A agricultura tradicional realizada em campo aberto é dependente do meio físico natural, sendo sua prosperidade resultado de circunstâncias favoráveis do solo, do clima e água, entre outros. A necessidade crescente de se produzir vegetais com alta qualidade, do planejamento da produção agrícola em termos de quantidade e prazo, da redução dos custos por unidade de produção, com a manutenção ou aumento da qualidade têm levado a um aumento da utilização de cultivo protegido. A realização da produção agrícola com uma certa independência das condições climáticas pode ser obtida através da utilização de casas de vegetação, comercialmente conhecidas como estufas. Diversos estudos mostram que as principais variáveis climáticas envolvidas no processo de produção vegetal são: a temperatura, a umidade, a luminosidade e a concentração de gás carbônico. A presença desses fatores, dentro de certos limites mínimos e máximos, proporciona condições propícias para o desenvolvimento vegetal, enquanto que fora desses limites, o desenvolvimento é prejudicado. Portanto, uma boa política de controle dessas variáveis torna-se imprescindível. Este trabalho apresenta um sistema desenvolvido para a pesquisa em controle climático em casas de vegetação, denominado Agrilogic. Ele utiliza elementos comumente encontrados em automação industrial, como CLP (Controlador Lógico Programável) para as atividades consideradas de curto prazo e um software supervisório do tipo SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) para controlar as atividades consideradas de longo prazo e para a IHM (Interface Homem Máquina) de mais alto nível, num computador pessoal. A interligação do CLP com o computador pessoal é feita via modem através de uma linha telefônica. O sistema foi instalado em uma casa de vegetação do Instituto de Biociências da USP para monitoração e controle da temperatura, da umidade relativa do ar e do fotoperíodo, enquanto o computador de supervisão está localizado no Laboratório de Automação Agrícola, na Escola Politécnica da USP. / Traditional open field agriculture is dependent on the natural environment, and its profit is a result of/ derives from favorable soil, weather and water conditions, among other factors. The increasing need to produce high quality crops, to plan agricultural production in terms of quantity and time, to decrease costs, while maintaining or increasing quality has led to protected agriculture. Agricultural production with some independence of weather conditions can be obtained using greenhouses, which provide good weather protection for the crop. There are many studies showing that the main variables related to crop production are: air temperature, air humidity, solar radiation and carbon dioxide concentration. The maintenance of these variables between a minimum and a maximum limit provides good conditions for crop development, whereas, beyond these limits, the development is restrained. Consequently, a good control policy for these variables is deemed necessary. This work presents Agrilogic, a system for research on greenhouse climate control. It uses industrial automation devices, such as PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), which accounts for short time activities and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition), software responsible for the MMI (Man Machine Interface), which accounts for the long-term activities. The system was installed in a greenhouse at Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo for temperature, air relative humidity and photoperiod monitoring and control, and it is linked to a personal computer located at the Agricultural Automation Laboratory, at Escola Politécnica da USP, via a modem and a telephone line.

A agricultura tradicional realizada em campo aberto é dependente do meio físico natural, sendo sua prosperidade resultado de circunstâncias favoráveis do solo, do clima e água, entre outros. A necessidade crescente de se produzir vegetais com alta qualidade, do planejamento da produção agrícola em termos de quantidade e prazo, da redução dos custos por unidade de produção, com a manutenção ou aumento da qualidade têm levado a um aumento da utilização de cultivo protegido. A realização da produção agrícola com uma certa independência das condições climáticas pode ser obtida através da utilização de casas de vegetação, comercialmente conhecidas como estufas. Diversos estudos mostram que as principais variáveis climáticas envolvidas no processo de produção vegetal são: a temperatura, a umidade, a luminosidade e a concentração de gás carbônico. A presença desses fatores, dentro de certos limites mínimos e máximos, proporciona condições propícias para o desenvolvimento vegetal, enquanto que fora desses limites, o desenvolvimento é prejudicado. Portanto, uma boa política de controle dessas variáveis torna-se imprescindível. Este trabalho apresenta um sistema desenvolvido para a pesquisa em controle climático em casas de vegetação, denominado Agrilogic. Ele utiliza elementos comumente encontrados em automação industrial, como CLP (Controlador Lógico Programável) para as atividades consideradas de curto prazo e um software supervisório do tipo SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) para controlar as atividades consideradas de longo prazo e para a IHM (Interface Homem Máquina) de mais alto nível, num computador pessoal. A interligação do CLP com o computador pessoal é feita via modem