Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Topographic Control Of Asynchronous Glacial Advances: A Case Study From Annapurna, Nepal, Beth Pratt-Sitaula, Douglas W. Burbank, Arjun M. Heimsath, Neil F. Humphrey, Michael Oskin, Jaakko Putkonen

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Differences in the timing of glacial advances, which are commonly attributed to climatic changes, can be due to variations in valley topography. Cosmogenic 10Be dates from 24 glacial moraine boulders in 5 valleys define two age populations, late-glacial and early Holocene. Moraine ages correlate with paleoglacier valley hypsometries. Moraines in valleys with lower maximum altitudes date to the lateglacial, whereas those in valleys with higher maximum altitudes are early Holocene. Two valleys with similar equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs), but contrasting ages, are < 5 km apart and share the same aspect, such that spatial differences in climate can be excluded. A glacial mass-balance cellular automata model of these two neighboring valleys predicts that change from a cooler-drier to warmer-wetter climate (as at the Holocene onset) would lead to the glacier in the higher altitude catchment advancing, while the lower one retreats or disappears, even though the ELA only shifted by ~120 m.

Addressing Global Climate Change In An Age Of Political Climate Change, Brigham Daniels

BYU Law Review

For a number of years, many within the environmental legal community have advocated an all-out attack strategy of forcing the United States to address climate change by bringing novel lawsuits under existing environmental laws. In 2007, with the seminal case of Massachusetts v. EPA, it appeared that those advocating this strategy had a winning game plan. That sense grew and solidified when the Obama Administration came to power. However, over the past several years, we have seen a countervailing movement embodied in a growing resentment towards EPA and climate change policy in general. This movement has mobilized into a powerful …

A Learning Collaboratory: Improving Federal Climate Change Adaptation Planning, Alejandro E. Camacho

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adapting To Climate Change While Planning For Disaster: Footholds, Rope Lines, And The Iowa Floods, Robert R.M. Verchick, Abby Hall

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Do You Believe The Climate Is Changing? Answers From New Survey Research, Lawrence C. Hamilton

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief explores how political views influence Americans’ understanding and perception of science. The research is based on a national version of the Community and Environment in Rural America survey called NCERA, and on New Hampshire’s statewide Granite State Poll. Author Lawrence Hamilton reports that most people on both surveys feel that they understand either a great deal or a moderate amount about global warming or climate change. However, deep partisan divisions affect both personal beliefs about climate change and perceptions of agreement among scientists. Democrats are much more likely to state they believe that climate change is happening, caused …

Global Change, Global Trade, And The Next Wave Of Plant Invasions, Bethany A. Bradley, Dana M. Blumenthal, Regan Early, Edwin D. Grosholz, Joshua J. Lawler, Luke P. Miller, Cascade J.B. Sorte, Carla M. D'Antonio, Jeffrey M. Diez, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Ines Ibanez, Julian D. Olden

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Many non-native plants in the US have become problematic invaders of native and managed ecosystems, but a new generation of invasive species may be at our doorstep. Here, we review trends in the horticultural trade and invasion patterns of previously introduced species and show that novel species introductions from emerging horticultural trade partners are likely to rapidly increase invasion risk. At the same time, climate change and water restrictions are increasing demand for new types of species adapted to warm and dry environments. This confluence of forces could expose the US to a range of new invasive species, including many …

Climate Change And Climate Variability: El Salvador – Impacts On Productivity Of Grain Crops And Opportunities For Management And Improvement, P. V. Vara Prasad

INTSORMIL Presentations

1. Climate change and climate variability (past and future).

2. Climate change and variability in El Salvador (climate models).

3. Impact of temperature on grain yield of dry bean, maize and sorghum in El Salvador (crop simulation models).

4. Effects of temperature, drought and/or carbon dioxide: experimental evidence (response of grain sorghum, maize and dry bean).

5. Opportunities for crop management and genetic improvement.

An Evaluation Of Disturbance-Induced Nutrient Changes And Climate Responses Of Loblolly Pine Xylem, Rebecca Lynne Stratton

Doctoral Dissertations

Dendrochronological techniques are currently limited to the identification of visible fire scars. However, through the development of new dendrochemical techniques, the potential exists to provide insight into a broader array of pyric ecosystems. In addition, the ability to identify historic climate-growth responses provides a better understanding of the conditions under which historic fire regimes occurred.

