Digital Commons Network^™

Does Terrestrial Drought Explain Global Co 2 Flux Anomalies Induced By El Niño?, C. R. Schwalm, Christopher A. Williams, K. Schaefer, I. Baker, G. J. Collatz, C. Rödenbeck

Geography

The El Niño Southern Oscillation is the dominant year-to-year mode of global climate variability. El Niño effects on terrestrial carbon cycling are mediated by associated climate anomalies, primarily drought, influencing fire emissions and biotic net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Here we evaluate whether El Niño produces a consistent response from the global carbon cycle. We apply a novel bottom-up approach to estimating global NEE anomalies based on FLUXNET data using land cover maps and weather reanalysis. We analyze 13 years (1997-2009) of globally gridded observational NEE anomalies derived from eddy covariance flux data, remotely-sensed fire emissions at the monthly time step, …

Spatial And Interannual Variability Of Dissolved Organic Matter In The Kolyma River, East Siberia, Observed Using Satellite Imagery, Claire G. Griffin, Karen E. Frey, John Rogan, Robert M. Holmes

Geography

The Kolyma River basin in northeastern Siberia, the sixth largest river basin draining to the Arctic Ocean, contains vast reserves of carbon in Pleistocene-aged permafrost soils. Permafrost degradation, as a result of climate change, may cause shifts in riverine biogeochemistry as this old source of organic matter is exposed. Satellite remote sensing offers an opportunity to complement and extrapolate field sampling of dissolved organic matter in this expansive and remote region. We develop empirically based algorithms that estimate chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Kolyma River and its major tributaries in the vicinity of …

The Shaky Political Economy Foundation Of A National Renewable Electricity Requirement, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article argues that a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for electric power is not likely to advance its purported goals, nor is it likely to be adopted by Congress in its present proposed form. For one, a national RPS would have geographically disproportionate costs - those costs would be focused on a few, mostly natural resource-poor states, whereas the benefits of job growth and technological adoption in infant industries will be elsewhere. Second, the ability of firms to use operational flexibility regarding their nonrenewable fuel mix to substitute other nonrenewable energy sources for traditional fossil fuels undermines the purported …

Unnatural Resource Law: Situating Desalination In Coastal Resource And Water Law Doctrines, Michael Pappas

Publications

This Article offers the first legal analysis of desalination, the process of converting saltwater into freshwater. Desalination represents a key climate change adaptation measure because the United States has exploited nearly all of its freshwater resources, freshwater demands continue to grow, and climate change threatens to diminish significantly existing freshwater supplies. However, scholarship has yet to address the legal ambiguities that desalination raises in the context of property, water law, and coastal resource doctrines.

This Article addresses these ambiguities and suggests the legal adaptations necessary to accommodate desalination as a climate change adaptation. Under current legal doctrines, the chain of …

Asia Pacific Perspectives Vol. 10 No. 2, November 2011, University Of San Francisco, University Of San Francisco

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Contents:

Editor's Note by Joaquin Jay Gonazalez and John Nelson

Beyond the Hot Debate: Social and Policy Implications of Climate Change in Australia by Lawrence Niewójt and Adam Hughes Henry

This paper discusses the social and policy implications of climate change on the world’s most arid populated continent. Warmer average temperatures will have real, identifiable impacts on human health, marginalized sectors of the population, and the sustainability of rural and coastal communities in Australia. By analysing indicators of environmental health and social welfare we can identify emerging threats posed by a warmer climate. Policy-makers will need to devise a suite …

Climate Mitigation And The Future Of Tropical Landscapes, A Thomson, Katherine V. Calvin, L P. Chini, George C. Hurtt, James A. Edmonds, B Bond-Lamberty, Steve Frolking, Marshall A. Wise, A Janetos

