Mineral dust mobilisation, transport, and deposition in different climate epochs

Mineral dust is an important component of the Earth's climate system and provides essential nutrientsrnto oceans and rain forests. During atmospheric transport, dust particles directly and indirectly influencernweather and climate. The strength of dust sources and characteristics of the transport, in turn, mightrnbe subject to climatic changes. Earth system models help for a better understanding of these complexrnmechanisms.rnrnThis thesis applies the global climate model ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) for simulationsrnof the mineral dust cycle under different climatic conditions. The prerequisite for suitable modelrnresults is the determination of the model setup reproducing the most realistic dust cycle in the recentrnclimate. Simulations with this setup are used to gain new insights into properties of the transatlanticrndust transport from Africa to the Americas and adaptations of the model's climate forcing factors allowrnfor investigations of the impact of climatic changes on the dust cycle.rnrnIn the first part, the most appropriate model setup is determined through a number of sensitivity experiments.rnIt uses the dust emission parametrisation from Tegen et al. 2002 and a spectral resolutionrnof T85, corresponding to a horizontal grid spacing of about 155 km. Coarser resolutions are not able tornaccurately reproduce emissions from important source regions such as the Bodele Depression in Chad orrnthe Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia. Furthermore, the representation of ageing and wet deposition ofrndust particles in the model requires a basic sulphur chemical mechanism. This setup is recommended forrnfuture simulations with EMAC focusing on mineral dust.rnrnOne major branch of the global dust cycle is the long-range transport from the world's largest dustrnsource, the Sahara, across the Atlantic Ocean. Seasonal variations of the main transport pathways to thernAmazon Basin in boreal winter and to the Caribbean during summer are well known and understood,rnand corroborated in this thesis. Both Eulerian and Lagrangian methods give estimates on the typicalrntransport times from the source regions to the deposition on the order of nine to ten days. Previously, arnhuge proportion of the dust transported across the Atlantic Ocean has been attributed to emissions fromrnthe Bodele Depression. However, the contribution of this hot spot to the total transport is very low inrnthe present results, although the overall emissions from this region are comparable. Both model resultsrnand data sets analysed earlier, such as satellite products, involve uncertainties and this controversy aboutrndust transport from the Bodele Depression calls for future investigations and clarification.rnrnAforementioned characteristics of the transatlantic dust transport just slightly change in simulationsrnrepresenting climatic conditions of the Little Ice Age in the middle of the last millennium with meanrnnear-surface cooling of 0.5 to 1 K. However, intensification of the West African summer monsoon duringrnthe Little Ice Age is associated with higher dust emissions from North African source regions and wetterrnconditions in the Sahel. Furthermore, the Indian Monsoon and dust emissions from the Arabian Peninsula,rnwhich are affected by this circulation, are intensified during the Little Ice Age, whereas the annual globalrndust budget is similar in both climate epochs. Simulated dust emission fluxes are particularly influencedrnby the surface parameters. Modifications of the model do not affect those in this thesis, to be able tornascribe all differences in the results to changed forcing factors, such as greenhouse gas concentrations.rnDue to meagre comparison data sets, the verification of results presented here is problematic. Deeperrnknowledge about the dust cycle during the Little Ice Age can be obtained by future simulations, based onrnthis work, and additionally using improved reconstructions of surface parameters. Better evaluation ofrnsuch simulations would be possible by refining the temporal resolution of reconstructed dust depositionrnfluxes from existing ice and marine sediment cores.

Climate Change and International Law. Exploring the Linkages Between Human Rights, Environment, Trade and Investment

Mapping the relevant principles and norms of international law, the paper discusses scientific evidence and identifies current legal foundations of climate change mitigation adaptation and communication in international environmental law, human rights protection and international trade regulation in WTO law. It briefly discusses the evolution and architecture of relevant multilateral environmental agreements, in particular the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It discusses the potential role of human rights in identifying pertinent goals and values of mitigation and adaptation and eventually turns to principles and rules of international trade regulation and investment protection which are likely to be of crucial importance should the advent of a new multilateral agreement fail to materialize. The economic and legal relevance of rules on tariffs, border tax adjustment and subsidies, services and intellectual property and investment law are discussed in relation to the production, supply and use of energy. Moreover, lessons from trade negotiations may be drawn for negotiations of future environmental instruments. The paper offers a survey of the main interacting areas of public international law and discusses the intricate interaction of all these components informing climate change mitigation, adaptation and communication in international law in light of an emerging doctrine of multilayered governance. It seeks to contribute to greater coherence of what today is highly fragmented and rarely discussed in an overall context. The paper argues that trade regulation will be of critical importance in assessing domestic policies and potential trade remedies offer powerful incentives for all nations alike to participate in a multilateral framework defining appropriate goals and principles.