This study provides the groundwork for the identification of a dendrochemical nutrient fire signature in xylem and identifies the climate-radial growth responses of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) on five sites in the Piedmont of South Carolina. Changes in N, P, K, Ca, Mg, …

Randomization Tests For Quantifying Species Importance To Ecosystem Function, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Werner Ulrich, Fernando T. Maestre

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

1. Quantifying the contribution of different species to ecosystem function is an important challenge. We introduce simple randomization tests (and software) for quantifying the average effect of species on ecosystem variables measured in multiple plots with and without the presence of a particular species. These randomization tests formalize the analysis of uncontrolled 'natural experiments' and quantify species effects in standardized deviation units. 2.We tested the method with data on ecosystem function in biological soil crust assemblages of lichens in semi-arid gypsum outcrops in central Spain. In sixty-three 50cm×50cm sample plots, we measured the presence and percentage cover of 17 species …

Underestimating The Costs Of Conservation In Southeast Asia, David P. Edwards, Brendan Fisher, Xingli Giam, David S. Wilcove

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Simulated Effects Of Varied Landscape-Scale Fuel Treatments On Carbon Dynamics And Fire Behavior In The Klamath Mountains Of California, Kevin J. Osborne

Master's Theses

I utilized forest growth model (FVS-FFE) and fire simulation software (FlamMap, Randig), integrated through GIS software (ArcMap9.3), to quantify the impacts varied landscape-scale fuel treatments have on short-term onsite carbon loss, long-term onsite carbon storage, burn probability, conditional flame length, and mean fire size. Thirteen fuel treatment scenarios were simulated on a 42,000 hectare landscape in northern California: one untreated, three proposed by the US Forest Service, and nine that were spatially-optimized and developed with the Treatment Optimization Model in FlamMap. The nine scenarios developed in FlamMap varied by treatment intensity (10%, 20%, and 30% of the landscape treated) and …

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation-Forced Regional Summertime Precipitation Variations In The Central United States, Michael C. Veres

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this research is to identify the regional mechanisms by which the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) influences summer (June-August) precipitation in the central U.S. This was accomplished by running two different sets of simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model, one forced by observations and the other forced only by variations in the AMO as obtained via a global climate model (GCM). The results reveal a complex set of mechanisms active in the lower and middle troposphere by which the AMO influences summer circulation and precipitation in the central U.S. During the cold phase …

Hydroclimatic Forecasting In The Western United States Using Paleoclimate Reconstructions And Data-Driven Models, Christopher Allen Carrier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis investigated climate variability and their associated hydrologic responses in the western United States. The western United States faces the problem of water scarcity, where the management and mitigation of available water supplies are further complicated by climate variability. Climate variability associated with the phases of oceanic-atmospheric oscillations has been shown to influence streamflow and precipitation, where predictive relationships have led to the possibility of producing long-range forecasts. Based on literature review, four oceanic-atmospheric oscillation indices were identified in having the most prominent influence over the western United States including the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal …

A Landscape Approach To Late Prehistoric Settlement And Subsistence Patterns In The Mojave Sink, Tiffany Ann Thomas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The environment of the Late Prehistoric period (1200 A.D. to Historic Contact) Mojave Sink was wetter than modern conditions. The settlement and subsistence patterns of the occupants of the region during this period were driven by the availability of water, subsistence resources, raw material sources, and tradition. These people utilized the regional landscape based upon the seasonal availability of these resources. Supplemental agricultural production has been proposed for the Mojave River Delta due to the more favorable environmental conditions of this period. If agriculture was being practiced it would have affected the regional land-use patterns. For this thesis I propose …

Changing Climatic Conditions In The Colorado River Basin: Implications For Water Resources Management In The Las Vegas Valley, Srijana Dawadi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Climate change affects the water available in a region. It also affects the water demand, because of the increase in temperature. A system dynamics model was developed for the Colorado River Basin (CRB), operating at a monthly time scale, to assess the potential impacts of climate change on streamflow in the Colorado River and its subsequent impact on the water resources management in the Las Vegas Valley (LVV). The effect of climate change on streamflow was evaluated using 16 global climate model outputs for 3 emission scenarios, also referenced in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. Risk …

The Effects Of Evapotranspiration Upon Recharge Using The Stable Isotopes Of Oxygen And Hydrogen In The Carbonate Aquifers Of The Cumberland Plateau In Southeast Kentucky, Lee J. Florea

Lee J Florea, PhD, P.G.

