Climate Commons^™

Climate Change And Transportation, Paul J. Marchese

Open Educational Resources

This module examines how climate change is affecting transportation systems across multiple sectors, including roads, rail, air, maritime, and active transportation. It highlights key climate trends such as rising temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather, and explains how these factors disrupt infrastructure, operations, and safety. The module also explores the economic, operational, and policy challenges associated with maintaining resilient transportation systems under changing environmental conditions. Finally, it presents a range of adaptation and mitigation strategies, emphasizing engineering solutions, sustainable technologies, and data-driven decision-making.

Development And Evaluation Of An Mpas-Based Urban Modeling System For The New York City Region, Marco S. Yu, Kristian Rice

Publications and Research

Complex geometry and varying land cover make urban environments difficult to simulate accurately. This research presents a performance evaluation of the newly developed urban modeling system in the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS). Weather over the New York metropolitan area during June 2018 was simulated using supercomputing resources and the new urban modeling system. Modeled 2-m air temperature was compared with historical hourly observations from five NYC Mesonet stations, one located in each of the five boroughs. Comparison showed that the model follows the timing of warming and cooling well, but overestimates the magnitude of temperature swings at peaks …

How Has Your Climate Changed?, Rhyannon Bartlett-Imadegawa

Capstones

This interactive data visualization shows readers how much the climate has changed in their home state compared to 100 years ago, since the reader was born, the current year and projections into the future. It aims to communicate climate change impacts more personally by linking it to seasons, the reader's birth year and age mile stones and compares a readers' home state to a state that has been more impacted to connect across different states and communities.

Using JavaScript and Svelte, the code calculates and displays seasonal averages for the baseline period for the reader's state and years for the …

Understanding Enso Through Mathematical Models, Maria I. Sanchez Muniz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment introduces students to conceptual models of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and guides them through a structured investigation of their physical and mathematical foundations. Students analyze the recharge–oscillator and delayed–oscillator frameworks, explore how differential equations capture ocean–atmosphere interactions, and evaluate parameter-driven changes in oscillatory behavior. A key component of the work is the guided use of generative AI as a research tool: students employ AI models to locate peer-reviewed literature, interrogate model extensions, and refine their understanding of complex mechanisms, while synthesizing all final explanations in their own words. By blending classical climate modeling with modern AI-supported inquiry, …

Unveiling The Vital Role Of Blue Carbon In Mangroves: Understanding Environmental Influences, Jahnelle Howe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mangrove ecosystems provide essential ecological services, including carbon sequestration, coastal protection, and heavy metal retention. However, their resilience and functionality are increasingly influenced by hurricanes, climate variability, and anthropogenic contamination. This dissertation integrates three research efforts examining mangrove canopy dynamics, carbon storage, and heavy metal contamination in two Puerto Rican mangrove systems: La Parguera and Laguna Grande.

Using remote sensing techniques (LiDAR and NDVI analysis), we assessed the impact of Hurricane Maria (Category 4, 2017) on mangrove canopy structure and vegetation health. Results revealed significant canopy height loss, with greater damage at Laguna Grande, where pre-storm canopy height and human …

Identifying Intangible And Biocultural Heritage Elements Toward Environmental Understanding: Engaging Stakeholders Through Art, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Grounded in a case study in Barbuda in the Caribbean, this research examines sustainability from the perspective of what arts and heritage can contribute to community engagement and local and broader understandings about the environment. This article documents a growing body of literature recognizing the role of arts and culture, including local knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in climate change endeavors. Art and TEK present expansive world views. Contextual information situates research done on the island of Barbuda pre- and post-Hurricane Irma. Visual arts workshops engaged community members in mixed methods research. Results documented cultural elements, particularly intangible and …

Flood Risks Surge In Unexpected Places, Leaving Americans Unprepared And Uninsured, Genna Y. Contino

Capstones

As weather patterns become more unpredictable, the amount of uninsured property loss is expected to soar – disproportionately impacting communities of color in the U.S. Hurricane Helene, which devastated the western North Carolina mountains, demonstrates this trend. Experts say boosting insurance literacy and updating floodplain maps will better prepare the country as it navigates a changing climate.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSApu2Io6-IjMynum2d3IakyOV2AZysgayw8f4ypNID6dF0j06vumogvy6tJ9XPvqhXtC76fs8ZHre9/pub

Circular Economy: The 4rs Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Recover, Kevin Hom

Publications and Research

This article summarizes the lecture presented at the Net Built 2024 conference. The lecture addresses the unsustainability of the current linear economy, characterized by the "take, make, dispose" model, in light of environmental challenges. The inefficiencies of this system lead to increased energy consumption, elevated CO2 emissions, and the exacerbation of climate change. It examines the current state of design and construction with respect to climate change and sustainable resource management. Additionally, the lecture introduces a methodology that integrates technologies and design philosophies capable of driving significant positive change. By advocating for a transformative approach to the expected lifetime of …

