Due to limited geographic ranges, island populations, in general, are expected to have smaller population sizes and a limited influx of migrants compared to populations inhabiting continental mainlands. Therefore, island populations are expected to be influenced by genetic drift and natural selection differently from mainland populations. In this study, I aimed at investigating potential island effects in cryptic wood white (Leptidea juvernica), and the main hypothesis of this study was that island populations will show less efficient purifying selection than mainland populations. I used whole-genome re-sequencing data from three cryptic wood white butterfly populations sampled in Ireland, Kazakhstan and Sweden and applied population genomics to assess levels of genetic diversity and quantify potential variation in the efficiency of natural selection by estimating site frequency spectra, assessing population structure, and applying various types of neutrality tests. The results show that the L. juvernica population in Ireland has comparatively low nucleotide diversity and increased genetic differentiation as compared to the mainland populations. Multiple types of neutrality / selection analyses revealed that purifying selection in Ireland has been less efficient than on the mainland. These findings contribute in several ways to the understanding of how selections act in island populations and provide insights into how evolutionary genetics / genomics can be informative for conservation efforts in isolated and declining island populations and other populations with limited distribution ranges.

No description available.

This study examines the relationship between land use and temperature change in Dallas County, TX. The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between temperature and land use and to identify the primary factors contributing to the formation of urban heat islands based on different categories of land use. Specifically, this research analyzes the elements that contribute to the urban heat island effect in Dallas County using temperature data provided by remote sensing imagery and parcel-based land use data using Geographic Information System (GIS) technique and a correlation analysis method, which was employed to analyze the relationship between temperature and land use. The results of this study showed that every land use category has different temperature averages and those patterns were observed similarly in both 2000 and 2005. Parking, airport, commercial, industrial, and residential areas have relatively high temperatures. In contrast, water, undeveloped area and parks showed relatively low temperatures. Another major finding was ratio of land use composition affected the temperature of census tracts. Correlation analyses of land use and temperature in 2000 and 2005 indicate that various types of land use categories have significant relationships with temperature. Among them commercial, industrial, residential, parking, and infrastructure, are positively associated with temperature, while undeveloped, parks, water, and dedicated areas are negatively associated with temperature. Areas with a high ratio of commercial use showed the highest and undeveloped areas showed the lowest relationship. Furthermore, through the analysis of the relationship between land use and temperature change for five years (2000-2005), this study finds that temperature change depends on the ratio of each land use category change. The results of this study can help local planning and policy decisions which are related to urban land use planning concerning temperature change such as zoning, environmental regulations and open space preservation.

The urban heat island effect is considered one of the main causes of global warming and is contributing to increasing temperatures in the urban United States. This phenomenon enhances the intensity of summer heat waves and the risk to public health due to increased exposure to extreme thermal conditions. Characteristics of spatial development patterns can significantly affect urban temperature because they are related to the arrangement of development and land surface materials, which are crucial elements needed to determine land surface temperature. While previous studies revealed that the effect of the urban heat island varies depending on different land use types and surface characteristics, few have considered the overall development patterns of urban form. I address this under-studied aspect of heat hazards by analyzing the relationship between spatial development pattern and urban heat island effect across a sample of 353 metropolitan regions of the U.S. Specifically, I employ a series of landscape metrics to measure urban development patterns using a national land cover dataset from the U.S. Geological Survey. Linear regression models are used to statistically isolate the effect of different spatial development patterns on increasing the urban heat island effect while controlling for multiple contextual variables including built-environment, environmental, and demographic characteristics. The result of this study showed that the daytime mean surface urban heat island effect (4.04˚F) is higher than that of nighttime (2.41˚F). Ecological context (i.e. Ecoregions) has proved to be a statistically significant modulator that helps to explain the spatial distribution of the urban heat island effect. Regarding the main research question of this study, the results indicate that specific categories of urban development pattern including density, continuity, and clustering are statistically associated with increasing the urban heat island effect. This initial evidence suggests that the overall development patterns are an important issue to consider when mitigating the adverse impacts related to the urban heat island effect. In addition, when contextual heat contributors are held constant, the intensity of the urban heat island effect can differ depending on the configuration of development in urban areas. This study can be used as a starting point for a comprehensive approach to both spatial land development and hazard-resistant planning by providing alternative ways of measuring and modeling spatial development patterns.