Survey of safety climate in public hospitals in Costa Rica in 1997

In response to growing concern for occupational health and safety in the public hospital system in Costa Rica, a research program was initiated in 1995 to evaluate and improve the safety climate in the national healthcare system through regional training programs, and to develop the capacity of the occupational health commissions in these settings to improve the identification and mitigation of workplace risks. A cross-sectional survey of 1000 hospital-based healthcare workers was conducted in 1997 to collect baseline data that will be used to develop appropriate worker training programs in occupational health. The objectives of this survey were to: (1) describe the safety climate within the national hospital system, (2) identify factors associated with safety climate focusing on individual and organizational variables, and (3) to evaluate the relationship between safety climate and workplace injuries and safety practices of employees. Individual factors evaluated included the demographic variables of age, gender, education and profession. Organizational factors evaluated included training, psychosocial work environment, job-task demands, availability of protective equipment and administrative controls. Work-related injuries and safety practices of employees included the type and frequency of injuries experienced and reported, and compliance with established safety practices. Multivariate regression analyses demonstrated that training and administrative controls were the two most significant predictors of safety climate. None of the demographic variables were significant predictors of safety climate. Safety climate was inversely and significantly associated with workplace injuries and positively and significantly associated with safety practices. These results suggest that training and administrative controls should be included in future training efforts and that improving safety climate will decrease workplace injuries and increase safety practices. ^

LGM Summer Climate on the Southern Margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet: Wet Or Dry?

Regional climate simulations are conducted using the Polar fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University (PSU)-NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) with a 60-km horizontal resolution domain over North America to explore the summer climate of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: 21 000 calendar years ago), when much of the continent was covered by the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). Output from a tailored NCAR Community Climate Model version 3 (CCM3) simulation of the LGM climate is used to provide the initial and lateral boundary conditions for Polar MM5. LGM boundary conditions include continental ice sheets, appropriate orbital forcing, reduced CO2 concentration, paleovegetation, modified sea surface temperatures, and lowered sea level. The simulated LGM summer climate is characterized by a pronounced low-level thermal gradient along the southern margin of the LIS resulting from the juxtaposition of the cold ice sheet and adjacent warm ice-free land surface. This sharp thermal gradient anchors the midtropospheric jet stream and facilitates the development of synoptic cyclones that track over the ice sheet, some of which produce copious liquid precipitation along and south of the LIS terminus. Precipitation on the southern margin is orographically enhanced as moist southerly low-level flow (resembling a contemporary, Great Plains low-level jet configuration) in advance of the cyclone is drawn up the ice sheet slope. Composites of wet and dry periods on the LIS southern margin illustrate two distinctly different atmospheric flow regimes. Given the episodic nature of the summer rain events, it may be possible to reconcile the model depiction of wet conditions on the LIS southern margin during the LGM summer with the widely accepted interpretation of aridity across the Great Plains based on geological proxy evidence.

Polar MM5 Simulations of the Winter Climate of the Laurentide Ice Sheet at the LGM