através de uma linha telefônica. O sistema foi instalado em uma casa de vegetação do Instituto de Biociências da USP para monitoração e controle da temperatura, da umidade relativa do ar e do fotoperíodo, enquanto o computador de supervisão está localizado no Laboratório de Automação Agrícola, na Escola Politécnica da USP. / Traditional open field agriculture is dependent on the natural environment, and its profit is a result of/ derives from favorable soil, weather and water conditions, among other factors. The increasing need to produce high quality crops, to plan agricultural production in terms of quantity and time, to decrease costs, while maintaining or increasing quality has led to protected agriculture. Agricultural production with some independence of weather conditions can be obtained using greenhouses, which provide good weather protection for the crop. There are many studies showing that the main variables related to crop production are: air temperature, air humidity, solar radiation and carbon dioxide concentration. The maintenance of these variables between a minimum and a maximum limit provides good conditions for crop development, whereas, beyond these limits, the development is restrained. Consequently, a good control policy for these variables is deemed necessary. This work presents Agrilogic, a system for research on greenhouse climate control. It uses industrial automation devices, such as PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), which accounts for short time activities and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition), software responsible for the MMI (Man Machine Interface), which accounts for the long-term activities. The system was installed in a greenhouse at Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo for temperature, air relative humidity and photoperiod monitoring and control, and it is linked to a personal computer located at the Agricultural Automation Laboratory, at Escola Politécnica da USP, via a modem and a telephone line.

This report describes the building of a computer model that makes it possible to simulate the thermal climate in a greenhouse. The computer model is built on the physical theory of heat exchange that occur in a greenhouse, such as radiation and convective heat exchange. The model also includes the heat storage that is active in a greenhouse. The computer model is used to simulate the thermal climate in a greenhouse under three periods, winter, spring and summer. It also investigates which effect a concrete wall has on the thermal climate in a greenhouse. The purpose of putting a concrete wall in the greenhouse model is to investigate the possibility to store heat during the day and then use this heat when the temperature drops during the night. The result from the simulations shows that a concrete wall levels the big difference in temperature that normally occurs under a day in a greenhouse. It also shows that heat is stored in the concrete wall and during the night the wall temperature is higher than both the outdoor temperature and the greenhouse temperature. This makes the wall a source of heat during this time. / Växthus är pga. sin utformning väldigt känsligt för klimatets påverkan. Detta resulterar i att klimatet i växthuset under soliga dagar kan uppnå väldigt höga temperaturer medans temperaturen under kalla dagar och nätter kan bli lika låg som den rådande utomhustemperaturen. Växthusets klimat blir därför väldigt extremt och temperatursvängningarna stora. Temperatursvängningarna beror till stor del på växthusets låga värmetröghet och genom att öka trögheten i en byggnad kan temperatur svängningar minskas och ett jämnare termisk klimat uppnås. En ökning av trögheten kan också bidra till att värme lagras under varmare perioder och på så sätt minska ett eventuellt uppvärmningsbehov under de kalla perioderna. För att undersöka tröghetens inverkan och möjligheterna till värmelagring hos ett växthus har detta examensarbete inriktats på uppbyggnaden av en datormodell som kan simulera ett växthus termiska förhållanden. Modellen har sedan använts för att undersöka hur en betongvägg påverkar det termiska klimatet i växthuset samt betongväggens förmåga att lagra värme. Datormodellen har byggts upp i MATLAB vilket gör det möjligt att med klimatdata från olika perioder simulera växthuset inre klimat. Datormodellen bygger på matematiska beräkningar som grundar sig på fysikaliska och termiska samband. Växthuset som undersöks i datormodellen bygger på ett växthus som är planerat att uppföras på trädgårdsanläggningen Wij trädgårdar i Ockelbo. Växthuset går under namnet Eldtemplet och ingår i projektet ”Ny energi i gamla landskap” som ska utforska möjligheterna till nya energikällor inom trädgårds- och odlingsverksamhet. Simuleringar har genomförts med klimatdata från ett dygn under tre olika årstider, vinter, vår och sommar. Resultatet från simuleringarna visar att temperaturerna i växthuset påverkas väldigt mycket av den infallande solstrålningen. Införandet av en betongvägg ökar växthusets tröghet och jämnar ut temperatursvängningarna i växthuset. Simuleringarna visar också att betongväggen får en värmelagrande förmåga och under vissa perioder kan tillföra växthuset värme under natten då temperaturen i växthuset sjunker. Genom resultatet kan slutsatsen dras att det finns åtgärder att ta till som kan förbättra växthusets termiska egenskaper väsentligt och göra växthus mer energieffektiva.

