Streamflow sensitivity analysis to climate change for a large water-limited basin

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1767-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liqiao Liang ◽  
Qiang Liu
2017 ◽  
pp. 681-691
Author(s):  
Nilanjan Ghosh ◽  
Somnath Hazra

This chapter compares two quantitative frameworks, namely, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and Econometric models to study the impacts of climate change on human economy. However, as is inferred from this chapter, CGE framework is fraught with unrealistic assumptions, and fails to capture impacts of climate change and extreme events on the ecosystem services. On the other hand, econometric framework can be customised and is not based on the unrealistic assumptions like CGE. The various advantages and disadvantages of the two methods have been discussed critically in the process in this chapter in light of the avowed objective of understanding sustainability science.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Bounceur ◽  
M. Crucifix ◽  
R. D. Wilkinson

Abstract. A global sensitivity analysis is performed to describe the effects of astronomical forcing on the climate–vegetation system simulated by the model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM in interglacial conditions. The methodology relies on the estimation of sensitivity measures, using a Gaussian process emulator as a fast surrogate of the climate model, calibrated on a set of well-chosen experiments. The outputs considered are the annual mean temperature and precipitation and the growing degree days (GDD). The experiments were run on two distinct land surface schemes to estimate the importance of vegetation feedbacks on climate variance. This analysis provides a spatial description of the variance due to the factors and their combinations, in the form of "fingerprints" obtained from the covariance indices. The results are broadly consistent with the current under-standing of Earth's climate response to the astronomical forcing. In particular, precession and obliquity are found to contribute in LOVECLIM equally to GDD in the Northern Hemisphere, and the effect of obliquity on the response of Southern Hemisphere temperature dominates precession effects. Precession dominates precipitation changes in subtropical areas. Compared to standard approaches based on a small number of simulations, the methodology presented here allows us to identify more systematically regions susceptible to experiencing rapid climate change in response to the smooth astronomical forcing change. In particular, we find that using interactive vegetation significantly enhances the expected rates of climate change, specifically in the Sahel (up to 50% precipitation change in 1000 years) and in the Canadian Arctic region (up to 3° in 1000 years). None of the tested astronomical configurations were found to induce multiple steady states, but, at low obliquity, we observed the development of an oscillatory pattern that has already been reported in LOVECLIM. Although the mathematics of the analysis are fairly straightforward, the emulation approach still requires considerable care in its implementation. We discuss the effect of the choice of length scales and the type of emulator, and estimate uncertainties associated with specific computational aspects, to conclude that the principal component emulator is a good option for this kind of application.


2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Gracz

Klein et al. (2005, Can. J. For. Res. 35: 1931–1941) compare aerial photographs and report dramatically lower lake levels on the northern Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. They hypothesize that the lower lake levels may be caused by a decline in moisture surplus driven by climate change. However, the reported decline in surplus appears to be insufficient to explain the lower lake levels. Here I develop a simple sensitivity analysis to test their hypothesis and also show how tectonic processes such as the Great Alaskan earthquake could dramatically lower lake levels by fracturing an underlying aquitard. Tectonic processes, therefore, could potentially alter forest succession and wetland ecosystems by inducing hydrologic changes that mimic changes in climate.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 509-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Ackerman ◽  
Ian J. Finlayson

2017 ◽  
Vol 155 (8) ◽  
pp. 1203-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. ALLBED ◽  
L. KUMAR ◽  
F. SHABANI

SUMMARYDate palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important cash crop in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. Understanding the likely potential distribution of this crop under current and future climate scenarios will enable environmental managers to prepare appropriate strategies to manage the changes. In the current study, the simulation model CLIMEX was used to develop a niche model to estimate the impacts of climate change on the current and future potential distribution of date palm. Two global climate models (GCMs), CSIRO-Mk3·0 and MIROC-H under the A2 emission scenario for 2050 and 2100, were used to assess the impacts of climate change. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify which model parameters had the most effect on date palm distribution. Further refinements of the potential distributions were performed through the integration of six non-climatic parameters in a geographic information system. Areas containing suitable soil taxonomy, soil texture, soil salinity, land use, landform and slopes of <7° for date palm were selected as suitable refining variables in order to achieve more realistic models. The results from both GCMs exhibited a significant reduction in climatic suitability for date palm cultivation in Saudi Arabia by 2100. Climate sensitivity analysis indicates that the lower optimal soil moisture, cold stress temperature threshold and wet stress threshold parameters had the most effect on sensitivity, while other parameters were moderately sensitive or insensitive to change. The study also demonstrated that the inclusion of non-climatic parameters with CLIMEX outputs increased the explanatory power of the models. Such models can provide early warning scenarios for how environmental managers should respond to changes in the distribution of the date palm in Saudi Arabia.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document