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Aitken, Christopher. "Changing climate and changing behaviour : perceptions of powerlessness and the commons dilemma : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Studies /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/958.
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Unland, Helene Emmi Karin. "Surface flux measurement and modeling at a semi-arid Sonoran Desert site." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1996. http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file:///data1/pdf/etd/azu_etd_hy0257_sip1_w.pdf&type=application/pdf.
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Tidwell, Amy C. "Assessing the impacts of climate change on river basin management a new method with application to the Nile river/." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/19830.
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Thesis (Ph.D)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007.Committee Chair: Georgakakos, Aris; Committee Member: Fu, Rong; Committee Member: Peters-Lidard, Christa; Committee Member: Roberts, Phil; Committee Member: Sturm, Terry; Committee Member: Webster, Don.
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Vatka, E. (Emma). "Boreal populations facing climatic and habitat changes." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2014. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526203607.
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Abstract Anthropogenic climate change and habitat loss and deterioration affect populations worldwide. Climate warming has changed phenologies of many species across trophic levels. Some predator populations now experience temporal mismatches with their prey, as timings of peak prey abundance and of the predator’s highest food demands no longer meet. The temporal mismatch hypothesis suggests that the population’s recruitment rate is related to its degree of synchrony with the food resources needed to feed offspring. However, species’ and populations’ responses to climate warming differ. Human land use alters and destroys habitats of countless species. For example, many boreal forest bird populations have declined, presumably due to intensive forestry. It has decreased the amount of dead wood, causing a threat to saproxylic species. Identification of the key characteristics of high-quality habitats is essential for conservation planning and for developing sustainable forestry. As individuals are suspected to settle in habitats that maximize their fitness, analysis of nest site selection can be used to identify the key habitats. My dissertation concerns the impacts of climate change and habitat deterioration on boreal populations. I use hole-nesting passerines as model species. By utilizing long-term data I show that breeding phenologies of Parus major and Poecile montanus, but not of Cyanistes caeruleus, have shifted earlier. Also, the timing of the food peak has advanced, improving the synchrony between P. montanus and caterpillars. In P. major and C. caeruleus, synchrony has remained good. However, the positive effect of good synchrony on breeding success seems to be conditional, arising only in certain circumstances, such as in years of high caterpillar abundance. I suggest that in boreal populations temperature affects timing of breeding mostly as a proximate factor. The availability of standing decaying trees used for nesting sites was the most important habitat characteristic determining the nest site selection of P. montanus. Remote sensing data alone was insufficient to produce reliable models, as the ecologically important small-scale factor can only be determined by direct field surveys. Omission of forest thinning in selected forest sites would ensure the continuous availability of decaying wood with positive influence on biodiversity in managed forestsTiivistelmä Ihmisen aiheuttama habitaattien katoaminen ja huononeminen sekä ilmastonmuutos vaikuttavat populaatioihin kaikkialla maailmassa. Ilmaston lämpeneminen on muuttanut monien lajien fenologioita eri trofiatasoilla. Osalla saalistajalajien populaatioista suurin ravinnontarve ei enää ajoitu samaan aikaan saaliin runsaushuipun kanssa. Ajoituksen eriaikaisuus -hypoteesin mukaan todennäköisyys populaatioon rekrytoitumiselle riippuu synkronian asteesta saaliin kanssa. Ilmaston lämpenemisen vaikutuksissa lajeihin ja populaatioihin on kuitenkin vaihtelua. Ihmisen maankäyttö muuttaa ja tuhoaa lukuisien lajien elinympäristöjä. Esimerkiksi useiden boreaalisten metsien lintupopulaatioiden pienentymistä on selitetty intensiivisellä metsätaloudella. Lahopuun määrä metsissä on vähentynyt, mikä on uhka lahopuusta riippuvaisille lajeille. Korkealaatuisten habitaattien keskeisten piirteiden tunnistaminen on tärkeää luonnonsuojelun ja kestävän metsätalouden suunnittelulle. Koska yksilöiden oletetaan valitsevan niiden kelpoisuutta maksimoivia elinympäristöjä, pesäpaikanvalinta-analyysiä voidaan käyttää tärkeiden habitaattipiirteiden tunnistamiseen. Tarkastelen väitöskirjassani ilmastonmuutoksen ja habitaattien laadun vaikutuksia boreaalisiin populaatioihin. Mallilajeina käytän koloissa pesiviä varpuslintuja. Hyödyntämällä pitkäaikaisaineistoja osoitan, että lisääntymisen ajoittuminen on aikaistunut tali- ja hömötiaisella, mutta ei sinitiaisella. Myös ravintohuippu on aikaistunut, mikä on parantanut synkroniaa hömötiaisen ja sen pääasiallisen ravinnon eli toukkien välillä. Tali- ja sinitiaisella synkronia on pysynyt hyvänä. Hyvän synkronian myönteinen vaikutus lisääntymismenestykseen vaikuttaa kuitenkin ehdolliselta: se tulee esiin vain tietyissä olosuhteissa, kuten vuosina jolloin toukkia on runsaasti. Kevään lämpötilat näyttävät vaikuttavan pesinnän ajoittumiseen erityisesti proksimaattisena tekijänä. Pesäpaikkoina toimivien seisovien lahopuiden määrä on tärkein hömötiaisen pesäpaikanvalintaa määräävä tekijä. Kaukokartoitusaineisto yksinään ei riitä luotettavien mallien tuottamiseen, sillä ekologisesti tärkeät pienen skaalan tekijät voidaan kartoittaa vain suorin maastomittauksin. Metsien harventamatta jättäminen valituilla laikuilla turvaisi lahopuun jatkuvan saatavuuden, mikä vaikuttaisi myönteisesti talousmetsien biodiversiteettiin
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Araújo, Márcia Filipa Lima. "Moringa oleifera plasticity to face climatic changes." Master's thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/16030.
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Mestrado em Biologia Molecular e CelularExtreme abiotic factors, such drought combined with heat waves and/or high UVB radiation are predicted to become more frequent in the future. The impact on plant production of these challenges on multipurpose Moringa oleifera L. remains unclear. A susceptibility of this species may lead to increase poverty in endangered regions. M. oleifera is a woody species native from sub-Himalaya regions under high climate stress pressure. The interest on this species is emerging due to its several medicinal properties and its nutritional value. Agropharmaceutical industry is interest in this species too. To understand the impact of increased climate factors, young (2 months old) plants of this species were exposed to water deficit (WD) and UVB (alone or combined). WD and WD+UVB imposition consists of unwater for 4 days. After 1 day withholding water, UVB and WD+UVB were irradiated with 26.3 kJ m-2 distributed per 3 days. Immediately after treatment exposition (1 day) and after 10 days, plant water status, growth, carbon metabolism and oxidative stress were measured. Overall no significant differences were observed in WD, regarding the parameters analysed, except on gas exchanges, MDA and phenols. The plants exposed to UVB showed, in general, more severe effects, as higher pigment content, MDA and membrane permeability, while no changes were observed in the total antioxidant activity. Plants exposed to UVB+WD, despite changes observed, the impact was lower than the one observed in UVB exposed plants, meaning that a protective/adaptive mechanism was developed in the plants under combined stressors. On the other hand, in all treatments the net CO2 assimilation rate decreased. Results suggest that M. oleifera has some tolerance to WD and UVB, and that develops mechanism of adaptation to these two types of stress that often arise in combination under a climate change scenario.
