Lens on Climate Change: Making Climate Meaningful Through Student-Produced Videos

Learning about climate change is tangible when it addresses impacts that can be observed close to home. In this program, sixty-four diverse middle and high school students produced videos about locally relevant climate change topics. Graduate and undergraduate students provided mentorship. The program engaged students in research and learning about climate change, and sparked their interest in science careers. Evaluation results showed that students were highly motivated by the experience, developed a genuine interest in their science topic, learned about the scientific process, and developed twenty-first century skills. The program provided a unique and authentic approach to science learning and communication.     

Current Trends in Climate Change in Yakutia

The spatial distribution patterns of climatic changes in Yakutia are considered. For 26 meteorological stations of Yakutia we calculated the linear trend coefficients of climatic characteristics: air temperature (mean annual, January and July temperatures) and the mean annual amount of atmospheric precipitation from 1966 to 2016. Maps of climate change trends were compiled from linear trend coefficients. A spatial analysis of the zonal (regional) peculiarities of the climate of Yakutia has been carried out. An increase in air temperature was established for the 50-year period under consideration. It was found that the annual values of the air temperature trend are positive and, on average, a characteristic trend change interval is 0.3 to 0.6 °C/10 yr. Most of the meteorological stations recorded trends of air temperature with maximum values in winter and minimum values in summer. It was determined that the values of the trends in annual precipitation show different directions, and positive trends occur on more than 70% of the territory of Yakutia. Their maximum corresponds to the mountain-taiga regions of Southern Yakutia. Negative trends in precipitation with values of up to–15 mm/10 yr. are observed in tundra landscapes. The findings show that different regions of Yakutia respond differently to climate change. The trend of an increase in mean annual temperature is largely due to the rise in temperatures during the winter months. The rise in air temperature in Yakutia may be part of global warming. Over the last 50 years there has been an increase in the amount of precipitation in Yakutia as a whole.     

洛川地区倒数第二次间冰期气候变化研究

洛川地区倒数第二次间冰期磁化率与孢粉资料分析表明： 248.1~236.1 ka BP气候温暖湿润,236.1~215.4 ka BP气候变得相对干冷;215.4~188.7 ka BP为该时期最湿热的阶段,其年均温比现今高5 ℃左右,年均降水量高300 mm左右。洛川地区气候变化与全球性气候变化具有一致性,但也存在地区差异。S2-1包括孢粉Ⅴ、Ⅵ带,对应于MIS7a的湿热期,S2-2包括孢粉带Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ,对应于MIS7b~7d气候转为干冷期,S2-3与孢粉带Ⅰ和MIS7e相一致,其中在S2-2阶段,223.2~218.7 ka BP时期的增温事件与孢粉Ⅲ带和MIS7c相对应。黄土高原地区各剖面磁化率特征表现出极高的一致性,而与东部沿海地区存在着一些差异,原因可能是季风三角的不同地区受夏季风的影响强弱不同造成的。     

气候变化与多维度可持续城市化

全球大规模城市化和气候变化已是不争的事实,这是全人类需要共同面对和关注的突出问题。当前对于两者之间的复杂关系以及城市化进程如何科学应对气候变化并不清晰,从科学、管理到实践都需要进一步加强探究,以实现全球和区域可持续发展。本文首先给出全球大规模城市化和气候变化发生的基本事实,综述归纳城市化与气候变化的相互影响以及可能机制,城市化导致热岛效应、降水分配不均以及极端天气,并具有局地—区域—全球多尺度叠加效应,加剧了全球气候变化问题;气候变化对城市化的影响主要表现为能源消费变化、死亡率与传染病传播、海平面上升、极端天气对基础设施的破坏、水资源短缺等方面。简要梳理相关的国际研究和行动联盟,从城市化的4个关键维度：人口、土地、经济和社会视角出发,提出适应与减缓气候变化的多维度可持续城市化的分析框架。呼吁加强自然与人文学科交叉,将城市化等人类活动纳入地—气系统,探究人—地—气复杂耦合过程,从城市化为代表的人类活动角度的适应与减缓,或许是应对气候变化的最关键和最现实的路径。     

The Hegemony of Global Politics: News Coverage of Climate Change in a Small Country

Researching media coverage of climate change may shed light on the different configurations of global and domestic factors affecting journalism and politics. This article analyzes climate change coverage in Portugal from 2007 to 2014 in comparison with 14 other countries. It shows that the Portuguese press tends to reproduce the global political agenda on climate change, mainly focusing on international events associated with global political decision-making processes, instead of providing a domesticated coverage, as observed in other countries. National and local levels of action are thus obscured. The interplay between global and domestic factors—including characteristics of Portugal’s press and politics, such as national political leaders’ lack of mobilization and communication on climate change, media’s deference to powerful sources, and reliance on international news feeds—creates the conditions for global politics to play an hegemonic role in media representations, which is likely to influence public engagement with climate change.     

