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A presente tese trata de analisar, a partir da situação das Regiões Ártica e Antártica, questões ambientais que se inserem no campo das relações e dos estudos de segurança internacionais. Neste sentido, através de uma abordagem comparativa, ajusta-se, metodológica e teoricamente, as relações entre questões ambientais e de segurança e sua intersecção com os estudos sobre regimes internacionais. O objetivo é a partir de uma concepção de que são o Ártico (parcialmente) e a Antártica, áreas internacionais, examinar a relação existente entre a exploração de recursos naturais e questões ambientais (mudanças climáticas) e as possibilidades de conflitos e sua superação ou adiamento, em função do exame intrínseco da competição por recursos naturais (petróleo, gás, hidratos de gás, bioprospecção, recursos marinhos, água doce, turismo e rotas polares, esse último somente para o Ártico) e das mudanças climáticas e dos regimes concebidos nas Regiões Polares. Foram examinadas, ao mesmo tempo, dificuldades econômicas, ambientais, técnicas e políticas (dificuldades intrínsecas) à exploração de recursos ambientais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas e a força dos regimes das Regiões Polares, verificando-se as respectivas capacidades de adiar ou evitar conflitos. Sendo que a força do regime foi examinada a partir do grau de impacto dos elementos que a formam: 1) efetividade do regime, 2) a resiliência do regime, 3) resistência do regime, 4) a presença do hegemon e outros Estados protagonistas, 5) mecanismos de aquiescência, que incentivem ou obriguem o respeito as regras do regime, e 6) existência de uma organização internacional vinculada. Partiu-se do pressuposto de que quanto maiores as dificuldades para exploração, menor seria a competição e, portanto, menores as possibilidades de ocorrerem conflitos. A possibilidade de ocorrência de conflitos também foi cotejada com o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes instalados nas Regiões Polares. A tese conclui que no Ártico e na Antártica as dificuldades para a exploração dos recursos naturais se equivalem. Especificamente no campo político e econômico, quanto aos minerais (inclusive água) na Antártica a dificuldade é maior na atualidade em função da vedação da exploração até 2048 e porque as pesquisas ainda são insuficientes para comprovar a viabilidade da exploração; em compensação no Ártico a localização dos recursos em áreas sob soberania ou no espaço que compreende a ZEE não enseja dificuldades políticas e jurídicas para exploração em função da aplicação da CNUDM. Por sua vez, em especial, as externalidades dos efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas Regiões Polares podem provocar o aumento do n.m.m. e alterações dos padrões climáticos, contudo conflitos não seriam inevitáveis. Em relação aos Regimes Polares ambos foram considerados fortes, contudo o regime antártico foi considerado mais fortalecido. O exame dos elementos, principalmente, a resiliência e efetividade do STA e cotejamento com o processo de consolidação do regime complexo do Ártico justificam a conclusão. Por fim conclui esta tese que as condições para exploração dos recursos naturais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas e a partir das Regiões Polares e o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes internacionais lá constituídos revelam, que os conflitos, ainda que possíveis não são prováveis. / This thesis analyzes, from Arctic and Antarctic regions, environmental issues which fall within the field of international relations and security studies. In this sense, through a comparative approach sets, intends to, methodological and theoretically, the relationship between environmental and security issues and its intersection with studies on international relations. The goal is, from a design which are the Arctic (in part) and Antarctica, international areas, examining the links between the exploitation of natural resources and environmental issues (climate change) and the potential for conflicts and overcome them or postponement, due to the intrinsic exam competition for natural resources (oil, gas, gas hydrates, bioprospecting, marine resources, freshwater, tourism and polar routes, the latter only for the Arctic) and climate change and regimes in the polar regions. Were examined at the same time, economic, environmental, technical and policy difficulties (intrinsic