Fatores abióticos extremos, como a seca combinada com ondas de calor e/ou elevada radiação UVB estão previstas tornarem-se mais frequentes no futuro. O impacto na produção agrícola destes desafios em Moringa oleifera L. permanece desconhecido. A suscetibilidade desta espécie pode levar ao aumento da pobreza em regiões em perigo. M. oleifera é uma espécie lenhosa nativa da região abaixo dos Himalaias que se encontra sob alta pressão climática. O interesse nesta espécie é emergente devido às suas várias propriedades medicinais e ao seu valor nutricional. Também a industria agro-farmacêutica está interessada nesta espécie. Para perceber o impacto do aumento dos fatores climáticos, plantas jovens (2 meses) desta espécie foram expostas a défice hídrico (WD) e UVB (sozinho ou combinado). A imposição a WD e a WD+UVB consistiu em não regar durante 4 dias. Após 1 dia sem regar, os tratamentos UVB e WD+UVB foram irradiados com 26.3 kJ m-2 distribuídos por 3 dias. Imediatamente após a exposição ao tratamento (1 dia) e após 10 dias, o estado hídrico da planta, o crescimento, o metabolismo do carbono e o stress oxidativo foram analisados. No geral não foram observadas diferenças em WD, em relação aos parâmetros analisados, exceto nas trocas gasosas, MDA e fenóis. As plantas expostas a UVB mostraram, em geral, efeitos mais severos, como elevado conteúdo em pigmentos, MDA e permeabilidade membranar, enquanto não foram observadas alterações na atividade antioxidante total. Plantas expostas a WD+UVB, apesar das alterações observadas, o impacto foi menor que o observado nas plantas expostas a UVB, significando que um mecanismo de proteção/adaptação foi desenvolvido nas plantas sobre stress combinado. Por outro lado, em todos os tratamentos a taxa de assimilação de CO2 diminuiu. Os resultados sugerem que M. oleifera apresenta alguma tolerância a WD e a UVB, e que desenvolveu um mecanismo de adaptação a estes dois tipos de stress que frequentemente surgem combinados sob um cenário de alterações climáticas.
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Van, Huyssteen Roelof Cornelis. "Regulatory aspects of carbon credits and carbon markets." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/5086.
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Regulating carbon markets in order to fight the effects of climate change has in recent years become an integral part of many economies around the world. Ensuring that policymakers implement market-based climate change legislation according to international best practice is an essential part to guarantee that a carbon market system operates smoothly within a country’s economy. There are many opportunities that exist in South Africa towards developing a lucrative carbon market; however, the information to implement such a system is hard to come by and complex to analyse. This dissertation will aim to shed some light on this relatively new field of the law as it will provide an overview of international best practice within the carbon market sphere. Furthermore, this dissertation will examine the legal nature of a carbon credit; analyse international instruments regulating carbon markets and discuss existing South African policies and legislation related to climate change and carbon markets. This will lead to the ultimate objective of this dissertation: to propose a possible framework for the regulation of a South African carbon market based upon international best practice. This dissertation revealed the imperative need for South African policymakers to implement legislation to conform to international best practice within carbon markets. In this regard the dissertation also revealed that the infrastructure to regulate such a market already exists within South Africa. Only subtle changes to these infrastructure systems will be required in order for to accommodate a functioning carbon market. The study revealed that the only way to convince entities around the world to emit fewer emissions and to contribute towards the fight against climate change is to attach a monetary value to emissions. Associating a price to carbon is the only way to sanction entities that produce emissions and compensate entities that mitigate emissions. A carbon tax coupled with a carbon offset mechanism, as opposed to a emissions trading scheme, would be the best option with regards to establishing a South African carbon policy. This will ensure a fair playing field, as carbon tax liable entities would be held responsible to pay the same fixed price per ton of carbon that they emit. Coupling the carbon tax with a carbon offset mechanism, trading with carbon credits, will incentivise companies to invest in “greener” technologies and to emit fewer emissions. This dissertation revealed that international best practice in the carbon market sphere, still poses significant difficulties such as price volatility associated with carbon credits; validation and verification inconsistencies within the different carbon standards; and supply and demand fluctuations. These difficulties where highlighted in this dissertation and solutions relating to these difficulties were discussed. The time has come for South Africa to enter the carbon market sphere, whether it be through the introduction of a carbon tax or otherwise. This dissertation illustrates that the infrastructure and stakeholders associated to a South African carbon market needs to be developed. If, when and how the government will actually implement such a carbon market system, remains a question to be answered.
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Liao, Kuo-Jen. "Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of impacts of climate change on regional air quality." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24822.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008.Committee Chair: Armistead G. Russell; Committee Member: Athanasios Nenes; Committee Member: M. Talat Odman; Committee Member: Michael Bergin; Committee Member: Yuhang Wang.
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Spires, Meggan Hazel. "Barriers to and enablers of climate change adaptation in four South African municipalities, and implications for community based adaptation." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018913.
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The focus of this study is on understanding the multiple and interacting factors that hinder or enable municipal planned climate change adaptation, here called barriers and enablers respectively, and their implications for community based adaptation. To do this I developed a conceptual framework of barriers to and enablers of planned climate change adaptation, which informed a systematic literature review of barriers to planned community based adaptation in developing countries. In this framework barriers were grouped into resource, social and physical barriers. I then conducted empirical case study analysis using qualitative research methods in four South African municipalities to understand what barriers and enablers manifested in these contexts. In light of the reflexive nature of my methodology, my framework was adjusted based on my empirical findings, where contextual barriers were found to better represent the empirical results and subsumed physical barriers. I found my framework useful for analysis, but in the empirical cases, barriers and enablers overlaid and interacted so significantly that in reality it was often difficult to separate them. A key finding was that enablers tended to be more about the way things are done, as opposed to direct opposites of barriers. Comparison of barriers and enablers across the case studies revealed a number of key themes. Municipalities struggle to implement climate change adaptation and community based adaptation within contexts of significant social, economic and ecological challenges. These contextual barriers, when combined with certain cognitive barriers, lead to reactive responses. Existing municipal systems and structures make it difficult to enable climate change adaptation, which is inherently cross‐sectoral and messy, and especially community based adaptation that is bottom‐up and participatory. Lack of locally applicable knowledge, funding and human resources were found to be significant resource barriers, and were often underlain by social barriers relating to perceptions, norms, discourses and governance challenges. Enablers of engaged officials, operating within enabling organisational environments and drawing on partnerships and networks, were able to overcome or circumvent these barriers. When these enablers coincided with windows of opportunity that increased the prioritisation of climate change within the municipality, projects with ancillary benefits were often implemented. Analysis of the barriers and enablers identified in the literature and case studies, informed discussion on whether municipalities are able to implement community based adaptation as defined in the literature, as well as the development of recommendations for how municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation can be further understood and enabled in the future. These recommendations for practice and research include: (a) To acknowledge and understand the conceptual framings of municipal climate change work, as these framings inform the climate change agenda that is pursued, and hence what municipal climate change adaptation work is done and how it was done. (b) The need for further research into the social barriers that influence the vital enablers of engaged officials, enabling organisational environments, and partnerships and networks. (c) To learn from pilot community‐level interventions that have been implemented by municipalities, as well as from other disciplines and municipalities. (d) To develop top‐down/bottom‐up approaches to enable municipal planned climate change adaptation and community based adaptation, that benefits from high level support and guidance, as well as local level flexibility and learning‐by‐doing. (e) To develop viable mechanisms for municipalities to better engage with the communities they serve.