L'Ilot de Chaleur Urbain (ICU) est l'un des phénomènes du changement climatique les plus documentés. Il est le résultat de températures plus élevées dans le centre des villes que dans leurs banlieues ou les zones rurales alentour et peut avoir des conséquences néfastes sur les habitants des villes, notamment au niveau de la qualité de l'air, la consommation d'énergie, la santé publique et même le taux de mortalité. À Beyrouth, capitale du Liban, la littérature scientifique existante dénote un déficit de recherche sur ce sujet. L’objectif de cette thèse est donc d'étudier l'intensité de l'ICU à Beyrouth, d'identifier les mesures les plus appropriées susceptibles d'en alléger les effets d'un point de vue technique, d'en évaluer les conséquences sur les politiques d'urbanisme et de faire des propositions pour la planification urbaine et la conception des bâtiments à Beyrouth. Dans cette thèse, l'ICU à Beyrouth a été étudié à l'aide du modèle Town Energy Balance (TEB), outil de modélisation servant à calculer les échanges d'énergie et d'eau entre les villes et l'atmosphère, développé par Météo France (Masson, 2000). TEB est inclus dans le système de modélisation des surfaces continentales SURFEX. SURFEX est une contraction de « Surface Externalisée » et c'est un code qui modélise les processus d'échange d'énergie entre l'atmosphère et les surfaces urbaines. Des simulations ont été effectuées à Beyrouth durant une journée, en hiver, le 1er janvier de 00:00 UTC (soit 02:00 heure locale) à 23:00 UTC et une journée, en été, le 1er juillet de 00:00 UTC à 23:00 UTC à des intervalles d'une heure. En été, des écarts significatifs allant jusqu'à 6°C ont été enregistrés pour les températures de canyon. Typiquement, les températures les plus élevées ont été enregistrées dans les zones à forte densité de construction où la part de surfaces travaillées par l'homme est la plus grande et où on a mesuré les albédos les plus bas (généralement 0.2). En hiver, les écarts de température ont été moins significatifs avec un différentiel de 1°C entre les zones à forte densité de construction et les espaces naturels. On en a déduit que les zones avec une grande proportion de végétations ont un rôle réfrigérant à Beyrouth. De plus, nous avons mesuré un écart significatif dans la consommation d'énergie pour la climatisation en été dans différentes parties de Beyrouth ; les simulations ont déterminé la demande requise d'énergie à 50 W/m2 dans les quartiers caractérisés par une grande proportion de jardins et jusqu'à 800 W/m2 dans les quartiers à forte densité de construction. En hiver également, les simulations ont montré des écarts importants au niveau de la demande d'énergie pour le chauffage dans différents quartiers de Beyrouth variant de 20 à 300 W/m2. Six scénarios ont été modélisés sur TEB et ils ont indiqué que l'augmentation de la surface des végétations et l'augmentation de l'albédo des toits produisaient les effets de refroidissement les plus notables. Cette thèse a mis en évidence des opportunités pour améliorer les lois de l'Urbanisme et le Code de la Construction au Liban pour une meilleure prise en compte des aspects microclimatiques urbains et recommande la mise en place de stratégies pour le développement d'espaces verts urbains et pour l'optimisation du refroidissement par les toits. Cette thèse a donc contribué à une meilleure compréhension de l'environnement urbain de la ville de Beyrouth et des paramètres urbains pouvant avoir le plus grand impact sur la réduction des effets de l'ICU. Ce faisant, cette étude a préparé le terrain pour des travaux plus poussés en vue de réduire les effets de l'ICU à Beyrouth dans le but de créer un environnement confortable et sain pour ses habitants et pour les générations futures / The urban heat island (UHI) is one of the more commonly documented phenomena of climate