difficulties) the exploitation of environmental resources, the effects of climate change and the strength of the polar regions regimes, verifying their ability to delay or avoid conflicts. The strength of the system was examined from the degree of impact of the elements that form it: 1) effectiveness of the system, 2) the resilience of the system, 3) regime resistance, 4) the presence of the hegemon and other protagonists States 5) compliance mechanisms that encourage or force respect the rules of the regime, and 6) the existence of a linked international organization. It started with the assumption that the greater the difficulties for exploration, would be less competition and therefore lower the chances of occurrence of conflicts. The possibility of conflict was also checked against the degree of strengthening of systems installed in the polar regions. The thesis concludes that the Arctic and Antarctic difficulties for the exploitation of natural resources are equivalent. Specifically, in the political and economic field, as minerals (including water) in Antarctica the difficulty is greater today due to the operations are prohibited up to 2048 and because the research is still insufficient to prove the viability of the exploitation; in compensation in the Arctic location of resources in areas under the sovereignty or within the EEZ that comprises not entails political and legal difficulties to exploitation due to the implementation of UNCLOS. In turn, in particular, the externalities of the effects of climate change on the polar regions can cause an increase in sea level and changes in weather patterns, however conflicts would not inevitable. Regarding the polar regimes both were considered strong, however the Antarctic regime was considered more strong. Examination of the components, especially the resilience and effectiveness of ATS and mutual comparison with the consolidation of the complex Arctic regime justify the conclusion. Finally, this thesis concludes that the conditions for exploitation of natural resources, the effects of climate change on and from the polar regions and the degree of strengthening international regimes established their reveal that the conflicts, although possible is not probable.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

A presente tese trata de analisar, a partir da situação das Regiões Ártica e Antártica, questões ambientais que se inserem no campo das relações e dos estudos de segurança internacionais. Neste sentido, através de uma abordagem comparativa, ajusta-se, metodológica e teoricamente, as relações entre questões ambientais e de segurança e sua intersecção com os estudos sobre regimes internacionais. O objetivo é a partir de uma concepção de que são o Ártico (parcialmente) e a Antártica, áreas internacionais, examinar a relação existente entre a exploração de recursos naturais e questões ambientais (mudanças climáticas) e as possibilidades de conflitos e sua superação ou adiamento, em função do exame intrínseco da competição por recursos naturais (petróleo, gás, hidratos de gás, bioprospecção, recursos marinhos, água doce, turismo e rotas polares, esse último somente para o Ártico) e das mudanças climáticas e dos regimes concebidos nas Regiões Polares. Foram examinadas, ao mesmo tempo, dificuldades econômicas, ambientais, técnicas e políticas (dificuldades intrínsecas) à exploração de recursos ambientais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas e a força dos regimes das Regiões Polares, verificando-se as respectivas capacidades de adiar ou evitar conflitos. Sendo que a força do regime foi examinada a partir do grau de impacto dos elementos que a formam: 1) efetividade do regime, 2) a resiliência do regime, 3) resistência do regime, 4) a presença do hegemon e outros Estados protagonistas, 5) mecanismos de aquiescência, que incentivem ou obriguem o respeito as regras do regime, e 6) existência de uma organização internacional vinculada. Partiu-se do pressuposto de que quanto maiores as dificuldades para exploração, menor seria a competição e, portanto, menores as possibilidades de ocorrerem conflitos. A possibilidade de ocorrência de conflitos também foi cotejada com o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes instalados nas Regiões Polares. A tese conclui que no Ártico e na Antártica as dificuldades para a exploração dos recursos naturais se equivalem. Especificamente no campo político e econômico, quanto aos minerais (inclusive