Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Variations Of Microplastics Within Humboldt Bay, California, Isabelle M. Marcus, Tamara B. Barriquand, Rebecca M. Thompson, Bennett C. Hosselkus, Cole T. Hutson, Michael Jacobs, Connor Mcneil, Leah Newton, Stephanie M. Olivarez, Jeffrey Abell

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

This study aimed to quantify microplastic (MP) concentration and analyze the spatial and temporal variabilities of the concentrations during the tidal cycle in Humboldt Bay, California. To get an approximation of MP concentration, both water and sediment samples were taken at five different stations, twice during one tidal cycle. Sampling was conducted during two different cruises, on the 19th and 21st of September 2020. The samples were processed in the lab using a density separation procedure and filtration. MP concentrations in the different samples were determined using an average optical microscopy count. Comparison of the water column MP concentrations during …

Solar Radiation Modification Governance In The Context Of Temperature Overshoot, Janos Pasztor

New England Journal of Public Policy

As the climate crisis escalates, governments—and recently even those in the wealthier countries in the Global North—are struggling to manage the impacts we are experiencing around the world in frightening abundance, including record-setting temperatures, fires, floods, and glacial and ice melt. Behind closed doors, policymakers are concerned as they contemplate the increasing likelihood, even under the most ambitious emission reduction pathways, that the world will overshoot the goal agreed upon in the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5oC beyond pre-industrial levels.

It is in this “overshoot context” that interest is growing in an emerging, potentially supplementary …

The Gulf: An Appeal For More Coordinated Action On Climate Change, Fareed Yasseen

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article seeks to provide the rationale behind Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani’s call at the United Nations for the formation of a negotiating group within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process that brings together all member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraq, and Iran. This article argues that these countries would benefit doubly from such an arrangement, because it would help them better address the direct effects of climate change, on the one hand, and to better address the effects of the measures taken to address climate change, which will affect them as fossil fuel producers, …

The Role Of Carbon Management Technologies In Meeting Net Zero, Ali Al-Saffar

New England Journal of Public Policy

The pathway toward implementing the changes necessary in the energy sector to keep global temperature rises from breaking through catastrophic barriers is narrow and tenuous and will require a range of zero- and low-carbon technologies to be dispatched at a speed and scale that is virtually unprecedented. Decarbonization through renewables, matched with the more efficient use of energy in the end-use sectors will play a large part. But there is growing realization that there will be residual fossil fuel use long into the future, and that the emissions from the burning of these fossil fuels in power plants and factories …

Results Of Cop27 And Expectations For Cop28, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, Fareed Yasseen

New England Journal of Public Policy

Since 1995, government representatives from around the world have gathered nearly every year for the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) to advance work on multilateral agreements and to provide a way forward in tackling the significant challenges of climate change. The last of these conferences took place on November 6–20, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

COP27 brought together more than 35,000 people from across the globe to deliberate on important actions for addressing the climate. Hailed as the “African COP” and “Implementation COP,” it raised expectations that decisions from previous conferences, reflecting the needs and priorities of the …

The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good: Carbon Credits And Funding For Decarbonization In Developing Countries, Andrew A. Bernstein

New England Journal of Public Policy

Carbon credits issued in the voluntary carbon market are an important source of funding for projects in developing countries designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as forest preservation and renewable energy. Beyond their potential to provide billions of dollars of private sector financing for decarbonization, carbon credits can generate economic opportunity, employment, and biodiversity. But they are controversial, mainly (but not only) because it is difficult to confirm and to quantify their emissions benefits. This article argues that policymakers should nonetheless support voluntary carbon market growth, so long as companies use carbon credits to mitigate emissions they cannot avoid …

Cop27 And The New Rise Of The Global South, Janice Golding

New England Journal of Public Policy

Developing countries require direct and indirect financial and non-financial assistance to address the climate crisis. The COP27 announcement of a new Loss and Damage Fund as well the unveiling of the Bridgetown Initiative collectively hold substantial promise to alter the course of climate multilateralism. The outcome of COP27 has presented unprecedented opportunities for the Global South to build global solidarity for climate justice, but the path ahead will not be easy. Materialization of support to developing countries may be, at best, not sustainable, or at worst, unforeseeable without consistent application of principles and values enshrined in historic, moral accountability for …

Joint Global Responsibility Fund For Climate, Conservation, And Communities: A Proposed Innovative Tax-Based Funding Mechanism, Tamar Ron

New England Journal of Public Policy

Nature-based solutions address biodiversity loss, climate change, and societal challenges at the local, national, regional, and global levels. The costs of their conservation, however, are mostly local and national in nature. Confronting the rolling dual crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change requires us to recognize nature’s intrinsic value. Moreover, we must find practical ways for their monetary valuation to be channeled as payment for the services of conservation custodians. It is suggested here to translate the value of natural assets and the understanding of the local costs and global benefits of their conservation, into an innovative and ambitious funding …

The How And Why Of Visual Practice At Un Climate Negotiations, Stéphanie Heckman

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this article Stéphanie Heckman examines the process and outcomes of her graphic recording work and other forms of visual practice in the context of UN climate negotiations, reflecting on three years of collaboration with the UN Climate Change Secretariat, particularly during the eighteen-month Global Stocktake process. After a review of the history and science behind visual storytelling, she analyses one of the graphic recordings made for the third meeting of the Technical Dialogue of the Global Stocktake through the lens of Kelvy Bird’s ‘Levels of Scribing’ model. Drawing on comments from delegates at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and …

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley, Adanna C. Kalejaye

New England Journal of Public Policy

To coincide with COP28 in Dubai, this issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy published a series of articles on climate warming.