常量元素记录的毛乌素沙地东南缘全新世气候变化

毛乌素沙地处于中国季风边缘的半干旱区,对气候变化响应敏感,是研究过去全球气候变化的理想场所。对沙地东南缘锦界剖面全新统砂质黄土-古风成砂-古土壤互层沉积序列进行研究,在OSL测年基础上,通过沉积物常量元素氧化物含量及其比值分析,结合粒度、磁化率特征,探讨了毛乌素沙地东南缘7.9ka BP以来气候变化。结果表明：（1）地层常量元素氧化物以SiO₂和Al₂O₃为主,其他元素含量依次为Na₂O、K₂O、Fe₂O₃、CaO、MgO。各种元素活动性不同,K、Na活动性较强,易淋失;Si活动性较稳定,风成砂中易富集;Ca、Mg、Al、Fe活动性较弱,古土壤中富集。（2）7.9ka BP以来气候变化分为6个阶段。7.9～7.3 ka最温暖湿润时段;7.3～6.8 ka,气候转冷干;6.8～4.3 ka,整体上温暖湿润,期间存在2次由暖湿变冷干的波动,并出现过6次风沙活动,即6.6～6.3、6.1、5.9、5.7～5.5、5.3～5.0、4.7～4.4 ka;4.3～2.5ka BP,气候转冷干;2.5～1.8ka BP出现过短暂湿润期,但暖湿程度不及全新世中期;1.8ka BP以来气候渐趋干旱并接近现代气候。（3）全新世气候变化与毗邻的萨拉乌苏河流域、浑善达克沙地等记录的气候变化具有很好的一致性,这是通过东亚冬夏季风强弱消长变化对全球变化的区域响应。     

气候变化对地缘政治格局的影响路径与效应

以2009 年哥本哈根联合国气候变化大会为标志,气候变化正在以前所未有的力度塑造未来地缘政治的新格局。气候变化问题已经不再是纯粹的环境问题,而是成为国际关系中的焦点问题。在气候变化的驱动下,地缘政治格局的演变出现了新的变化:① 地缘政治争夺向新的领域和地域拓展;② 地缘政治争夺工具和手段的更新;③ 地缘政治博弈主体出现新的分化与重组。随着气候变化问题政治化的不断发展,气候变化已经成为影响地缘政治格局演变的重要驱动因子之一。气候变化导致地缘政治争夺的手段、范围和内容都有了改变,碳排放空间,新能源技术等成为地缘政治争夺的重点。气候变化主要通过“回溯作用”、“反馈作用”和“波及作用”3 条主要路径对地缘政治格局的演变产生作用,其对地缘政治格局的影响是借助“溯源效应”、“抑制效应”和“扩散效应”三种方式发挥影响力。本文的基本结论是:① 气候变化逐渐成为影响当今世界地缘政治格局演变最活跃的驱动因子之一,并使地缘政治争夺的目标和手段趋于多元化;② 气候变化催生了新的地缘政治工具,发达国家借助气候变化这个杠杆,撬动能源、粮食等战略资源,手段更加隐蔽;③ 以新能源为核心的低碳技术成为地缘政治影响力和权力转移的关键因素,谁能在新能源技术领域占据优势,谁就能在未来的气候变化谈判和地缘政治竞争中具有主导地位。     

塔克拉玛干沙漠的气候特征及其变化趋势

通过对短期的野外考察资料和历年气象记录与树木年轮的资料分析结果表明:塔克拉玛干沙漠气候实质上是盆地气候与沙漠气候的综合体-极端干旱的大陆性气候。主要特征有:冷热剧变,干旱少雨,降水少而集中,变率大,风沙活动频繁等。事实证明:极端干旱的大陆性气候也有冷和暖、干和湿的相对变化;这种变化过程具有波动特征,而不是沿着一个方向持续发展的,其变化速度是缓慢的,强度也是微弱的,并不能从根本上改变极端干旱的大陆性气候的基本特征。沙漠南缘近200年来,气候有变干、变暖的变化趋势。     