água) na Antártica a dificuldade é maior na atualidade em função da vedação da exploração até 2048 e porque as pesquisas ainda são insuficientes para comprovar a viabilidade da exploração; em compensação no Ártico a localização dos recursos em áreas sob soberania ou no espaço que compreende a ZEE não enseja dificuldades políticas e jurídicas para exploração em função da aplicação da CNUDM. Por sua vez, em especial, as externalidades dos efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas Regiões Polares podem provocar o aumento do n.m.m. e alterações dos padrões climáticos, contudo conflitos não seriam inevitáveis. Em relação aos Regimes Polares ambos foram considerados fortes, contudo o regime antártico foi considerado mais fortalecido. O exame dos elementos, principalmente, a resiliência e efetividade do STA e cotejamento com o processo de consolidação do regime complexo do Ártico justificam a conclusão. Por fim conclui esta tese que as condições para exploração dos recursos naturais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas e a partir das Regiões Polares e o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes internacionais lá constituídos revelam, que os conflitos, ainda que possíveis não são prováveis. / This thesis analyzes, from Arctic and Antarctic regions, environmental issues which fall within the field of international relations and security studies. In this sense, through a comparative approach sets, intends to, methodological and theoretically, the relationship between environmental and security issues and its intersection with studies on international relations. The goal is, from a design which are the Arctic (in part) and Antarctica, international areas, examining the links between the exploitation of natural resources and environmental issues (climate change) and the potential for conflicts and overcome them or postponement, due to the intrinsic exam competition for natural resources (oil, gas, gas hydrates, bioprospecting, marine resources, freshwater, tourism and polar routes, the latter only for the Arctic) and climate change and regimes in the polar regions. Were examined at the same time, economic, environmental, technical and policy difficulties (intrinsic difficulties) the exploitation of environmental resources, the effects of climate change and the strength of the polar regions regimes, verifying their ability to delay or avoid conflicts. The strength of the system was examined from the degree of impact of the elements that form it: 1) effectiveness of the system, 2) the resilience of the system, 3) regime resistance, 4) the presence of the hegemon and other protagonists States 5) compliance mechanisms that encourage or force respect the rules of the regime, and 6) the existence of a linked international organization. It started with the assumption that the greater the difficulties for exploration, would be less competition and therefore lower the chances of occurrence of conflicts. The possibility of conflict was also checked against the degree of strengthening of systems installed in the polar regions. The thesis concludes that the Arctic and Antarctic difficulties for the exploitation of natural resources are equivalent. Specifically, in the political and economic field, as minerals (including water) in Antarctica the difficulty is greater today due to the operations are prohibited up to 2048 and because the research is still insufficient to prove the viability of the exploitation; in compensation in the Arctic location of resources in areas under the sovereignty or within the EEZ that comprises not entails political and legal difficulties to exploitation due to the implementation of UNCLOS. In turn, in particular, the externalities of the effects of climate change on the polar regions can cause an increase in sea level and changes in weather patterns, however conflicts would not inevitable. Regarding the polar regimes both were considered strong, however the Antarctic regime was considered more strong. Examination of the components, especially the resilience and effectiveness of ATS and mutual comparison with the consolidation of the complex Arctic regime justify the conclusion. Finally, this thesis concludes that the conditions for exploitation of natural resources, the effects of climate change on and from the polar regions and the degree of strengthening international regimes established their reveal that the conflicts, although possible is not probable.