In this brief manuscript, we consider the variation of the stable isotopes of oxygen, δ18O, and hydrogen, δ2H, in samples collected during 2010 and 2011 from precipitation and shallow groundwater along the Cumberland Plateau of southeast Kentucky. These data from the 1,900-ha Redmond Creek karst aquifer lend insight into the source and timing of recharge to shallow groundwater in the epigenic karst of the U.S midcontinent. Specifically, we find that only 43% of precipitation remains as potential recharge after accounting for evapotranspiration, and 85% of this potential recharge occurs during only four two-week sampling periods. The isotopic composition of precipitation …

The Limits To Prediction In Ecological Systems, Brian Beckage, Louis J. Gross, Stuart Kauffman

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Predicting the future trajectories of ecological systems is increasingly important as the magnitude of anthropogenic perturbation of the earth systems grows.We distinguish between two types of predictability: the intrinsic or theoretical predictability of a system and the realized predictability that is achieved using available models and parameterizations. We contend that there are strong limits on the intrinsic predictability of ecological systems that arise from inherent characteristics of biological systems. While the realized predictability of ecological systems can be limited by process and parameter misspecification or uncertainty, we argue that the intrinsic predictability of ecological systems is widely and strongly limited …

Climate Change In The Piscataqua/Great Bay Region: Past, Present, And Future, Cameron P. Wake, Elizabeth Burakowski, Eric Kelsey, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, Chris Watson, Ellen Douglas

The Sustainability Institute Publications

Earth ’s climate changes. It always has and always will. However, an extensive body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities are now a significant force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of the Piscataqua/Great Bay region of coastal New Hampshire in the United States has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by human activities that are warming the planet.

Overall, the region has been getting warmer and wetter over the last century, and the rate of change has increased over the last …

Sustainability And Climate Models For The Intermountain West: An Annotated Bibliography, Marianne A. Buehler, William E. Brown Jr.

Brookings Mountain West Publications

This resource on climate models and sustainability in the Intermountain West, a region that includes the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, is a collaborative effort between the UNLV Libraries (http://library.unlv.edu/) and Brookings Mountain West (http://brookingsmtnwest.unlv.edu/).

The selected citations include academic, government, and non-profit information that highlight ongoing research on climate models and sustainability efforts in the region. The websites, government studies, independent reports, scholarly articles, and media reports reflect the diversity and complexity of climate change and sustainability issues in a region that contains widely varying ecosystems. The Intermountain West, with its deserts, basins, mountains, …

Environmental Prediction In Canadian Cities, James Voogt

Geography & Environment Presentations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Climate Change On Spring Ecosystem Hydroecology As A Guide To Developing Alternative Water Policies, Scott Mensing, Saxon E. Sharpe, Scott Bassett, Don Sada, Jim Thomas

Climate Change Seminar Series (NNE)

Hydroecology: the interface of ecological systems and water which combines the scientific disciplines of hydrology and ecology

Goal: evaluate the hydrologic and climate history using pollen, loss on ignition, total inorganic carbon, and invertebrates from spring sediments in Spring Valley, Eastern Nevada and Snake Valley, Western Utah

Heating Up The Forest: Open-Top Chamber Warming Manipulation Of Arthropod Communities At Harvard And Duke Forests, Shannon L. Pelini, Francis P. Bowles, Aaron M. Ellison, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Nathan J. Sanders, Robert R. Dunn

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

1.Recent observations indicate that climatic change is altering biodiversity, and models suggest that the consequences of climate change will differ across latitude. However, long-term experimental field manipulations that directly test the predictions about organisms' responses to climate change across latitude are lacking. Such experiments could provide a more mechanistic understanding of the consequences of climate change on ecological communities and subsequent changes in ecosystem processes, facilitating better predictions of the effects of future climate change. 2.This field experiment uses octagonal, 5-m-diameter (c.22m 3) open-top chambers to simulate warming at northern (Harvard Forest, Massachusetts) and southern (Duke Forest, North Carolina) hardwood …

Droughtscape- Fall 2011, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Drought Preparedness Community Options

Drought Likely to Persist, Intensify Across South

Database Will Help Planners Find Options

Impacts: Ag Losses, Fire, Water Restrictions

NDMC Welcomes International Visitors

New Drought Impact Reporter Online

Sim-Drought, Available Now at Select Agencies

Collaborative Research: Microparticle/Tephra Analysis Of The Wais Divide Ice Core, Karl J. Kreutz, Andrei V. Kurbatov, Mark Wells, Paul Andrew Mayewski

