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Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 2 - March 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

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Sensitivity Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet To +2 °C (Swais 2c), Molly O. Patterson, Richard H. Levy, Denise K. Kulhanek, Tina Van De Flierdt, Huw Horgan, Gavin B. Dunbar, Timothy R. Naish, Jeanine Ash, Alex Pyne, Darcy Mandeno, J. Paul Winberry

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) presently holds enough ice to raise global sea level by 4.3 m if completely melted. The unknown response of the WAIS to future warming remains a significant challenge for numerical models in quantifying predictions of future sea level rise. Sea level rise is one of the clearest planet-wide signals of human-induced climate change. The Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to a Warming of 2 ^∘C (SWAIS 2C) Project aims to understand past and current drivers and thresholds of WAIS dynamics to improve projections of the rate and size of ice sheet …

Connections Between Atmospheric Blocking, General Circulation, And Weather Extremes In A Hierarchy Of Models And Various Climates, Veeshan Narinesingh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The field of geophysical fluid dynamics (GFD) includes the study of both the motion and thermodynamic aspects of the atmosphere. These properties are of particular importance because they directly influence both local and large-scale weather and climate and are associated with various phenomena. One phenomena that is particularly influential is atmospheric blocking. Atmospheric blocks are persistent, quasi-stationary anticyclones (a.k.a. high-pressure systems) that occur in the atmosphere and disrupt the flow. Blocks are known to induce heat extremes and cold spells, as well as steer storms and cause numerous types of hazards. Yet despite the hazards associated with blocks, our current …

The Effects Of Climate Change On The Vertical Structure Of Severe Weather Environments, Isaac Davis

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Climate Change In Vulnerable Communities In Sindh, Pakistan: Voices From The Community, Kiren Khan, Mumraiz Khan, Tahira Parveen, Sabahat Hussain

Climate and Environmental Changes

Pakistan ranks among the ten countries worst affected by climate change in the world, and within the country the province of Sindh is one of the hardest-hit regions. Changing trends in temperature and precipitation have increased the frequency and severity of hazards such as flooding, droughts, and heatwaves, among a host of other environmental stresses. The present qualitative study was conducted to scope out the specific ways in which the impacts of climate change are gendered among rural communities in Sindh that have the highest exposure to hazards arising from climate change. The study probed the perceptions and experiences of …

Carbon And Nitrogen Dynamics Of A Lagoon Salt Marsh In Davenport, California, Mark D. Gormley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Wetlands are complex environments that play a critical role in regulating the global biogeochemical cycle of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Wetlands are critical contributors to global climate change and atmospheric chemistry since they store as much as 33% of the world’s soil organic carbon (SOC), release more than 20% of the atmospheric methane (CH₄), and produce nitrous oxide (N₂O), an extremely potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Despite the enormous radiative forcing potential of carbon dioxide (CO₂), CH₄ and N₂O derived from wetlands, uncertainties over the rates of C sequestration and GHG …

Climate Change Preparedness In The Insurance Sector, Daniel Fischler

Honors Scholar Theses

Climate change is the inevitable consequence of human activity since the industrial revolution began centuries ago. Assuming humanity survives and adapts to this scenario, there will be significant impacts on the economy and business. Under these circumstances, the insurance sector in particular will face challenges as the frequency and severity of losses increase due to climate change related events. This paper aims to analyze various options for allowing insurance to maintain viability in this changing environment. The general issue for the future is premiums must be commensurate with climate change related risk in affected areas. As a result, certain coastal …

Climate Change Frames And Emotional Responses On Reddit, Isabel Iruani Villanueva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change remains a highly polarized topic in the United States. Research suggests that the divide in climate change beliefs is partly a result of news media’s representation of select aspects of the problem, or framing. Frames influence individuals’ attitudes, emotions, and behaviors towards climate change. Overwhelming representation of certain climate change frames has led to a lack of emotional connection to the issue, resulting in inaction or dismissal. Climate change researchers have investigated the presence and effects of frames on both news media and select social media sites, particularly Twitter. However, little research has investigated the climate change conversation …

Estimated 2020 Co2 Emission Reductions In Virginia’S Transportation Sector From Covid-19, Eden E. Rakes, Pamela R. Grothe, Jeremy S. Hoffman

