Nancy is interested in research that informs threatened species management and decision-making.  Her research included evaluating the spatial distribution of threats to endangered flora and fauna, based upon species distribution models.  At a regional scale, the research explored whether investing in additional modelling for the purpose of assessing threats to species is warranted, given the urgent need for action to stem biodiversity loss.  Nancy also examined the spatial prioritisation of costs and benefits of threat management, as well as the current state of threatened species prioritisation in Australia at the commonwealth and state levels.

Prior to commencing her PhD research, Nancy taught Geographic Information Systems and was awarded GIS-Asia Pacific professional certification.  Concurrently, she provided spatial database support to the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management Enterprise Data Systems Group.

Previous research was conducted at the National Geophysical Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research in the USA.

PhD candidate, University of Queensland, 2012- June 2015

MBSc, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

Email:   n.auerbach@uq.edu.au

Select Publications

Frost, G.J., S.A. McKeen, M. Trainer, T.B. Ryerson, J.A. Neuman, J.M. Roberts, A. Swanson, J.S. Holloway, D.T. Sueper, T. Fortin, D.D. Parrish, F.C. Fehsenfeld, F. Flocke, S.E. Peckham, G.A. Grell, D. Kowal, J. Cartwright, N. Auerbach and T. Habermann, 2006: Effects of changing power plant NOx emissions on ozone in the eastern United States: Proof of concept. Journal of Geophysical Research: Vol. 111, D12306, doi:10.1029/2005JD006354.

Walker, D.A., Auerbach, N.A., Bockheim, J.G., Chapin, F.S. III, Eugster, W., King, J.Y., McFadden, J.P., Michaelson, G.J., Nelson, F.E., Oechel, W.C., Ping, C.L., Reeburg, W.S., Regli, S., Shiklomanov, N.I., and Vourlitis, G.L., 1998: Energy and trace-gas fluxes across a soil pH boundary in the Arctic. Nature, 394:469-472.

Muller, S.V., Walker, D.A., Nelson, F.E., Auerbach, N.A., Bockheim, J.G., Guyer, S., and Sherba, D., 1998. Accuracy assessment of a land-cover map of the Kuparuk River basin, Alaska: Considerations for remote regions. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 64(6): 619-628.

Stow, D., Hope, A., Boynton, W., Phinn, S., Walker, D., and Auerbach, N., 1998: Satellite-derived vegetation index and cover type maps for estimating carbon dioxide flux for arctic tundra regions. Geomorphology, 21(1998):313-327.

Reeburgh, W.S., King, J.Y., Regli, S.K., Kling, G.W., Auerbach, N.A., and Walker, D.A., 1998: A CH4 emission estimate for the Kuparuk River basin, Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103(D22): 29,005-29,013.

Auerbach, N.A., Walker, M.D., and Walker, D.A., 1997: Effects of roadside disturbance on substrate and vegetation properties in arctic tundra. Ecological Applications, 7(1) 218-235.

Shippert, M.M., Walker, D.A., Auerbach, N.A., and Lewis, B.E., 1995: Biomass and leaf-area index maps derived from SPOT images for Toolik Lake and Imnavait Creek areas, Alaska. Polar Record, 31(177): 147-154.

Walker, D.A., Auerbach, N.A., and Shippert, M.M., 1995: NDVI, biomass, and landscape evolution of glaciated terrain in northern Alaska. Polar Record, 31(177): 169-178.

Walker, M.D., Walker, D.A., and Auerbach, N.A., 1994: Plant communities of a tussock tundra landscape in the Brooks Range Foothills, Alaska. Journal of Vegetation Science, 3: 843-866.

Auerbach, N.A., and Halfpenny, J.C., 1991: Snowpack and the subnivean environment for different aspects of an open meadow habitat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. In: Scott, P.A. and Salzberg, K.A. (eds.), Proceedings from Circumpolar Ecosystems in Winter: A Symposium and Workshop. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, 15-17 February 1990. Arctic and Alpine Research, 23(1):41-44.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

Auerbach, N.A. & Taplin, R., 2010. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience: A GIS-based Adaptive Management Framework.  Paper presented, Ecological Society of Australia 2010 Conference, 6-10 December 2010, Canberra, AU.

Hovorka, D.S. and Auerbach, N.A., 2010: “Building Community Sustainability with Geographic Information Systems”, Proceedings of the Sixteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, Aug. 13-15, 2010 Lima, Peru.

