Digital Commons Network^™

International Governance Of Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Recent Developments And Future Directions, Romany M. Webb

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

With the impacts of climate change intensifying, and progress in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause it continuing to lag, the parties to the Paris Climate Agreement have emphasized the need to accelerate efforts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while simultaneously curbing emissions. As the parties have recognized, the ocean is already a major carbon sink, and could play an important role in future carbon dioxide removal (“CDR”) efforts. Scientists have proposed a variety of ocean-based CDR approaches, but most require further research to fully evaluate their efficacy, benefits, and risks. In-ocean testing of the approaches, and …

Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, And Electric Vehicles, Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger, Samuel Lavine

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Achieving the United States’ ambitious emissions reduction goals depends in large part on the rapid adoption of wind and solar energy and the electrification of consumer vehicles. However, misinformation and coordinated disinformation about renewable energy is widespread and threatens to undermine the transition. In this report, the Sabin Center identifies and examines 33 of the most pervasive false claims about solar energy, wind energy, and electric vehicles, with the aim of promoting a more informed discussion.

Impact Of Climate Change On Carbon And Nitrogen Balance In Zostera Marina L. (Eelgrass), Malee Jinuntuya

OES Theses and Dissertations

Seagrasses face vulnerability to both global stressors like Ocean Acidification (OA) and climate warming compounded by local stressors such as eutrophication that reduces light availability, leading to a complex dynamic of positive and negative effect on their growth and survival. Increased dissolved aqueous CO₂ (CO_2(aq)) benefits seagrasses by enhancing photosynthetic and growth rates, but it may increase nutrient demand, potentially depleting nutrient supply, especially in oligotrophic environments.

In this study, the long-term impact of CO₂ on Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) were investigated across a gradient of CO_2(aq) concentrations (55 – 2200 µM CO_{2(aq)) …}

Russia In A Changing Climate, Debra Javeline, Robert Orttung, Graeme Robertson, Richard Arnold, Andrew Barnes, Laura Henry, Edward Holland, Mariya Omelicheva, Peter Rutland, Edward Schatz, Caress Schenk, Andrei Semenov, Valerie Sperling, Lisa Mcintosh Sundstrom, Mikhail Troitskiy, Judith Twigg, Susanne Wengle

Political Science

Climate change will shape the future of Russia, and vice versa, regardless of who rules in the Kremlin. The world's largest country is warming faster than Earth as a whole, occupies more than half the Arctic Ocean coastline, and is waging a carbon-intensive war while increasingly isolated from the international community and its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Officially, the Russian government argues that, as a major exporter of hydrocarbons, Russia benefits from maintaining global reliance on fossil fuels and from climate change itself, because warming may increase the extent and quality of its arable land, open a new …

Trends Of Sediment Resuspension And Budget In Southern Lake Michigan Under Changing Wave Climate And Hydrodynamic Environment, Longhuan Zhu, Pengfei Xue, Guy Meadows, Chenfu Huang, Jianzhong Ge, Cary D. Troy, Chin H. Wu

Michigan Tech Publications

Sediment suspension and transport driven by waves and currents play a significant role in both the ecological and physical environments of large lakes. Lake Michigan has faced a rapidly increasing water level associated with intensified wind waves in the past decade. To investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and associated coastal sediment budgets in southern Lake Michigan, a 30-year (1991–2020) hindcast was performed using a coupled wave-current-sediment model (SWAN-FVCOM-CSTMS). We found that in southern Lake Michigan, the basin-wide mean SSC increased, and the coastal sediment loss accelerated dramatically, corresponding with intensified waves, currents and lake water level …

Legal Issues In Oceanic Transport Of Carbon Dioxide For Sequestration, Carolina Arlota, Michael B. Gerrard, Pria Deanna Mahadevan

Faculty Scholarship

A number of large facilities intended for the permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide are being developed in the United States. Several of them will be located in Texas and Louisiana on or near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, making them easily accessible to ships. At the same time, there is substantial interest in Europe in installing equipment to capture carbon dioxide from certain industrial operations before it is emitted into the atmosphere, but currently there are inadequate facilities existing in Europe to sequester much of this carbon dioxide. Therefore, there is interest in the possibility of using ships …

Climate Change-Associated Declines In Water Clarity Impair Feeding By Common Loons, Walter H. Piper, Max R. Glines, Kevin C. Rose