This report studies a subarctic greenhouse located in Nikkala, Sweden called Nikkala handelsträdgård. Through a visit to the greenhouse coupled with the creation of two simulation models this study investigates the differences in energy demand with water-carried and air-carried heating systems, high pressure sodium lights and Light emitting diode lights and insulation in parts of the greenhouse without a active cultivation. With the purpose of comparing the alternatives to the existing system at Nikkala handelsträdgård. This, to evaluate if an investment in insulation for the non cultivating parts or changing to a water-carried heating system with Light emitting diode lights could be considered profitable. Operating a greenhouse in a subarctic climate is a hard task and especially if the operation is year round. Efficient heating systems, thermal screens, dehumidifying measures and Lighting systems are crucial to ensure a profitable business. At Nikkala handelsträdgård they are currently using a pellets burner in combination with a air-carried heating system and HPS lamps in the majority of the greenhouse.  The simulations of the main greenhouse were made in Ansys fluent where the crop section was simulated by implementing source terms to a macro porous medium. The parts of the greenhouse which did not host an active cultivation were simulated in IDA ICE.  It was found that saving of just under 14 800 SEK monthly or 18 % could be made by implementing a water-carried heating system in combination with state of the art lighting. Given this a payback-time of 3-9 years could be expected given different scenarios. An implementation of insulation in the non cultivation greenhouse parts would save up to 25 300 SEK annually or 46 % of the heat demand and the investment would give a payback-time of 1-2 years given different scenarios. Given this a reduction of CO2 equivalents of just under 1,9 tonnes could be achieved yearly. It was concluded that relatively inexpensive investments could have a great impact on the energy demand and thereby the economical performance of a subarctic greenhouse. New operations should be built with a LED light system and water-carried heating system and all parts of the greenhouse which is not housing an active cultivation needs to be insulated.

The Earth's climate system is driven by varying insolation from the Sun. The dominant variations in insolation are at 23 and 40 thousand year periods, yet for the past million years the Earth's climate has glacial cycles at approximately 100 kyr periodicity. These cycles are a coupled variation in temperature, ice volume, and atmospheric CO₂. Somehow the Earth system's collective response to 23 and 40 kyr insolation forcing produces 100 kyr glacial-interglacial cycles. Generally it has been assumed that the causative mechanisms are a combination of ice dynamics (high ice reflectivity controlling temperature) and ocean circulation (changing carbon partitioning between the deep ocean and the atmosphere, and heat transport to the poles). However, these proposed mechanisms have not yet resulted in a compelling theory for all three variations, particularly CO₂. This thesis explores the role of volcanic CO₂ emissions in glacial cycles. I calculate that glacial-driven sea level change alters the pressure on mid-ocean ridges (MORs), changing their CO₂ emissions by approximately 10%. This occurs because pressure affects the thermodynamics of melt generation. The delay between sea level change and the consequent change in MOR CO₂ emissions is several tens-of-thousands-of-years, conceptually consistent with a coupled non-linear oscillation that could disrupt glacial cycles from a 40 kyr mode to a multiple of that period. I develop an Earth system model to investigate this possibility, running for approximately one million years and explicitly calculating global temperatures, ice sheet configuration, and CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere. The model is driven by insolation, with all other components varying in response (and according to their own interactions). This model calculates that volcanism is capable of causing a transition to ̃100 kyr glacial cycles, however the required average volcanic CO₂ emissions are barely within the 95% confidence interval. Therefore it is possible for volcanic systems and glacial cycles to form a 100 kyr coupled oscillation.

