San Diego State University Research Foundation
NIWC - Graduate I (Master's) Task No. 7118-05724 Carbon Accounting Tools Project
US-CA-San Diego
Job ID: 2024-17057
Type: Student
# of Openings: 1
Category: Other
NIWC
Overview
The salary for this position is $21.95 per hour and is non-negotiable.
1.0 SCOPE.
This Statement of Work covers the need for student services to provide academic research and analysis in the fields of Ecology, Geography, Biology, Geochemistry, Climate Change and/or Environmental Science to support Climate & Environmental Science projects at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific. This task order requires research, analysis and technical writing to compile, review, evaluate and apply Blue Carbon sequestration accounting tools to spatial and ecological data in nearshore ecosystems (e.g. eelgrass and salt marsh) at Navy installations as part of the DoD funded Navy Environmental Sustainability Development to Integration (NESDI) project #623 “Carbon Accounting Tools for Greening Navy Bases”. These tasks will be conducted offsite in university labs using existing field data. The overarching objectives of this project are to test, evaluate and transition the best available carbon accounting technologies to Navy land managers to improve capabilities in Blue Carbon management and support the DoD goal of drawing down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on DoD facilities.
2.0 BACKGROUND
Climate change caused by anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has led to more frequent and severe storms, flooding, drought, rising sea levels and other linked environmental changes that threaten human and natural systems worldwide. The Navy’s inaugural strategy report “Climate Action 2030” addresses climate threat reduction for the first time, and sets a target to draw down 5 million metric tons of CO2e per year through nature- based solutions by 2027. Meeting this ambitious goal requires accounting tools that enable Navy users to quantify natural asset baselines, design projects that maximize biological carbon storage and sequestration, and track changes over time to support efficient course-corrections.
The most widely accepted carbon sequestration accounting tools are based on the frameworks, guidance and standards first established and continually updated by the GHG Protocol and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to promote the use of best practices for accounting and reporting GHG emissions. GHG crediting programs (e.g. Verified Carbon Standard, Climate Action Reserve) have applied this guidance to set standards for carbon accounting methodologies and validation/verification of projects generating carbon offsets using rigorous, science-based accounting and reporting methods. The knowledge and tools generated from these efforts have informed a wide range of carbon projects in the U.S. including national scale inventories reported annually by the EPA as well as local and regional carbon project initiatives led by diverse government and commercial interests.
In the last decade, hundreds of “carbon accounting tools” have been developed, but few of these are applicable to biological sequestration carbon accounting, and fewer still are designed for wetlands or Blue Carbon projects. Of the potentially useful guidance, methods, methodologies, and computation tools that are available, there is no standard carbon accounting toolkit and no recommended toolkit for the DoD at present. The goal of this project is to address this gap by reviewing a set of publicly available carbon accounting tools, applying a selected set of tools for “Blue Carbon” habitats (e.g. eelgrass and/or salt marsh) in one or more sites on the Pacific coast (e.g. San Diego Bay, Santa Margarita River Estuary, Calleguas Creek Estuary, Puget Sound), evaluating tool performance and developing guidance and recommendations for using and adapting the
best available existing toolkit for Blue Carbon accounting most applicable to Navy needs.
3.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS: N/A
Responsibilities
4.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS:
The student contractor shall conduct research and development in applied science, provide analytical and technical support, produce specified deliverables, and contribute to technical reviews and briefings to the work sponsor as specified under individual tasks. The contractor shall employ the latest techniques and expertise in modeling and simulation, environmental analysis and prediction, and environmental sciences. Specific expertise in carbon accounting, Blue Carbon ecosystems and GIS/spatial analysis is preferred. Student contractors shall collaborate with the work sponsor and government team to:
4.1 Conduct a literature review of carbon accounting and Blue Carbon relevant to this study, including ecosystem and carbon dynamics, state of the knowledge for key parameters describing Blue Carbon systems related to carbon sequestration, storage and emissions, applicable carbon accounting methodologies and tools, relevant carbon accounting efforts and Blue Carbon projects.
4.2 Prepare a white paper/brief summary of the literature review conducted in Task 4.1 including a bibliography and database of papers and web resources, highlighting key content most useful for Navy land managers as part of a Navy Blue Carbon Knowledge Library.
4.3 In collaboration with the work sponsor, obtain the most current methodology documents (including e.g.VM0033) relevant to Blue Carbon accounting from IPCC, GHG crediting programs, government agencies.
4.4 Identify a broad set of carbon sequestration accounting tools from federal, tribal, state and regional governments, international agencies/governments, and/or commercial entities for potential inclusion in the Navy Blue Carbon Tool Library, based on pre-established criteria developed in collaboration with the work sponsor.
