Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Paleoclimate records from North and South America were used to develop a holistic understanding of global paleo-hydroclimatic drivers across a range of boundary conditions. Here, geophysical analysis of lacustrine sediment stratigraphy at Lago de Tota, Boyaca, Colombia provided evidence for significant lake-level fluctuations through the late Quaternary and produced a record that potentially spans the last 60 ka. Seismic data revealed a series of off-lap and on-lap sequences in the upper ~20 m of sediments that indicated large amplitude changes in lake-level, driven by variability in the mean latitude of the Intertropical Convergence Zone as controlled by insolation- and ocean circulation-driven hemispheric temperature gradients during glacial/stadial and interglacial/interstadial events. In North America, late Holocene flood recurrence in the Midwest and Holocene changes in the mean latitude of the polar front jet stream were investigated through multi-proxy examinations of sediment cores collected from swale lakes in northern Kentucky and southern Indiana, and a glacially formed kettle lake in northern Indiana. These results showed that the midlatitude jet stream was displaced to the south during the late Holocene, which increased the amount of Midwestern precipitation sourced from the northern Pacific and Arctic, especially during prolonged cool conditions. During these cool periods, when atmospheric flow was meridional and a greater amount of precipitation was delivered from the northerly sources, Ohio River flooding increased. During warm conditions, when clockwise mean-state atmospheric circulation advected southerly moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the Midwest, flooding on the Ohio River decreased. At present, streamflow in the Midwest is demonstrated here to be generally increasing, despite atmospheric conditions typically associated with reduced streamflow in the paleo-record, due in part to increasing precipitation and modern land-use dynamics. Together, these studies demonstrate the sensitivity and vulnerability of local-scale hydrological processes to synoptic climate change.

This study investigated the effects of ENSO on annual growth rings of pine trees in coastal Alabama. Tree cores from 28 pines were collected in Mobile County and Baldwin County Alabama, and the ring widths of these cores were measured to the nearest 0.001 mm. Tree ring widths were then cross-dated and standardized using standard procedures. The standardized ring width (SRI) was examined to determine if years of strong ENSO activity were evident. Additionally, SRI values were correlated with other climate variables, including temperature, precipitation, and drought. It appears that strong ENSO episodes are not clearly evident in the tree ring record. Additionally, the climate variables showed inconsistent relationships with SRI. It is possible that a positive annual water balance limits the influences of ENSO on tree ring widths. Furthermore, it is suggested that differences in localized tree environments and mesoscale sea-breeze thunderstorms may obscure the impacts of climatic variables.

No description available.

Bakgrund Denna uppsats behandlar de nya EU-kraven som föreslås träda i kraft från och med det räkenskapsår som inleds närmast efter den 31 december 2016. Uppsatsen har undersökt hur Stora Enso arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering enligt Global Reporting Initiatives riktlinjer. Detta eftersom att Stora Enso var det första börsnoterade företaget i Sverige vars hållbarhetsrapportering granskats av en tredje part. Vidare siktar denna uppsats på att ge de företag som ej tidigare har erfarenhet från hållbarhetsrapportering en inspirationskälla, som stöd i upprättningen av egna hållbarhetsrapporter. Syfte Syftet med den här fallstudien är att beskriva hur ett företag som redan innan EU-kraven börjat tillämpats rapporterat i enlighet med dessa, och hur de aktivt arbetar med hållbarhetsrapportering. Metod Fallstudie: intervjuer och dokumentanalys. Slutsats Det är viktigt att hela tiden fortsätta förbättra företagets hållbara utveckling och dess mål. Stora Ensos hållbarhetsrapportering kopplades ihop med den hållbara utvecklingen i stort, och här sågs att rapporteringen har hjälpt Stora Enso att uppnå och utveckla sina hållbarhetsmål. Utan hållbarhetsrapporteringen skulle Stora Ensos positiva utveckling inte varit lika omfattande. Utifrån de intervjuer som genomfördes konstaterades det att GRI:s riktlinjer medför både en fördel och en nackdel: de är väldigt omfattande. / Background This study describes the new requirements from the European Union, which are supposed to come in to effect in the first financial year that ushers after December 31th 2016. We have examined how Stora Enso works with its sustainability reports according to the Global Reporting Inititative's guidelines. Stora Enso was considered a suitable candidate because it was the first publicly listed company in Sweden which had its sustainability report audited by a third party. Furthermore, this study aims to give inspiration and support to companies without previous experience with sustainability reporting. Purpose The purpose of this case study is to describe how a specific company reported in accordance with the EU-directives regarding sustainability reporting, even before they come in to effect. And also describe how they actively works with their sustainability reporting. Methods Case study: interviews and public documents. Conclusion It is important that the company keeps improving their sustainable development and their goals. Stora Ensos sustainability reporting was connected to the sustainable development, without the sustainability reports Stora Enso would have had a harder time developing in a sustainable manner and probably not had such a big positive change. From the interviews that was performed, we concluded that GRI’s guidelines brings both an advantage and a disadvantage: it is comprehensive.

