Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Climate Change In Southern New Hampshire: Past, Present And Future, Cameron P. Wake, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Peter Wilkinson, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne Stoner, C. Keeley, Julie Labranche

The Sustainability Institute Publications

EARTH’S CLIMATE CHANGES. It always has and always will. However, an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that human activities—including the burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, clearing of forested lands for agriculture, and raising livestock—are now the primary force driving change in the Earth’s climate system. This report describes how the climate of southern New Hampshire has changed over the past century and how the future climate of the region will be affected by a warmer planet due to human activities.

Peritidal Carbonate Cycles Induced By Carbonate Productivity Variations: A Conceptual Model For An Isolated Early Triassic Greenhouse Platform In South China, Wan Yang, Daniel J. Lehrmann

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Eustasy has commonly been invoked to explain peritidal carbonate cyclicity, but is difficult to explain cycles formed in a greenhouse climate when eustasy is minimal. We propose that peritidal cycles on an Early Triassic isolated carbonate platform in Guizhou, South China, were formed by hierarchical carbonate productivity variations. Most of the 149 shallowing-upward cycles are typically terminated by flooding over intertidal facies and contain rare supratidal facies and no prolonged subaerial exposure. Low-diversity benthos in the platform interior during the post-end-Permian biotic recovery were sensitive to environmental perturbations, which caused variations in benthic sediment productivity in the subtidal carbonate factory. …

The Role Of Social Capital And Local Institutions In Coping With Climate Stresses: The Case Of Krapum Chhouk Commune In Rural Cambodia, Dany Va, Michael Regan, Ros Taplin, Bhishna Bajracharya

Bhishna Bajracharya

Social capital is a central requirement for a successful climate change adaptation, especially in Cambodia where formal institutions are still poorly developed. Collective action and not-for-profit bonding are important for climate change adaptation; however, these are not easily developed. This study examined the local institutions vital for the livelihoods of citizens who live in flood-prone Krapum Chhouk commune in rural Cambodia. Through observations and in-depth interviews with the local community, it investigated social capital in terms of the dynamics of relationships, relations of trust, and social norms and practices. This study found that most networks were profit-oriented. Traditional practices such …

The Role Of Social Capital And Local Institutions In Coping With Climate Stresses: The Case Of Krapum Chhouk Commune In Rural Cambodia, Dany Va, Michael Regan, Ros Taplin, Bhishna Bajracharya

Michael Regan

Social capital is a central requirement for a successful climate change adaptation, especially in Cambodia where formal institutions are still poorly developed. Collective action and not-for-profit bonding are important for climate change adaptation; however, these are not easily developed. This study examined the local institutions vital for the livelihoods of citizens who live in flood-prone Krapum Chhouk commune in rural Cambodia. Through observations and in-depth interviews with the local community, it investigated social capital in terms of the dynamics of relationships, relations of trust, and social norms and practices. This study found that most networks were profit-oriented. Traditional practices such …

Maine’S Climate Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow, George L. Jacobson, Ivan J. Fernandez, Paul A. Mayewski, Catherine V. Schmitt

Catherine Schmitt

Recent evidence suggests that climate change is occurring at an accelerated rate as a result of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and associated pollutants. Based on a recently completed study, the authors describe the changes Maine’s climate is likely to undergo over the next century. They suggest that while reduction of greenhouse gases is crucial, Maine needs to be prepared to adapt to the impact that our already changing climate will have on various ecosystems and economic sectors within the state

The Role Of Social Capital And Local Institutions In Coping With Climate Stresses: The Case Of Krapum Chhouk Commune In Rural Cambodia, Dany Va, Michael Regan, Ros Taplin, Bhishna Bajracharya

Dany Va

Social capital is a central requirement for a successful climate change adaptation, especially in Cambodia where formal institutions are still poorly developed. Collective action and not-for-profit bonding are important for climate change adaptation; however, these are not easily developed. This study examined the local institutions vital for the livelihoods of citizens who live in flood-prone Krapum Chhouk commune in rural Cambodia. Through observations and in-depth interviews with the local community, it investigated social capital in terms of the dynamics of relationships, relations of trust, and social norms and practices. This study found that most networks were profit-oriented. Traditional practices such …

Using Social Network Analysis To Evaluate Health - Related Adaptation Decision Making In Cambodia, Kathryn Bowen, Damon Alexander, Fiona Miller, Dany Va

