Esta tese visa estudar o impacto da temperatura superfí-cie do mar (TSM) do Atlântico Sul na circulação atmos-férica regional, com ênfase na América do Sul. Os efeitos do Atlântico Sul na atmosfera são examinados através de dois conjuntos de simulações numéricas (ensemble), com o modelo atmosférico do NCAR (CCM3), forçados com a TSM observacional sobre dois domínios: o oceano global e o Atlântico Sul Subtropical, entre 20ºS e 60ºS. Uma metodologia de tratamento do ensemble é aplicada com o intuito de diminuir a variabilidade interna da atmosfera e ressaltar a resposta devido à forçante local de TSM. A comparação entre os experimentos numéricos através das análises de EOF e SVD mostrou que o Atlântico Sul exerce influência sobre a intensidade e posição geográfica da Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul (ZCAS) durante os meses de verão austral, associado a uma circulação ciclônica junto à costa sudeste brasileira, que advecta ar relativamente quente e úmido para a banda de precipitação oceânica. Este trabalho também mostra a importância conjunta da TSM do Atlântico Sul e Pacífico equatorial na modulação da intensidade e posição da ITCZ durante os meses de outono e inverno. Os resultados confirmam ainda o El Niño Oscilação Sul como um fator de impacto remoto na intensidade de chuvas na região sul do Brasil durante o inverno. / This work aims to study the impact of South Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) on regional atmosfheric circulation. In order to achieve this purpose we used the atmospheric global circulation model Community Climate Model (CCM 3) from National Center for Atmosfheric Research (NCAR). the effects of South Atlantic on atmosphere are examined through two sets of numerical simulations (ensemble) generated with different SST configurations. The integrations were forced by SST from observational data over two domains: global ocean and South Atlantic from 20ºS to 60ºS. Looking for the reduction of the internal variability of the atmosphere and for increase of the response from the local SST forcing, a forcing, a special treatment was applied to the ensembles. The statistical methodology used in this study includes simple analysis such as climatology, variance and correlation as well as Empirical Orthogonal Functions and Singular Value Decomposition. the comparasion between the numerical experiments showed that the South Atlantic influences the interannual variability of precipitation over South America, especially with respect to the intensity and geographic position od South Atlantic Convergenge Zone (SACZ) during the austral summer season. The anomalous SST of the Subtropical South Atlantic induces the heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere, which togeter with a cyclonic circulation near the southern Brazilian coast, advects relatively moist and warm air to the oceanic part of SACZ. The increase of convection over this band inhibits the solar radiation in the surface, preventing the continuous increase of SST (negative feedback). This work also shows the importance of SST from the South Atlantic and Equatorial Pacific in modulating the intensity and position of ITCZ during the autumn and winter monhths. This study also confirms the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as a remote impact factor controling the intensity of rain over southern Brazil mainly during winter.

Esta tese visa estudar o impacto da temperatura superfí-cie do mar (TSM) do Atlântico Sul na circulação atmos-férica regional, com ênfase na América do Sul. Os efeitos do Atlântico Sul na atmosfera são examinados através de dois conjuntos de simulações numéricas (ensemble), com o modelo atmosférico do NCAR (CCM3), forçados com a TSM observacional sobre dois domínios: o oceano global e o Atlântico Sul Subtropical, entre 20ºS e 60ºS. Uma metodologia de tratamento do ensemble é aplicada com o intuito de diminuir a variabilidade interna da atmosfera e ressaltar a resposta devido à forçante local de TSM. A comparação entre os experimentos numéricos através das análises de EOF e SVD mostrou que o Atlântico Sul exerce influência sobre a intensidade e posição geográfica da Zona de Convergência do Atlântico Sul (ZCAS) durante os meses de verão austral, associado a uma circulação ciclônica junto à costa sudeste brasileira, que advecta ar relativamente quente e úmido para a banda de precipitação oceânica. Este trabalho também mostra a importância conjunta da TSM do Atlântico Sul e Pacífico equatorial na modulação da intensidade e posição da ITCZ durante os meses de outono e inverno. Os resultados confirmam ainda o El Niño Oscilação Sul como um fator de impacto remoto na intensidade de chuvas na região sul do Brasil durante o inverno. / This work aims to study the impact of South Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) on regional atmosfheric circulation. In order to achieve