MESHWR / Department of Hydrology and Water Resources / Greenhouse gases (GHGs) from coal power station affect the behaviour of climatic parameters such as the temperature, rainfall and evaporation, over a long period of time, hence causing climatic trends. This study focused on investigating the impacts of Greenhouse gases (GHGs) from coal power stations on climatic and hydrological trends in Witbank area. To accomplish this, linear regression (LR) and Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test were used to detect the hydro-climatic trends and their significance. GHG emissions were obtained from Eskom’s sustainability report on the Eskom website. Temperature data for the years 1950- 2000 and 1993-2016 and rainfall data for the years 1925-2000 and 1993-2016 were used. Double Mass Analysis (DMA) was used to check the homogeneity and consistency of temperature and rainfall data from South African Weather Services (SAWS) station with the Lynch database and Water Research Commission (WRC) data. Data was patched and extended using LR where necessary. Trends in temperature, precipitation and flow were assessed using MK trend test and LR based on monthly, seasonal, and annual scales. GHG emissions were compared with the hydro-climatic data over time in order to detect the impacts of GHG emissions on temperature, rainfall and streamflow. The MK results indicated that GHG emissions had some impacts on temperature with statistically significant increase in annual, monthly and seasonal time scales for the period 1950-2016. LR also produced the same results for annual temperature. Monthly and seasonal temperature could not be produced with the LR method because of data gaps. The MK and LR models produced similar results, indicating that there was a non-significant increase in temperature before coal power stations were introduced (1950-1974) and a significant increase in temperature after the commissioning of coal power stations (1975-2016). MK and LR also produced the same results for annual rainfall data, indicating that there was a significant increase in rainfall before coal power stations were introduced (1925-1974) and a non-significant increase after the commissioning of coal power stations (1975-2016). For monthly time scales MK and LR indicated increasing and decreasing trends before and after coal power stations were introduced. MK and LR results for streamflow stations B2H004 and B2H007 showed similar results indicating non-significant increase in annual and seasonal streamflow, but differed in monthly streamflow where MK showed significant increases whilst LR showed non-significant trends. The study concluded that GHGs from coal power stations had significant impacts on the hydro-climatic trends in Witbank area. GHGs from coal power stations caused significant increase in temperature as temperature increased by 3.7°C after coal power stations were introduced, whereas temperature had increased by 1.7 °C. It is recommened that more research should be done on alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar energy to check their suitability and applicability in South Africa. / NRF

Global climate is controlled by two factors, the amount of heat energy received from the sun (solar insolation) and the way that heat is distributed Earth's surface. Solar insolation varies on timescales of 10s to 100s of thousands of years due to changes in the path of Earth's orbit about the sun (Milankovitch cycles). Earth's internal boundary conditions, such as paleogeography, the presence/absence of polar icecaps, atmospheric/oceanic chemistry and sea level, provide distribution and feedback mechanisms for the incoming heat. Variations in these internal boundary conditions may happen abruptly or, as in the case of plate tectonics, take millions of years. We use geochemical and sedimentological techniques to investigate the response of ocean chemistry, regional aridity and atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns to climate change during both greenhouse and icehouse climates. To explore the connection between orbitally-forced changes in solar insolation, continental aridity and wind, we generated a high-resolution dust record for ~58 Myr old deep-sea sediments from Shatsky Rise. Our data provide the first evidence of a correlation between dust flux to the deep sea and orbital cycles during the Early Paleogene, indicating dust supply (regional aridity) responded to orbital forcing during the last major interval of greenhouse climate. The change in dust flux was comparable to that during icehouse climates implying subtle variations in solar insolation have a similar impact on climate during intervals of over-all warmth as they do during glacial-interglacial states. The Carboniferous Period (359-299 Ma) marks a critical time in Earth's history when a series of tectonic and biological events caused a shift in the mean climate state from a global "greenhouse" to an "icehouse". Geochemical records extracted from sedimentary rocks deposited in shallow epicontinental seaways are increasingly being used to infer relationships between tectonism, carbon cycling and climate and therefore are assumed to reflect global ocean processes. We analyzed radiogenic isotopes in biogenic apatite along a North American transect to constrain the degree of geochemical coupling between the epicontinental seas and the open ocean. Our results argue strongly for decoupling of North American seaways from the open ocean by latest Mississippian time.