Optimized regional climate simulations are conducted using the Polar MM5, a version of the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5), with a 60-km horizontal resolution domain over North America during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 000 calendar years ago), when much of the continent was covered by the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The objective is to describe the LGM annual cycle at high spatial resolution with an emphasis on the winter atmospheric circulation. Output from a tailored NCAR Community Climate Model version 3 (CCM3) simulation of the LGM climate is used to provide the initial and lateral boundary conditions for Polar MM5. LGM boundary conditions include continental ice sheets, appropriate orbital forcing, reduced CO2 concentration, paleovegetation, modified sea surface temperatures, and lowered sea level. Polar MM5 produces a substantially different atmospheric response to the LGM boundary conditions than CCM3 and other recent GCM simulations. In particular, from November to April the upper-level flow is split around a blocking anticyclone over the LIS, with a northern branch over the Canadian Arctic and a southern branch impacting southern North America. The split flow pattern is most pronounced in January and transitions into a single, consolidated jet stream that migrates northward over the LIS during summer. Sensitivity experiments indicate that the winter split flow in Polar MM5 is primarily due to mechanical forcing by LIS, although model physics and resolution also contribute to the simulated flow configuration. Polar MM5 LGM results are generally consistent with proxy climate estimates in the western United States, Alaska, and the Canadian Arctic and may help resolve some long-standing discrepancies between proxy data and previous simulations of the LGM climate.

Climate and soil attributes determine plant species turnover in global drylands

Aim Geographical, climatic and soil factors are major drivers of plant beta diversity, but their importance for dryland plant communities is poorly known. The aim of this study was to: (1) characterize patterns of beta diversity in global drylands; (2) detect common environmental drivers of beta diversity; and (3) test for thresholds in environmental conditions driving potential shifts in plant species composition. Location Global. Methods Beta diversity was quantified in 224 dryland plant communities from 22 geographical regions on all continents except Antarctica using four complementary measures: the percentage of singletons (species occurring at only one site); Whittaker's beta diversity, β(W); a directional beta diversity metric based on the correlation in species occurrences among spatially contiguous sites, β(R2); and a multivariate abundance-based metric, β(MV). We used linear modelling to quantify the relationships between these metrics of beta diversity and geographical, climatic and soil variables. Results Soil fertility and variability in temperature and rainfall, and to a lesser extent latitude, were the most important environmental predictors of beta diversity. Metrics related to species identity percentage of singletons and β(W) were most sensitive to soil fertility, whereas those metrics related to environmental gradients and abundance (β(R2) and β(MV) were more associated with climate variability. Interactions among soil variables, climatic factors and plant cover were not important determinants of beta diversity. Sites receiving less than 178 mm of annual rainfall differed sharply in species composition from more mesic sites (> 200 mm). Main conclusions Soil fertility and variability in temperature and rainfall are the most important environmental predictors of variation in plant beta diversity in global drylands. Our results suggest that those sites annually receiving c. 178 mm of rainfall will be especially sensitive to future climate changes. These findings may help to define appropriate conservation strategies for mitigating effects of climate change on dryland vegetation.

Application and comparison of UTCI and PET in temperature climate conditions

The assessment of the thermal bioclimate is based on the human energy balance and derived indices such as Physiologically equivalent temperature (Pet) or Universal thermal Climate index (UtCi). These two indices were compared over a period often year based on hourly data in a middle european city with a temperate climate. The analysis performed shows that the differences obtained result from the different thermo-physiological settings of clothing insulation. For conditions with extremely high vapour pressure values, UtCi yields higher values than Pet, which could describe the thermo-physiological stress more appropriately.

Conservation of threatened habitat types under future climate change – Lessons from plant-distribution models and current extinction trends in southern Germany

A higher risk of future range losses as a result of climate change is expected to be one of the main drivers of extinction trends in vascular plants occurring in habitat types of high conservation value. Nevertheless, the impact of the climate changes of the last 60 years on the current distribution and extinction patterns of plants is still largely unclear. We applied species distribution models to study the impact of environmental variables (climate, soil conditions, land cover, topography), on the current distribution of 18 vascular plant species characteristic of three threatened habitat types in southern Germany: (i) xero-thermophilous vegetation, (ii) mesophilous mountain grasslands (mountain hay meadows and matgrass communities), and (iii) wetland habitats (bogs, fens, and wet meadows). Climate and soil variables were the most important variables affecting plant distributions at a spatial level of 10 × 10 km. Extinction trends in our study area revealed that plant species which occur in wetland habitats faced higher extinction risks than those in xero-thermophilous vegetation, with the risk for species in mesophilous mountain grasslands being intermediary. For three plant species characteristic either of mesophilous mountain grasslands or wetland habitats we showed exemplarily that extinctions from 1950 to the present day have occurred at the edge of the species’ current climatic niche, indicating that climate change has likely been the main driver of extinction. This is largely consistent with current extinction trends reported in other studies. Our study indicates that the analysis of past extinctions is an appropriate means to assess the impact of climate change on species and that vulnerability to climate change is both species- and habitat-specific.