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Fairman, Jonathan George. "Investigating paleoclimatic conditions in the tropical Andes using a 2-D model of glacial mass energy balance and ice flow /." Connect to resource, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1211912269.
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Bamberg, Audrey. "Geologic and Biologic Indicators of Climate Change in the Ross Sea, Antarctica." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2007. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/BambergA2007.pdf.
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Agudelo, Paula A. "Analysis of spatial distribution in tropospheric and sea surface temperature trends." Thesis, Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005, 2005. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-04122005-120850/unrestricted/agudelo%5Fpaula%5Fa%5F200505%5Fmast.pdf.
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Thesis (M. S.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005.Dr. Judith A. Curry, Committee Chair ; Dr. Robert Dickinson, Committee Member ; Dr. Peter Webster, Committee Member. Includes bibliographical references.
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Arias, Paola Andrea. "Changes in cloudiness over tropical land during the last decades and its link to global climate change." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/26629.
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Thesis (M. S.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009.Committee Chair: Rong Fu; Committee Member: Robert Dickinson; Committee Member: Robert X. Black. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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Maliniemi, T. (Tuija). "Decadal time-scale vegetation changes at high latitudes:responses to climatic and non-climatic drivers." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2018. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526220123.
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Abstract Boreal and arctic plant communities are responding to anthropogenic climate change that has been exceptionally rapid during the recent decades. General responses include increased productivity, range expansions and biodiversity changes, all of which affect ecosystem functions. Vegetation dynamics are however controlled by multiple drivers, and the outcomes under the changing climate are not yet fully clear. As high latitude areas often lack long-term monitoring of vegetation, alternative methods are required to observe and understand vegetation changes and dynamics. Recently, resurveying historical vegetation data has become a valuable method of studying vegetation changes over the past few decades. In this thesis, I studied multidecadal (23–60 years) vegetation changes in forest and treeless heath and tundra plant communities along a latitudinal gradient in northern Fennoscandia using both vegetation resurveys and long-term experimental data. In addition to examining climate-driven vegetation changes, I related changes in plant communities to key local drivers of each context including mesotopography, grazing, soil moisture and soil fertility. General trends among the resurveyed treeless heath sites were the pronounced increase of the dwarf shrub Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum in snow-protected habitats and the decrease of lichens throughout. Southernmost heath communities showed strong responses to multidriver effects and had shifted towards new community states. The long-term experiment in the tundra confirmed that depending on driver combinations, tundra communities evolve towards divergent alternative states, highlighting the importance of local drivers in modifying tundra vegetation over time. Communities in fertile forest sites experienced greater temporal turnover compared to infertile forest sites, suggesting that the soil fertility level is a key predictor of vegetation changes under climate change. This particularly important finding previously relied mainly on experimental evidence. Despite these generalities, changes in diversity, plant groups and species varied under a rather uniform climatic warming trend and were often habitat- or region-specific. Thus, the results of my thesis highly motivate continued monitoring and resurveying of vegetation under rapid environmental change and also form baseline time-series data for future studiesTiivistelmä Poikkeuksellisen nopea ilmastonmuutos on johtanut viime vuosikymmenten aikana muutoksiin boreaalisissa ja arktisissa kasviyhteisöissä. Muutoksiin lukeutuvat tuottavuuden lisääntyminen, levinneisyysrajojen siirtyminen sekä muutokset biodiversiteetissä, mitkä kaikki muuttavat ekosysteemien toimintaa. Kasvillisuuden dynamiikkaa säätelevät kuitenkin useat paikallistason tekijät, minkä seurauksena ei ole täysin selvää, miten kasvillisuus on eri alueilla ja habitaateissa muuttunut. Koska kasvillisuuden jatkuva monitorointi on harvinaista pohjoisilla alueilla, vanhojen kasvillisuusaineistojen uudelleenkartoituksista on tullut tärkeä menetelmä muutosten havaitsemiseksi. Tutkin väitöskirjassani vuosikymmenten kuluessa tapahtuneita (23–60 vuotta) kasvillisuusmuutoksia Pohjois-Fennoskandian metsissä, puuttomilla kankailla ja tundralla uudelleenkartoitusten ja kokeellisen tutkimuksen avulla, ja kytkin ne ilmastonmuutokseen sekä tärkeimpiin paikallisiin tekijöihin. Yleisiä trendejä uudelleenkartoitetuilla puuttomilla kankailla olivat variksenmarjan (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) voimakas lisääntyminen lumensuojaisissa habitaateissa sekä jäkälien väheneminen kaikkialla. Yhteisöjen kokonaismuutos oli voimakkainta eteläisillä puuttomilla kankailla, jossa se korreloi yhtä aikaa lisääntyneiden lämpötilojen ja laidunpaineen kanssa. Kokeellinen tutkimus tundralla osoitti, että kasviyhteisöt kehittyvät hyvin erilaisiksi paikallisten tekijöiden voimakkuussuhteista riippuen, jotka voivat joko hidastaa tai nopeuttaa ympäristömuutoksista johtuvia kasvillisuusmuutoksia. Metsien uudelleenkartoitus osoitti yhteisöjen kokonaismuutoksen olevan pitkällä aikavälillä suurempaa tuottavilla maaperillä lehtometsissä verrattuna karumpiin kangasmetsiin. Tutkimuksen mukaan maaperän tuottavuus on avaintekijä, joka ennustaa kasvillisuusmuutosten voimakkuutta ilmastonmuutoksen aikana. Tästä tärkeästä löydöstä oli aiemmin pääasiassa vain kokeellista tutkimustietoa. Yleisistä trendeistä huolimatta, muutokset diversiteetissä, kasviryhmissä ja yksittäisissä lajeissa olivat kuitenkin vaihtelevia ja usein habitaatti- tai aluesidonnaisia. Väitöskirjani tulokset, jotka muodostavat myös aikasarjan tuleville tutkimuksille, osoittavat kasvillisuuden monitoroinnin ja uudelleenkartoitusten olevan ensisijaisen tärkeitä, jotta kasvillisuuden dynamiikkaa voidaan ymmärtää paremmin nopeasti muuttuvissa olosuhteissa
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Bahadur, Aditya Vansh. "Policy climates and climate policies : analysing the politics of building resilience to climate change." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2014. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/48873/.
