The Environmental Regime for Climate Change and the Effects of Climatic Variability on Maya Livelihoods in Quintana Roo, Mexico

2020 ◽  
pp. 159-184
Author(s):  
Karina N. Chale Silveira ◽  
Minerva Arce Ibarra ◽  
Laura Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Quintana Roo ◽  
Environmental Regime

scholarly journals What evidence exists on the impacts of flow variability on fish and macroinvertebrates of temperate floodplain rivers in Central and Western Europe? A systematic map protocol

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Keller ◽  
Somsubhra Chattopadhyay ◽  
Mikołaj Piniewski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
Systematic Map ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Flow Variability ◽  
Floodplain Rivers

Abstract Background Flow variability is considered a fundamental factor affecting riverine biota. Any alterations to flow regime can influence freshwater organisms, and this process is expected to change with the projected climate change. This systematic map, therefore, aims at investigating the impacts of natural (resulting from climatic variability), anthropogenic (resulting from direct human pressure), and climate change-induced flow variability on fish and macroinvertebrates of temperate floodplain rivers in Central and Western Europe. Particular focus will be placed on the effects of extreme low and high discharges. These rare events are known to regulate population size and taxonomic diversity. Methods All studies investigating the effects of flow variability on metrics concerning freshwater fish and macroinvertebrates will be considered in the map, particularly metrics such as: abundance, density, diversity, growth, migration, recruitment, reproduction, survival, or their substitutes, such as biomonitoring indices. Relevant flow variability will reflect (1) anthropogenic causes: dams, reservoirs, hydroelectric facilities, locks, levees, water abstraction, water diversion, land-use changes, road culverts; (2) natural causes: floods, droughts, seasonal changes; or (3) climate change. Geographically, the map will cover the ecoregion of Central and Western Europe, focusing on its major habitat type, namely “temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands”. The review will employ search engines and specialist websites, and cover primary and grey literature. No date, language, or document type restrictions will be applied in the search strategy. We expect the results to be primarily in English, although evidence (meeting all eligibility criteria) from other languages within the study area will also be included. We will also contact relevant stakeholders and announce an open call for additional information. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two levels: title and abstract, and full text. From eligible studies the following information will be extracted: the cause of flow variability, location, type of study, outcomes, etc. A searchable database containing extracted data will be developed and provided as supplementary material to the map report. The final narrative will describe the quantity and key characteristics of the available evidence, and identify knowledge gaps and knowledge clusters, i.e. subtopics sufficiently covered by existing studies allowing full systematic review and meta-analysis.

scholarly journals Rethinking Climate, Climate Change, and Their Relationship with Water

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Demetris Koutsoyiannis
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Main Element ◽  
The Political ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
External Agent ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Water Issues

We revisit the notion of climate, along with its historical evolution, tracing the origin of the modern concerns about climate. The notion (and the scientific term) of climate was established during the Greek antiquity in a geographical context and it acquired its statistical content (average weather) in modern times after meteorological measurements had become common. Yet the modern definitions of climate are seriously affected by the wrong perception of the previous two centuries that climate should regularly be constant, unless an external agent acts upon it. Therefore, we attempt to give a more rigorous definition of climate, consistent with the modern body of stochastics. We illustrate the definition by real-world data, which also exemplify the large climatic variability. Given this variability, the term “climate change” turns out to be scientifically unjustified. Specifically, it is a pleonasm as climate, like weather, has been ever-changing. Indeed, a historical investigation reveals that the aim in using that term is not scientific but political. Within the political aims, water issues have been greatly promoted by projecting future catastrophes while reversing true roles and causality directions. For this reason, we provide arguments that water is the main element that drives climate, and not the opposite.

scholarly journals Testing Farmers’ Perception of Climate Variability: A Case Study from Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley

2012 ◽  
pp. 30-34
Author(s):  
Jiban Mani Poudel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
Global And Local

