Preprints
There are 5432 Preprints listed.
From Awareness to Action: Unleashing the Transformative Potential of Climate Change Education in St. Michael’s College
Published: 2023-06-24
Subjects: Environmental Studies
The aim of this study is to explore how climate change education is delivered and received in higher education at SMC. As a qualitative study, the study was conducted in the first semester of 2022-2023 and involved 30 students and teachers who participated in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The data analysis revealed the themes that emerged from the students’ complex [...]
Decoding the Dynamics of Climate Change Impact: Temporal Patterns of Surface Warming and Melting on the Nivlisen Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Surface melting in Antarctica can result in the formation of meltwater ponds and streams, which can encourage glacier basal sliding and ice flow; long-term severe surface melting can result in the formation of melt ponds and, eventually, supraglacial lakes (SGLs), raising the prospect of hydrofracturing. Measurements of these surface melting characteristics are useful for studying glacier and ice [...]
The climate and environmental determinants of domestic water supply change at the Nasia catchment in Northern Ghana
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Geography
The Nasia river serves as the primary source of domestic water supply for over 5000 households in the Nasia catchment. However, the river is currently experiencing water stress conditions, causing an imbalance between the demand for water and the available supply. In this study, we evaluated the impact of climate and environmental factors on changes in domestic water supply in the Nasia [...]
Food web complexity alters phytoplankton resistance and resilience to nutrient pulses in experimental ecosystems
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Food webs may mediate the resistance and resilience of ecosystems to disturbances driven by climate change. In aquatic ecosystems, greater food web complexity is theorized to increasing the resistance (longer response time) and resilience (shorter recovery time) of primary production to pulse disturbances, yet experimental evidence is limited. We simulated two storm-induced pulse disturbances by [...]
Standardized Benchmark of Historical Compound Wind and Solar Energy Droughts Across the Continental United States
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Statistical Methodology, Sustainability
As we move towards a decarbonized grid, reliance on weather-dependent energy increases as does exposure to prolonged natural resource shortages known as energy droughts. Compound energy droughts occur when two or more predominant renewable energy sources simultaneously are in drought conditions. In this study we present a methodology and dataset for examining compound wind and solar energy [...]
The longest-lived Pacific hotspots reveal a plume tail for the largest oceanic plateau
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Volcanic hotspots are thought to initially form by melting in an upwelling mantle plume head followed by melting of the plume tail. Plate motion then generates an age progressive volcanic track originating from a large igneous province and connecting to a presently active hotspot. However, the most voluminous large igneous province, the ~120 Ma Ontong-Java Nui Plateau (OJP-Nui) in the [...]
Beyond the First Tipping Points of Southern Hemisphere Climate
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Analysis of observations, reanalysis and model simulations, including via machine learning methods specifically designed for regime identification, have revealed changes in aspects of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) circulation and Australian climate and extremes over the last half century that point to transitions to new states. In particular, our analysis shows a dramatic shift in the [...]
A theory of stochastic fluvial landscape evolution
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
Geometries of eroding landscapes contain important information about geologic, climatic, biotic and geomorphic processes. They are also characterised by variability, which makes disentangling their origins challenging. Observations and physical models of fluvial processes, which set the pace of erosion on most continents, emphasise complexity and variability. In contrast, the spectral content of [...]
Mind the uncertainty: Global plate model choice impacts deep-time palaeobiological studies
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Biodiversity, Climate, Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology, Life Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
1. Global plate models (GPMs) aim to reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the Earth by modelling the motion of the plates and continents through time. These models enable palaeobiologists to study the past distribution of extinct organisms. However, different GPMs exist that vary in their partitioning of the Earth's surface and the modelling of continental motions. Consequently, the preferred [...]
Comparing Kelp Conveyance Strategies for Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal with Farmed Macroalgae
Published: 2023-06-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Sequestration of carbon dioxide via sinking of farmed seaweed into the ocean is a promising strategy to the ever-growing need to achieve negative emissions of carbon dioxide. A key component to the durability of the strategy is the method to which seaweed biomass is conveyed to the seafloor. The purpose of this white paper is to introduce four different conveyance techniques, plans for how each [...]
Carbon Negative Geothermal: Techno-Economic Analysis of Geothermal Energy combined with Direct and Biomass-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal
Published: 2023-06-22
Subjects: Other Engineering
Limiting global temperature rise to between 1.5 and 2°C will likely require widespread deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies for sectors with hard-to-abate emissions. As financial resources for decarbonization are finite, strategic deployment of CDR technologies is essential for maximizing atmospheric CO2 reductions. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), using either direct [...]
The weather does not support farmers: an exploratory qualitative study in Kavre district, Nepal.
Published: 2023-06-22
Subjects: Public Health
Kavre district, Nepal, is highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, including increases in erratic rainfall, drought, floods, and landslides. As gender roles, culture, age, physical and physiological characteristics increase, mainly Nepalese women's and children's, health risks associated with climate change and air pollution, listening to and learning from women is critical. This study [...]
Cohesional behaviours in volcanic material and the implications for deposit architecture.
Published: 2023-06-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDCs) are hazardous, multiphase currents of heterogeneous volcanic material and gas. Their high mobility can be partially attributed to fluidisation mechanisms. Moisture (as liquid or gas) can enter a PDC through external (e.g., interaction with bodies of water) or internal (e.g., initial eruptive activity style) processes and presence of moisture can be recorded [...]
Technological Maturity of Aircraft-Based Methane Sensing for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation
Published: 2023-06-22
Subjects: Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Oil, Gas, and Energy
Methane is a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Identifying large sources of methane, particularly from the oil and gas sector, will be essential for mitigating climate change. Aircraft-based methane sensing platforms can rapidly detect and quantify methane point-source emissions across large geographic regions, playing an increasingly important role in industrial [...]
Information trust and groundwater management: Evaluating the role of formal versus informal information sources in adoption of groundwater conservation practices among California farmers
Published: 2023-06-21
Subjects: Agriculture
The future of farming in many water-stressed regions will depend in large part upon sustainable management of groundwater. Understanding the drivers associated with uptake of groundwater conservation practices in agriculture is thus critical for policy, programmatic, and technical support development. While a rich body of research has explored farmers’ conservation practice adoption, [...]