The U.S. National Academy of Sciences National Research Council Committee on Needs and Research Requirements for Land-Change Modeling is assessing the future research requirements for spatially-explicit land-change models and is requesting input from CHANS-Net land modelers.

The dates for the American Geophysical Union’s 2012 Fall Meeting have been changed to Monday, Dec. 3-Friday, Dec. 7, with pre-meeting events and workshops scheduled for Sunday, Dec 2.

Previously published deadlines will not change. The deadline for session proposals remains April 20; abstract and town hall submissions will open on June 12 and will close on Aug. 8; registration and housing open on July 12.

When most people look at a forest, they see walking trails, deer yards, or firewood for next winter. But CHANS-Net scientists at the Harvard Forest and Smithsonian Institution take note of changes imperceptible to the naked eye -- the uptake and storage of carbon. What they've learned in a recent study is that an immense amount of carbon is stored in growing trees, but if current trends in Massachusetts continue, development would reduce that storage by 18 percent over the next half century. Forest harvesting would have a much smaller impact.

The land around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks might look like it's filling up with people and houses, but it's nothing compared to the rate of development around some other U.S. national parks, according to a new study.