A Review of “Hazards,Vulnerability, and Environmental Justice”

A relatively simple modeling approach for estimating spatially distributed surface energy fluxes was applied to two small watersheds, one in a semi-arid climate region and one in a sub-humid region. This approach utilized a combination of ground-based meteorological data and remotely sensed data to estimate ‘instantaneous’ surface energy fluxes at the time of the satellite or aircraft overpasses. The spatial resolution in the watershed grid cells, which was on the order of 100-400 km, was selected to be compatible with ground measurements used for validation. The model estimates of surface energy fluxes compared well with ground-based measurements of surface flux (typically within approximately 40 Wm^?2). The model accuracy may be slightly less for bare soil surfaces due to an overestimation of the soil heat flux. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of computing spatially distributed values of surface energy fluxes, these maps were used to qualitatively infer the dominant factors controlling the energy fluxes for the time period shortly following precipitation events in the basins. For the semi-arid watershed, values of sensible heat flux varied considerably over the watershed and displayed a pattern very similar to that of the spatially variable cumulative precipitation for at least one to eight days prior to the image acquisition. Due to the large fraction of exposed bare soil in a semi-arid ecosystem, even very small precipitation events had a strong influence on the pattern of sensible heat fluxes observed shortly after the event (less than 24 hours). For the sub-humid watershed, the fluxes tended to be more uniform across the watershed, and were influenced by a combination of precipitation total and land cover type.     

Knowing Climate Change: Local Social Institutions and Adaptation in Indian Groundwater Irrigation

SHORE FEATURES. Patrick C. Moyer.

LOKATE. Charles W. Smith.     

Trouble in paradise: resilience and Vancouver’s second life in the “new economy”

Resilience is an increasingly important concept within urban studies, economic geography, and evolutionary economics for measuring the capacity of city-regions to respond to economic shocks. In this article, we provide a sympathetic critique of the resilience metaphor in urban studies, which we explicate through an analysis of the recent history of the Vancouver economy. On the surface, Vancouver seemingly showed resilience when it overcame the abrupt decline of its resource-based economy in the 1980s, and established an alternative flourishing “new economy” by the 1990s. But over the last five years, the key local “creative” industries such as video game development and film production have suffered, with a number of large firms leaving Vancouver, and industry employment declining sharply. Drawing on more than 40 interviews conducted over a five-year period with members of the local video game community, our paper documents the rise and more recent decline of Vancouver’s “new economy” sector. Our research raises questions about the value of the resilience metaphor in urban studies and highlights the difficulties facing city-regions reliant on highly mobile “new economy” industries.     

Detrital zircon U–Pb reconnaissance of the Franciscan subduction complex in northwestern California

In northwestern California, the Franciscan subduction complex has been subdivided into seven major tectonostratigraphic units. We report U-Pb ages of ≈2400 detrital zircon grains from 26 sandstone samples from 5 of these units. Here, we tabulate each unit’s interpreted predominant sediment source areas and depositional age range, ordered from the oldest to the youngest unit. (1) Yolla Bolly terrane: nearby Sierra Nevada batholith (SNB); ca. 118 to 98 Ma. Rare fossils had indicated that this unit was mostly 151–137 Ma, but it is mostly much younger. (2) Central Belt: SNB; ca. 103 to 53 Ma (but poorly constrained), again mostly younger than previously thought. (3) Yager terrane: distant Idaho batholith (IB); ca. 52 to 50 Ma. Much of the Yager’s detritus was shed during major core complex extension and erosion in Idaho that started 53 Ma. An Eocene Princeton River–Princeton submarine canyon system transported this detritus to the Great Valley forearc basin and thence to the Franciscan trench. (4) Coastal terrane: mostly IB, ±SNB, ±nearby Cascade arc, ±Nevada Cenozoic ignimbrite belt; 52 to <32 Ma. (5) King Range terrane: dominated by IB and SNB zircons; parts 16–14 Ma based on microfossils. Overall, some Franciscan units are younger than previously thought, making them more compatible with models for the growth of subduction complexes by progressive accretion. From ca. 118 to 70 Ma, Franciscan sediments were sourced mainly from the nearby Sierra Nevada region and were isolated from southwestern US and Mexican sources. From 53 to 49 Ma, the Franciscan was sourced from both Idaho and the Sierra Nevada. By 37–32 Ma, input from Idaho had ceased. The influx from Idaho probably reflects major tectonism in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, plus development of a through-going Princeton River to California, rather than radical changes in the subduction system at the Franciscan trench itself.     