this purpose we used the atmospheric global circulation model Community Climate Model (CCM 3) from National Center for Atmosfheric Research (NCAR). the effects of South Atlantic on atmosphere are examined through two sets of numerical simulations (ensemble) generated with different SST configurations. The integrations were forced by SST from observational data over two domains: global ocean and South Atlantic from 20ºS to 60ºS. Looking for the reduction of the internal variability of the atmosphere and for increase of the response from the local SST forcing, a forcing, a special treatment was applied to the ensembles. The statistical methodology used in this study includes simple analysis such as climatology, variance and correlation as well as Empirical Orthogonal Functions and Singular Value Decomposition. the comparasion between the numerical experiments showed that the South Atlantic influences the interannual variability of precipitation over South America, especially with respect to the intensity and geographic position od South Atlantic Convergenge Zone (SACZ) during the austral summer season. The anomalous SST of the Subtropical South Atlantic induces the heat exchange between ocean and atmosphere, which togeter with a cyclonic circulation near the southern Brazilian coast, advects relatively moist and warm air to the oceanic part of SACZ. The increase of convection over this band inhibits the solar radiation in the surface, preventing the continuous increase of SST (negative feedback). This work also shows the importance of SST from the South Atlantic and Equatorial Pacific in modulating the intensity and position of ITCZ during the autumn and winter monhths. This study also confirms the El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as a remote impact factor controling the intensity of rain over southern Brazil mainly during winter.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / No presente trabalho foi realizada a investigaÃÃo numÃrica e experimental do desempenho aerodinÃmico de dois aerogeradores tripà de pequeno porte com 3 m de diÃmetro. Os perfis aerodinÃmicos utilizados, NACA 0012 (simÃtrico) e NACA 4412 (cambado), foram projetados para aplicaÃÃes em baixas velocidades, como à o caso de turbinas eÃlicas de eixo horizontal. Os aerogeradores foram construÃdos e testados no LaboratÃrio de Energia Solar e GÃs Natural - UFC. Isto permitiu a determinaÃÃo das curvas de desempenho dos mesmos, possibilitando a comparaÃÃo posterior com os resultados da anÃlise numÃrica. A fim de calibrar o modelo de turbulÃncia k-ω SST para aplicaÃÃo em turbinas eÃlicas de pequeno porte, foram realizadas simulaÃÃes numÃricas utilizando o pacote de CFD OpenFOAM, versÃo 1.7.1. Os resultados numÃricos e experimentais foram comparados, de tal forma que, a partir da variaÃÃo de parÃmetros como intensidade de turbulÃncia, comprimento caracterÃstico turbulento e β* (constante de calibraÃÃo do modelo), pode-se concluir que os resultados numÃricos foram pouco sensÃveis aos dois primeiros parÃmetros, enquanto a variaÃÃo de β* impactou de forma significativa os resultados numÃricos. A mudanÃa do aerofÃlio nÃo alterou o valor de β* que melhor ajustou o resultado. Isto, alÃm do sucesso do processo de calibraÃÃo, indica que a cambagem nÃo influenciou na calibraÃÃo do modelo de turbulÃncia, o que à muito positivo, pois permite uma avaliaÃÃo de cenÃrios diferentes, tal como pÃs projetadas com outros perfis aerodinÃmicos. / In this work it was performed a numerical and experimental investigation of the aerodynamic performance of two small three-bladed wind turbines with diameter of 3m. The airfoils used, NACA 0012 (symmetrical) e NACA 4412 (unsymmetrical), were designed for low speed applications, such as the horizontal axis wind turbines. The wind turbines were built and tested at the Solar Energy and Natural Gas Laboratory âUFC. This allowed the attainment of the performance curves, enabling the comparison between the results of the numerical analysis. In order to calibrate the turbulence model k-ω SST to applications in small wind turbines, it was performed numerical simulations using the open source package for CFD solutions OpenFOAM, version 1.7.1. The numerical and experimental results were compared, in a way that, from the variation of parameters such as turbulence intensity, characteristic length and β* (calibration constant), it can be concluded that the numerical results were little sensitive to the first two parameters, while the variation of β* impacted significantly the numerical results. The change of airfoil did not modify the value of β* that best adjusted the result. This, beyond the success of the calibration process, indicates that the camber did not affect the calibration of the turbulence model, which is very positive because it allows an evaluation of different scenarios, such as blades designed with other airfoils.

