Citizen Cyberscience Projects (CCPs) are projects mediated through the Internet, in which teams of scientists recruit members of the public (volunteers) to assist in scientific research, typically through the processing of large quantities of data. This thesis presents qualitative ethnographic case studies of the communities that have formed around two such projects, climateprediction.net and Galaxy Zoo. By considering these social actors in the broader contexts in which they are situated (historical, institutional, social, scientific), I discuss the co-shaping of the interests of these actors, the nature of the relationships amongst these actors, and the infrastructure of the projects and the purposes and nature of the scientific work performed. The thesis focusses on two relationships in particular. The first is that between scientists and volunteers, finding that, although scientists in both projects are concerned with treating volunteers with respect, there are nevertheless considerable differences between the projects. These are related to a number of interconnecting factors, including the particular contexts in which each project is embedded, the nature of the scientific work that volunteers are asked to undertake, the possibilities and challenges for the future development of the projects as perceived by the scientists, and the tools at the disposal of the respective teams of scientists for mediating relationships with volunteers. The second is amongst the volunteers themselves. This thesis argues that volunteers are heterogeneous, from disparate backgrounds, and that they sustain their involvement in CCPs for very different purposes. In particular, they seek to pursue these through the way they negotiate and construct their relationships with other volunteers, drawing on particular features of the project to do so. This thesis contributes to two fields. The first is to Citizen Cyberscience itself, with a view to improving the running of such projects. Some social studies have already been conducted of CCPs to this end, and this thesis both extends the analysis of some of these pre-existing studies and also problematizes aspects of CCPs that these studies had not considered. I discuss the significance of my findings for those involved in setting up and running a CCP, and present some recommendations for practice. The second field is Science and Technology Studies, in particular studies of public engagement with scientific and technological decision- and knowledge-making processes. The modes of engagement found in CCPs differ in key ways from those that have already been documented in the existing literature (in particular, different power relationships) and thus offer new ways of understanding how the public might be engaged successfully in such processes.

Rapid environmental changes linked to human-induced increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations have been observed on a global scale over recent decades. Given the relative certainty of continued change across many earth systems, the information output from climate models is an essential resource for adaptation planning. But in the face of many known modeling deficiencies, how confident can we be in model projections of future climate? It stands to reason that a realistic simulation of the present climate is at least a necessary (but likely not sufficient) requirement for a model’s ability to realistically simulate the climate of the future. Here, I present the results of three studies that evaluate the 20th century performance of global climate models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The first study examines precipitation, geopotential height, and wind fields from 21 CMIP5 models to determine how well the North American monsoon system (NAMS) is simulated. Models that best capture large-scale circulation patterns at low levels usually have realistic representations of the NAMS, but even the best models poorly represent monsoon retreat. Difficulty in reproducing monsoon retreat results from an inaccurate representation of gradients in low-level geopotential height across the larger region, which causes an unrealistic flux of low-level moisture from the tropics into the NAMS region that extends well into the post-monsoon season. The second study examines the presence and severity of spurious Gibbs-type numerical oscillations across the CMIP5 suite of climate models. The oscillations can appear as unrealistic spatial waves near discontinuities or sharp gradients in global model fields (e.g., orography) and have been a known problem for decades. Multiple methods of oscillation reduction exist; consequently, the oscillations are presumed small in modern climate models and hence are rarely addressed in recent literature. Here we quantify the oscillations in 13 variables from 48 global climate models along a Pacific ocean transect near the Andes. Results show that 48% of nonspectral models and 95% of spectral models have at least one variable with oscillation amplitude as large as, or greater than, atmospheric interannual variability. The third study is an in-depth assessment model simulations of 20th century monthly minimum and maximum surface air temperature over eight US regions, using mean state, trend, and variability bias metrics. Transparent model performance information is provided in the form of model rankings for each bias type. A wide range in model skill is at the regional scale, but no strong relationships are seen between any of the three bias types or between 20th century bias and 21st century projected change. Using our model rankings, two smaller ensembles of models with better performance over the southwestern U.S. are selected, but they result in negligible differences from the all-model ensemble in the average 21st century projected temperature change and model spread. In other words, models of varied quality (and complexity) are projecting very similar changes in temperature, implying that the models are simulating warming for different physical reasons. Despite this result, we suggest that models with smaller 20th century biases have a greater likelihood of being more physically realistic and therefore, more confidence can be placed in their 21st century projections as compared to projections from models that have demonstrably poor skill over the observational period. This type of analysis is essential for responsibly informing climate resilience efforts.

