Global climatic change as well as its consequences such as extreme weather events and sea-level rising has become a focusing issue in the contemporary world. Alpine snow cover is increasingly regarded as a good and sensitive indicator of climatic change due to the less direct interference by human. In western aridzone of China, majority of mountainous areas are covered by snow in winter seasons. This region is one of the most important seasonal snow cover regions in China and also a typical alpine snow cover region in the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Being less affected by economic development and human activities in the history, the change of permanent and seasonal snow cover in this region echoes the global climatic and environmental change. In addition, snow melt water, which provides the major water supply in the region, is vital for living beings in the arid and harsh environment. It is therefore necessary to understand the snow cover change during the past decades. This study aims to investigate the spatio-temporal pattern of snow cover in the western aridzone of China in the past 30 years by using remote sensing technology and to analyze the relationship between the change of snow cover and global climate. The reliability of remote sensing-derived global snow data is firstly examined. Data consistency and accuracy are assessed against the ground measurements. In order to undertake a down-scale snow depth analysis with other high-resolution environmental data, a method that fuses the low-resolution passive microwave and high-resolution optical snow cover images is proposed. A linear mixture model is adopted in spectral unmixing for modifying snow depth estimates. Time series analysis method is utilized to describe the long-term trend and periodic features. The analysis is applied not only to the whole region but also to the local scale represented by a pixel so that the spatial pattern of the change can be illustrated. Using the result and climatic data, the relationship between snow cover and global/regional climatic change is established. The results make contribute to the understanding of the impacts of climatic change, at regional level, on the spatio-temporal pattern of snow cover in the western aridzone of China. Keywords: Snow and ice, alpine snow cover, remote sensing, spatio-temporal pattern, long-term trend, climatic change, western aridzone of China

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This diploma thesis deals with the issue of energy requirements for operation of indoor ski slopes. The first part is dedicated to research of snow making, cooling and construction methods of ski halls along with the examples of specific projects. In the second part, the aim was to design a ski hall with specific geometry and insulation and then define energy losses of such building. Subsequently, all related energy flows were calculated, which led to the determination of the required cooling capacity. Based on this, the cooling cycle was calculated and the overall electricity demand for the operation of the ski hall during the year was set. In the third part, three options for covering electricity needs are evaluated and at the same time they are compared in terms of financial costs during the year.

The output of this diploma work (dissertation) will be design of a construction for a tester enabling simulation of riding a vehicle with mounted snow chain in winter season on road without snow. The result of testing will be abrasion of single link of the chain caused interaction with surface of road and strength test of weld link e.g. when is pass gravelly surface.

The thesis is focused on the design of rescue snowmobile. This type of snowmobile is utility and is unusual because of bonneted cab. The snowmobile is suitable for snowy area for rescue purposes. The size of the snowmobile can seat three people, driver, attendant and lying patient. The thesis is focused on design of the exterior of snowmobile. Less attention is attended to interior of the snowmobile. Everything inside follows an ergonomic design. The result is the emergency snowy vehicle with rescue equipment.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera hur kejsarpingviner representeras i naturfilmerna March of the Penguins (2005) och Snow Chick: A Penguin's Tale (2015). Uppsatsen fokuserar främst på hur föreställningar om genus och mänskliga normer om familjestrukturer syns i filmerna samt hur kejsarpingvinernas relation och beteenden till varandra representeras. Vi använder genus som den teoretiska utgångspunkten i uppsatsen. De filmer som analyseras är March of the Penguins och Snow Chick: A Penguin’s Tale. Vi analyserar filmerna utifrån Roland Barthes semiotiska teori genom begreppen denotation och konnotation. Resultatet av analysen visar att de två filmerna representerar pingvinerna på liknande sätt, genom att tillskriva förmänskligande egenskaper och beteenden på djuren utifrån föreställningar om genus och mänskliga normer om familjestrukturer. Resultat av analysen visar främst att filmerna endast skildrar det heterosexuella förhållandet och den traditionella kärnfamiljen.

A computer program for the analysis of loads on buildings is developed. The program determines wind loads, earthquake loads, and snow loads according to the ASCE 7-93 Standard Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE 7-93). The program is developed using the object-oriented programming methodology and runs on the Microsoft Windows 95 graphical environment. It is a valuable and useful tool for determining loads on buildings. / Master of Engineering