A presente tese trata de analisar, a partir da situação das Regiões Ártica e Antártica, questões ambientais que se inserem no campo das relações e dos estudos de segurança internacionais. Neste sentido, através de uma abordagem comparativa, ajusta-se, metodológica e teoricamente, as relações entre questões ambientais e de segurança e sua intersecção com os estudos sobre regimes internacionais. O objetivo é a partir de uma concepção de que são o Ártico (parcialmente) e a Antártica, áreas internacionais, examinar a relação existente entre a exploração de recursos naturais e questões ambientais (mudanças climáticas) e as possibilidades de conflitos e sua superação ou adiamento, em função do exame intrínseco da competição por recursos naturais (petróleo, gás, hidratos de gás, bioprospecção, recursos marinhos, água doce, turismo e rotas polares, esse último somente para o Ártico) e das mudanças climáticas e dos regimes concebidos nas Regiões Polares. Foram examinadas, ao mesmo tempo, dificuldades econômicas, ambientais, técnicas e políticas (dificuldades intrínsecas) à exploração de recursos ambientais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas e a força dos regimes das Regiões Polares, verificando-se as respectivas capacidades de adiar ou evitar conflitos. Sendo que a força do regime foi examinada a partir do grau de impacto dos elementos que a formam: 1) efetividade do regime, 2) a resiliência do regime, 3) resistência do regime, 4) a presença do hegemon e outros Estados protagonistas, 5) mecanismos de aquiescência, que incentivem ou obriguem o respeito as regras do regime, e 6) existência de uma organização internacional vinculada. Partiu-se do pressuposto de que quanto maiores as dificuldades para exploração, menor seria a competição e, portanto, menores as possibilidades de ocorrerem conflitos. A possibilidade de ocorrência de conflitos também foi cotejada com o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes instalados nas Regiões Polares. A tese conclui que no Ártico e na Antártica as dificuldades para a exploração dos recursos naturais se equivalem. Especificamente no campo político e econômico, quanto aos minerais (inclusive água) na Antártica a dificuldade é maior na atualidade em função da vedação da exploração até 2048 e porque as pesquisas ainda são insuficientes para comprovar a viabilidade da exploração; em compensação no Ártico a localização dos recursos em áreas sob soberania ou no espaço que compreende a ZEE não enseja dificuldades políticas e jurídicas para exploração em função da aplicação da CNUDM. Por sua vez, em especial, as externalidades dos efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas Regiões Polares podem provocar o aumento do n.m.m. e alterações dos padrões climáticos, contudo conflitos não seriam inevitáveis. Em relação aos Regimes Polares ambos foram considerados fortes, contudo o regime antártico foi considerado mais fortalecido. O exame dos elementos, principalmente, a resiliência e efetividade do STA e cotejamento com o processo de consolidação do regime complexo do Ártico justificam a conclusão. Por fim conclui esta tese que as condições para exploração dos recursos naturais, os efeitos das mudanças climáticas nas e a partir das Regiões Polares e o grau de fortalecimento dos regimes internacionais lá constituídos revelam, que os conflitos, ainda que possíveis não são prováveis. / This thesis analyzes, from Arctic and Antarctic regions, environmental issues which fall within the field of international relations and security studies. In this sense, through a comparative approach sets, intends to, methodological and theoretically, the relationship between environmental and security issues and its intersection with studies on international relations. The goal is, from a design which are the Arctic (in part) and Antarctica, international areas, examining the links between the exploitation of natural resources and environmental issues (climate change) and the potential for conflicts and overcome them or postponement, due to the intrinsic exam competition for natural resources (oil, gas, gas hydrates, bioprospecting, marine resources, freshwater, tourism and polar routes, the latter only for the Arctic) and climate change and regimes in the polar regions. Were examined at the same time, economic, environmental, technical and policy difficulties (intrinsic difficulties) the exploitation of environmental resources, the effects of climate change and the strength of the polar regions regimes, verifying their ability to delay or avoid conflicts. The strength of the system was examined from the degree of impact of the elements that form it: 1) effectiveness of the system, 2) the resilience of the system, 3) regime resistance, 4) the presence of the hegemon and other protagonists States 5) compliance mechanisms that encourage or force respect the rules of the regime, and 6) the existence of a linked international organization. It started with the assumption that the greater the difficulties for exploration, would be less competition and therefore lower the chances of occurrence of conflicts. The possibility of conflict was also checked against the degree of strengthening of systems installed in the polar regions. The thesis concludes that the Arctic and Antarctic difficulties for the exploitation of natural resources are equivalent. Specifically, in the political and economic field, as minerals (including water) in Antarctica the difficulty is greater today due to the operations are prohibited up to 2048 and because the research is still insufficient to prove the viability of the exploitation; in compensation in the Arctic location of resources in areas under the sovereignty or within the EEZ that comprises not entails political and legal difficulties to exploitation due to the implementation of UNCLOS. In turn, in particular, the externalities of the effects of climate change on the polar regions can cause an increase in sea level and changes in weather patterns, however conflicts would not inevitable. Regarding the polar regimes both were considered strong, however the Antarctic regime was considered more strong. Examination of the components, especially the resilience and effectiveness of ATS and mutual comparison with the consolidation of the complex Arctic regime justify the conclusion. Finally, this thesis concludes that the conditions for exploitation of natural resources, the effects of climate change on and from the polar regions and the degree of strengthening international regimes established their reveal that the conflicts, although possible is not probable.