Cultural competence in an HIV dedicated dental clinic: Application of the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS)

This dissertation investigated perspectives on cultural competence among African-American women patients, staff, and the administrator of a dental clinic serving people living with HIV/AIDS; and evaluated the role of the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS) in advancing the provision of culturally competent care in the clinic. ^ The study was qualitative with data collection via focus groups and individual interviews with a sample of African-American women patients, and individual interviews with a sample of staff and the clinic administrator. Transcripts were coded and themes identified using the software program ATLAS.ti. A cultural audit template was developed and applied to evaluate cultural competency. ^ Among attitudes and behaviors that contributed to the provision of culturally competent care at the clinic were respect and empathic communication. Formal cultural competency was not featured strongly in the methods by which the staff learned to work with diverse populations. Instead cultural competence among the staff was based on thoughtful hiring practices, natural aptitude and a climate that encouraged learning through informal sharing of experiences. The staff and administrator felt that an African-American dentist would be an asset in improving culturally competent care at the clinic. Previous research and national policy also promote the provider-patient racial/ethnic concordance to improve care. In this study, however, the patients were happy with the care provided regardless of the race/ethnicity of the staff, probably reflecting the well developed cultural competence skills of clinic staff overall. ^ The clinic administrator was unaware of the CLAS standards although the clinic was implicitly operated under their mandates. This occurred because the clinic is supported by federal funding and the CLAS standards were incorporated into the requirements. Incorporation into and monitoring of the CLAS standards in federally funded programs therefore appears to be an effective means for ensuring that they are implemented. ^ This study illustrates that cultural competence, though not universally understood, can be systematically investigated to identify what constitutes appropriate care and the factors that support or inhibit it. Among important elements of culturally competent care are respect and empathic communication. ^

Subsidies, Clean Energy, and Climate Change

Estimates show that fossil fuel subsidies average USD 400–600 billion annually worldwide while renewable energy (RE) subsidies amounted to USD 66 billion in 2010 and are predicted to rise to USD 250 billion annually by 2035. Domestic political rationales for energy subsidies include promoting innovation, job creation and economic growth, energy security, and independence. Energy subsidies may also serve social and environmental goals. Whether and to what extent subsidies are effective to achieve these goals or instead lead to market distortions is a matter of much debate and the trade effects of energy subsidies are complex. This paper offers an overview of the types of energy subsidies that are used in the conventional and renewable energy sectors, and their relationship with climate change, in particular greenhouse gas emissions. While the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) is mostly concerned with harm to competitors, this paper considers the extent to which the Agreement could also discipline subsidies that cause harm to the environment as a global common. Beyond the existing legal framework, this paper surveys a number of alternatives for improving the ability of subsidies disciplines to internalize climate change costs of energy production and consumption. One option is a new multilateral agreement on subsidies or trade remedies (with an appropriate carve-out in the WTO regime to allow for it if such an agreement is concluded outside it). Alternatively, climate change-related subsidies could be included as part of another multilateral regime or as part of regional agreements. A third approach would be to incorporate rules on energy subsidies in sectorial agreements, including a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement such as has been proposed in other ICTSD studies.

Facing the climate change challenges in the mining and mineral industry as providers of a sustainable manufacturing process

