Rehabilitation Engineering of Singapore Reefs to Cope with Urbanization and Climate Change Impacts

Over 60% of Singapore＇s coral reefs have been lost to decades of coastal urbanization and heavy sedimentation has restricted coral development to the upper 5 m of the reef slope. High species diversity, predictable mass spawning events and vigorous growth of larval recruits indicate that active rehabilitation can help enhance reef resilience to urbanization and climate change impacts. Rehabilitation techniques selected should address high sedimentation, destabilized reef substrate and reef community structure change. Coral species dominance has shifted to favor those more tolerant of reduced light. Initiating rehabilitation with these dominant species can stabilize the reef substrate quickly. Coral nurseries with raised mesh-net platforms prevent sediment smothering and improve survival of coral fragments and juveniles. Juveniles have also naturally recruited and developed on seawalls constructed in non-reef areas. Innovative design and engineering of coastal defenses can facilitate coral growth as sea level rises. Floating reefs and seawalls that incorporate terraced tidal pools can encourage continued growth and development of coral communities. Two approaches considered appropriate to rehabilitating coral communities exposed to impacts of urbanization and climate change are： （1） increase of live coral cover and diversity of degraded reefs; （2） creation of reef communities in non-reef areas.

Transmission of climate change impacts from temperature change to grain harvests, famines and peasant uprisings in the historical China

Because of the complexity of social responses to climate change,as well as limitations of proxy data concerning interactions between climate change and human responses,the social impacts of past climate change and associated response mechanisms,thus,require further investigation.To shed light on the transmission of climate change impacts within historical Chinese society,we selected 30-year resolution sequences of temperature anomalies in eastern China and 10-year resolution sequences of grain harvest grades,famine indices,and frequencies of peasant uprisings in China over the past 2000 years.Using a food security perspective,we analyzed the impacts of temperature changes historically transmitted through Chinese production,population,and social subsystems,and differences in transmission characteristics between cold and warm units.Our results were as follows.(1)From 210 BC to 1910 AD,temperature changes in China were significantly positively correlated with grain harvest grades(correlation coefficient,0.338),and significantly negatively correlated with famine indices,and frequencies of peasant uprisings(correlation coefficients,-0.301 and-0.277,respectively).The correlation coefficients between famine indices and grain harvest grades or frequencies of peasant uprisings were very low.(2)There was a higher proportion of bumper or normal harvests(86.5%of the total decades),more moderate and mild famines(76%),and a lower proportion of peasant uprisings(33.3%)in the 30-year warm units.Conversely,there was a higher proportion of poor or normal harvests(70.7%),a greater proportion of moderate and severe famines(77.6%),and more peasant uprisings(51.7%)in the 30-year cold units.(3)Of the 23 main transmission pathways extending from temperature change to the social subsystem,13 occurred in cold units,of which 7 had an endpoint of peasant uprisings,and 10 occurred in warm units of which 3 had an endpoint of peasant uprisings.The main transmission pathways that were more likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change were:Cold→poor harvests→severe famines→more uprisings;cold→poor harvests→moderate famines→more uprisings;warm→bumper harvests→mild famines→no uprisings;warm→bumper harvests→moderate harvests→no uprisings;warm→normal harvests→mild famines→no uprisings;and warm→normal harvests→moderate famines→no uprisings.(4)The transmission of the impacts of temperature change was a complex process.Within this process,famine was most prone to being modulated by human society.In the transmission pathways from the production to the social subsystem,there was a stepwise decrease in the occurrence rate of decades that were probably affected by climate change.In all cold units,10.4%of decades ending in more uprisings were most likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change.In all warm units,47.9%of decades ending in no uprisings were most likely to be associated with the impacts of temperature change.This research can contribute a better understanding on the past interaction mechanisms and processes within the human-climate-ecosystem complex,as well as a better response to the impacts of the ongoing climate change.

Automatic Approach to Ontology Evolution Based on Change Impact Comparisons

Ontology evolution is the timely adaptation of ontologies to changing requirements, which is becoming more and more important as ontologies become widely used in different fields. This paper shows how to address the problem of evolving ontologies with less manual case-based reasoning using an automatic selection mechanism. An automatic ontology evolution strategy selection framework is presented that automates the evolution. A minimal change impact algorithm is also developed for the framework. The method is shown to be effective in a case study.