Earth Sciences

Land-use change to meet 21st-century demands for food, fuel, and fiber will depend on many interactive factors, including global policies limiting anthropogenic climate change and realized improvements in agricultural productivity. Climate-change mitigation policies will alter the decision-making environment for land management, and changes in agricultural productivity will influence cultivated land expansion. We explore to what extent future increases in agricultural productivity might offset conversion of tropical forest lands to crop lands under a climate mitigation policy and a contrasting no-policy scenario in a global integrated assessment model. The Global Change Assessment Model is applied here to simulate a mitigation policy …

Networks Of European Cities In Worlds Of Global Economic And Environmental Change, Stanley D. Brunn, Lomme Devriendt, Andrew Boulton, Ben Derudder, Frank Witlox

Geography Faculty Publications

Geographers have a long tradition of classifying cities using a number of criteria. Population size, industrial production, capital city functions, airline connections, sites of sporting events and major headquarters and banks are among them. While these studies are useful in looking at cities in an economy and population at a given point of time, they are less useful in assessing rapidly occurring changes within a regional or global system. Our research represents a new approach to classify cities and urban systems; we use the volume and networks/linkages or flows associated with electronic Information or “Knowledge worlds.” We argue that in …

Climate Change: Helping Nature Survive The Human Response, Will R. Turner, Bethany A. Bradley, Lyndon D. Estes, David G. Hole, Michael Oppenheimer, David S. Wilcove

Geography

Climate change poses profound, direct, and well-documented threats to biodiversity. A significant fraction of Earth's species is at risk of extinction due to changing precipitation and temperature regimes, rising and acidifying oceans, and other factors. There is also growing awareness of the diversity and magnitude of responses, both proactive and reactive, that people will undertake as lives and livelihoods are affected by climate change. Yet to date few studies have examined the relationship between these two powerful forces. The natural systems upon which people depend, already under direct assault from climate change, are further threatened by how we respond to …

Visions For The Future Of Water In Seyhan Basin, Turkey: A Backcasting Application, Erol H. Cakmak, Hasan Dudu, Ozan Eruygur, Metin Ger, Sema Onurlu, Özlem Tonguc

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper reports backcasting results on the future of water in the SeyhanBasin, Turkey. The participative backcasting methodology uses prior information obtainedfrom stakeholders about the present, future and estimated states of water to optimize timeuse during the implementation. The study involved a broad range of stakeholders spanningfrom central decision makers to farmers. Reliable scenarios exploiting all kinds ofinformation sources are crucial in developing dependable and feasible policy options totackle the challenges residing in water management issues. Perception of the current watersystem and a structured view of the future in the Seyhan Basin have been determined. Thedesirable goal has been set …

Evaluating The Impact Of Climate Change On Global Hpai H5n1 Outbreaks, Zhijie Zhang, Dongmei Chen, Wenbao Liu, Lei Wang

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses H5N1 have spread throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa in the past decade, raising serious worldwide concerns about a potential new pandemic. Many studies have investigated the spread of the HPAI H5N1 virus and discussed its possible risk factors. However, the climate factor, which can affect the whole process of H5N1 outbreaks, has been greatly ignored. The objective of this preliminary study is to use a GIS-based approach to explore the potential impacts of temperature change on H5N1 outbreaks. We have divided the outbreaks into five epidemic waves. Although the temperature ranges of different epidemic waves …

The Northern-Global Climate Change Adaptation Dialogue, J. I. Maclellan

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Although climate change adaptation can occur over various political, social, and institutionalscales, the majority of adaptation decisions take place at the local level where an intimate understanding ofthe particularities of local circumstances (i.e. successful responses to past extremes events) exist alongsidea lack of formalised expertise in projecting and analyzing future possibilities. The relationship between theexperts who produce counterfactual knowledge, and the individuals who apply it, is thus central to thechallenge of responding to climate change successfully. I present a deliberately polarized caricature of thisrelationship in an attempt to facilitate knowledge exchange (i.e. to identify barriers to knowledgeexchange). Through bibliometric analysis …

