In the Kebnekaise Massif, Northern Sweden, the west facing glacier, Rabots glaciär, is loosing volume at a significantly higher rate than east facing, Storglaciären. By analyzing data from automatic weather stations situated on the ablation area on the glaciers we investigated the effect of meteorological differences on ablation. There was a difference in micro-climate between Rabots glaciär and Storglaciären. Generally Storglaciären had slightly warmer and drier air, had less or a thinner cloud layer but more precipitation. On both glaciers a glacier wind is dominant but high wind velocities were common especially on Storglaciären indicating a larger influence from the synoptic system. There was a good correlation for temperature and vapor pressure between the glaciers that indicate that both glaciers are strongly affected by the synoptic system. The meteorological parameters have similar effect on the ablation on the glaciers. Temperature, vapor pressure and the turbulent heat fluxes are the only meteorological parameters that suggest a linear affect on ablation. Net shortwave radiation contribute with the greatest amount of energy for ablation but decreased in relative importance as the temperature increased. Shortwave radiation, sensible and latent heat contributed with a total 184Wm-2 on Rabots glaciär and 222Wm-2 on Storglaciären. Rabots glaciär seem to have a significantly greater relative importance of the turbulent heat fluxes than Storglaciären. Although the differences in micro-climate were not great, using the ablation for Storglaciären to estimate ablation on Rabots glaciär would over estimate the ablation with 0.5m w.e..

A avaliação da interação reservatórios-atmosfera mostra-se limitada a estudos de grandes reservatórios, que visam analisar eventuais alterações na temperatura e umidade; identifica-se, portanto, a necessidade de estender estudos desta natureza a reservatórios menores. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa buscou avaliar, por meio de um transecto, o gradiente da temperatura e umidade absoluta na margem da Represa do Lobo, localizada em Itirapina-SP, de modo a determinar se a existência da represa altera os valores medidos na estação meteorológica do Centro de Recursos Hídricos e Ecologia Aplicada CRHEA, instalado nas proximidades. O transecto foi montado na área do CRHEA; ao longo dele, foram instalados sensores termopares tipo T para o registro das temperaturas de bulbo seco (Tbs) e bulbo úmido (Tbu), além de quatro dataloggers, para o armazenamento dos dados. A campanha de coleta foi realizada entre os meses de junho e setembro, período com o menor índice pluviométrico no ano, de modo a evitar alterações nos valores da umidade absoluta; os dados. No estudo, foi empregado o conceito de dias típicos experimentais, por apresentarem características semelhantes aos das Normais Climatológicas para a região e época do ano. Os dados foram analisados por meio do teste estatístico de Mann Whitney e gráficos Boxplot. A comparação estatística entre os psicrômetros revelou que a temperatura se manteve constante, com exceção de um gradiente de 1,5°C a 2°C verificado no 3° quartil dos Boxplot entre a Tbs1 e Tbs3. O mesmo ocorreu com a umidade absoluta, que apresentou variação de apenas 0,5 g/m³ entre dois dos psicrômetros. Conclui-se, portanto, que a metodologia utilizada não apontou evidências de que a presença da Represa do Lobo altere os valores da temperatura e umidade absoluta medidos na estação climatológica do CRHEA. Como recomendação para estudos posteriores cita-se a análise das movimentações das massas de ar, mais especificamente das plumas de umidade. / The assessment of the reservoir-atmosphere interaction seems to be limited to case studies of big reservoirs, that seek to analyze occasional alterations on temperature and humidity; one identifies, therefore, the need of extending such studies to smaller water bodies. The goal of this research is to evaluate, by means of a transect, the temperature gradient and absolute humidity at the Represa do Lobo, located between the cities of Itirapina and São Carlos, SP, in order to determine whether the presence of the reservoir exerts influence on the measurements performed at the meteorological station of the Center for Water Resources and Applied Ecology-CRHEA, installed nearby. The transect was installed in the CRHEA area. T-type thermocouple sensors were placed along its length, in order to record dry bulb (Tbs) and wet bulb (Tbu) temperatures; these data were stored in dataloggers. Data collection was conducted between June and September, period with the lowest rainfall in the year, so as to avoid changes in the values of absolute humidity. For data analysis, the concept of typical experimental days was used, because they have similar characteristics to the Normal Climatological for the region and time of the year. Data evaluation was performed using the Mann-Whitney test statistic and Boxplot graphs. The statistical comparison between psychrometers showed that temperature kept constant, except for a temperature gradient of 1.5°C to 2°C in the 3rd quartile of the Boxplot between Tbs1 and Tbs3. The same behavior was observed for absolute humidity: only a slight variation of 0.5 g/m³ was perceived between two psychrometers. It is therefore concluded that the adopted methodology did not point out evidence that the Represa do Lobo alters the values of temperature and absolute humidity measured at the CRHEA meteorological station. Suggestions for future studies include the assessment of air masses, more specifically the humidity plumes.

