Tree selection is critical to ensuring that urban forests are diverse, healthy, and adapted to the urban environment. Climate is one of the main controllers of plant distribution around the world, so tree species are expected to redistribute as a result of climate change. This research aimed to identify which eastern North American tree species should be most suited for planting in urban areas in Halifax given impending climate change. A database was developed for 57 tree species and 95 tree characteristics to enable analysis of tree species native to eastern North America. The results of previous climate envelope research and the database were used to identify the tree species most suitable for planting in Halifax. Of the 57 tree species examined, 16 were identified as most suited for the Halifax urban forest of the 21st century.

Pterocarpus officinalis dominated forests are a rare ecosystem, found only in fifteen locations in Puerto Rico, all of which are adjacent to the coast and at risk from sea level rise, as well as nutrient pollution, upstream hydrological modifications, and deforestation. All forests of this type that were located further inland were destroyed by agricultural development during the early decades of the 1900’s, in particular to grow sugarcane. Prior to this study, there was little information on the diversity of organisms that live in these forests. The central objective of this proposal was to examine the diversity and species composition of three Pterocarpus forests in Puerto Rico located near Humacao, Patillas, and Dorado, and to compare and contrast diversity among the three forests, and identify possible differences caused by human impacts or natural factors. The data was collected through surveys and sampling at each location. Transect surveys, plots, pitfall traps, insect traps and audio recordings were carried out to identify organisms including birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, insects, mollusks, invertebrates, plants and fungi. The Dorado Pterocarpus forest is the most rich and diverse in terms of organisms and has the highest amount of native and endemic species, while the Humacao Pterocarpus forest is the least rich and diverse. Yet conversely, the Dorado forest is the smallest forest, covering only 2.4 ha, while Humacao is the largest, with an area of 150 ha that comprises 63% of the total Pterocarpus coverage in Puerto Rico. The most obvious factor influencing richness and diversity among the forests is the adjacent land cover and history of the sites. Inflow and water sources may also be a factor that alters richness and diversity. This knowledge will assist in the appropriate management of this rare resource in the context of ongoing sea level rise, climate change, nutrient pollution, upstream hydrological modifications, and deforestation. Coastal managers need this information to manage and protect these valuable and rare ecosystems.

<p> This thesis estimates the impacts of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) capacity on electricity generation and CO2 emissions in America's Pacific Northwest. The region's demand for electricity is increasing at the same time that it is attempting to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity generated by rooftop PV capacity is expected to displace electricity from fossil fueled electricity generators and reduce CO2 emissions, but when and how much? And how can this region maximize and focus the impacts of additional rooftop PV capacity on CO2 emissions? To answer these questions, an hourly urban rooftop PV generation profile for 2009 was created from estimates of regional rooftop PV capacity and solar resource data. That profile was compared with the region's hourly fossil fuel generation profile for 2009 to determine how much urban rooftop PV generation reduced annual fossil fuel electricity generation and CO2 emissions. Those reductions were then projected for a range of additional multiples of rooftop PV capacity. The conclusions indicate that additional rooftop PV capacity in the region primarily displaces electricity from natural gas generators, and shows that the timing of rooftop PV generation corresponds with the use of fossil fuel generators. Each additional Wp/ capita of rooftop PV capacity reduces CO2 emissions by 9,600 to 7,300 tons/ year. The final discussion proposes some methods to maximize and focus rooftop PV impacts on CO2 emissions, and also suggests some questions for further research.</p>

The boreal forest region of Canada is climatically sensitive and may be impacted by anthropogenic-induced climatic changes. The results of this multi-proxy paleolimnological study contribute detailed information on changes to the boreal forest in northwestern (NW) Ontario, showing unequivocal changes in lake and forest structure due to climate during the warmer mid-Holocene. This study uses diatoms, pollen, and charcoal reconstructions to better understand the timing and extent of climate-related changes in Lake 239, Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), in NW Ontario throughout the Holocene with an emphasis on the warmer mid-Holocene. Diatom analysis revealed changes in water quality based on analysis of species assemblages and quantitative inferences of total phosphorus from a deep central core. Lake levels at least 8-m lower than today were inferred from a near-shore core and were concurrent with an increase in nutrient-rich diatom assemblages, an increase in diatom accumulation, and a decrease in chrysophytes relative to diatoms in the central core. A concurrent increase in pollen such as Cupressaceae and Ambrosia indicate more open boreal forest between ~4500-8000 cal yr BP. Pollen-based inferences of temperature suggest an increase on average of 1-2°C warmer than today with winter temperatures up to 4°C warmer. The pollen inferences also suggest enhanced precipitation, but with increased evaporation/evapotranspiration resulting in reduced moisture availability overall. A transect of cores surrounding ELA was synthesized using pollen-based reconstructions of temperature and precipitation to assess regional changes. All sites show shifts in pollen assemblages indicating a warmer mid-Holocene; prairie sites to the west show mid-Holocene decreases in precipitation relative to today, whereas sites near or east of ELA show consistent increases in precipitation, but with enhanced evaporation. Charcoal analysis shows an increase in charcoal accumulation during the mid-Holocene warm period compared to the early and late Holocene, suggesting a more active fire regime. Fire return intervals based on type-M charcoal show a pronounced decrease during the early-to-mid Holocene period and a corresponding increase in fire frequency, whereas fire frequency derived from total charcoal was virtually unchanged over the Holocene. This study helps fill a knowledge gap in NW Ontario noted by several large regional assessments. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2010-07-15 09:54:18.653