The ongoing changes in the extent and the properties of sea ice, associated with the warming climate, are affecting the polar ecosystem and the interactions between the atmosphere, sea ice and the underlying waters. How sea ice biogeochemistry will change in the foreseeable future is currently uncertain, but is a crucial problem to tackle.<p>To better understand how sea ice biogeochemistry could change, we investigated the factors regulating the distribution of some dissolved compounds (e.g. nutrients, dissolved organic matter (DOM)) and gaseous compounds (e.g. Ar, O2, N2, CH4) in sea ice, from ice growth to ice decay. The results were obtained from a 19-day indoor experiment in Hamburg (Germany) and a five-month-long field survey in Barrow (Alaska). They were then compared to the physical properties of the ice (temperature, salinity, and other derived parameters such as brine volume fraction) and different biological parameters (bacterial activity, bacterial abundance, chlorophyll-a and phaeopigments).<p>Our work indicates that the physical properties of sea ice exert a strong influence on the distribution of the biogeochemical compounds in the ice, through their impact on brine dynamics, gas bubble formation and ice permeability. We have described 4 stages of brine dynamics, which affect the distribution of the dissolved compounds (e.g. silicate and DOM) in sea ice. However, inert gas (Ar) shows a different dynamic in comparison to the dissolved compounds, indicating a different transport pathway. We suggest that the formation of gas bubbles in sea ice is responsible for that different transport pathway, because gas bubbles should move upward owing to their buoyancy in comparison to brine, while dissolved compounds are drained downward due to gravity. Our observations further indicate that the critical permeability threshold for the upward gas bubble transport should range between 7.5 and 10 % of brine volume fraction, which is higher than the 5 % suggested for the downward brine transport. Increasing ice permeability and prolonged gas exchange tend to draw gas concentrations toward their solubility values, except when the under-ice water is supersaturated relative to the atmosphere (e.g. CH4) or when in-situ production occurs in sea ice (e.g. O2).<p>Because ammonium and O2 obviously accumulate in the ice layers where convection is limited, we suggest that the changes of these biogeochemical compounds in sea ice depend on the competing effect between the physical transport and the biological activity; the biological impact on these biogeochemical compounds in sea ice is obvious when the biological production rate exceeds largely the physical transport rate. We further discussed on the potential of using Ar and N2 as inert tracers to correct the physical controls on O2 and to determine the net community production in sea ice.<p>In addition to the physical and biological controls, the chemical properties of some biogeochemical compounds (e.g. nitrate, ammonium, DOM) may further influence their distribution in sea ice; further investigations are however needed to confirm this.<p>Finally, based on our findings, we present an update of the processes regulating the distribution of gases in sea ice, with references to recent observations supporting each of the process. We also provide some insights on how sea ice biogeochemistry could change in the future and the research priorities for an accurate quantification of these changes.<p><p>Les changements dans l’extension et les propriétés de la glace de la mer, liés au réchauffement climatique, affectent l’écosystème polaire, ainsi que les interactions entre l’atmosphère, la glace de mer et l’eau sous-jacente. Cependant, des incertitudes subsistent quant aux changements potentiels qui affecteront la biogéochimie de la glace de mer dans un futur proche.<p>Afin de mieux comprendre les changements potentiels qui affecteront la biogéochimie de la glace de mer, nous avons étudié les facteurs qui influencent la distribution de certains composés dissouts (e.g. nutriments, matière organique dissoute (DOM)) et gazeux (e.g. Ar, O2, N2, CH4) au sein de la glace de mer, depuis la croissance de la glace, jusqu’à sa fonte. Les résultats ont été obtenus à partir d’une expérience de 19 jours dans un bassin expérimental à Hambourg (Allemagne) et une étude de terrain de 5 mois à Barrow (Alaska). Ils ont été ensuite comparés aux propriétés physiques de la glace (température, salinité et autres paramètres dérivés) et à des paramètres biologiques (activité bactérienne, abondance bactérienne, chlorophylle-a et phaeopigments).