Dany Va

Climate change adaptation in the health sector requires decisions across sectors, levels of government, and organisations. The networks that link these different institutions, and the relationships among people within these networks, are therefore critical influences on the nature of adaptive responses to climate change in the health sector. This study uses social network research to identify key organisational players engaged in developing health-related adaptation activities in Cambodia. It finds that strong partnerships are reported as developing across sectors and different types of organisations in relation to the health risks from climate change. Government ministries are influential organisations, whereas donors, development …

Groundwater Flow Across Spatial Scales: Importance For Climate Modeling, Nir Krakauer, Haibin Li, Ying Fan

Publications and Research

Current regional and global climate models generally do not represent groundwater flow between grid cells as a component of the water budget. We estimate the magnitude of between cell groundwater flow as a function of grid cell size by aggregating results from a numerical model of equilibrium groundwater flow run and validated globally. We find that over a broad range of cell sizes spanning that of state of the art regional and global climate models, mean between cell groundwater flow magnitudes scale with the reciprocal of grid cell length. We also derive this scaling a priori from a simple statistical …

Kenyan Climate Variation Assessment Through Rainfall Anomalies And Sea Surface Temperature (Sst) Correlations, Kimberly E. Lykens

STAR Program Research Presentations

The diverse and varied climate of Eastern Africa’s Kenya is home to an agriculturally dependent populace, in which farmers and other related economic sectors make up the majority of livelihoods and gross domestic product. Recurring droughts and severe flooding are major concerns for local farmers and governmental entities. The purpose of this study is to identify and categorize differences in rainfall trends over Kenya and to examine relationships between seasonal rainfall anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST), with an ultimate goal to improve predictions of wet season rainfall amounts. The analysis began with data from 27 national and cooperative weather …

Predicted Avian Responses To Bioenergy Development Scenarios In An Intensive Agricultural Landscape, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. Mccoy, Qingfeng Guan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conversion of native prairie to agriculture has increased food and bioenergy production but decreased wildlife habitat. However, enrollment of highly erodible cropland in conservation programs has compensated for some grassland loss. In the future, climate change and production of second-generation perennial biofuel crops could further transform agricultural landscapes and increase or decrease grassland area. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is an alternative biofuel feedstock that may be economically and environmentally superior to maize (Zea mays) grain for ethanol production on marginally productive lands. Switchgrass could benefit farmers economically and increase grassland area, but there is uncertainty as to how conversions between rowcrops, …

How Does Snowpack Evolution Affect Climate?, Tristan O. Amaral, Jack E. Dibb, Cameron P. Wake

Student Research Projects

No abstract provided.

Changes In Climate And Moisture Availability In The Antarctic Eocene, Oligocene, And Miocene: Evidence From Palynological And Stable Isotope Geochemical Analyses Of The Shaldril And Andrill Cores, Kathryn Whitney Griener

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior to the Late Eocene, the Antarctic continent experienced lush vegetation under temperate conditions. Just before the Eocene/Oligocene Boundary, the climate of the southernmost continent began to deteriorate dramatically. This cooling trend largely continued until most Antarctic vegetation disappeared, ~13.85-12.8 Ma. Classifying the nature and cause of Antarctica’s drastic climate change is essential for furthering our knowledge of Earth’s history, and also for grasping the potential effects of current and future climate shifts. Here, I present evidence from three new palynomorph-centric studies that deepen our understanding of Antarctic earth science, climate change, and of climate proxies. The first study involved …

A Molecular-Level Approach For Characterizing Water-Insoluble Components Of Ambient Organic Aerosol Particulates Using Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry, A. S. Willoughby, A. S. Wozniak, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The chemical composition of organic aerosols in the atmosphere is strongly influenced by human emissions. The effect these have on the environment, human health, and climate change is determined by the molecular nature of these chemical species. The complexity of organic aerosol samples limits the ability to study the chemical composition, and therefore the associated properties and the impacts they have. Many studies have addressed the watersoluble fraction of organic aerosols and have had much success in identifying specific molecular formulas for thousands of compounds present. However, little attention is given to the water-insoluble portion, which can contain most of …

Climate Change And Hydrological Risks Related To Railway Infrastructure In Northern Regions, Barry A. Palynchuk Phd

Barry A. Palynchuk PhD

In this paper, the authors discuss the possible consequences of global warming on northern hydrology and their impacts on railway drainage infrastructure. How can we change actual design approaches, methods and standards to adapt, to reduce vulnerability and to improve resilience to climate change? Under current climate conditions, snow, ice and permafrost play a dominant role in the water balance in cold regions. Three areas can be distinguished: regions of continuous permafrost, regions of discontinuous permafrost and permafrost-free regions. To predict the potential climate change impacts on each region, the spatial analog and the climate variability analog approaches can be …

