Lab Operations and Field Safety Manager, Steve Gaurin oversees the operations of Woodwell Climate’s four lab spaces, running them efficiently and effectively so researchers can generate the data they need for their studies. His day to day job involves regular maintenance on the complex machinery, troubleshooting glitches, maintaining safety procedures, and ensuring the Center’s scientists have the required materials to analyze samples and collect data. Here, Gaurin discusses what it actually takes to keep the lab running in top form.
SR: So, Steve, tell me about the Woodwell Lab.
SG: The lab is an essential piece of any research that takes place at the Center. It’s incredibly important to ensure our data is accurate and generated by reliable instruments; that’s a big part of my job.
We have four lab spaces at the Center— the main lab on the 3rd floor, our basement lab which is mostly used for soil sample prep, the gas chromatograph room, and somewhat disused at present, the shed lab.
SR: What do you wish more people knew about lab operations?
SG: The amount of effort and time and energy it takes to keep all these instruments running. They are incredible pieces of technology, but they’re also quite complicated, and there’s a number of different ways that they can go wrong. And they do. So when I say in a staff meeting, “all the instruments are working well” that’s a real statement, because it’s not always the case.
SR: And when problems with the instruments do pop up?
SG: It takes a lot of problem solving, almost like detective work to get to the bottom of it.
SR: Do you enjoy detective work?
SG: I enjoy it when we figure it out. Then it’s like one of the best feelings of my day. It feels like a triumph. The research assistants are happy, the PIs are happy. I’m happy. Everything’s good.
SR: But I take it we don’t always figure it out?
SG: Yeah, as I mentioned, these instruments are incredibly complex, and there are a number of ways that they can fail. For example, one of the soil analyzers, it has so many different O rings at all its connection points and if any one of those O rings is a little bit askew, it’s going to fail a leak test. Or the problem could be the flange seal at the top of the combustion tube. Or any number of things. Even though it seems like these things are simple input-output devices, the technology, the electronics, the chemistry, the physics, everything that went into those is nothing short of remarkable.
SR: Sounds like it’s a tall order to keep all these complicated instruments running.
SG: It’s not just me. Any time that I’m trying to solve a problem with anything in the lab, I’m working with the research assistants. And in many cases, it’s those discussions and those interactions with them that really get to the heart of the problem—and to the solution. In our last case with the nutrient analyzer, it was a lot of sleuthing from Andie Norton that really identified the problem. It’s essential to have the input and ideas of the people who really run the instruments most often.
SR: The lab, I imagine, also requires a lot of material resources to keep running.
SG: Yes. Most of the instruments run in the range of, say, 50 to 80 thousand dollars new. As we purchase new instrumentation, we also purchase service contracts for preventative maintenance visits and access to a technician, which is also incredibly valuable for troubleshooting. The other thing these instruments also need is consumables. You constantly need to be ordering those as supplies get depleted—chemicals, gas cylinders and the like. It’s not cheap but it’s crucial.
SR: What are your goals for the future of the lab?
SG: I think that the main goals for the lab are to continue to maintain and keep striving for that level of reliability, excellence, and cutting edge research that we’ve been conducting since before I got here.
The cold, hard truth
The Yukon is warming faster than anywhere else in the world. It’s causing irreversible damage to Indigenous communities
Arctic Canada is filling with puddles.
Springtime in the Yukon looks astonishingly similar to June in Ontario. The days are long. Deer bite the heads off flowers deep in the forest. Icy mountains still loom in the distance, but here in the city of Whitehorse, wet mud squishes with every step. People wear shorts and t-shirts. Trucks are parked in nearly every driveway, dried clay caked onto their tires. Spring in Whitehorse is beautiful, if you forget that it comes at the cost of a forever-changed climate.
Continue reading on THIS Magazine.
Mapbiomass, the foundations are laid in the DRC (French)
In its ambition to cover 70% of the world’s tropical forest areas by 2030 by deploying initiatives in 20 tropical countries in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, the Mapbiomass network, with the support of the Central African Forest Satellite Observatory (OSFAC-DRC), has started its activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, identified as a priority country for the deployment of Mapbiomass in Africa.
This is what justified the holding of the workshop on the “presentation of the Mapbiomass initiative and initiation of the process of building the Mapbiomass-DRC Network”.
Read more on Info Environnment.
A siege on science: How Trump is undoing an American legacy
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has slashed federal agencies, canceled national reports, and yanked funding from universities. The shockwaves will be felt worldwide.
