A Modeling Study of Climate Change and Its Implication for Agriculture in China Part II: The Implication of Climate Change for Agriculture in China

The potential CO2-induced impacts on the geographical shifts of wheat growth zones in China were studied from seven GCMs outputs. The wheat growth regions may move northward and westward under the condition of a doubling CO2 climate. The wheat cultivation features and variety types may also assume significant changes. Climatic warming would have a positive influence in Northeast China, but high temperature stress may be produced in some regions of central and southern China. Higher mean air temperatures during wheat growth, particularly during the reproductive stages, may increase the need for earlier-maturing and more heat-tolerant cultivars.     

Temperature variability in China in an ensemble simulation for the last 1,200?years

Regional temperature anomalies in China during 800?C2005 ad in an ensemble simulation with the atmosphere?Cocean general circulation model ECHAM5/MPIOM subject to anthropogenic and natural forcings are compared to reconstructions. In a mutual assessment of three reconstructed data sets and two ensemble simulations with different solar forcings, a reconstructed data set and a simulated ensemble for weak solar variability are selected for further comparison. Temperature variability in the selected simulated and reconstructed data shows a continuous power spectrum with weak long-term memory. The simulation reveals weak long-term anomaly periods known as the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), the Little Ice Age (LIA), and the Modern Warming (MW) in the three considered regions: Northeast, Southeast, and West China. The ensemble spread yields an uncertainty of ±0.5°C in all regions. The simulated temperature varies nearly synchronously in all three regions, whereas reconstructed data hint to increased decadal variability in the West and centennial variability in the Northeast. Cold periods are found in 1200?C1300 and in 1600?C1900 ad in all regions. The coldest anomalies which are caused by volcanic eruptions in the beginnings of the thirteenth and the nineteenth centuries are only partly consistent with reconstructed data. After 1800, the annual cycle reduces in the Northeast and on the Tibetan plateau, whereas the eastern Pacific shows an enhanced summer?Cwinter contrast.     

RCP 8.5��A scenario of comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions

This paper summarizes the main characteristics of the RCP8.5 scenario. The RCP8.5 combines assumptions about high population and relatively slow income growth with modest rates of technological change and energy intensity improvements, leading in the long term to high energy demand and GHG emissions in absence of climate change policies. Compared to the total set of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), RCP8.5 thus corresponds to the pathway with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. Using the IIASA Integrated Assessment Framework and the MESSAGE model for the development of the RCP8.5, we focus in this paper on two important extensions compared to earlier scenarios: 1) the development of spatially explicit air pollution projections, and 2) enhancements in the land-use and land-cover change projections. In addition, we explore scenario variants that use RCP8.5 as a baseline, and assume different degrees of greenhouse gas mitigation policies to reduce radiative forcing. Based on our modeling framework, we find it technically possible to limit forcing from RCP8.5 to lower levels comparable to the other RCPs (2.6 to 6 W/m²). Our scenario analysis further indicates that climate policy-induced changes of global energy supply and demand may lead to significant co-benefits for other policy priorities, such as local air pollution.     

The discursive politics of ‘fracking’: Frames,storylines, and the anticipatory contestation of shale gas development in the United Kingdom

How contested sources of energy such as shale gas are perceived in frontier countries considering their development is incredibly important to national and international climate policies. The UK shale development case is of particular interest currently as the Government attempts to position the UK as a pioneer of European, safe, sustainable shale gas development. We conduct a mixed-methods analysis of the UK policy debate on shale gas development involving 30 stakeholder interviews and 1557 political documents. This empirical focus extends the existing literature by identifying the use of frames in and through the institutions and practices of formal UK politics. We identify nine key frames and their associated storylines, analyse their use over time, and compare these findings with other national case studies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given most UK Governments within our timeframe have supported shale development, pro-shale development frames dominate in the policy debate; however, we also find a high level of anti-shale development frame use, suggesting a deep and ongoing framing contest in national formal political sites. We find in particular a more prominent focus on land-use issues and impacts on the landscape than other UK studies or other national contexts. Conceptually, the study puts forward an integrative approach to the related concepts of frames and storylines, as well as arguments concerning the impotence of storylines in anticipatory political debate and the polyvalence of framing strategies. Questions about governance are raised by the general lack of consensus over the framing of shale development within formal political sites, let alone amongst the broader public; and by the lack of a coherent response from the Government to criticisms of its approach. Finally, we reflect on the apparent lack of evidence for Hajer’s ‘communicative miracle’ in our case, and speculate as to whether the lack of broad-based resonance of the ‘bridge’ storyline signals trouble for the positive-sum thinking of ecological modernisation.     