This thesis focuses on the glaciation of the Late Saalian period (160 -140 ka) over Eurasia. The Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North (QUEEN) project determined that during this period, the Eurasian ice sheet was substantially larger than during the entire Weichselian cycle and especially that of the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka, LGM). The Late Saalian astronomical forcing was different than during the LGM while greenhouse gas concentrations were similar. To understand how this ice sheet could have grown so large over Eurasia during the Late Saalian, we use an Atmospherical General Circulation Model (AGCM) coupled to an oceanic mixed layer and a vegetation model to explore the influence of regional parameters, sea surface temperatures (SST) and orbital parameters on the surface mass balance (SMB) of the Late Saalian Eurasian ice sheet. At140 ka, proglacial lakes, vegetation and simulated Late Saalian SST cool the Eurasian climate, which reduce the ablation along the southern ice sheet margins. Dust deposition on snow has the opposite effect. The presence of a Canada Basin ice-shelf during MIS6 in the Arctic Ocean, does not affect the mass balance of the ice sheet. According to geological evidence, the Late Saalian Eurasian ice sheet reached its maximum extent before 160 ka. Northern Hemisphere high latitude summer insolation shows a large insolation peak near 150 ka. The simulated climate prior to 140 ka is milder and ablation is larger along the southern margins of the Eurasian ice sheet although the mean annual SMB is positive. The Late Saalian Eurasian ice sheet may have been large enough to generate its own cooling, thus maintaining itself over Eurasia. / Joint PhD Degree between Stockholm University and Université Joseph FourierAt the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 5: Manuscript.

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is well known for its multiple bands with large meridional property gradients in the upper waters, each associated with a deep-reaching current core. A revised nineteen-year time series (1992?2011) of altimeter data from the CNES/CLS AVISO is analyzed to identify and trace the spatial distribution of ACC fronts. Specific contours of sea surface height (SSH) are selected within narrow continuous bands of relative maxima SSH slope in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean sector, where they closely follow the distribution of ACC fronts derived from inspection of concurrent high-resolution profile data at hydrographic stations. When applied to the full circumpolar belt, the frontal distribution derived from these new altimeter-based indicators also agrees well with the traces of current jets and in-situ dynamic height fields calculated from concurrent Argo profile data. The temporal variability of ACC fronts is analyzed in relation to dominant modes of atmospheric forcing variability in the Southern Ocean. All three ACC fronts have experienced large seasonal to decadal variability throughout the satellite altimetry era. The general seasonal tendency for each of these jets, with respect to long-term mean positions, is to be located farther to the south during the austral summer and to north in the winter. Circumpolar-mean annual frontal locations show a consistent linear trend of southward migration. However, the estimated decadal variability of the frontal distributions is highly localized, and due to selective response mechanisms to atmospheric variability. A persistent poleward drift of ACC fronts is observed in the Indian sector consistent with increasing sea surface temperature trends. In contrast, a vacillation in the meridional location of ACC fronts is observed in the Pacific sector in association to minor sea surface cooling trends. Therefore, unlike in the Indian sector, the regional Pacific Ocean response is significantly sensitive to dominant atmospheric forcing indices. Mesoscale eddies derived from instabilities at strong current cores are successfully identified with specific SSH gradient criteria. The new estimates of rings population in the Southern Ocean are tightly linked to interannual to decadal atmospheric variability. Increased number of mesoscale eddies correlate with positive SAM forcing about two years earlier, or negative ENSO forcing two to three months earlier. These cross-correlations might explain a prominent peak in rings abundance estimated during 2000 and 2001, and the short-lived maximum that appeared in 2010. There are no persistent trends in the estimated sea surface slope across Drake Passage, and therefore neither in the transport of the ACC. High cross-correlation between the abundance of mesoscale eddies and atmospheric forcing suggests that the overall ACC system is in an eddy-saturated state. However, Drake Passage positive sea level slope anomalies were two-year lagged with negative SAM forcing and with positive ENSO events. These regional responses are characteristic of eastward-propagating signals from a buoyancy-dominated Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean.