<p>Marion Island is situated in the South Indian Ocean and belongs to the sub-Antarctic island group, Prince Edward Islands. The islands in the sub-Antarctic have over the past few decades been exposed to a warmer and drier climate trend. The aim of this thesis is to achieve better understanding of the small-scale spatial and temporal variability between Azorella selago andthe surrounding microclimate. Due to the consequences of climate change, the interactions between Azorella selago, landforms and soil processes are important for the future of the terrestrial ecosystems in the sub-Antarctic. The theory part in this thesis describes different processes and features that are essential to understand the context of this thesis. The energy balance and the insolation is shown to be an important aspect when looking at the spatialvariability of the microclimate. The summary of the results in the thesis is based on temperature and moisture measurements within two grids. One on the east and one on the west side of the island</p><p>The most important result from the measurements is that different weather conditions create different situations for the microclimate. The weather condition ‘sunny no wind’ created a high spatial variability in temperature on the ground, which was completely absent during overcast days. Temperature variability is highly dependent on cloud cover according to these results. Moisture changes also seem to be less weather dependent than temperaturechanges.</p><p>The data provide a first confirmation that an increase in sunshine hours gives increased spatial variability in temperature (not moisture) and soil frost. An increase in spatial variability of the microclimate within small areas could give rise to an expansion in the patchiness of soil frost processes in the landscape. The representivity of single point measurements of ground surface temperature should be questioned.</p><p>Patterns of areas with low moisture content within the grid correlate with points where measurements were taken on Azorella selago. The Azorella cushion could, according to the results of this thesis, be associated with dry areas within the grid. Azorella selago is thereby suggested to increase the spatial variability of moisture and also contribute to a locally drier microclimate. Moisture variability varies more between the east and west side of the island, than that it is weather dependent.</p><p>Shaded areas show a pattern of lower temperature than for the other variables under sunny conditions. If more shaded areas are created by for example landforms like Azorella selago or solifluction deposits, the temperatures would probably be lower and also create a wider spatial variability.</p><p>This study provides first data on the important interactions between Azorella selago and how it affects through spatial variability in micro-climate, ground frost potential and resulting soil disturbance by frost creep and solifluction.</p>

Lichens can colonize nearly all terrestrial habitats on earth and are functionally important in many ecosystems. Being poikilohydric, their active growth periods are restricted to periods when the thallus is hydrated from atmospheric water sources, such as rain, fog and high relative humidity. Since lichen hydration varies greatly over time lichen growth is therefore more difficult to model compared with, for example vascular plants with more even water supply. I developed two models to predict lichen hydration under field conditions that incorporates the atmospheric water potential (Ψair), derived from air temperature and humidity, only or in combination with species-specific rehydration and desiccation rates. Using Ψair allows the prediction of hydration induced by several water sources. These models were very accurate for epiphytic lichens with a close coupling to atmospheric conditions, but they were less accurate for mat-forming lichens with substantial aerodynamic boundary layers. The hydration model was further developed to include photosynthetic activation for different species, in order to compare their performance under different micro-climatic scenarios. Water balance and activation rate had large effects on lichen activity and were positively related to habitats providing long hydration