February-April (FMA) temperature at Foping (1879-1989) and July-August (JA) precipitation at Xian (1895–1988) have been reconstructed using total ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) from trees in the Qinling Mountains, at the northern limit of the East Asian monsoon, in central China. The Xian JA precipitation reconstruction, albeit short, represents the first well-replicated, crossdated dendroclimatic reconstruction of summer monsoon precipitation for this region. Reconstructed Xian precipitation shows significant positive relationships with historical evidence from the region. The key feature of the precipitation reconstruction is prolonged summer drought during the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Foping reconstruction displays warmer-than-average FMA temperatures during this time period. These exploratory reconstructions, along with a previous reconstruction from Huashan, demonstrate the complexity of attempting dendroclimatic reconstructions from this region. Our results indicate that further attempts to locate long-lived conifers from here can result in an extended well-calibrated and verified reconstruction of summer monsoon precipitation.

In the contemporary world, there has been a great proliferation of using smart-phone devices and broadband wireless networks, the young generation using mobile gaming market is tremendously increasing because of the enormous entertainment features. Mobile cloud gaming is a promising technology that overcome the implicit restrictions such as computational capacity and limited battery life. GamingAnywhere is an open source cloud gaming system which is used in this thesis and calculate the energy consumption of mobile device when using GamingAnywhere. The aim of the thesis is to measure the power consumption of the mobile device when the game is streamed from the GamingAnywhere server to GamingAnywhere client. Total power consumption is calculated for four resolutions by using the hardware monsoon power monitoring tool and the individual components of mobile device such as CPU, LCD and Audio power are calculated by software PowerTutor. The memory usage of the mobile device is also calculated by using Trepn Profiler application when using GamingAnywhere. Based on the obtained results, it was found that there is an increase in power consumption and memory usage of the mobile device on client side when the resolution is varying from low to high. After mapping the results of the hardware with the software, it was identified that there is very small difference between the hardware results and software results from which we could estimate that the software PowerTutor can be used instead of hardware Monsoon power tool as the software is capable of calculating the power consumption of individual components of mobile device

Changes in monsoon patterns not only affect ecosystems and societies but also the global climate system in terms of heat energy and humidity transfer from the equator to higher latitudes. However, understanding the mechanisms that drive monsoon variability on longer timescales remains a challenge, partly due to sparse paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic data. This thesis, which contributes new hydroclimate data sets for the Asian monsoon region, seeks to advance our understanding of the mechanisms that contributed to Southeast Asian summer monsoon variability in the past. Moreover, it explores how past climatic conditions may have impacted societies and ecosystems. In this study lake sediment and peat sequences from northeastern and southern Thailand have been investigated using organic geochemistry, and more specifically the stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of specific biomarkers (n-alkanes, botryococcenes, and highly branched isoprenoids). The hydrogen isotopic composition of leaf waxes (δDwax) in Thailand was shown to relate to the amount of precipitation and the extent of the El Niño Southern Oscillation.  Higher values of δDwax can be interpreted as reflecting relatively dry climatic conditions, whereas lower values relate to wetter conditions. The hydroclimate reconstruction for northeastern Thailand, based on the sedimentary record of Lake Kumphawapi, suggests higher moisture availability between ca. 10,700 cal. BP and ca. 7,000 cal. BP likely related to a strengthened early Holocene summer monsoon. Moisture availability decreased during the mid-Holocene, but seems to have increased again around 2,000 years ago and has fluctuated since. The high-resolution Lake Pa Kho peat sequence, which allows for a sub-centennial reconstruction of moisture availability, indicates that the wettest period occurred between ca. 700 and ca. 1000 CE whereas driest intervals were from ca. 50 BCE to ca. 700 CE and from ca. 1300 to ca. 1500 CE. Hydroclimate comparison of Pa Kho’s δDwax record with other paleoclimate records from the Asian-Pacific region suggests that El Niño-like conditions led to Northeastern Thailand being wetter, whereas La Niña-like conditions led to drier conditions. Regional hydroclimate