scholarly journals Climate Changes and the Imperatives of All Round-a-Year Human Activity in the Arctic

2015 ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
L. Voronkov
Keyword(s):  
Energy Supply ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
The Impact

The author questions the indisputability of the Arctic’s existing climate change assessments and insists on the need to adjust the Arctic strategies of states to different scenarios of such changes. While not denying the impact of human society on the Earth’s climate, the author believes to be important not to limit research on its changes by exclusively natural-scientific aspects, but to include considerations concerning the influence of peculiarities of human society’s development on the climate. He thinks it is important to take into account the combine impact of the changing nature of contemporary industrial activity, of sources for energy supply, the on-going processes of building of “smart” economy and its innovative development, demographic changes, improvement of human capital as well as the impact of increased environmental consciousness of human beings on the global and Arctic climate. Despite the observed climatic changes in the Arctic, it remains ice-covered the major part of the year. Any commercially justified human activities in the Arctic must be based on the need to maintain a year-round exploitation of its resources and possibilities and to create the appropriate infrastructure, machinery and equipment. The author comes to the conclusion that the need to resolve these problems requires considerable financial resources and time.

Engels on women, the family, class and gender

2021 ◽  
pp. 194277862110000
Author(s):  
Sheila Margaret McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Women's Oppression ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Socialist Movement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

This article looks at Engels’s writings to show that his ideas about the role of labour in the evolution of human beings in a dialectical relationship between human beings and nature is a crucial starting point for understanding human society and is correct in its essentials. It is important for understanding that we developed as a species on the basis of social cooperation. The way human beings produce and reproduce themselves, the method of historical materialism, provides the basis for understanding how class and women’s oppression arose and how that can explain LGBTQ oppression. Although Engels’s analysis was once widely accepted by the socialist movement, it has mainly been ignored or opposed by academic researchers and others, including geographers, and more recently by Marxist feminists. However, anthropological research from the 1960s and 1970s as well as more recent anthropological and archaeological research provide overwhelming evidence for the validity of Engels’s argument that there were egalitarian, pre-class societies without women’s oppression. However, much remains to be explained about the transition to class societies. Engels’s analysis of the impact of industrial capitalism on gender roles shows how society shapes our behaviour. Engels’s method needs to be constantly reasserted against those who would argue that we are a competitive, aggressive species who require rules to suppress our true nature, and that social development is driven by ideas, not by changes in the way we produce and reproduce ourselves.

The impact of sea-ice dynamics on the Arctic climate system

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 741-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Vavrus ◽  
S. P. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Sea Ice Dynamics ◽  
The Impact

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Inclusiveness, Affordability, Cultural Identity, and Ethical Orientation

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 57-68
Author(s):  
Reginald M.J. Oduor
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Ethical Orientation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Normative Considerations

Discussions on the impact and future directions of technology often proceed from an empirical point of view that seems to presume that the ebb and flow of technological developments is beyond the control of humankind, so that all that humanity can do is adjust to it. However, such an approach easily neglects several crucial normative considerations that could enhance the standing of individual human beings and whole communities as rational users of technology rather than its slaves. Besides, more often than not, technological products are designed in ways that neglect the needs of persons with disabilities, thereby perpetuating their exclusion from society. Consequently, this article proposes four normative considerations to guide the initiatives of African societies in their deployment of the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, namely, inclusiveness to meet the needs of all human beings, affordability to bridge the digital divide, respect for cultural identity to guard against cultural imperialism, and an ethical orientation as the over-arching guide to building a truly human society.

scholarly journals Aircraft observations of enhancement and depletion of black carbon mass in the springtime Arctic

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 15167-15196
Author(s):  
J. R. Spackman ◽  
R. S. Gao ◽  
W. D. Neff ◽  
J. P. Schwarz ◽  
L. A. Watts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Boundary Layer Transition ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Free Troposphere ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Understanding the processes controlling black carbon (BC) in the Arctic is crucial for evaluating the impact of anthropogenic and natural sources of BC on Arctic climate. Vertical profiles of BC mass were observed from the surface to near 7-km altitude in April 2008 using a Single-Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) during flights on the NOAA WP-3D research aircraft from Fairbanks, Alaska. These measurements were conducted during the NOAA-sponsored Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) project as part of POLARCAT, an International Polar Year (IPY) activity. In the free troposphere, the Arctic air mass was influenced by long-range transport from biomass-burning and anthropogenic source regions at lower latitudes especially during the latter part of the campaign. Maximum average BC mass loadings of 150 ng kg−1 were observed near 5.5-km altitude in the aged Arctic air mass. In biomass-burning plumes, BC was enhanced from near the top of the Arctic boundary layer (ABL) to 5.5 km compared to the aged Arctic air mass. At the bottom of some of the profiles, positive vertical gradients in BC were observed in the vicinity of open leads in the sea-ice. BC mass loadings increased by about a factor of two across the boundary layer transition in the ABL in these cases while carbon monoxide (CO) remained constant, evidence for depletion of BC in the ABL. BC mass loadings were positively correlated with O3 in ozone depletion events (ODEs) for all the observations in the ABL suggesting that BC was removed by dry deposition of BC on the snow or ice because molecular bromine, Br2, which photolyzes and catalytically destroys O3, is thought to be released near the open leads in regions of ice formation. We estimate the deposition flux of BC mass to the snow using a box model constrained by the vertical profiles of BC in the ABL. The open leads may increase vertical mixing in the ABL and entrainment of pollution from the free troposphere possibly enhancing the deposition of BC to the snow.