periods, for example close to streams. To study effects of climate change, a complete model for net carbon gain (photosynthesis minus respiratory losses) was developed for an epiphytic lichen with intricate responses to light, hydration and temperature. Simulation responses in different climate scenarios revealed that projected climate change on a regional scale resulted in varied local scale responses. At the lighter, exposed sites of a forest, the growth responses were positive, but were potentially negative at darker sites with closed canopy. At the local scale, fluctuating hydration, summed irradiance when wet and Chlorophyll a are variables that predict lichen growth. However, at a landscape scale, these variables may be too detailed. We tested this for two terrestrial, mat-forming lichens and developed statistical models for lichen growth in the widest possible climatic gradient in northern Scandinavia, varying in light, temperature and precipitation. Light was the most important factor for high growth at the landscape scale, reaching saturation at a site openness of 40 %, equivalent to a basal tree area of 15 m2 ha -1 in this study. Thereafter, hydration was the next limiting factor, which could be well described by precipitation for one of the species. The simplest predictor was the normal temperature in July, which was negatively correlated with growth. It was apparent that the predictive variables and their power varied at different scales. However, light and hydration are limiting at all scales, particularly by light conditions when lichens are wet. This implies that ensuring that there is sufficient light below the forest canopy is crucial for lichen growth, especially for mat-forming lichens. Hydrophilic lichens may be better preserved in open habitats with long hydration periods. It was shown that models can be powerful and “easy to use” tools to predict lichen responses in various habitats and under different climate scenarios. Models can therefore help to identify suitable habitats with optimal growth conditions, which is very important for the conservation and management of lichens and their habitats. / Lavar kan kolonisera nästan alla terrestriska habitat i världen och är funktionellt viktiga i många ekosystem. Eftersom lavar är poikilohydriska (växelblöta), är deras aktiva tillväxtperioder begränsade till den tid då bålen är blöt från atmosfäriska vattenkällor, såsom regn, dimma och hög relativ fuktighet. Eftersom lavars vatteninnehåll varierar stort över tid är lavars tillväxt svårare att modellera jämfört med till exempel kärlväxter, med en mer jämn vattentillgång. Jag har utvecklat två fuktmodeller som förutsäger lavars vatteninnehåll i fält. Modellerna använder den atmosfäriska vattenpotentialen (Ψair), som erhålls från lufttemperatur och -fuktighet, antingen enbart eller i kombination med de artspecifika uppblötnings - och uttorkningshastigheterna. Genom att använda (Ψair) kan man förutsäga lavars vatteninnehåll från flera vattenkällor. Dessa modeller var mycket precisa för epifytiska lavar med en nära koppling till de atmosfäriska förhållandena, men fungerade mindre väl för mattlevande lavar med ett betydande gränsskikt. Fuktmodellen utvecklades ytterligare för att inkludera även fotosyntetisk aktivering av olika lavar, för att kunna jämföra deras aktivitet i olika mikroklimatiska scenarior. Vattenbalans och aktiveringshastighet hade stor effekt på på lavars aktivitet och var positivt relaterad till habitat med tillräckligt långa fuktperioder, till exempel habitat nära strömmande vatten. För att studera klimateffekter på lavar, utvecklade jag en total modell för nettoförvärv av kol (fotosyntes minus respiration) för en epifytisk lav med dess intrikata förhållande mellan ljus, fukt och temperatur. Simuleringar av modellen visade att lavens responser i förhållande till regionala klimatförändringar var kontrasterande på lokal nivå. Vid ljusa, öppna lokaler i skogen ökade tillväxten medan de potentiellt minskade vid mörka lokaler med ett mer slutet krontäcke. På den lokala skalan kan fluktuerande vatteninnehåll, summerat ljus när laven är blöt, och klorofyll a- innehåll förutsäga lavars tillväxt. Men, på en landskapsskala kan dessa variabler vara för detaljerade. Vi testade detta för två