Earthquake loss estimation for the New York City Metropolitan Region

This study is a thorough risk and loss assessment of potential earthquakes in the NY–NJ–CT Metropolitan Region. This study documents the scale and extent of damage and disruption that may result if earthquakes of various magnitudes occurred in this area. Combined with a detailed geotechnical soil characterization of the region, scenario earthquakes were modeled in HAZUS (Hazards US), a standardized earthquake loss estimation methodology and modeling program. Deterministic and probabilistic earthquake scenarios were modeled and simulated, which provided intensities of ground shaking, dollar losses associated with capital (the building inventory) and subsequent income losses. This study has also implemented a detailed critical (essential) facilities analysis, assessing damage probabilities and facility functionality after an earthquake. When viewed in context with additional information about regional demographics and seismic hazards, the model and results serve as a tool to identify the areas, structures and systems with the highest risk and to quantify and ultimately reduce those risks.     

5个IPCC AR4全球气候模式对东北三省降水模拟与预估

利用IPCC AR4中5个全球气候模式数据集和中国东北三省162个站降水实测资料,评估5个全球气候模式和多模式集合平均对中国东北三省降水的模拟能力,并对SRES B1、A1B和A2三种排放情景东北三省未来降水变化进行预估。结果表明：全球气候模式能较好再现东北三省降水的月变化,但存在系统性湿偏差;多模式集合平均能较好模拟东北三省年降水量的空间分布,但模拟中心偏北,强度略强,模式对东北三省夏季降水的模拟效果优于冬季降水;预估结果表明,三种排放情景下21世纪中前期和末期东北三省降水均将增多,21世纪末期增幅高于21世纪中前期,冬季增幅高于其他季节;就排放情景而言,SRES A1B和A2排放情景增幅相当,高于B1排放情景增幅;不同排放情景东北三省降水量增率分布呈较一致变化,A2排放情景下,增幅最显著的辽宁环渤海地区年降水量在21世纪中前期将增加7%以上,21世纪末期将增加16%。     

Predicting the ecological status of rivers and streams under different climatic and socioeconomic scenarios using Bayesian Belief Networks

Freshwater systems have increasingly been subjected to a multitude of human pressures and the re-establishment of their ecological integrity is currently a major worldwide challenge. Expected future climate and socioeconomic changes will most probably further exacerbate such challenges. Modelling techniques may provide useful tools to help facing these demands, but their use is still limited within ecological quality assessment of water resources due to its technical complexity.We developed a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) framework for modelling the ecological quality of rivers and streams in two European river basins located in two distinct European climatic regions: the Odense Fjord basin (Denmark) and the Sorraia basin (Portugal). This method enabled us to integrate different data sources into a single framework to model the effect of multiple stressors on several biological indicators of river water quality and, subsequently, on their ecological status. The BBN provided a simple interactive user interface with which we simulated combined climate and socioeconomic changes scenarios to assess their impacts on river ecological status.According to the resulting BBNs the scenarios demonstrated small impacts of climate and socioeconomic changes on the biological quality elements analysed. This yield a final ecological status similar to the baseline in the Odense case, and slightly worse in Sorraia. Since the present situation already depicts a high percentage of rivers and streams with moderate or worse ecological status in both basins, this means that many of them would not fulfil the Water Framework Directive target in the future. Results also showed that macrophytes and fish indices were mainly responsible for a non-desirable overall ecological status in Odense and Sorraia, respectively. The approach followed in this study is novel, since BBN modelling is used for the first time for assessing the ecological status of rivers and streams under future scenarios, using an ensemble of biological quality elements. An important advantage of this tool is that it may easily be updated with new knowledge on the nature of relationships already established in the BBN or even by introducing new causal links. By encompassing two case studies of very different characteristics, these BBN may be more easily adapted as decision-making tools for water management of other river basins.     

Methods and approaches to modelling the Anthropocene

The ‘Anthropocene’ concept provides a conceptual framework that encapsulates the current global situation in which society has an ever-greater dominating influence on Earth System functioning. Simulation models used to understand earth system dynamics provide early warning, scenario analysis and evaluation of environmental management and policies. This paper aims to assess the extent to which current models represent the Anthropocene and suggest ways forward. Current models do not fully reflect the typical characteristics of the Anthropocene, such as societal influences and interactions with natural processes, feedbacks and system dynamics, tele-connections, tipping points, thresholds and regime shifts. Based on an analysis of current model representations of Anthropocene dynamics, we identify ways to enhance the role of modeling tools to better help us understand Anthropocene dynamics and address sustainability issues arising from them. To explore sustainable futures (‘safe and operating spaces’), social processes and anthropogenic drivers of biophysical processes must be incorporated, to allow for a spectrum of potential impacts and responses at different societal levels. In this context, model development can play a major role in reconciling the different epistemologies of the disciplines that need to collaborate to capture changes in the functioning of socio-ecological systems. Feedbacks between system functioning and underlying endogenous drivers should be represented, rather than assuming the drivers to be exogenous to the modelled system or stationary in time and space. While global scale assessments are important, the global scale dynamics need to be connected to local realities and vice versa. The diversity of stakeholders and potential questions requires a diversification of models, avoiding the convergence towards single models that are able to answer a wide range of questions, but without sufficient specificity. The novel concept of the Anthropocene can help to develop innovative model representations and model architectures that are better suited to assist in designing sustainable solutions targeted at the users of the models and model results.     

