Affiliate Program
A South Central CASC Affiliate is a person whose professional activity, including research or education, contributes to our mission of collaboratively developing science and tools that address the impacts of climate change on natural and cultural resources.
Benefits of becoming an affiliate:
Opportunities to network with a multi-disciplinary group of regional climate adaptation leaders with an invitation to the annual South Central CASC Science Workshop.
A listing on our website with a description of research interests.
Potential for your work to be featured on our website, our social media outlets, and/or our monthly newsletter.
Stakeholder Advisory Committee
The purpose of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) is to provide input to the CASC staff on annual funding priorities and on funding decisions about the resulting research proposals to the Director. For a complete list of the South Central CASC Stakeholder Advisory Committee, click the link.
Our Consortium
The work of the South Central CASC is accomplished through a collaborative partnership among USGS scientists, resource management agencies, and a consortium of academic institutions from across the region. The South Central CASC is hosted by, and physically housed at, the University of Oklahoma (OU), where space is provided for university, tribal, and federal employees.
Our consortium has broad expertise in the physical, biological, natural, and social sciences to address impacts of climate change on land, water, fish and wildlife, ocean, coastal, and cultural resources. The academic consortium also includes six additional member institutions:
University of Oklahoma
Principal Investigator
Dr. Renee McPherson, University Director & Associate Professor
Area of Expertise: Regional/applied climatology, land/air vegetation interactions, meso-scale meteorology, observing systems
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Elinor Martin, Associate Professor
Area of Expertise: Precipitation variability, climate variability and change, climate model analysis
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Mark Shafer, Associate Professor & Director, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program
Area of Expertise: Science policy and climate services
Co-Principal Investigator
Emma Kuster, University Assistant Director
Area of Expertise: Climate science and adaptation, climate education and outreach, stakeholder engagement
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Berrien Moore III, Dean, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences
Area of Expertise: Global carbon cycle, satellite remote sensing
Louisiana State University
Principal Investigator
Dr. Chris D’Elia, Professor, School of the Coast and Environment
Area of Expertise: Nutrient dynamics of estuaries and coral reefs, science policy
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Kristine DeLong, Associate Professor
Area of Expertise: Paleo-oceanography and paleo-climatology, past ocean coral reconstruction, global circulation and sea surface temperature shifts, coastal research
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Victor Rivera-Monroy, Assistant Professor
Area of Expertise: Estuarine & coastal ecosystems, landscape/ecosystem models, coastal management and aquaculture
Texas Tech University
Principal Investigator
Dr. John Zak, Professor & Interim Chair, Biological Sciences
Area of Expertise: Microbial ecology in arid & semi-arid landscapes
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Natasja van Gestel, Assistant Professor
Area of Expertise: Carbon cycle modeling, impact of climate change on microbial communities, citizen science
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Venkatesh Uddameri, Professor
Area of Expertise: Climate change, water resource management, water energy nexus, groundwater modeling
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Associate Professor
Area of Expertise: Atmospheric science, global modeling, greenhouse gas emissions, regional climate impacts, policy
Chickasaw Nation
Principal Investigator
Kara Berst, Executive Officer, Business Sustainability & Auxiliary Services
Area of Expertise: Tribal professional capacity building
Co-Principal Investigator
April Taylor, Tribal Liaison
Area of Expertise: Tribal engagement, cultural resources, Indian education, trainings for Tribal staff, GIS
Choctaw Nation
Principal Investigator
Ethan Schuth, Water Resource Manager
Area of Expertise: In-stream flow, groundwater resources, climate impacts on aquatic communities
Co-Principal Investigator
Tye Baker, Sr. Director of Environmental Science
Area of Expertise: Tribal professional capacity building, water resources
Oklahoma State University
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jim Ansley, Department Head of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Area of Expertise: Rangeland vegetation ecology, woody plant encroachment.
University of New Mexico
Principal Investigator
Dr. Renia Ehrenfeucht, Department Chair & Professor of Community & Regional Planning
Area of Expertise: Urban studies, adaptation & planning, policy
Co-Principal Investigator
Lani Tsinnajinnie, Assistant professor
Area of Expertise: Mountain and watershed hydrology, impacts of climate change on mountainous water resources, watershed management and planning, water management in Indigenous communities
Co-Principal Investigator
John Fleck, Director of UNM’s Water Resource Program
Area of Expertise: Water resource management, planning and adaptation, science communications