terrestriska, mattlevande lavar och utvecklade en statistisk modell för lavars tillväxt i en så stor klimatgradient som möjligt i norra Skandinavien genom att variera ljus, temperatur och nederbörd. Ljus var den viktigaste faktorn för att nå hög tillväxt på landskapsnivå där en mättnad nåddes vid 40 % öppenhet i skogen, som motsvarade en grundyta på 15 m2 ha -1 i den här studien. Fuktigheten var den näst viktigaste begränsande faktorn och kunde beskrivas väl med nederbörd för en av arterna. Den mest lättanvända faktorn var normaltemperaturen för juli månad, som i sin tur var negativt korrelerad till tillväxt. Det var tydligt att de prediktiva variablerna och deras förutsägande förmåga varierade med olika skalor. Ljus och fukt var begränsande på alla nivåer, speciellt av ljusförhållandena då lavarna är blöta. Detta innebär att tillräckligt höga ljusnivåer under krontäcket är avgörande för lavars tillväxt, speciellt mattlevande lavar. Hydrofila lavar torde bevaras bättre i öppna habitat med tillräckligt långa fuktperioder. Det var tydligt att modeller kan vara betydelsefulla och lättanvända verktyg för att förutsäga lavars responser i en bredd av habitat med olika mikroklimat. Modeller kan därför vara en hjälp för att identifiera lämpliga habitat med optimala tillväxtförhållanden och detta är viktigt för att bevara och sköta lavar och deras habitat.

Marion Island is situated in the South Indian Ocean and belongs to the sub-Antarctic island group, Prince Edward Islands. The islands in the sub-Antarctic have over the past few decades been exposed to a warmer and drier climate trend. The aim of this thesis is to achieve better understanding of the small-scale spatial and temporal variability between Azorella selago andthe surrounding microclimate. Due to the consequences of climate change, the interactions between Azorella selago, landforms and soil processes are important for the future of the terrestrial ecosystems in the sub-Antarctic. The theory part in this thesis describes different processes and features that are essential to understand the context of this thesis. The energy balance and the insolation is shown to be an important aspect when looking at the spatialvariability of the microclimate. The summary of the results in the thesis is based on temperature and moisture measurements within two grids. One on the east and one on the west side of the island The most important result from the measurements is that different weather conditions create different situations for the microclimate. The weather condition ‘sunny no wind’ created a high spatial variability in temperature on the ground, which was completely absent during overcast days. Temperature variability is highly dependent on cloud cover according to these results. Moisture changes also seem to be less weather dependent than temperaturechanges. The data provide a first confirmation that an increase in sunshine hours gives increased spatial variability in temperature (not moisture) and soil frost. An increase in spatial variability of the microclimate within small areas could give rise to an expansion in the patchiness of soil frost processes in the landscape. The representivity of single point measurements of ground surface temperature should be questioned. Patterns of areas with low moisture content within the grid correlate with points where measurements were taken on Azorella selago. The Azorella cushion could, according to the results of this thesis, be associated with dry areas within the grid. Azorella selago is thereby suggested to increase the spatial variability of moisture and also contribute to a locally drier microclimate. Moisture variability varies more between the east and west side of the island, than that it is weather dependent. Shaded areas show a pattern of lower temperature than for the other variables under sunny conditions. If more shaded areas are created by for example landforms like Azorella selago or solifluction deposits, the temperatures would probably be lower and also create a wider spatial variability. This study provides first data on the important interactions between Azorella selago and how it affects through spatial variability in micro-climate, ground frost potential and resulting soil disturbance by frost creep and solifluction.