change. It is related to higher urban temperatures in the city centers as compared to the surrounding rural or suburban areas and can lead to unpleasant effects on urban dwellers not least of all on air quality, energy consumption levels, human health, and even mortality rates. In Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, the literature clearly points to a lack of research on this topic. In addition, there is no evidence that there is a systematic transfer of urban climatic knowledge between concerned stakeholders like urban planning and environmental authorities which is cause for concern given the ever-increasing worldwide attention being given to climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and sustainable city developments. The objective of this research is to therefore investigate the intensity of UHI in Beirut, to identify most suitable measures to alleviate the effects of UHI from a technical perspective, to assess the implications on urban planning processes and to accordingly find opportunities for planning and design practices in Beirut. Beirut is a coastal city that sits on a peninsula that extends westward into the Mediterranean Sea. It covers a surface area of about 20 square kilometers, has a population of approximately 500,000 inhabitants, with a very high population density of about 21,000 inhabitants / km2.The UHI in Beirut was investigated using the Town Energy Balance (TEB) urban surface exchange modeling scheme developed by Météo France (Masson, 2000). TEB is included in the SURFEX land-surface modeling system. SURFEX means “surface externalisée” and it is a code that represents the energy exchange processes that occur between the atmosphere and the urban surfaces. Simulations were accordingly run across Beirut using TEB for 1 day during the winter season on 1 January, from 00:00 UTC (equivalent to 2:00AM local standard time) to 23:00 UTC, and 1 day during the summer season on 1 July from 00:00 UTC to 23:00 UTC with one hour time steps or one hour output results. During the summer significant variations of up to 6oC were found for canyon temperatures whereas areas characterized by dense urban fabrics had higher temperatures typically due to the larger fraction of man-made as opposed to natural surfaces and due to the lower albedo values (generally 0.2). During the winter, temperature variations were not as significant, differing by up to 1oC between aforementioned areas across Beirut. Therefore areas with high garden fractions were found to play an important cooling effect in the simulations for Beirut. In addition, a significant variation in cooling energy usage was found during the summer across Beirut where simulations showed energy demands as low as 50 W/m2 in areas characterized by higher garden fractions whereas simulations were much higher, up to 800 W/m2, in areas with dense urban fabrics. In the summer heating energy demands were also significant ranging from as low as 20-300 W/m2 across Beirut. Six scenarios were also run on TEB which showed that increasing the albedo of roofs and the fraction of gardens had the most noteworthy cooling effects. This research found that there are opportunities for improvement of the Urban Planning Law and the Building Code of Lebanon for better consideration of the urban microclimatic issues and recommended emphasis on urban greening strategies and cool roofing strategies. this thesis contributed to a better understanding of the urban environment of the city of Beirut and the respective urban parameters that have the most significant impact on reducing some of the impacts of the urban heat island phenomenon. In doing so, this research has paved the way for further work on reducing the UHI effect in Beirut, with the ultimate aim of creating a comfortable and safe environment for its residents, and future generations