New York State Climate Impacts Assessment: 04 Buildings, Nicholas B. Rajkovich, Carrie Brown, Ilya Azaroff, Erik Backus, Shannon Clarke, Jared Enriquez, Bethany Greenaway, Meghan T. Holtan, Jamal Lewis, Ozgem Ornektekin, Laurie Schoeman

Publications and Research

New York State has nearly 5.3 million buildings, and all of them are vulnerable in some way to the impacts of climate change. Understanding these impacts is critical, because risks to buildings not only threaten individual lives but also pose threats to community-level resilience. This chapter examines the impacts of climate change on buildings and, by extension, the people and communities they shelter and support. It also highlights building types and populations that are at particular risk and presents adaptation strategies to protect the state’s existing and future building stock from climate impacts.

It Is Normal: The Probability Distribution Of Temperature Extremes, Nir Y. Krakauer

Publications and Research

The probability of heat extremes is often estimated using the non-stationary generalized extreme value distribution (GEVD) applied to time series of annual maximum temperature. Here, this practice was assessed using a global sample of temperature time series, from reanalysis (both at the grid point and the region scale) as well as station observations. This assessment used forecast negative log-likelihood as the main performance measure, which is particularly sensitive to the most extreme heat waves. It was found that the computationally simpler normal distribution outperforms the GEVD in providing probabilistic year-ahead forecasts of temperature extremes. Given these findings, it is suggested …

The Compound Risk Of Heat And Covid-19 In New York City: Riskscapes, Physical And Social Factors, And Interventions, Janelle Knox-Hayes, Juan Camilo Osorio, Natasha Stamler, Maria Dombrov, Rose Winer, Mary Hannah Smith, Reginald Blake, Cynthia Rosenzweig

Publications and Research

Climate change is disrupting the fundamental conditions of human life and exacerbating existing inequity by placing further burdens on communities that are already vulnerable. Risk exposure varies by where people live and work. In this article, we examine the spatial overlap of the compound risks of COVID-19 and extreme heat in New York City. We assess the relationship between socio-demographic and natural, built and social environmental characteristics, and the spatial correspondence of COVID-19 daily case rates across three pandemic waves. We use these data to create a compound risk index combining heat, COVID-19, density and social vulnerability. Our findings demonstrate …

Futures On Dry Ground: Anthropology And Coastal Planning, Theodore Hilton, Sheehan Moore

Publications and Research

Around the world, governments, industry, and other actors are creating plans to save coasts from environmental crisis. Louisiana is one prominent example: levees and other measures protect oil and gas infrastructure from inundation as the wetlands buffer rapidly erodes—in large part due to that same industry. The state’s primary answer to land loss is a $50 billion Coastal Master Plan. To illuminate such responses in Louisiana and globally, this article reviews emerging literature and frames an anthropology of coastal planning around three themes: (1) novel orientations toward time and space, (2) the reproduction of power and capital in the name …

Shallow Water Coral Distribution And Its Response To Climate Change, Amaury De Jesus

Dissertations and Theses

Shallow water corals are one of the main reef-building organisms that secrete carbonates as their skeletons, and therefore, are one of the major sinks of CO2 in the ocean. These reef builders are also very crucial to marine environments and human society. As the global energy demand continues rising, fossil fuel burning increases at a faster pace despite the increase in energy supply using clean and renewable energy. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere has been shown to exacerbate global warming and may cause ocean acidification, threatening the habitat of shallow-water corals. Many recent observations show alarming signs of …

Systematic Review Of A Ramsar Wetland And Unesco Biosphere Reserve In A Climate Change Hotspot (Ichkeul Lake, Tunisia), Sabrine Sahbani, Béchir Béjaoui, Sihem Benabdalla, Rachid Toujani, Afef Fathalli, Noureddine Zaaboub, Jalel Aouissi, Zeineb Kassouk, Nabil Hamdi, Nabiha Ben Mbarek, Hechmi Missaoui, Leila Basti, Reginald Blake, Hamidreza Norouzi

Publications and Research

Tunisia's Ichkeul Lake is among the most productive ecosystems in the Mediterranean, with a great regional value thanks to its diversity of habitats. It is an important overwintering area for waterfowl species. It is a RAMSAR wetland, a National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage, and a Biosphere Reserve. This review paper provides a broad overview of the climatic, hydraulic, biogeochemical features, bio-resources, and bio-productivity of the Lake. The interconnectivity between the different environmental components of the lake is presented, highlighting the main characteristics of this vital ecosystem. Its ecosystem consists of a permanent lake bordered by temporary marshes. It is …