Transporting cattle from southern Alberta into the United States (US) plays a substantial economic role in the western Canadian beef industry. Thermal environments within cattle transport trailers are dependent on ambient conditions, and if inadequately managed, can be a welfare concern. To effectively manage cattle transport, the environmental conditions throughout the livestock trailer must be understood. The objective of the present study was to investigate the trailer micro-climate and welfare during 5-paired commercial long-haul transports of slaughter cattle from Alberta, Canada to Washington State, US during summer months. In addition, the effect of compartment location and trailer porosity (8.7% vs 9.6%) on trailer micro-climate, shrink and core body temperature were also investigated during the warmest in-transit hour and stationary events. The compartment location had an effect on micro-climate variables where the upper compartment had greater (P < 0.05) temperature than the bottom deck compartments and relative humidity variables had the opposite effect for both the warmest in-transit hour and stationary events. There was also an effect of trailer porosity on micro-climate variables where it was generally warmer in the trailer with the higher porosity in the stationary event. Differences between trailers included 2 additional roof hatches on the trailer with lower side-wall porosity and lower internal temperatures, which could suggest the location of the trailer porosity, could be important for heat and moisture exchange during transit. The nose of the trailer with higher porosity had generally warmer internal conditions (larger T(trailer)°C and THI(trailer)) than the trailer with lower porosity. This study also found that the temperatures inside the trailer can be 10.5°C greater than ambient temperatures during stationary events and 9°C greater than ambient levels during the warmest in-transit hour. The average amount of per-animal weight loss was 4.3 0.3 % and was affected by trailer porosity and compartment, which followed the trends in thermal environment variables. The transit status (stationary or in-transit) and trailer porosity affected the vaginal core body temperature of the heifers in transit. The core body temperature was greater during stationary events for animals transported in the trailer with lower porosity. It is suggested that the lower side-wall porosity and/or the shape of perforation pattern could impair the movement of fresh air to the respiratory tract of heifers, thus impacting the main mechanism for dissipating heat. The difference in temperature from the trailer ceiling to the animal level was 3.38°C in the trailer with lower porosity (cooler at the ceiling) and 2.23°C in the trailer with the higher porosity. This relationship also had a compartment location effect that followed the micro-climate compartmental differences. This could suggest that excess heat in the trailer with the lower porosity, that also had lower overall temperatures, exited through roof hatches, while in the trailer with the higher porosity, the heat escaped through the side-wall perforations. This theory also supports the idea that the location of where the porosity is located on the trailer may be important to alleviating heat stress in summer months during transport. The results of this study also indicated that there was no difference in the location of the data logger plane (driver, middle passenger) and within the compartments (front, middle, back), suggesting that compartment location effect is substantial when considering micro-climate but temperatures within a compartment are mostly homogenous. The trip that had average ambient temperatures of 25.9 ± 6.06°C for the entire journey, had a temperature Humidity Index that was considered in the danger or emergency category according to the Livestock Weather Heat Index during 95% of the warmest in-transit hour. This suggests that during ambient temperatures of 25.9°C, both trailers used in this study did not have sufficient heat exchange to mitigate the risk of heat stress for cattle.