variability also greatly influenced the Angkor Civilization, which flourished between ca. 845 and ca. 1450 CE. The shift from drier to wetter conditions coincided in time with the rise of the Angkor Civilization and likely favored the intense agriculture needed to sustain the empire. The gradual decline in moisture availability, which started after ca. 1000 years CE, could have stretched the hydrological capacity of Angkor to its limit. It is suggested that Angkor’s population resorted to unconventional water sources, such as wetlands, as population growth continued, but summer monsoon rains weakened. The 150-year long record of Lake Nong Thale Prong in southern Thailand offers insights into decadal-scale hydroclimatic changes that can be connected to the instrumental record. δDwax-based hydroclimate was drier from ~1857 to 1916 CE and ~1970 to 2010 CE and wetter from ~1916 to 1969 CE. Drier climatic conditions between ~1857 and 1916 CE coincided with oligotrophic lake waters and a dominance of the green algae Botryococcus braunii. Higher rainfall between ~1916 and 1969 CE concurred with an increase in diatom blooms while eutrophic lake water conditions were established between ~1970–2010 CE. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p> / Monsoon project

My research focuses on reconstructing past climate in southern Arizona using cave deposits called speleothems. However, this necessitates a broader perspective than simply a geochemical time series, and therefore, I also investigate modern cave systems using a combination of modeling and observational datasets. Finally, cave deposits are fundamentally non-renewable resources, and sampling for past climate reconstruction can be destructive, unlike other cave uses. My last investigation is focused on developing possible best practice recommendations for paleoclimate scientists and other cave stakeholders moving forward. We developed two new stalagmite records of past climate variability in southern Arizona over the past 7000 years. Past climate reconstruction from two caves (Cave of the Bells and Fort Huachuca Cave) highlights insolation control of southern Arizona hydroclimate from 7000-2000 years before present. Additionally, comparison between two stalagmites with different seasonal sensitivities uncovers a few eras of multi-decade long droughts in southern Arizona, which align with other regional reconstructions of past climates and elucidate forcings on Southwest paleoclimate as emergent from both external (insolation) and internal climate variability in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. Although the oxygen isotopic signal of cave calcite in speleothems is complex, agreement with these other records indicates that the speleothem records from these caves primarily record a climate signal.Modeling and monitoring of modern caves both helps us interpret paleoclimate records and enhances our understanding of cave systems in their own right. Modeling of Cave of the Bells dripwaters demonstrates the effect of storage and mixing on the dripwater oxygen isotope signal; non-climate processes can imprint on dripwater variability on multidecadal timescales. Monitoring shows that on very small spatial scales, every cave is different, and even sites within the same cave respond uniquely to surface climate. Most notably, calcite oxygen isotopic composition, used to reconstruct past climate, shows seasonal variability unrelated to dripwater and surface rainfall oxygen isotope variability. Substantial oxygen isotope disequilibrium is identified at numerous caves sites in southern Arizona, and this understanding aligns with a growing number of cave studies that demonstrate the long-held assumption of isotopic equilibrium in cave systems may not always be valid or that the way in which we define isotopic equilibrium insufficiently captures the variety of processes controlling the oxygen isotopic composition of speleothems. Overall, however, monitoring can identify stalagmites that are more sensitive to surface climate and less sensitive to these in-cave processes by identifying sites with dripwater variability responses to surface rainfall variability and sites that precipitate close to oxygen isotopic equilibrium. Finally, a major missing component in speleothem research is the fact that speleothems take thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of years to form. They are non-renewable resources on human timescales, and habitat for myriad microbes that have yet to be identified. Removal of speleothems for paleoclimate research is one of the only destructive uses of these deposits. With that in mind, I also analyze current methods of collecting speleothems and develop a framework based on two surveys of scientists and stakeholders to assist scientists and managers when evaluating potential methods of incorporating cave conservation into the speleothem sampling process. Thus, I approach caves from a variety of angles and timescales, from the past through the present to the future, illuminating caves as complex scientific and social systems.