Sverige förändras allt mer mot ett kontantlöst samhälle och det kontanta betalningsalternativet har försvunnit på bussar, parkeringsautomater och offentliga toaletter. Anmärkningsvärt är att förändringen även nått banksektorn, en sektor starkt förknippad med kontanter. Kunderna hos dessa banker blir därmed tvungna att använda Self Service Technologies (SST:s) i form av automater för att uträtta sina kontantärenden. Samtidigt som bankkundernas valmöjlighet minskar så går Handelsbanken  mot strömmen och fortsätter erbjuda manuell kontanthantering på sina kontor.   En undersökning gjord av Svenskt Kvalitetsindex visade att bankernas kundnöjdhet (tjänstekvalité) har försämrats på grund av förändringen. För att mäta tjänstekvalitén hos de olika tjänsterna kan man dela upp dessa i mindre beståndsdelar, dimensioner, vilka är olika för SST:s och traditionella tjänster. Vår promblematisering ledde därmed till följande frågeställning:   Vilka dimensioner i tjänstekvalitén, sett utifrån SST- och traditionella tjänster, ger förklaringar till bankernas försämrade tjänstekvalité?   Huvudsyftet med studien var främst att kartlägga vilka dimensioner som förklarar bankernas försämrade tjänstekvalité. Utifrån detta ville vi även bidra med praktiska råd till bankerna för att förbättra tjänsterna och således förbättra kundernas upplevda tjänstekvalité. Dessutom ville vi studera om det finns skillnader mellan äldre och yngre kunder angående deras åskter kring de två olika kontanthanteringstjänsterna. Vi ville även kartlägga skillnader mellan kundernas ålder, teknologiska mognadsgrad och behov av mänsklig interaktion.   Studien genomfördes genom en enkätundersökning på bankkunder i ålder 18-85 år bosatta i  Umeå kommun. Studien använde sig av ett kvoturval bestående av tre kvoter:  åldersgrupp 18-35, åldersgrupp 36-59 och åldersgrupp 60-85. Insamlat material sammanställdes i en importance-performance analys och användes vid hypotesprövningar.   Vår studie visade att dimensionerna säkerhet och användarvänlighet för SST:s kan förklara bankernas försämrade tjänstekvalité. Främst uppfattar de äldre kunderna att uttagsautomaternas säkerhet är bristfällig. Samtidigt kan detta även förklaras av att kundernas valmöjligheter minskat och att vissa kunder blivit så nöjda med tjänsten manuell kontanthantering att de blir missnöjda i och med förändringen.   Vår förhoppning är att bankerna skall använda de praktiska råden och där igenom förbättra tjänstekvalitén. Vårt teoretiska bidrag är främst att ge en ökad kunskap rörande SST:s dimensioner och skillnader i åldergrupperna.

A simple correlation analysis was used to investigate the linear relationships between sea surface temperature (SST) and monthly flow of Ganges and Brahmaputra at the borders of Bangladesh and India using approximately 50 years of river discharge data. Strong correlations were found between the equatorial Pacific SST and boreal summer Ganges discharge from three-month lag to two-month lead times. The El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) explains Ganges flow variance exceeding 0.95 significance level using both the Nino 3.4 SST correlation and the composites made for El Nio (La Nina) periods. The May SST of the southwest Pacific Ocean to the east of Australia continent has a strong correlation (>0.6) with early summer Ganges discharges. Using a lag correlation analysis of Ganges discharge and SST, we found a steady and continuous development in the Nino 3.4 SST relationship, and a strong correlation with the southwest Pacific SST which is most pronounced three-four months prior to the onset of Asian summer monsoon. These relationships mean that at least 25% of the interannual summer Ganges River discharge variability can be explained by antecedent equatorial and southwest Pacific SST. It provides a possible statistical method for linear forecasting two or three months in advance. The Brahmaputra River discharge, on the other hand, shows weak relationships with tropical SST variability except for the Bay of Bengal and the higher northern latitudes of the Pacific.

As virtual channels on the internet grow full-blown, two major chain department store corporations in Taiwan entered internet markets one after another in 2007. Since the department store is a typical service industry highly based on interactions, the salesclerk has been a major mediator for serving customers and therefore face-to-face interaction between consumers and salesclerks is especially important. With the coming of brand-new self-service system combined with technology, consumers are able to take advantage of the technology to serve themselves. The relationship between corporations and consumers is hence transformed with a delivery system of ¡§low contact but high technology.¡¨ Researchers of previous studies mainly focus on interpersonal-based service encounter for investigation of relationship marketing and customer loyalty and researches about technology-based self-service and interaction with consumers are rarely seen. This research takes department store customers as subjects of investigation and adopts their viewpoints from questionnaire, aiming to probe into the influence of the department store¡¦s introduction of self-service technology on the effect of relationship marketing for better understanding of the relationship between the effect and customers loyalty. The study will take questionnaire survey of internet, and put the questionnaire on the Telecommunication Laboratories (TL) website to gather data via the customer¡¦s e-mail in cooperation with the Web-based Newspaper for the credit card users of the department store of the department store. The questionnaire will put for one month from February 1 to February 28, 2008 to gather enough data for analysis. A total of 1412 copies of questionnaire are issued, retrieving 396 copies, with 1016 copies of effective questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling is used in this research. The followings are four points of conclusion: (1) the quality of web-based self service has significantly positive influence on result indicators of relational benefits by means of customer relational benefits; (2) the quality of web-based self service, except for delivery service speed, has significantly positive influence on customer relational benefits; (3) customer relational benefits have significantly positive influence on result indicators of relational benefits; (4) customer relational benefits bring significant effect as a mediator between web-based self service and result indicators of relational benefits. Therefore, we suggest that the department store managers shall create more elements of relationship benefit so that the customers all feel highly of the relationship benefit in the hope to enhance the customer's satisfaction and loyalty on the enterprise.