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This thesis seeks to examine the politics of building resilience to climate change by analysing the manner in which policy contexts and initiatives to build climate change resilience interact. For analysis, the ‘policy context' is broken into its three constituent parts- actors, policy spaces and discourses. This permits the addition of new knowledge on how discourses attached to resilience are dissonant with those prevailing in ossified policy environments in developing countries; the influence of actor networks, epistemic communities, knowledge intermediaries and policy entrepreneurs in helping climate change resilience gain traction in policy environments; and the dynamic interaction of interest, agendas and power within decision-making spaces attached to resilience-building processes. This analysis takes place by employing a case-study of a major, international climate change resilience initiative unfolding in two Indian cities. Using data gathered through a variety of rigorous qualitative research methods employed over 14 months of empirical inquiry the thesis highlights issues of politics and power to argue that they are significant determinants of processes to deal with climate impacts. More specifically, it expands current understandings of engaging with climate impacts by exposing gaps in resilience thinking and argues against a technocratic approach to designing and executing resilience policies. In doing so it also demonstrates that resilience, with its emphasis on systems thinking, dealing with uncertainty and community engagement brings new challenges for policy makers. As the study is located in the urban context, it highlights the manner in which fragmented urban policy environments, dense patterns of settlement in cities, urban livelihood patterns and prevailing epistemic cultures can pose obstacles for a policy initiative aimed at building resilience to climate change. Finally, the research underlines the importance of coupling resilience with local narratives of dealing with shocks and stresses, argues for genuine iteration and shared learning during decision-making and highlights the need to celebrate multiple visions of resilience. Findings from this research can help inform a growing number of policy initiatives aimed at deploying resilience to help those battling the exigencies of a changing climate in some of the world's most vulnerable areas.
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Seger, Emily M. "Seepage Lake Chemistry as an Indicator of Climate Change." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2004. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/SegerEM2004.pdf.
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Williamson, Bruce R. "Sources and Deposition Processes Linking Atmospheric Chemistry and Firn Records from Four Glacier Accumulation Zones in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2006. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/WilliamsonBR2006.pdf.
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Nurhati, Intan Suci. "Coral records of central tropical Pacific sea-surface temperature and salinity variability over the 20th century." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/34775.
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Accurate forecasts of future regional temperature and rainfall patterns in many regions largely depend on characterizing anthropogenic trends in tropical Pacific climate. However, strong interannual to decadal-scale tropical Pacific climate variability, combined with sparse spatial and temporal coverage of instrumental climate datasets in this region, have obscured potential anthropogenic climate signals in the tropical Pacific. In this dissertation, I present sea-surface temperature (SST) and salinity proxy records that span over the 20th century using living corals from several islands in the central tropical Pacific. I reconstruct the SST proxy records via coral Sr/Ca, that are combined with coral oxygen isotopic (d18O) records to quantify changes in seawater d18O (hereafter d18Osw) as a proxy for salinity.
Chapter 2 investigates the spatial and temporal character of SST and d18Osw-based salinity trends in the central tropical Pacific from 1972-1998, as revealed by corals from Palmyra (6ºN, 162ºW), Fanning (4ºN, 159ºW) and Christmas (2ºN, 157ºW) Islands. The late 20th century SST proxy records exhibit warming trends that are larger towards the equator, in line with a weakening of equatorial Pacific upwelling over this period. Freshening trends revealed by the salinity proxy records are larger at those sites most affected by the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), suggesting a strengthening and/or an equatorward shift of the ITCZ. Taken together, the late 20th century SST and salinity proxy records document warming and freshening trends that are consistent with a trend towards a weakened tropical Pacific zonal SST gradient under continued anthropogenic forcing.
Chapter 3 characterizes the signatures of natural and anthropogenic variability in central tropical Pacific SST and d18Osw-based salinity over the course of 20th century using century-long coral proxy records from Palmyra. On interannual timescales, the SST proxy record from Palmyra tracks El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. The salinity proxy record tracks eastern Pacific-centered ENSO events but is poorly correlated to central Pacific-centered ENSO events - the result of profound differences in precipitation and ocean advection that occur during the two types of ENSO. On decadal timescales, the coral SST proxy record is significantly correlated to the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO), suggesting that strong dynamical links exist between the central tropical Pacific and the North Pacific. The salinity proxy record is significantly correlated to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), but poorly correlated to the NPGO, suggesting that, as was the case with ENSO, these two modes of Pacific decadal climate variability have unique impacts on equatorial precipitation and ocean advection. However, the most striking feature of the salinity proxy record is a prominent late 20th century freshening trend that is likely related to anthropogenic climate change. Taken together, the coral data provide key constraints on tropical Pacific climate trends, and when used in combination with model simulations of 21st century climate, can be used to improve projections of regional climate in areas affected by tropical Pacific climate variability.
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Beraki, Asmeron Fissehatsion. "Climate change scenario simulations over Eritrea by using a fine resolution limited area climate model temperature and moisture sensitivity /." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02102006-152327.
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張博文 and Pok-man Jerry Cheung. "Perceptions of global climate change: a studyof university students in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B41549363.
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Cramer, Carolyn Maire ̌. "The framing of climate change in three daily newspapers in the Western Cape Province of South Africa /." Link to the online version, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/820.
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Cheung, Pok-man Jerry. "Perceptions of global climate change a study of university students in Hong Kong /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B41549363.
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Zhang, Ke. "Study on regional responses of pan-arctic terrestrial ecosystems to recent climate variability using satellite remote sensing." Diss., [Missoula, Mont.] : The University of Montana, 2009. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-06042009-125041.
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Sandu, Suwin. "Assessment of carbon tax as a policy option for reducing carbon-dioxide emissions in Australia." Electronic version, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2100/535.