Virginia Journal of Science

The initial lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic presented an unfortunate opportunity to observe how abrupt, large-scale changes in traffic volume can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study explores how carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from Virginia’s transportation sector may have been affected by the changes in activity stemming from COVID-19 to inform more carbon-neutral policies as the state recovers from the economic downfall. Emission savings were calculated by multiplying the percent change from 2019 to 2020 in traffic volume from the Virginia Department of Transportation with the business-as-usual 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate of CO₂ emissions …

Changes In The Philippine Coastal Environment, Karl H. Szekielda, Ma. Aileen Leah G. Guzman

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Global warming is progressing at a faster speed than has been estimated earlier in climate forecasting, and the ocean responds rather quickly to global temperature increase. This study uses remotely sensed data that were accessed from the System for Multidisciplinary Research and Applications (NASA Giovanni) to study environmental change in the Philippines’ coast. Monthly averaged sea surface temperature series from around the Philippines indicate that the Philippines follow the global trend in ocean temperature increase and show the increase of about 0.50C within two decades. Despite the high variability in temperature, the linear regressions displayed for all seasons show an …

Strategies For Reducing Greenhouse Gases From Liquid Dairy Manure, Vera Sokolov

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Livestock production, including the storage, handling, and spreading of manure, are among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. Liquid dairy manure storages are hot spots of methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and ammonia (NH₃). Both CH₄ and N₂O are greenhouse gases (GHG) which contribute to global warming, while NH₃ is an indirect source of N₂O and a risk to human health. Reducing emissions from manure storages is important not only for protection of environment and humans, but also for conserving the nutrients in …

Developing A Tourism Opportunity Index Regarding The Prospective Of Overtourism In Nepal, Susan Phuyal

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This research explores Nepal's overtourism scenario based on the capacity of a locality to manage sustainable tourism practices. Environmental degradation, local infrastructure degradation, negative tourist experience and local resident responses regarding visitors are the four main variables used in this study to analyze overtourism. In order to analyze the case study of overtourism, we select the three top touristic cities of Nepal, Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Chitwan based on the number of annual visitors. Nepal's case analysis of overtourism conditions reviews the overall threat of over-tourism and establishes a metric by which tourism can be viewed as potentially detrimental to sustainability. …

Listening To Greater Boston's Climate Change Concerns, Anna I. Valdez

Graduate Masters Theses

As climate change threatens our communities, it reminds us of the importance of preparing for the future. Cities and towns are trying to understand how climate change will place their citizens at risk. To create resiliency measures and adaptation plans, they will need climate related parameter information. The Greater Boston Research Advisory Group (GBRAG) knew it was necessary to listen to the needs of stakeholders in Greater Boston about the climate parameter information they need to prepare resilient communities. To accomplish this goal, GBRAG held community workshops, collected a survey, and reviewed their Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness reports. These three methods …

Gen Z Perspectives On Climate Change And The Future: Having The Courage To Imagine And Fight For A Better World, Isabelle Graj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I conducted 6 interviews with Gen Z students to investigate how they think climate change will impact their future and how they frame the issue in general. I communicate my findings and analysis with visual context through a zine, which is a form of alternative media created in the 1930s. Today, zines provide a creative approach to exchange ideas and explain contemporary culture (Gisonny and Freedman, 2006, 26). My zine is not meant to be utterly educational but rather it is meant to convey the emotion, confusion, and chaos associated with my findings. The interviews collectively created an image of …

Bee Abundance Along A Tropical Montane Elevational Gradient And Implications For Crop Pollination Services, Kristin M. Conrad

Online Theses and Dissertations

Tropical forests are among the biologically richest ecosystems on Earth, but how most organisms in these forests will respond to a warming climate remains uncertain. Insects are expected to be highly responsive to climate change due to their short life cycles that are strongly influenced by temperature. Plants depend on pollinators to set seed and reproduce, and many animal populations rely on the resources provided by flowering plants. There is an urgent need to document elevational distributions and thermal specialization for tropical bee species to understand how these important pollinators may respond to warming temperatures. My four-year study (2016-2019) aims …

Arising: Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy’S Impact On Design/Planning Professionals, Maxinne R. Leighton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Standing by my bedroom window, looking out at the ocean, a huge wave comes and swallows up my building. Everything around me is gone, including me. I wake up. I am 13 years old and living in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. With ongoing anthropogenic changes to the natural environment such as sea level rise and intensifying storms, coastal communities, especially ones segregated by class and culture, are particularly vulnerable in this context that challenges a way of life, and in some instances, threatens that life's survival. This dissertation focuses specifically on what one massive …