A Paleoenvironmental Investigation Of Eolian Influx In Lacustrine Sediments Of The Southern Rocky Mountain Region, Rebecca L. Brice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Potential indications of long-term trends in paleoclimate, specifically winds, in the Southern Rocky Mountain region of the United States were tested using lacustrine sediment from South Blue Lake in the Wet Mountains of Colorado. This study builds upon existing eolian and lacustrine research, and investigates paleowind in a location not yet studied in this manner. Variability in sediment laminae, particle size, and mineralogy show similar patterns during the mid-Holocene warm period (ca. 5500 cal. yr BP - ca. 6000 cal. yr BP). These patterns indicate a warmer, drier, windier period that is contrasted by a less variable period in the …

Multitemporal Floristic And Phenological (Flowering) Analysis Of The Shores Of Lake Issaqueena, South Carolina, Ryerson Pamplin

All Theses

The floristic and phenological (flowering) study of Lake Issaqueena in Pickens
County, SC, conducted by William Pamplin in 1970-1971 was reinvestigated in 2011-
2012 using the Carolina Vegetative Survey (CVS) natural community sampling methods
and photo documentation using a GPS-enabled camera to determine floristic and
phenological changes for this site during the forty years separating these two studies.
Phenological events (flowering) were recorded via photographs taken by a GPS-enabled
camera on a monthly basis. Photographs were downloaded and organized by sampling
date in Picasa 3 web albums and stored in a project Google website. Plants were
identified using expert knowledge, …

Becoming Differently Modern: Geographic Contributions To A Generative Climate Politics, Lesley M. Head, Christopher R. Gibson

Lesley Head

Anthropogenic climate change is a quintessentially modern problem in its historical origins and discursive framing, but how well does modernist thinking provide us with the tools to solve the problems it created? On one hand even though anthropogenic climate change is argued to be a problem of human origins, solutions to which will require human actions and engagements, modernity separates people from climate change in a number of ways. On the other, while amodern or more-than-human concepts of multiple and relational agency are more consistent with the empirical evidence of humans being deeply embedded in earth surface processes, these approaches …

Business And Climate Change: Trends, Issues And Challenges, Badar Alam Iqbal, Munir Hassan, Bhawana Rawat, Shabib Arslan

Business Review

The present century i.e. 21st Century is the century of Business and Climate. These two issues are getting higher attention from both developed countries and developing economies. On the one hand, business has affecting environment and on the other hand environmental products are boosting business and therefore, there is close relationship between business and climate change . Looking into the growing grave concern from different sections over climate change, considerably due to industrial units, businesses had also started to take initiative in this regard. The paper, henceforth, concentrates on what had so far been done, and what more need to …

Climate Change In The Dead Heart Of Australia, Joshua Larsen, Gerald C. Nanson, Timothy J. Cohen, Brian G. Jones, John D. Jansen, Jan-Hendrik May

B. G. Jones

Despite the absence of large-scale glaciation, the Australian continent has experienced substantial environmental change throughout the Quaternary period. This is especially pronounced in central Australia, where one seventh of the continent is drained internally to the depocentre, and lowest point in Australia, Lake Eyre (Figure 1). Research has shown that at one time, large sandy braided and meandering rivers carried water through dunefields to a large freshwater lake system. Today, the rivers are hostage to the dunefield, and floodwaters might only reach Lake Eyre once every ten years or so. In order to understand the development of this arid desert …

Response Of Coral Reefs To Climate Change: Expansion And Demise Of The Southernmost Pacific Coral Reef, Colin D. Woodroffe, Brendan P. Brooke, Michelle Linklater, David M. Kennedy, Brian G. Jones, Cameron Buchanan, Richard Mleczko, Quan Hua, Jian-Xin Zhao

B. G. Jones

Coral reefs track sea level and are particularly sensitive to changes in climate. Reefs are threatened by global warming, with many experiencing increased coral bleaching. Warmer sea surface temperatures might enable reef expansion into mid latitudes. Here we report multibeam sonar and coring that reveal an extensive relict coral reef around Lord Howe Island, which is fringed by the southernmost reef in the Pacific Ocean. The relict reef, in water depths of 25-50 m, flourished in early Holocene and covered an area more than 20 times larger than the modern reef. Radiocarbon and uranium-series dating indicates that corals grew between …