Lessons from the past for sustainability transitions? A meta-analysis of socio-technical studies

To break away from techno-institutional lock-in in climate change and in other sustainability problems, many have focused on innovation in technological ‘niches’. The destabilisation of the incumbent ‘regime’ has been neglected and external ‘landscape’ pressures under-analysed. With this in mind, this article examines the factors of regime destabilisation and forms of regime resistance in past technological transitions in energy and transport. It analyses 23 energy (electricity, heat & chemicals) and 11 transport (drive chain, networks, fuels & land planning) transitions pre-1990. Furthermore, in order to properly frame these results and make any “lessons from the past” applicable to the present, this article includes an assessment of current sustainability trends.The key lessons from past energy transitions are that regime outsiders with the right ideology and influence on the market can destabilise the energy sector, which has traditionally had strong incumbents. As incumbents are weakened, past transport transitions show that further change may come from emphasising the Health and Lifestyle benefits of sustainability transitions.     

A weakly coupled data assimilation system of a coupled physical–biological model for the northeastern South China Sea

南海东北部沿岸海域在每年夏季都存在显著的物理过程(如上升流,珠江冲淡水)和活跃的生物过程,这些基本的物理场和生物场要素对沿岸海域的研究起关键作用。本文在一适应于南海东北部的物理生物耦合模式的基础上建立了一个弱约束的EnOI耦合同化系统。开展的SST同化试验结果表明,物理过程存在合理的响应,且近海上升流区的海洋生态变量对物理变量的同化也有响应。     

A Forecasting Model of Vector Similarity in Phase Space for Flood and Drought over the Huanghe-Huaihe-Haihe Plain in China

ＡＦｏｒｅｃａｓｔｉｎｇＭｏｄｅｌｏｆＶｅｃｔｏｒＳｉｍｉｌａｒｉｔｙｉｎＰｈａｓｅＳｐａｃｅｆｏｒＦｌｏｏｄａｎｄＤｒｏｕｇｈｔｏｖｅｒｔｈｅＨｕａｎｇｈｅ－Ｈｕａｉｈｅ－ＨａｉｈｅＰｌａｉｎｉｎＣｈｉｎａＺｈｏｕＪｉａｂｉｎ（周家斌）；ＷａｎｇＹ...     

Terrestrial satellite records for climate studies: how long is long enough? A test case for the Sahel

Satellite-based observations provide a unique data record to study the Earth system. Recent efforts of the space agencies to reprocess the archives of satellite observations aim to provide Essential Climate Variable (ECV) data records for manifold applications in climate sciences. Varying lengths of a data record or gaps in a data time series are likely to affect the analysis results obtained from long-term satellite data records. The present paper provides a systematic assessment of the impact of variations in the observational record of terrestrial ECVs for selected climate applications like trend detection and the analysis of relationships between different ECVs. As an example, the Sahelian drought and the subsequent recovery in precipitation and vegetation will be analyzed in detail using observations of precipitation, surface albedo, vegetation index, as well as ocean indices. The paper provides a different perspective on the robustness of long-term satellite observations than previous studies. It shows in particular that the long-term significant trends in precipitation and vegetation dynamics are rather sensitive to the investigation period chosen and that small data gaps can already have a considerable influence on the analysis results. It is therefore a plea for continuous climate observations from space.     

Greenhouse gas reductions in Germany — lucky strike or hard work?

With greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions decreasing by more than 18% in the 1990s, Germany appears to be among the few industrialised countries which are on track to meet the targets they committed themselves to under the Kyoto Protocol. This achievement may appear less remarkable if one takes into account that Germany benefited from so-called “wall-fall profits”, i.e. the breakdown and restructuring of the East German economy after reunification in 1990. Nevertheless, various policies at national, regional, and local levels were introduced in the 1990s in Germany, which also resulted in a reduction of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases.The objective of this paper is to examine the underlying factors for the GHG emission trends in Germany in the 1990s. In particular, it is estimated to what extent the observed reductions are wall-fall profits, and to what extent they are the result of policy measures.The findings indicate that wall-fall profits account for almost 50% of the reduction of all six greenhouse gases. This share increases to 60% if only energy-related CO₂ emissions are considered. At the same time, a diverse set of policies also had a significant effect on the reduction of greenhouse gases. Environmental policies directed towards non-CO₂ gases were as important as policies addressing CO₂ emissions. Overall, the contribution of all the policies combined was slightly higher than the impact of unification. Although Germany is on a reduction path to meet the Kyoto target, the likelihood of it achieving the more ambitious national target without additional policy efforts appears rather slim.     