<div> <div> <div> <p>Rapid melting of sea ice and an increased warming have been observed over the Arctic since 1990s and is expected to continue in future climate projections. Possible linkage between the Arctic sea ice and the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude circulation has been studied previously but is not yet fully understood. This dissertation investigates the influence of the Arctic on the mid-latitudes and the underlying dynamical mechanisms. Specifically, we hypothesize that the stratosphere and its coupling with the troposphere play an important role in amplifying and extending the mid-latitude circulation response to arctic warming. </p><p><br></p> <p>First, we assess the robustness of the stratospheric pathway in linking the sea ice variability, specifically over the Barents-Kara Sea (BKS), in late autumn and early winter to the mid-latitude circulation in the subsequent winter using an ensemble of global climate model simulations. We analyze two groups of models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) archive, one with a well-resolved stratosphere (high-top models) and the other with a poorly-resolved stratosphere (low-top models) to distinguish the role of the stratospheric pathway. It has been found that, collectively, high-top models are able to capture the persistent mid-latitude circulation response in the subsequent winter. The response in low-top models is, however, weaker and not as long-lasting most likely due to lack of stratospheric variability. Diagnosis of eddy heat flux reveals that stronger vertical wave propagation leads to a stronger response in stratospheric polar vortex in high- top models. The results robustly demonstrate that multi-model ensemble of CMIP5 high-top models are able to capture the prolonged impact of sea ice variability on the mid-latitude circulation and outperforms the low-top models in this regard.</p><p><br></p></div></div></div><div><div><div> <p>We further explore the dynamical linkage between the BKS sea ice loss and the Siberian cold anomalies using a comprehensive Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), with a well-resolved stratosphere, with prescribed sea ice loss over BKS region. Decomposition of dynamic and thermodynamic components suggests a dynamically induced warm Arctic cold Siberia pattern in the winter following sea ice loss over the BKS in late autumn. Specifically, the results show that the meridional component of the horizontal temperature advection, from the Arctic into the Siberia, dominates in driving a cold temperature anomaly. Additionally, we conduct targeted experiments in order to quantitatively measure the role of the stratospheric pathway. We find that the stratosphere plays a critical role in the tropospheric circulation anomaly characterized by an intensified ridge-trough pattern that is attributable for the enhanced meridional temperature advection from the Arctic into the Siberia. </p><p><br></p> <p>Next, we extend our study to investigate the sensitivity to geographical location of Arctic sea ice loss and associated warming in modulating the atmospheric circulation. In particular, we assess the linear additivity of the regional Arctic sea ice loss and Arctic Amplification (AA), using a simplified dry dynamical core model. We find that the responses to regional AA over three key regions of the Arctic, i.e. Barents- Kara Sea, East Siberia-Chukchi sea and Baffin Bay-Labrador Sea, separately, show similar equatorward shift of the tropospheric jet but differences in the stratospheric polar vortex. In addition, responses to regional Arctic Amplification are not linearly additive and the residual resembles a positive Northern Annular Mode-like structure. Additional targeted experiments further diagnose the role of the stratosphere in the non-linearity. It is found that the stratosphere-troposphere coupling plays an important role in driving the non-linear circulation response to regional AA. </p><p><br></p> <p>The findings of our research leads to a systematic understanding of the role of the stratospheric pathway in modulating the mid-latitude circulation response to Arctic sea ice loss and accompanied surface warming. Our study suggests that the representation of the stratosphere in climate models plays an important role in correctly simulating the mid-latitude circulation response and could be accountable for the some of the discrepancies among recent studies. Additionally, the result indicates that studying the regional sea ice loss might not provide the full picture of pan-Arctic sea ice melting and caution the use of regional sea ice to explain the recent trend.</p></div></div></div>