Buildings account for over 35% of the energy demand in OECD countries, making them a prime target for improvement. (EIA 2011) To help building owners reduce energy usage, ratings systems such as LEED have been developed. A prerequisite for certification is the demonstration of energy efficiency through computer modeling; however, the complex nature of building energy simulations too often leads to errors of up to 30% (Turner and Frankel 2008). One source of significant error can be the assumptions made of environmental conditions, which are often simplified to speed up simulations. To demonstrate the significance of active microclimate modeling, a building energy model combined with a microclimate model has been created in RadTherm, a commercial CAE thermal solver. Simulations are run using Passive House construction in three types of environments, and demonstrate an increase in energy demand over an annual time scale when microclimatic components are included. The increase in demand is less than 1%, however the decrease in radiant heat losses are up to 30%. Using the same methodology with revisions to the building construction and urban geometry, a larger increase in energy demand is expected.

Climate change effects are getting more evident year by year. Athens is specially affected by climate change related shocks, especially by poor air quality, flooding and heat waves. Every year climate shocks threatens and worsens the situation in the city. The municipality of Athens, together with the European Investment Bank and EQO-NIXUS (consulting company) have undertaken a project in order to increase the resilience and the mitigation and adaptation measures of the city, taking as case study 5 public buildings located in different areas of the centre of the city. This project is in line with the Athens Resilience Strategy drawn by the Municipality of Athens in order to integrate new ways to prepare and protect the city from future shocks and stresses. This study aims to investigate and propose mitigation and adaptation measures that could be potentially applied into the 5 selected public buildings in order to improve the energy efficiency and the resilience towards heat waves, flooding and pollution of the air. A literature review study has been performed in order to look for good practices worldwide in terms of energy efficiency and climate mitigation and adaptation in order to find the best measures that could be applied in the 5 selected buildings. Finally, a multi-criteria decision analysis has been executed to prioritise which measures result to be more relevant for each specific building. The study shows that, in overall, energy efficiency and raise of public awareness are the most relevant measures that can be potentially applied in the buildings in order to tackle the climate shocks that threatens Athens. Finally, if the measures are applied into the buildings and the resilience and energy efficiency measures are improved, this study could be replicated to other buildings of Athens in order to achieve the 2030 strategy plan set by the municipality of Athens. / Effekterna av klimatförändringen blir alltmer tydliga. Greklands huvudstad Aten påverkas exempelvis av försämrad luftkvalitet, översvämningar och värmeböljor och extrema klimatrelaterade händelser förvärrar situationen i staden. Atens kommun har tillsammans med Europeiska investeringsbanken och EQO-NIXUS (ett privat konsultföretag) genomfört ett projekt för att öka motståndskraften mot klimatförändringens effekter, genom anpassningsåtgärder, där fem offentliga byggnader i olika delar av Atens centrum studeras. Projektet är relaterat till Atens resiliensstrategi som handlar om hur staden ska integrera nya sätt förbereda och skydda staden och dess invånare från framtida extrema händelser och påfrestningar. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka och föreslå anpassningsåtgärder som potentiellt kan tillämpas i de fem olika offentliga byggnaderna för att förbättra energieffektiviteten och resiliensen mot värmeböljor, översvämningar och luftföroreningar. En litteraturstudie har genomförts för att identifiera globala, goda exempel när det gäller energieffektivitet och anpassning till ett förändrat klimat som potentiellt kan tillämpas i de fem byggnaderna. Slutligen har en multikriterieanalys med flera kriterier genomförts för att prioritera vilka åtgärder som är mest relevanta för varje specifik byggnad. Studien visar att energieffektivitet och ökning av allmänhetens medvetenhet totalt sett är de mest relevanta åtgärderna som potentiellt kan tillämpas i byggnaderna för att hantera klimatförändringar. Slutligen, om dessa åtgärder tillämpas och resiliensen och energieffektivitetsåtgärderna förbättras, skulle denna studie kunna vara relevant även för andra byggnader i Aten och därmed bidra till uppfyllelsen av stadens 2030-strategi.

En matière de consommation énergétique mondiale, l'augmentation est indiscutablement la tendance actuelle. Conformément au contexte énergétique international, l'île de La Réunion doit faire face à une demande énergétique croissante. Après analyse de la répartition de ces besoins, la régulation thermique du bâti apparaît être l'un des postes les plus énergivores. Afin de réduire l'importance de ce poste, la solution présentement proposée consiste a végétaliser la structure afin d'en réduire la surchauffe. Le présent article est une introduction vulgarisée au domaine des parois complexes végétalisées (PCV). Afin d'accréditer cette prétention, la notion de toiture végétalisée, leurs utilisations, ainsi que les différentes modifications quelles induisent y sont définies. L'illustration des propos est permise par l'application d'un cas d'étude concret, celui d'une utilisation sur l'île de La Réunion. Cette dernière permettant de définir divers impacts du système dans ces conditions. / The aim of this article is to present a vulgarized introduction to the vegetated complex partitions field, called VCP. To reach this goal, the green roof notions, their uses and implications are defined. The theory is illustrated by a Reunion Island case study, which allows to list several impacts of the green walls utilization.

都市地區因人口增長、大量人工建成環境與能源使用等緣故，將產生都市熱島效應。都市熱島效應產生都市高溫化，進而衍生各種都市環境問題，如都市微氣候改變、能源消耗與供給壓力增加、空氣汙染物不易擴散等(Landsberg, 1981)。臺灣位於亞熱帶氣候地區，人口多集中於都市地區，尤其是臺北市。先前相關研究指出臺北市具有都市熱島效應。本研究從有高蓄熱特性的道路與建築量體所構成之「都市街道」為尺度範圍，將進行固定監測站之量測，實際取得都市微氣候之數據（溫度與熱舒適性指標），配合都市街道熱環境因子之調查，一併探討都市街道熱環境因子產生都市高溫化的關係，有別於其他研究探討都市整體的熱島效應，或是單一影響因素導致的都市高溫化，如街廓、材料、植栽、人工排熱等對微氣候的影響。此外，本研究輔以計算流體力學（Computational Fluid Dynamics，簡稱CFD），將量測的數據做為模擬之基本條件，進而模擬都市街道的風場與溫度場，搭配實測數據與模擬值作分析，並且加入都市街道熱環境因子與兩者作探討。研究成果指出植栽綠化與遮蔭將有效改善都市高溫化現象。

The systemic relationship between the human entity and its environment, under the constraint of its function, were used as the perfect example to design and create the systemic relationship of an urban regenerative building with its economical, environmental and social context in the Inner City of Pretoria. / Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Architecture / unrestricted