Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / Extreme heat is a hazard that is capable of causing economic problems and potentially high mortality rates across several regions simultaneously. This dissertation was designed to provide a better understanding of how often and where heat waves occur within the United States. The research design assessed all places equally in order to evaluate geographic variations in the character of heat waves. In order to simplify the variety of extreme heat events that occur, this research developed two classifications; one for accumulated daily heat stress and a second for extended periods of extreme conditions (heat waves). Both new classification systems were designed to objectively categorize individual events using a scale from 1 (minor) to 5 (extreme). The heat wave classification system was applied to 70 locations for years 1980-2001 to determine the frequency, magnitude, and duration of daily heat stress events and heat waves. Hourly temperature and humidity data were used to determine heat index values, which were accumulated to provide the daily heat intensity measurement. Major findings from this research include: how heat stress distribution is influenced by topographical relief variations as well as latitude; daily heat stress classifications during an event were typically not in an intensify-then-weaken progression; Category 1 heat waves were the most frequent overall followed by Category 2 and Category 3 heat waves, however Category 5 events outnumbered Category 4 events over the temporal period of this study; and heat stress days/heat waves occurred most frequently in the Southeast, with the fewest occurring in the Northwest. The classification was also used to illustrate the extent and magnitude of the 1995 heat wave that caused high human mortality in the Midwest. Results from this research are presented in maps and tables to provide a detailed insight on the characteristics of heat stress throughout the United States as a function of the exposure component of hazard vulnerability.

Almost one-half of the annual precipitation in the southwestern United States occurs during the North American monsoon (NAM). Given favorable synoptic-scale conditions, organized monsoon thunderstorms may affect relatively large geographic areas. Through an objective analysis of atmospheric reanalysis and observational data, the dominant synoptic patterns associated with NAM extreme events are determined for the period from 1993 to 2010. Thermodynamically favorable extreme-weather-event days are selected on the basis of atmospheric instability and precipitable water vapor from Tucson, Arizona, rawinsonde data. The atmospheric circulation patterns at 500 hPa associated with the extreme events are objectively characterized using principal component analysis. The first two dominant modes of 500-hPa geopotential-height anomalies of the severe-weather-event days correspond to type-I and type-II severe-weather-event patterns previously subjectively identified by Maddox et al. These patterns reflect a positioning of the monsoon ridge to the north and east or north and west, respectively, from its position in the "Four Corners" region during the period of the climatological maximum of monsoon precipitation from mid-July to mid-August. An hourly radar gauge precipitation product shows evidence of organized, westward-propagating convection in Arizona during the type-I and type-II severe weather events. This new methodological approach for objectively identifying severe weather events may be easily adapted to inform operational forecasting or analysis of gridded climate data.

Submitted by Núbia Beray Armond (nubiaarmond@hotmail.com) on 2018-06-25T21:52:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - 25-06-2018.pdf: 8153129 bytes, checksum: e9141bda68f119d870251791fe5ac09f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Claudia Adriana Spindola null (claudia@fct.unesp.br) on 2018-06-26T11:42:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 armond_nb_dr_prud.pdf: 8153129 bytes, checksum: e9141bda68f119d870251791fe5ac09f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-26T11:42:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 armond_nb_dr_prud.pdf: 8153129 bytes, checksum: e9141bda68f119d870251791fe5ac09f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O estado do Rio de Janeiro possui significativa multiplicidade geográfica, tanto no que se refere a suas feições orográficas e diversidade climática, quanto aos diferentes padrões de produção do espaço existentes em seu interior. Diante dessa complexidade, o conhecimento sobre a variabilidade espaço-temporal dos elementos do clima no Estado é fundamental para fins de planejamento e gestão do território. Esta tese se propõe a realizar uma reflexão sobre as classificações