Climate change and multi-dimensional sustainable urbanization

Global large-scale urbanization and climate change have become indisputable scientific facts yet are unresolved issues, and are a common concern for mankind. The relationship between these two topics is unclear and it is not known how to deal appropriately at the scientific level with climate change in the process of urbanization. Further exploration of the science, management and practice, are needed to achieve global and regional sustainadevelopment. This paper first considers the basic facts concerning mass urbanization and climate change and summarizes the interactions and possible mechanisms of urbanization and climate change. Urbanization leads to the heat island effect, an uneven distribution of precipitation and extreme weather, together with a local-regional-global multi-scale superposition effect, which aggravates the consequences of global climate change. The impact of climate change on urbanization is mainly manifested in aspects such as changes of energy consumption, mortality, and the spread of infectious diseases, sea level rise, extreme weather damage to infrastructure, and water shortages. This paper also briefly reviews relevant international research programs and action coalitions and puts forward an analysis framework multi-dimensional sustainable urbanization which can adapt to and mitigate climate change, from the perspective of the four key dimensions—population, land use, economy, and society. It is imperative that we strengthen the interdisciplinary activities involving the natural and social sciences, take urbanization and other human activities into consideration of the land-atmosphere system, and explore the human-land-atmosphere coupling process. The adaptation and mitigation from the perspective of human activities, as represented by urbanization, might be the most critical and realistic way to deal with climate change.     

Climate change on the southern slope of Mt. Qomolangma （Everest） Region in Nepal since 1971

Based on monthly mean, maximum, and minimum air temperature and monthly mean precipitation data from 10 meteorological stations on the southern slope of the Mt. Qomolangma region in Nepal between 1971 and 2009, the spatial and temporal characteristics of climatic change in this region were analyzed using climatic linear trend, Sen＇s Slope Estimates and Mann-Kendall Test analysis methods. This paper focuses only on the southern slope and attempts to compare the results with those from the northern slope to clarify the characteristics and trends of climatic change in the Mt. Qomolangma region. The results showed that： （1） between 1971 and 2009, the annual mean temperature in the study area was 20.0℃, the rising rate of annual mean temperature was 0.25℃/10a, and the temperature increases were highly influenced by the maximum temperature in this region. On the other hand, the temperature increases on the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma region were highly influenced by the minimum temperature. In 1974 and 1992, the temperature rose noticeably in February and September in the southern region when the increment passed 0.9℃. （2） Precipitation had an asymmetric distribution; between 1971 and 2009, the annual precipitation was 1729.01 mm. In this region, precipitation showed an increasing trend of 4.27 mm/a, but this was not statistically significant. In addition, the increase in rainfall was mainly concentrated in the period from April to October, including the entire monsoon period （from June to September） when precipitation accounts for about 78.9% of the annual total. （3） The influence of altitude on climate warming was not clear in the southern region, whereas the trend of climate warming was obvious on the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma. The annual mean precipitation in the southern region was much higher than that of the northern slope of the Mt. Qomolangma region. This shows the barrier effect of the Himalayas as a whole and Mt. Qomolangma in particular.     

Climate of the past millennium inferred from varved proglacial lake sediments on northeast Baffin Island,Arctic Canada

This study uses ^239+240Pu-dated varved sediments from Big Round Lake, a proglacial lake on northeast Baffin Island, Arctic Canada to generate a 1000-year-long, annual-resolution record of past climate. Varve thickness is positively correlated with July–August–September temperature measured at Clyde River, 70 km to the north of the lake (r = 0.46, p < 0.001). We therefore interpret the variability and trends in varve thickness to partially represent summer temperature. The coolest Little Ice Age temperatures occurred in this record from 1575 to 1760 AD and were approximately 1.5°C cooler than today (average from 1995 to 2005 AD) and 0.2°C cooler than the last millennium (average from 1000 to 2000 AD). Pre-twentieth-century warmth occurred during two intervals, 970–1150 AD and 1375–1575 AD; temperatures were approximately 1.2°C cooler than today, but 0.1°C warmer than the last millennium. The Big Round Lake varve-thickness record contains features similar to that reconstructed elsewhere in the eastern Canadian Arctic. This high-resolution quantitative record expands our understanding of arctic climate during the past millennium.