abstract: The spread of dengue worldwide currently places half of the world’s population at risk. In the absence of a dengue vaccine, control of the disease requires control of the mosquito species that transmit the virus. The most important of these is. Advances in research detailing the responsiveness of Aedes aegypti to small changes in climate enable the production of more sophisticated remote sensing and surveillance techniques for monitoring these populations. Close monitoring of global dengue activity and outbreaks likewise enables a greater specificity when determining to which human populations the virus is most likely to spread. There have been no locally acquired cases in Arizona to date, but the high abundance of Aedes aegypti in the Phoenix Metropolitan area raises concern within the Arizona Department of Health Services over the potential transmission of dengue in the city. This study develops a model that combines mosquito abundance, micro-climatic and demographic information to delineate regions in Phoenix that are most support transmission of dengue. The first chapter focuses on the impact that daytime high and low temperatures have on Aedes aegypti’s ability to become infectious with dengue. It argues that NDVI (normal difference vegetative index) imaging of the Phoenix area can be used to plot areas where mosquitoes are most likely to become competent vectors. The second chapter focuses on the areas in the city where mosquitoes are most likely to be exposed to the virus. Based on proximity to Phoenix and the high volume of traffic across the Arizona-Mexico border, I treat the Mexican state of Sonora as the source of infection. I combine these two analyses, micro-climatic and demographic, to produce maps of Phoenix that show the locations with the highest likelihood of transmission overall. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2016

A avaliação da interação reservatórios-atmosfera mostra-se limitada a estudos de grandes reservatórios, que visam analisar eventuais alterações na temperatura e umidade; identifica-se, portanto, a necessidade de estender estudos desta natureza a reservatórios menores. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa buscou avaliar, por meio de um transecto, o gradiente da temperatura e umidade absoluta na margem da Represa do Lobo, localizada em Itirapina-SP, de modo a determinar se a existência da represa altera os valores medidos na estação meteorológica do Centro de Recursos Hídricos e Ecologia Aplicada CRHEA, instalado nas proximidades. O transecto foi montado na área do CRHEA; ao longo dele, foram instalados sensores termopares tipo T para o registro das temperaturas de bulbo seco (Tbs) e bulbo úmido (Tbu), além de quatro dataloggers, para o armazenamento dos dados. A campanha de coleta foi realizada entre os meses de junho e setembro, período com o menor índice pluviométrico no ano, de modo a evitar alterações nos valores da umidade absoluta; os dados. No estudo, foi empregado o conceito de dias típicos experimentais, por apresentarem características semelhantes aos das Normais Climatológicas para a região e época do ano. Os dados foram analisados por meio do teste estatístico de Mann Whitney e gráficos Boxplot. A comparação estatística entre os psicrômetros revelou que a temperatura se manteve constante, com exceção de um gradiente de 1,5°C a 2°C verificado no 3° quartil dos Boxplot entre a Tbs1 e Tbs3. O mesmo ocorreu com a umidade absoluta, que apresentou variação de apenas 0,5 g/m³ entre dois dos psicrômetros. Conclui-se, portanto, que a metodologia utilizada não apontou evidências de que a presença da Represa do Lobo altere os valores da temperatura e umidade absoluta medidos na estação climatológica do CRHEA. Como recomendação para estudos posteriores cita-se a análise das movimentações das massas de ar, mais especificamente das plumas de umidade. / The assessment of the reservoir-atmosphere interaction seems to be limited to case studies of big reservoirs, that seek to analyze occasional alterations on temperature and humidity; one identifies, therefore, the need of extending such studies to smaller water bodies. The goal of this research is to evaluate, by means of a transect, the temperature gradient and absolute humidity at the Represa do Lobo, located between the cities of Itirapina and São Carlos, SP, in order to determine whether the presence of the reservoir exerts influence on the measurements performed at the meteorological station of the Center for Water Resources and Applied Ecology-CRHEA, installed nearby. The transect was installed in the CRHEA area. T-type thermocouple sensors were placed along its length, in order to record dry bulb (Tbs) and wet bulb (Tbu) temperatures; these data were stored in dataloggers. Data collection was conducted between June and September, period with the lowest rainfall in the year, so as to avoid changes in the values of absolute humidity. For data analysis, the concept of typical experimental days was used, because they have similar characteristics to the Normal Climatological for the region and time of the year. Data evaluation was performed using the Mann-Whitney test statistic and Boxplot graphs. The statistical comparison between psychrometers showed that temperature kept constant, except for a temperature gradient of 1.5°C to 2°C in the 3rd quartile of the Boxplot between Tbs1 and Tbs3. The same behavior was observed for absolute humidity: only a slight variation of 0.5 g/m³ was perceived between two psychrometers. It is therefore concluded that the adopted methodology did not point out evidence that the Represa do Lobo alters the values of temperature and absolute humidity measured at the CRHEA meteorological station. Suggestions for future studies include the assessment of air masses, more specifically the humidity plumes.