How Airport Construction Will Evolve With The Increased Effects Of Climate Change, Xavier M. Ashley

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

This report addressed the effects rising global temperatures resulting from climate change have had on flight operations in their entirety. The research objective was to discover what methods could enhance climate adaptation in airport construction, as higher mean-surface temperatures have an increasingly negative effect on aircraft performance. The findings would primarily be of interest to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Primary Office presiding over the planning and development of airports. Overall, the report provided a comprehensive analysis of global warming’s effects on aviation, including the implications of degraded aircraft performance and sea-level rise for coastal airports. Additionally, it examined comparative …

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience For Women Farmers In Kalchebeshi, Nepal, Annika Ruben

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study outlines women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture and key climate adaptation strategies which are being implemented in the town of Kalchebeshi, Nepal. Kalchebeshi is considered a Resilient Mountain Village because of the town’s integrated approach to addressing climate change and building resilience for farmers. Key findings examined gender differences in farming responsibilities and the significance of farmers’ groups in women’s overall decision making and community involvement. Additionally, changes in water management and pesticide use have been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of women farmers in Kalchebeshi. This paper reinforces the importance of involving vulnerable …

Detecting Change: Observations Of Temperature And Precipitation Across Virginia’S Climate Divisions, Jeremy S. Hoffman, Michael J. Allen, Christopher F. Labosier

Virginia Journal of Science

Modern global climate change is primarily attributable to human activities and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Climate change impacts span a range of sectors, including agriculture, forestry, public health, and water resource management. The Commonwealth of Virginia has already and will continue to deal with many of these impacts, yet lacks concentrated effort to detect, document, and adapt to local climate changes. This study documents observed changes in temperature and precipitation across Virginia’s six climate divisions. Mean seasonal anomalies of minimum temperature, maximum temperature, and precipitation from 1986 to 2016 are examined relative to a long-term 1895-2000 …

An Underground World : Creative Writing In The Dystopian Genre, Mary Kathleen Brown

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Despite its importance for the creation of a compelling story, world-building is often overlooked in literary studies due to its complexity, with studies instead favoring analysis of plot, character, or situation. The dystopian genre dictates why world-building is a crucial element for fictional writing because it showcases a manipulated relationship between writer and reader. Using the overlap in possible worlds and actual worlds, this paper explores how world-building incites change in the actual world due to a reader correlating the possible world with their own. By way of example, my paper features the first three chapters of my dystopian novel, …

Projected Sea Level Rise And The Conservation Ecology Of The Micronesian Megapode (Megapodius Laperouse Senex) In Palau, Micronesia, Paul M. Radley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Climate change has been a subject of numerous studies. While findings suggest that most biological taxa will be affected by its manifestations, aspects of a species life history may increase its susceptibility to climate change. Given their reliance on environmental sources of heat to incubate their eggs, I examined the vulnerability to climate change of the avian family Megapodiidae. I also assessed habitat use, susceptibility to sea level rise, and the effect of introduced rats and tourist presence, as added stressors to climate change, on the Micronesian Megapode (Megapodius

laperouse senex) in Palau.

Based on available literature, I …

Attributing Accelerated Increases In Salinity In The Mediterranean Coastal Zone To Climate Change And Seawater Desalination Brine And The Resultant Unsustainability Of Modern Desalination Technology, Brandon W. Harper

HCNSO Student Capstones

Anthropogenic climate change influences our oceans on a global scale and has brought about increased salinity levels in large areas of our oceans such as the North Atlantic (Dunbar 2009). Concentrations of large scale desalination plants around small bodies of water add to this pattern and have shown even larger increases in salinity due to desalination brine discharge (Purnama et al., 2005). Salinity profile data over time should show similar increases in salinity in the Mediterranean Sea due to climate change and localized data should show increased salinity due to brine discharge. This study aims to pinpoint the extent of …

Quantifying Climate Sensitivity And Climate-Driven Change In North American Amphibian Communities, David A. W. Miller, Evan H Campbell Grant, Erin Muths, Staci M. Amburgey, Michael J. Adams, Maxwell B. Joseph, J. Hardin Waddle, Pieter T. J. Johnson, Maureen E. Ryan, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Daniel L. Calhoun, Courtney L. Davis, Robert N. Fisher, David M. Green, Blake R. Hossack, Tracy A. G. Rittenhouse, Susan C. Walls, Larissa L. Bailey, Sam S. Cruickshank, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Ward Hughson, David S. Pilliod, Steve J. Price, Andrew M. Ray, Walt Sadinski, Daniel Saenz, William J. Barichivich, Adrianne Brand