Comparison Of Climate Change Impacts And Development Effects On Future Mekong Flow Regime, C. T. Hoanh, Kittipong Jirayoot, Guillaume Lacombe, Vithet Srinetr

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A framework of climate change (CC) analysis is developed using the Decision Support Framework models of the Mekong River Commission (SWAT hydrological, IQQM basin simulation and hydrodynamic iSIS models) to analyze impacts of CC and water resources development on Mekong flow regime. This analysis is based on six model run scenarios defined as combinations of a development scenario, either baseline or 20-year plan and a climate dataset, either observed or from regional downscaling model simulating the past in 1985-2000 or projecting the future climate in 2010-2050. The projected climate shows a slight increase in precipitation throughout the Mekong basin except …

Farmers As Water Managers In A Changing Climate – Can We Turn Sustainability Research Into Outcomes?, K. B. Matthews, K. L. Blackstock, S. Langan, M. Rivington, D. G. Miller, K. Buchan

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

How well does research-derived knowledge on sustainability translate into practical improvements in the sustainability of land and water management? This paper reflects on progress being made through the lens of the “Aquarius - Farmers as Water Managers” project part of Interreg IVb. This project seeks to use research-derived knowledge to aid the specification, delivery and evaluation of a flood alleviation scheme that uses natural flow management measures. The paper sets out previous research on the definition of outcomes and places these in the context of the specific criteria being used within the Interreg programme. Interreg provides an opportunity for researchers …

Simulations Show Decreasing Carbon Stocks And Potential For Carbon Emissions In Rocky Mountain Forests Over The Next Century, Céline Boisvenue, Steven W. Running

Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group Publications

Climate change has altered the environment in which forests grow, and climate change models predict more severe alterations to come. Forests have already responded to these changes, and the future temperature and precipitation scenarios are of foremost concern, especially in the mountainous western United States, where forests occur in the dry environments that interface with grasslands. The objective of this study was to understand the trade-offs between temperature and water controls on these forested sites in the context of available climate projections. Three temperature and precipitation scenarios from IPCC AR4 AOGCMs ranging in precipitation levels were input to the process …

An Agent Based Model Of Climate Change And Conflict Among Pastoralists In East Africa, Atesmachew B. Hailegiorgis, William G. Kennedy, Mark Rouleau, Jeffrey K. Bassett, Mark Coletti, Gabriel C. Balan, Tim Gulden

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

We present an agent-based model of human-environment interaction and conflict in East Africa using the MASON agent-based simulation environment. Our model focuses on the complex interaction of pastoral groups with their environment and other emerging external actors. Our model supports the observation that increased seasonal rainfall variability and droughts create tremendous stress on pastoralists groups and challenges their long-term resilience and adaptive response mechanisms.

The Climatic Change Impact In Water Potential Processe On The Albanian Hydrographic River Network, Niko Pano, Alfred Frasheri, Bardhyl Avdyli

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The general cascade impt of climatic change on the water potential processe in the Albanian hydrographic river network is presented in this paper. Hydrological change impact in the sediment regime of the Albanian river system as an important part of the paper is present. The climatic change impact has been analysed in two principal aspects. Firstly by evaluation of the global water potential of the Albanian river system and secondly, by the influence of the climatic change in the multi-annual variation of this potential in the territory catchment area of this system.The climatic change impact processes in the Albanian hydrographic …

Farmers As Water Managers In A Changing Climate – Can We Turn Sustainability Research Into Outcomes?, K. B. Matthews, K. L. Blackstock, S. Langan, M. Rivington, D. G. Miller, K. Buchan

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

How well does research-derived knowledge on sustainability translate into practical improvements in the sustainability of land and water management? This paper reflects on progress being made through the lens of the “Aquarius - Farmers as Water Managers” project part of Interreg IVb. This project seeks to use research-derived knowledge to aid the specification, delivery and evaluation of a flood alleviation scheme that uses natural flow management measures. The paper sets out previous research on the definition of outcomes and places these in the context of the specific criteria being used within the Interreg programme. Interreg provides an opportunity for researchers …