<p>Nos travaux ont montré que les propriétés physiques de la glace exercent une forte influence sur la répartition des composes biogéochimiques dans la glace de mer, à travers leur impact sur la dynamique des saumures, la formation de bulles de gaz et la perméabilité de la glace. Nous avons décrit 4 stades dans la dynamique des saumures qui influencent la distribution des composés dissouts (e.g. silice et DOM) dans la glace. Cependant, le gaz inerte étudié (Ar) montre une dynamique différente de celle des composés dissouts, indiquant un mécanisme de transport différent. Nous suggérons que la formation de bulles de gaz dans la glace de mer est le mécanisme responsable de cette différence, parce que les bulles de gaz devraient migrer vers le haut, à cause de leur différence de densité par rapport aux saumures, alors que les saumures sont drainées vers le bas à cause de la gravité. Nos observations montrent également que le seuil critique de perméabilité pour l’ascension des bulles de gaz devrait se trouver entre 7.5 et 10 % de volume relatif en saumure ;seuil qui est plus élevé que les 5 % suggérés pour le transport de saumure vers le bas. L’augmentation de la perméabilité de la glace et les échanges de gaz prolongés tendent à amener les concentrations de gaz vers leur valeur de solubilité, sauf lorsque l’eau sous-jacente présente une sursaturation parrapport à l’atmosphère (e.g. CH4), ou lorsque une production in-situ se produit au sein de la glace (e.g. O2).<p>Etant donné que l’ammonium et O2 s’accumulent clairement dans les couches de glace où la convection est limitée, nous suggérons que les variations de ces composés biogéochimiques dans la glace dépendent de la balance entre le transport physique et l’activité biologique ;l’impact de cette dernière sur les composés biogéochimiques est particulièrement visible lorsque le taux de production biologique du composé excède largement la vitesse d’élimination du composé par le transport physique. Nous avons ensuite discuté du potentiel d’utiliser Ar et N2 comme traceurs inertes pour corriger l’impact des processus physiques sur les variations de O2, afin de déterminer la production communautaire nette dans la glace de mer.<p>Les propriétés chimiques de certains composés biogéochimiques (e.g. nitrate, ammonium, DOM) pourraient également influencer leur répartition au sein de la glace de mer, en plus des processus physiques et biologiques. Cependant, il est nécessaire d’avoir plus d’études à ce sujet pour confirmer cela.<p>Enfin, sur base de nos résultats, nous présentons une mise à jour des processus qui régulent la répartition des gaz dans la glace de mer, avec des références à des observations récentes qui illustrent chacun des processus. Nous donnons également un aperçu des changements qui pourraient affecter la biogéochimie de la glace de mer à l’avenir, et des pistes de recherches pour une quantification précise de ces changements. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cirrus clouds play an important role in radiative transfer, and thus have impact on the energy balance of the atmosphere and the climate of the Earth. Furthermore, they occur often and cover large areas globally at any time. Nevertheless, cirrus clouds are poorly studied, especially in the polar regions. Cirrus clouds are present in a large amount of the 14 years of data produced by the lidar at the Swedish Institude of Space Physics (IRF), but has not been studied to a large extent. A lidar is an active remote sensing instrument using a laser. This master's thesis develops and improves programs for analysis of cirrus clouds from this lidar data. It also performs analysis of six case studies chosen from the available data, and statistics of these six cases. The parameters calculated for each date are the cloud top, base and mean altitude, the geometrical thickness, the depolarisation ratio, the backscatter ratio (BSR), the backscatter coefficient, the extinction coefficient, the optical thickness and the number of cloud layers. No clear correlation between the optical thickness and the cloud top, base or mean altitude was found. There seems to be a weak correlation between increased optical thickness and increased geometrical thickness, which is not unreasonable. The mean cloud layer top altitude was 11.82 km and the mean cloud base was 10.36 km. The mean optical thickness for a cloud layer was 1.46 km, and the average of the cloud layer mean altitude was 11.09 km. It should be noted that the statistical analysis is based on only six cases with a total