The Noachic Deluge is often portrayed within Scripture as being a disastrous, death-inducing, catastrophic event that had the power to forever shape and change the world that then was (Matt 24:36-44; Luke 17:26—27; 1 Pet 3:20-21; 2 Pet 3:6). Via “self- destructive lawlessness” ( חמס ), humanity had the effect of “corrupting” ( שחת ) the “good” ( טוב ) earth that God had created, thus leading the Creator to proclaim that he would “destroy” ( שחת ) and “blot/wipe” ( מחה ) it out, along with “all flesh” ( .(כל בשר Fortunately, “Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD” and God chose to “establish” or “confirm” ( קום ) his covenant with him and to preserve a remnant of humanity and all life (Gen 6:18-21; 7:1-3, 7-9, 13-16; 8:16-22; 9:1-17). As such, despite the vivid picture of devastation that the Noachic Deluge account depicts, this study will seek to demonstrate by means of rhetorical analysis that the emphasis of the narrative is on redemption, salvation, deliverance, renewal, and the upholding of life. The Noachic Deluge event functions to recalibrate the kinship relationship of God and humanity that was lost in the Fall via the structure of covenant. In this way, the Noachic Deluge narrative is persuasive. As intellectual, world-view formative rhetoric, the scribe convincingly communicates that God’s intentions for creation, the establishment of order via covenant, will not be thwarted. This includes human beings— as his image-bearers—employing the principle of lex talionis (blood-for-blood). Despite the present scholarship, a lacuna exists concerning the persuasive nature of the Noachic Deluge narrative, its rhetorical function, and a thorough, methodologically rigorous, description of the scribe’s persuasiveness. As such, this work seeks to delineate the scribe’s essential persuasive strategy—noting also his literary artistry—as it engages in a detailed reading of this specific portion of ancient Scripture (Gen 6:9—9:29). This study leverages a form of George A. Kennedy’s model of rhetorical criticism: (1) determining the rhetorical units, (2) determining the rhetorical situation, (3) determining the rhetorical strategy, and (4) determining the rhetorical effectiveness. A brief conclusion rounds out the analysis. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Groundwater is a major source of water in the western US. However, there are limited recharge estimates in this region due to the complexity of recharge processes and the challenge of direct observations. Land surface Models (LSMs) could be a valuable tool for estimating current recharge and projecting changes due to future climate change. In this study, simulations of three LSMs (Noah, Mosaic and VIC) obtained from the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2) are used to estimate potential recharge in the western US. Modeled recharge was compared with published recharge estimates for several aquifers in the region. Annual recharge to precipitation ratios across the study basins varied from 0.01% to 15% for Mosaic, 3.2% to 42% for Noah, and 6.7% to 31.8% for VIC simulations. Mosaic consistently underestimates recharge across all basins. Noah captures recharge reasonably well in wetter basins, but overestimates it in drier basins. VIC slightly overestimates recharge in drier basins and slightly underestimates it for wetter basins. While the average annual recharge values vary among the models, the models were consistent in identifying high and low recharge areas in the region. Models agree in seasonality of recharge occurring dominantly during the spring across the region. Overall, our results highlight that LSMs have the potential to capture the spatial and temporal patterns as well as seasonality of recharge at large scales. Therefore, LSMs (specifically VIC and Noah) can be used as a tool for estimating future recharge in data limited regions.