Les traceurs à base de bore (δ11B et B/Ca) dans les carbonates ont reçu une attention considérable au cours des dernières décennies dans le domaine des géosciences de par leur potentiel à recalculer le pH. Cette thèse explore les frontières des applications de ces traceurs à la paléocéanographie et à la biogéochimie. A cause de la montée des teneurs en CO2 d’origine anthropique, il est devenu extrêmement important de comprendre comment les systèmes de la Terre répondront dans le futur. Les organismes marins sont aussi impactés par le réchauffement et l’acidification des océans, c’est pourquoi il est essentiel d’identifier les espèces résilientes et de comprendre les mécanismes sous-jacents à leur acclimatation. Les objectifs de cette thèse sont de répondre à certaines questions fondamentales, comment le CO2 atmosphérique a évolué au cours des transitions climatiques majeures du Néogène? Comment le dégazage ou l’absorption de carbone ont-ils évolué dans l’Est équatorial Pacifique au cours des derniers 6.5 Ma? Les changements de source et puits de carbones peuvent-ils moduler le CO2 atmosphérique passé et expliquer les transitions climatiques? Et pour les organismes marins, comment les mécanismes permettant la biominéralisation sont-ils impactés par l’augmentation des températures et l’acidification des océans dans les coraux tropicaux ? / Boron-based proxies (δ11B and B/Ca) in carbonates have gained considerable attention in the geosciences over the last several decades, given their potential to constrain pH. This thesis explores frontier applications of these proxies to paleoceanography and biogeochemistry. Due to rising anthropogenic CO2 levels, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how Earth’s systems will respond in the future.Marine organisms are also impacted by the warming and acidification of the ocean, therefore it is essential to identify resilient species and understand the underlying mechanisms of acclimatization.The objectives of this thesis are to answer several fundamental questions, for instance, how has atmospheric CO2 changed during major climate transitions over the Neogene? How did degassing or absorption of carbon evolve in the East equatorial Pacific during the last 6.5 Ma? Can changes of sources and sinks modulate past atmospheric CO2 and explain past climate transitions? And for marine organisms, how are the mechanisms allowing biomineralization impacted by increased temperature and the acidification of the ocean in tropical corals?