climáticas em Geografia, com vistas a efetuar uma análise geográfica do clima do Estado do Rio de Janeiro a partir da relação entre precipitação pluviométrica e vulnerabilidade. Parte-se da hipótese que, ainda que possa possuir distintas unidades de precipitação pluviométrica, as chuvas podem deflagrar excepcionalidades que são determinadas pelas diferenças nos padrões de vulnerabilidade do Estado. O arcabouço analítico de tese se assentou sobre as perspectivas da climatologia geográfica, do conceito de vulnerabilidade e da Geografia do Clima, ao propor uma investigação baseada na utilização dos conceitos de classificação climática, vulnerabilidade e episódios extremos pautados na categoria de espaço em suas concepções absoluto, relativo e relacional. Para tanto, foram utilizados dados climáticos de estações meteorológicas e postos pluviométricos do INMET e da ANA, com a aplicação de técnicas de estatística descritiva e multivariada desde o processo de preenchimento de falhas até a definição dos anos-padrão para análise. As representações cartográficas foram realizadas com o intuito de demonstrar a complexidade inerente à relação entre os fatores e elementos do clima em diferentes escalas. As médias de precipitação da série histórica analisada (1975-2015) demonstraram padrões similares àqueles exibidos pela Normal Climatológica, com as porções norte e noroeste do estado apresentando padrões de precipitação inferiores em relação às áreas a barlavento da Serra do Mar. No que se refere à gênese, mais de 90% da precipitação pluviométrica do estado do Rio de Janeiro advém da dinâmica de avanço da Frente Polar Atlântica – FPA e/ou sistemas associados (frente oclusa, frente fria, frente reflexa e formação de Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul – ZCAS). Sobre as massas de ar, as áreas próximas ao litoral sul, à Serra do Mar e a porções mais continentais do estado contam com participação significativa dos sistemas polares (massa polar atlântica e massa polar atlântica continentalizada - em média 29%), enquanto as áreas situadas no norte fluminense e setores mais próximos à faixa costeira apresentam, em média, 35% de participação dos sistemas tropicais (massa tropical atlântica, massa tropical atlântica continentalizada e instabilidade tropical), caracterizando o estado como pertencente a grande faixa de transição do sudeste brasileiro. Foram, ainda, empregados dados de ocorrências de inundações (bruscas e graduais) e dados referentes ao Censo de 2010 para aplicar o SoVI – Social Vulnerability Index e relacionar este modelo aos episódios extremos. Verificou-se que, a despeito da maior parte do território do estado do Rio de Janeiro apresentar elevadas condições de vulnerabilidade, a maioria das ocorrências coincidiu com as áreas de alta e muito alta vulnerabilidade. Entretanto, não necessariamente as áreas de maior atuação (em termos percentuais) da FPA e/ou sistemas associados coincidiram com os municípios que apresentaram maior número de ocorrências de inundações, o que denota a relevância de uma análise que considere a dinâmica climática não apenas em consonância, mas em relação com as dinâmicas de produção do espaço geográfico. Em síntese, buscou-se, com este trabalho, indicar reflexões através de argumentação teórica, procedimentos metodológicos, arsenal analítico e de representação, para futuras propostas de análise e classificação do clima considerando-o como um fenômeno eminentemente geográfico, tal como propõe a Geografia do Clima. / Rio de Janeiro state has a significant geographic multiplicity, both in terms of its orographic features and climatic diversity, as well as the different patterns of space production in its interior. Faced with this complexity, knowledge about climate elements spatiotemporal variability is fundamental for planning and territorial management purposes. This thesis proposes to carry out a reflection on the climatic classifications in Geography, in order to carry out a geographic analysis of the climate of the State of Rio de Janeiro from the relation between rainfall and vulnerability. It is hypothesized that, although it may have different units of rainfall, rainfall may trigger exceptionalities that are determined by differences in the state's vulnerability patterns. The analytical framework of thesis was based on the perspectives of the geographical climatology, the concept of vulnerability and the Geography of the Climate, proposing an investigation based on the concepts of climatic classification, vulnerability and extreme episodes based on the category of space in its absolute conceptions , relative and relational. In order to do so, we used the climatic data of meteorological stations and pluviometric stations of INMET and ANA rain gauges, with descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques