Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
ml4xcube: Machine Learning Toolkits for Earth System Data Cubes
Published: 2024-10-09
Subjects: Computer and Systems Architecture, Computer Engineering, Engineering, Geography, Remote Sensing, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Rapidly changing climate conditions and the increase in extreme events are posing severe challenges to human life and infrastructure, requiring sophisticated analytical capabilities for hazard prediction and disaster risk management. Earth System Data Cubes (ESDCs) have become an essential tool in Earth System Sciences (ESS) by organizing large-scale, multivariate environmental datasets into a [...]
Dynamics of the polycrisis: temporal trends, spatial distribution and interconnections of national shocks (1970-2019)
Published: 2024-09-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Polycrisis has emerged as a new property of the Anthropocene, driven by the co-interaction of multiple shocks and stressors. Although sector-specific studies offer insights into the changing frequency and intensity of these disruptions, a holistic, cross-sectoral analysis remains absent, limiting a more integrated understanding of the phenomenon. To fill this gap, we have compiled a database that [...]
Private protected areas exhibit greater bias towards unproductive land compared to public protected areas
Published: 2024-09-13
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Geography, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Globally, private protected areas (PPAs) have become an important tool for biodiversity conservation. While they are expanding in size and number, there is limited evidence on their potential impact on avoiding biodiversity loss, and how this impact compares to the public protected areas (PAs). The impact of protection is measured as the actual biodiversity outcome within the area protected [...]
Heatwaves and Hostilities - Can rising temperatures lead to lasting peace?
Published: 2024-09-13
Subjects: Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Public Health, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, International and Area Studies, Nature and Society Relations, Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering, Other Earth Sciences, Public Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In this paper, we are going to explore the complex relationship between climate change and global peace. Climate change and wars have a reciprocal relationship. As the war fuels climate change, the latter can catalyze the war too. Through the analysis of the ongoing conflicts across the world, recent technological advancements, and the globalized nature of the world, we will review different [...]
Envisioning nature positive futures for Europe: Inspiring transformative change at the biodiversity nexus
Published: 2024-09-06
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Transformative change is required to secure a liveable future for people and nature. The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a heuristic tool to facilitate the creation of plural visions of nature positive futures that help build shared motivation for transformative change. Integrating nexus approaches with the NFF leverages the foundational role of biodiversity in supporting desirable outcomes [...]
Decision-making under flood predictions: a risk perception study of coastal real estate
Published: 2024-08-22
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Flood models, while representing our best knowledge of a natural phenomenon, are continually evolving. Their predictions, albeit undeniably important for flood risk management, contain considerable uncertainties related to model structure, parameterisation, and input data. With multiple sources of flood predictions becoming increasingly available through online flood maps, the uncertainties in [...]
Comprehensive Assessment of Flood Risk and Vulnerability for Essential Facilities: Iowa Case Study
Published: 2024-08-02
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Sciences, Geography, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Spatial Science
Of all natural disasters that occur on this planet, flood events are universally one of the most common and most destructive. As climate change and human actions continue to cause the occurrence of flood events to rise, it becomes increasingly important that the effects of flooding are analyzed and understood. In this study, nine different types of critical amenities in the state of Iowa (such as [...]
On the Emergence of Tortured Phrases: A Threat to Scientific Integrity - The Example of 'Heavy Metal'
Published: 2024-07-17
Subjects: Education, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
For some time, I have advocated for banning the term "heavy metal" from scientific literature due to its frequent misuse, suggesting "potentially toxic element" as a replacement. The rise of "tortured phrases," generated by paraphrasing software to avoid plagiarism detection, now further threatens scientific integrity. These nonsensical terms complicate comprehension and dilute the clarity [...]
Embracing uncertainty: foundations of a learning system for food systems transformation
Published: 2024-06-21
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
We propose a transformative learning system based on a review of uncertainty emerging from system complexity. The framework is built on locally led action and embedded in a learning system that aiming at transforming the food systems. It is widely agreed that food systems need transformative change to meet societal goals. However, despite this agreement, the implementation of a systems [...]
Large indirect economic impacts of tropical cyclones shaped by disaster response
Published: 2024-05-30
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Tropical cyclones (TCs) have direct economic impacts, destroying property and infrastructure. However, the sign and magnitude of their indirect impacts via longer-term changes in economic output remain unclear. Here we use data on TC winds and county-level income in the U.S. to quantify the long-term indirect impacts of TCs. We find a nonlinear response of income growth to TCs, where damages [...]
At the Sharp End of Fractured Granites: A Critical Geology for Critical Times
Published: 2024-05-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Human Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
The geosciences have been positioned as integral to a ‘whole society’ transition that includes the decarbonisation of energy systems. Geothermal energy - which relies on a knowledge of the dynamism of rocks in the subsurface including the movement of fluids through fractures, physio-chemical interactions, and thermal gradients – has been offered as a potential route forward. Its realisation [...]
GeoAI and the Future of Spatial Analytics
Published: 2024-05-01
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Library and Information Science, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
This chapter discusses the challenges of traditional spatial analytical methods in their limited capacity to handle big and messy data, as well as mining unknown or latent patterns. It then introduces a new form of spatial analytics – geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) - and describes the advantages of this new strategy in big data analytics and data-driven discovery. Finally, a [...]
Nurturing a new industry rooted in geoscience: stakeholder insights on minewater thermal in Scotland.
Published: 2024-04-30
Subjects: Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Heat decarbonisation is crucial for climate action and to transition towards a sustainable society. Abandoned, flooded mines can be used to provide low-carbon heating and cooling for buildings or as thermal energy storage for district heating networks. Despite the plentiful potential resource that legacy mining infrastructure offers, the current utilisation of minewater thermal resources in the [...]
Innovative Approaches to Bushfire Management and Recovery
Published: 2024-04-20
Subjects: Engineering, Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In recent years, Australia has faced severe bushfires that have highlighted the need for innovative management and recovery strategies. The catastrophic 2019–2020 bushfire season, one of the most devastating on record, burned over 10.7 million hectares, destroyed approximately 3,000 homes, and resulted in the loss of at least 28 lives and over 500 million wildlife casualties. These events [...]
Entry points for accelerating transitions towards a more sustainable future
Published: 2024-04-13
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Accelerated transitions that enable far-reaching and systemic changes to a more sustainable future are urgently needed to ensure inclusive human development and Earth system stability. Different processes for accelerating transitions have been proposed over the past decade. However, evidence-based guidance on of what these processes are across scientific and policy spheres and their specification [...]