Sea Level Rising And Its Impact On Nyc, Angela Knafo, Jeff Mao, Andray Whyte, Filip Valencin, Erick Humala, Jubran Alawdi, Jonathan Carangui

Publications and Research

Climate change is not only about the rising temperatures, which is usually the most discussed topic in news, but it also involves other Earth sciences like hydrology, oceanography and other parts of meteorology In our poster we are focusing on sea level rising and its impact on NYC, and how people could mitigate and adapt to it

Toward Informatics-Enabled Preparedness For Natural Hazards To Minimize Health Impacts Of Climate Change, Jimmy Phuong, Naomi O. Riches, Luca Calzoni, Gora Datta, Deborah Duran, Asiyah Yu Lin, Ramesh P. Singh, Anthony E. Solomonides, Noreen Y. Whysel, Ramakanth Kavuluru

Publications and Research

Natural hazards (NHs) associated with climate change have been increasing in frequency and intensity. These acute events impact humans both directly and through their effects on social and environmental determinants of health. Rather than relying on a fully reactive incident response disposition, it is crucial to ramp up preparedness initiatives for worsening case scenarios. In this perspective, we review the landscape of NH effects for human health and explore the potential of health informatics to address associated challenges, specifically from a preparedness angle. We outline important components in a health informatics agenda for hazard preparedness involving hazard-disease associations, social determinants …

Lake Satellite Temperature Data Validation, Mamadou Balde, Pascal Kouogang

Publications and Research

In environmental remote sensing, satellite data isn't absolutely conclusive, for that reason, there is a natural need to verify the data acquired from the satellite. The most suitable tool to achieve such verification is on ground sensors that have the advantage of proximity. Addressing any possible discrepancies between the satellite data and the ground sensor data is sure to yield ways to come up with improvements of satellite band calibration and sensing capabilities. This research focused on correlating temperature data from the MODIS satellite with the data obtained from the In Situ sensor located in Lake Sunapee. Doing the latter …

Remote Sensing & Land Surface Temperature From Satellite Observations, Isatu Jollah

Publications and Research

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument is designed and developed in 1995. • It is a critical instrument aboard Terra and Aqua satellites. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it crosses the equator from north to south in the morning, while Aqua crosses the equator from south to north in the afternoon. • Every 1 to 2 days, Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS scan the entire Earth's surface, collecting data in groups of wavelengths. • In this research, a whole month of MODIS Land Surface Temperature data from both Aqua and Terra were explored and investigated.

Spatial Downscaling Of Goes-R Land Surface Temperature Over Urban Regions: A Case Study For New York City, Abdou Bah, Hamidreza Norouzi, Satya Prakash, Reginald Blake, Reza Khanbilvardi, Cynthia Rosenzweig

Publications and Research

The surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect is among the major environmental issues encountered in urban regions. To better predict the dynamics of the SUHI and its impacts on extreme heat events, an accurate characterization of the surface energy balance in urban regions is needed. However, the ability to improve understanding of the surface energy balance is limited by the heterogeneity of surfaces in urban areas. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the urban surface energy budget through an innovation in the use of land surface temperature (LST) observations from remote sensing satellites. A LST database with 5–min …

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 …

Technical Note: Novel Estimates Of The Leaf Relative Uptake Rate Of Carbonyl Sulfide From Optimality Theory, Georg Wohlfahrt, Albin Hammerle, Felix M. Spielmann, Florian Kitz, Chuixiang Yi

Publications and Research

In order to estimate the gross primary productivity (GPP) of terrestrial ecosystems from the canopy uptake of carbonyl sulfide (COS), the leaf relative uptake rate (LRU) of COS with respect to carbon dioxide needs to be known a priori. Currently, the variability of the LRU between plant species in different biomes of the world is poorly understood, making the choice of an appropriate LRU uncertain and hampering further progress towards developing COS as an alternative tracer of GPP. Here we propose a novel approach for estimating LRU based on plant optimality principles, validate it against in situ leaf gas exchange …

Characterization Of Site-Specific Vegetation Activity In Alaskan Wet And Dry Tundra As Related To Climate And Soil State, Michael Gregory Brown, Kyle C. Mcdonald, Reiner Zimmermann, Nicholas Steiner, Stephanie Devries, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez

Advanced Science Research Center

We present discrete (2-h resolution) multi-year (2008–2017) in situ measurements of seasonal vegetation growth and soil biophysical properties from two sites on Alaska's North Slope, USA, representing dry and wet sedge tundra. We examine measurements of vertical active soil layer temperature and soil moisture profiles (freeze/thaw status), woody shrub vegetation physiological activity, and meteorological site data to assess interrelationships within (and between) these two study sites. Vegetation phenophases (cold de-hardening start, physiological function start, stem growth start, stem growth end, physiological function end, cold hardening completion) were found to have greater interannual day of year (DOY) occurrence variability at the …