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change has myriad impacts on ecosystems, but the mechanisms by which it affects individual species can be difficult to pinpoint. One strategy to discover such mechanisms is to identify a specific ecological factor related to survival or reproduction and determine how that factor is affected by climate. Here we used Landsat imagery to calculate water clarity for 127 lakes in northern Wisconsin from 1995 to 2021 and thus investigate the effect of clarity on the body condition of an aquatic visual predator, the common loon (Gavia immer). In addition, we examined rainfall and temperature as potential predictors …

Interactive Effects Of Co2, Temperature, And Nitrate Limitation On The Growth And Physiology Of Marine Cyanobacterium Synechococcus Sp. Ccmp 1334, Alyssa K. Sharbaugh

LSU Master's Theses

The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. CCMP 1334 was grown in a continuous culture system on a 12:12 h light:dark cycle at all combinations of low and high pCO2 (400 and 1000 ppmv, respectively), nitrate availability (nitrate-limited and nutrient-replete conditions), and temperatures of 21°C, 24°C, 28°C, 32°C, and 35°C. The maximum median nutrient-replete growth rate was ~1.15 d−1 at 32 –35°C. Median growth rates at 1000 ppmv pCO2 were higher than those at 400 ppmv at all temperatures, but most of the differences were statistically insignificant. Carbon:nitrogen ratios were independent of pCO2 at a fixed relative growth rate but decreased with …

Thermal Ecology And Swimming Performance Of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes Femoralis In Central Florida, Jessalyn Aretz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and …

Influence Of Climate Zone Shifts On Forest Ecosystems In Northeastern United States And Maritime Canada, Samuel Roy, Xinyuan Wei, Aaron Weiskittel, Daniel J. Hayes, Peter Nelson, Alexandra R. Contosta

Faculty Publications

Climate zones play a significant role in shaping the forest ecosystems located within them by influencing multiple ecological processes, including growth, disturbances, and species interactions. Therefore, delineation of current and future climate zones is essential to establish a framework for understanding and predicting shifts in forest ecosystems. In this study, we developed and applied an efficient approach to delineate regional climate zones in the northeastern United States and maritime Canada, aiming to characterize potential shifts in climate zones and discuss associated changes in forest ecosystems. The approach comprised five steps: climate data dimensionality reduction, sampling scenario design, cluster generation, climate …

Drought Legacy Interacts With Wildfire To Alter Soil Microbial Communities In A Mediterranean Climate-Type Forest, Anna J. M. Hopkins, Aaron J. Brace, Jess L. Bruce, J. Hyde, J. B. Fontaine, L. Walden, W. Veber, K. X. Ruthrof

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Mediterranean forest ecosystems will be increasingly affected by hotter drought and more frequent and severe wildfire events in the future. However, little is known about the longer-term responses of these forests to multiple disturbances and the forests' capacity to maintain ecosystem function. This is particularly so for below-ground organisms, which have received less attention than those above-ground, despite their essential contributions to forest function. We investigated rhizosphere microbial communities in a resprouting Eucalyptus marginata forest, southwestern Australia, that had experienced a severe wildfire four years previously, and a hotter drought eight years previously. Our aim was to understand how microbial …

Microclimate, An Important Part Of Ecology And Biogeography, Julia Kemppinen, Jonas J. Lembrechts

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Brief introduction: What are microclimates and why are they important? Microclimate science has developed into a global discipline. Microclimate science is increasingly used to understand and mitigate climate and biodiversity shifts. Here, we provide an overview of the current status of microclimate ecology and biogeography in terrestrial ecosystems, and where this field is heading next.

Microclimate investigations in ecology and biogeography: We highlight the latest research on interactions between microclimates and organisms, including how microclimates influence individuals, and through them populations, communities and entire ecosystems and their processes. We also briefly discuss recent research on how organisms shape microclimates from …

“No Matter How Hot It Is, You Just Have To Do The Work”: Examining Farmworkers’ Experiences With Heat And Climate Change In Idaho, Carly Hyland, Delmy Flores, Grace Augusto, Irene Ruiz, Marielena Vega, Rulon Wood

Public and Population Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Farmworkers are one of the populations most vulnerable to climate change. In addition to disproportionate exposure to climate-intensified hazards such as extreme heat and wildfire smoke, many farmworkers face situational and psychosocial stressors that also impact their health.

