The concept of producing energy from biomass has, for the last two decades, occupied attention of policy-makers, private industries, researchers and civil societies around the world. The highly contested and contingent character of the biofuel production, its entanglement in the nexus of three problematic issues of energy, climate and agriculture, as well as its injection into the current socioeconomic arrangements, is what makes it timely to analyse. The thesis sheds light on the state of international debate on bioenergy by looking at deliberations of three major global institutions: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Energy Agency (IEA) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The primary aim is to trace and analyse how the concept of bioenergy is conceptualized and contextualized in assessments, reports, policy papers and other documents issued by FAO, IEA and IPCC in the 1990-2010 period. The secondary aim of the thesis, based on results derived from the primary objective, is set to problematize and reflect upon currently dominating socioeconomic arrangements that the concept of biomass-derived energy is inserted into. The research questions are organized around four distinctively contentious issues in the debate: biofuel production in developing countries, the food vs. fuel dilemma, bioenergy as a win-win-win solution and the future role of the second-generation bioenergy technology. The research questions are operationalized by applying four theoretical perspectives: the world-economy, Michel Foucault’s genealogy, discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, and Fredric Jameson’s critical approach. The institutional debate illustrates that, while bioenergy appears to be an easy, plausible and thus attractive patch able to temporarily fix societal challenges of energy insecurity, climate change and agricultural crisis without changing much in the socioeconomic structure, its implementation exposes internal discrepancies of the hegemonic capitalist system. Whether bioenergy could actually function as a feasible win-win-win solution is of secondary importance. It is its economic feasibility expressed in the pressure on cost-effectiveness that matters the most but, at the same time, causes serious internal discrepancies in conceptualizations pursued by the organizations. The results point to two main conclusions. On the one hand, bioenergy is inevitably entrapped by the rules and arrangements of the hegemonic system that, in turn, cause internal contradictions. On the other hand, the institutional debate attempts to stabilize the shaky conceptualization of bioenergy, so that it can appear consistent and plausible, even if the possibility of reaching the closure of meaning fades away, with more conflicts on the rise. Furthermore, the results also show that the three international organizations exhibit uniform patterns of argumentations and the way they similarly discuss biomass-derived energy illustrates the objective to stabilize the meaning and adjust the concept of bioenergy to the hegemonic system. / Under de senaste två decennierna har idén om att producera energi av biomassa rönt stor uppmärksamhet bland forskare, företagare, beslutsfattare och i samhället i övrigt. De förhållandevis många kontroverser och alternativ som är förbundna med produktion av biobränslen, deras koppling till de tre problemområdena energi, klimat och jordbruk, samt deras etablering inom samtida geopolitiska, socioekonomiska och miljömässiga sammanhang, gör dem till en aktuell fråga att analysera. Avhandlingen belyser den internationella debatten genom att fokusera överväganden och ståndpunkter inom tre globala institutioner: FN:s mat- och jordbruksorgan (FAO), Internationella Energiorganet (IEA) och FN:s klimatpanel (IPCC). Huvudsyftet är spåra och analysera hur begreppet bioenergi formas och kontextualiseras i bedömningsrapporter och policydokument producerade av FAO, IEA och IPCC under perioden 1990-2010. Ett ytterligare syfte är att problematisera och reflektera över de socioekonomiska förhållanden som bioenergibegreppet ingår i. Forskningsfrågorna är formulerade utifrån fyra kontroversiella områden i debatten: biobränsleproduktion i utvecklingsländer, dilemmat mat kontra biobränsle, bioenergi som en ”win-win-win-lösning” och den framtida roll som tillskrivs andra generationens bioteknologi. Forskningsfrågorna operationaliseras genom att var och en knyts till ett av fyra teoretiska perspektiv: världssystemteori, Michel Foucaults genealogi, Ernesto Laclaus och Chantal Mouffes diskursteori respektive Fredric Jamesons kritiska ansats. I debatten framställs ofta bioenergi som ett enkelt och rimligt alternativ med kapacitet att tillfälligt lösa samhälleliga utmaningar som energi-osäkerhet, klimatförändringar och jordbrukskrisen, dock utan att den socioekonomiska strukturen ändras nämnvärt. Analysen visar emellertid att begreppsliggörandet istället påvisar interna diskrepanser i det hegemoniska, kapitalistiska systemet. Huruvida bioenergi verkligen kan fungera som en sådan ”win-win-win”- lösning framstår som sekundärt i dessa texter. Det är kostnadseffektiviteten som har störst betydelse, men samtidigt skapar man här allvarliga begreppsliga diskrepanser inom organisationerna. Utfallet av analysen pekar på två huvudslutsatser. Å ena sidan är bioenergin oundvikligen låst av det hegemoniska systemets struktur och de motsägelser som det rymmer. Å andra sidan tycks debatten inom organisationerna söka efter en stabilisering av det instabila begreppsliggörandet av bioenergin så att den framstår som konsistent och möjlig. Vidare visar analysen också att de tre organisationerna har liknande argumentationsmönster, och det likartade sätt på vilket de diskuterar energi från biomassa illustrerar en stabilisering av mening inom diskursen där bioenergibegreppet anpassas till det hegemoniska systemet.