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using > 500,000 time-series observations for 81 species across 86 North American study areas. The effect of climate on local colonization and persistence probabilities varies among eco-regions and depends on local climate, species life-histories, and taxonomic classification. We found that local species richness is most sensitive to changes in water availability during breeding and changes in …

Evaluating Climate Change Policy Through The Endangered Species Act, Richie Donahou

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sets out to address a growing knowledge gap of climate change science in regards to the state of Arkansas. Within the coming chapters, the goal of this research is to examine climate data and to identify if any evidence of climate change can be detected and what are the policies in place to adapt to these potential changes. Furthermore, the scope of this research will be narrowed to a few counties over the southwest Arkansas, and a specific endangered species, the Leopard Darter. Upon examination of previous environmental and ecological climate change related research it became clear that …

Influence Of Global Atmospheric Circulation Variations On Weather And Climate Extremes, Yen-Heng Lin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Global warming and climate change deeply influence weather and climate extremes, causing substantial property damage and loss every year around the world. Given the importance of heating differences between low-latitude and Arctic regions, which produce heat sources and cold sources that each influence global circulations, we investigate three extreme weather events in different regions in order to better understand the possible connections between extreme events and global circulation changes.

This study begins with climate variations in the low-latitude western North Pacific. In early summer, the timing of the wet season has shifted from late May to early June since 1979. …

Future Melting Away: Water Stress As A Threat To Human Security In Bangladesh And The Role Of International Community, Farzana Afroz Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Bangladesh is considered as one of the frontline states in the global climate change; its policy agendas attempt to respond to the perceived security threats emanating from such changes. Water stress is one of the key problems the country is facing. Yet, links between glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Bangladesh’s climate, growing water stress, and its implications for human security have seldom been studied. Drawing on the concepts of climate change, human security and water stress, the thesis examines the causes of Bangladesh’s freshwater crisis and its contribution to the human insecurity. Here in this study, the influence of …

An Analysis Of Urban Heat Islands In Kentucky, Logan Mitchell

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The purpose of this research is to increase understanding of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in Kentucky by studying its three largest cities: Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green. By examining the UHIs of these three cities, two major attributes can be determined: if there is a relationship between the size of the city by population and the UHI magnitude, and if UHI magnitude follows any diurnal and/or seasonal cycles. Data was collected from weather stations within the three major cities, as well as from weather stations located in the rural areas surrounding them. The length of the time series …

Projected Changes In Climate, Elevation-Dependent Warming, And Extreme Events Over Continental Ecuador For The Period 2041-2070, Oscar Chimborazo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The climate over Ecuador is complex due to several interacting factors, such as its location at the equator, the Andean topography, and several modes of internal variability, including the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), affecting the region. In addition, the rapid increase in greenhouse gas concentrations will continue to affect both the mean state and climate variability in Ecuador over the coming decades. Hence, a thorough understanding of both natural and anthropogenic forcings and how they combine to influence Ecuadorian climate is a necessity for decision-making and implementation of adequate adaptation measures. However, the lack of observational data, both in space …

Internal Composition, Structure, And Hydrological Significance Of Rock Glaciers In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Adam Riffle

All Master's Theses

Low summer river base flow places a strain on natural and economic resources of the Eastern Cascades. A major contributor to stream flow in this region is snow pack which has declined over the past few decades because of a warming climate. In addition, glacial runoff, which contributes significantly to base flow in summer dry periods, will diminish from glacial recession. However, rock glaciers, because their internal ice (i.e., permafrost) is insulated by an outer debris layer, react slowly to climate change, thus acting as sinks for ice and liquid water storage in mountain environments. This study utilized ground penetrating …

Wildfire Emissions In The Context Of Global Change And The Implications For Mercury Pollution, Aditya Kumar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wildfires are episodic disturbances that exert a significant influence on the Earth system. They emit substantial amounts of atmospheric pollutants, which can impact atmospheric chemistry/composition and the Earth’s climate at the global and regional scales. This work presents a collection of studies aimed at better estimating wildfire emissions of atmospheric pollutants, quantifying their impacts on remote ecosystems and determining the implications of 2000s-2050s global environmental change (land use/land cover, climate) for wildfire emissions following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B socioeconomic scenario.

A global fire emissions model is developed to compile global wildfire emission inventories for major atmospheric …