The Biodiversity and Climate Project Team
Jon C Bergengren
I am a global ecologist / astrophysicist / computer modeler
currently focused on the relationships between biodiversity and climate change
with a goal of accelerating our journey to sustainability.
My scientific interests have evolved from cosmology and planetary detection
to Earth system science, climate-biosphere interactions, and global biodiversity.
This is reflected in my academic journey, from receiving undergraduate degrees
in Astrophysics and Computer Science to my PhD in Global Ecology / Earth System Science
to a decade of research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
I have always been more interested in paradigm shifting than paradigm polishing.
I have been at the forefront of three advancements in Earth system science:
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Biospheric feedbacks
to climate change, NCAR, 1990s
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Ecological sensitivity,
an eco-analogue to climate sensitivity, Caltech/JPL, 2000s
-
Exploring Earth system synergies of biodiversity, natural habitat, and climate change, ongoing
If you are interested in collaborating and/or funding my research, please contact me at:
global ecologist at gmail dot com.
Enjoy the site and please learn and help create a sustainable world.
On this News & Notes page, you can read a 2011
NASA press release
that summarizes one of my publications describing a new metric that I developed – ecological sensitivity –
the eco-analogue to climate sensitivity.
The ecosensitivity maps are generated using one of my biospheric models driven
by the IPCC CMIP3 AR4 SRES A1B climate change scenario, a very conservative estimate
of this century’s coming climate changes.
I am currently updating these results using the newer more realistic IPCC CMIP5 AR5 RCP 8.5 climate change
scenario (visualized on the Science page) which portrays the world toward which we are currently headed.
It’s time to launch a Project Apollo for clean renewable energy sources – solar, wind, ocean dynamics,
geothermal, and nonfood biofuels.
News
2015 April 7
The new Biodiversity and Climate Project website is launched!
The evolutionary state of this site is still in beta-phase –
some sections are still very brief placeholders
awaiting further expansion and elucidation.
Next, I have to learn how to install and configure
a map server (probably GeoServer) in order to serve
up our data to online (zoomable) slippy maps.
Stay tuned!
Notes
A Biodiversity and Climate Community
The self-evident focus and ultimate triangular goal of the Biodiversity and Climate Project
is conserving and restoring the biosphere's endangered species and natural habitats,
while stabilizing the Earth's climate system.
The activities of human beings are creating the primary forces driving
extinction, habitat loss, and climate change
and therefore only modifications in our collective behaviors
can create a sustainable world.
Hence, another central guiding principle in the development of this project and our website
is building a dynamic and growing community of ecologists, climate scientists, and others
who are illuminating these challenges and pioneering the solutions.
The project's growing body of biodiversity, habitat, and climate maps and
associated written analyses will be published online and freely available to everyone.
Project members will also be able to login to the website
in order to enter and edit their own biodiversity data.
These data will be stored in our evolving data software system in formats
that can be served up to our web mapping system.
Eventually, we will also have an iOS app for easy data entry in the field.
Sutainability Ideas
Transforming Vision into Action
Scientific results and visualizations are transformed into
education and policy by effective communication.
Positive change starts with vision – both kinds – a vision of what's possible
and the ability to see the world of the past, present, and probable future.
I am building this project and website with a vision of sustainability,
a world in which both human beings and the rest of Nature are thriving.
I am working hard to transform the mostly invisible human impacts on the natural world
into informative visualizations that can accelerate our journey to sustainability.
The real alchemy, of course, lies in the transformation
of this vision and these visualizations into effective actions of change.
The mantra for a sustainable Earth: conserve and restore biodiversity and natural habitat
while stabilizing the Earth's climate.
Thank you for your vision and positive actions.