A partir dos conceitos de regime internacional e de governança global, busca-se compreender a influência dos governos subnacionais no âmbito das negociações multilaterais intergovernamentais, no que diz respeito à efetividade do regime internacional da mudança climática. O indicador de influência foi desenvolvido levando em consideração a criação e implementação das agendas políticas domésticas. Dessa forma, destacam-se as grandes cidades como atores subnacionais públicos, reunidas nas Redes de Cidades líderes contra as mudanças climáticas, entre elas a Rede C40. A transformação de atores públicos locais em agentes de mudança no âmbito transnacional, por meio da constituição de uma rede, abre novas perspectivas teóricas para a discussão acerca do papel de atores subnacionais nas Relações Internacionais, o que deve repercutir sobre o debate a respeito das abordagens teóricas nas subáreas de regimes e de governança global. / Following the conceptual framework of global governance and international regimes, we tried to demonstrate the relevance of subnational governments towards the conclusion of the international negotiations and the effectiveness of the international regime on climate change. This influence can be measured by their role in the domestic agenda setting, in the decision-making process and in the implementation of public policies, as well as in the increase in cooperation agreements with non-state actors. The Climate Leadership Group, the C40 network, gathering the largest cities in the world, have become an important international player, transforming itself into a new transnational actor in the Climate Change arena, which is going to have a influence on scholars of international regimes and global governance.

This study examined the metaphors used in contemporary American conservative discourse between October 2018 and March 2019, focusing on material published by conservative think tanks (CTTs) and tweets made by Republican senators in relation to climate change. For the CTTs, a domain-specific corpus (36,388 words) was compiled and a smaller corpus (3967 words) was assembled based on 135 tweets. These datasets showed that conspiracy scepticism was the most common type of scepticism used to discredit climate change data, scientists and environmental policies. In addition, the datasets indicate that conservative agents frequently used metaphors of WAR, RELIGION, HEALTH, BUILDING, JOURNEY, WATER and PRODUCT to convey negative frames. These domains linked to the conceptual key LIFE IS A STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL and were presented in a moral context. In response to these findings it is suggested that the scientific community incorporate emotional language, metaphors and moral values when communicating environmental issues.

The aim of this study is to determine the predictability of river discharge in several major rivers on time scale varying from weeks to a century. We investigated predictability considering relationship between SST and Ganges and Brahmaputra River discharge. On seasonal time scales, statistically significant correlations are found between monthly equatorial Pacific SST and the summer Ganges discharge with lead times of 2-3 months due to oscillations of the ENSO phenomena. In addition, there are strong correlations in the southwest and northeast Pacific. The Brahmaputra discharge shows weaker relationships with tropical SST. Strong correlations relationships are found with SST in the Bay of Bengal but these are the result of very warm SSTs and exceptional Brahmaputra discharge during the summer of 1998. When this year is removed, relationships weaken everywhere except in the northwestern Pacific for the June and July discharge. Second goal is to project the behavior of future river discharge forced by the increasing greenhouse gases and aerosols from natural and anthropogenic sources. Three more rivers, the Yangtze, Blue Nile, and Murray-Darling rivers are considered. The original precipitation output from CMIP3 project has large inter-model variability, which limits the ability to quantify the regional precipitation or runoff trends. With a statistical Quantile-to-Quantile (Q-Q) technique, a mapping index was built to link each modeled precipitation and observational discharge. We also use the climatological annual cycle to choose the ¡°good¡± models. With the same indices, the future 21st century discharges of the first four rivers are simulated under different SRES scenarios. The Murray-Darling River basin does not have the similar seasonal cycle of discharge with modeled precipitations. We choose to project basin averaged precipitations instead. The Yangtze, Ganges, Brahmaputra River mean wet season discharges are projected to increase up to 15-25% at the end of the 21st century under A1B and A2. The risks of flooding also reach to a high level throughout the time. Inter-model deviations increase dramatically under all scenarios except for COMMIT. With large uncertainty, the Blue Nile River discharge and Murray-Darling River basin annual precipitation do not suggest a sign of change on multi-model mean.