Sea Surface Temperatures And Vertical Wind Shear As Precursors To Tropical Cyclone Activity In The Caribbean And An Expanding Main Developing Region, Keneshia Hibbert

Dissertations and Theses

Sea surface temperatures and vertical wind shear are essential to tropical cyclone formation. TCs need warm SSTs and low shear for genesis. Increasing SSTs and VWS changes influence storm development. This work analyzes SST and VWS trends for the Caribbean, surrounding region, and the Atlantic hurricane main developing region from 1982 to 2020. Storm intensity increases significantly during this period. Annual and seasonal trends show regional SSTs in the MDR are warming annually (0.0219°C yr^-1) and per season (0.0280°C yr^-1). Simultaneously, VWS decreases during the late rainfall season at 0.0556m/s yr^-1 in the MDR and …

Analyze And Examine Wildfire Events In California, Aleena Hoodith, Sakim Zaman, Safoan Hossain, Jiehao Huang

Publications and Research

•A wildfire is an unplanned, unwanted, uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation starting in rural areas and urban areas. •Recent studies have shown that the effect of anthropogenic climate change has fueled the wildfire events, leading to an increase in the annual burned areas and number of events. •California is one of the places having the most deadliest and destructive wildfire seasons. With the global warming effect of 1°C since 1850, the 20 largest wildfires events that have occurred in California, 8 of them were in 2017. (Center For Climate And Energy Solutions) •Climate change is primarily caused …

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 …

Connecting Communities To Coastal Resilience: Enhancing Sustainability Through Public Participation In Salt Marsh Management And Restoration In Suffolk County, Ny, Jennifer L. Mcgivern

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Coastal resiliency is becoming significantly more critical to the livelihood of coastal communities as the frequency and intensity of storm events increases and is exacerbated by rising sea levels due to climate change. In October 2012 Superstorm Sandy impacted the New York-New Jersey area costing over $70 billion in storm damages and 147 lives lost, as storm surges surpassed record highs for the region. Protruding more than 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean with over 1,000 miles of shoreline, Long Island is particularly vulnerable to the increasingly ferocious and numerous storms as well as the rising sea levels that climate …

Weather And Crime: New York State, Yuna Kim

Student Theses

The present study assesses the degree to which temperature affects the crime rates in all 62 counties in the State of New York. Five different crimes (i.e., robbery, aggravated assault, burglary; larceny, and motor vehicle theft) for the year 2019 were selected from the Division of Criminal Justice Services of New York to be examined. The current study examined whether the rate of these crimes was associated with the changes in weather, with the assumption that higher weathers would lead to higher property and violent crimes, when controlling for the effect of various control variables. The findings suggest that the …

My Interdisciplinary Perspective On Climate Change [Natural Sciences], Richa Gupta, Tuli Chatterji, Tao Chen, Rebecca Schwartz

Open Educational Resources

This assignment titled “My Interdisciplinary Perspective on Climate Change” was developed in Fall 2020 as the signature assignment of the STEM Learning Community LC50 for students enrolled in the Biology program of the Natural Sciences department, at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. The assignment targets Integrative Learning and Global Learning Core Competencies, and Digital/Oral Communication Abilities.

For this STEM Cluster, “Climate Change” is the shared theme that connects learning from the different disciplines and helps build students’ overall knowledge on an imperative issue that our planet currently faces. Work on this assignment entails a narrated digital student presentation on the various …

Downscaling Methodology For Satellite Land Surface Temperatures Over Urban Environments, Naved Khan, Ruben Vecino

Publications and Research

The objective of this study is to develop high spatial and temporal resolution Land Surface Temperature (LST) data using a combination of Landsat 8, infrared satellite sensors such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-16). The Landsat 8 Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) provides higher spatial resolution (30 m) estimates of skin temperature every 16 days. MODIS makes daytime and nighttime observations of the Earth’s thermal emission at a coarser spatial resolution (1000 m), while GOES-16, which has lower spatial resolution (2 km), measures the skin temperature at a much higher temporal resolution …

Investigating Water Usage Patterns Tied To California State Water Project, Xiaoqing Wu

Publications and Research

California (USA) is the largest agricultural producer and one of the populous states in the United State. As the population and agriculture grows, water consumption patterns become crucial to keep track of especially surface water. In this research project, we studied possible changes in water consumption patterns in different counties and water rights holders who obtain surface water supply from the State Water Project (SWP) in California. We conducted a time series analysis on the California Monthly Diverted Surface Water dataset through two different time series forecasting models. Our analysis indicates that the total diverted surface water presents a periodic …