“We intend to focus on research supporting Chesapeake Bay restoration and watershed sustainability, as well as teaching activities directed at providing significant watershed and river experiences.”
R. Christian Jones, PhD, director of the
Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center
“Without our understanding, attention, and concerted efforts, many of the services the Potomac
Researchers at the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC) are using the tools of scientific research, restoration, education, and policy analysis to help society understand and sustain natural processes in ecosystems, watersheds, and landscapes of the Potomac River.
PEREC is a key component of George Mason University's new Potomac Science Center, which is planned for at Belmont Bay, near the mouth of the Occoquan River on the Potomac River. PEREC scientists are focusing on three main research areas:
PEREC researchers are studying a range of environmental factors and processes to inform and develop stewardship plans for the Potomac River by business, government, and the public. Among the projects that are planned and already underway are:
PEREC is one of Mason’s newest research centers, and has already garnered support for its projects from these partners: Fairfax County (Virginia) Department of Public Works, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, National Park Service of the National Capital Region, Prince William County (Virginia) Public Schools, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, U.S. Geological Survey, Virginia Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund, and Virginia Environmental Endowment.
For more information about PEREC research and educational opportunities , contact the director, R. Christian Jones, or the associate director, Dann Sklarew, and visit http://perec.gmu.edu.
The nuclear power industry is trying to sell itself as the solution to climate change. Nuclear energy doesn’t emit carbon dioxide and produces a lot of electricity, and is therefore a fairly clean and efficient energy source.
But nuclear power plants are extremely expensive to build, and the ones currently operating are old. The waste from a nuclear reaction is highly toxic and in need of special, safe storage. Not to mention, many people shudder when they hear the term...
For more than 20 years, anthropologist Susan Crate has traveled to northeastern Siberia to work with a group of native horse and cattle breeders.
Crate, an assistant professor of human ecology in Mason’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy, is currently working on a project that focuses on how global climate change affects Siberian natives’ livelihood and culture.
Fluent in Russian and Sakha (the Turkic language of the Sakha people) Crate has...
When Jagadish Shukla talks about the weather, it’s anything but idle chitchat. A world-renowned climatologist, Shukla has helped make George Mason University a major player in climate dynamics research.
Shukla was one of the lead authors of the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with former vice president Al Gore.
In that same year, Shukla received the International Meteorological Organization...
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