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University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering.This research has analysed the economy-wide impacts of carbon tax as a policy option to reduce the rate of growth of carbon-dioxide emissions from the electricity sector in Australia. These impacts are analysed for energy and non energy sectors of the economy. An energy-oriented Input–Output framework, with ‘flexible’ production functions, based on Translog and Cobb-Douglas formulations, is employed for the analysis of various impacts. Further, two alternative conceptions of carbon tax are considered in this research, namely, based on Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) and Shared Responsibility Principle (SRP). In the first instance, the impacts are analysed, for the period 2005–2020, for tax levels of $10 and $20 per tonne of CO2, in a situation of no a-priori limit on CO2 emissions. The analysis shows that CO2 emissions from the electricity sector, when carbon tax is based on PPP, would be 211 and 152 Mt, for tax levels of $10 and $20, respectively (as compared to 250 Mt in the Base Case scenario, that is, the business-as-usual-case). The net economic costs, corresponding with these tax levels, expressed in present value terms, would be $27 and $49 billion, respectively, over the period 2005-2020. These economic costs are equivalent to 0.43 and 0.78 per cent of the estimated GDP of Australia. Further, most of the economic burden, in this instance, would fall on the electricity sector, particularly coal-fired electricity generators – large consumers of direct fossil fuel. On the other hand, in the case of a carbon tax based on SRP, CO2 emissions would be 172 and 116 Mt, for tax levels of $10 and $20, respectively. The corresponding net economic costs would be $47 (0.74 per cent of GDP) and $84 (1.34 per cent of GDP) billion, respectively, with significant burden felt by the commercial sector – large consumers of indirect energy and materials whose production would contribute to CO2 emissions. Next, the impacts are analysed by placing an a-priori limit on CO2 emissions from the electricity sector – equivalent to 108 per cent of the 1990 level (that is, 138 Mt), by the year 2020. Two cases are analysed, namely, early action (carbon tax introduced in 2005) and deferred action (carbon tax introduced in 2010). In the case of early action, the analysis suggests, carbon tax of $25 and $15, based on PPP and SRP, respectively, would be required to achieve the above noted emissions target. The corresponding tax levels in the case of deferred action are $51 and $26, respectively. This research also shows that the net economic costs, in the case of early action, would be $32 billion (for PPP) and $18 billion (for SRP) higher than those in the case of deferred action. However, this research has demonstrated, that this inference is largely due to the selection of particular indicator (that is, present value) and the relatively short time frame (that is, 2005–2020) for analysis. By extending the time frame of the analysis to the year 2040, the case for an early introduction of carbon tax strengthens. Overall, the analysis in this research suggests that an immediate introduction of carbon tax, based on SRP, is the most attractive approach to reduce the rate of growth of CO2 emissions from the electricity sector and to simultaneously meet economic and social objectives. If the decision to introduce such a tax is deferred, it would be rather difficult to achieve not only environmental objectives but economic and social objectives as well.
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Hedding, David William. "Geomorphology and geomorphological responses to climate change in the interior of sub-Antarctic Marion Island." Diss., Pretoria : [s.n.], 2006. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-07032007-144008.
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Goldthorpe, Ward Hilary. "Carbon capture and storage and the Australian climate policy framework. /." Connect to thesis, 2009. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/7058.
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Msusa, Judith Mbumba. "The role of local institutions in climate change adaptation in Salima District, Malawi." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018648.
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Climate change is now real. Both scholars and scientists agree that the earth‟s climate is changing and therefore argue that developing countries of Africa and Asia, which are considered to be especially vulnerable because of their overdependence on climate sensitive resources and low adaptive capacity, should focus on adaptation programmes to build the capacity of affected communities to adapt to and cope with the effects of climatic change. But climate change adaptation programmes do not happen in a vacuum. Among other things they require proper institutional frameworks to succeed. The study therefore analyzed climatic events affecting Salima district in Malawi, the causes and effects of these climatic events, the nature and role of various institutions in climate change adaptation programmes in the district and the institutional coordination of players at different levels. The study findings reveal that the major climatic events affecting Salima district are droughts, floods, dry spells and hailstorms. Various institutions supporting and implementing climate change adaptation programmes and their roles are also highlighted. The study findings further reveals that weak coordination between institutions at all levels (national, district and community) is one of the challenges affecting effective implementation of climate change programmes. The study recommendations have therefore emphasized the need to review and strengthen climate change management structures at all levels.
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Kgatuke, Mary-Jane Morongwa. "Internal variability of the regional climate model RegCM3 over Southern Africa." Diss., Pretoria [s.n.], 2006. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08132007-091356.
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Shinker, Jacqueline J. "Mechanistic controls of North American climate variability /." view abstract or download file of text, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3102189.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-152). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
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Sun, Yuanyuan, and 孙嫒嫒. "Cenozoic climatic and environmental changes in the Qaidam Basin." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/210238.
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Large discrepancies remain regarding the timing of Cenozoic paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental transitions in the central Asia. The first order driving force behind these changes has been intensively debated. Global climate change, the uplift of Tibetan Plateau, and the evolution of Paratethys sea have been proposed as three major candidates. To understand the evolutionary history of climate and environment of the region and controlling factors responsible for these paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes, a combined study utilizing multiple proxies, including microfossils, bulk carbonate carbon and oxygen isotopes, long chain alkenones, plant n-alkane-based indices (carbon preference index, average chain length and Paq) and compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopes of higher plant n-alkanes, was carried out on a long, continuous and well-dated section in Dahonggou, Qaidam Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau. A parallel study was also carried out in another relatively shorter section in the Xunhua Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau. Six intervals of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental transitions over an interval of ~35 Myr can be recognized in the studied sections, including Late Eocene-Early Oligocene gradual drying (prior to ~30 Ma), Middle Oligocene aridification (~30-26 Ma), Late Oligocene-Early Miocene wetting (~26-21 Ma), Early Miocene drying (~21-17 Ma), Middle Miocene climatic optimum (~17-13 Ma), and deteriorated climate since the late Middle Miocene (~13 Ma onwards). The reconstructed onsite C4 plant abundance including occurrence of C4 plants and their thriving and the followed decreasing, a sensitive indicator of available moisture level in the environment, agrees well with these intervals.
Microfossils and long-chain alkenones suggest that a relic sea existed in the Qaidam Basin during the Middle Miocene, thus falsifying any hypothesis of significant variations in elevations of northern Tibetan Plateau prior to the Middle Miocene. The relatively stable elevations since the Eocene and before the Middle Miocene of, respectively, the central-southern part and northern part of the Plateau reveals an insignificant role of Tibetan Plateau uplift in controlling the evolution of central Asian climate and environment during the early Cenozoic. However, the Middle Miocene marine transgression and the rapid plateau-scale uplift since the late Middle Miocene probably contributed to the Middle Miocene climatic optimum and the initiated aridification afterwards in the central Asia. A comparison of proxy records in the northern Tibetan Plateau with the global benthic oxygen isotope record suggests a tight relation between the climatic/environmental transitions in the central Asia and global climatic changes. This lends support to the hypothesis that global climate, by controlling the moisture supply to the continental interior, played the dominant role in the evolution of climate and environment of central Asia during the Cenozoic time.published_or_final_version
Earth Sciences
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Guobaitis, Vincent Michael. "An analysis of state efforts on adaptation to climate change in the transportation sector with applications to Georgia." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/42905.
