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Headwater stream and adjacent floodplain
wetland in the White Deer Creek watershed.
Research in Nature-Society Geography at Penn State centers on issues concerning global change, energy, recreation, water, environmental studies, resources, cultural ecology, and regional geography.
The mission of the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center (CWC) is to conduct, facilitate, and coordinate interdisciplinary research, monitoring and training regarding wetlands and related resources, with an emphasis on Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states. Involved Department of Geography members include: Director Dr. Rob Brooks, Dr. Denice Wardrop, and other staff and students of the Cooperative Wetlands Center.
The mission of the Penn State Institutes of the Environment (PSIE) is to expand Penn State's capacity to pursue the newest frontiers in environmental research by encouraging cooperation across disciplines and the participation of local, state, federal, and international stakeholders. It is conceived to empower faculty to develop and maintain strong competitive standing in the face of major shifts in environmental research toward clear objectives that include improved quality of life, promotion of human health and safety, creation of sustainable economic vitality, and protection of national security. Involved Geography department members: Director Dr. Bill Easterling, Dr. Rob Brooks, Dr. Greg Knight, Dr. Alan Taylor, Dr. Brent Yarnal, Dr. Petra Tschakert, and Netra Chhetri.
HERO researchers are developing ways to study the local causes and consequences of global environmental change. Global environmental change, such as climate change and land-use change, is essentially a local, human problem. Global environmental change results from countless human actions occurring locally. At the same time, people both feel impacts and respond to global environmental change where they live. Involved Geography department members: Dr. Brent Yarnal, Dr. Mark Gahegan, Dr. Alan MacEachren, Dr. Greg Knight, Liem Tran, Rachel Kurtz, Isaac Brewer, Chaoqing Yu, Chris Stuer, Latha Baskaran, and Junyan Luo.
CIRA was founded in 1996 to facilitate interdisciplinary research and education into the human dimensions of global change at a regional scale. Involved Geography department members: Dr. Greg Knight, Dr. Rob Crane, Dr. Bill Easterling, Dr. Amy Glasmeier, Dr. Brent Yarnal, and Liem Tran.
MARA aims to analyze and evaluate the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the Mid-Atlantic region's people and resources, in the context of other existing and anticipated pressures. Funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, MARA is one of nineteen regional assessments being conducted nationwide as part of the U.S. National Assessment, under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program.