This dissertation reports on studies on the role of the mean state in modulating climate variability at interannual and decadal time scales. In the atmosphere, the nonlinear superposition of mean flow and anomalous flow has important implications for many phenomena associated with variables that are nonlinear by definition, such as the vertical wind shear and surface wind speed. In the first part of this dissertation, the influence of mean flow and anomalous flow on vertical wind shear variability is studied in observations and numerical model simulations. At interannual timescales, the ENSO-shear relationship is compared between observations and numerical model simulations. It is shown that there is strong influence of mean flow on the ENSO-shear relationship. For same anomalous flow, different mean flows could give rise to a different ENSO-shear relationship. The nonlinear superposition of mean flow and anomalous flow also helps explains the dipole mode of tropical Atlantic vertical wind shear variability seen in observations and models, which implies opposite variation of vertical wind shear over the two sides of the tropical Atlantic. This has important implications for predicting phenomena such as Atlantic hurricanes, whose variations are modulated by vertical shear variability. The dissertation also addresses the role of the mean surface wind in decadal variability and predictability, as manifested through the Wind-Evaporation-SST (WES) feedback. The nonlinear superposition of anomalous surface wind on the mean trade wind can give rise to a positive WES feedback, which can amplify tropical climate variability. To study this feedback, we carried out ensembles of decadal climate predictions using the CAM3 atmospheric model coupled to a slab ocean model (CAM3- SOM) with prescribed ocean transport and simple extrapolative prescriptions of future external forcings. Mechansitic sensitivity runs using the CAM3-SOM were also carried out, where the WES feedback was switched off by prescribing climatological surface wind. Results suggest that switching off the WES feedback enhances the prediction skill over some regions, especially over the eastern tropical Pacific, by increasing the signal- to-noise ratio. To address the issue of cold bias noted in the decadal prediction experiments, we carried out additional sensitivity experiments where we used an adaptive formulation for the prescribed oceanic heat transport (Q-flux) in the slab ocean. The results from these experiments demonstrate that the mean oceanic heat transport plays a crucial role in influencing decadal predictability, by helping improve predictions of the trend component of decadal variations.

Abrupt, millennial-scale climate oscillations, known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles, characterized the climate system during the last ice age. Proxy evidence suggests these climate oscillations resulted in global-scale reorganizations in the hydrological cycle. For this study, Mg/Ca-paleothermometry and stable isotope measurements were combined on the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber (white variety) from Florida Straits sediment core KNR166-2 JPC26 (24*19.61'N, 83*15.14'W; 546 m depth) to reconstruct a high-resolution record of sea surface temperature and delta18OSW (a proxy for upper water column salinity) during Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3 from 20-35.45 ka BP. As additional proxies for upper water column salinity change, Ba/Ca ratios in G. ruber were also measured to determine the relative contribution of local riverine input on the delta18OSW record and a faunal abundance count record of the planktonic foraminifera N. dutertrei abundance was developed. These results show that rapid upper water column salinity changes occurred across D-O events in the Florida Straits, coeval with climate change in the high-latitude North Atlantic. Furthermore, the G. ruber Ba/Ca record suggests that riverine-derived meltwater from the Gulf of Mexico did not significantly impact surface salinity in the Florida current, calling into question the role of Mississippi River discharge on Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during MIS 2 and 3. Instead, the most likely cause of MIS 2 and 3 salinity changes in the Florida Straits were variations in the strength and position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Finally, the timing of surface salinity change was compared with the benthic delta18OC record from the same core. A recent study showed that benthic delta18OC changes on the Florida Margin can be combined with contemporaneous records from the Bahamas Margin to reconstruct Florida Current transport related to AMOC variability. These results show that atmospheric circulation changes lead AMOC changes on the transition out of cold stadial events, suggesting the trigger for these abrupt climate events may reside in the tropics rather than in the high-latitude North Atlantic as previously thought.