Methods: We conducted open-ended interviews with 16 farmworkers in Southcentral Idaho during June-August 2023 as part of a digital storytelling project in partnership with the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils (IORC). Interviews assessed participants’ experiences with climate change, perceived impacts on their health, and strategies and barriers to protecting themselves. Bilingual (English/Spanish) study staff translated and transcribed all video recordings verbatim, …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Predator–Prey Interactions In A Warming World: Using Species Distribution Modeling To Forecast Ectotherm–Endotherm Niche Overlap, Jessica L. Hill, Matthew Grisnik, Ryan J. Hanscom, Jeet Sukumaran, Timothy E. Higham, Rulon W. Clark

Biology

Climate change has the potential to disrupt species interactions across global ecosystems. Ectotherm–endotherm interactions may be especially prone to this risk due to the possible mismatch between the species in physiological response and performance. However, few studies have examined how changing temperatures might differentially impact species' niches or available suitable habitat when they have very different modes of thermoregulation. An ideal system for studying this interaction is the predator–prey system. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling to characterize the niche overlap and examine biogeography in past and future climate conditions of prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) and Ord's kangaroo …

Sabin Center For Climate Change Law Annual Report 2023, Sabin Center For Climate Change Law

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This year the Sabin Center for Climate Change introduces its first annual report, which highlights and synthesizes our cutting-edge research and innovative engagements in 2023.

A 2,000-Year Record Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) Colonization Shows Substantial Gains In Blue Carbon Storage And Nutrient Retention, Martin Dahl, Martin Gullström, Irene Bernabeu, Oscar Serrano, Carmen Leiva-Dueñas, Hans W. Linderholm, Maria E. Asplund, Mats Björk, Tinghai Ou, J. Robin Svensson, Elinor Andrén, Thomas Andrén, Sanne Bergman, Sara Braun, Anneli Eklöf, Zilvinas Ežerinskis, Andrius Garbaras, Petter Hällberg, Elin Löfgren, Malin E. Kylander, Pere Masqué, Justina Šapolaitė, Rienk Smittenberg, Miguel A. Mateo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Assessing historical environmental conditions linked to habitat colonization is important for understanding long-term resilience and improving conservation and restoration efforts. Such information is lacking for the seagrass Zostera marina, an important foundation species across cold-temperate coastal areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we reconstructed environmental conditions during the last 14,000 years from sediment cores in two eelgrass (Z. marina) meadows along the Swedish west coast, with the main aims to identify the time frame of seagrass colonization and describe subsequent biogeochemical changes following establishment. Based on vegetation proxies (lipid biomarkers), eelgrass colonization occurred about 2,000 years ago after geomorphological changes …

First Egg Dates Of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor) Nesting In Boxes In West Michigan Advanced With Increasing Spring Temperatures Between 1993 And 2018, Michael P. Lombardo, Nathaniel Wagner, Jared M. Laughlin, Sango Otieno, Levi Rosendall, Clara Voetberg, Alejandro Hoban

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Many bird species have advanced their first egg dates in response to recent milder winters and increases in spring temperatures. Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) begin egg laying earlier in warmer springs at most, but not all, study sites. We examined whether Tree Swallows that nested in boxes in west Michigan responded to an increase in spring temperatures from 1993 to 2018 by advancing their first egg dates. May, but not April, mean daily temperatures got significantly warmer from 1993 to 2018. We found that the first egg dates, but not mean first egg dates, of both second year …

Bellwethers Of Change: Population Modelling Of North Pacific Humpback Whales From 2002 Through 2021 Reveals Shift From Recovery To Climate Response, Ted Cheeseman, Jay Barlow, Jo Marie Acebes, Katherina Audley, Lars Bejder, Catlin Birdsall, O. S. Bracamontes, Amanda L. Bradford, Josie Byington, John Calambokidis, Rachel Cartwright, Jen Cedarleaf, A. J. Garcia Chavez, Jens Currie, R. C. De Castro, Joelle De Weerdt, Nicole Doe, Thomas Doniol-Valcroze, Karina Dracott, Olga Filatova, Rachel Finn, Kiirsten R. Flynn, John Ford, Astrid Frisch-Jordan, Chris Garbriele, Beth Goodwin, Craig Hayslip, Jackie Hildering, Marie C. Hill, Jeff K. Jacobsen

Faculty, Staff, and Students

For the 40 years after the end of commercial whaling in 1976, humpback whale populations in the North Pacific Ocean exhibited a prolonged period of recovery. Using mark–recapture methods on the largest individual photo-identification dataset ever assembled for a cetacean, we estimated annual ocean-basin-wide abundance for the species from 2002 through 2021. Trends in annual estimates describe strong post-whaling era population recovery from 16 875 (± 5955) in 2002 to a peak abundance estimate of 33 488 (± 4455) in 2012. An apparent 20% decline from 2012 to 2021, 33 488 (± 4455) to 26 662 (± 4192), suggests the …

Breeding Cool-Season Forage Grasses For A Warming Climate, D. P. Malinowski, J. Ford, A. Stewart, D. Woodfield, W. E. Pinchak

