Climate Commons^™

A Multispecies, Multisite Assessment Of Coral Thermal Tolerances In American Samoa, Using Acute Heat Stress Assays, Ponchanok Weeriyanun, Nicolas R. Evensen, Katherine E. Parker, Veronica Z. Radice, Daniel J. Barshis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reef-building corals are being impacted by increasing seawater temperatures, with marine heatwaves leading to mass bleaching events and extensive mortality. However, corals can display variation in thermal tolerance, both within and among species. In this study, we sampled four coral species (Acropora hyacinthus, Montipora grisea, Pocillopora verrucosa, and Porites lobata) from two sites on Tutuila, American Samoa, with contrasting environmental regimes but similar Maximum Monthly Means (MMM). Coral fragments were subjected to short-term acute heat stress experiments using the Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS). PAM Fluorometry was used to measure the symbiont’s effective quantum yield (Fv/Fm) following heat stress …

Building Heat-Resilient Caribbean Reefs: Integrating Thermal Thresholds And Coral Colonies Selection In Restoration, Macarena Blanco Pimentel, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Sancia E. T. Van Der Meij, Megan K. Morikawa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Caribbean reefs face increasingly frequent and intense bleaching events, adding to the numerous other threats impacting these ecosystems. Addressing these challenges requires global action to reduce climate drivers, along with local efforts like reef restoration. Active restoration using thermotolerant coral colonies offers a potential strategy to alleviate these impacts; however, gaps remain in identifying context-specific temperature thresholds to guide colony selection and standardize thermotolerance assessment methods. This study addressed these gaps in two phases. First, by determining practical thresholds to differentiate species responses to heat stress; and second, by developing a framework to identify and prioritize resilient colonies for restoration. …

Future-Oriented Coastal Protection: The Utility Of Living Shorelines Under Changing Climatic Conditions, Gabriella R. Dipetto, Donna Marie Bilkovic, Taylor M. Sloey, Erik S. Yando, Erik L. Walters

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

An accumulation of novel nature-based shoreline management techniques have developed over the past two decades out of the continued need to protect waterfront land combined with an awareness of the relationship between healthy coastal ecosystems and human societies. Shoreline protection strategies such as living shorelines incorporate these nature-based approaches to simultaneously enhance ecosystem functioning while providing shoreline stabilization benefits. The continued role of these approaches into the future, however, will be challenged by a rapidly changing coastal environment. While living shorelines have received global attention and integration into climate policy and governance frameworks, the ability of shoreline systems to withstand …

The Pluralistic Natural Capital Values Of A Tropical City, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, Justine Saunders, Peter Edwards, Daniel Richards, Jahson I. Alemu, Natasha Bhatia, Roman Carrasco, Zuzana Drillet, Tze Kwan Fung, Yan Feng Leon Gaw, Wanggi Jaung, Andrea Law, Rachel Ai Ting Leong, Aikeen Youu Ming Lim, Mahyar Masoudi, Yudhishthra Nathan, Rachel Rui Ying Oh, Wen Ting Ooi, Fairul Edros Ahmad Shaikh Shaikh, Xiao Ping Song, Claudia L.Y. Tan, Puay Yok Tan, Sergio Wicki, Lynn-Wei Wong, Yanyun Yan, Erik Yando, Alex Thiam Koon Yee, Jingyuan Zhang, Daniel A. Friess

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Nature in cities is essential for human well-being. Quantifying and valuing the goods and services provided by nature to city dwellers is missing in tropical contexts. Yet, as cities worldwide face similar challenges, understanding the services provided by tropical urban ecosystems becomes imperative for effective management. Here, we present the first Natural Capital Assessment of a tropical city, unveiling three critical insights. Firstly, we demonstrate the vital reliance of a developed tropical city on nature, particularly for climate change mitigation through regulating services. Secondly, we identify intact natural areas as Singapore’s most valuable assets, stressing the significance of the quality …

