Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Mitigating The Effects Of Climate Change With Wind Energy And Gis, Rachael Isphording, Richard Snow, Mary Snow

Publications

The climate is changing, and humans are heavily exacerbating these changes. As the effects of climate change are being felt across the planet, scientists and policy makers are uniting to increase mitigation efforts and are researching renewable, clean energy sources to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere during energy production. Of the different renewable energy technologies, wind energy is one of the most researched and implemented. Over the past twenty years, researchers have been applying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to their climate change studies. GIS allows the user to spatially view, manipulate, and analyze data …

Long Term Ground Based Precipitation Data Analysis: Spatial And Temporal Variability, Luciano Rodriguez, Cyril S. Rakovski, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed Allali

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

California is an area of diverse topography and has what many scientists call a Mediterranean climate. Various precipitation patterns exist due to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) which can cause abnormal precipitation or droughts. As temperature increases mainly due to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, it is rapidly changing the climate of not only California but the world. An increase in temperature is leading to droughts in certain areas as other areas are experiencing heavy rainfall/flooding. Droughts in return are providing a foundation for fires harming the ecosystem and nearby population. Various natural hazards can be induced due …

Odu Hosts White House-Sponsored Event On Sea Level Rise Preparedness, Mitigation, Public Affairs & News Bureau, Old Dominion University

News Items

No abstract provided.

Hampton Roads Sea Level Rise Preparedness And Resilience Intergovernmental Planning Pilot Project, Ray Toll, David Architzel

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

No abstract provided.

Virginia Accomplishments Since The 2008 Climate Action Plan Release, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Virginia has undertaken a variety of actions to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gasses and adapt to climate related changes to our weather, wildlife, and sea level. However, these changes have not been undertaken in a coordinated fashion, nor have they been in clear response to the recommendations of any entity that has approached the problem of climate change as a whole. Greenhouse gas mitigation has taken place in the form of a few policies to capture landfill gas, encourage limited energy efficiency, encourage growth of some renewable energy, and reduce vehicle miles traveled. Additionally, good progress has been made …

The Threat In Hampton Roads, Ray Toll, David W. Titley

News Items

No abstract provided.

Planning For Adaptation To Climate Change: Lessons From The Us National Wildlife Refuge System, Robert L. Fischman, Vicky J. Meretsky, Alexei Babko, Michael Kennedy, Lei Liu, Michelle Robinson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

US national wildlife refuges have recent, detailed management plans illustrating the state of planning for climate-change adaptation in protected areas. Discussion of and prescriptions for addressing climate change increased in refuge plans between 2005 and 2010 but decreased in 2011. The plans respond to some climate-change impacts on biodiversity and call for monitoring but with little clarity regarding how to act on monitoring results and scant attention to future changes in phenology and community composition. The threats posed by sea-level rise generated the best-developed plan prescriptions. Examples of excellent prescriptions provide models for future planning. Some decision-support tools, such as …

Warming Reduces Tall Fescue Abundance But Stimulates Toxic Alkaloid Concentrations In Transition Zone Pastures Of The U.S., Rebecca L. Mcculley, Lowell P. Bush, Anna E. Carlisle, Huihua Ji, Jim A. Nelson

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Tall fescue pastures cover extensive acreage in the eastern half of the United States and contribute to important ecosystem services, including the provisioning of forage for grazing livestock. Yet little is known concerning how these pastures will respond to climate change. Tall fescue's ability to persist and provide forage under a warmer and wetter environment, as is predicted for much of this region as a result of climate change, will likely depend on a symbiotic relationship the plant can form with the fungal endophyte, Epichloë coenophiala. While this symbiosis can confer environmental stress tolerance to the plant, the endophyte …

Climate Change And The Next Generation, Jugal Patel

News Items

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Research: Globec Panregional Synthesis: Pacific Ocean Boundary Ecosystems: Response To Natural And Anthropogenic Climate Forcing, Andrew C. Thomas

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This is a Collaborative project POBEX (www.POBEX.org) under the the overall direction of M. DiLorenzo, GaTech. A separate FINAL report was submitted by DiLorenzo for the overall project in 2013. Using US and international observational datasets combined with physical and biological models, this project investigates the mechanisms of climate-related variability in three Pacific boundary ecosystems: Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and California Current System (CCS) referred to as the Northeast Pacific (NEP), the Humboldt or Peru-Chile Current System (PCCS), and the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension (KOE) region. The research goals of this project can be summarized as follows:

