Sensing the Americas? Freshwater Ecosystem Risk (SAFER): Looking Backward and Forward after Three Years

THOMAS C. HARMON; DANIEL CONDE; JAMES RUSAK; BRIAN REID; ANNA ASTORGA; GERARDO M. E. PERILLO; M. CINTIA PICCOLO; FACUNDO SCORDO; MARIANA I. ZILIO; MARÍA I. VELEZ; NATALIA HOYOS; JAIME H. ESCOBAR; SANDRA R. VILLAMIZAR; HENRY PAI; BEVERLEY WEMPLE; STEPHANIE PINCETL; SUDEEP CHANDRA

Chuncheon

Workshop; GLEON 17 Chuncheon, South Korea; 2015

Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network - Korean Society of Limnology - Kangwon Nation University - National Institute of Ecology - National Institute of Environmental Reserch - Korean Environment Corporation - National Science Foundation

The SAFER Project began in 2012 with the goal of creating a framework for understanding and managing risks to aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide across strong ecological, climatic and human (social, economic, cultural) gradients. The SAFER Project team started with 8 investigators and 6 study sides located in Canada, USA, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. Over the past three years, we have grown to 14 investigators and over 20 graduate students. We have developed a strong aquatic sensing infrastructure and now have instrumented buoys in XX locations throughout the Americas. Using our screening-level approach to characterizing ES risk, we have identified prospective SAFER sites that help fill gaps in terms of ecosystems, environment, and human factors. Candidate SAFER sites include 9 lakes and 3 river basins in the USA, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia. Beyond science and engineering tasks, major SAFER activities include (1) Watershed stakeholder engagement through surveys, interviews and workshops, (2) Gradúate student training, and (3) Educational outreach, including publication of our first children?s book.