Research Project Description
Research Participation Program
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Assessment
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Arlington, VA
EPA-ORD/NCEA-IO-2011-01
Project Description:
A postgraduate research training opportunity is currently available at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Center for Environmental
Assessment (NCEA). This appointment will be served with the Global Change
Research Program (GCRP) in Arlington, Virginia. The GCRP, located in the EPA’s
Office of Research and Development (ORD), works to build the capacity of
programs, managers, and other decision-makers to assess and respond to global
change (i.e., climate and land use) impacts on the environment and human
health.
Research and assessment activities are focused on a number of areas: ambient
air
quality, ambient water quality, the built environment (including water and
wastewater infrastructure), aquatic ecosystems, and human health. For more
information about the GCRP activities in NCEA, visit
http://www.epa.gov/ncea/global/.
This research training opportunity, in the development of GIS-based decision
support tools, will support a linked, interdisciplinary set of projects with
the
overarching goal of improving our understanding of the implications of climate
and land-use change for U.S. water quality, aquatic ecosystems, and urban
areas.
This research will ultimately help inform EPA about reducing environmental and
societal vulnerabilities to climate change through appropriate adaptation
strategies.
This project involves (1) analyses of land-use change projections for the
conterminous U.S. to 2100 and (2) vulnerability analyses of regions and
watersheds to global changes. The research participant will have an opportunity
to engage with a team of scientists at EPA on a variety of climate change
projects in the pursuit of creating Geographic Information System (GIS)
products
and effective GIS-based decision support tools for managers and decision makers.
The research participant could be involved in the following activities:
* Development of custom geoprocessing tools for ESRI ArcGIS that
perform or
facilitate analyses of model output, including climate, land use, and
hydrology,
generally with nationwide extent and high spatial and temporal resolution;
* Preparation of tabular and spatial data for analyses and assessments
conducted by the GCRP;
* Distribution of data products, including preparation of metadata,
custom
spatial analyses, and utilization of data distribution mechanisms;
* Creation and use of custom GIS tools for the analysis of climate
model output
in data formats such as NetCDF;
* Analyses of scenarios of nationwide land-use changes and
climate-model
output;
* Development of web-based tools on platforms such as ArcGIS Server;
* Syntheses and description of results in reports and journal articles;
and
* Presentation of research results at relevant conferences and to
audiences of
varied backgrounds.
The participant will also engage in training activities that ensures that all
environmental data generated or used are scientifically sound, legally
defensible, and of known and acceptable quality for their intended uses.
Qualifications:
Applicants must have received a master’s degree in geography, computer science,
environmental science, natural resources, or a related field within four years
of the desired starting date, or have completed all degree requirements prior
to
the start date. Experience with GIS (ESRI ArcGIS 9.x and 10), including
proficiency in basic operations such as reprojecting data layers, clipping to
specified units of analysis, compiling and combining data layers (e.g., mosaic
multiple raster datasets), creating consistent, logical file structures for
data
management including file and personal geodatabases, and proficiency in more
complex spatial modeling and visualizations is desirable.
The appointment is full-time for one year and may be renewed for up to two
additional years upon recommendation of EPA and subject to availability of
funds. The participant will receive a stipend up to $62,467 per year and must
show proof of health and medical insurance. The participant does not become an
EPA employee.
The program is open to all qualified individuals without regard to race, sex,
religion, color, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, or status
as a Vietnam era or disabled veteran. U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent
resident status is preferred (but can also hold an appropriate visa status,
however, an H1B visa is not appropriate).
How to Apply:
The Research Participation Program for EPA is administered by the Oak Ridge
Institute for Science and Education. Please reference Project #
EPA-ORD/NCEA-IO-2011-01 when calling or writing for information. For additional
information and application materials contact: Research Participation
Program/EPA-ORD, Attn: Betty Bowling, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Education, P.O. Box 117, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-0117, Phone: (865) 576-8503
FAX: (865) 241-5219 e-mail:[email protected].
An application can be found at
http://www.orau.gov/partform/EPA/EPA_Application.pdf.
Originial URL: http://orise.orau.gov/epa/description.aspx?JobId=1200