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award supports a project to perform continuous microparticle concentration and size distribution measurements (using coulter counter and state-of-the-art laser detector methods), analysis of biologically relevant trace elements associated with microparticles (Fe, Zn, Co, Cd, Cu), and tephra measurements on the WAIS Divide ice core. This initial three-year project includes analysis of ice core spanning the instrumental (~1850-present) to mid- Holocene (~5000 years BP) period, with sample resolution ranging from subannual to decadal. The intellectual merit of the project is that it will help in establishing the relationships among climate, atmospheric aerosols from terrestrial and volcanic sources, ocean biogeochemistry, and …

A Natural-Resource-Based View Of The Firm: Fifteen Years After, Stuart L. Hart, Glen Dowell

Grossman School of Business Faculty Publications

The authors revisit Hart's natural-resource-based view (NRBV) of the firm and summarize progress that has been made in testing elements of that theory and reevaluate the NRBV in light of a number of important developments that have emerged in recent years in both the resource-based view literature and in research on sustainable enterprise. First, the authors consider how the NRBV can both benefit from recent work in dynamic capabilities and can itself inform such work. Second, they review recent research in the areas of clean technology and business at the base of the pyramid and suggest how the NRBV can …

Pakistan’S Two-Stage Monsoon And Links With The Recent Climate Change, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Robert Davies, Wan Ru Huang, Robert R. Gillies

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Meteorological conditions related to the Pakistan floods of 2010 were examined in the context of monsoon dynamics and large‐scale circulations. Case and climatological analyses suggest that summer precipitation in northern Pakistan comprises two distinct phases: (1) a premonsoon trough phase (July) whose rainfall is more episodic and intense, occurring prior to arrival of the monsoon trough, and (2) a monsoon trough phase (August) whose rainfall is persistent, yet less episodic, driven by northward migration of the monsoon trough. Analyses of conditional instability, moisture flux, and circulation features support a persistent increase in conditional instability during the July premonsoon trough phase, …

Understanding Earth's Eroding Surface With 10Be, Eric W. Portenga, Paul R. Bierman

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

For more than a century, geologists have sought to measure the distribution of erosion rates on Earth's dynamic surface. Since the mid-1980s, measurements of in situ 10Be, a cosmogenic radionuclide, have been used to estimate outcrop and basin-scale erosion rates at 87 sites around the world. Here, we compile, normalize, and compare published 10Be erosion rate data (n = 1599) in order to understand how, on a globalscale, geologic erosion rates integrated over 103 to 106 years varybetween climate zones, tectonic settings, and different rock types. Drainage basins erodemore quickly (mean = 218 m Myr-1; median = 54 m Myr-1) …

The Effects Of Climate Change On Density-Dependent Population Dynamics Of Aquatic Invertebrates, Edmund M. Hart, Nicholas J. Gotelli

College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications

Global climate change has the potential to alter aquatic communities through changes in evapotranspiration and increased variability in precipitation. We used aquatic mesocosms to test the impacts of variable precipitation on population dynamics of commonn mosquito (Culicidae) and midge (Chironomidae) larvae that inhabit vernal pools. In a mixed deciduous forest in northern Vermont, USA, we orthogonally crossed seven levels of mean water level (increased rainfall) with seven levels of water level coefficient of variation (more variable rainfall) to simulate a broad array of climate change scenarios in 49 experimental mesocosms. The average abundance of Culicidae was highest at low water …

The High Costs Of Conserving Southeast Asia's Lowland Rainforests, Brendan Fisher, David P. Edwards, Xingli Giam, David S. Wilcove

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Mechanisms that mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions via forest conservation have been portrayed as a cost-effective approach that can also protect biodiversity and vital ecosystem services. However, the costs of conservation - including opportunity costs - are spatially heterogeneous across the globe. The lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia represent a unique nexus of large carbon stores, imperiled biodiversity, large stores of timber, and high potential for conversion to oil-palm plantations, making this region one where understanding the costs of conservation is critical. Previous studies have underestimated the gap between conservation costs and conversion benefits in Southeast Asia. Using detailed logging records, cost …

Climate And Vegetation Change In The Newberry Mountains, Southern Clark County, Nevada, Ross Joseph Guida

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ecological studies have shown worldwide that vegetation is being affected by climate change. Species are shifting to new elevations and physiographic positions to adapt to changes in their environment. More specifically, paleoecology studies in the Mojave Desert have shown shifting vegetation patterns in response to past warming and precipitation changes. Recent studies have shown mortality among desert plants related to extended drought and warming. However, few studies have shown how the geographic distribution of Mojave Desert species has changed during this most recent period of warming. This study addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on several plant species …