Climate Change And Long Term Water Availability In Western Australia - An Experimental Projection, M. A. Bari, G. E. Amirthanathan, B. Timbal

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The population of the Perth-Bunbury region in Western Australia is predicted to increase to3.1 million by 2050. Water supply is a key issue, as below-average rainfall since the mid-1970s has led to about40% decline in the streamflow. General Circulation Models (GCMs) project a further decrease in rainfall leadingto diminished water resources in the future and posing a threat to water supply and the environment. In thisexperimental study we assess the impact of climate change at Serpentine Reservoir using data from elevenGCMs which contributed to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report.Data from two emission scenarios (A2 and …

Climate Change And Long Term Water Availability In Western Australia - An Experimental Projection, M. A. Bari, G. E. Amirthanathan, B. Timbal

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The population of the Perth-Bunbury region in Western Australia is predicted to increase to3.1 million by 2050. Water supply is a key issue, as below-average rainfall since the mid-1970s has led to about40% decline in the streamflow. General Circulation Models (GCMs) project a further decrease in rainfall leadingto diminished water resources in the future and posing a threat to water supply and the environment. In thisexperimental study we assess the impact of climate change at Serpentine Reservoir using data from elevenGCMs which contributed to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report.Data from two emission scenarios (A2 and …

An Agent Based Model Of Climate Change And Conflict Among Pastoralists In East Africa, Atesmachew B. Hailegiorgis, William G. Kennedy, Mark Rouleau, Jeffrey K. Bassett, Mark Coletti, Gabriel C. Balan, Tim Gulden

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

We present an agent-based model of human-environment interaction and conflict in East Africa using the MASON agent-based simulation environment. Our model focuses on the complex interaction of pastoral groups with their environment and other emerging external actors. Our model supports the observation that increased seasonal rainfall variability and droughts create tremendous stress on pastoralists groups and challenges their long-term resilience and adaptive response mechanisms.

The Northern-Global Climate Change Adaptation Dialogue, J. I. Maclellan

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Although climate change adaptation can occur over various political, social, and institutionalscales, the majority of adaptation decisions take place at the local level where an intimate understanding ofthe particularities of local circumstances (i.e. successful responses to past extremes events) exist alongsidea lack of formalised expertise in projecting and analyzing future possibilities. The relationship between theexperts who produce counterfactual knowledge, and the individuals who apply it, is thus central to thechallenge of responding to climate change successfully. I present a deliberately polarized caricature of thisrelationship in an attempt to facilitate knowledge exchange (i.e. to identify barriers to knowledgeexchange). Through bibliometric analysis …

Comparison Of Climate Change Impacts And Development Effects On Future Mekong Flow Regime, C. T. Hoanh, Kittipong Jirayoot, Guillaume Lacombe, Vithet Srinetr

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A framework of climate change (CC) analysis is developed using the Decision Support Framework models of the Mekong River Commission (SWAT hydrological, IQQM basin simulation and hydrodynamic iSIS models) to analyze impacts of CC and water resources development on Mekong flow regime. This analysis is based on six model run scenarios defined as combinations of a development scenario, either baseline or 20-year plan and a climate dataset, either observed or from regional downscaling model simulating the past in 1985-2000 or projecting the future climate in 2010-2050. The projected climate shows a slight increase in precipitation throughout the Mekong basin except …

Visions For The Future Of Water In Seyhan Basin, Turkey: A Backcasting Application, Erol H. Cakmak, Hasan Dudu, Ozan Eruygur, Metin Ger, Sema Onurlu, Özlem Tonguc

