Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Environmental Studies
Reduced Precipitation on Rapa Nui During the Decline of the Moai Culture
Published: 2025-03-04
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Geography, Human Geography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
From approximately 1200-1600 CE, Polynesian settlers on the island of Rapa Nui engaged in megalithic monument construction, crafting hundreds of Ahu platforms and Moai statues from volcanic bedrock. The decline of this tradition has intrigued archaeologists for decades. The most widely disseminated hypothesis surrounding the demise of the Ahu Moai culture suggests that the Rapanui overexploited [...]
Aligning science and practice in evaluations of cookstove carbon projects
Published: 2025-02-24
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Results-based climate finance mobilizes private capital to public goods by paying for verified climate outcomes,1 yet reports of large gaps between credited and independently estimated impacts have chilled confidence.2–9 We introduce a framework that separates discrepancies into two sources: (i) implementation, what projects do and how outcomes are measured, under developer control and (ii) the [...]
Structuring uncertainty to improve climate change management success
Published: 2025-02-14
Subjects: Environmental Studies
This paper advances the field of climate adaptation by addressing two persistent challenges: navigating multiple forms of uncertainty and enabling the construction of actionable future scenarios. Using a methodology grounded in Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty (DMDU), we combine computational modeling with stakeholder-informed metanarratives to connect abstract analysis with grounded, [...]
Models of Future Food Systems Should Address Transformation Complexity and Uncertainty
Published: 2025-02-07
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Food systems face increasing, multi-dimensional pressures that demand fully integrated assessments of environmental, social, health, nutritional, and economic dimensions to inform their transformation. Food system models traditionally designed for market-driven optimisation and economic efficiency may not be well suited to address these emerging needs, limiting their ability to support decisions [...]
Where has all the Sinter gone? From the Pink and White Terraces, the Greatest Tourist Attraction of the Southern Hemisphere
Published: 2025-02-01
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Geography, Paleontology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Spatial Science, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
Debate continues over the silica sinter Pink and White Terraces, the greatest tourist attraction of the southern hemisphere. The 1886 Tarawera eruption may or may not have destroyed them by burial or eruption. This research compiles surviving sinter. The volume is unexpectedly tiny, which bears on the debate. A database was developed including photography. A forensic approach was taken to [...]
Hypereutrophication, Hydrogen Sulfide, and Environmental Injustices: Mechanisms and Knowledge Gaps at the Salton Sea
Published: 2025-01-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, is undergoing significant environmental degradation, which has adverse health effects on nearby rural communities, who are primarily Latinx and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian. Over the past two decades, the lake’s water levels have steadily dropped. Water conditions in the Sea, characterized by low oxygen and high nutrient levels, favor the [...]
Classifying cumulatively disadvantaged communities in California: A quantitative comparison of environmental justice screening tools
Published: 2025-01-10
Subjects: Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Studies
Background: Government agencies at the state and federal levels have developed screening tools to classify disadvantaged communities, which are cumulatively burdened by social marginalization and environmental hazards. Status as a recognized disadvantaged community can determine access to public funding and protections associated with environmental justice policies. In California, multiple [...]
Investigating the suitability of dichotomous responses for the Water Insecurity Experience (WISE) Scales using nationally representative data from 39 countries
Published: 2025-01-10
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Background The Water Insecurity Experiences (WISE) Scales have been validated to comparably measure water insecurity globally. The scales consist of 12 items that can be administered in approximately 3 minutes. There is interest in developing more rapid WISE Scale versions, for use when time is limited. One alternative is to use a subset of 4 items, which has been validated, but has some [...]
Can neighbourhood interventions strengthen collective climate action?
Published: 2025-01-09
Subjects: Environmental Studies
This paper builds on a model of individual and collective climate action on the neighbourhood level recently presented by Klöckner et al. [1]. In this model, types of local climate action were empirically categorized (diet, travel, protest, other climate actions) and it was found that both individual and collective intentions contribute to self-reported climate actions in these categories and [...]
A Proposal to Create a Single Global Cap-and-Trade Scheme to Ensure a Ceiling on Gross CO2 Emissions below a Pre-set Allowable Carbon Budget
Published: 2025-01-02
Subjects: Environmental Studies
It is time for faithful and trustworthy world leaders to lead in establishing a “Global Cap-and-Trade regulatory framework” to change our course promptly. This framework aims to establish an institutional mechanism that ensures steadily decreasing global emission limits. The Scheme regulates upstream entities that import or produce fossil fuels, with the initiation of countries that share the [...]
Approach to setting the attribution of CO2 reductions for CCU fuels — Toward a system counting fuel selection as an emission reduction effort
Published: 2024-12-25
Subjects: Environmental Studies
As the global economy transitions towards carbon neutrality, innovative secondary energy sources are becoming increasingly pivotal. Hydrogen derived from zero-carbon power and synthetic fuels produced by bonding carbon dioxide (CO2) with hydrogen—hereafter referred to as Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) fuels in this article—are expected to complement electricity as critical components in [...]
A Conversational Intelligent Assistant for Enhanced Operational Support in Floodplain Management with Multimodal Data
Published: 2024-12-19
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Sciences, Databases and Information Systems, Earth Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
Floodplain management is crucial for mitigating flood risks and enhancing community resilience, yet floodplain managers often face significant challenges, including the complexity of data analysis, regulatory compliance, and effective communication with diverse stakeholders. This study introduces Floodplain Manager AI, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) based virtual assistant designed to [...]
Situating place-based, community-engaged watershed research at Xwulqw'selu Sta'lo'
Published: 2024-12-12
Subjects: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Studies
Xwulqw'selu Sta'lo' is a culturally significant and salmon-bearing river facing significant challenges which Cowichan Tribes and the British Columbia Provincial Government are addressing with a first-of-its-kind watershed plan. Our research is deeply situated at Xwulqw'selu Sta'lo' and is grounded in interdisciplinary academic spheres of place-based research, water monitoring and modeling, [...]
Groundwater connected art: practicing arts-based research to enrich how hydrogeology engages people, place and other disciplines
Published: 2024-12-12
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Hydrology, Other Geography
Groundwater depletion, contamination, and governance challenges persist despite decades of groundwater research. Scientific methods are crucial yet seem insufficient to inspire the deep emotional and cultural connections needed for real change – groundwater challenges and opportunities are not reaching enough hearts and minds. This article calls for a bold shift: integrating arts-based research [...]
Doing conferences differently: a decentralised multi-hub approach for ecological and social sustainability
Published: 2024-12-11
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Conferences are invaluable for career progression, offering unique opportunities for networking, collaboration, and learning. However, there are challenges associated with the traditional in-person conference format. For example, there is a significant ecological impact from attendees’ travel behaviour, and there are social inequities in conference attendance, with historically marginalised [...]