Case study of an Arctic atmospheric river with the ICON model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Bresson ◽  
Annette Rinke ◽  
Vera Schemann ◽  
Mario Mech ◽  
Susanne Crewell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Limited Area ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
The Impact

<p>The Arctic climate changes faster than the ones of other regions, but the relative role of the individual feedback mechanisms contributing to Arctic amplification is still unclear. Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are narrow and transient river-style moisture flows from the sub-polar regions. The integrated water vapour transport associated with ARs can explain up to 70% of the precipitation variance north of 70°N. However, there are still uncertainties regarding the specific role and the impact of ARs on the Arctic climate variability. For the first time, the high-resolution ICON modelling framework is used over the Arctic region. Pan Arctic simulations (from 13 km down to ca. 6 and 3 km) are performed to investigate processes related with anomalous moisture transport into the Arctic. Based on a case study over the Nordic Seas, the representation of the atmospheric circulation and the spatio-temporal structure of water vapor, temperature and precipitation within the limited-area mode (LAM) of the ICON model is assessed, and compared with reanalysis and in-situ datasets. Preliminary results show that the moisture intrusion is relatively well represented in the ICON-LAM simulations. The study also shows added value in increasing the model horizontal resolution on the AR representation.</p>

scholarly journals Quantifying Emerging Local Anthropogenic Emissions in the Arctic Region: The ACCESS Aircraft Campaign Experiment

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Roiger ◽  
J.-L. Thomas ◽  
H. Schlager ◽  
K. S. Law ◽  
J. Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Local Pollution ◽  
Arctic Climate Change ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pollution Plumes

Abstract Arctic sea ice has decreased dramatically in the past few decades and the Arctic is increasingly open to transit shipping and natural resource extraction. However, large knowledge gaps exist regarding composition and impacts of emissions associated with these activities. Arctic hydrocarbon extraction is currently under development owing to the large oil and gas reserves in the region. Transit shipping through the Arctic as an alternative to the traditional shipping routes is currently underway. These activities are expected to increase emissions of air pollutants and climate forcers (e.g., aerosols, ozone) in the Arctic troposphere significantly in the future. The authors present the first measurements of these activities off the coast of Norway taken in summer 2012 as part of the European Arctic Climate Change, Economy, and Society (ACCESS) project. The objectives include quantifying the impact that anthropogenic activities will have on regional air pollution and understanding the connections to Arctic climate. Trace gas and aerosol concentrations in pollution plumes were measured, including emissions from different ship types and several offshore extraction facilities. Emissions originating from industrial activities (smelting) on the Kola Peninsula were also sampled. In addition, pollution plumes originating from Siberian biomass burning were probed in order to put the emerging local pollution within a broader context. In the near future these measurements will be combined with model simulations to quantify the influence of local anthropogenic activities on Arctic composition. Here the authors present the scientific objectives of the ACCESS aircraft experiment and the the meteorological conditions during the campaign, and they highlight first scientific results from the experiment.

