Search results for "climate change"

Modeling the role of climate change on small-scale vegetation patterns in a Mediterranean basin using a Cellular Automata model

2013

Predicting vegetation response in regions of ecotone transition under a changing climate is a among grand challenges in ecohydrology. In a small basin (1.3 sq km) in Sicily, Italy, where north-facing slopes are characterized by Quercus (tree), and south-facing slopes by Opuntia ficus-indaca (evergreen perennial species drought tolerant) and grasses we use an ecohydrological Cellular-Automaton model (CATGraSS) of vegetation coexistence driven by rainfall and solar radiation with downscaled future climate to examine the role of climate change on vegetation patterns. In the model, each cell can hold a single plant type or can be bare soil. Plant competition is modeled explicitly by keeping tra…

Taking climate change seriously: An analysis of op-ed articles in Spanish press

2016

In this article, we study the evolution of opinion genres regarding climate change in three Spanish newspapers ( El País, El Mundo, and ABC). Analyzing the op-ed articles in these newspapers, we observe a significant change in the evolution of opinion. While denialism was very present in conservative press in 2007, 7 years later it is almost absent from El Mundo, and its presence in ABC is much lower and inactive: this shows that scientific consensus has prevailed over time and Spanish denialism has weakened, exclusively supported by political arguments by the most conservative parties.

Seminar: “Local Climate Change and Urban Mitigation Techniques to Counterbalance It”, University of Palermo, Italy, March 2017

2017

Genomic reaction norms inform predictions of plastic and adaptive responses to climate change

2022

Genomic reaction norms represent the range of gene expression phenotypes (usually mRNA transcript levels) expressed by a genotype along an environmental gradient. Reaction norms derived from common-garden experiments are powerful approaches for disentangling plastic and adaptive responses to environmental change in natural populations. By treating gene expression as a phenotype in itself, genomic reaction norms represent invaluable tools for exploring causal mechanisms underlying organismal responses to climate change across multiple levels of biodiversity. Our goal is to provide the context, framework and motivation for applying genomic reaction norms to study the responses of natural popu…

Cambiamenti climatici e insegnamento/apprendimento della Fisica: Una proposta didattica

2013

From more than 10 years, the European Union recommends significant reforms for science teaching at school in order to include environmental issues in the scientific curricula. As Osborne and Dillon argue in an important European Report (Science Education in Europe: Critical Reflections. A Report to the Nuffield Foundation, 2008), although climate change is one of the five major problems facing humanity in the coming century, there is still little emphasis within the science curriculum on discussion or analysis of environmental issues. In this paper a pilot study is presented and discussed. It focuses on the issue of climate change (global warming and the greenhouse effect) carried out with …

Climate change engenders a better Early Warning System development across Sub-Saharan Africa: The malaria case

2022

It is expected that diseases are likely to spread to newer areas, and high-income countries may experience some illnesses that may have been restricted to low or middle-income countries. In addition, following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the present study noted that climate change is likely to have many effects on the spatial and temporal distribution of malaria in many Sub-Saharan African countries. This study examines climate change effects on the geographical distribution of malaria occurrence and how extreme climatic events may perhaps be determining factors in the range of vectors for human diseases in SSA in the nearest future. Here, the study appraisals the symbiot…

Taking into account soils and climate change in assessing the production potential of a legume crop of interest: pea

2022

In the current context of climate change and increasing pressure on resources, the agricultural production model isbeing questioned. The challenge of a more autonomous, efficient and sustainable production of proteins must bemet by increasing the use of legumes in French cropping systems. The pea (Pisum sativum L.) crop model “AzodynPea” will be used to identify zones and management techniques favorable to the crop in Burgundy-Franche-Comté(eastern France), taking into account abiotic stresses, such as winter frost or water deficit. The first step in this processis the mapping of current soil properties and current and future climate characteristics of the region. Regionalizeddaily climate …

Climate Change and Energy Issues in the North

2011

Highly industrialized societies are mostly responsible for the emerging anthropogenic climate change. There are different ways to measure this responsibility (e.g., whether based on causal contribution or strict responsibility, see Muller et al. 2007). However, regardless of the specific method applied to measure the impact, presently, the USA and the EU are the global leaders in green house gas emissions with countries such as China, India and Brazil following closely behind. Globally, GHG emissions are still increasing among the highly industrialized countries, particularly in the USA – a country that never ratified the Kyoto Protocol. However, the EU has managed to curb its emissions, co…

Influence of climate on phytoplankton dynamics in Mediterranean water bodies

2011

Climate is among the factors that influence the hydrology of water bodies and their mixing/stratification patterns. As a consequence, it may affect the ecomorphological selection of phytoplankton. Global climatic patterns, driven by Sun’s magnetic field, were shown to promote cyclic cyanobacteria bloom during the years of drought caused by El Niño. Cyclic droughts, with a periodicity of about 11 years, also occur in the Mediterranean Basin where they produce analogous responses in phytoplankton composition. Some evidences exist that climate change can promote pseudo-eutrophication events and, by altering the hydraulic balance in shallow lakes, cause a shift between a clear macrophyte-domina…

Climate Change in the Mediterranean Basin (Part II): A Review of Challenges and Uncertainties in Climate Change Modeling and Impact Analyses

2023

AbstractThe Mediterranean basin is particularly prone to climate change and vulnerable to its impacts. One of the most relevant consequences of climate change, especially for the southern Mediterranean regions, is certainly water scarcity as result of a reduction of surface runoff and groundwater levels. Despite the progress achieved in recent years in the field of climate change and its impact on water resources, results and outcomes should be treated with due caution since any future climate projection and derived implications are inevitably affected by a certain degree of uncertainty arising from each different stage of the entire modeling chain. This work offers a comprehensive overview…