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In many parts of the world, changing climatic conditions are resulting in increased temperatures and more variable precipitation, intensifying the duration and severity of drought, especially in summer. Warming climate is considered one reason for the increasing failure of traditional, summer-active cool-season perennial grasses at the margin of their zone of adaptation in naturally C4 grass-dominated ecosystems of the Southern Great Plains of the USA. Two cool-season perennial forage grasses orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) are of major economic and ecological importance in these regions. In 2008, we initiated a breeding program …

Predicting Lemna Growth Based On Climate Change And Eutrophication In Temperate Freshwater Drainage Ditches, Jared Feller, Mark Taylor, Paul Henry Lunt

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

The Somerset Levels and Moors, UK is an area of high conservation value, including nationally and internationally protected wetland sites. Duckweed (Lemna) mats in the Somerset Levels and Moors are increasingly common and are an indication of hyper-eutrophication. Duckweed mats can contribute to increased management burdens and decreases in biodiversity. Research suggests duckweed will thrive in temperate regions as the climate warms. This study investigated the impact of climate warming and eutrophication on duckweed growth in the Somerset Levels and Moors using a previously published model to simulate duckweed growth from the years of 2020–2080. Simulated local climate change projections …

Exploring Profitable, Sustainable Livestock Businesses In An Increasingly Variable Climate, B. R. Cullen, M. T. Harrison, D. Mayberry, D. Cobon, N. Reichelt, A. Sinnet, Km Christie, F. Bilotto, D-A An-Vo, C. Stokes, L. Perry, T. Davison

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock production systems will need to change in many regions of the world to meet the dual challenges of adaptation to a changing climate and reducing net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The ‘Nexus project’ is exploring these options using seven case studies in eastern Australia spanning a range of production systems from semi-arid beef production in northern Australia to mixed beef and sheep production in cool temperate climates of southern Australia. Regional reference groups, made up of 4-6 local farmers and advisers, identified a series of farm systems changes that could be made to meet these challenges. Options were categorised …

Public Policies For The Development Of A Sustainable, Forage-Based Cattle Sector In Colombia, Argentina, And Costa Rica: A Comparative Analysis, S. Burkart, M. Diaz, Moreno Lerma

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Projected increases in global food demand highlight the importance of Latin America as one of the major future food suppliers, particularly regarding animal-source foods such as beef or milk. Despite the importance of the cattle sector for the region, its negative environmental impacts are numerous and the shift towards sustainability is perceived as slow and uncoordinated. This study aims to identify achievements and difficulties in the implementation of public policies for a sustainable cattle sector in Colombia, Argentina, and Costa Rica, for which policies focused on the use of silvo-pastoral systems and forage-based solutions are prioritized. Based on the review …

Fencing Lands To Enhanced Climate Change Resilience, Promoting Biodiversity Regeneration And Improved Livelihoods Of Climate Change In Makueni County, Frank Wesonga, Francis Keya

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Kenya is a food insecure country, weather patterns are drastically changing and people are losing livelihoods and earnings when their lands dry, water for domestic supply lacks and livestock die further frustrating livelihoods of the poor. This paper briefly discusses Fencing of lands as prerequisite to biodiversity protection and faster water retention mechanism, through tree planting, enhancing CO2 sequestration as trees, shrubs and vegetation’s find suitable environment to grow. Baringo and Makueni County are characterized by unsustainable agriculture, environmental degradation resulting from soil erosion, high poverty levels and food insecurity due to unpredictable dry spells and climate change. The present …

Design And Management Of Saltbush-Based Forage Systems To Improve Productivity And Reproductive Performance Of Sheep, H. C. Norman, M. G. Wilmot, D. G. Masters, D. Blache, S. K. Maloney, S. N. Hancock

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is evidence that effective shelter can significantly improve lamb survival, but the majority of Australian studies have occurred in small paddocks where the ewes had no choice but to use shelter. In mixed farming systems with large open paddocks, it is unclear if ewes will choose to use shelter for lambing. Our multidisciplinary collaboration examines the use of woody shrubs as an opportunity to improve the survival of twin lambs. In a series of large experiments on commercial farms, we will evaluate the impact of different shrub planting configurations, orientations, and densities on microclimates at the sub-paddock scale. Twin-bearing …

Environmental Co-Benefits Of Improved Forages In Smallholder Dairy Systems Of Kenya, A. Notenbaert, S. Mwendia, S. Burkart, P. Karimi, E. Mwema