A Note on the South China Sea Shallow Interocean Circulation

1. IntroductionThe South China Sea (SCS) has many channelsconnecting with the outer oceans/seas (Fig. 1). Thewidest and deepest channel is the Luzón Strait, whichis the main entrance to the SCS from the WesternPacific Ocean, having a sill depth of about 2500 m.On the north, the Taiwan Strait connects with theEast China Sea, with a sill depth of about 70 m. Inthe vicinity of Mindoro Island, there are a numberof channels connecting the SCS with the Sulu Sea.The main channel is the M…     

A Case Study of Warm Sector Rainbands in North China

This article investigates in detail the structure, genesis and development of parallel-type warm sector rainbands from radar observations. By comparing these observations with diagnostic results from temperature, pressure, moisture and wind data, which are both actually observed and numerically generated by a mesoscale model, and the theory of symmetric instability, it is found that the conditional symmetric instability might be responsible for the formation and development of these rainbands.     

Projections of Climate Change over China for the 21st Century

1. IntroductionUnder the background of global warming in the20th century, it was also getting warmer of 0.2-0.7°C/100 yr over China for the last 100 years, espe-cially for the last 50 years (0.6-0.9°C/50 yr) based onthe instrumental observations (Wang and Gong, 2000;Ren et al., 2004; Zhao et al., 2004). In another way, itwas noticed that the concentration of greenhouse gasesand sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere increased by thehuman emissions. Some new evidences indicated thatthe greenho…     

What explains public support for climate policies? A review of empirical and experimental studies

The lack of broad public support prevents the implementation of effective climate policies. This article aims to examine why citizens support or reject climate policies. For this purpose, we provide a cross-disciplinary overview of empirical and experimental research on public attitudes and preferences that has emerged in the last few years. The various factors influencing policy support are divided into three general categories: (1) social-psychological factors and climate change perception, such as the positive influences of left-wing political orientation, egalitarian worldviews, environmental and self-transcendent values, climate change knowledge, risk perception, or emotions like interest and hope; (2) the perception of climate policy and its design, which includes, among others, the preference of pull over push measures, the positive role of perceived policy effectiveness, the level of policy costs, as well as the positive effect of perceived policy fairness and the recycling of potential policy revenues; (3) contextual factors, such as the positive influence of social trust, norms and participation, wider economic, political and geographical aspects, or the different effects of specific media events and communications. Finally, we discuss the findings and provide suggestions for future research.

Policy relevance

Public opinion is a significant determinant of policy change in democratic countries. Policy makers may be reluctant to implement climate policies if they expect public opposition. This article seeks to provide a better understanding of the various factors influencing public responses to climate policy proposals. Most of the studied factors include perceptions about climate change, policy and its attributes, all of which are amenable to intervention. The acquired insights can thus assist in improving policy design and communication with the overarching objective to garner more public support for effective climate policy.     

A Limited Area Model for Monsoon Prediction

A six level regional primitive equation model has been formulated and tested for monsoon prediction. The model uses dynamic normal mode initialization scheme for obtaining initial balance. The physical processes included are: the large scale condensation, the Kuo type of cumulus convection, the surface friction, the sensible heat supply and evaporation over the sea. The actual smooth orography is included. The model has been integrated for 48 hrs using input of 7 July and 8 August 1979 when the domain of integration was dominated by an intense monsoon depression. In order to investigate the model simulation of formative stage of the depression, the model was also integrated using input of 4 July 1979.Furthermore, the envelope orography has been constructed and included in the model for investigating its effects on the monsoon prediction. Results of the model forecast are presented and discussed.     

A Review of Decadal／Interdecadal Climate Variation Studies in China

Decadal/interdecadal climate variability is an important element in the CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) and has received much attention in the world. Many studies in relation to interdecadal variation have also been completed by Chinese scientists in recent years. In this paper, an introduction in outline for interdecadal climate variation research in China is presented. The content includes the features of interdecadal climate variability in China, global warming and interdecadal temperature variability,the NAO (the North Atlantic Oscillation)/NPO (the North Pacific Oscillation) and interdecadal climate variation in China, the interdecadal variation of the East Asian monsoon, the interdecadal mode of SSTA(Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly) in the North Pacific and its climate impact, and abrupt change feature of the climate.