Brian J. Enquist

Graphic promoting Stand Up For Science event, with the Take Back Our Science legend and invitation to participate on National Day of Action on March 7. With the link: standupforscience.net/march7

TOMORROW: We are joining scientists and science supporters across the US at the National Day of Action. #StandUpForScience

Find an event near you:

🔗 www.standupforscience.net/march7

New analysis confirms global warming is accelerating. "all data sources agree: the warming rate has been far higher during the last decade than any previous." agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🌍 New Publication!
We reviewed 1567 studies (1985–2025) on remote sensing for ecosystem monitoring, tracing 40 years of progress & future challenges: AI, multi-sensor fusion, and data gaps in biodiversity-rich regions.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.sr...
#RemoteSensing #EcosystemMonitoring #AI #Biodiversity

Data Visualization A Practical Introduction

Here’s a full draft of the upcoming second edition of my “Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction”: socviz.co

Page 2 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: constructive suggestions regarding how the already remarkable institutional efficiency and societal impact of NCAR could be further enhanced through increased (not decreased) federal support in the years to come. Please note: To ensure the highest level of technical rigor, this response focuses exclusively on the core atmospheric and natural hazard science topics within the author’s primary domain of expertise; for this reason, I have omitted a response to Topic 4 (Space Weather)." NCAR weather modeling and atmospheric observing capabilities a) Management and operations of weather-related observational platforms, modeling and science as a stand-alone activity. The proposed management of weather-related research as a stand-alone activity is a scientifically regressive path that ignores the fundamental physical reality of the Earth system. Modern atmospheric science has demonstrated (largely, it is worth noting, due to groundbreaking researc

Page 3 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: b) Management and operations of weather-related observational platforms, modeling and science as combined with other NSF investments/facilities. The highly specialized nature of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) infrastructure represents an extraordinary value proposition that cannot be replicated by combining it with more generalized NSF programs. The NWSC is not a generic high-performance computing (HPC) facility; it is a laboratory uniquely optimized for atmospheric science workflows, with a hardware and storage architecture specifically designed to handle the massive, high-bandwidth data demands of Earth system modeling. Furthermore, its model of providing an excellent, free-at-point-of-use technical support team ensures that the focus remains on the science rather than the overhead of systems administration. This centralized expertise allows individual researchers, smaller labs, and even entire universities—who would otherwi

Page 4 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: NCAR Mesa Lab (located in Boulder, Colorado) a/b) Ownership of the NSF NCAR Mesa Lab building for public and private use. Far more than just an office building, NSF NCAR Mesa Lab is an iconic and purpose-built facility designed specifically for the study of atmospheric science. Its position at the physical interface of the Rocky Mountain foothills and the Great Plains is a deliberate reflection of its mission, serving as a visible symbol—in an iconically American setting—of the federal government's enduring commitment to science in service of society. For many in the field, including myself, the Mesa Lab holds singular importance as a focal gathering point for the global atmospheric science community. My own early career exposure to weather and Earth system modeling, in fact, occurred within these walls, and I have long felt that the facility’s architecture and location inspire a necessary sense of awe regarding the atmosphere’s complexity a

Page 1 of letter by Daniel Swain. It begins: Dear Acting Director Stone and the NSF NCAR restructuring team: I am writing to provide a formal response to the Request for Information (RFI) regarding the proposed restructuring of the NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and its critical weather science infrastructure contained within the January 23, 2026 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) entitled “NSF Intent to Restructure Critical Weather Infrastructure.” I submit these comments in my professional capacity as an atmospheric research scientist within the University of California, where my research focuses on the physics and dynamics of atmospheric processes related to extreme weather events and their role in shifting natural hazard and disaster risk. My perspective is informed by a public-sector career dedicated to bridging the gap between fundamental atmospheric research and real-world application in an academic context, with a particular focus on understanding and mitigating

I just submitted my letter to NSF responding to its proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). I argue that doing so would be an astonishing and avoidable misstep, and that federal support for the institution should in fact be *increased.* [1/4]

⏳ Two weeks left to apply to our Summer School, and benefit from the early-bird rate!

Don’t miss this opportunity to join us for a week of inspiring lectures and discussions with an exceptional community of researchers - all set in the beautiful Pyrenees ⛰️ ☀️
We look forward to welcoming you!
🧪🌐

☀️ 2026 Summer School in the Pyrenees - Unifying Mathematical Models of Biodiversity
Applications are now open!
This school offers a state-of-the-art overview for interdisciplinary theoreticians.
🗓️ July 5-11
🎯 PhD students to senior researchers
ℹ️ intp.science/en/summer26....
📭 contact@intp.science
🌐🧪

Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature - Nature A survey of tropical insect populations and thermal tolerance limits indicates that species from lowland areas have low capacity to survive increased temperatures, and that thermal tolerance is limite...

