across land holdings?
What role do institutions play? And what factors influence
the future adaptability of the system, particularly to
potential climate change?
Presentations:
1) Society for Range Management 2011 Annual Meeting
(poster presentation), February 2011.
2) Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
Noontime Talk, March 2011.
3) CIRES Rendezvous 2011 (poster presentation), April 2011.
Products:
1) Thesis
2) Journal article (to come)
3) White paper (to come)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number of Ranchers Reporting Drought‐Induced
AUM Reductions
(in number of animals or time)
3
Didn't Reduce On Their Own In Conjunction with
Agency
8
4
6
Forced by Agency
Policy-03ImpactsofEarlierSnowmeltonWater
RightsHoldersintheIntermountainWest
FEDERAL LEAD: CHRISTINA ALVORD
CIRES LEAD: ROBERTA KLEIN
Reduced
Didn't Reduce
NOAA Goal 2: Climate
Project Goal: This project will determine whether agricultural
water-rights holders in the U.S. West have experienced impacts
from, and made adaptations to, earlier snowmelt.
Milestone 1. Design field project, conduct interviews and
write up and present findings.
This project was not funded.