The impact of global warming on human water resources is attracting increasing attention. No other region in this world is so strongly affected by changes in water supply than the tropics. Especially in Africa, the availability and access to water is more crucial to existence (basic livelihoods and economic growth) than anywhere else on Earth. In East Africa, rainfall is mainly influenced by the migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with more rain and floods during El Niño and severe droughts during La Niña. The forecasting of East African rainfall in a warming world requires a better understanding of the response of ENSO-driven variability to mean climate. Unfortunately, existing meteorological data sets are too short or incomplete to establish a precise evaluation of future climate. From Lake Challa near Mount Kilimanjaro, we report records from a laminated lake sediment core spanning the last 25,000 years. Analyzing a monthly cleared sediment trap confirms the annual origin of the laminations and demonstrates that the varve-thicknesses are strongly linked to the duration and strength of the windy season. Given the modern control of seasonal ITCZ location on wind and rain in this region and the inverse relation between the two, thicker varves represent windier and thus drier years. El Niño (La Niña) events are associated with wetter (drier) conditions in east Africa and decreased (increased) surface wind speeds. Based on this fact, the thickness of the varves can be used as a tool to reconstruct a) annual rainfall b) wind season strength, and c) ENSO variability. Within this thesis, I found evidence for centennialscale changes in ENSO-related rainfall variability during the last three millennia, abrupt changes in variability during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age, and an overall reduction in East African rainfall and its variability during the Last Glacial period. Climate model simulations support forward extrapolation from these lake-sediment data, indicating that a future Indian Ocean warming will enhance East Africa’s hydrological cycle and its interannual variability in rainfall. Furthermore, I compared geochemical analyses from the sediment trap samples with a broad range of limnological, meteorological, and geological parameters to characterize the impact of sedimentation processes from the in-situ rocks to the deposited sediments. As a result an excellent calibration for existing μXRF data from Lake Challa over the entire 25,000 year long profile was provided. The climate development during the last 25,000 years as reconstructed from the Lake Challa sediments is in good agreement with other studies and highlights the complex interactions between long-term orbital forcing, atmosphere, ocean and land surface conditions. My findings help to understand how abrupt climate changes occur and how these changes correlate with climate changes elsewhere on Earth. / Änderungen des Klimas in einer sich erwärmenden Erde haben große Auswirkungen auf den globalen und lokalen Wasserhaushalt und rücken anhand starker Extremereignisse immer häufiger in den Fokus der Öffentlichkeit. Besonders die Regionen der Tropen sind von derartigen Einschnitten stark gefährdet. Der jährliche Niederschlag in Ostafrika ist stark mit der saisonalen Wanderung der ITCZ (Innertropischen Konvergenzzone) sowie mit dem El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Phänomen verbunden. Extreme Regenfälle und Überschwemmungen während El Niño Jahren stehen Trockenheit und Dürren in La Niña Jahren gegenüber. Prognosen über zukünftige Veränderungen der ostafrikanischen Niederschläge erfordern ein verbessertes Verständnis der ENSO antreibenden Faktoren. Unglücklicherweise sind die vorhandenen meteorologischen Datenreihen nicht lang genug oder besitzen nicht die benötigte Homogenität. Einen hilfreichen Beitrag können jährlich geschichtete Seesedimente des am Fuße des Kilimandscharo gelegenen Lake Challa leisten. Anhand einer monatlich aufgelösten Sedimentfalle konnte ich nachweisen, dass die rund 25.000 Jahre zurückreichenden Sedimente eine jährliche Struktur besitzen sowie die Dicke dieser jährlichen Schichtung (Warve) stark mit der Dauer und Intensität der saisonal windreichen/trockenen Jahreszeit verbunden ist. Dickere Warven repräsentieren windige/trockene Jahre, wohingegen dünnere Warven für windschwache und feuchte Jahre stehen. Stärkere Winde und kaum Niederschläge treten oft im Zusammenhang mit einem La Niña Ereignis in Ostafrika auf, wohingegen während eines El Niño Ereignisses häufig extreme Niederschläge mit wenig Wind zu beobachten sind. Anhand der Vermessung der Warven kann man verschiedene Klimaparameter rekonstruieren: a) den jährlichen Niederschlag b) jährliche Windgeschwindigkeiten und ihre Intensitäten sowie c) ENSO Variabilitäten. Die in meiner Arbeit gewonnenen klimatischen Informationen zeigen starke Änderungen der ENSO Variabilität innerhalb der letzten 3.000 Jahre mit starken Unterschieden während der Kleinen Eiszeit und während der Mittelalterlichen Warmzeit sowie deutlich trockene und windige Bedingungen mit sehr geringen ENSO Aktivitäten im glazialem Zeitraum (18.500 und 21.000 Jahren). Modellberechnungen unterstützen diese Ergebnisse einer Zunahme von Extremereignissen und feuchteren Bedingungen im Zuge einer Erwärmung des Indischen Ozeans. Mittels geochemischer Analysen der Sedimentfallenproben sowie die daraus resultierende Verknüpfung mit limnologischen und meteorologischen Parametern, konnte ich einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur erfolgreichen Interpretation der existierenden 25.000 Jahre langen μXRF Datensätze leisten. Der Anteil an allochthonem und autochthonem Eintrag kann so genau klassifiziert werden. Das dadurch gewonnene Bild der Klimaentwicklung der letzten 25.000 Jahre deckt sich hervorragend mit anderen Studien und ermöglicht Einblicke in das komplexe Zusammenspiel zwischen Ozean-Atmosphäre und Umwelt auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent. Besonders die für die Ostafrikaforschung extrem hohe Auflösung der Daten wird helfen, die abrupten Klimawechsel und Interaktionen besser verstehen zu können.