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With climate change arising as an important issue in the 21th century, many states have been working diligently to develop climate action plans with the hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stop climate change from occurring. According to scientists' theories, however, many places across the globe are already feeling the effects of a changing climate and must therefore switch their focus from mitigation to adaptation. In the United States, there has been a focus on how climate change will impact one of the most vulnerable parts of the country, the transportation infrastructure. Many countries have already begun adapting their transportation infrastructure to climate change including the United States. This thesis focuses on how states are adapting to climate change by analyzing strategies, frameworks, and reports released by these states in order to document where they stand in regards to adaptation of the transportation network. The states that are adapting their transportation infrastructure are Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine. There is also a brief summary of how Canada and the United Kingdom are preparing for climate change with an analysis of frameworks and strategies used to adapt their transportation infrastructure. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to provide engineers and policymakers with evidence that several states are implementing adaptation into transportation projects and provide a variety of strategies for them to use in their own state. Specifically, this report provides applications of adaptation for Georgia to use, so that they can begin the lengthy process of adapting their transportation infrastructure to climate change.
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Braganza, Karl 1971. "Climate change detection and attribution using simple global indices." Monash University, School of Mathematical Sciences, 2002. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/7783.
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Hansen, Carla Grace. "Advancing a Community's Conversations About and Engagement with Climate Change." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248405/.
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The goal of this project completed for the Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative (GNSC) was to understand how Northfield, Minnesota citizens are experiencing climate change. Thirty individuals were interviewed to find out what they know about climate change, what actions they are taking, what they think the solutions are to the problems, and what barriers they have to more fully engaging with climate change issues. The interview results are intended to promote and advance the community's discussion on climate change via social learning and community engagement activities such as town hall forums and community surveys. These activities encourage citizens in the community to have direct input into the development of the community's climate action plan (CAP). Analysis of the interviews showed that the interviewees are witnessing climate change, that most are taking at least some action such as recycling or lowering thermostats, that they can name barriers to their own inaction, that they say communication about climate change remains confusing and is not widespread in Northfield, and that they are able to provide numerous suggestions for what the local and broader leadership should be doing. The analysis also showed wide individual variation within the group. Interviewees who were less knowledgeable about climate were less likely to be taking action and do not participate in social groups where climate change is discussed. Conclusions are that the whole group would like more and better communication and education from our leaders, that they also expect our leaders to be part of creating solutions to climate change, and that the solutions the interviewees suggested provide a very thorough initial list of mitigation and adaptation strategies for the city's future CAP.
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Wasley, Jane. "The effect of climate change on Antarctic terrestrial flora." School of Biological Sciences - Faculty of Science, 2004. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/275.
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Climate change is expected to affect the high latitudes first and most severely, rendering Antarctica one of the most significant baseline environments for the study of global climate change. The indirect effects of climate warming, including changes to the availability of key environmental resources, such as water and nutrients, are likely to have a greater impact upon Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems than the effects of fluctuations in temperature alone. Water availability is the focus in this thesis for two main reasons; firstly, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest water is currently limiting to Antarctic plant distributions and productivity, and secondly, availability of this key resource is predicted to change with the onset of climate change. Nutrient availability is a second variable considered in this work, as there is evidence to suggest that nutrients also play a role in determining plant species distributions, and changes to nutrient balance and turnover rates are also expected in response to climate change. This work was conducted in the floristically important Windmill Islands region of East Antarctica, with the three Windmill Islands moss species Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Ceratodon purpureus and Grimmia antarctici forming its focus. A combination of field ecology, ecophysiology and laboratory studies were used to determine fine-scale patterns of present species distributions and their relationship to naturally occurring water and nutrient resource gradients, the impact of increased water and nutrients on a range of cryptogamic communities, and tolerance of desiccation biological profiles. A survey-based approach was used to determine species level patterns in bryophyte species distributions, and identify correlations with resource availability. Ten replicate transects, along community gradients, from pure bryophyte stands, through transitional moribund bryophyte zones, to lichen-dominated communities, were surveyed at two sites. The physical environment at each site was characterised by measurement of site soil properties, along with individual transect aspects and slopes. To determine the relationship between resource gradients and community patterns water and nutrient availability, along with a range of plant biochemistry measures indicative of the growth environment, were measured using a series of quadrats along each transect. Percent abundance for each species and/or vegetation category was determined for each quadrat by microscopic examination of field samples. The community gradient, covering the entire ecological range of past and present bryophyte occupation, was found to be accompanied by resource gradients that operated in opposing directions. Pure bryophyte communities existed under conditions of high water availability and low nutrient availability. Crustose lichen-dominated communities persisted under opposing environmental conditions, of low water availability and high nutrient availability. Grimmia antarctici dominated the wettest habitats but its distribution extended into the dry moribund zones, albeit in low levels of abundance. Bryum pseudotriquetrum occurred in consistent levels of abundance across the entire gradient, whilst C. purpureus was restricted to the driest habitats. Live bryophyte material was found to occur in moribund turf, supporting the potential for bryophyte regeneration under a future wetter climate. Regenerating turf showed potential to support high species diversity, as all four bryophytes survive in this zone. To investigate the likely impacts of a wetter climate on Antarctic terrestrial communities, four cryptogamic communities, pure bryophyte, moribund bryophyte, crustose and fructicose lichen-dominated communities were subject to a multi-season manipulative field experiment. Within each community type, eight replicate quadrats received increased water and/or nutrient availability over two consecutive summer seasons. A range of physiological and biochemical measurements were conducted in order to quantify the community response to the treatments and determine the extent of any nutrient and water limitation. Few multi-season manipulative field experiments have been conducted in continental Antarctica. Whilst an overall increase in productivity in response to water and nutrient additions was supported, productivity appeared to respond more strongly to nutrient additions than to water additions. Pure bryophyte and fructicose lichen communities also showed stronger positive responses to additions, identifying some communities that may be better able to adapt and prosper under the ameliorating conditions associated with a warmer, wetter future climate. Using a range of morphological, biochemical and physiological techniques, biological profiles related to desiccation tolerance were developed for the three bryophyte study species, providing measures of relative abilities to avoid, tolerate, recover from and survive desiccation. Ceratodon purpureus showed good desiccation avoidance characteristics, its photosynthetic efficiency remained high at low water contents and it was lipid rich, suggesting that this species is well adapted to survive a drying climate. Bryum pseudotriquetrum is also likely to survive drier conditions, as this species showed good desiccation avoidance, had a plastic response to desiccation, and contained stachyose, which is likely to assist in its survival of desiccation events. Conversely, G. antarctici showed poor desiccation avoidance, as photosynthetic efficiency required highest water contents and it contained few protective substances, this species is therefore least likely to survive a drying environment. This study provides a baseline from which future changes to the Windmill Islands cryptogamic communities can be monitored. A baseline incorporating fine-scale bryophyte species patterns is particularly useful, as this component of the cryptogamic community is likely to be highly sensitive to even small shifts in water availability and detection of change is likely to be more sensitive at fine- rather than broad-scales. Both water and nutrient resource availability was found to underlie regional bryophyte species distributional patterns. The dynamics of the Windmill Islands flora is therefore likely to shift in response to climate change as the availability of these key resources is altered. Under a wetter future climate, productivity is overall likely to increase but only certain cryptogamic communities are likely to thrive. Regeneration of moribund bryophytes appears likely only if the future moisture regime creates consistently moist conditions. Bryum pseudotriquetrum is most likely to survive both a drying climate and also a fluctuating climate, which is a highly likely scenario for the region. Under a drier climate, the Antarctic endemic, G. antarctici, is likely to be most adversely affected, as it dominates only the wettest communities and generally shows poor tolerance of desiccation. Conservation issues are therefore raised for this species, if the current drying trend continues, creating overall biodiversity concerns.