CO2 emission is very important, because it is responsible for about 60% of the &quot / Greenhouse Effect&quot / . The major objectives of this study were to prepare a CO2 emission inventory of Turkey based on districts and provinces by using the fuel consumption data with respect to its sources, to find the CO2 uptake rate of forests in Turkey based on provinces and districts, and to estimate the ground level concentration of CO2 across Turkey using U.S. EPA&#039 / s ISCLT3 model for the preparation of ground level concentration maps. The basic sources of the CO2 emission were taken as households, manufacturing industries, thermal power plants and road vehicles. The sinks of the CO2 were forests. The CO2 uptake by forests was calculated using the annual increment of forest biomass. The results of the CO2 emission inventory conducted in this study between the years 1990 and 2003 showed that the CO2 emission in 1990 was 142.45 million tones/year and the highest emission was calculated in 2000 with a value of 207.97 million tones/year. The regional distribution of CO2 emission showed that the Marmara Region emits the highest regional CO2 emission throughout the years with an average value of 54.76 million tones/year. It was also calculated that Marmara and Aegean Regions are responsible for half of the CO2 emission of Turkey. The results of the CO2 uptake calculations showed that the CO2 uptake of forests in the coastal zone was higher that that in the inland zone. The CO2 uptake in the Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia and South-Eastern Anatolia Regions were 2.6, 1.9 and 1.1 million tones/year, respectively. The maximum CO2 uptake is in the Black Sea Region with a value of 16.4 million tones/year. The highest ground level CO2 concentartions without any sink effect were always obtained in the Marmara Region. However, the forest areas in this region decrease the concentrations considerably. The dispersion model performance is determined highly without the results of the year 2002.

abstract: Climate change has been one of the major issues of global economic and social concerns in the past decade. To quantitatively predict global climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations have organized a multi-national effort to use global atmosphere-ocean models to project anthropogenically induced climate changes in the 21st century. The computer simulations performed with those models and archived by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 5 (CMIP5) form the most comprehensive quantitative basis for the prediction of global environmental changes on decadal-to-centennial time scales. While the CMIP5 archives have been widely used for policy making, the inherent biases in the models have not been systematically examined. The main objective of this study is to validate the CMIP5 simulations of the 20th century climate with observations to quantify the biases and uncertainties in state-of-the-art climate models. Specifically, this work focuses on three major features in the atmosphere: the jet streams over the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the low level jet (LLJ) stream over central North America which affects the weather in the United States, and the near-surface wind field over North America which is relevant to energy applications. The errors in the model simulations of those features are systematically quantified and the uncertainties in future predictions are assessed for stakeholders to use in climate applications. Additional atmospheric model simulations are performed to determine the sources of the errors in climate models. The results reject a popular idea that the errors in the sea surface temperature due to an inaccurate ocean circulation contributes to the errors in major atmospheric jet streams. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Mechanical Engineering 2014

Within the climate science research community there exists an overwhelming consensus on the question of climate change. The scientific literature supports the broad conclusion that the Earth’s climate is changing, that this change is driven by human factors (anthropogenic), and that the environmental consequences could be severe. While a strong consensus exists in the climate science community, this is not reflected in the wider public or among policymakers, where sceptical attitudes towards anthropogenic climate change is much more prevalent. This discrepancy in the perception of the urgency of the problem of climate change is an alarming trend and likely a result of a failure of science communication, which is the topic of this thesis. This paper analyses the visual culture of climate change, with specific focus on the data visualisations comprised within the IPCC assessment reports. The visual aspects of the reports were chosen because of the prioritisation images often receive within scientific communication and for their quality as immutable mobiles that can transition between different media more easily than text. The IPCC is the central institutional authority in the climate science visual discourse, and its assessment reports, therefore, are the site of this discourse analysis. The analysis tracks the development and variations in the IPCC’s visual culture, investigates in detail the use of colour and the visual form of the “Hockey Stick” graph. This work is undertaken to better understand the state of the art of climate science data visualisation, in an effort to suggest the best way forward to bridge the knowledge gap between the scientific community and the public on this important issue. The thesis concludes that a greater emphasis on the information aesthetics of their data visualisations could benefit the IPCC’s pedagogical reach, but that it may also be argued that it is not the IPCC’s role in climate change discourse to produce the most visually persuasive images. That they exist as a tone-setting institution that provides authority to entities that are better geared towards wider communication, such as journalism and activism.