Not all fisheries will be collapsed in 2048

In a recently published paper, Worm et al. [Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 2006;314:787–90.] project “the global collapse of all taxa currently fished” by 2048. Using their criteria and data, this paper shows that the number of not-collapsed fisheries actually increased over time to a plateau of about 5600 in 1985–2003. Furthermore, if trends are projected into the future, more than half of the world's fisheries would always be in a recovered state.     

Integrating agriculture and energy to assess GHG emissions reduction: a methodological approach

Agriculture is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This significant share highlights the fundamental importance of the agricultural sector in the global GHG emissions reduction challenge. This article develops and tests a methodology for the integration of agricultural and energy systems modelling. The goal of the research is to extend an energy systems modelling approach to agriculture in order to provide richer insights into the dynamics and interactions between the two (e.g. in competition for land-use). We build Agri-TIMES, an agricultural systems module using the TIMES energy systems modelling framework, to model the effect of livestock emissions and explore emissions reduction options. The research focuses on Ireland, which is an interesting test case for two reasons: first, agriculture currently accounts for about 30% of Ireland's GHG emissions, significantly higher than other industrialized countries yet comparable with global levels (here including emissions associated with other land-use change and forestation); second, Ireland is both a complete and reasonably sized agricultural system to act as a test case for this new approach. This article describes the methodology used, the data requirements, and technical assumptions made to facilitate the modelling. It also presents results to illustrate the approach and provide associated initial insights.

Policy relevance

Most of the policy focus with regard to climate mitigation targets has been on reducing energy-related CO₂ emissions, which is understandable as they represent by far the largest source of emissions. Non-energy-related GHG emissions – largely from agriculture, industrial processes, and waste – have received significantly less attention in policy discourse. Going forward, however, if significant cuts are made in energy-related CO₂ emissions, the role of non-energy-related GHG emissions will grow in importance. It is therefore crucial that climate mitigation analyses and strategies are not limited to the energy system. This article shows the value of using integrated energy and agriculture techno-economic modelling techniques to draw evidence for new comprehensive climate policy strategies able to discern between the full range of technical solutions available. It enables the production of economy-wide least-cost climate mitigation pathways.     

Novel measurements of atmospheric iodine species by resonance fluorescence

A field instrument has been developed for the purpose of measuring gas-phase atmospheric iodine species in the marine boundary layer. Vacuum UV resonance-fluorescence (RF), generated using a microwave discharge lamp, is employed to detect atomic iodine via the (5p⁴6s)–(5p⁵) transitions around 178–184 nm. The system can be operated in two modes; either to directly measure ambient iodine atoms, or to measure the total photolabile iodine loading of ambient air, through broadband visible photolysis of photolabile iodine-containing species, with subsequent RF detection of the iodine atoms released. In both cases the instrument allows for the in situ measurement of the species detected, which is advantageous for gathering information concerning their local sources and distribution. The instrument is calibrated through generation of a known concentration of iodine atoms from the photolysis of I₂ using a mercury pen-ray lamp. The instrument was deployed for the first time in August 2007 at Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland; initial results from this field trial are presented. Ambient iodine atoms were measured at levels up to 22 ± 4.8 ppt during the day, coinciding with the lowest tides, when Laminaria seaweed beds were exposed. The total photolabile iodine loading was also measured during several night-time and day-time periods and was found to correlate inversely with tidal height. Inferred I₂ concentrations based on these measurements indicate levels of several hundred ppt at the Mace Head site. These measurements represent the first direct observations of ambient iodine atoms and measurement of total photolabile iodine in the atmosphere.