Large-scale circulation patterns have a significant modulating influence on local hydro-meteorological variables, and consequently on water availability. An understanding of the influence of these patterns on the hydrological cycle, and the ability to timely predict their impacts, is crucial for water resources planning and management. This dissertation focusses on the influence of two major large-scale circulation patterns, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), on the Rio Grande basin and the state of Texas, US. Both study areas are subject to a varying climate, and are extremely vulnerable to droughts, which can have devastating socio-economic impacts. The strength and spatial correlation structure of the climate indices on gauged precipitation was first established. Precipitation is not linearly related to water availability; therefore a land surface model (LSM), with land use land cover constant, was used to create naturalized flow, as it incorporates all necessary hydro-meteorological factors. As not all ENSO events are created equal, the influence of individual El Niño and La Niña events, classified using four different metrics, on water availability was examined. A general increase (decrease) in runoff during El Niños (La Niñas) was noted, but some individual events actually caused a decrease (increase) in water availability. Long duration El Niños have more influence on water availability than short duration high intensity events. Positive PDO enhances the effect of El Niño, and dampens the negative effect of La Niña, but when it is in its neutral or transition phase, La Niña tends to dominate climatic conditions and reduce water availability. LSM derived runoffs were converted into 3-month Standardized Runoff Indices (SRI 3) from which water deficit durations and severities were extracted. Conditional probability models of duration and severity were developed and compared with that based on observed precipitations. It was found that model derived information can be used in regions having limited ground observation data, or can be used in tandem with observation driven conditional probabilities for more efficient water resources planning and management. Finally a multidimensional model was developed, using copulas, to predict precipitation based on the phase of ENSO and PDO. A bivariate model, with ENSO and precipitation, was compared to a trivariate model, which incorporates PDO, and it was found that information on the state of PDO is important for efficient precipitation predictions.

Uppsatsen undersöker hur tre barnbiblar utgivna 1739, 1883 och 1983 i Sverige återberättar bibelberättelsen om syndafloden och Noa. Den lyfter genom adaptationsteorin fram vad som tillkommit och vad som tagits bort från originalberättelsen när denna anpassats till en yngre målgrupp. Fokus ligger på vilket stoff som använts och hur det gestaltas. Resultaten sätts sedan in i respektive samtida kontext där fokus ligger på barnsyn och kristendomens roll i samhället. Det visar sig att barnbiblarna till stor grad avspeglar den samtid de tillkommit i men att undantag också finns. Upplysningens och romantikens idéer ges väldigt lite utrymme till förmån för den traditionella, kristna barnsynen och den mekaniska pedagogiken. Genom barnbiblarna kan man följa hur synen på barnet förändras från en stackars varelse med arvsynd till en social individ. Samhällets ökande grad av sekularisering genom åren blir tydlig och gudsbilden förändras från en hämndlysten till alltigenom god gud. Man kan tydligt avläsa att lydnad är en dygd som varit eftersträvansvärd i samtliga barnbiblar men att sätten för att uppnå lydnad varierar med tiden.