毛乌素沙地15ka以来气候变化及沙漠演化研究

通过对毛乌素沙地东南缘的三道沟剖面进行沉积学分析,结合常规14C和光释光测年结果,并与已有研究进行对比,将毛乌素沙地15ka以来的演化过程分为4个阶段:15ka以前,处于末次冰期极盛期的后期,冬季风活动强烈,气候干冷、风蚀强烈,沙漠处于活化扩张阶段;15～6.33kaBP,气候逐渐回暖,风力减弱,但沙丘仍处于活化状态,期间可能有气候的暖湿波动;6.33～3.5kaBP,夏季风活动较强,冬季风活动较弱,气候总体温暖湿润,沙丘固定、沙漠退缩,其中又存在一些干冷波动,5kaBP前后气候曾发生突变;3.5kaBP以来,冬季风活动又逐渐增强,夏季风活动减弱,气候寒冷干燥,风沙活动增强。     

长江三角洲城市带扩展对区域温度变化的影响

Based on non-radiance-calibrated DMSP/OLS nighttime light imagery from 1992 to 2003, urban land area statistical data, meteorological data and land surface temperature data retrieved by MODIS and NOAA/AVHRR data, the influence of urbanization on regional cli- matic trend of temperature in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) was analyzed. Conclusions are as follows: 1) There is a significant urbanization process from 1992 to 2003 in the YRD. Four city clusters of Nanjing–Zhenjiang–Yangzhou, Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou Bay form a zigzag city belt. The increase rate of annual mean air temperature in city-belt is 0.28–0.44℃/10a from 1991 to 2005, which is far larger than that of non-city-belt. 2) The urban heat island (UHI) effect on regional mean air temperature in different seasons is summer>autumn>spring>winter. 3) The UHI intensity and the urban total population logarithm are creditably correlated. 4) The UHI effect made the regional annual mean air temperature increased 0.072℃ from 1961 to 2005, of which 0.047℃ from 1991 to 2005, and the annual maximum air temperature increased 0.162℃, of which 0.083℃ from 1991 to 2005. All these indicating that the urban expansion in the YRD from 1991 to 2005 may be regarded as a serious climate signal.     

A georeferenced agent-based model to analyze the climate change impacts on ski tourism at a regional scale

One main argument for modeling socio-ecological systems is to advance the understanding of dynamic correlations between various human and environmental factors, including impacts and responses to environmental change. We explore the shift in skier distribution among ski resorts taking into account the behavioral adaptation of individuals due to the impact of climate change on snow conditions. This analysis is performed at a regional scale by means of a coupled gravity and georeferenced agent-based model. Four different scenarios are considered. Two scenarios assume an increase of winter mean temperature of +2°C and +4°C, respectively, taking into account only natural snow conditions. Two additional scenarios add the effect of snowmaking to enhance the natural snow depth and extend the skiing season in the +2°C and +4°C base scenarios. Results show differing vulnerability levels, allowing the classification of ski resorts into three distinct groups: (1) highly vulnerable ski resorts with a strong reduction in visitors attendance for all climate change scenarios, characterized by unfavorable geographical and attractiveness conditions, making it difficult to ensure snow availability in the future; (2) low vulnerability ski resorts, with moderate reduction in season length during a high climate change scenario but no reduction (or even an increase) in a low one, characterized by ski resorts with a medium capacity and attractiveness to ensure enough snow conditions and capture skiers from other ski resorts; and (3) resilient ski resorts, with good conditions to ensure future snow-reliable seasons and outstanding attractiveness, allowing them to offer longer ski seasons than their competitors and potentially attracting skiers from other closed or marginal resorts. Ski resorts included in this last group increase their skier attendance in all climate change scenarios. Although similar studies in the literature foretell a significant reduction of the ski market in the near future, another probable effect outlined in this study is a redefinition of this market due to a redistribution of skiers, from vulnerable ski resorts to more resilient ones.     

沙漠化与气候变化互馈机制研究进展

沙漠化与气候变化是当前全世界面临的两大热点问题,尤其是二者之间的互馈机制是研究的热点和难点。气候条件的恶化如持续干旱等可以引起土地的沙漠化,而沙漠化又可以通过生物地球物理互馈机制、增加沙尘气溶胶和温室气体等途径反作用于气候变化,并可能在局地形成正反馈,导致沙漠化向恶性方向发展。笔者在查阅大量文献的基础上,系统回顾了气候变化对沙漠化影响的研究历史,并从生物地球物理互馈机制、沙尘增多及温室气体增加对气候的影响三个方面概述了沙漠化对气候变化的反馈研究。在研究中存在如下瓶颈:①生物地球物理互馈机制发生的尺度;②沙尘和降水的因果关系;③数据的不一致性及数据特征的差异;④沙漠化过程中自然因素与人为因素的剥离。笔者认为:未来研究应从地球系统科学的角度出发,综合研究沙漠化与气候变化问题,并将模型研究与实地观测并重。     

Potential distributional changes of invasive crop pest species associated with global climate change

