Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Sustainability
Vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level rise
Published: 2018-09-30
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis, Sedimentology, Soil Science, Stratigraphy, Sustainability
Coastal Louisiana has lost about 5,000km2 of wetlands over the past century and concern exists whether remaining wetlands will persist while facing some of the world’s highest rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Here we analyse an unprecedented data set derived from 274 rod surface-elevation table-marker horizon stations, to determine present-day surface-elevation change, vertical accretion [...]
Reactionary fence installation for post-Superstorm Sandy dune recovery
Published: 2018-09-24
Subjects: Biology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Sustainability
Dunes are invaluable to coastal areas as dynamic buffers to erosion during high tides and storms, but do not accrue naturally in developed areas without assistance. Wood paling fencing is commonly used to cultivate dune development and thereby increase the protection afforded to coastal areas. In 2012, Superstorm Sandy devastated the mid-Atlantic, especially New Jersey where many areas are still [...]
Scoping the potential usefulness of seasonal climate forecasts for solar power management
Published: 2018-09-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability
Solar photovoltaic energy is widespread worldwide and particularly in Europe, which became in 2016 the first region in the world to pass the 100 GW of installed capacity. As for all the renewable energy sources, for an intelligent management of solar power, it is essential to have reliable and accurate information about weather/climate conditions that affect the production of electricity. This [...]
Powers of 10: cross-scale optimization of social agencies for rapid climate and sustainability action
Published: 2018-08-27
Subjects: Education, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, International and Area Studies, Library and Information Science, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Sustainability
Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and related sustainability initiatives will require halving of greenhouse gas emissions each decade from now on through to 2050, when net zero emissions should be achieved. To reach such significant reductions requires a rapid and strategic scaling of existing and emerging technologies and practices, coupled with economic and social transformation and [...]
Uncertainties of sandy shoreline change projections as sea level rises
Published: 2018-07-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability
Sandy shorelines are constantly evolving, threatening frequently human assets such as buildings or transport infrastructures. In these environments, sea level rise will exacerbate coastal erosion to an amount which remains uncertain. Sandy shoreline change projections inherits the uncertainties of future mean sea level changes, of vertical ground motions, and of other natural and anthropogenic [...]
The impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on European hydro-power generation
Published: 2018-07-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability
In this paper we analyse and quantify the impact of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the daily hydropower generation in the European countries. We create a consistent dataset of hydropower generation using a machine- learning methodology, this activity is an output of the Copernicus Climate Change Service ECEM contract. The model is set up using generation data on 2015-2016, and then an [...]
Cyclic CO2 – H2O injection and residual trapping: implications for CO2 injection efficiency and storage security
Published: 2018-06-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability
To meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 2ºC or below it is widely accepted that Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will have to be deployed at scale. The influence of residual trapping on CO2 well injectivity and its response over time has a major impact on the injection efficiency and storage capacity of CO2 storage sites. For the first time, experiments have been [...]
The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production
Published: 2017-12-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Glaciology, Hydrology, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sustainability, Water Resource Management
High elevation or high latitude hydropower production (HP) strongly relies on water resources that are influenced by glacier melt and are thus highly sensitive to climate warming. Despite of the wide-spread glacier retreat since the development of HP infrastructure in the 20th century, little quantitative information is available about the role of glacier mass loss for HP. We provide the first [...]