Alluvial Evidence For Major Climate And Flow Regime Changes During The Middle And Late Quaternary For Eastern Central Australia, Gerald C. Nanson, David M. Price, B. G. Jones, Jerry C. Maroulis, Maria Coleman, Hugo Bowman, Timothy J. Cohen, Tim Pietsch, Joshua R. Larsen

B. G. Jones

As a low-gradient arid region spanning the tropics to the temperate zone, the Lake Eyre basin has undergone gentle late Cenozoic crustal warping leading to substantial alluvial deposition, thereby forming repositories of evidence for palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological changes from the Late Tertiary to the Holocene. Auger holes and bank exposures at five locations along the lower 500 km of Cooper Creek, a major contributor to Lake Eyre in the eastern part of the basin, yielded 85 luminescence dates (TL and OSL) that, combined wit a further 142 luminescence dates from northeastern Australia, have established a chronology of multiple episodes of …

Slides: What Does Climate Change Mean For Cold Water Fisheries, Stan Bradshaw

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

1 page "Abstract" and 8 slides

Slides: Future Water Availability In The West: Will There Be Enough?, Michael Dettinger

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Michael Dettinger, USGS, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA

30 slides

"with contributions from Julio Betancourt, Dan Cayan, & others"

Slides: Is There A Dust Bowl In Our Future?: Projections For The Eastern Rockies And Central Great Plains, Dennis Ojima

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Dennis Ojima, Senior Research Scientist, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University (NREL/CSU)

30 slides

Slides: A History Of Climate Variability And Change In The American West, Kelly T. Redmond

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Kelly T. Redmond, Regional Climatologist, Western Regional Climate Center (WRCC), Desert Research Institute

65 slides

Fluctuating Viability Selection On Morphology Of Cliff Swallows Is Driven By Climate, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Erin A. Roche

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The extent to which fluctuating selection can maintain evolutionary stasis in most populations remains an unresolved question in evolutionary biology. Climate has been hypothesized to drive reversals in the direction of selection among different time periods and may also be responsible for intense episodic selection caused by rare weather events. We measured viability selection associated with morphological traits in cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in western Nebraska, USA, over a 14-year period following a rare climatic event. We used mark-recapture to estimate the annual apparent survival of over 26 000 individuals whose wing, tail, tarsus, and bill had been …

The Evaluation Of Water Storage In Death Valley Using Grace Satellite Data, Maile Sweigart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As drought conditions spread across the United States, concerns over water supplies, water use, and water management policies are growing and possible contributing environmental factors are continually being scrutinized. This thesis examines Death Valley as an analog for Southern Nevada and utilizes NASA EOS data, combined with ancillary climate data, to assess the effect of decadal climate variability on groundwater storage in the Death Valley area. Historical climate data, combined with satellite imagery observations, were compiled and calculated for analyses. Conclusions derived from statistical analyses infer trends between GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite data and fluctuating levels of …

A Latest Carboniferous Warming Spike Recorded By A Fusulinid-Rich Bioherm In Timor Leste: Implications For East Gondwana Deglaciation, Vladimir I. Davydov, David W. Haig, Eujay Mccartain

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

During the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic Timor lay in the northern part of the north–south East Gondwana rift system along which the western margin of Australia later developed. Discovery of a latest Gzhelian bioherm in the central highlands of Timor Leste has implications for latest Carboniferous–earliest Permian climate history and deglaciation in basins further south in the rift system.

Limestone outcrop of the Maubisse Formation near the village of Kulau is recognized as a bioherm with a massive lower unit, including reef framework at the base, and a bedded grainstone upper unit. The bioherm developed on a basalt substrate …

Development And Evaluation Of An Inquiry-Based Unit For Teaching About Paleoclimate And Climate Change, Steven Barone

Masters Theses

The purpose of this action research study is to develop and evaluate a sequence of four lessons for an introductory earth science course taken by future elementary teachers. Action research is a reflective process of data collection and analysis used by teachers to improve their classroom practice. This study’s goal is to produce a series of lessons that align with the course philosophy of student-driven learning through guided-inquiry and are effective at improving students’ understanding of climate change.

Three data sets were used to evaluate the lessons: 1) student knowledge gains on an objective pre- and post-test, 2) students’ self-reported …

Mammalian Responses To Pleistocene Climate Change In Southeastern Australia, Richard Roberts, Jonathon Olley, John Hellstrom, Dirk Megirian, Gavin Prideaux, Kira Westaway

Richard G Roberts

No abstract provided.