Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Dynamics of the polycrisis: temporal trends, spatial distribution and interconnections of national shocks (1970-2019)

Louis Delannoy, Alexandre Verzier, Bernardo A. Bastien-Olvera, et al.

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

Roshan Sharma, Simon Jones, Lucy Bastin, et al.

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?

Fils Jean Pierre Mutsinzi

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

Anita Lazurko, Mara de Pater, HyeJin Kim, et al.

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

Avidesh Seenath, Scott Mark Romeo Mahadeo, Matthew Blackett

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

Cori Ann Grant, Yazeed Alabbad, Enes Yildirim, et al.

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'

Olivier Pourret

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

Kai Mausch, Andy Hall, Caroline Hambloch, et al.

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

Christopher Callahan, Jane Baldwin, Renzhi Jing, et al.

Published: 2024-05-30
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences

Tropical cyclones (TCs) have direct economic impacts, destroying property, crops, 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 indirect impacts of TCs on incomes in the years following a TC. We find a nonlinear response of [...]

At the Sharp End of Fractured Granites: A Critical Geology for Critical Times

Deborah Dixon, Iain Neill, Bailey Lathrop, et al.

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

Wenwen Li, Samantha T. Arundel

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.

Katherine Beth Deeming, Jen Dickie, Jen Roberts, et al.

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

Milad Esmzadeh

Published: 2024-04-19
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

Enayat Moallemi, Michelle Miller, Katrina Szetey, et al.

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 [...]

A consistent terminology to communicate ground-related uncertainty

Georg H. Erharter, Suzanne Lacasse, Franz Tschuchnigg

Published: 2024-03-26
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Risk Analysis, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics and Probability

Engineering geology is highly affected by uncertainty related to geology, geotechnical parameters, models and methods. While the technical aspects of ground-related uncertainty are increasingly well investigated, the terminology to communicate uncertainty - e.g., “It is likely that X will happen.” - has not yet been unified and experts use it however they see fit. Due to varying experience, [...]

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