La variabilité interannuelle du Pacifique tropical est aujourd’hui principalement modulée par l’oscillation ElNiño/Oscillation Australe (ENSO). Étant donnés les forts impacts économiques et sanitaires de ce phénomène,la compréhension de son évolution au fil du temps représente un enjeu majeur. Étudier la variabilité ENSOdans différents contextes climatiques permet de comprendre comment celle-ci est reliée à l’état moyen duclimat. Nous utilisons des simulations climatiques de l’Holocène moyen (6 000 ans et 4 000 ans avant nosjours), du dernier maximum glaciaire (21 000 ans avant nos jours) et d’un climat théorique avec le dioxyde decarbone atmosphérique multiplié par quatre, réalisées avec plusieurs modèles numériques. Nous montrons que lavariabilité ENSO a des caractéristiques significativement différentes dans chaque contexte climatique. Les liensentre ces différences et l’état moyen du climat sont nombreux et non linéaires. L’étude des paléoclimats est alorsnécessaire pour comprendre les changements d’ENSO et pouvoir projeter son évolution future. De nombreusesarchives climatiques utilisées pour reconstruire le paléo-ENSO sont situées dans le sud-ouest du Pacifiquetropical, sous l’influence de la zone de convergence du Pacifique sud (SPCZ). Nous montrons que l’impactd’ENSO sur la position de la SPCZ change avec le climat. Or, celui-ci est déterminant pour l’interprétation dusignal issu des archives. Ainsi, les mécanismes reliant ENSO à la SPCZ dans le climat moderne ne peuvent pasêtre directement extrapolés à d’autres contextes climatiques. En combinant l’information des modèles et desarchives, nous pouvons avancer sur la compréhension des changements de variabilité dans le Pacifique sudouestet sur l’interprétation des enregistrements fossiles. En dernier lieu, nous abordons les changements de lavariabilité ENSO avec un nouvel angle de vue, celui de son rôle au sein du bilan énergétique global. D’aprèsles résultats du modèle IPSL-CM5A-LR, la contribution relative des événements El Niño à la redistributionglobale d’énergie est amoindrie à l’Holocène moyen, par rapport au climat moderne. Par ailleurs, la capacitédu Pacifique tropical à exporter l’énergie en moyenne est aussi réduite. Ainsi, la pompe à chaleur globaleconstituée par le Pacifique tropical est moins puissante à l’Holocène moyen, à la fois par la réduction de sacapacité moyenne à exporter que par la contribution amoindrie d’El Niño. Ce résultat suggère qu’il y a unecohérence entre le changement d’ENSO et le rôle de pompe à chaleur joué par le Pacifique tropical. / Interannual variability in the tropical Pacific is mainly modulated by the El Niño / Southern Oscillation (ENSO).Understanding the time evolution of this phenomenon is a major issue, given its strong impacts on health andeconomics. Studying the ENSO variability in different climatic contexts allows us to understand its links to themean-state. We use climatic simulations of the mid-Holocene (6,000 years and 4,000 years before present),the last glacial maximum (21,000 years before present) and a theoretical climate with atmospheric carbondioxyde multiplied by four, computed with several numerical models. We show that ENSO characteristics aresignificantly different in the different climatic contexts. The links between these differences and the climatemean-state are numerous and non linear. Studying paleoclimates is then necessary to understand ENSOchanges and to be able to project its future evolution. Some of the past archives that are used to reconstructthe paleo-ENSO are located in the southwest Pacific, under the influence of the south Pacific convergencezone (SPCZ). We show that the impact of ENSO on the location of the SPCZ changes with the climate.This determines how to interpret archives’ records. Thus, the mechanisms linking ENSO to the SPCZ in themodern climate cannot be directly extrapolated to other climates. By combining information from models andarchives, we are able to improve our understanding on the variability changes in the southwest Pacific. Finally,we address the ENSO change with a new vision, through its role within the global energetic budget. Accordingto the IPSL-CM5A-LR model, the relative contribution of El Niño events to the global energy redistribution isreduced in the mid-Holocene, compared to the modern climate. The mean capacity of the tropical Pacific toexport its energy is reduced. Therefore, the global heat pump represented by the tropical Pacific is less powerfulin the mid-Holocene, both by its reduced capacity to export energy and by the reduced El Niño contribution.This result suggests that there is consistency between the ENSO change and the role of heat pump played bythe tropical Pacific.