In the 21st century, global climate change has become a public and political discourse. However, there is still a wide gap between global and local perspectives. The global perspective focuses on climate fluctuations that affect the larger region; and their analysis is based on long-term records over centuries and millennium. By comparison, local peoples’ perspectives vary locally, and local analyses are limited to a few days, years, decades and generations only. This paper examines how farmers in Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, understand climate variability in their surroundings. The researcher has used a cognized model to understand farmers’ perception on weather fluctuations and climate change. The researcher has documented several eyewitness accounts of farmers about weather fluctuations which they have been observing in a lifetime. The researcher has also used rainfall data from 1970-2009 to test the accuracy of perceptions. Unlike meteorological analyses, farmers recall and their understanding of climatic variability by weather-crop interaction, and events associating with climatic fluctuations and perceptions are shaped by both physical visibility and cultural frame or belief system.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7200 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.30-34

scholarly journals Dendrochronological Assessment of Whitebark Pine Response to Past Climate Change: Implications for a Threatened Species in Grand Teton National Park

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 58-64
Author(s):  
Kendra McLauchlan ◽  
Kyleen Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Pine Trees

One of the keystone tree species in subalpine forests of the western United States – whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis, hereafter whitebark pine) – is experiencing a significant mortality event (Millar et al. 2012). Whitebark pine occupies a relatively restricted range in the high-elevation ecosystems in the northern Rockies and its future is uncertain. The current decline of whitebark pine populations has been attributed to pine beetle infestations, blister rust infections, anthropogenic fire suppression, and climate change (Millar et al. 2012). Despite the knowledge that whitebark pine is severely threatened by multiple stressors, little is known about the historic capacity of this species to handle these stressors. More specifically, it is unknown how whitebark pine has dealt with past climatic variability, particularly variation in the type of precipitation (rain vs. snow) available for soil moisture, and how differences in quantity of precipitation have influenced the establishment and growth of modern stands. We propose to study the past responses of whitebark pine to paleoclimatic conditions, which would be useful to park ecologists in developing new conservation and regeneration plans to prevent the extinction of this already severely threatened high-elevation resource. The purpose of this study is to determine in great temporal and spatial detail the demographics of the current stand of whitebark pine trees in the watershed surrounding an unnamed, high-altitude pond (known informally as Whitebark Pine Moraine Pond) located approximately 3.06 miles NW of Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). The main objectives of this study were: 1.) To obtain the precise GPS locations of the current stand of whitebark pine trees in the watershed to generate a GIS map detailing their locations. 2.) To obtain increment cores of a subset of the trees in the watershed to estimate age and date of establishment for the current stand of whitebark pines, with particular attention to fire history. 3.) To analyze ring widths from core samples to identify climatic indicators that may influence the regeneration and survival of whitebark pine.

scholarly journals Climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources of Indian River basin

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umesh Kumar Singh ◽  
Balwant Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Runoff Generation

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission is altering the global hydrological cycle due to change in rainfall pattern and rising temperature which is responsible for alteration in the physical characteristics of river basin, melting of ice, drought, flood, extreme weather events and alteration in groundwater recharge. In India, water demand for domestic, industrial and agriculture purposes have already increased many folds which are also influencing the water resource system. In addition, climate change has induced the surface temperature of the Indian subcontinent by 0.48 ºC in just last century. However, Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basins have great importance for their exceptional hydro-geological settings and deltaic floodplain wetland ecosystems which support 700 million people in Asia. The climatic variability like alterations in precipitation and temperature over GBM river basins has been observed which signifies the GBM as one of the most vulnerable areas in the world under the potential impact of climate change. Consequently, alteration in river discharge, higher runoff generation, low groundwater recharge and melting of glaciers over GBM river basin could be observed in near future. The consequence of these changes due to climate change over GBM basin may create serious water problem for Indian sub-continents. This paper reviews the literature on the historical climate variations and how climate change affects the hydrological characteristics of different river basins.

scholarly journals Predicting the change of hydraulic loads on bridges: a case study in Italy with a 100-year database

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Pucci ◽  
Hélder S. Sousa ◽  
José C. Matos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Peak Discharge ◽  
Greenhouse Gasses ◽  
Hydraulic Design ◽  
Design Loads ◽  
Hydrological Cycles ◽  
Existing Bridges