observation time of no more than 37 hours. A far larger dataset is needed in order to obtain any statistically signicant conclusions. The effect of averaging is studied, and it is concluded that averaging over altitude reduced the noise and facilitated the interpolation more than averaging over time did. Different approaches to obtain the molecular backscatter coefficient are compared, as well as the effect on the simulated molecular signal. Two of these approaches calculate the molecular backscatter coeffcient with input of the temperature and pressure either as continuously measured ground vales from the weather station at IRF or as radiosonde profiles for a specific time. In the other two, the molecular backscatter coeffcient is obtained from ECMWF data and from the standard atmosphere. Differences in the range 12-35% between the methods are found. Different approaches to calculate the backscatter ratio (BSR) are also compared. At cirrus altitudes, the decrease in the signal due to the molecular cloudfree part of the atmosphere is still strong, and finding the top and base separately by comparison with the standard deviation of the signal is proven a better method than interpolating between the point where the signal starts to increase and the point where it reaches the same signal value again. Height-normalising the signal provides a more robust method. For thin cirrus, the signal is not significantly attenuated above the cloud layer, and it is found that a method based on the ratios between the measured signal and the simulated molecular signal at cloud top and base did not produce reliable results for the optical thickness. In addition to analysing data and data processing methods, new data processing tools in MATLAB have been developed and existing functions have been improved. These will be valuable for continued studies with the IRF lidar, for cirrus as well as PSCs and thick and/or low-altitude clouds.

Atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO) is a significant and sometimes dominant OH source at polar region. An improved method of detecting HONO is developed using photo-fragmentation and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The detection limit of this method is 2-3 pptv for ten-minute integration time with 35% uncertainty. The abundance of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) HONO measurements during ANTCI (Antarctic troposphere chemistry investigation) 2003 exceeds the pure gas phase model predictions by a factor of 1.92±0.67, which implies snow emission of HONO. A 1D air-snowpack model of HONO was developed and constrained by observed chemistry and meteology data. The 1D model includes pure gas phase chemical mechanisms, molecular diffusion and mechanical dispersion, windpumping in snow, gas phase to quasi-liquid layer phase HONO transfer and quasi-liquid layer nitrate photolysis. Based on the air-snowpack model, snow emission of HONO is highly likely and will be transported to place of the measurements. The pH, thickness of quasi liquid layer and contineous nitrite measurement are key factors to calibrate and validate the air snowpack model.

The aim of this study was to understand the link beween greenhouse gasses emissions (CH4 and N2O) microbial activity and nutrient content in soil from different types of soil in Svalbard. Warming can cause release of large amounts of carbon and nitrogen in form of greenhouse gasses from soil into the atmosphere. This might strengthen the greenhouse effect and thus global climate change. We measured release of greenhouse gases from soil. At the same time, soil sampling was conducted at five different localities in August in the years 2014 and 2015. Soils were found to have low nutrient content and unfavourable C/N ratio to support vegetation growth. Areas were not a significant source of emissions of greenhouse gasses from soil to the atmosphere.

The thesis deals with teaching regional geography of the world ocean and polar regions. It focuses on creating my own conception of teaching geography at the second grade of elementary school. The thesis includes the didactic analysis of textbooks and workbooks of geography for second grade of elementary school, which contain the subject matter. For inspiration and to create notions about the current teaching of the topic, a questionnaire survey was made on a few selected elementary schools. The main goal of the thesis was to create my own teaching materials in the form of a textbook, a workbook and a methodical manual for teachers with regard to new tendencies in education.