4.5 Prepare a white paper/brief summary of the tool review conducted in Task 4.4 including a list of tools identified, criteria for down-selecting tools with potential value for Navy land managers, and table of the downselected tool name, author, purpose and web link.
4.6 Conduct a preliminary review of the tools identified in Task 4.4 and using pre-established criteria, down-select a set of the most capable and potentially useful tools that will be further evaluated for potential demonstration to Navy land managers. The goal is to identify tool(s) capable of operationalizing VM0033 or other methodology components identified in Task 4.3. Prepare a brief summary/list of these down-selected tools.
4.7 Design a method of tool review and assessment to provide a consistent basis for documenting tool characteristics in collaboration with the work sponsor. Review parameters may include, e.g. associated carbon accounting approach or methodology, site requirements, data requirements, user technical requirements, carbon baseline and monitoring capabilities, applicable scale and resolution, accuracy and treatment of uncertainty, applicability for land management scenarios (e.g. restoration, conservation, mitigation banking), ability to
quantify carbon project co-benefits and level of effort and cost to implement. Prepare a brief summary paper describing the review process design and review parameters, with examples.
4.8 Conduct the tool review and assessment using the methods developed in Task 4.7. Then compare, rank and prioritize tools based on this assessment in terms of their utility for DON land managers for potential inclusion in the Navy Blue Carbon Toolkit. Prepare a brief paper summarizing this assessment and outcomes.
4.9 Using the results of Task 4.8 and in collaboration with the work sponsor, identify one or more specific tools and sites for test and evaluation; identify the specific site data needed to implement the tool; and prepare a brief test and evaluation (T&E) plan.
4.10 Obtain site data identified in Task 4.9 in collaboration with the work sponsor, then conduct data review, compilation, processing, synthesis and selection for use in computational spreadsheets, models or other analytical tools associated with the carbon accounting approach/methodologies selected. Prepare a brief metadata document.
4.11 Using the tools selected in Task 4.9 and the data and T&E plan prepared in Task 4.10, run carbon accounting tools to operationalize one or more components of the selected carbon accounting approaches/methodologies in order estimate carbon sequestration and GHG emissions change over time. For this effort, this task will focus on computations (using e.g. Microsoft Excel software) based on existing tools, methodologies and readily available data, but may also include some preliminary spatial/statistical analysis and/or modeling/data analytics (using e.g. ArcGIS, Python, R, Matlab software) to operate, test, adapt, compare and/or evaluate carbon accounting tools applied to military environments.
4.12 Based on the results of Task 4.11, assess tool performance, deficiencies and needs for further development and/or improvement. Prepare a brief synthesis of T&E results including needs/next steps for toolkit development and guidance documents to be produced in FY25 Q1.
4.13 Monthly Status Reports and Bi-Weekly Time Reports shall be in accordance with the basic contract CDRL.
5.0 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY/MATERIAL: None
6.0 TRAVEL: None
7.0 Security: Unclassified
8.0 Place of Performance: Student contractor will be teleworking. Due to the nature of work it is not necessary to have the student contractor access NIWC Pacific, it is not needed. Work maybe done at the student’s University lab(s).
9.0 COR: COR appointed on the base contract. Ann Marie Amore, NIWC Pacific, Code 56405, (619) 204-9037, annmarie.g.amore.civ@us.navy.mil. ACOR, Maine Reyes Duranzo, NIWC Pacific Code 56405, 619-553-1486, maine.reyesdurazo.civ@us.navy.mil
10.0 Miscellaneous: N/A
Qualifications
Graduate Student 1: Must have a Bachelor's degree in the required discipline and be enrolled in a Master's degree program. Must be able to accomplish a minimum of 50% of the task without supervision.
11.0 Qualifications of Personnel:
Graduate Level 1: Ecology, Geography, Biology, Geochemistry, Climate Change and/or Environmental Science majors preferred; experience or familiarity with biological sequestration carbon accounting and relevant coursework and/or work experience that enable implementation and testing of carbon accounting tools at project start up.
11.1 Minimum qualifications:
Required Coursework and/or relevant work and/or laboratory experience:
- Ecology
- Statistics
- Climate Science
- Technical Analysis & Writing
- Creative & Critical Thinking
Desired Coursework and/or relevant work and/or laboratory experience:
- Carbon Accounting Methodologies
- Carbon Dynamics in Ecosystems
ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION:
- This position will require the employee to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret security clearance
- Due to the regulations established by the Department of Defense, only US Citizens may qualify
- This is a student position and is limited to working 20 hours per week
- This position will remain open until filled
- San Diego State University Research Foundation is an EEO/AA/Disability/Vets Employer/Title IX employer.
PI240180881