(1) Assess to what extent, …

Warming, Competition, And Bromus Tectorum Population Growth Across An Elevation Gradient, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in North America and climate change threatens to exacerbate its impacts. We conducted a two‐year field experiment to test the effect of warming, competition, and seed source on cheatgrass performance across an elevation gradient in northern Utah. We hypothesized that warming would increase cheatgrass performance, but that warming effects would be limited by competing vegetation and by local adaptation of cheatgrass seed sources. The warming treatment relied on open top chambers, we removed vegetation to assess the effect of competition from neighboring vegetation, and we reciprocally …

Fearless: Gettysburg's Environmental Concerns Organization (Geco), Chrisitina L. Bassler

SURGE

Gettysburg’s Environmental Concerns Organization (GECO) fearlessly advocates for environmental change, promotes awareness and encourages better sustainability practices on our campus, and the world around us.

Last weekend, 19 students from Gettysburg joined the People’s Climate March in New York City. With over 400,000 people – four times the number expected – this was the largest march for environment change in history. Junior Jolina Kenney was instrumental in planning the trip. As an Environmental Science major, She became involved with GECO “as an extension of her interest in the environment.” With the help of professor Lane, Jolina and the GECO team …

Mcauliffe Launches Climate Change Commission, Bill Sizemore

News Items

No abstract provided.

Aboriginal Maple Syrup Values Summary, Annette Chrétien, Brenda Murphy, Charles Restoule, Melanie Smits

Contemporary Studies

This report examines the values associated with maple syrup practices in Aboriginal contexts. It is based on fifteen interviews conducted with Aboriginal people who have knowledge of maple syrup practices in Ontario. The interviewees included both First Nations and Metis people.

Aboriginal Maple Syrup Values Report, Annette Chrétien

Contemporary Studies

This report examines the values associated with maple syrup practices in Aboriginal contexts. It is based on fifteen interviews conducted with Aboriginal people who have knowledge of maple syrup practices in Ontario. The interviewees included both First Nations and Metis people.

Wind Energy Projection For The Philippines Based On Climate Change Modeling, Angeli Silang, Sherdon Niño Uy, Julie Mae Dado, Faye Abigail T. Cruz, Gemma T. Narisma, Nathaniel Joseph C. Libatique, Gregory Tangonan

Physics Faculty Publications

To complement the existing method of wind energy assessment, this study presents wind energy projection by downscaling a regional climate model, RegCM3, which is also used in predicting rainfall and temperature changes, and using a conversion method using the Weibull distribution. A couple of papers which used long-term predicting models focused on two regions, China and the US High Plains, show a decrease of about 14% and 7%-17% respectively in wind power density due to global warming over the next century. This paper focuses on a smaller grid size of 10 km x 10 km to concentrate on a specific …

Optimized Method For Black Carbon Analysis In Ice And Snow Using The Single Particle Soot Photometer, I. A. Wendl, James A. Menking, R. Färber, M. Gysel, Susan D. Kaspari, M. J. G. Laborde, M. Schwikowski

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

In this study we attempt to optimize the method for measuring black carbon (BC) in snow and ice using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). Beside the previously applied ultrasonic (CETAC) and Collison-type nebulizers we introduce a jet (Apex Q) nebulizer to aerosolize the aqueous sample for SP2 analysis. Both CETAC and Apex Q require small sample volumes (a few milliliters) which makes them suitable for ice core analysis. The Apex Q shows the least size-dependent nebulizing efficiency in the BC particle diameter range of 100–1000 nm. The CETAC has the advantage that air and liquid flows can be monitored …

Enhanced Acidification Of Global Coral Reefs Driven By Regional Biogeochemical Feedbacks, Tyler Cyronak, Kai G. Schulz, Isaac R. Santos, Bradley D. Eyre

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Physical uptake of anthropogenic CO₂ is the dominant driver of ocean acidification (OA) in the open ocean. Due to expected decreases in calcification and increased dissolution of CaCO₃ framework, coral reefs are thought to be highly susceptible to OA. However, biogeochemical processes can influence the pCO₂ and pH of coastal ecosystems on diel and seasonal time scales, potentially modifying the long‐term effects of increasing atmospheric CO₂. By compiling data from the literature and removing the effects of short‐term variability, we show that the average pCO₂ of coral reefs throughout the globe has increased ~3.5‐fold …