The Strategic And Governance Implications Of Solar Radiation Modification: Perspectives From Delegates Of International Climate Negotiations, Todd L. Cherry, Steffen Kallbekken, David M. Mcevoy, Wai Yan Siu

ODU Articles

The lack of progress in addressing climate change has led to increased interest in solar radiation modification (SRM)—a collection of large-scale interventions that cool the planet by managing the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth. SRM complicates climate change governance because, in addition to advancing collective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, governance needs to restrain unilateral SRM action while balancing diverging actor interests, ethical risks and scientific uncertainty. We survey international climate policy experts for their assessments of the potential for effective global governance of SRM and the likelihood of possible international responses to unilateral SRM scenarios. …

Coastal Flooding And Housing Market Liquidity: Policy Implications For Eastern U. S. Communities, Wai Yan Siu, Rex Sitti

ODU Articles

Coastal flooding poses an escalating threat to communities across the U.S East Coast, where rising sea levels and intensifying storms increasingly overwhelm existing infrastructure and natural defenses. These events generate complex economic consequences that extend beyond immediate property damage to affect community stability and long-term development patterns. The real estate industry in particular, faces increasing levels of flood risk. Existing research on climate risk and real estate markets focuses predominantly on price capitalization effects, overlooking the critical dimension of housing market liquidity. This study examines the causal impact of coastal flooding on days-on-market (DOM), a metric of liquidity in the …

High-Resolution Modeling Of Extreme Heat Events With Socioeconomic Consideration: A Real-Case Wrf-Les Approach, Maryam Golbazi, Frank Liu, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Timothy W. Juliano, Heather Richter

ODU Articles

The overarching goals of this work is to explore best practices for micro-scale modeling of a real case, identify relevant phenomena by using high-resolution modeling, and to explore their implications for public health, and climate resilience strategies in Hampton Roads, VA, USA. This project employs the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to conduct a comprehensive study of Hampton Roads, utilizing a coupled mesoscale to microscale modeling capable of resolving boundary layer turbulence. This study has three primary objectives: (1) to establish the optimal mesoscale to Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) configurations for complex geographical regions such as the Hampton Roads (HR) …

Analyzing Seasonal Wind Trends And Climate Change Impacts Along The East Coast Of The United States (1990-2022), Avery L. Wilson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study investigates long-term trends in ocean wind intensity and variability along the U.S. East Coast between 1990 and 2022 using ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis data. Focusing on monthly maximum, mean, and standard deviation (STD) of wind speed at 10 meters above the surface, linear regressions were performed to analyze long-term trends. Results indicate a significant increase in wind intensity and variability in the northeastern region, particularly during winter months, which may forecast more frequent and intense cyclonic activity such as Nor’easters. Conversely, a weak decreasing trend was observed in the south. These shifts have implications for ocean-atmosphere dynamics, including vertical …

Surface Currents In The Mid-Atlantic Bight: The Role Of The Gulf Stream Versus Wind, Tal Ezer

CCPO Publications

Surface currents of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) were studied using high frequency radar (HFR) observations at 6 km resolution during a five-year period (2020-2024). The study's focus on the role of the Gulf Stream (GS) contrasts with most past studies that focused on the seasonal wind-driven currents. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analyses of the daily HFR currents were conducted with and without the GS, revealing modes of current variability linked to the seasonal wind pattern and storms versus modes linked to GS variability. The remote impact of the GS on coastal currents is complex, with different impacts seen on different …

Multi-Model Estimate Of Antarctic Ice-Shelf Basal Mass Budget And Ocean Drivers, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Richard Porter-Smith, Sue Cook, Eva Cougnon, David E. Gwyther, Wilma G. C. Huneke, Madelaine G. Rosevear, Xylar Asay-Davis, Fabio Boeira Dias, Michael S. Dinniman, David Holland, Kazuya Kusahara, Kaitlin A. Naughten, Keith W. Nicholls, Charles Pelletier, Ole Richter, Hélène Seroussi, Ralph Timmerman