from the fault-filling process to the definition of the standard years for analysis. The cartographic representations were performed with the purpose of demonstrating the inherent complexity of the relationship between the factors and elements of the climate in different scales. The precipitation averages of the analyzed historical series (1975-2015) showed similar patterns to those exhibited by Normal Climatology, with the north and northwest portions of the state showing lower precipitation patterns in relation to the leeward areas of Serra do Mar. to the genesis, more than 90% of the rainfall of the state of Rio de Janeiro comes from the forward movement dynamics of the Atlantic Polar Front (FPA) and / or associated systems (front occlusal, cold front, reflex front and formation of South Atlantic Convergence Zone - ZCAS). Concerning the air masses, the areas near the southern coast, the Serra do Mar and the more continental portions of the state have significant participation of the polar systems (Atlantic polar mass and continentalized Atlantic polar mass - on average 29%), while the areas located in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro and sectors closer to the coastline, have an average of 35% participation of tropical systems (Atlantic tropical mass, continental Atlantic tropical mass and tropical instability), characterizing the state as belonging to the great transition zone of the Brazilian southeast . Data were also used for flood occurrences (abrupt and gradual) and data referring to the 2010 Census to apply the SoVI - Social Vulnerability Index and to relate this model to extreme episodes. It was verified that, although most of the territory of the state of Rio de Janeiro presents high vulnerability conditions, most occurrences coincided with areas of high and very high vulnerability. However, not necessarily the areas with the highest FPA performance and / or associated systems coincided with the municipalities with the highest number of flood events, which indicates the relevance of an analysis that considers climate dynamics not only in consonance, but in relation to the production dynamics of the geographical space. In summary, it was sought, with this work, to indicate reflections through theoretical argumentation, methodological procedures, analytical arsenal and representation for future proposals of analysis and classification of the climate considering it as an eminently geographical phenomenon, as proposed by Geography of Climate.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / John A. Harrington Jr / The objective of this thesis is classify climate for the Earth’s ocean areas. The classifica-tion task is accomplished in part by using monthly average sea surface temperature and precipita-tion data from 1980-2008. Coast-to-coast coverage of the needed data were obtained from the reanalysis product produced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Köppen’s classification scheme was implemented in the ArcGIS suite of software, which was used to analyze and display all of the classified map products. Russell’s ‘climatic years’ concept was used and separate classifications were produce for each year of available data. Findings indicate that the oceans are very different from land areas when it comes to the location and extent of varying climate types. Some main findings include the idea that A, C, and E climates dominate the geography of the oceans and that there are zero continental, or D, climates. Also, the Southern Oscillation plays an important part in tropical ocean dynamics and climate, but summarizing twenty nine years of mapped patterns into a summary product removes any major effect from yearly climate system anomalies. A key finding is an argument that supports the establishment of a unique Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. There are polar, ET and EF, climate subtypes surrounding both the Arctic and Antarctic poles, but only the north has the well established Arctic Ocean. Oceanic E climate areas are more pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere with circumpolar rings around the Antarctic continent. Classification results support the idea of a Southern Ocean based on the spatial pattern of climate types and in view of the fact that that the climate of the Southern Ocean area is so different from the temperate, or C, climate and its subtypes. This research is important for many reasons, the primary being that climate classification helps us better understand the world around us. It is difficult to see change in the environment without first knowing what the state of the system used to be. Classification will also help depict the changes that have happened, when these shifts in climate occurred, and with that information we can better predict what the future will hold.