A sustainable manufacturing process must rely on an also sustainable raw materials and energy supply. This paper is intended to show the results of the studies developed on sustainable business models for the minerals industry as a fundamental previous part of a sustainable manufacturing process. As it has happened in other economic activities, the mining and minerals industry has come under tremendous pressure to improve its social, developmental, and environmental performance. Mining, refining, and the use and disposal of minerals have in some instances led to significant local environmental and social damage. Nowadays, like in other parts of the corporate world, companies are more routinely expected to perform to ever higher standards of behavior, going well beyond achieving the best rate of return for shareholders. They are also increasingly being asked to be more transparent and subject to third-party audit or review, especially in environmental aspects. In terms of environment, there are three inter-related areas where innovation and new business models can make the biggest difference: carbon, water and biodiversity. The focus in these three areas is for two reasons. First, the industrial and energetic minerals industry has significant footprints in each of these areas. Second, these three areas are where the potential environmental impacts go beyond local stakeholders and communities, and can even have global impacts, like in the case of carbon. So prioritizing efforts in these areas will ultimately be a strategic differentiator as the industry businesses continues to grow. Over the next forty years, world?s population is predicted to rise from 6.300 million to 9.500 million people. This will mean a huge demand of natural resources. Indeed, consumption rates are such that current demand for raw materials will probably soon exceed the planet?s capacity. As awareness of the actual situation grows, the public is demanding goods and services that are even more environmentally sustainable. This means that massive efforts are required to reduce the amount of materials we use, including freshwater, minerals and oil, biodiversity, and marine resources. It?s clear that business as usual is no longer possible. Today, companies face not only the economic fallout of the financial crisis; they face the substantial challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy that is constrained by dwindling natural resources easily accessible. Innovative business models offer pioneering companies an early start toward the future. They can signal to consumers how to make sustainable choices and provide reward for both the consumer and the shareholder. Climate change and carbon remain major risk discontinuities that we need to better understand and deal with. In the absence of a global carbon solution, the principal objective of any individual country should be to reduce its global carbon emissions by encouraging conservation. The mineral industry internal response is to continue to focus on reducing the energy intensity of our existing operations through energy efficiency and the progressive introduction of new technology. Planning of the new projects must ensure that their energy footprint is minimal from the start. These actions will increase the long term resilience of the business to uncertain energy and carbon markets. This focus, combined with a strong demand for skills in this strategic area for the future requires an appropriate change in initial and continuing training of engineers and technicians and their awareness of the issue of eco-design. It will also need the development of measurement tools for consistent comparisons between companies and the assessments integration of the carbon footprint of mining equipments and services in a comprehensive impact study on the sustainable development of the Economy.

Estimating the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on the greenhouse gas balance of soils in Wales under current and future climate

This work was supported by a Grant from the Welsh Government (Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Project—GMEP).

Models for stochastic climate prediction

There has been a recent burst of activity in the atmosphere/ocean sciences community in utilizing stable linear Langevin stochastic models for the unresolved degree of freedom in stochastic climate prediction. Here several idealized models for stochastic climate modeling are introduced and analyzed through unambiguous mathematical theory. This analysis demonstrates the potential need for more sophisticated models beyond stable linear Langevin equations. The new phenomena include the emergence of both unstable linear Langevin stochastic models for the climate mean and the need to incorporate both suitable nonlinear effects and multiplicative noise in stochastic models under appropriate circumstances. The strategy for stochastic climate modeling that emerges from this analysis is illustrated on an idealized example involving truncated barotropic flow on a beta-plane with topography and a mean flow. In this example, the effect of the original 57 degrees of freedom is well represented by a theoretically predicted stochastic model with only 3 degrees of freedom.

Accommodative communication as a mediator to the negative effects of cultural identity on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate

This Study examines whether cultural identity has an impact on perceptions of foreign management practices and perceptions of organisational climate. Based on social identity theory as a conceptual framework, it is assumed that the salience of cultural identity leads to in-group bias in interpreting organisational events. This study also examines whether managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediates these relationships. In a multinational organisation, employees see the foreign company as a symbol, and the person that deals with them in everyday working relationships in the organisation is their direct leader. It is argued that the salience of cultural identity wiU depend on employees' perceptions of the way managers attach meaning to foreign managerial practices and communicate it to them. Interaction with managers who create a distance with their employees and who fail to Usten to what employees need may be a socially appropriate way to invoke the salience of cultural identity in the working relationship. The participants were 206 Indonesian employees from three multinational organisations. Using a questionnaire, this study shows that participants with strong cultural identity had more negative perceptions of foreign management practices and organisational climate. Furthermore, this study indicates that managers' accommodative communication behaviour mediated these relationships.