Looks like a fundamental study and approach ... Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature. Insects at high elevations utilize plasticity to cope with rising temperatures, whereas lowland species have limited plastic abilities. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪🌐

Number of public school students in 9th grade correlates with Bank of America's stock price (BAC) (r=0.815)

Map showing observed average mean temperature for December 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026 across the CONUS with temperature rankings from the SRCC.

The big story from this winter is the record heat across the West, which helped to drive a historic snow drought (even despite some areas of heavier precipitation). We'll be covering this and more in our next monthly webinar at @climatecentral.org. Sign up at: www.climatecentral.org/climate-brie...

BLM Announces Plan to Fell Oregon's Last Great Forests One billion board feet per year... 30 days to make your voice heard.

morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/blm-announ... there's info on who to complain to to try to stop this at the end of the article, lets share this message and try our best to stop it.

The global island species–area relationship for plants "a simple power model explains a remarkable amount of variation, with ISAR slope and residual variation explicable by isolation, island origins, and proportion of endemism" 🧪🌐 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Amazing … copies for sale?

Anybody who has tried to take photos in the perpetual twilight of the tropical forest understory knows how frustrating it can be.
This is where you need an artist.
Debby Cotter Kaspari is a whiz with pen and ink. And this is one of her understory drawings from Isla Barro Colorado, Panama, 2001.

"...a warmer atmosphere pulls more moisture from soils, vegetation and snowpack. Snow melts earlier, soils dry out faster and plants lose water more quickly. In practical terms, precipitation totals alone no longer tell the water story in the Southwest." 🧪

National day of action. Save science. protect health. defend democracy. March 7th. Washington dc and nationwide! standupforscience.net/march7

Hey @hcrichardson.bsky.social! Can you help us get the word out about our SECOND National Day of Action on March 7th??

#standupforscience

Exciting announcement! My new department is launching a postdoc fellowship in quantitative biology. Fellows will be co-advised by two Bio faculty, one that is quant focused (not me) and one that is not (me???). I would love to co-sponsor a postdoc and build a collaboration so please reach out!

BLM Announces Plan to Fell Oregon's Last Great Forests One billion board feet per year... 30 days to make your voice heard.

You only have a short time to comment. They are trying to destroy our forests to enrich a few logging company executives and the politicians they’ve paid off.
Leave your comment here:

eplanning.blm.gov/Participate-...

morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/blm-announ...

The hot in the west was hotter than the cold in the east was cold.
#climatechange

"Estonians refer to AI as "kratt," a mythical creature made of hay or household implements and animated by blood ... kratt was notable for doing everything the master ordered it to and was mostly used for stealing."

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.

Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers.

The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇

Volume 380 Issue 1931 | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | The Royal Society Influential themed journal issues across the life sciences.

Chance and purpose in the evolution of biospheres "Earth’s biosphere is driven by an interlinked network of biogeochemical cycles that are governed largely by microbes.... the evolutionary interplay between the organisms and their environments." 🧪🌐 royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3...

Variation and macroevolution in leaf functional traits in the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Asteraceae) The Hawaiian silversword alliance includes 33 species in three endemic genera (Argyroxiphium, Dubautia, and Wilkesia) that occupy almost all major habitats of the Hawaiian archipelago (top row). We s...

Was on this one but it is my favorite as I learned a ton, got to think about Silverswords and traits as well as had a chance to collaborate with Baldwin and Robichaux besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

ecology and evolution folks! what are your favorite recent-ish, accessible papers on trait evolution?

NSF officials break silence on how AI and quantum now drive agency grantmaking Leaders acknowledge White House role in controversial moves

NSF leaders have just acknowledged what many scientists have long suspected: Presidential directives to boost AI and quantum have upended its traditional way of doing business. www.science.org/content/arti...

The 1939 dictionary laying down some data truth …. “Data. As a Latin word it should be pronounced day'ta-first a long. Many do not seem to know that this word is the the plural of datum-a word seldom seen or heard.” #DataAre

Making sense of a chaotic planet: How understanding weather and climate risks depends on supercomputers like NCAR’s Behind the long-term climate projections that affect our lives sits one of the most remarkable scientific achievements of the modern era.

Making sense of a chaotic planet: How understanding weather and climate risks depends on supercomputers like NCAR’s

theconversation.com/making-sense...

Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds.

“The American dream turns into the American nightmare as we start to look at what we’re doing to biodiversity and systems that we depend on as humans."

Acceleration hotspots of North American birds’ decline are associated with agriculture Human activities might have accelerated declines of population abundance, but this acceleration remains underexplored. Using 1033 North American Breeding Bird Survey routes, we analyze abundance chang...

Thrilled to share our new paper out in @science.org, led by François Leroy and Petr Keil! Using the Breeding Bird Survey, we document not only a continent-wide decline in bird abundance since the 1980s — but, crucially, the acceleration of these declines over time. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...