The observed summertime drying over Northern Central India (NCI) during the latter half of the twentieth century is not reproduced by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model ensemble average. At the same time, the spread between precipitation trends from individual model realizations is large, indicating that internal variability potentially plays an important role in explaining the observed trend. Here we show that the drying is indeed related to the observed 1950–1999 positive trend of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index and that the relationship is even stronger for a simpler index (S1). Adjusting the CMIP5-simulated precipitation trends to account for the difference between the observed and simulated S1 trend increases the original multimodel average NCI drying trend from −0.09 ± 0.31 mm d−1 (50 years)−1 to −0.54 ± 0.40 mm d−1 (50 years)−1. Thus, our estimate of the 1950–1999 NCI drying associated with Pacific decadal variability is of similar magnitude as our previous CMIP5-based estimate of the drying due to anthropogenic aerosol. The drying (moistening) associated with increasing (decreasing) S1 can partially be attributed to a southeastward (northwestward) shift of the boundary between ascent and descent affecting NCI. This shift of the ascent region strongly affects NCI but not Southeast Asia and south China. The average spread between individual model realizations is only slightly reduced when adjusting for S1 as smaller-scale variability also plays an important role.

Thesis advisor: Corinne I. Wong / Investigating controls on past variability of South American hydroclimate is critical to assessing its response to future warming scenarios. δ¹⁸O records from South America offer insight into past variability of the South American Monsoon System (SAMS). The controls on precipitation δ¹⁸O values, however, can be decoupled from precipitation amount and thereby limit investigations of variability in local moisture conditions. Here we use a principle components analysis to assess the coherence of speleothem and lake core Holocene δ¹⁸O records in tropical South America to evaluate the extent to which δ¹⁸O variability reflects changes in SAMS intensity at different sites across the region. The main mode of variability across Holocene δ¹⁸O records (PC1) closely tracks austral summertime insolation, consistent with existing work. PC1 is strongly expressed at sites towards the periphery of the continent, while variability at interior sites bear little similarity that implicates controls, in addition to monsoon intensity, on these δ¹⁸O records. Further, we develop speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr records spanning the Holocene from Tamboril Cave (Brazilian Highlands), Paraíso Cave (eastern Amazon Basin), Jaraguá Cave (Mato Grosso Plateau), and Botuverá Cave (Atlantic coastal plain) to investigate coupling between reconstructed monsoon variability and local moisture conditions. Speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr variability is interpreted as a proxy of local moisture conditions, reflecting the degree of water-rock interaction with the cave host rock as driven by variations in water residence time. Speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr records from all the sites, except Botuverá cave, do not co-vary with PC1, suggesting that local moisture conditions do not necessary follow variations in monsoon intensity at these interior sites. These speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr records, however, generally suggest dry mid-Holocene conditions, consistent with interpretations of other paleo-moisture records in the region. These results highlight that dynamics, in addition to SAMS variability, might influence δ¹⁸O variability as well as local moisture conditions at interior sites, and highlight the need for δ¹⁸O-independent reconstructions of moisture conditions. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Weather – cold, wet, hot and windy – pervades life, material and social. So present and obvious as to provide a challenge for research, material though ephemeral too, weather breaks boundaries and refuses categorisation. While night becomes day, the cold season warms up over weeks and annual patterns are changing on a scale of years, practices in the face of weather transitions are themselves shifting. Based on ten months of fieldwork in the small village of Gau in the Pahari Indian Himalayas this thesis interrogates the saliencies and permeations of weather in people’s lives. It investigates how people intra-act (Barad 2007) with the weather, though practices, infrastructures and relationships with others. My approach argues for the validity of weather as a means by which to learn about socio-material lives. Pahari villagers live and act within the weather that moves around them. They are subject to, but also modify, their thermal environment. Through housing, clothing and tools such as the fire and the fan they affect the impact of the weather as it meets their bodies, but also daily patterns of movement are coloured by weather considerations. This work views weather in relation to health practices (such as refraining from working during the rain so as not to fall ill), for care of others (such as domestic bovines), for house-building and hospitable relationship-building among neighbours, for negotiation of landslide-fraught access roads to elsewhere and for understandings of pollution in the air. This focus on weather is intended to connect dots for people working on climate change, both within and beyond anthropology, and to contribute to discussions in areas including human-animal relations, health and illness and housing.