No description available.

Distributional and ecological dynamics of Neotropical migratory birds at stopover sites where they maintain critical fat reserves during migration remain poorly understood in North American aridlands. I examined spatiotemporal abundance and timing of migrants relative to 1) upland and riparian habitats, 2) post-fire landscape mosaics, and 3) phenological synchrony and overlap of migration with tree flowering in southeastern Arizona's Madrean Archipelago (2009-2011), and 4) abundance, habitat breadth, and foraging substrates relative to tree flowering along the Colorado River in southwestern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, Mexico (2000-2003). I explored these dynamics relative to local weather conditions and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomena. In Madrean habitats, migrants showed three non-exclusive responses to high precipitation, snowfall, and low minimum temperatures associated with El Niño in 2010; migration timing adjustments, habitat shifts, and reduced abundances suggesting migration route shifts. Foliage-gleaning insectivores were most abundant in high severity burns, disproportionate to their availability, and decreased with time since fire (TSF); flycatchers were most abundant in low-moderate severity and increased with TSF. Migrant abundance increased with tree flowering. Phenological overlap declined with increasing difference in timing of these events. Overlap was lowest in 2011 in riparian habitat due to low willow (Salix goodinggii) flowering, despite high migrant abundance, but lowest in 2010 in montane conifer, despite high pollen cone production by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga meziesii), suggesting temperature limitation of insect abundance at high elevations, but water limitation of plant phenology at lower elevations. Along the Colorado River, migrant abundance and habitat breadth had inverse positive and negative quadratic relationships, respectively. Abundance increased with tree flowering, but only in 2003 during severe drought. Habitat breadth increased with monsoon precipitation. Foraging substrate use tracked flowering, shifting from willow to mesquite (Prosopis sp.); the overlap coincided with peak abundance and narrowest habitat breadth. Maintenance of diverse vegetation and post-fire landscape mosaics in the Madrean Archipelago should benefit migratory bird diversity. Flowering phenology likely provides large-scale cues of local-scale stopover habitat condition associated with interannual climatic variation. Management and restoration of upland habitats and large riparian woody perennials will be critical for migratory bird conservation in aridlands.

This study investigates the response of lightning to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the vicinity of the U.S. Gulf Coast region and nearby adjacent waters of the Gulf of Mexico, for the years 1995-2002. The Gulf Coast region was selected for this study because of its high flash density (Orville and Huffines, 2001) and because it is an area where the ENSO fingerprint is very clearly demonstrated on both temperature and precipitation patterns (CPC, 2002). Additionally, this geographic domain roughly matches the only known study on this topic (Goodman et al., 2000). Winter is the season of greatest response to ENSO (CPC, 2004), and past studies show that summer has the most lightning activity (e.g., Orville and Huffines, 2001). The temporal domain of the study is restricted to 1995 and beyond, as this follows a system-wide upgrade of the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) that improved overall flash detection efficiency (Cummins, et. al.1998; Wacker and Orville, 1999). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to explore the lightning data for ENSO teleconnections. Mean flash density maps were constructed for the complete period of record, individual months and the winter and summer seasons. Maps were visually examined for qualitative comparison with past climatologies and the Goodman et al., (2002) ENSO study. Additionally, monthly flash deviations are computed, visualized and correlated with the Niño 3.4 SST anomaly for all months in the study, seeking out variations in both the amount of flash deviation and spatial properties. Abundant literature exists on both ENSO and lightning individually. This study offers an insight into their intersection.