abstract: Investments in climate science come with an expectation of social benefit. Science policy--decision processes through which individuals and organizations support, manage, and evaluate research--plays an important role in determining those outcomes. Yet the details of how climate science policy actually works have received very little attention amid academic and policy-focused discussions of climate science. This dissertation examines climate science policy with particular attention to how it supports "public values" that justify research investments. It is widely recognized funding for climate science in the US has advanced knowledge considerably in recent decades but failed to produce useful information for decision makers. In Chapter 2, I use a methodological approach known as Public Value Mapping (PVM) to investigate this failure of the science policy system. My results show that science funding institutions have been ineffective at guiding climate science toward desired outcomes because of problematic, but common assumptions about the links between science and societal benefit. The remaining chapters look more closely at the implications of these tacit assumptions, which are held by individuals, and embedded in the organizations that implement climate science policy. Chapter 3 examines the notion that prediction is essential to climate science. Wide acceptance of the "prediction imperative" limits the scope of climate science policy. Chapter 4 examines the interplay of values and assumptions in two recently established organizations in Australia, each supporting research on climate change adaptation. In Chapter 5 I document a widespread assumption in the climate science literature that agreement among multiple models should bolster confidence in their results. This can only be correct if the models are independent of one another. Climate scientists have not demonstrated this to be true, nor have they offered a plausible framework for doing so. This dissertation adds an important dimension to our understanding of how climate science knowledge is produced, while offering constructive and practical recommendations to science policy decision makers working in government programs that fund climate science. Insight from these chapters suggests that an explicit and reflexive focus on values in science policy can be helpful to organizations pursuing science policy innovation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Science and Technology Policy 2010

Climate Science Communication is an important tool for helping organizations set strategies to reduce their climate impact. As a major contributor to global climate warming emissions, the food industry needs to take stronger action to reduce their climate impact if the world wants to achieve the global climate goals committed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement. To ensure they meet the climate commitments in their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies, corporations in the food industry should use science-based targets, which research shows are more effective and ambitious. Through the context of Sweden, a country which has set strong emissions reduction policy, this thesis investigates the role that Climate Science Communication and stakeholder communication play in the actions that corporations in the food industry are taking to help achieve the global climate goals. This qualitative study analyzes the firsthand accounts of ten professionals across the food, science communications, and science research industries. Interviews with the participants explore stakeholder management in science communication, the role of collaboration within the science and food industries, and what gaps they see between the science community and the food industry when establishing corporate climate strategies. Results suggest that there is a necessary, and often missing, link between the food industry’s climate strategies and the climate research that informs them. Using principles from Stakeholder Theory, Communications Accommodation Theory, and Cross-Sector Collaboration can help bridge this gap. Improved stakeholder collaboration, better efforts to help decision makers understand climate science, changes to corporate behaviors, and systemic changes in both the corporate world and academia can improve the relationship between the science community and food industry, leading to more effective and impactful climate strategies and results.

Milind Kandlikar is uncovering how Delhi’s air quality problem isn’t necessarily a traffic congestion problem.