Review too Irving Finkel: The Ark Before Noah. Decoding the Story of the Flood. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2014. 352 S. 16,3 × 23,6 cm. ISBN 978-1-444-75705-7. Preis: £ 25,00.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In this study, simulated to net radiation and energy flux in a region with rotation of crops, for two distinct periods: Period 1 (01 / Feb / 2009 to 31 / Jan / 2010) and period 2 (14 / Dec / 2009 to 28 / Apr / 2010). In these simulations we used the NOAH LSM surface model. For the period 1 initially, without any calibration simulations were performed only with the input of the local weather conditions, an adjustment of an experiment controlfile file and spin up for the stabilization of the initial conditions. In these simulations, the results were very poor, indicating a need to test the sensitivity of the model especially because of the launch conditions of temperature and soil moisture. After these tests it was found that the initial predictions of impact can be considerable conditions for the two cases. It is noticed that the soil moisture changes generate greater impact in the model that temperature variations boot. As a result, proposed a calibration for the model. The calibration method was to make some simulations manually varying the parameters of soil and vegetation, or both, according to the deficiencies of the NOAH LSM. The tests were carried out until they could get a more optimized forecast for the period studied. The initial analysis of the local conditions of the experimental site was very important for calibration, as it allowed establishing previous parameters corresponding to values close to those parameters when calibrated. Simulation results after calibration applied satisfactorily exhibited liquid radiation and heat flows. So it can be said that the calibration is proposed representing characteristics of vegetation and soil correctly. Nevertheless, the corrections that the model still needs, especially in sensible and latent heat fluxes, may be associated with representation in heat distribution processes and water, or by the fact that the colder months had considerable regime rains. So when there is cloud cover, the model still has problems in representation. Results for long periods of data, as in this work, may lose some of representativeness due to the seasonality of the vegetation parameters, for which varied the parameters for periods culture and fallow. The most important contribution made in this work was a model fit for an agricultural ecosystem area and validate it for the future, it may be used as an initial boundary condition in numerical weather prediction models. The implementation variations in LAI and albedo parameter applied in the simulations of period 2 (soybean) improved the description of the heat flux and net radiation. / Neste estudo simulou-se a radiação líquida e os fluxos de energia para uma região com rotações de cultivos agrícolas, para dois períodos distintos: Período 1 (01/Fev/2009 até 31/Jan/2010) e período 2 (14/Dez/2009 até 28/Abr/2010). Nestas simulações utilizou-se o modelo de superfície NOAH LSM. Inicialmente, para o período 1, foram feitas simulações sem nenhuma calibração, apenas com a entrada das condições meteorológicas locais, um ajuste do arquivo controlfile e um experimento spin up para a estabilização das condições iniciais. Nestas simulações, os resultados foram muito insatisfatórios, indicando uma necessidade de testar a sensibilidade do modelo principalmente frente às condições de inicialização da temperatura e da umidade do solo. Após estes testes verificou-se que impactos das previsões às condições iniciais podem ser consideráveis para os dois casos. Percebe-se que as variações de umidade do solo geram maior impacto no modelo devido à temperatura do solo que é simulada. Na sequência, propôs-se uma calibração para o modelo. O método de calibração consistiu em fazer algumas simulações variando-se manualmente os parâmetros de solo e vegetação, ou ambos, de acordo com as deficiências do NOAH LSM. Assim, os testes foram realizados até que se conseguisse uma previsão mais otimizada para o período estudado. A análise inicial das condições locais do sítio experimental foi de suma importância para a calibração, pois ela possibilitou estabelecer parâmetros prévios que correspondem a valores próximos dos parâmetros quando calibrados. Os resultados das simulações, após a calibração aplicada, representaram satisfatoriamente a radiação líquida e os fluxos de calor. Portanto, pode-se dizer que a calibração proposta está representando as características de vegetação e de solo de forma correta. Apesar disso, as correções que o modelo ainda necessita, principalmente nos fluxos de calor sensível e latente, podem estar associadas a representação nos processos de distribuição do calor e da água, ou ainda pelo fato de que os meses mais frios tiveram um considerável regime de chuvas. Assim, quando há nebulosidade, o modelo ainda apresenta problemas na representação. Os resultados para períodos longos de dados, os quais foram considerados neste trabalho podem perder um pouco da representatividade em função da sazonalidade dos parâmetros de vegetação, motivo pelo qual variou-se os parâmetros para períodos com cultura e com pousios. A contribuição mais importante realizada neste trabalho foi um ajuste do modelo para uma região de ecossistema agrícola e a sua validação para que futuramente, possa ser utilizado como condição de contorno inicial em modelos de previsão numérica do Tempo. A implementação das variações diárias no parâmetro IAF e no albedo, aplicada nas simulações do período 2 na cultura de soja, melhorou a descrição dos fluxos de calor e da radiação líquida.

Melt runoff (MR) contributes significantly to the total runoff in many river basins. Knowledge of the meltwater contribution (MCR, defined as the ratio of MR to the total runoff) to the total runoff benefits water resource management and flood control. A process-based land surface model, Noah-MP, was used to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of MR and MCR in the Upper Changjiang River (as known as Yangtze River) Basin (UCRB) located in southwestern China. The model was first calibrated and validated using snow cover fraction (SCF), runoff, and evapotranspiration (ET) data. The calibrated model was then used to perform two numerical experiments from 1981 to 2010: control experiment that considers MR and an alternative experiment that MR is removed. The difference between two experiments was used to quantify MR and MCR. The results show that in the entire UCRB, MCR was approximately 2.0% during the study period; however, MCR exhibited notable spatiotemporal variability. Four sub-regions over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) showed significant annual MCR ranging from 3.9% to 6.0%, while two sub-regions in the low plain regions showed negligible annual MCR. The spatial distribution of MCR was generally consistent with the distribution of glaciers and elevation distribution. Mann-Kendall (M-K) tests of the long-term annual MCR indicated that the four sub-regions in QTP exhibited increasing trends ranging from 0.01%/year to 0.21%/year during the study period but only one displayed statistically significant trend. No trends were found for the peak time (PT) of MR and MCR, in contrast, advancing trend were observed for the center time (CT) of MR, ranging from 0.01 months/year to 0.02 months/year. These trends are related to the changes of air temperature and precipitation in the study area.