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Martens, Brendon. "Livelihoods and climate change in Hamburg: issues for food security." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017538.
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Climate change continues to present a major challenge to food security around the world. The potential impact of climate change of rural livelihoods is especially significant as rural communities often rely heavily on natural resources to sustain their livelihoods and, hence, food security. This is applicable to the rural town of Hamburg, on the Eastern Cape coast of South Africa. The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods framework analyses livelihoods in terms of the context, available capitals and institutional framework that determines the livelihood strategies and outcomes for rural households. In terms of livelihood outcomes for Hamburg, it was found that the households have a heavy reliance on state grants in their livelihood portfolios. Natural resources, in the form of agriculture and harvesting of marine organisms, played only a supplementary role in livelihood strategies. Thus, given that climate change would impact negatively on the estuarine resources and the impact on agriculture is unknown as the climate becomes wetter and hotter, the impact on livelihoods and food security would not be significant. However, the sustainability of current livelihood strategies is questionable as grants, by their very nature, or unsustainable and therefore can result in vulnerability and food insecurity in the long-run for households. It is recommended that grants should be issued within the community, instead of in the distant town of Peddie, to help develop the local economy and reduce leakages. This would allow for diversification of livelihood strategies in Hamburg. In addition, government support through extension officers should be extended to Hamburg to assist in developing the local agriculture sector
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Osterberg, Erich Christian. "North Pacific Late Holocene Climate Variability and Atmospheric Composition." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2007. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/OsterbergEC2007.pdf.
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Brodach, Ari. "A communication study on climate change for the European Environment Agency a case study of the key role of information dissemination in catalysing a societal transition toward sustainability /." Lund, Sweden : International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund University, 2001. http://www.iiiee.lu.se/information/library/publications/reports/2001/Ari-Brodach.pdf.
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Stratford, Danial Sands. "Predicting and Assessing the Risk of Climate Change on Frogs in South-east Queensland." Thesis, Griffith University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367695.
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Atmospheric temperatures are increasing and precipitation ranges are generally believed to become more variable and more extreme, with a general reduction in rainfall expected across South-eastern Australia. Additionally, increases in evapotranspiration are expected, resulting in an expected prevailing net loss in the terrestrial water balance. Changes in climate are bringing increasing uncertainty to ecological systems, where the predicted changes to climate are likely to have impacts on amphibians due to the close ecological associations of amphibians to temperature and environmental water balances. Amphibians largely have a dependency upon free-standing water to enable recruitment, which for many species is dependent upon the occurrence of seasonally ephemeral, low predator ponds. While climate change is recognised to affect species along gradients, many gradients occur at smaller spatial scales than that of latitudinal and altitudinal gradients.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith School of Environment
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Lisiecki, Lorraine E. "Paleoclimate time series : new alignment and compositing techniques, a 5.3-MYR benthic [exponents] d18O stack, and analysis of Pliocene-Pleistocene climate transitions /." View online version; access limited to Brown University users, 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3174639.
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Janse, van Rensburg Lindie. "A morphological analysis of weevils from sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands an assessment of ecological influences /." Pretoria : Db [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08242006-125130.
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Terando, Adam. "The impact of reforestation on the climate of the Southeast." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file 4.70 Mb., 183 p, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1435925.
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Town, Michael S. "Investigations into the climate of the South Pole /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/10085.
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Weirauch, Daniel R. "A high-resolution record of climate instability spanning ~1.0 million years across the mid-Pleistocene transition." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file, 131 p, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1472642111&sid=21&Fmt=2&clientId=8331&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Wong, Pui-yi Pearl, and 王貝兒. "Climate's influence toward global viniculture quality." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B46733590.
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Chong, Yuk-lan, and 莊玉蘭. "Review and analyze the IPCC future climate change projections." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B4673434X.
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Millar, Richard. "Uncertainty in climate response to carbon dioxide and implications for mitigation policy." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e94e53c4-d5d8-485a-a84a-cd25dc7e6713.
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Global mean surface air temperature (GMST) change, due to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, is a fundamental measure of human induced climate change and its associated impacts. Estimates of the magnitude of GMST response to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide (equilibrium climate sensitivity or ECS) remains uncertain over a broad range between 1.5-4.5K. Expected economic damages associated with climate change are strongly sensitive to this broad uncertainty, creating challenges in constructing mitigation policies to limit peak warming. In this thesis I explore uncertainty in the climate response through two methods. I show that potential constraints on the climate response using observations of a recent decade and planetary energy balance models are consistent with a low climate response that is not sampled by multi-model or perturbed physics ensembles of general circulation models (GCMs). I therefore subsequently set out to explore the physicality of the lower bound of climate response uncertainty in GCMs by conducting an emulator-driven perturbed physics ensemble search for low ECS models. I find a set of GCMs with ECS between 1.5K and 2K, driven primarily by negative feedbacks in tropical low cloud with GMST warming. Achieving low ECS is associated with reduced simulation fidelity relative to the standard version of the GCM, but fidelity reductions are judged to be insufficient to assuredly rule out an ECS between 1.5-2K in the real climate system. This experiment highlights the difficulty in further reducing climate response uncertainty in the near future. I therefore propose a new framing of mitigation policy that focuses on using physical methods to index the future evolution of policy variables to emergent climate change. Such a framing could lead to adaptive mitigation policies, aimed at limiting peak warming, that are demonstrably more robust under currently irreducible physical climate response uncertainty than conventional mitigation scenarios.
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Ramsaur, David. "Climate analysis and long range forecasting of radar performance in the western North Pacific." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Naval Postgraduate School, 2009. http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2009/Jun/09Jun%5FRamsaur.pdf.
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Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2009.Thesis Advisor(s): Murphree, Tom ; Frederickson, Paul A. "June 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on 13 July 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Climatology, smart climatology, evaporation duct height, radar detection ranges, Western North Pacific, East China Sea, radar propagation, sensor performance, performance surface, climate variations, U. S. Navy, El Nino, La Nina, NPS ED Model, AREPS. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-92). Also available in print.