Climate science and the effective public communication of it havebecome increasingly vital in a world that is changing atan unprecedentedrate. For many scientists and journalists, the Internet hasgrown to be the preferred medium of climate science communication. As the issues thattextsabout climate changedeal with are ratherpressing, it is crucial that thescientific knowledge is recontextualized for non-expert audiencesin the mosteffectiveand engaging way. Science communicatorshave rhetorical strategiesof recontextualization and discursive strategies of newsworthinessat their disposal to achieve the desired science communicationand ultimately createan inclusive and engaging discourse with theirreaders. This qualitative study is a comparative analysis of two different typesof writers:scientists and journalists. The analysis of onlinetexts about climate change, written by these two types of writers, showsthat scientists and journalists employ many of the same strategies.Nonetheless, the findings reveal distinct differences in how extensively certain strategies are/ are not used.Generally, the scientists recontextualized the scientific knowledge in a more personalizedand inclusivemanner. The journalists, in turn, made use of more discursive strategies of newsworthiness. This qualitative comparative studyalsoprovides a novel analytical framework for further studies of the same kind.

Simulating the global climate in fine granularity is essential in climate science research. Current algorithms for computing climate models are based on mathematical models that are computationally expensive. Climate simulation runs can take days or months to execute on High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms. As such, the amount of computational resources determines the level of resolution for the simulations. If simulation time could be reduced without compromising model fidelity, higher resolution simulations would be possible leading to potentially new insights in climate science research. In this project, broadband radiative transfer modeling is examined, as this is an important part in climate simulators that takes around 30% to 50% time of a typical general circulation model. This thesis project presents a convolutional neural network (CNN) to model this most time consuming component. As a result, swift radiation prediction through the trained deep neural network achieves a 7x speedup compared to the calculation time of the original function. The average prediction error (MSE) is around 0.004 with 98.71% of accuracy. / Högupplösta globala klimatsimuleringar är oumbärliga för klimatforskningen.De algoritmer som i dag används för att beräkna klimatmodeller baserar sig på matematiska modeller som är beräkningsmässigt tunga. Klimatsimuleringar kan ta dagar eller månader att utföra på superdator (HPC). På så vis begränsas detaljnivån av vilka datorresurser som finns tillgängliga. Om simuleringstiden kunde minskas utan att kompromissa på modellens riktighet skulle detaljrikedomen kunna ökas och nya insikter göras möjliga. Detta projekt undersöker Bredband Solstrålning modellering eftersom det är en betydande del av dagens klimatsimulationer och upptar mellan 30-50% av beräkningstiden i en typisk generell cirkulationsmodell (GCM). Denna uppsats presenterar ett neuralt faltningsnätverk som ersätter denna beräkningsintensiva del. Resultatet är en sju gångers uppsnabbning jämfört med den ursprungliga metoden. Genomsnittliga uppskattningsfelet är 0.004 med 98.71 procents noggrannhet.

As ações decorrentes das atividades econômicas e industriais têm provocado alterações na biosfera, resultando na quase duplicação da concentração de Gases de Efeito Estufa (GEE) na atmosfera durante o período de 1750 a 1998. A alteração da concentração dos GEE poderá desencadear um aumento da temperatura média no planeta entre 1,4 e 5,8°C nos próximos cem anos (IPCC, 2001a). Para tratar do problema do efeito estufa e suas possíveis conseqüências sobre a humanidade foi estabelecida em 1992, durante a Rio 92, a Convenção Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre Mudanças Climáticas. A Conferência das Partes realizada em Quioto em 1997 destaca-se como uma das mais importantes, uma vez que durante sua realização foi