Auerbach, N.A., 2010. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Resilience with Regard to Climate Change: A GIS-based Adaptive Management Framework.  Paper presented, Second International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, 8-10 July 2010, Brisbane, AU.

Barber, J.A., Auerbach, N.A., Bourgeron, P.S., and Humphries, H.C., 1999:  Characterizing the spatial pattern and ecological distribution of three hierarchical ecological land classifications and their application to specific management and conservation objectives. Paper presented at Landscape Ecology: The Science and the Action.  Fifth World Congress, International Association for Landscape Ecology.  Snowmass Village, Colorado, 29 July – 3 August 1999, p. 10.

Bourgeron, P., Humphries, H., Jensen, M., Auerbach, N., and Barber, J. 1998. Development of terrestrial and aquatic hierarchical ecological classifications based on biophysical environment criteria: how well do they predict and scale spatial patterns and processes? Paper presented at the VII International Congress of Ecology, 19-25 July 1998, Florence, Italy.

Bourgeron, P.S., Auerbach, N., Humphries, H., and Jensen, M. 1998. Regional gradient analysis and spatial patterns of vegetation in the interior Columbia River Basin, USA. Paper presented, 41st International Association for Vegetation Science Symposium, 26 July-1 August 1998, Uppsala, Sweden.

Bourgeron, P.S., Humphries, H.C., Auerbach, N.A., and Jensen, M.E. 1998. Regional gradient analysis and spatial patterns of plant functional types in the interior Columbia River basin. Paper presented, 83rd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, 2-6 August 1998, Baltimore, Maryland.

Auerbach, N.A., and Walker, D.A., 1996: An electronic, hierarchic, geobotanical atlas for Arctic System Science. Paper presented, Second Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map Workshop. Arendal, Norway, 19-24 May, 1996.

Walker, D.A., Auerbach, N.A., Lewis, B.E., and Shippert, M.M., 1994: Remote sensing of acid and nonacid tundra regions in northern Alaska and relevance to arctic landscape succession. Paper presented, Third Circumpolar Symposium on Remote Sensing of Arctic Environments, 16-20 May 1994.

Walker, D.A., Auerbach, N.A., Everett, K.R., Shippert, M.M., and Walker, M.D., 1993: Large-scale disturbance features in northern Alaska affect regional carbon budgets. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 74(2):475.

Auerbach, N.A., Walker, D.A., Walker, M.D., Hope, A., and Stow, D., 1992: Landscape-scale vegetation production on glaciated surfaces of different ages in the Arctic Foothills, Alaska. In: Programs and Abstracts from the 77th Annual Ecological Society of American Meeting. Honolulu, Hawaii, 9-13 August 1992. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 73(2): 100.

Walker, D.A., Walker, M.D., Wessman, C.A., and Auerbach, N.A., 1992: Vegetation along regional gradients in arctic and alpine ecosystems: analysis using a hierarchic GIS. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 73(2): 377.

Auerbach, N.A., Walker, M.D., Walker, D.A., and Randolph, S.T., 1991: Effects of road dust disturbance in arctic tundra. Poster presented at the 11th Annual ESRI Users Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 20-24 May 1991.

Halfpenny, J.C., Beyerinck, R., and Auerbach, N., 1989: Spatial patterns of blooming phenology in the alpine tundra, Colorado. In: Program and Abstracts of Linking Landscape Structure to Ecosystem Processes: 4th Annual Landscape Ecology Symposium. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 15-18 March 1989, p. 22.

Halfpenny, J.C., Auerbach, N.A., and Beyerinck, R.I., 1988: A model for annual spatial and temporal change in the alpine landscape. In: Programs and Abstracts from the 74th Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, August 1989. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 70(2):132.

BOOK CHAPTERS:

Hovorka, D.S., Labajo, E. and Auerbach, N.A., 2011 in press:  Information systems in environmental sustainability: Of cannibals and forks.  In:  Seidel, S. and vom Brocke , J. (eds), Beyond Efficiency – Business Process Management for the Sustainable Enterprise,  Springer, London.

Hovorka, D.S. and Auerbach, N.A., 2010: The Generative Potential of Community-based Geographic Information Systems. In: Thatchenkery, T., Cooperrider. D, and Avital, M. (eds), Positive Design and Appreciative Construction: From Sustainable Development to Sustainable Value; Advances in Appreciative Inquiry, V 3, Emerald Press, UK. p. 157-173.