The impacts of climate variability and change on streamflow are of increasing concern, particularly as human demands on water supplies compete with the needs of natural ecosystems. The consequences on the hydrological cycle are predicted to be most severe for mid- to high-latitude regions. Of particular concern is reduced mountain snow accumulation and related reductions in the snow- and glacier-derived water supply. In northern British Columbia (BC), recent snowpack declines have caused a unique water management challenge. Diminishing water security in a region considered water-abundant has intensified over the last decade. Characterizing the climate controls on hydrologic variability is a priority for developing baseline information required for water supply forecasting. This research focuses on developing multi-century, annually-resolved records of snow water equivalent (SWE) and streamflow to provide a better understanding of long-term hydroclimate variability for the design and implementation of management strategies that balance riverine ecosystem services, such as recreation and fish habitat, with increasing economic and social demands. Climate sensitive tree-ring chronologies provide the opportunity to extend instrumental records of hydroclimate by capitalizing on the influence of climate on both annual radial growth and seasonal runoff. Traditional dendrohydrology relies on moisture-limited tree species from dry, continental settings. This dissertation presents a new method by focusing on mid- to high-elevation conifers sensitive to snowpack variability. Ring-width and maximum latewood density records from mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana (Bong.) Carriere), white spruce (P. glauca (Moench) Voss), and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) stands were collected at sites in northern BC. Dendrochronological techniques were used to develop a: 1) 223-year record of April 1 SWE for the Stikine River basin; 2) 417-, 716-, and 343-year record of summer streamflow for the Skeena, Nass and Stikine rivers, respectively; and, 3) a 193-year reconstruction of summer-run Skeena River steelhead abundance based on the influence of ocean-atmospheric forcings on both radial tree growth and steelhead escapement. The April 1 SWE record suggests that there has been considerable variability in snowpack levels in the Stikine basin and a distinct in-phase relationship with seasonalized Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices, not seen in basins to the south. The summer streamflow records also support a north-south “see-saw” effect, suggesting an association between moisture transport and atmospheric-ocean circulation in the region. In addition to the snow-sensitive tree-ring data, the streamflow models incorporated paleo-hemispheric records to improve predictive skill. Finally, the steelhead model described alternating intervals of persistently above-average and below-average abundance that corresponded to oceanic PDO-like influences and describe links to “warm-warm” ENSO-PDO years associated with in-river low flow periods. The reconstructions suggest that: 1) recent snowpack and streamflow declines are a rare event over a multi-century context; and, 2) existing instrumental records do not adequately represent the historic range of basin-specific hydroclimate variability necessary for new planning horizons. Mid- to high-elevation, snow-sensitive conifers have strong potential as paleohydrological proxies and for expanding the application of dendrohydrology to non-arid settings. Current conditions in northern BC, compounded by land use changes and climate change, are predicted to become more severe in the future. It is important that planning regimes incorporate long-term hydroclimate data to better understand and quantify how water supply and ecosystems will respond to future changes. / Graduate

The aim of this diploma thesis is to monitor glacier change in the Cordillera Blanca in the period from 1987 to 2014. This diploma thesis focuses on three mountains and eleven glaciers in the northern part of the Cordillera Blanca. The input data consist of 29 Landsat scenes (Landsat 4,5,7 and 8) and the ASTER global digital elevation model version 2. Semi-automatic classification algorithm is created based on threshold values detected by spectral analyses of selected land cover types in the Cordillera Blanca. Additionally, the mean snowline (equilibrium line) altitude change is computed for all of the three mountains and eleven glaciers. Besides, glacier change depending on slope and aspect is evaluated. The results of this diploma thesis are presented in maps, tables and charts. The results of the classification are compared with the GLIMS Glacier Database and the field measurements provided by Adam Emmer, MSc. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the new Landsat 8 satellite sensor are discussed. Key words: Remote sensing, Landsat, classification, ice and snow detection, ELA, Cordillera Blanca

Convective snow bands forming over the Baltic Sea can result in heavy precipitation along the Swedish east coast. Forecasting these events well is of great importance to prevent road traffic injuries, increased pressure at hospitals and cancelled bus traffic. This thesis project aims to evaluate the performance of the high-resolution non-hydrostatic convection permitting model HIRLAM ALADIN Reasearch on Mesoscale Operational NWP In Euromed (HARMONIE) in simulating convective snow bands. Its horizontal respresentation of precipitation rates, area, placement and timing was examined in a case study of two events. The case of 2007 during the 12-14th of November, formed over the Gulf of Finland and resulted in Nynäshamn receiving ≥ 55 mm precipitation during the 37 hours long event. Areas south of this precipitation maxima also recieved heavy precipitation. The second case, 21-23rd of March 2008, formed over the Gulf of Bothnia during north-easterly  winds and resulted in a total precipitation of 10 mm at Gävle. The precipitation maxima was observed offshore, north of Gävle, with ≥ 16 mm precipiation in 34 hours. Convective snow bands were also observed over Vänern and Vättern in both cases.  HARMONIE simulated convective snow bands well in terms of intensity, timing, placement and area, in both cases, compared to datasets from radar, radar with merged gauge data and separate observational data from weather stations. Areas south of the local maxima at Nynäshamn in the case of 2007 were however overestimated by a total of 10-15 mm, most likely due to a simulated shift in wind direction during some of the most intense hours. In the case of 2008 the model also captured weak convective snow bands at Vänern and Vättern accurately in terms of precipitation area, timing and accumulated precipitation. Further case studies of snow bands are however necessary to obtain a more comprehensive view of the performance of HARMONIE.