This study investigated the potential global distributional shifts of poikilothermic invasive crop pest species associated with climate change, aiming to understand if their overall global distributions will expand or contract, and how the species distributions will vary across different regions. An ecological niche modelling analysis was conducted for 76 species. The potential distributional changes of the species in 2050 and 2070 were scrutinized for two climate change scenarios, which were further examined across different temperature and precipitation ranges. Results showed that averages of the mean probabilities of presence of the 76 crop pest species were predicted to increase. Higher species turnovers were predicted mostly to occur in areas with increasing predicted species richness. Lower species turnovers, however, were predicted mostly to occur in areas with decreasing predicted species richness. Species richness increases were predicted to occur more often in currently lower temperature (annual mean temperature approximately < 21 °C) or lower precipitation (annual precipitation approximately < 1100 mm) regions. Areas with the current annual mean temperatures at around 27 °C and 7.5 °C, respectively, were predicted to experience the highest decrease and increase in species richness as the climate warms. In conclusion, climate change is likely to expand the pest species’ overall distribution across the globe. It could have more profound impacts on the species distributions of those regions where species richness increases are expected, by altering the species’ community compositions.     

The response of annual runoff to the height change of the summertime 0°C level over Xinjiang

According to climate features and river runoff conditions, Xinjiang could be divided into three research areas: The Altay-Tacheng region, the Tianshan Mountain region and the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains. Utilizing daily observations from 12 sounding stations and the annual runoff dataset from 34 hydrographical stations in Xinjiang for the period 1960–2002, the variance of the summertime 0°C level height and the changing trends of river runoff are analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, through trend contrast of curves processed by a 5-point smoothing procedure and linear correlation. The variance of the summertime 0°C level height in Xinjiang correlates well with that of the annual river runoff, especially since the early 1990s, but it differs from region to region, with both the average height of the 0°C level and runoff quantity significantly increasing over time in the Altay-Tacheng and Tianshan Mountain regions but decreasing on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains. The correlation holds for the whole of Xinjiang as well as the three individual regions, with a 0.01 significance level. This indicates that in recent years, climate change in Xinjiang has affected not only the surface layer but also the upper levels of the atmosphere, and this raising and lowering of the summertime 0°C level has a direct impact on the warming and wetting process in Xinjiang and the amount of river runoff. Warming due to climate change increases the height of the 0°C level, but also speeds up, ice-snow melting in mountain regions, which in turn increases river runoff, leading to a season of plentiful water instead of the more normal low flow period.     

Climatic Change and Desert Vegetation Distribution: Assessing Thirty Years of Change in Southern Nevada's Mojave Desert

A major theme in physical geography and biogeography is understanding how vegetation changes across geographic gradients during climate change. We assess shifts in distributions of fifteen Mojave Desert plant species based on a 2008 resurvey of 103 vegetation transects that were established in 1979. We model changes in species distributions using Maximum Entropy (Maxent) with environmental and climate variables to predict probability of species’ occurrences. Climate during the ten-year period preceding the 2008 vegetation survey was 1.5°C warmer and 3 cm per year of precipitation drier than the ten years preceding 1979. Species inhabiting the highest elevations and strongly correlated with precipitation displayed areal reductions from 1979 through 2008.     

Climate extremes in the United States: recent research by physical geographers

This paper reports our review of research on domestic climate extremes conducted by US physical geographers over the past 15?years. Sections cover extremes in wind, precipitation, lightning, and temperature, as well as derivative climate extremes (droughts, floods, and storm surges). Themes considered include: the spatial and temporal distribution of the climate extreme; its implications for our understanding of the physical processes that produce it; the spatial and temporal distributions of the extreme’s economic and human costs; lessons for assessment, policy, and management; and scale. We conclude that most of the works reviewed inadequately address the human basis of vulnerability to climate extremes, and encourage physical geographers to work with colleagues from the other subfields of geography and the social sciences to develop the holistic understanding of vulnerability needed to effectively adapt to the more extreme climate projected under climate change.     

Classification of climates and climatic regionalization of the West-Siberian plain

We examine some issues related to a classification of climates. A climatic regionalization has been carried out, and a brief characteristic given to the identified types of climate. It has been found that the relationship of the sums of mean daily ground air temperatures above 10 °C and the dryness index show a clearly pronounced zonal distribution. The combination of sums of mean daily air temperatures below ?10 °C and the depth of snow in the northern part of the plain is characterized by a horizontal distribution, and only in the middle and southern parts of the plain do these indices acquire zonal regularities. An analysis is made of the long-term dynamics of air temperature to reveal that some climate warming during 1981–2010 was mainly caused by a rise in winter air temperature.