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Graham, Stephen Thomas. "Continental river routing for fully coupled climate system models /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3024456.
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Smith, Daniel Barnaby. "Predicting temporal changes in Fasciola hepatica abundance from climatic variables." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2016. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3004659/.
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Fasciola hepatica is an economically important parasite of sheep and cattle. The life cycle of this parasite includes freeliving stages and an intermediate snail host (Galba truncatula). In the past, several statistical models have been developed to predict how climatic factors, specifically temperature and rainfall, affect parasite abundance. However, these models were built under historic climate conditions, or for a specific geographic region, and are not well suited to predict how the epidemiology of infection might change in situations of global climatic change. The primary objective of the work described in this thesis was to develop a mathematical model of the life cycle of Fasciola hepatica that, for the first time, captures the seasonality of the parasite and can be used to predict parasite abundance under the varying conditions of climate change and alterations in farm management practices. To build the model, experimental studies were conducted to increase the available data on parasite development and survival in the environment. The experimental work focused on the effects of temperature and water availability on parasite eggs and metacercarial development and survival. The survival of parasites at low temperatures suggests that overwintering of parasites on pasture is very possible. The differential equation model developed focused solely on the freeliving stages of F. hepatica and runs on daily temperature and rainfall (rainy day) data. The model was validated against data from published longitudinal studies and passive disease surveillance data. The limited data available to validate this type of model made it impossible to validate the model in a sufficiently robust manner. From the validation studies, it appears that the model is good at predicting the seasonality of the parasite but performs less well at predicting differences in peak abundance between years. The model predicts that, under two different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, the abundance of F. hepatica will increase dramatically in future, with more than twice the number of metacercariae currently seen between August and October, and significantly more pasture contamination between June and December. The effects of dosing animals at different times of the year was also investigated, Under historic conditions, in the United Kingdom, a single dose of an appropriate helmintic treatment administered to animals in March will not reduce the number of metacercariae seen in the autumn, but a significant reduction results if an appropriate anthelmintic is administered in May. Greater metacercariae pasture contamination predicted under future climate projections will necessitate changes in farm management practices aimed at limiting transmission, which is predicted to occur earlier in the year.
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Rye, Craig D. "The response of the Antartic Subpolar Seas to climatic changes." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2016. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/397324/.
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The Antarctic Subpolar Seas are a poorly observed and understood region with a disproportionate importance for global ocean-climate processes. The region has been subject, over recent decades, to many dramatic climatic forcing perturbations. In particular, it has seen a substantial increase in surface wind stress, and an increase in freshwater forcing from the Antarctic Ice sheet. The impact of increased freshwater forcing is investigated here using austral summer satellite altimetry measurements. Between 1992 and 2011, an anomalous circumpolar rise in sea level is observed across the Antarctic Subpolar Seas of 1–5 mm yr-1 above the global mean. Several lines of evidence suggest that the observed Subpolar Sea SSH anomaly is a steric response to a recent decadal increase in glacial runoff. An ocean GCM is used to simulate the response of the Antarctic Subpolar Seas to a realistic increase in glacial run-off. The resulting response agrees well with observations and provides insight into the ocean’s adjustment. In particular, the model suggests that approximately half of the steric change in sea level is driven directly by freshening in the upper 800 meters, and that deep ocean warming drives the remainder. The response of the Subpolar Seas to an increase in surface wind forcing is then investigated using an idealised regional configuration of the MITgcm model, referred to as the gyre model. The gyre model is a simplified, Bousinesq, primitive equation model, designed to explore the dynamics of a southern subpolar gyre’s adjustment to wind forcing perturbations. The gyre model has four sub-configurations of ranging complexity. Each configuration is examined for its response to a 20% step-increase in surface wind forcing. The gyre model’s response varies between sub-configurations, however some common features are found in all runs. The density surfaces of the southern gyre are shown to dome in all sub-configurations following adjustment. Waves and advective features that move cold anomalies northwards dominate the western boundary adjustment. Two distinct types of boundary propagations occur in the gyre model: comparatively fast numerical short boundary waves (NSBW), which move at around 0.05 to 0.5 m s-1; and slower moving advective features, which propagate at between 0.01 and 0.05 m s-1. Analysis suggests that viscous parameters play an important role in the NSBW balance of terms. Further, the pathlines traced by neutrally buoyant particles seeded into the western boundary flow field suggest that the advective features are by the advection of temperature anomalies. The depth, magnitude and propagation velocity of the boundary features vary considerably following minor adjustments in model parameters, such as viscosity, diffusivity and background GM diffusivity. Further work is required to understand the role of boundary waves and boundary propagations, both in observations and models. The research presented in this thesis highlights that the recent climatic perturbations in the forcing of the Antarctic subpolar Seas are changing the regions circulation in significant and far reaching ways.
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Hopcroft, Peter Orlando. "New Methods for Inferring Past Climatic Changes from Underground Temperatures." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/4377.
Full textAbstract:
In this thesis new methods have been developed for the recovery of past surface temperaturevariations from underground temperature-depth profiles. This has been undertakenfrom a Bayesian standpoint with an emphasis on model comparison, which allowsdifferently parameterised inverse models (inferred past temperature histories) to be automaticallyconstructed and compared in the light of the data and the prescribed priorinformation. In the first contribution a new method for inverting temperature-depth profiles ispresented which relies on trans-dimensional Bayesian sampling. The temperature historiesare parameterised in terms of a variable number of linear segments over time. Relying onthe natural parsimony of Bayesian inference, whereby simpler models which can adequatelyexplain the data are preferred, the complexity or roughness of the temperature historiescan be determined without the need for explicit a priori smoothing. This method thereforeallows a more objective inference of the past temperature changes. These concepts are extended to the spatial domain in the following chapter using themethod of Bayesian partition modelling. This seeks to find the posterior distribution ofthe number and spatial distribution of independent temperature histories given a spatiallydistributed ensemble of temperature-depth profiles. The results from applicationto 23 real boreholes in the UK are discussed in detail and show a clear preference for8 or 9 independent (and mostly contrasting) temperature histories. It is thus concludedthat the majority of these data cannot be considered as reliable sources of palaeoclimatereconstruction. A 3D finite element heat transfer forward model is developed in the latter part of thethesis, and is used to simulate underground temperatures. This forward model is linked to the first of the two Bayesian inverse methods described above. The effect of the reductionin average ground surface temperature with altitude is included in the forward model andinversion of the resultant profiles using a 1D forward model is shown to give significantdiscrepancies in the inferred temperature histories. Finally the inversion results fromthe Bayesian formulation are compared with those using a conventional gradient descentmethod. The thesis concludes with some possibilities for future research in this field which buildsupon the work presented herein.