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<p> Sub-surface motivations of individuals to engage in planning for climate change adaptation and response are influenced by a combination of orthodox factors such as their community's physical and social demographics, and an array of supplementary factors such their community's epistemology, direct experiences, hyperbolic discounting, media, and outreach initiatives. In turn, public demand for initiatives and a community's ability to facilitate an institutional supply of initiatives shapes the surface motivations of decision-makers that direct the development, implementation, and diffusion of initiatives. This paper investigates the relationship between influential factors and motivations for climate change planning by examining the climate change planning process of Aspen and Boulder in Colorado. Research results indicate that the motivations for climate change planning and subsequent initiatives vary because of differences in a community's orthodox and supplementary factors.</p>

<p> This study primarily focuses on sea ice variability in the Bering Sea, and its thermodynamic and dynamic controls. </p><p> First, the seasonal cycle of sea ice variability in the Bering Sea is studied using a global fine-resolution (1/10-degree) fully-coupled ocean and sea ice model forced with reanalysis atmospheric forcing for 1980-1989. The ocean/sea-ice model consists of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Parallel Ocean Program (POP) and the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model (CICE). The modeled seasonal mean sea ice concentration strongly resembles satellite-derived observations. During winter, which dominates the annual mean, model sea ice is mainly formed in the northern Bering Sea, with the maximum ice growth rate occurring along the coast, due to cold air from northerly winds and ice motion away from the coast. South of St. Lawrence Island, winds drive sea ice to drift southwestward from the north to the southwestern ice covered region. Along the ice edge in the western Bering, ice is melted by warm ocean water, which is carried by the Bering Slope Current flowing to the northwest, resulting in the S-shaped asymmetric pattern seen in the ice edge. </p><p> Second, the year-to-year variability of sea ice in the Bering Sea for 1980-1989 is addressed. While thermodynamic processes dominate the variations in ice volume change in the Bering Sea on the large scale, dynamic processes are important locally near ice margins (both oceanic and land), where local dynamic and thermodynamic ice volume changes have opposite signs with large and similar amplitudes. The thermodynamic ice volume change is dominated by ice-air surface heat flux, which in turn is dominated by sensible heat flux, except near the southern ice edge where it is largely controlled by ocean-ice heat flux. This indicates that surface air temperature, which is specified from observations, strongly controls the ice volume tendency. Ice motion is generally consistent with winds driving the flow, except near certain straits in the north where ice motion largely follows ocean currents. </p><p> This study also addresses Greenland supraglacial lakes on top of ice and ice-dammed lakes adjacent to glaciers. Those surface lakes have been observed to fill and drain periodically, affecting the ice motion over land. This study provides observational constraints on the volume of water contained in and drained from the lakes, based on the repeat laser altimetry. </p>

The objective of this research was to determine the impact of climate change on the Churchill River basin and perform analysis on uncertainty related to this impact. Three hydrological models were used to determine this impact and were calibrated to approximately equivalent levels of efficiency. These include WATFLOODTM, a semi-physically based, distributed model; HBV-EC, a semidistributed, conceptual model; and HMETS, a lumped, conceptual model. These models achieved Nash-Sutcliffe calibration values ranging from 0.51 to 0.71. Climate change simulations indicated that the average of simulations predict a small increase in flow for the 2050s and a slight decrease for the 2080s. Each hydrological model predicted earlier freshets and a shift in timing of low flow events. Uncertainty analysis indicated that the chief contributor of uncertainty was the selection of GCM followed by hydrological model with less significant sources of uncertainty being parameterization of the hydrological model and selection of emissions scenario.