Climate

Physics defines heat as; Thermal energy transferred from a hotter system to a cooler system that is in contact, the heat energy unit is Joules (J), In general, three different modes of heat transfer are recognized: Conduction, convection, and radiation. The theory of the greenhouse effect erases the infrared radiation and the heat transfer by contact of the gas molecules in the atmosphere (14°C), and teaches us that the greenhouse gases (0.04% of the atmosphere), They receive a radiation heat transfer from the surface of the earth whose average temperature is 2.82°C, and these gases re-radiate it in all directions. We see many errors in the theory of the greenhouse effect; 1. When radiation heat transfer occurs is produced by changes in the electronic configurations of constituent atoms or molecules and transported by electromagnetic waves or photons. 2. It tells us that the surface of the Earth does not transfer its heat to the Atmosphere by conduction, when it is in contact with its surface, but by radiation. 3. It tells us that the Sun emitting infrared radiation at all known wavelengths does not emit infrared radiation at the wavelength emitted by the earth's surface. 4. It does not take into account all molecules in the atmosphere that also emit their temperature as infrared radiation. 5. It only takes into account 0.04% of the molecules in the atmospheric system, as a new way of transferring heat, not by its own infrared radiation, but as a way to radiate the heat radiated by the earth's atoms. 6. It teaches us that the earth's surface with an average temperature of 2.82°C can transfer irradiated heat to the greenhouse gases of the atmospheric system, with an average temperature of 14°C.

The potential impacts of sea level in the study region are presented using the Integrated Procedure for Estimate Sea Level Impacts (IPESLI), made up of Landsat images, official databases, and design software for geographic information systems. IPESLI is useful in areas with little georeferenced and validated information. The sea level projections are based on the climate projections, which incorporate the possible attenuation of the ice sheet near the upper end of Antarctica. Flood risk statistics were used to simulate the frequency of extreme flooding across the planet. The IPESLI was calibrated using seven field visits to compare the height values generated by the digital elevation model against the in situ data. The inundation maps generated in the study can be used to find the most vulnerable areas and initiate decision making for coastal adaptation. The IPESLI procedure has the potential to contribute to the formation of a communication bridge between climate change science and...

We aimed to summarize and map the existing global population-based data on active trachoma and trichiasis. Detailed distribution maps of various infectious diseases have proved a valuable tool in their control. Such maps play an important role in assessing the magnitude of the problem, defining priority areas for control, monitoring changes, and advocacy. Until now, information on trachoma prevalence at within country levels has not been systematically collated, analysed and reported. We gathered the last 18 years' worth of reported data on active trachoma in children aged less than 10 years, and the last 25 years of reported trichiasis in adults aged 15 years and over from 139 population-based surveys in 33 countries. We collated these data into one database using the "district" (second administrative level) as the standard unit of reporting. We used Geographical Information Systems as a database and cartographic tool to generate a global map of the prevalence of trac...

The authors establish the effect of urbanization on precipitation in the Pearl River Delta of China with data from an annual land use map (1988–96) derived from Landsat images and monthly climate data from 16 local meteorological stations. A statistical analysis of the relationship between climate and urban land use in concentric buffers around the stations indicates that there is a causal relationship from temporal and spatial patterns of urbanization to temporal and spatial patterns of precipitation during the dry season. Results suggest an urban precipitation deficit in which urbanization reduces local precipitation. This reduction may be caused by changes in surface hydrology that extend beyond the urban heat island effect and energy-related aerosol emissions.

ABSTRACT: The urgent need for realistic regional climate change scenarios has led to a plethora of empirical downscaling techniques. In many cases, widely differing predictors are used, making com-parative evaluation difficult. Additionally, it is not clear that the chosen predictors are ...

Designing a fuel-sampling program that accurately and efficiently assesses fuel load at relevant spatial scales requires knowledge of each sample method’s strengths and weaknesses. We obtained loading values for six fuel components using five fuel load sampling techniques at five locations in western Montana, USA. The techniques included fixed-area plots, planar intersect, photoloads, a photoload macroplot, and a photo series. For each of the six fuels, we compared (1) the relative differences in load values among techniques and (2) the differences in load between each method and a reference sample. Totals from each method were rated for how much they deviated from totals for the reference in each fuel category. The planar-intersect method, which used 2.50 km of transects, was rated best overall for assessing the six fuels. Bootstrapping showed that at least 1.50 km of transect were needed to obtain estimates that approximate the reference sample. A newly developed photoload method,...

The Philippines is a country that is both largely dependent on marine resources for its people's socio-cultural and economic activities, yet also highly vulnerable to extreme weather events caused by climate change. Recognizing this, a Climate Change Adaptation Project, with support from the Norwegian Trust Fund, studied three coastal communities in three (3) different provinces in the Bicol region, widely known to lie in the so-called 'Philippine typhoon belt'. The project sought to establish a community-based adaptation strategy in pilot sites by providing guidance on setting appropriate policies, climate proofing livelihoods with adaptation measures, and institutionalizing science-based-decision support systems. The project also sought to develop a replicable template that can be used by and adapted to all other similar sites in the Philippines. The project had four major components: (1) policy and legislation, (2) vulnerability assessment, (3) bio-physical adaptation...

The transient response to projected climate change of two ice caps in the central Icelandic highland was simulated with a vertically integrated ice-flow model coupled to a degree-day mass-balance model. The ice caps, Langjökull and Hofsjökull, are of similar size (area ∼900 km2 and volume ∼200 km3) and located only ∼30 km apart. The climate change simulations were started in 1990 from steady states corresponding to the average climate of 1981–2000 and driven with observed weather parameters until 2005. Thereafter, the forcing was according to a Nordic climate change scenario based on the IPCC B2 emission scenario. The simulations during the period 1990–2005 compare reasonably well with observations of mass-balance and glacier extent. Both ice caps are projected to essentially disappear during the next 100 to 200 years. Langjökull, which disappears within the next 150 years, shows larger mass-balance sensitivity to warming than the higher elevated Hofsjökull, where ice on the highest...

This study answers two questions about power sector reform in Moldova. First, did reform affect the poor and the non-poor differently? Second, are household consumption patterns different for private and public distribution networks? The study concludes that reforms have not disproportionately affected the poor. The gap in electricity consumption between poor and non-poor is closing, as a result of improvements in the supply of electricity, particularly in rural areas, and the significant growth in income over the past four years. Moldova's residential electricity consumption remains exceptionally low and is probably highly inelastic, especially for the very poor. This implies that unless they are accompanied by increases in income, future tariff increases could create large potential consumer welfare losses-as well as large revenue gains for the utility. It also implies that there may be room for substantial welfare gains by helping households better manage their electricity ex...

The climatic variability hypothesis posits that the magnitude of climatic variability increases with latitude, elevation, or both, and that greater variability selects for organisms with broader temperature tolerances, enabling them to be geographically widespread. We tested this classical hypothesis for the elevational range sizes of more than 16,500 terrestrial vertebrates on 180 montane gradients. In support of the hypothesis, mean elevational range size was positively correlated with the scope of seasonal temperature variation, whereas elevational range size was negatively correlated with daily temperature variation among gradients. In accordance with a previous life history model and our extended versions of it, our findings indicate that physiological specialization may be favored under shorter-term climatic variability.