The Impacts of Climate Change on the Availability of Surface Water Resources in Jordan

Climate change in the Middle East area including Jordan has started to be reflected in decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures with their impacts on the availability of surface and groundwater. This article aims to evaluate the impacts of decreasing or increasing precipitation by 10% and 20% on the quantities of flood runoff based on recorded precipitation and runoffs of catchments during the past 60 to 70 years of observation, during which the precipitation in individual or a few years increased or decreased by tens of percentages relative to the long-term average precipitation. The results of quantification show that in Jordan as a whole, decreasing precipitation by 10% and 20% has historically (during the recording period) resulted in reductions in flood flows by 26.2% and 52.8% and that increasing precipitation by 10% and 20% has resulted in increases in flood flows by 26.4% and 56.5% respectively. These results look somehow paradox, because the general perception is that flood runoff changes in the same percentage like precipitation although flood flow is not linearly correlated with precipitation but exponentially. Decreasing precipitation in the water-scarce stressed country, Jordan due to climatic changes, will have strong implications on rain-fed and irrigated agriculture and on household water supplies with very severe socio-economic percussions expressed in increasing unemployment and poverty which may lead to social and political unrest. Therefore, proactive measures have to be implemented before disasters hit. Such measures are limited in Jordan to seawater desalination, intensified water harvesting and improved water use efficiency in agriculture.

A Review of the Climate-Change-Impacts’Rates of Change in the Arctic

Climate Change is a global phenomenon that has a global scale impact. The current trend of climate change towards the warming of the globe has resulted in various changes in the geological, climatology, social, economical, and bio-logical processes worldwide. Temperature of the globe has increased due to various factors, but anthropogenic plays a major contribution through the heavy input of Greenhouse gases. One of the world’s most remote regions that have been affected by most of the anthropogenic stresses on environmental services is the Arctic Region. The Arctic Region has shown various drastic changes and has shown to be effected by various anthropogenic activities that take place elsewhere. These changes include the ozone hole (resulting from ozone degrading compound emitted heavily by an-thropogenic demands), the accumulation of various persistent and volatile pollutants (i.e. POPs), and the meltdown of the polar ice (among others). These drastic changes are well perceived and well projected for future preparations. However, the question still remains if these impacts would only accelerate change. This paper aims to discuss if these changes are accelerating or happening at a constant rate. In addition, this paper aims to only focus on changes due to global warming and climate changes

Impact of Climate Change and Grazing on Temperate Steppe

Ecosystem of eastern Eurasian steppe is facing more and more challenges of global issues such as climate change, food and ecological security and human excessive utilization since the 21st century. Facing on the increasingly prominent international issues, it is very essential for relevant countries, international organizations and domestic counterparts to enhance systematic and mutual cooperation and exchanges to carry out scientific research and develop protection practice on the Eurasian steppe.

Perception, Attitude, and Impact Change after Watching Faith-Based Films： A Comparative Study

Malaysia is a multi-religious country. Hence, it is important for everyone to understand each other＇s religion and culture to maintain peace and harmony in the country. This study was conducted to analyze the impact of Islamic films on youth （teenage, adolescent, and young adults） of various races, religions and gender. Specifically, the objectives of the study are： （1） to find out the level of perception on Islamic films among youth of various backgrounds, （2） to find out the level of attitude toward Islamic films among youth of various backgrounds, （3） to find out the level of impact change after watching Islamic films among youth of various backgrounds, and （4） to compare youth of various backgrounds on the relationships between perception, attitude, and impact change after watching Islamic films. The data were collected from a quasi-experimental research method, using questionnaire as the research instrument. From a total of 141 respondents, two-thirds are females and 70% are teenagers, representing different races and religions. Results showed that there was no difference between males and females. The differences were evident in the results for perception, attitude, and impact change for various races, religions, and age groups.

Systematic Synthesis of Impacts of Climate Change on China's Crop Production System

Global climate change is real and already taking place. The most recent Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergov- ernmental Panel on Climate Change （IPCC AR5） stated that global land and ocean surface temperature increased by 0.85℃ over the period of 1880 to 2012 （IPCC Climate Change 2013）. China is among the most affected countries by global climate change.

The Potential Scenarios of the Impacts of Climate Change on Egyptian Resources and Agricultural Plant Production

The emissions of greenhouse gasses in Egypt are about 0.58% of the total emissions of the world in the year 2015, although Egypt is one of the countries most affected by the impacts of climate change. By assessment and analysis of the expected economic impacts of climate change by the year 2030, the Egyptian cultivated area will be reduced to about 0.949 million acres, equal to about 8.22% of the Egyptian cultivated area compared with the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, thus reducing crop area in Egypt to about 1.406 million acres, approximately to about 6.25% of crop area compared with the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, in addition to surplus in the Egyptian balance water to about 2.48 billion m3. In this case value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 6.19 billion dollars, equal to about 6.19% compared with presumably no sinking of the Delta land. In the case of sinking 15% of Delta lands, with the change of the productivity and water consumption of most crops, the result will be a reduction in the cultivated area to about 0.94 million acres. In addition to decreasing the Egyptian crop area to about 1.39 million acres, with a deficit in the Egyptian balance water to about 4.74 billion m3 compared to the case of no sinking part of the Delta land, the cultivated area will decrease to about 8.17%, and the crop area will decrease 6.18%. Also, the value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 12.51%. While compared to sinking part of the Delta land to about 15% of the total Delta area without the other impacts of climate change, the cultivated area will increase by about 0.06%;the crop area will increase by about 0.08%;also, the value of the Egyptian agriculture production will decrease by about 5.57%.