The objective of this PhD project is to develop novel membranes and desiccants that would help develop a second generation vacuum desiccant cooling (VDC) garment that is efficient, robust, durable and wearer-friendly. It was found that properly chosen support material could improve both mechanical strength and vapor flux for flat sheet polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), due to improved membrane structure and structure integrity that enhanced vapour mass transfer. Super solid desiccants were developed using a super absorbent polymer (SAP), which are sodium polyacrylate granules, as the host matrices to harbour LiCl. Furthermore, a novel desiccant based on loading LiCl in to hydrophobic hollow fibre membranes and therefore called membrane based desiccant fiber (MDF), was developed and demonstrated to be suitable for VDC. Heat and mass transfer for vapor absorption in MDF were analyzed. These membranes and desiccants, although developed for application in VDC, may also found applications in other fields such as water treatment, air conditioning, and natural gas dehumidification. Finally, based on the newly developed membranes and desiccants, three conceptual designs of second generation VDC garments are proposed.

Sustainability has been at the centre of global attention for decades. One of the most challenging areas toward sustainability is the agricultural sector. Here, the commercial greenhouse is one of the most effective cultivation methods with a yield per cultivated area up to 10 times higher than for open land farming. However, this improvement comes with a higher energy demand. Therefore, the significance of energy conservation and management in the commercial greenhouse has been emphasized to enable cost efficient crop production. This Doctoral Thesis presents an assessment of energy pathways for improved greenhouse performance by reducing the direct energy inputs and by conserving energy throughout the system. A reference theoretical model for analyzing the energy performance of a greenhouse has been developed using TRNSYS. This model is verified using real data from a conventional greenhouse in Stockholm (Ulriksdal). With this, a number of energy saving opportunities (e.g. double glazing) were assessed one by one with regards to the impact on the annual heating, cooling and electricity demand. Later, a multidimensional energy saving method, the “Closed Greenhouse”, was introduced. The closed greenhouse is an innovative concept with a combination of many energy saving opportunities. In the ideal closed greenhouse configuration, there are no ventilation windows, and the excess heat, in both sensible and latent forms, needs to be stored using a seasonal thermal energy storage. A short term (daily) storage can be used to eliminate the daily mismatch in the heating and cooling demand as well as handling the hourly fluctuations in the demand. The key conclusion form this work is that the innovative concept “closed greenhouse” can be cost-effective, independent of fossil fuel and technically feasible regardless of climate condition. For the Nordic climate case of Sweden, more than 800 GWh can be saved annually, by converting all conventional greenhouses into this concept. Climate change mitigation will follow, as a key impact towards sustainability. In more detail, the results show that the annual heating demand in an ideal closed greenhouse can be reduced to 60 kWhm-2 as compared to 300 kWhm-2 in the conventional greenhouse. However, by considering semi-closed or partly closed greenhouse concepts, practical implementation appears advantageous. The required external energy input for heating purpose can still be reduced by 25% to 75% depending on the fraction of closed area. The payback period time for the investment in a closed greenhouse varies between 5 and 8 years depending on the thermal energy storage design conditions. Thus, the closed greenhouse concept has the potential to be cost effective. Following these results, energy management pathways have been examined based on the proposed thermo-economic assessment. From this, it is clear that the main differences between the suggested scenarios are the type of energy source, as well as the cooling and dehumidification strategies judged feasible, and that these are very much dependent on the climatic conditions Finally, by proposing the “solar blind” concept as an active system, the