A monção indiana está diretamente relacionada a inversão sazonal dos ventos controlada pela migração latitudinal da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (ITCZ). Em longo período os sistemas de monções são fortalecidos em resposta a períodos interglaciais (quentes e húmidos) e enfraquecidos em resposta a períodos glaciais (frios e secos). Durante os últimos 500 mil anos o clima global tem oscilado com uma periodicidade de &#8764;100 mil anos sendo controlado principalmente pela forçante orbital. Dados de testemunhos do Mar da Arábia, mostram que o aporte de sedimentos fluviais ocorre principalmente na parte noroeste com valores reduzidos à sudeste onde está localizada a República das Maldivas, que compreendem uma região distante o bastante das fontes fluviais de sedimento, sendo um local ideal para a obtenção de registros de sedimentos eólicos. Dados de satélite da pluma de poeira nas quatro diferentes estações do ano mostram que as Maldivas estão fortemente sob a influência da pluma de poeira relacionada a monção de inverno com ventos vindos de nordeste, tornando esta, uma região ideal parra o estudo das condições de aridez na área fonte na massa de terra indiano-asiática. Aqui nós apresentamos dados não destrutivos em alta resolução da Fluorescência do Raio X (XRF) e de magnetismos ambiental e de rocha dos vinte metros superiores do testemunho U1471, IODP EXP. 359, compreendendo um registro continuo de 500 mil anos. As boas correlações entre os diferentes elementos associados aos sedimentos terrígenos indicam que as variações nos dados de Fe, K, Al e Ti são robustas, sendo destes, o Fe, o elemento que menos apresentou ruído. Com a premissa de que, o aumento na extensão de regiões áridas na área fonte durante períodos frios está relacionada com o aumento na quantidade de elementos terrígenos que fluíram para as Maldivas, construímos um modelo de idade correlacionando os dados de Fe com os dados de &#948;18O, a alta resolução dos nossos dados e a boa correlação com os dados de &#948;18O permitiram identificar os Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 ao 14. Dados de próxies paleoclimáticos como as razões, Al/Si, Fe/K e Sr/Ca indicam eventos abruptos extremamente húmidos em especial durante a transição MIS 5-6 sucedendo em poucas centenas de anos o evento Heinrich 11 (H11). Os dados de magnetismos ambiental e de rocha apontam para forte diagênese redutora de magnetita, formando minerais compostos de sulfeto de ferro, associada com a transição sulfato metano (SMT) na coluna sedimentar, abaixo desta transição a resposta magnética fica extremamente reduzida, mas ainda conserva as variações do sinal anterior a diagênese. Dados de First Order Reverse Curve (FORC) e de X Ray Absorption Near the Edge Structure (XANES) apontam a presença de magnetita bacteriana no topo do registro, mas devido ao caráter redutor do sedimento coluna abaixo e ao tamanho extremamente reduzido, Single Domain (SD), da magnetita bacteriana, este sinal está restrito ao topo do registro. / The Indian monsoon is directly related to the seasonal inversion of the winds driven by the latitudinal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Over a long term, monsoon systems are strengthened in response to interglacial periods (hot and humid) and weakened in response to glacial periods (cold and dry). Over the last 500 thousand years the global climate has oscillated with a periodicity of &#8764;100 thousand years being controlled mainly by the orbital forcing. Data from the Arabian Sea cores show that the contribution of fluvial sediments occurs mainly in the northwestern part with reduced values to the southeast where the Republic of the Maldives is located, which comprise a region far enough from the fluvial sediment sources, being an excellent place for the obtaining records of dust. Satellite data of the dust in the four different seasons of the year show that the Maldives are strongly influenced by the winter monsoon with north-easterly winds, making this an ideal region for the study of arid conditions in the source area in the Indian-Asian landmass. Here we present non-destructive high-resolution X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and, environmental and rock magnetisms data from the upper twenty meters of the U1471, IODP EXP. 359, comprising a continuous record of 500 thousand years. The good correlations between the different elements associated to the terrigenous sediments indicate that the variations in the Fe, K, Al and