Navigating climate crises in the Great Barrier Reef

A dramatic escalation of extreme climate events is challenging the capacity of environmental governance regimes to sustain and improve ecosystem outcomes. It has been argued that actors within adaptive governance regimes can help to steer environmental systems toward sustainability in times of crisis. Yet there is little empirical evidence of how acute climate crises are navigated by actors operating within adaptive governance regimes, and the factors that influence their responses. Here, we qualitatively assessed the actions key governance actors took in response to back-to-back mass coral bleaching – an extreme climate event – of the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 and 2017, and explored their perceptions of barriers and catalysts to these responses. This research was, in part, a product of collaboration and knowledge co-production with Great Barrier Reef governance actors aimed at improving responses to climate crises in the region. We found five major categories of activity that actors engaged with in the wake of recurrent mass coral bleaching: assessing the scale and extent of bleaching, sharing information, communicating bleaching to the public, building local resilience, and addressing global threats. These actions were both catalyzed and hindered by a range of factors that fall within different domains of adaptive capacity; such as assets, social organization, and agency. We discuss the implications of our findings as they relate to existing research on adaptive capacity and adaptive governance. We conclude by coalescing insights from our interviews and a participant engagement process to highlight four key ways in which the ability of governance actors, and the Great Barrier Reef governance regime more broadly, can be better prepared for, and more effectively respond to extreme climate events. Our research provides empirical insight into how crises are experienced by governance actors in a large-scale environmental system, potentially providing lessons for similar systems across the globe.     

Integrated multi-scalar analysis of vulnerability to environmental hazards: Assessing extreme flooding in western Amazonia

Environmental change is significantly altering hydrological systems worldwide, with substantial impacts for the people who live on floodplains and depend on rivers for their livelihoods and lifeways. Amazonia is a region significantly affected by these changes, particularly more severe flooding. This paper proposes a multi-scalar approach to vulnerability, applying it empirically to the analysis of household vulnerability to the 2011 flood—the second largest flood event along the Ucayali River in 30 years—in terms of exposure, impacts, and responses. Locally relevant indicators for assets, social identity, and social networks at the community and household levels are used to examine their role in shaping flood vulnerability, the interplay of community-level and household-level factors, and differential vulnerability across exposure, impacts, and responses to the same hazard event. We find that the most common impacts of severe flooding in rural Amazonia are on agriculture and that fishing is the dominant response strategy. This study suggests that covariate shocks, like floods, can have distinct idiosyncratic impacts and responses among households. We demonstrate that more integrated approaches to vulnerability analysis offer potential for better understanding differential vulnerabilities within populations as well as for drawing comparisons across hazard events and different settings.     

中国泥炭记录末次冰消期以来古气候研究进展

泥炭记录的环境演变是过去全球变化（PAGES）研究的重要领域之一,分析了中国泥炭记录的古气候演化研究的区域范围,当前主要以东北哈尼、青藏高原的红原、神农架大九湖以及华南定南大湖四个位于东部季风区的研究工作最为集中。泥炭沉积高分辨率综合信息揭示了末次冰消期以来中国气候变化的时空特征：冷暖干湿变化既有一致性又表现出区域差异,末次冰消期东北地区、东部山地、华南地区都表现出冷偏湿的气候特点,而青藏高原却为冷偏干或凉偏干;Younger Dryas（YD）事件之后,全新世早期和中期青藏高原、东部山地、华南地区气候总体以温湿为主要特征,而东北地区有效降水减少,到全新世晚期,呈现出干旱的变化趋势。并对B~A事件,YD事件,8.2 ka 以及4.2 ka等重大气候突变事件研究工作进行了综述。最后指出今后应拓展与重建更多区域古气候环境变化序列的对比,加强泥炭沉积及环境指标的基础理论,重视和提高大气沉降泥炭档案以及气候变化背景下泥炭地碳循环机制等研究工作。     

Virtue and vulnerability: Discourses on women, gender and climate change

In the limited literature on gender and climate change, two themes predominate - women as vulnerable or virtuous in relation to the environment. Two viewpoints become obvious: women in the South will be affected more by climate change than men in those countries and that men in the North pollute more than women. The debates are structured in specific ways in the North and the South and the discussion in the article focuses largely on examples from Sweden and India. The article traces the lineage of the arguments to the women, environment and development discussions, examining how they recur in new forms in climate debates. Questioning assumptions about women's vulnerability and virtuousness, it highlights how a focus on women's vulnerability or virtuousness can deflect attention from inequalities in decision-making. By reiterating statements about poor women in the South and the pro-environmental women of the North, these assumptions reinforce North-South biases. Generalizations about women's vulnerability and virtuousness can lead to an increase in women's responsibility without corresponding rewards. There is need to contextualise debates on climate change to enable action and to respond effectively to its adverse effects in particular places.     