CCPO Publications

Societal adaptation to rising sea levels requires robust projections of the Antarctic Ice Sheet's retreat, particularly due to ocean-driven basal melting of its fringing ice shelves. Recent advances in ocean models that simulate ice-shelf melting offer an opportunity to reduce uncertainties in ice–ocean interactions. Here, we compare several community-contributed, circum-Antarctic ocean simulations to highlight inter-model differences, evaluate agreement with satellite-derived melt rates, and examine underlying physical processes. All but one simulation use a melting formulation depending on both thermal driving (T^⋆) and friction velocity (u^⋆), which together represent the thermal and ocean current forcings at the …

Mangroves: A Lesson On Modeling Changing Shorelines, Willa Skye

ENGS 15.11: Design and Education

This lesson is an overview of storm barriers, specifically mangroves and how they maintain shorelines. It is meant to offer a visual experience of coastline protection and provide a background for deeper understanding about intertidal zones and their conservation. Students will spend time creating a solution to a flooding problem by making a mock coast and storm barrier. To wrap-up the lesson, students will pair up, then reflect on their model and then individually write or draw their takeaways.

Drone-Based Medication Delivery For Rural, Flood-Prone Coastal Cities, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Amro M. El-Adle, Kevin J. O'Brien, Taylor Wentworth, Heather G. Richter

Center for Geospatial Science, Education & Analytics Faculty Publications

Access to healthcare remains a critical challenge for rural populations, particularly in flood-prone coastal communities where transportation barriers limit access to essential medical services. This study evaluates the effectiveness of drone-based medication delivery in improving healthcare accessibility for vulnerable populations on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Compared to traditional personal vehicle travel, drone delivery reduced trip times from up to 50 minutes to under 10 minutes for more than 80% of the population, including elderly patients. Using publicly available datasets, we developed two transportation vulnerability indices that incorporate age, travel time, and flood risk to prioritize patients for drone-based pharmaceutical delivery. These …

Co-Creation, Interpretations And Engagement With A Movement-Based Symbol For Climate Justice: A Qualitative Inquiry, Kai Reimer-Watts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The climate crisis demonstrates with complete clarity the need for massive systems-level changes towards far more sustainable societies. Global and local emissions need to decline rapidly to mitigate intensifying climate breakdown, accompanied by climate and sustainability solutions, to secure a far more stable, safe, and just future for all people and all life. Within these changes, engaging in our communities is essential to support and co-create broader solutions to help advance more sustainable societies, reduce negative impacts of a changing climate, and to move towards cultures and systems that recognize natural limits and centre care for people and planet.

‘Climate …

Evaluating The Long-Term Effectiveness Of Marsh Terracing For Conservation With Integrated Geospatial And Wetland Simulation Modeling, Nick Carpenter, Laura Costadone, Thomas R. Allen

ODU Articles

Coastal marshes provide essential ecosystem services, yet they are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors and climate change, particularly sea level rise (SLR). Restoration approaches like marsh terracing have emerged as nature-based strategies to enhance resilience and reduce habitat loss. This study applies the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) to assess the potential of marsh terraces to mitigate future losses, while also examining the model’s limitations, including its assumptions and capacity to reflect complex marsh processes. A geospatial approach was used to generate 3D representations of terraces through morphostatic modeling within digital elevation models (DEMs). Under a no-restoration scenario, SLAMM projections …

The First Iucn Red List Of Cold-Water Corals Highlights Global Declines, Julia D. Sigwart, A. Louise Allcock, Renata Carolina Mikosz Arantes, Kelsey Archer Barnhill, Narissa Bax, Julia S. Beneti, Saskia Brix, Gudmundur Gudmundsson, Catherine S. Mcfadden, Severin A. Korfhage, Christi Linardich, Declan Morrissey, Pedro De Oliveira Nascimento, Bárbara De Moura Neves, Steinunn H. Ólafsdóttir, Stefán Ragnarsson, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Íris Sampaio, Mark E. De Wilt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The most well-known species-based conservation tool is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The current coverage of species in the Red List is known to under-represent benthic marine species. Cold-water corals (CWCs) are increasingly recognised as key to deep-water biodiversity and integral to protected vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), but no deep-sea coral species were previously included in the Red List. We selected 22 cold-water coral species in the Northeast Atlantic, including 4 reef-forming stony corals and 18 octocorals including sea pens and gorgonians, and completed the first IUCN Red List global assessments …