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper reports backcasting results on the future of water in the SeyhanBasin, Turkey. The participative backcasting methodology uses prior information obtainedfrom stakeholders about the present, future and estimated states of water to optimize timeuse during the implementation. The study involved a broad range of stakeholders spanningfrom central decision makers to farmers. Reliable scenarios exploiting all kinds ofinformation sources are crucial in developing dependable and feasible policy options totackle the challenges residing in water management issues. Perception of the current watersystem and a structured view of the future in the Seyhan Basin have been determined. Thedesirable goal has been set …

Evaluating The Impact Of Climate Change On Global Hpai H5n1 Outbreaks, Zhijie Zhang, Dongmei Chen, Wenbao Liu, Lei Wang

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses H5N1 have spread throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa in the past decade, raising serious worldwide concerns about a potential new pandemic. Many studies have investigated the spread of the HPAI H5N1 virus and discussed its possible risk factors. However, the climate factor, which can affect the whole process of H5N1 outbreaks, has been greatly ignored. The objective of this preliminary study is to use a GIS-based approach to explore the potential impacts of temperature change on H5N1 outbreaks. We have divided the outbreaks into five epidemic waves. Although the temperature ranges of different epidemic waves …

The Climatic Change Impact In Water Potential Processe On The Albanian Hydrographic River Network, Niko Pano, Alfred Frasheri, Bardhyl Avdyli

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The general cascade impt of climatic change on the water potential processe in the Albanian hydrographic river network is presented in this paper. Hydrological change impact in the sediment regime of the Albanian river system as an important part of the paper is present. The climatic change impact has been analysed in two principal aspects. Firstly by evaluation of the global water potential of the Albanian river system and secondly, by the influence of the climatic change in the multi-annual variation of this potential in the territory catchment area of this system.The climatic change impact processes in the Albanian hydrographic …

The Limits Of A National Renewable Portfolio Standard, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In this Commentary Article, Professor Rossi highlights some of the distributional and operational problems presented by a national renewable portfolio standard ("RPS") in electric power. He also offers several solutions to these problems as a way of advancing a cautionary defense of a national RPS. Ultimately, Professor Rossi concludes that addressing climate change will need to involve more systemic and larger scale modifications to regulation of the electric power industry, including addressing infrastructure issues such as transmission and carbon pricing.

Marine Bioinvasions And Climate Change, James T. Carlton, Sandra C. Lindstrom, Celia M. Smith, Jennifer E. Smith

National Invasive Species Council

BACKGROUND

Invasive species are second only to habitat destruction as the greatest cause of species endangerment and global biodiversity loss. Invasive species can cause severe and permanent damage to the ecosystems they invade. Consequences of invasion include competition with or predation upon native species, hybridization, carrying or supporting harmful pathogens and parasites that may affect wildlife and human health, disturbing ecosystem function through alteration of food webs and nutrient recycling rates, acting as ecosystem engineers and altering habitat structure, and degradation of the aesthetic quality of our natural resources. In many cases we may not fully know the native animals …

Recent Advances In The Climate Change Biology Literature: Describing The Whole Elephant, A. Townsend Peterson, Shaily Menon, Xingong Li

Peer Reviewed Publications

Climate change biology is seeing a wave of new contributions, which are reviewed herein. Contributions treat shifts in phenology and distribution, and both document past and forecast future effects. However, many of the current wave of contributions are observational and correlational, and few are experimental in nature, and too often a conceptual framework in which to contextualize the results is lacking. An additional gap is the lack of effective cross-linking among areas of research, for example, connection of sea-level rise and climate change implications for distributions of species, or evolutionary adaptation studies with distributional shift studies. Although numerous important contributions …

Variations In Vulnerability To Climate Change In Southeast Asia, Kelsey Margaret Allard

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Trends In Climate Change Education In Nevada's System Of Higher Education, Amy Northrup

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This poster presents research into how climate change is taught in Nevada's colleges and universities. A completed inventory of the types of courses in different disciplines and at different institutions that relay information about climate change to students is discussed.