This thesis examines Darren Aronofsky's 2014 film Noah as a pattern for metafictionalizing narratives into thinking stories as we confront the uncertainty and challenges of the Anthropocene. While Ecocriticism has sought for the development and promotion of nature writing and environmentally oriented poetry and fiction- "new stories" that will shape a stronger environmental ethic"”it has placed too much responsibility for the environmental imagination on what we read rather than on the more important question of how we read. My argument addresses the readerly responsibilities that, if met, have the power to transform old stories and old habits of mind into environmentally relevant attitudes and behaviors. The search for new stories, in other words, although important, has tended to understate the responsibility of the reader to make stories new and to read them as cosmologies that pertain to our contemporary situation. What is needed are new ways to read and engage with stories, new reading methods to metaphorize narratives themselves, making them metafictional even when they are not. Now, in an age of climate change and environmental degradation, it is time for us to think about stories in relation to our role as protagonists in the story of the earth, imagining new possibilities and actively accepting our role of writing our story anew. I hope to demonstrate that this type of aggressive reading of even popular culture (often regarded as mainstream, or "œthoughtless" stories) can mine the necessary insights to reexamine humanity's relationship with the earth and its inhabitants.

On définit et on réalise un systeme capable de choisir et de contrôler les actions de plusieurs robots à aptitudes différentes pour qu'ils collaborent à l'exécution d'une même tache. Le systeme a trois principaux composants : un générateur de plans d'actions qui favorise le parallélisme des actions, un programme d'allocation de ressources qui affecte les robots disponibles aux actions des plans engendres, un programme de contrôle qui vérifie que les plans d'actions sont exécutes comme prévu lors de leur génération et qui s'efforce de faire face aux incidents comme par exemple la panne d'un robot

Le traité intitulé Noé, écrit par Ambroise de Milan, est représentatif de sa pensée et de son activité en 378. Il synthétise déjà les études et les travaux produits tout au long des quatre cycles liturgiques qu’il a vécus depuis le début de son épiscopat en 374. Tout en suivant le fil du récit de la Genèse, l’exégète milanais fait le portrait du Juste, pour l’offrir à des fidèles soucieux, en temps de carême, de vivre au quotidien leur engagement chrétien et d’enrichir leur connaissance du texte et de la spiritualité bibliques.Nous nous sommes appuyés sur le texte latin de l’édition italienne SAEMO de 1984, pour en fournir une traduction. Nous y avons joint des notes, qui montrent le lien avec les autres oeuvres d’Ambroise et sa lecture de Philon d’Alexandrie, et un commentaire sous forme d’introduction. Nous décrivons la méthode de l’exégèse du pasteur milanais à travers ses aspects littéraires et rhétoriques, pour entrer ensuite dans la vie liturgique qui donne son sens au traité, avant d’évoquer des aspects de la théologie ambrosienne. / The treatise entitled Noe, written by Ambrose of Milan, represents his thought and his activity in 378. Firstly, it summarises the studies and work he completed throughout the four liturgical cycles he had known since the beginning of his episcopacy in 374. While following the thread of the story of The Genesis, the Milanese exegete draws the portrait of The Just Man to the faithful eager to live their daily Christian commitment, in times of lent, and enrich their knowledge of the biblical text and spirituality.We have used the Latin text of the Italian edition SAEMO dating back to 1984, in order to translate it. We have added notes, showing the link with Ambrose's other works and his reading of Philon of Alexandria, as well as a commentary as an introduction. We are describing the method of the Milanese pastor's exegesis through their literary and rhetorical angles, so as to enter then the liturgical life which gives its meaning to the treatise, before evoking the aspects of Ambrose's theology.