Increasing energy use has caused many environmental problems including global warming. Energy use is growing rapidly in developing countries and surprisingly a remarkable portion of it is associated with consumed energy to keep the temperature comfortable inside the buildings. Therefore, identifying renewable technologies for cooling and heating is essential. This study introduced applications of steel sheets integrated into the buildings to save energy based on existing technologies. In addition, the proposed application was found to have a considerable chance of market success. Also, satisfying energy needs for space heating and cooling in a single room by using one of the selected applications in different Köppen climate classes was investigated to estimate which climates have a proper potential for benefiting from the application. This study included three independent parts and the results related to each part have been used in the next part. The first part recognizes six different technologies through literature review including Cool Roof, Solar Chimney, Steel Cladding of Building, Night Radiative Cooling, Elastomer Metal Absorber, and Solar Distillation. The second part evaluated the application of different technologies by gathering the experts’ ideas via performing a Delphi method. The results showed that the Solar Chimney has a proper chance for the market. The third part simulated both a solar chimney and a solar chimney with evaporation which were connected to a single well insulated room with a considerable thermal mass. The combination was simulated as a system to estimate the possibility of satisfying cooling needs and heating needs in different climate classes. A Trombe-wall was selected as a sample design for the Solar Chimney and was simulated in different climates. The results implied that the solar chimney had the capability of reducing the cooling needs more than 25% in all of the studied locations and 100% in some locations with dry or temperate climate such as Mashhad, Madrid, and Istanbul. It was also observed that the heating needs were satisfied more than 50% in all of the studied locations, even for the continental climate such as Stockholm and 100% in most locations with a dry climate. Therefore, the Solar Chimney reduces energy use, saves environment resources, and it is a cost effective application. Furthermore, it saves the equipment costs in many locations. All the results mentioned above make the solar chimney a very practical and attractive tool for a wide range of climates.

Submitted by (lucia.rodrigues@ufrpe.br) on 2016-10-05T14:21:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Marcelo Cordeiro Possas.pdf: 1316071 bytes, checksum: 8ea6073632f12f44d6492bb65e612645 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-05T14:21:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jose Marcelo Cordeiro Possas.pdf: 1316071 bytes, checksum: 8ea6073632f12f44d6492bb65e612645 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-05 / In this study, we tried to make the agroclimatic zoning of jatropha (Jathopra curcas L.) in Pernambuco. For this, we used climate data of mean air temperature and rainfall of 146 stations, being 73 with historical data series over 30 years and other 73 with series less than 30 years,however, more than 20 years of observations. The choice of jatropha was motivated by its potential as a renewable energy source to replace fossil fuels, as well as for its hardiness, being a new option for semi-arid climate regions, as takes place in much of the Northeast region. The choice of the study area is related to climate variability shown by this state and the potential that this culture has to develop in regions where there is little rain. It was also characterized the climate type of Pernambuco State through moisture index (mi) of Thornthwaite, generated from variables of Climatic Water Balance of Thornthwaite and Mather (1955). The results showed that Pernambuco has at least seven different climate types, from arid to humid. Localities were classified according to the climatic requirements of the culture into suitble, constrained by water stress and unfit. According to this study, Pernambuco state showed 14.92% of suitable areas for cultivation of jatropha, 44.26% of constrained areas by water stress and 40.82% of unsuitable areas. / No presente trabalho procurou-se realizar o zoneamento agroclimático do pinhãomanso (Jathopra curcas L.) em Pernambuco. Para isso, foram utilizados dados climáticos de temperatura do ar média e precipitação pluviométrica de 146 postos, sendo 73 com série histórica de dados acima de 30 anos e outros 73 com série abaixo de 30 anos, porém, maior que 20 anos de observações. A escolha do pinhãomanso foi motivada pelo potencial desta cultura como fonte de energia renovável em substituição aos combustíveis fósseis, bem como pela sua rusticidade, sendo uma nova opção para regiões de clima semi-árido, como ocorre em grande parte da região Nordeste. A escolha da região de estudo está relacionada à variabilidade climática apresentada por esse Estado e ao potencial que a referida cultura tem em se desenvolver em regiões onde há pouca chuva. Caracterizou-se também o clima do Estado através do índice de umidade (Iu) de Thornthwaite gerado a partir das variáveis do Balanço Hídrico Climatológico de Thornthwaite e Mather (1955). Os resultados demonstraram que Pernambuco apresenta, pelo menos, sete tipos de clima, desde árido ao úmido. Quanto ao zoneamento, as localidades foram classificadas de acordo com as exigências climáticas da cultura em aptas, restrita por deficiência hídrica e inaptas. De acordo com o estudo, o Estado de Pernambuco apresentou 14,92 % de áreas aptas ao cultivo do pinhão-manso, 44,26 % de áreas restritas por deficiência hídrica e 40,82 % de áreas inaptas.

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