Les océans expliquent une part importante de la variabilité des pluies de mousson en Afrique de l’ouest. Quels sont les mécanismes physiques de ces interactions océan– atmosphère ? Comment sont-elles reproduites par les modèles de climat ? Ces deux questions sont ici abordées, en séparant d’emblée les échelles de temps interannuelles et décennales, et en confrontant les simulations réalisées pour le 4e rapport du Groupe intergouvernemental d’experts sur l’évolution du climat (GIEC) aux données observées du xxe siècle. À l’échelle interannuelle, les anomalies de température à la surface du Pacifique équatorial, du golfe de Guinée, et de la Méditerranée sont statistiquement liées aux anomalies des pluies d’Afrique de l’ouest. La question de la stationnarité de ces liens au cours du xxe siècle est brièvement abordée. Les mécanismes physiques sont ensuite appréhendés dans les réanalyses atmosphériques et dans les simulations couplées du GIEC. Pour comprendre le comportement du modèle du Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM), différentes expériences de sensibilité sont réalisées en prescrivant à l’océan une tension de vent réanalysée, sur le Pacifique tropical ou sur tout globe. Une simulation atmosphérique avec des températures de surface prescrites est aussi utilisée pour discuter du rôle du couplage océan–atmosphère. Étant donné le caractère saisonnier de la mousson africaine, le phasage temporel de la variabilité océanique doit être considéré avec attention. Dans les modèles couplés, les biais de l’El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) et de l’Atlantic Niño conduisent en effet à des interactions océan–mousson différentes de celles observées. À terme, une meilleure compréhension et simulation de la variabilité océanique et de ses influences pourrait permettre d’améliorer les scores de prévision saisonnière sur l’Afrique de l’ouest / The oceans explain an important part of the variability of monsoon rainfall overWest Africa. What are the physical processes of those ocean–atmosphere interactions? How are they simulated by climate models? Both issues are addressed, by considering the interannual and decadal time-scales separately, and comparing the simulations performed for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to the 20th Century observation record. At the interannual time-scale, sea surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Mediterranean, are statistically linked to the West African monsoon rainfall. The stationnarity of those links is assessed over the 20th Century. The physical processes are then studied in the atmospheric reanalyses and in the IPCC coupled simulations. To understand the behaviour of the Centre national de recherches météorologiques (CNRM) model, various sensitivity experiments are carried out, with a reanalyzed wind-stress prescribed to the ocean model, over the tropical Pacific or over the global ocean. An atmospheric simulation with prescribed sea surface temperatures is also used, to discuss the role of the ocean–atmosphere coupling. Given the seasonality of the West African monsoon, attention has to be paid to the phaselocking of the oceanic variability. In the coupled models, the biases of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and of the Atlantic Niño lead indeed to ocean–monsoon interactions that are different from those observed. A better understanding and simulation of the oceanic variability and its influences could in fine enhance the seasonal forecasting skills over West Africa