estabelecido um acordo onde se encontram definidas metas de redução da emissão de GEE para os países do ANEXO B (países do ANEXO I com compromissos de redução das emissões de GEE), além de critérios e diretrizes para a utilização dos mecanismos de mercado. Este acordo ficou conhecido como Protocolo de Quioto e estabelece que os países industrializados devem reduzir suas emissões em 5,2% abaixo dos níveis observados em 1990 entre 2008-2012 (primeiro período de compromisso). O Protocolo criou o Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo (MDL). A idéia do MDL consiste em que cada tonelada de CO2 deixada de ser emitida, ou retirada da atmosfera por um país em desenvolvimento, poderá ser negociada no mercado mundial através de Certificados de Emissões Reduzidas (CER). Esta tese teve como objetivo geral caracterizar o "mercado de carbono", em especial a participação do Brasil através do MDL. Para tanto foi feita uma análise de como este mercado está sendo formado e como deverá ser sua evolução até a possível formação de mercados futuros. Os objetivos específicos foram: 1) Determinar o tamanho do mercado global e a participação do Brasil (através do MDL) em diversos cenários; e, 2) Analisar se os CER gerados em projetos de MDL, em especial por projetos de seqüestro de carbono, poderiam se tornar uma "commodity ambiental" ou não. Ficou claro que o mercado de carbono já é uma realidade, porém encontra-se em um estágio inicial de sua formação. Para estimar o tamanho do mercado utilizou-se o Modelo CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Trade). Nos cenários de referência do Modelo a maior participação brasileira no mercado de CER foi de apenas 3,4% (Cenário 7), através da venda de 14,4 milhões de toneladas de carbono, gerando um receita de US$ 237 milhões ao custo de US$ 106,3 milhões. O lucro de todos os projetos de MDL no Brasil foi de US$ 130,7 milhões. Nos cenários alternativos a maior participação foi de 17,8% (Cenário Alternativo 7), através da venda de 32,1 milhões de toneladas de carbono, gerando um receita de US$ 525,6 milhões ao custo de US$ 198 milhões. O lucro de todos os projetos de MDL no Brasil neste caso foi de US$ 327,6 milhões. / The economic and industrial anthropogenic activities are increasing the Green House Gas (GHG) atmospheric concentration. These gases can increase the atmosphere temperature in 1.4 to 5.8°C in the next hundred years (IPCC, 2001a). To solve this problem was created in 1992 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Conference of the Parties held at Kyoto in 1997 was one of the most important, since it created an international agreement about the GHG emission reductions to the ANNEX B countries. This agreement is called the Kyoto Protocol and it determine that the industrialized countries should decrease the GHG emissions in 5,2% below the 1990 levels between 2008-2012 (first period commitment). The Protocol also created the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The idea of the CDM is that each tone of CO2 that is reduced or sequestered from the atmosphere by a developing country can be negotiated through Certified Emission Reduction (CER).This thesis had the main objective of understand the "carbon market", in special the Brazilian participation through the CDM. The specific objectives was: 1) Determine the size of the global market and the Brazilian participation (through the CDM) in different scenarios; and, 2) To analyze if the CER created by forest projects can be a environmental commodity. It was clear that the carbon market exists but is in an initial phase. To estimate the size of the market the CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Trade) Model was used. In the reference scenarios the best Brazilian participation, through the CER, was only 3.4% (Scenario 7), selling 14.4 millions tons of carbon, with a revenue of US$ 237 millions and costs of US$ 106.3 millions. The profits of all CDM projects in Brazil was US$ 130,7 millions. In the alternative scenarios the best Brazilian participation was 17.8% (Alternative Scenario 7), selling 32.1 millions tons of carbon, with a revenue of US$ 525.6 millions and costs of US$ 198 millions. In this case the profits of all CDM projects in Brazil was US$ 327.6 millions.