<p>Planet Earth is naturally subject to climatic variability, but over the recent decades extreme deviations have been observed. Climate change, as a manmade-induced process, is mainly due to the increase of greenhouse gasses emission. Global warming consequences drive also to an intensification of hydrological cycles, leading to more frequent and severe precipitations. In parallel, several bridges have collapsed in the last years due to extreme rainfalls. Although the impacts of climate change on built environment do not always present a direct cause-effect relation, analysis on specific parameters (as rain volume) that are inputs in bridge design, can clarify some aspects of this interaction. In this paper, the peak discharge variation of different rivers located in the northwest of Italy, within the last 100 years, is analyzed. A cluster analysis was performed to understand if the hydraulic design loads should be considered with a different intensity if the bridge had been built with reference to an up-to-date database, or if in the last decades, when the majority of these structures were built. The rainfall data was analyzed through classical techniques, such as the frequency-based statistical method, but without the stationary time hypothesis. In this case, the extreme value theory was used for the estimation of intensity-duration curve parameters. By introducing a second-order analysis, where random variables can change over time, an increase-trend of rainfall height was found, and the peak discharge was determined accordingly. The relevant parameters on the case-study area were preliminarily obtained through geographic information systems. The results evidenced that nowadays-floods parameters are significantly different from those of the past, and this behavior is escalated when high return period values are assumed. Furthermore, although hydraulic design loads are increasing, many existing bridges are not properly maintained, leading to an increased number of collapses.</p>

scholarly journals Adaptation measures to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shingirai S. Mugambiwa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Knowledge Systems ◽  
Rural District ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Crop Type ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽  
Type Change

This article examines adaptation measures used to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe. Community-based adaptation is able to reduce the vulnerability as well as improve the resilience of the local people to climatic variability and change. Subsistence farmers have always adopted adaptive strategies to some of these changes over the years. As such, the adoption of indigenous practices will significantly help rural community members to adapt to climate change. This study employed a qualitative method and an exploratory design, and the results are derived from 30 purposively selected in-depth interviews. The study discovered that there are numerous measures used to adapt to climate change and subsequently to sustain indigenous practices. The study also found that the community no longer grows maize in large quantities, having shifted to millet and sorghum in order to adapt to climate change. The community also provided various strategies to adapt to climate change. These strategies include mulching, creating large storage houses for produce and creating temporary walls on riverbanks in order to store water when the rivers dry up. This study concludes that climate change adaptation measures employed by the community have significantly helped them to sustain their indigenous practices in many ways. Also, the use of IKS, through activities such as crop type change from maize to traditional millet and sorghum (which facilitates traditional lifestyle and activities), re-establishes the community’s indigenous practices since they are made to observe the practices of yesteryear.

scholarly journals Faithful or not: direct and indirect effects of climate on extra-pair paternities in a population of Alpine marmots

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1845) ◽  
pp. 20162240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coraline Bichet ◽  
Dominique Allainé ◽  
Sandrine Sauzet ◽  
Aurélie Cohas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Alternative Mating Tactic ◽  
Adaptive Genetic Diversity ◽  
Sexually Mature ◽  
Annual Proportion

Despite being identified an area that is poorly understood regarding the effects of climate change, behavioural responses to climatic variability are seldom explored. Climatic variability is likely to cause large inter-annual variation in the frequency of extra-pair litters produced, a widespread alternative mating tactic to help prevent, correct or minimize the negative consequences of sub-optimal mate choice. In this study, we investigated how climatic variability affects the inter-annual variation in the proportion of extra-pair litters in a wild population of Alpine marmots. During 22 years of monitoring, the annual proportion of extra-pair litters directly increased with the onset of earlier springs and indirectly with increased snow in winters. Snowier winters resulted in a higher proportion of families with sexually mature male subordinates and thus, created a social context within which extra-pair paternity was favoured. Earlier spring snowmelt could create this pattern by relaxing energetic, movement and time constraints. Further, deeper snow in winter could also contribute by increasing litter size and juvenile survival. Optimal mate choice is particularly relevant to generate adaptive genetic diversity. Understanding the influence of environmental conditions and the capacity of the individuals to cope with them is crucial within the context of rapid climate change.

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