Seasonal And Elevational Variations Of Black Carbon And Dust In Snow And Ice In The Solu-Khumbu, Nepal And Estimated Radiative Forcings, Susan Kaspari, T. H. Painter, M. Gysel, S. M. Skiles, M. Schwikowski

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Black carbon (BC) and dust deposited on snow and glacier surfaces can reduce the surface albedo, accelerate snow and ice melt, and trigger albedo feedback. Assessing BC and dust concentrations in snow and ice in the Himalaya is of interest because this region borders large BC and dust sources, and seasonal snow and glacier ice in this region are an important source of water resources. Snow and ice samples were collected from crevasse profiles and snow pits at elevations between 5400 and 6400 m a.s.l. from Mera glacier located in the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal during spring and fall 2009, …

Rainfall Variability Analysis In The Nira River Basin Using Multi-Model Gcm Ensemble, Asmita Ramkrishna Murumkar, Dhyan Singh Arya

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Observed daily rainfall data during baseline period i.e. 1961-1990 of four raingauge stations namely Akluj, Baramati, Bhor and Malsiras located in the Nira River basin in Central India were analyzed to study the impact of climate change on rainfall. LARS-WG incorporating 15 GCM’s from the CMIP3 predictions for A1B, A2 and B1 emission scenarios was used to statistically downscale the daily rainfall data during three time spans centred at 2020’s, 2055’s and 2090’s. Uncertainty in GCMs rainfall predictions was analyzed on monthly, seasonal and annual scales. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Student’s t-test, and Fisher test have shown average to good performance during …

The Effect Of Flood Reduction And Water Conservation Of Decentralized Rainwater Management System, Dong Geun Kwak, Moo Young Han

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Climate change and increase of surface runoff by urbanization caused the urban flooding. Therefore, a sustainable new paradigm is required to recover sound water circulation and overcome the limitations of the existing water management system vulnerable to flooding. Recently Rainwater management is widely known and its legal obligation is strengthened to improve the control capacity for flooding reduction and water conservation in urban areas. Multipurpose DRMS(Decentralized Rainwater Management System) is a new paradigm proposed and recommended by NEMA(National Emergency Management Agency) for both flood control and water conservation. In this study, a flood prone area in Suwon of South Korea …

A Spatial-Temporal Downscaling Approach To Construction Of Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency Relations In The Context Of Climate Change, Van-Thanh-Van Nguyen, Myeong-Ho Yeo

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

This paper proposes a spatial-temporal downscaling approach to construction of the intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relations at a local site in the context of climate change and variability. More specifically, the proposed approach is based on a combination of a spatial downscaling method to link large-scale climate variables given by General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations with daily extreme precipitations at a site and a temporal downscaling procedure to describe the relationships between daily and sub-daily extreme precipitations based on the scaling General Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The feasibility and accuracy of the suggested method were assessed using rainfall data available at eight …

The Application Of A Dynamic Openmi Coupling Between A Regional Climate Model And A Distributed Surface Water-Groundwater Model, Michael Brian Butts, Martin Drews, Morten Andreas Dahl Larsen, Sara Lerer, Søren Højmark Rasmussen, Jesper Grooss, Jesper Overgaard, Jens Christian Refsgaard

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The understanding of interactions between the atmosphere, the land surface and the subsurface hydrology plays a key role in ensuring sustainable development of water resources and terrestrial ecosystems. The evaluation of climate adaptation measures requires the ability to reliably simulate the impact of different anthropogenic effects such as changes in land use, interventions such as reservoirs for flood control and irrigation, conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater under projections of future climatic conditions and variability. The interaction between climate and groundwater are often neglected in climate models and climate assessment and few studies have investigated how groundwater systems will …

Economical And Systematical Evaluation On Rainfall Harvesting System (Case Study : Rainfall Harvesting System Designed In Taebaek City, Republic Of Korea), Seungkwon Jung, Changdeok Jang, Jiwon Jung, Hosun Lee, Yonghyeon Gwon

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Recently, climate change has caused drought to become more frequent and is becoming one of the serious natural disasters, resulting damages in infrastructure facilities, economy and private property losses etc. Taebaek city of Gangwon-do lies in the northeast Korean Peninsula along the steep mountain slopes, all the way to the sea. Thu, this city exhibit the Marine Climatic Characteristics. During the past 10 years, the average rainfall of Taebaek city is 849.9mm/year, which is less than the average rainfall for the whole country (1,274mm/year). This research is still ongoing. The next assessment will be on the construction cost of rainfall …