As ações decorrentes das atividades econômicas e industriais têm provocado alterações na biosfera, resultando na quase duplicação da concentração de Gases de Efeito Estufa (GEE) na atmosfera durante o período de 1750 a 1998. A alteração da concentração dos GEE poderá desencadear um aumento da temperatura média no planeta entre 1,4 e 5,8°C nos próximos cem anos (IPCC, 2001a). Para tratar do problema do efeito estufa e suas possíveis conseqüências sobre a humanidade foi estabelecida em 1992, durante a Rio 92, a Convenção Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre Mudanças Climáticas. A Conferência das Partes realizada em Quioto em 1997 destaca-se como uma das mais importantes, uma vez que durante sua realização foi estabelecido um acordo onde se encontram definidas metas de redução da emissão de GEE para os países do ANEXO B (países do ANEXO I com compromissos de redução das emissões de GEE), além de critérios e diretrizes para a utilização dos mecanismos de mercado. Este acordo ficou conhecido como Protocolo de Quioto e estabelece que os países industrializados devem reduzir suas emissões em 5,2% abaixo dos níveis observados em 1990 entre 2008-2012 (primeiro período de compromisso). O Protocolo criou o Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo (MDL). A idéia do MDL consiste em que cada tonelada de CO2 deixada de ser emitida, ou retirada da atmosfera por um país em desenvolvimento, poderá ser negociada no mercado mundial através de Certificados de Emissões Reduzidas (CER). Esta tese teve como objetivo geral caracterizar o "mercado de carbono", em especial a participação do Brasil através do MDL. Para tanto foi feita uma análise de como este mercado está sendo formado e como deverá ser sua evolução até a possível formação de mercados futuros. Os objetivos específicos foram: 1) Determinar o tamanho do mercado global e a participação do Brasil (através do MDL) em diversos cenários; e, 2) Analisar se os CER gerados em projetos de MDL, em especial por projetos de seqüestro de carbono, poderiam se tornar uma "commodity ambiental" ou não. Ficou claro que o mercado de carbono já é uma realidade, porém encontra-se em um estágio inicial de sua formação. Para estimar o tamanho do mercado utilizou-se o Modelo CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Trade). Nos cenários de referência do Modelo a maior participação brasileira no mercado de CER foi de apenas 3,4% (Cenário 7), através da venda de 14,4 milhões de toneladas de carbono, gerando um receita de US$ 237 milhões ao custo de US$ 106,3 milhões. O lucro de todos os projetos de MDL no Brasil foi de US$ 130,7 milhões. Nos cenários alternativos a maior participação foi de 17,8% (Cenário Alternativo 7), através da venda de 32,1 milhões de toneladas de carbono, gerando um receita de US$ 525,6 milhões ao custo de US$ 198 milhões. O lucro de todos os projetos de MDL no Brasil neste caso foi de US$ 327,6 milhões. / The economic and industrial anthropogenic activities are increasing the Green House Gas (GHG) atmospheric concentration. These gases can increase the atmosphere temperature in 1.4 to 5.8°C in the next hundred years (IPCC, 2001a). To solve this problem was created in 1992 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Conference of the Parties held at Kyoto in 1997 was one of the most important, since it created an international agreement about the GHG emission reductions to the ANNEX B countries. This agreement is called the Kyoto Protocol and it determine that the industrialized countries should decrease the GHG emissions in 5,2% below the 1990 levels between 2008-2012 (first period commitment). The Protocol also created the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The idea of the CDM is that each tone of CO2 that is reduced or sequestered from the atmosphere by a developing country can be negotiated through Certified Emission Reduction (CER).This thesis had the main objective of understand the "carbon market", in special the Brazilian participation through the CDM. The specific objectives was: 1) Determine the size of the global market and the Brazilian participation (through the CDM) in different scenarios; and, 2) To analyze if the CER created by forest projects can be a environmental commodity. It was clear that the carbon market exists but is in an initial phase. To estimate the size of the market the CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Trade) Model was used. In the reference scenarios the best Brazilian participation, through the CER, was only 3.4% (Scenario 7), selling 14.4 millions tons of carbon, with a revenue of US$ 237 millions and costs of US$ 106.3 millions. The profits of all CDM projects in Brazil was US$ 130,7 millions. In the alternative scenarios the best Brazilian participation was 17.8% (Alternative Scenario 7), selling 32.1 millions tons of carbon, with a revenue of US$ 525.6 millions and costs of US$ 198 millions. In this case the profits of all CDM projects in Brazil was US$ 327.6 millions.