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock play a major role across Kenya, especially in smallholder mixed farms through provision of household nutrition and income through milk and meat. Equally, fertilization of cropland benefits from livestock manure, and livestock often act as insurance and saving. Despite the opportunities and benefits livestock production presents, livestock systems are also key drivers of environmental degradation, including increased nutrient loads, GHG emissions, water use, grassland degradation and land-use conversion. Low livestock productivity, largely due to use of low-quality crop residues and natural grasses often not endowed with nutrients key for animal performance, limits the potential positive contributions of livestock and …

Robust Assessment Of Associations Between Weather And Eastern Wild Turkey Nest Success, Wesley W. Boone, Christopher E. Moorman, David J. Moscicki, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain, Adam J. Terando, Krishna Pacifici

Faculty Publications

Temperature and precipitation have been identified as factors that potentially influence eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) reproduction, but robust analyses testing the relationship between weather parameters and turkey nest success are lacking. Therefore, we assessed how weather influenced turkey daily nest survival using 8 years of data collected from 715 nests across the southeastern United States. We also conducted exploratory analyses investigating if weather conditions during or prior to nesting best predicted nest success. We then assessed the possible implications of climate change through 2041–2060 for future eastern wild turkey daily nest survival and nest success for variables determined …

Divergent Responses Of Highly Migratory Species To Climate Change In The California Current, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa, Stephanie Brodie, Heather Welch, Michael G. Jacox, Mercedes Pozo Buil, Jerome Fiechter, Megan Cimino, Barbara Muhling, Heidi Dewar, Elizabeth A. Becker, Karin A. Forney, Daniel Costa, Scott R. Benson, Nima Farchadi, Camrin Braun, Rebecca Lewison, Steven Bograd, Elliott L. Hazen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Aim: Marine biodiversity faces unprecedented threats from anthropogenic climate change. Ecosystem responses to climate change have exhibited substantial variability in the direction and magnitude of redistribution, posing challenges for developing effective climate-adaptive marine management strategies. Location: The California Current Ecosystem (CCE), USA. Methods: We project suitable habitat for 10 highly migratory species in the California Current System using an ensemble of three high-resolution (~10 km) downscaled ocean projections under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5). Spanning the period from 1980 to 2100, our analysis focuses on assessing the direction and distance of distributional shifts, as well as changes in core …

Full Issue, Volume 3

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

Full issue for volume 3

Breeding Forage Grasses For Increased Heat Tolerance To Combat Climate Change, Eric D. Billman, J. S. Morrison, B. S. Baldwin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The onset of climate change brings many challenges for forage production in the southeastern United States, where it is projected to become hotter and dryer in the next century. To combat this climatic challenge, recurrent phenotypic selection was conducted in growth chambers on annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) to select seedlings that can germinate and survive at temperatures of 40°C. Following three cycles of selection, germination was increased from < 5% to 45% in annual ryegrass, and from 20% to 80% in orchardgrass. The rate of germination also increased, in both species by a factor of 8x that of the base germplasm. Realized heritability also increased by 40 – 45% for each species by the end of the project. This work successfully improved a quantitative trait using recurrent phenotypic selection using growth chambers as a stable environment and provided the basis for combatting climate change in other outcrossing forage species.

Extreme Drought Impacts Have Been Underestimated In Grasslands And Shrublands Globally, Melinda D. Smith, Kate D. Wilkins, Martin C. Holdrege, Peter Wilfahrt, Scott L. Collins, Alan K. Knapp, Osvaldo E. Sala, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Richard P. Phillips, Laura Yahdjian, Laureano A. Gherardi, Timothy Ohlert, Claus Beier, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Anke Jentsch, Michael E. Loik, Fernando T. Maestre, Sally A. Power, Qiang Yu, Andrew J. Felton, Seth M. Munson, Yiqi Luo, Hamed Abdoli, Mehdi Abedi, Concepción L. Alados, Juan Alberti, Moshe Alon, Hui An, Brian Anacker, Maggie Anderson, Harald Auge, Seton Bachle, Khadijeh Bahalkeh, Michael Bahn, Amgaa Batbaatar, Taryn Bauerle, Karen H. Beard, Et. Al.

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of short-term (~1 y) drought events—the most common duration of drought—globally. Yet the impact of this intensification of drought on ecosystem functioning remains poorly resolved. This is due in part to the widely disparate approaches ecologists have employed to study drought, variation in the severity and duration of drought studied, and differences among ecosystems in vegetation, edaphic and climatic attributes that can mediate drought impacts. To overcome these problems and better identify the factors that modulate drought responses, we used a coordinated distributed experiment to quantify the impact of short-term drought on …