Hydrological Impacts Of Climate Change – Challenges, Uncertainty And Limitations, Shreedhar Maskey, Yurong Hu, Anshul Agarwal, Dinesh Bhatt

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

How climate change impacts water resources in the future is an important question that all hydrologists want to have an answer. Climate prediction scenarios are available from many Global Circulation Models for the 21st century. These prediction datasets are typically used as input to a hydrological model for simulating impacts on hydrology, particularly river runoff, evaporation, and storage changes. Because hydrological models are usually run on a much smaller resolutions than climate models, the climate prediction datasets are usually downscaled to represent local climate for using in a hydrological model. The uncertainty in the GCMs, downscaling and hydrological models makes …

Investigating The Sources Of Fresh Water Affecting The Hydrological Balance Of Lakes Enriquillo And Azuei (Hispaniola) – Data Analysis, Daniel Comarazamy, Jorge Gonzalez, Fred Moshary, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, John Ibsen

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

The Enriquillo and Azuei are saltwater lakes located in a closed water basin in the southwestern region of the island of La Hispaniola, these have been experiencing dramatic changes in total lake-surface area coverage during the period 1980-2012. The size of Lake Enriquillo presented a surface area of approximately 276 km2 in 1984, gradually decreasing to 172 km2 in 1996. The surface area of the lake reached its lowest point in the satellite observation record in 2004, at 165 km2. Then the recent growth of the lake began reaching its 1984 size by 2006. Based on surface area measurement for …

Development Of Climate Change Information Database And Its Use In Civic Consciousness Enlightenment, Motohiro Honma, Yuri Michihiro, Yasushi Suzuki, Yoshinobu Sato

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

GCM outputs such as CMIP3 are available via network access to PCMDI web site. Meteorological researchers are familiar with the usage of the GCM data, but the most of researchers other than meteorology such as agriculture, civil engineering, etc., and general people are not familiar with the GCM. There are some difficulties to use GCM; 1) to download the enormous quantity of data, 2) to understand the GCM methodology, parameters and grids. In order to provide a quick access way to GCM, Climate Change Information Database has been developed. The purpose of the database is to bridge the users and …

Evaluation Of Decision Making Methods For Integrated Water Resource Management Under Uncertainty, Thomas Peter Roach, Zoran Kapelan, Michelle Ledbetter, Ben Gouldby, Steven Wade, Ralph Ledbetter

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Water companies and utilities in the UK are required to produce Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs) every five years that outline their future strategies for maintaining a secure water supply to meet anticipated demand levels. Regulatory frameworks differ around the world but in most countries similar plans are developed under the auspices of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) programmes. The plans justify new demand management and water supply infrastructure needed and validate management decisions. One of the greatest problems now facing decision makers in the water industry are the increasing uncertainties in the variables used in estimating the supply and …

Predicting The Impact Of Climate Change On Pipe Failure In Drinking Water Distribution Systems., Bas Wols, Peter Van Thienen

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Underground water infrastructure is designed to withstand a variability of forces during its lifetime before failure occurs. As a result of variations in loads on and deterioration of the pipe, early failures may occur. Climate change may accelerate or decelerate these processes. A statistical analysis is therefore performed to study correlations between weather parameters and pipe failure rates in the drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) of the Netherlands. The strongest correlations were found between pipe failure rates and temperature. Failure rates in asbestos cement (AC) and small diameter steel pipes increase during warm periods, which often also show higher water …

Evaluating Climate Change Scenarios For Regional Hydrological Management In Mountainous Semi-Arid Environments, Agustín Millares, Javier Herrero, Cristina Aguilar, María José Polo

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Snow processes play a relevant role in semi-arid mountainous basins where snowmelt dynamics conditions the availability of water resources. In such environments, many rivers flow during the dry season due to the water storage in the snow cover while heavy rainfall events sporadically trigger severe flood events. These particularities confer to these areas special interest due to their high sensitivity in the hydrological response against changes in the meteorological conditions. This issue could be critical in many regions of the world linked to semi-arid mountain areas (e.g., the Atlas Mountains, Andean Cordillera,…) and presents a real challenge for future modifications …