This work presents two innovative ways to evaluate mining projects. The first is the application of a Technological Model in a copper-gold mine and the second is a decision making model to evaluate the benefit of semi-mobile in pit crusher and conveyor alternatives during the early stages of mining projects. In order to improve the process and to maximize the production and/or value of a mining project, there needs to be an integration of the geology, the mine plan, the processing and the geometallurgy data. In order to accomplish this, a new methodology is proposed for the creation of a technological model. This model can be interpreted as the consolidation of the different models required for a better understanding of the geological and technical information of the deposit. This concept was developed and applied at a copper and gold mine site located in Brazil. Based on the evaluation of different blasting and mill productivity scenarios through a pit-to-plant approach, it was possible to obtain operational short-term gains such as a 10.7% increase in the plant production rate and a 2.2% increase in the crusher\'s feed rate with little or no capital investment. Another important issue faced by mining companies is related to material handling. A significant cost in the operating budget of most mining operations arises from purchasing and maintaining haulage trucks. Recently, in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) has been subject to research because of its potential to reduce haulage costs. A decision-making model was created to identify early on in a project whether or not the semi-mobile IPCC (SMIPCC) is an appropriate alternative to the conventional truck haulage based on the loading and hauling approaches. The method is based on cost analysis and the evaluation of environmental impacts, being successfully tested at an existing open-pit mine, where the results indicated that the IPCC was the most cost-effective option for the operation. Although the IPCC\'s initial CAPEX was 60% higher than the conventional approach, the IPCC\'s OPEX was 43% lower, resulting in a 28% reduction of the life-of-mine net present cost (NPC). / Este trabalho apresenta duas maneiras inovadoras de avaliar projetos de mineração. A primeira é a elaboração e aplicação do modelo tecnológico para uma mina de cobre e ouro já a segunda refere-se à confecção de um modelo de tomada de decisão a ser usado para a análise dos benefícios de aplicação de britagem semimóvel em cava. Para melhorar os processos e maximizar a produção e/ou o valor de um projeto de mineração, existe a necessidade de integração dos dados de geologia, planejamento de mina, beneficiamento e geometalurgia. Com esse foco, uma nova metodologia foi proposta para a criação do modelo tecnológico. Este modelo pode ser interpretado como a consolidação dos diferentes modelos necessários para uma melhor compreensão das informações geológicas e técnicas do depósito. Este conceito foi desenvolvido e aplicado em uma mina de cobre de ouro localizada no Brasil. Com base na avaliação de diferentes cenários de perfuração e desmonte de rochas e de produtividade do moinho, usando uma abordagem de mina-usina, foi possível obter ganhos operacionais de curto prazo, tais como um aumento de 10,7% na taxa de produção de usina e um aumento de 2,2% na taxa de alimentação da britagem com pouco ou nenhum investimento de capital. Uma outra questão relevante para empresas de mineração é o transporte de material. Um custo significativo na maioria das minas surge da compra e manutenção de caminhões de transporte. A britagem em cava e correias (IPCC em inglês) vem sido avaliada em diversos casos devido ao seu potencial para reduzir os custos de transporte. Neste estudo, um modelo de tomada de decisão foi criado para identificar em etapas iniciais de um projeto os benefícios de aplicação de IPCC semimóvel (SMIPCC em inglês) em comparação com método convencional, exclusivamente por caminhões. O método baseia-se na análise de custos e na avaliação de impactos ambientais testado em uma mina a céu aberto, onde os resultados indicaram que o SMIPCC foi a opção mais econômica para a operação. Embora o investimento inicial do IPCC foi 60% maior do que a abordagem convencional, o custo operacional do IPCC foi 43% menor, resultando em uma redução de 28% do custo total a valor presente.

Tropical and extratropical Pacific decadal climate variability substantially impact physical and biological systems in the Pacific Ocean and strongly influence global climate through teleconnection patterns. Current understanding of Pacific decadal climate variability centers around the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Aleutian Low (AL), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). However, recent literature has highlighted the emerging roles of secondary modes of variability of the tropical and extratropical Pacific atmosphere and ocean in global climate change: the Central Pacific Warming (CPW) phenomenon, the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), and the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO). This work analyzes the statistics and uncertainties behind Pacific interannual and decadal-scale climate variability, and focuses on better understanding the roles of the CPW, NPO, and NPGO in the climate system. The study begins by examining the dynamics of the NPO and its role in Pacific interannual and decadal climate variability. Results illustrate that the individual poles of the NPO have relations at high frequencies, but only the southern node contains a deterministic low-frequency component, which is forced by tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability, as shown with a modeling experiment. The NPO-induced variability by the tropical Pacific SST is then integrated by the underlying ocean surface to form the decadal-scale NPGO signal. Thus, a new link between the CPW, the NPO, and the NPGO is formed, expanding the current framework of Pacific decadal variability and its implications for weather and climate. The new framework of North Pacific decadal variability (NPDV) is then evaluated in 24 state-of-the-art coupled climate models. Results indicate that the models in general have difficulty reproducing the leading modes of NPDV in space and time, particularly the NPGO mode and its connection to the NPO. Furthermore, most models lack the proper connections between extratropical and tropical Pacific, for both the ENSO/AL/PDO and CPW/NPO/NPGO connections. Improvements in these teleconnections are thus needed to increase confidence in future climate projections. The last part of the dissertation explores further the importance of the CPW mode by comparing and contrasting two popular paleoclimate SST anomaly reconstruction methods used for tropical Indo-Pacific SSTs. The first method exploits the high correlation between the canonical ENSO mode and tropical precipitation; the second method uses a multi-regression model that exploits the multiple modes of covariability between tropical precipitation and SSTs, including the CPW mode. The multi-regression approach demonstrates higher skill throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific than the first approach, illustrating the importance of including the CPW phenomenon in understanding past climates.