Across seven decades and a dozen presidencies, America’s scientific prowess was arguably unmatched. At universities and federal agencies alike, researchers in the United States revolutionized weather forecasting, cured deadly diseases, and began monitoring greenhouse gas emissions. As far back as 1990, Congress directed this scientific might toward understanding climate change, after finding that human-induced global warming posed a threat to “human health, and global economic and social well-being.”
Introduction
The impacts of climate change on the frequency and severity of physical hazards are putting many communities at risk. As the threat of climate change grows, so too does the need for accessible information, tools, and expertise to support climate-resilient decision making across multiple scales, from communities to countries. Woodwell Climate Research Center believes there is a need to localize and customize climate risk assessments. This information is critical for local government leaders as they make planning decisions, but it is not available to all communities. Woodwell believes that this science should be freely and widely available. To address this gap, Woodwell works with communities and countries across the world, including Ethiopia, to provide community climate risk assessments, free of charge.
Ethiopia, with its rich cultural heritage and about 126.5 million people (2023¹), faces growing climate challenges that also impact its economic priorities and natural resources. Located on the horn of Africa, Ethiopia boasts a diverse range of climates, from tropical forest in the southwest to desert in the north. Rain-fed agriculture forms the livelihoods of many of Ethiopia’s communities—agriculture accounted for nearly 35% of Ethiopia’s GDP in 2020.² Ethiopia experiences the effects of increased climate variability through extreme hazards including droughts, floods, and landslides across different parts of the country.
Ethiopia has established a strong policy landscape for climate action through several strategic initiatives. The national government has demonstrated their commitment to addressing Ethiopia’s climate future by embracing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and incorporating resilience principles into its first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC submitted in 2017 and revised in 2022. In addition, Ethiopia has outlined its commitment to sustainable development through key policy frameworks, including the Ten-Year Development Plan (2021–2030), the Long-Term Low Carbon Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS 2020–2050), the Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGE), and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), aimed at mitigating risks associated with climate change and environmental degradation. Woodwell’s quantitative risk assessment of extreme precipitation, flooding, drought, and streamflow patterns builds upon Ethiopia’s deep knowledge systems and aims to complement existing national frameworks. This report intends to provide local data insights to support decision-makers and communities to take evidence-informed approaches for resilience.
The climate of Ethiopia is heavily influenced by its imposing topography. The country can be roughly divided into the highlands that make up most of the western half of Ethiopia and the lowlands which consist of southeast and northeast Ethiopia. These two zones differ significantly in the distribution, intensity, and seasonality of rainfall. This variation affects water availability, agriculture, and climate resilience across the country. The highlands generally see around 1,500 mm of rainfall per year (Figure 1) which falls mostly during the Kirempt season (June–September). The lowlands receive considerably less rainfall, about 300 mm annually, which occurs largely during the Belg rainy season (February–May).
Due to this sharp gradient in annual rainfall, the type of agriculture to support livelihoods differs between the highlands and the lowlands. Crop-based agriculture dominates the highlands (Figure 2), while as one moves southeast and northeast towards the lowlands, pastoral communities become more prevalent. Approximately 94% of Ethiopia’s crop production occurs in the Meher season (September–February) which is largely a product of the Kirempt rainy season.³ A failure of the summer rains would be devastating for the Ethiopian people, especially since more than 85% of the labor force is engaged in the agricultural sector, with only 5% of crop production is irrigated, making the sector highly dependent on rainfall.⁴ Internal climate variability can lead to large swings in annual rainfall from year to year leading to a drought prone environment. Additionally, bursts of extreme precipitation that cause flooding can occur in drought years resulting in concurrent disaster events.
The Frontiers Planet Prize, the world’s largest science competition to enhance planetary health by fast-tracking innovative research, today announced National Champions from 19 different countries who now advance to the International competition, which will award three winners $1M each to scale up their research.
Read more on the Marine Biological Laboratory website.
Why New York and New Jersey are at risk of spring wildfires
The wildfire scorching southern New Jersey ignited despite a series of downpours in recent weeks — and the region is ripe for more blazes.
April’s rains didn’t soak into the ground enough to prevent the fire from erupting at the edge of New Jersey’s pine barrens reserve. The blaze — which was allegedly sparked by an improperly extinguished bonfire — has burned 21 square miles (54 square kilometers) and is expected to grow in the coming days.
Read more on Insurance Journal.