Thermal Tolerance Limits Of Mesophotic Corals In American Samoa, Daniel Barshis, Veronica Z. Radice, Katherine E. Parker, Nicholas Evensen

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We analyzed the thermal tolerances of multiple coral species from an upper mesophotic (38–40m) and a shallow reef (5–10m) with our portable Coral Bleaching Automated Stress System (CBASS). Depth generalist Montipora grisea (deep and shallow) and depth specialists Pachyseris speciosa and Leptoseris sp. (deep only) were assayed from Leone, located on the western coast of Tutuila in American Samoa. Fragments from 10 genotypes of each species were exposed to a 17-hour thermal stress assay reaching four maximum temperatures ranging from 30–38°C under in situ light conditions (150 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ under a Lee Filters “deep …

An Economic And Production Analysis Of Seaweed Farms In California And The Pacific Northwest, Brian Donovan

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Since the early 2010s, the seaweed aquaculture industry has steadily expanded in the United States, with states like Alaska, Maine, Hawaii, and Connecticut leading the way in the development of this emerging sector. However, information gaps remain concerning certain aspects of the domestic seaweed aquaculture industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of the seaweed aquaculture industry along the West Coast of the United States; specifically in the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Seaweed farmers in these states were invited to voluntarily complete surveys asking important production, economic, and commercial questions regarding their operations. Data …

Modeling The Impact Of Climate Change On Plant Hardiness Zones Across The Contiguous United States Using Empirical Bayesian Kriging Regression Prediction, Daniel Donkor

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Mapping plant hardiness zones is crucial to understanding and predicting the spatial distribution of plants in response to climatic conditions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed the plant hardiness zones based on the average of annual extreme minimum temperatures using the Parameter elevation Regression on Independent Slope Model (PRISM). While the USDA’s 2012 and 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone maps remain standard references, they offer limited geostatistical transparency that causes more complications in replicating. This study applies Empirical Bayesian Kriging Regression Prediction (EBKRP) method to generate Plant Hardiness Zone maps, analyze spatial and temporal shifts in the plant hardiness …

Evaluation Of Practical Methods To Determine If A Karst Creek Is Gaining Or Losing: Case Study Of Leith Creek, Elizabeth Jones

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Karst landscapes are abundant in Missouri, with features such as caves, springs, and sinkholes that form through the dissolution of limestone. Leith Creek is a small stream in Polk County, Missouri fed by two springs and the shallow unconfined Springfield Plateau aquifer, a highly karstified aquifer which is made up of limestone and minor interbedded shale-mudstone units. To determine if Leith Creek is gaining or losing, stream flow, water chemistry and temperature sensors were monitored. Stream flow results required multiple visits to take measurements while temperature sensors required two visits, one to install the dataloggers and another to remove the …

Integrated Valuation Of The Ecological, Social And Economic Benefits Provided By A Multifunctional Nature-Based Solution, Laura Costadone, Shan Zhang

ODU Articles

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer multifunctional approaches to address climate change and environmental challenges, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional gray infrastructure. Despite their promise, widespread adoption remains limited, in part due to an incomplete understanding of their full costs and benefits relative to conventional infrastructure. Traditional benefit–cost analyses often overlook non-monetized benefits and the interconnected ecosystem services provided by NbS. This study introduces a methodological approach to quantify both the physical and monetary value of ecosystem services and co-benefits delivered by an NbS project. We applied an integrated valuation framework to a case study in Virginia Beach, VA, USA, where …