Impacts of Stratospheric Ozone Extremes on Arctic High Cloud

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Smith ◽  
Sarah Maleska ◽  
John Virgin
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ozone Depletion ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion ◽  
High Cloud ◽  
The Impact

<p>Stratospheric ozone depletion in the Antarctic is well known to cause changes in Southern Hemisphere tropospheric climate; however, because of its smaller magnitude in the Arctic, the effects of stratospheric ozone depletion on Northern Hemisphere tropospheric climate are not as obvious or well understood. Recent research using both global climate models and observational data has determined that the impact of ozone depletion on ozone extremes can affect interannual variability in tropospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere in spring. To further this work, we use a coupled chemistry–climate model to examine the difference in high cloud between years with anomalously low and high Arctic stratospheric ozone concentrations. We find that low ozone extremes during the late twentieth century, when ozone-depleting substances (ODS) emissions are higher, are related to a decrease in upper tropospheric stability and an increase in high cloud fraction, which may contribute to enhanced Arctic surface warming in spring through a positive longwave cloud radiative effect. A better understanding of how Arctic climate is affected by ODS emissions, ozone depletion, and ozone extremes will lead to improved predictions of Arctic climate and its associated feedbacks with atmospheric fields as ozone levels recover.</p>

The impact of orbital forcing on the Arctic climate during the Last Interglacial simulated by the IPSL-CM6A-LR model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Sicard ◽  
Masa Kageyama ◽  
Pascale Braconnot ◽  
Sylvie Charbit
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Orbital Forcing ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The Impact

<p>The Last Interglacial (129 – 116 ka BP) is a time period with a strong orbital forcing which leads to a different seasonal and latitudinal distribution of insolation compared to the present. In particular, these changes amplify the Arctic climate seasonality. They induce warmer summers and colder winters in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Such surface conditions favour a huge retreat of the arctic sea ice cover.<br>In this study, we try to understand how this solar radiation anomaly spreads through the surface and impacts the seasonal arctic sea ice. Using IPSL-CM6A-LR model outputs, we decompose the surface energy budget to identify the role of atmospheric and oceanic key processes beyond 60°N and its changes compared to pre-industrial. We show that solar radiation anomaly is greatly reduced when it reaches the Earth’s surface, which emphasizes the role of clouds and water vapor transport.<br>The results are also compared to other PMIP4-CMIP6 model simulations. We would like to thank PMIP participants for producing and making available their model outputs.</p>

LARGE-SCALE AIR POLLUTION MODELING IN EUROPE UNDER DIFFERENT CLIMATIC SCENARIOS

2019 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 1950009 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZAHARI ZLATEV ◽  
IVAN DIMOV ◽  
ISTVÁN FARAGÓ ◽  
KRASSIMIR GEORGIEV ◽  
ÁGNES HAVASI
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Pollution Modeling ◽  
The Impact

The treatment of large-scale air pollution models is not only important for modern society, but also an extremely difficult task. Five important physical and chemical processes: (1) horizontal advection, (2) horizontal diffusion, (3) vertical exchange, (4) emission of different pollutants and (5) dry and wet deposition have to be united and handled together. This leads to huge computational problems which have to be treated on modern high-speed parallel architectures by using advanced numerical methods. The computational difficulties are vastly increased when such models are used in the investigation of the impact of climatic changes on high pollution levels that are often exceeding certain critical concentrations and, therefore, are becoming harmful for plants, animals and human beings. There are two major reasons for the great increase in computational difficulties: (a) it is necessary to run the discretized data on fine spatial grid models over very long time-periods consisting of many consecutive years and (b) different scenarios are to be used in order to investigate the sensitivity of the pollution levels to systematic variations of several carefully selected key parameters. How the major difficulties can be resolved is explained here. Furthermore, many results are presented in order to demonstrate the ability of the model to handle successfully the huge computational tasks by using fine space and time discretization and by applying a chemical scheme with many chemical species participating in several hundred chemical reactions. Our results indicate that the climatic changes will often lead to some increases in the pollution levels.

scholarly journals The Impact of Intelligent Society on Human Essence and the New Evolution of Humans

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Kun Wu ◽  
Kaiyan Da
Keyword(s):  
Karl Marx ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Machine Intelligence ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Essence ◽  
Comprehensive Development ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Traditional Sense ◽  
The Impact

When we enter intelligent society, we need to rethink about the topic of human essence. As we know, human beings have no absolute, fixed essence. The essence of human beings is the combination of an innate substrate and acquired creation. As the degree of machine intelligence in the development of human society continues to increase, human beings are constantly changing and creating their own essence, and they are also constantly liberated from the bondage of a certain single old essence, creating and enriching the richer and more diverse aspects of its essence. The transformation of labor from its alienation to its return is also a transformation of labor from the centralized form to the non-centralized form of human essence according to Karl Marx. The new fusion of artificial intelligence and bioengineering will lead to a new track of evolution that “reshapes and regenerates” life itself. This new evolutionary path will fuse the two-track evolution, biological evolution and cultural evolution, which have been relatively isolated in the traditional sense. If human beings are able to work hard together to design and implement a new social system that adapts to the future intelligent development, then the comprehensive development of intelligence that human beings bring about would be not a disaster, but a bright future.

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