2023 November 23 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Emerging Sensing, Imaging, And Computational Technologies To Scale Nano-To Macroscale Rhizosphere Dynamics – Review And Research Perspectives, Amir H. Ahkami, Odeta Qafoku, Tiina Roose, Quanbing Mou, Yi Lu, Zoe G. Cardon, Yuxin Wu, Chunwei Chou, Joshua B. Fisher, Tamas Varga, Pubudu Handakumbura, Jayde A. Aufrecht, Arunima Bhattacharjee, James J. Moran

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The soil region influenced by plant roots, i.e., the rhizosphere, is one of the most complex biological habitats on Earth and significantly impacts global carbon flow and transformation. Understanding the structure and function of the rhizosphere is critically important for maintaining sustainable plant ecosystem services, designing engineered ecosystems for long-term soil carbon storage, and mitigating the effects of climate change. However, studying the biological and ecological processes and interactions in the rhizosphere requires advanced integrated technologies capable of decoding such a complex system at different scales. Here, we review how emerging approaches in sensing, imaging, and computational modeling …

Tidal Bed Stress Asymmetry And Sediment Transport In Estuaries, Austin Scott Hudson

Dissertations and Theses

Rivers and estuaries provide numerous ecological, economic, and cultural resources. The value of these resources is greatly influenced by sediment transport processes, which can be affected by human activities and climate variability. A key driver of sediment transport in tidal rivers and estuaries is tidal asymmetry of velocity and bed stress, which can manifest from both non-linear tidal interactions and linear interactions among astronomical tidal constituents.

In this study, an analytical framework is developed to examine and describe the dynamics of bed stress asymmetry in semidiurnal, diurnal, and mixed-tide estuaries (Chapter 1). While tidal velocity asymmetry has been previously analyzed, …

The Seasonal Origins And Ages Of Water Provisioning Streams And Trees In A Tropical Montane Cloud Forest, Emily Burt, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Roxanne M. Cruz-De Hoyos, Adan Julian Ccahuana Quispe, A. Joshua West

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Determining the sources of water provisioning streams, soils, and vegetation can provide important insights into the water that sustains critical ecosystem functions now and how those functions may be expected to respond given projected changes in the global hydrologic cycle. We developed multi-year time series of water isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) based on twice-monthly collections of precipitation, lysimeter, and tree branch xylem waters from a seasonally dry tropical montane cloud forest in the southeastern Andes mountains of Peru. We then used this information to determine indices of the seasonal origins, the young water fractions …

2023 November 16 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Translation Speed Influence On Tropical Cyclone Storm Tide And Surge Generation Along The Gulf Of Mexico Coast, Samantha L. Camarda

LSU Master's Theses

This research examines tropical cyclone translation speed as a factor in storm tide and surge height upon landfall on the United States Gulf Coast. Understanding the effect of translation speed on peak storm tide/surge height is needed to better prepare for and predict future damage from tropical cyclone events. Tropical cyclone data are taken from hourly interpolated best-track HURDAT2 data from 1970–2021. This study uses the HURDAT2 hourly interpolated observation data points (24-hours) pre-landfall to landfall. Translation speed is calculated based on the distance traversed between hourly points. Peak storm tide and storm surge data are taken from SURGEDAT from …

2023 November 9 - Tennessee Weekly Drought Summary, Tennessee Climate Office, East Tennessee State University

Tennessee Climate Office Weekly Drought Summaries

No abstract provided.

Trace Metal Cycling During Phytoplankton Growth In The Southern Ocean, North Pacific, And Tampa Bay, Shannon Michelle Burns

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trace metals iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd) are essential to primary production in the oceans. They act as micronutrients, used in intracellular enzymes for macronutrient acquisition, light harvesting, and mediation of reactive oxygen species. In some cases, they can also substitute for each other when a primary trace metal micronutrient is depleted. Characterizing the interplay amongst trace metals, macronutrients, and phytoplankton growth is vital for understanding the biogeochemical underpinnings of primary production, and for modelers who develop biological pump frameworks for global carbon cycling.

In Chapter two, I investigated …

Assessment Of Awareness Regarding Climate Change Between Seafarers Towards Sdgs Achievement, Ahmed Saad Noufal, Adham Torky, Kareem Tonbol

Blue Economy

This research study examines the perception of seafarers regarding climate change, a significant global issue. The present study aims to investigate the degree of awareness and comprehension of climate change impacts among marine officers. Specifically, the research focuses on exploring the potential association between the marine officers' ranks and their knowledge of climate change issues. The study utilises a quantitative analytical approach, employing questionnaires as the primary means of data collection and the Chi-Square test for statistical analysis. The findings of the research indicate a noteworthy correlation between the hierarchical positions of the marine respondents and their perspectives on the …

Procedures For Assessment Of The Marine Carbon System And Evaluation Of Access And Ocean Acidification Literacy In The Deaf Community, Loraine Martell-Bonet

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One major goal of this dissertation addresses the need for improved laboratory procedures to measure chemical changes in seawater caused by the uptake of atmospheric CO2, especially in coastal environments. Due to the proximity of anthropogenic stressors in the coastal zone, the biogeochemical complexity of the CO2 system is more dynamic than the open ocean. My principal research objectives were addressed by developing methods for (1) improving the accuracy of pH measurements over a wide range of salinities and (2) investigating the acid-base properties of natural organics in the coastal ocean.

The accuracy of pH electrode calibrations is affected when …