Ti data are robust, of which Fe is the least noise element. With the premise that the increase in the extent of arid regions in the source area during cold periods is related to the increase in the amount of terrigenous elements that flowed into the Maldives, we constructed an age model by correlating the Fe data with the data of &#948;18O, the high resolution of our data and the good correlation with the data of &#948;18O allowed to identify the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 to 14. Paleoclimatic proxy data as the reasons, Al / Si, Fe / K and Sr / Ca indicate extremely humid abrupt events, especially during the MIS 5-6 transition succeeding in a few hundred years the event Heinrich 11 (H11). Environmental and rock magnetism data point to strong magnetite reduction diagenesis, forming minerals composed of iron sulphide, associated with the methane sulphate transition (SMT) in the sedimentary column, below this transition the magnetic response is extremely reduced, but still conserved the variations of the pre-diagenesis signal. First Order Reverse Curve (FORC) and X Ray Absorption Near the Edge (XANES) data indicate the presence of bacterial magnetite at the top of the core, but due to the reduced character of the sediment column below and the extremely small size, Single Domain (SD), of bacterial magnetite, this signal is restricted to the top.

A monção indiana está diretamente relacionada a inversão sazonal dos ventos controlada pela migração latitudinal da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (ITCZ). Em longo período os sistemas de monções são fortalecidos em resposta a períodos interglaciais (quentes e húmidos) e enfraquecidos em resposta a períodos glaciais (frios e secos). Durante os últimos 500 mil anos o clima global tem oscilado com uma periodicidade de &#8764;100 mil anos sendo controlado principalmente pela forçante orbital. Dados de testemunhos do Mar da Arábia, mostram que o aporte de sedimentos fluviais ocorre principalmente na parte noroeste com valores reduzidos à sudeste onde está localizada a República das Maldivas, que compreendem uma região distante o bastante das fontes fluviais de sedimento, sendo um local ideal para a obtenção de registros de sedimentos eólicos. Dados de satélite da pluma de poeira nas quatro diferentes estações do ano mostram que as Maldivas estão fortemente sob a influência da pluma de poeira relacionada a monção de inverno com ventos vindos de nordeste, tornando esta, uma região ideal parra o estudo das condições de aridez na área fonte na massa de terra indiano-asiática. Aqui nós apresentamos dados não destrutivos em alta resolução da Fluorescência do Raio X (XRF) e de magnetismos ambiental e de rocha dos vinte metros superiores do testemunho U1471, IODP EXP. 359, compreendendo um registro continuo de 500 mil anos. As boas correlações entre os diferentes elementos associados aos sedimentos terrígenos indicam que as variações nos dados de Fe, K, Al e Ti são robustas, sendo destes, o Fe, o elemento que menos apresentou ruído. Com a premissa de que, o aumento na extensão de regiões áridas na área fonte durante períodos frios está relacionada com o aumento na quantidade de elementos terrígenos que fluíram para as Maldivas, construímos um modelo de idade correlacionando os dados de Fe com os dados de &#948;18O, a alta resolução dos nossos dados e a boa correlação com os dados de &#948;18O permitiram identificar os Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 ao 14. Dados de próxies paleoclimáticos como as razões, Al/Si, Fe/K e Sr/Ca indicam eventos abruptos extremamente húmidos em especial durante a transição MIS 5-6 sucedendo em poucas centenas de anos o evento Heinrich 11 (H11). Os dados de magnetismos ambiental e de rocha apontam para forte diagênese redutora de magnetita, formando minerais compostos de sulfeto de ferro, associada com a transição sulfato metano (SMT) na coluna sedimentar, abaixo desta transição a resposta magnética fica extremamente reduzida, mas ainda conserva as variações do sinal anterior a diagênese. Dados de First Order Reverse Curve (FORC) e de X Ray Absorption Near the Edge Structure (XANES) apontam a presença de magnetita bacteriana no topo do registro, mas devido ao caráter redutor do sedimento coluna abaixo e ao tamanho extremamente reduzido, Single Domain (SD), da magnetita bacteriana, este sinal está restrito ao topo do registro. / The Indian monsoon is directly related to the seasonal inversion of the winds driven by the