Soil quality and human migration in Kenya and Uganda

Soil degradation is widely considered to be a key factor undermining agricultural livelihoods in the developing world and contributing to rural out-migration. To date, however, few quantitative studies have examined the effects of soil characteristics on human migration or other social outcomes for potentially vulnerable households. This study takes advantage of a unique longitudinal survey dataset from Kenya and Uganda containing information on household-level soil properties to investigate the effects of soil quality on population mobility. Random effects multinomial logit models are used to test for effects of soil quality on both temporary and permanent migration while accounting for a variety of potential confounders. The analysis reveals that soil quality significantly reduces migration in Kenya, particularly for temporary labor migration, but marginally increases migration in Uganda. These findings are consistent with several previous studies in showing that adverse environmental conditions tend to increase migration but not universally, contrary to common assumptions about environmentally-induced migration.     

Relationship of photosynthetic carbon fixation with environmental changes in the Jiulong River estuary of the South China Sea, with special reference to the effects of solar UV radiation

Phytoplankton cells in estuary waters usually experience drastic changes in chemical and physical environments due to mixing of fresh and seawaters. In order to see their photosynthetic performance in such dynamic waters, we measured the photosynthetic carbon fixation by natural phytoplankton assemblages in the Jiulong River estuary of the South China Sea during April 24-26 and July 24-26 of 2008, and investigated its relationship with environmental changes in the presence or the absence of UV radiation. Phytoplankton biomass (Chl a) decreased sharply from the river-mouth to seawards (17.3-2.1 μg L⁻¹), with the dominant species changed from chlorophytes to diatoms. The photosynthetic rate based on Chl a at noon time under PAR-alone increased from 1.9 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in low salinity zone (SSS < 10) to 12.4 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in turbidity front (SSS within 10-20), and then decreased to 2.1 μg C (μg Chl a)⁻¹ L⁻¹ in mixohaline zone (SSS > 20); accordingly, the carbon fixation per volume of seawater increased from 12.8 to 149 μg C L⁻¹ h⁻¹, and decreased to 14.3 μg C L⁻¹ h⁻¹. Solar UVR caused the inhibition of carbon fixation in surface water of all the investigated zones, by 39% in turbidity area and 7-10% in freshwater or mixohaline zones. In the turbidity zone, higher availability of CO₂ could have enhanced the photosynthetic performance; while osmotic stress might be responsible for the higher sensitivity of phytoplankton assemblages to solar UV radiation.     

Coastal habitat degradation and green sea turtle diets in Southeastern Brazil

To show the influence of coastal habitat degradation on the availability of food for green turtles (Chelonia mydas), we assessed the dietary preferences and macroalgae community at a feeding area in a highly urbanized region. The area showed low species richness and was classified as degraded. We examined stomach contents of 15 dead stranded turtles (CCL = 44.0 cm (SD 6.7 cm)). The diet was composed primarily of green algae Ulva spp. (83.6%). In contrast, the macroalgae community was dominated by the green alga Caulerpa mexicana. We found a selection for red algae, seagrass and Ulva spp., and avoidance for C. mexicana and brown alga Dictyopteris delicatula. The low diversity of available food items, possibly a result of environmental degradation, likely contributed to the low dietary diversity. The nutritional implications of this restricted diet are unclear.     

Polychaete/amphipod ratio as an indicator of environmental impact related to offshore oil and gas production along the Norwegian continental shelf

Benthic faunal data is regularly collected worldwide to assess the ecological quality of marine environments. Recently, there has been renewed interest in developing biological indices able to identify environmental status and potential anthropogenic impacts. In this paper we evaluate the performance of a general polychaete/amphipod ratio along the Norwegian continental shelf as an environmental indicator for offshore oil and gas impacts. Two main trends are apparent: first, a contamination gradient is discernible from where production takes place compared to stations 10,000 m away. Second, the quality of the marine environment has improved over time. These results are consistent with monitoring reports employing a combination of uni- and multi-variate statistics. Thus, we consider this ratio as a relatively simple, useful and potentially cost-effective complement to other more demanding assessment techniques. Because of its strong theoretical basis, it may also be useful for detecting ecological change as a result of other activities.     

青海湖晚更新世沉积物中胶黄铁矿的发现及其环境指示意义

对青海湖南盆沉积中心钻取的一根长18.6 m的高取芯率沉积岩芯(1F)进行磁化率测试显示,该岩芯在8.15～8.96 m和15.50～17.28m两沉积段具有非常高的磁化率.详细的岩石磁学测量和矿物分析表明这两段沉积物中有大量的胶黄铁矿存在,其磁畴特征主要以单畴(SD)为主,并显示少量超顺磁(SP)颗粒特征,这是导致磁...     

濮阳市主要地下水环境问题及防治对策研究

随着濮阳这座新兴城市的迅猛发展,出现了一些列环境地质问题,通过对水资源衰竭、地下水污染、地面沉降、特殊岩土体、采油污染等主要环境地质问题的论述,分析其成因及演化趋势,并提出相应的防治对策,将对其他位于黄河下游冲积平原的城市具有积极的借鉴意义。