surplus solar radiation can be absorbed by PVT panels and stored in thermal energy storage for supplying a portion of the greenhouse heating demand. In this concept, the annual external energy input for heating purpose in a commercial closed greenhouse with solar blind is reduced by 80%, down to 62 kWhm-2 (per unit of greenhouse area), as compared to a conventional configuration. Also the annual total useful heat gain and electricity generation, per unit of greenhouse area, by the solar blind in this concept is around 20 kWhm-2 and 80 kWhm-2, respectively. The generated electricity can be used for supplying the greenhouse power demand for artificial lighting and other devices. Typically, the electricity demand for a commercial greenhouse is about 170 kWhm-2. Here, the effect of “shading” on the crop yield is not considered, and would have to be carefully assessed in each case. / Hållbarhet har legat i fokus under decennier. En av de mest utmanande områdena är jordbrukssektorn, där. kommersiella växthus är ett av de mest effektiva odlingsalternativen med en avkastning per odlad yta upp till 10 gånger högre än för jordbruk på friland. Dock kommer denna förbättring med ett högre energibehov. Därför är energieffektivisering i kommersiella växthus viktig för att möjliggöra kostnadseffektiv odling. Denna doktorsavhandling presenterar en utvärdering av olika energiscenarios för förbättring av växthusens prestanda genom att minska extern energitillförsel och spara energi genom i systemet som helhet. För studien har en teoretisk modell för analys av energiprestanda i ett växthus utvecklats med hjälp av TRNSYS. Denna modell har verifierats med hjälp av verkliga data från ett konventionellt växthus i Stockholm (Ulriksdal). Med denna modell har ett antal energibesparingsåtgärder (som dubbelglas) bedömts med hänsyn till de totala värme-, kyl-och elbehoven. En flerdimensionell metod för energibesparing, det s.k. "slutna växthuset", introduceras. Det slutna växthuset är ett innovativt koncept som är en kombination av flera energibesparingsmöjligheter. I den ideala slutna växthuskonfigurationen finns det inga ventilationsfönster och värmeöverskott, både sensibel och latent, lagras i ett energilager för senare användning. Daglig lagring kan användas för att eliminera den dagliga obalansen i värme-och kylbehovet. Ett säsongslager introduceras för att möjliggöra användandet av sommarvärme för uppvärmning vintertid. Den viktigaste slutsatsen från detta arbete är att ett sådant innovativt koncept, det "slutna växthuset" kan vara kostnadseffektiv, oberoende av fossila bränslen och tekniskt genomförbart oavsett klimatförhållanden. För det svenska klimatet kan mer än 800 GWh sparas årligen, genom att konvertera alla vanliga växthus till detta koncept. Det årliga värmebehovet i ett idealiskt slutet växthus kan reduceras till 60 kWhm-2 jämfört med 300 kWhm-2 i ett konventionellt växthus. Energibesparingen kommer även att minska miljöpåverkan. Även ett delvis slutet växthus, där en del av ytan är slutet, eller där viss kontrollerad ventilation medges, minskar energibehovet samtidigt som praktiska fördelar har kunnat påvisas. Ett delvis slutet växthus kan minska energibehovet för uppvärmning med mellan 25% och 75% beroende på andelen sluten yta. En framräknad återbetalningstid för investeringen i ett slutet växthus varierar mellan 5 och 8 år beroende på design av energilagringssystemet. Sålunda har det slutna växthuskonceptet potential att vara kostnadseffektiv. Mot bakgrund av dessa lovande resultat har sedan scenarios för energy management analyserats med hänsyn till termo-ekonomiska faktorer. Från detta är det tydligt att de viktigaste skillnaderna mellan de föreslagna scenarierna är den typ av energikälla, samt kyl- och avfuktningsstrategier som används, och dessa val är mycket beroende av klimatförhållandena. Slutligen, föreslås ett nytt koncept, en s.k. "solpersienn", vilket är ett aktivt system där överskottet av solstrålningen absorberas av PVT-paneler och lagras i termiskenergilager för att tillföra en del av växthuseffekten värmebehov. I detta koncept minskar den årliga externa energitillförseln för uppvärmning i ett slutet växthus med 80%, ner till 62 kWhm-2. Den totala värme- och elproduktionen, med konceptet "solpersienn" blir cirka 20 kWhm-2 respektive 80 kWhm-2. Elproduktion kan användas för artificiell belysning och annan elektrisk utrustning i växthuset. / <p>QC 20130910</p>