latitudinal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Over a long term, monsoon systems are strengthened in response to interglacial periods (hot and humid) and weakened in response to glacial periods (cold and dry). Over the last 500 thousand years the global climate has oscillated with a periodicity of &#8764;100 thousand years being controlled mainly by the orbital forcing. Data from the Arabian Sea cores show that the contribution of fluvial sediments occurs mainly in the northwestern part with reduced values to the southeast where the Republic of the Maldives is located, which comprise a region far enough from the fluvial sediment sources, being an excellent place for the obtaining records of dust. Satellite data of the dust in the four different seasons of the year show that the Maldives are strongly influenced by the winter monsoon with north-easterly winds, making this an ideal region for the study of arid conditions in the source area in the Indian-Asian landmass. Here we present non-destructive high-resolution X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and, environmental and rock magnetisms data from the upper twenty meters of the U1471, IODP EXP. 359, comprising a continuous record of 500 thousand years. The good correlations between the different elements associated to the terrigenous sediments indicate that the variations in the Fe, K, Al and Ti data are robust, of which Fe is the least noise element. With the premise that the increase in the extent of arid regions in the source area during cold periods is related to the increase in the amount of terrigenous elements that flowed into the Maldives, we constructed an age model by correlating the Fe data with the data of &#948;18O, the high resolution of our data and the good correlation with the data of &#948;18O allowed to identify the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 to 14. Paleoclimatic proxy data as the reasons, Al / Si, Fe / K and Sr / Ca indicate extremely humid abrupt events, especially during the MIS 5-6 transition succeeding in a few hundred years the event Heinrich 11 (H11). Environmental and rock magnetism data point to strong magnetite reduction diagenesis, forming minerals composed of iron sulphide, associated with the methane sulphate transition (SMT) in the sedimentary column, below this transition the magnetic response is extremely reduced, but still conserved the variations of the pre-diagenesis signal. First Order Reverse Curve (FORC) and X Ray Absorption Near the Edge (XANES) data indicate the presence of bacterial magnetite at the top of the core, but due to the reduced character of the sediment column below and the extremely small size, Single Domain (SD), of bacterial magnetite, this signal is restricted to the top.

The Kuroshio, one of the most important western boundary currents of world, controls modern hydrology conditions of the East China Sea (ECS) and carries warm and saline water to high latitudes. Previous researches mentioned that the Kuroshio might change its flow path and volume in the ECS by East Asia monsoon (EAM), Equatorial climate conditions, or global sea level change during glacials. However, shifting or not of the Kuroshio out of the Okinawa Trough during Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is still in debate. In this study, records derived from multi-proxies, include of Mg/Ca-based paleotemperatures and stable isotopes and foraminiferal census data, of core GH08-2004 was conducted for comparing with records derived from core MD012404 to understand the possible changes of the Kuroshio in the ESC since 26 ka. Our comparing results reveal that the surface hydrological environments have no obvious difference between eastern and western sides of the Ryukyu Arc and imply that the Kuroshio might not shifted outside of the OT during LGM. Otherwise, our reconstructed temperatures, oxygen isotopes and foraminiferal assemblages infer that the flowing volume of the Kuroshio was gradually increased since 19 ka associated with rising sea level. Thus we believe that emerged terrain caused by shallow sea level may be an important factor controlling the flowing path of the Kuroshio. In this study, differences of paleotemperatures and oxygen isotopes between G. ruber and N. dutertrei, surface and subsurface dweller, were decreased at the Holocene, whereas the delta values of carbon isotopes were larger meanwhile. This descrapncy implies that the East Asian winter and summer monsoons were enhanced synchronously.