西部开发,规划先行——关于开展景观生态建设规划的建议

西部开发战略是实现我国全面可持续发展的重要决策,面对我国西部地区特定的区域地理条件,生态环境建设具有特别的重要性,提出西部开发必须在合理有序的规划前提下才能具体实施。将景观生态建设理论引入规划,结合保护生态系统健康和维护区域生态安全,作为规划的理论基础,并提出运用“预案”研究方法为决策提供多目标、多层次的选择方案,并建议在若干具有突出生态环境问题的区域进行景观生态建设规划试点。     

The use of scenarios as the basis for combined assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation

Scenarios are used to explore the consequences of different adaptation and mitigation strategies under uncertainty. In this paper, two scenarios are used to explore developments with (1) no mitigation leading to an increase of global mean temperature of 4 °C by 2100 and (2) an ambitious mitigation strategy leading to 2 °C increase by 2100. For the second scenario, uncertainties in the climate system imply that a global mean temperature increase of 3 °C or more cannot be ruled out. Our analysis shows that, in many cases, adaptation and mitigation are not trade-offs but supplements. For example, the number of people exposed to increased water resource stress due to climate change can be substantially reduced in the mitigation scenario, but adaptation will still be required for the remaining large numbers of people exposed to increased stress. Another example is sea level rise, for which, from a global and purely monetary perspective, adaptation (up to 2100) seems more effective than mitigation. From the perspective of poorer and small island countries, however, stringent mitigation is necessary to keep risks at manageable levels. For agriculture, only a scenario based on a combination of adaptation and mitigation is able to avoid serious climate change impacts.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics of regulating ecosystem services in Europe – The role of past and future land use change

Land use is a main driver for changes in supply and demand of regulating ecosystem services (ES). Most current ES inventories are static and do not address dynamics of ES supply resulting from historic and future land use change. This paper analyzes the role of land use change for the supply of two regulating services, flood regulation and climate regulation, in the European Union (EU) for the period between 1900 and 2000 as well as for four plausible scenarios of future land use change up to 2040. We show that spatio-temporal dynamics of climate regulation are high during this time period, and that future levels of climate regulation are higher than 100 years ago. For flood regulation, we show that increases in the demand over the past century, which are continued in the future scenarios, are the main contributor for spatial mismatches of supply and demand. Our results indicate that, in spite of land use change, the overall supply of the two regulating services is expected to be moderately stable, or to even increase in the coming decades. At the same time, demands for these services are rapidly increasing, and it is unlikely that projected supply is sufficient to meet these demands. The results also indicate that land use allocation that favors the supply of regulating services can be seen as a nature-based solution in which potentials for synergies between multiple ES can be operationalized.     

Decision support tools in marine spatial planning: Present applications,gaps and future perspectives

Evidence-based decision making is an essential process for sustainable, effective, and efficient marine spatial planning (MSP). In that sense, decision support tools (DSTs) could be considered to be the primary assistant of planners. Although there are many DSTs listed in tool databases, most of them are conceptual and not used in real MSP implementation. The main objective of this review is to: (i) characterize and analyse the present use of the DSTs in existing MSP implementation processes around the world, (ii) identify weaknesses and gaps of existing tools, and (iii) propose new functionalities both to improve their feasibility and to promote their application. In total, 34 DSTs have been identified in 28 different MSP initiatives with different levels of complexity, applicability and usage purposes. Main characteristics of the tools were transferred into a DST matrix. It was observed that limited functionality, tool stability, consideration of economic and social decision problems, ease of use, and tool costs could be considered as the main gaps of existing DSTs. Future developments are needed and should be in the direction of the specific need of marine planners and stakeholders. Results revealed that DST developments should consider both spatial and temporal dynamics of the ocean, and new tools should provide multi-functionality and integrity; meanwhile they should be easy to use and freely available. Hence, this research summarised current use, gaps, and expected development trends of DSTs and it concludes that there is still a big potential of DST developments to assist operational MSP processes.     

全球荒漠化的现状、未来情景及防治对策

简要介绍了千年生态系统评估（MA）项目针对荒漠化问题编写的《生态系统与人类福祉：荒漠化综合报告》的核心内容。报告表明：① 除南极洲以外的其它各洲均存在荒漠化土地,荒漠化是旱区居民满足基本生存需求的主要障碍,它已被列为当今世界具有局地与全球效应的最为严重的环境问题;② 根据MA构建的4种情景的分析结果,预计荒漠化在未来50年（2000—2050年）内仍会不断加剧,但是在不同情景条件下其发展程度也不相同;③ 荒漠化已成为实现联合国千年发展目标的主要障碍,为了有效地防治荒漠化,必须在局地至全球的各级层次上对当前的生态系统管理方式、习惯行为和政策做出重大调整,同时最好是将工作重点放在预防上,因为试图修复荒漠化区域不仅成本昂贵,而且往往收效甚微;④ 为了更好地认识荒漠化的本质,当前亟待在全球尺度上建立准确一致的荒漠化本底数据库和评估指标体系,并对科学认知方面的一些不确定性进行深入研究。     

Modelling the impact of sea-level rise on urban flood probability in SE China

Urban drainage systems in coastal cities in SE China are characterized by often complex canal and sluicegate systems that are designed to safely drain pluvial flooding whilst preventing tidal inundation.However, the risk of coastal flooding in the region is expected to increase over the next 50-100 years, as urban areas continue to expand and sea-levels are expected to rise. To assess the impact of projected sealevel rise on this type of urban drainage system, a one-dimensional model and decision support tool was developed. The model indicated that although sea-level rise represents a significant challenge, flood probability will continue to be most influenced by rainfall. Events that are significant enough to cause flooding will most likely be minimally impacted by changes to the tidal frame. However, it was found that a sea-level rise of up to 1.2 m by 2010 would result in increased drainage times and higher volumes of over-topping when flooding occurs.