Impact of the Iron Gates on the Sediments with an Emphasis on the Area of the Future Belene Nuclear Power Plant

The present investigation has been fulfilled with a view to the future nuclear power station constriction near the Belene Island.Sediment loads and sediment transportation are important factors for the technical water supply of the nuclear station Belene.The paper deals with change of suspended sediment load at Bulgarian part of the Danube River downstream of the Iron Gates.Recent data on suspended sediment loads for the hydrometric gauge station at Svishtov have been collected,computed and presented.The results obtained discover the time variability of the sediment loads,climate change and the anthropogenic impact on the suspended sediments.The tendency of alteration and inter-annual variability of the suspended sediments are investigated and characteristics of average annual,monthly and maximal values are shown.In the material archive granulometric data are presented for this part of the Bulgarian stretch before the Iron Gates construction in the conditions of the natural sediment regime.There are statistical parameters of the studied characteristics of the river turbidity and discharge before and after the anthropogenic impact.The increase of the absolute minimal turbidity has been determined after the Iron Gate I as a result of activation of the bed processes and hydro-morphological changes.

Distinguishing the Effects of Cryosphere Change in the Background of Climate Change in China

Climate change has major impacts directly on the natural ecosystem and human society, of which the cryosphere is most easily affected be-cause of its frangibility and sensitivity. Similarly, cryosphere change has numerous impacts on the natural ecosystem and human society, which may resemble an indirect influence of climate change. These two types of impacts, in shared fields, are distinguished in space and time by effective mechanisms and processes. Climate change has positive and negative impacts on some systems, which may be adjusted by cryosphere change. These indirect and direct impacts may be distinguished, and then correct policies and measures can be made against these changes.

The effect of low fluoride concentrations on microdamage accumulation in mouse tibias under impact loading

Microdamage accumulation in bone is one of the mechanisms for energy dissipation during the fracture process. Changes in the ultrastructure and composition of bone constituents due to aging or diseases could affect microdamage accumulation. Low concentration （1 mM） of sodium fluoride （NaF） has been used in this study to investigate the effect of ultrastructural changes on microdamage accumu- lation in mouse tibias following free-fall impact loadings. Twenty-two tibias were divided randomly into control and NaF-treated groups. Free-fall impact loading was conducted twice on each tibia to produce microdamage. The elas- tic modulus of NaF-treated tibias decreased significantly after the impact loadings, while there was no significant difference in the modulus of untreated samples between pre- and post-damage loadings. Microdamage morphology analysis showed that less and shorter microcracks existed in NaF-treated tibias compared with control bones. Meanwhile, more and longer microcracks were observed in tensile regions in untreated samples compared with that in compressive regions, whereas no significant difference was observed between tensile and compressive regions in NaF-treated bones. The results of this study indicate that more energy is required to generate microcracks in NaF-treated bone than in normal bone. A low concentration of fluoride treatment may increase the toughness of bone under impact loading.

Worrying about Climate Change

It is becoming clear that Climate Change is getting severe. It was reported that the improved ocean heat measurements have a rate of warming upwards from 4 to 5 Hiroshima bombs liberated heat per second or 388,800 per day. It was reported also that our climate has accumulated the equivalent of a total of more than 2.8 billion Hiroshima bombs’ worth of heat since 1998. Despite this global concern about the effect of global change on environment, it is believed that the problem is much more severe and with greater impact on all facets of life. The effect of Climate Change, especially with a 1℃increase in global temperature (from 14℃to 15℃) is equivalent to the heat liberated from explosion of about 300 million Hiroshima of atomic bomb. This is why this CoP 26 becomes more serious and had targeted year 2060 as a year of zero CO2 emission. This paper discusses the impact of climate change on ten sectors;water, water desalination, energy, renewable energy supply, health, society, agriculture, economy, industry, and built environment.

Impact Assessment of Climate Change on Algal Blooms by a Parametric Modeling Study in Han River

The potential impact of climate change on international and domestic concern. This study aims water eutrophication and ecosystems is of great to analyze the impact of climate change on algal bloom problems in large river systems by utilizing a parametric river eutrophication model that is established using indicators of climate change, hydrological regimes, water quality and nutrient loads. Specifically, the developed parametric modeling method is based on statistical and simulation methods including： Multiple Linear Regressions （MLR）, Multiple Non-linear Regressions （MNR）, Artificial Neural Network （ANN） based on Back-propagation （BP） algorithms, as well as an integrated river eutrophication model. The developed model was applied to Han River, which is one of the major sources of fresh water in Wuhan City, China. The impacts of climate change and human activities on the occurrence mechanisms of algal blooms in the Hart River were identified by scenarios analysis. The individual assessment result indicates that the waste nutrient P load has the most significant impact （14.82%）, followed by the flow rate （5.56%） and then by temperature （3.7%）. For the integrated climate change assessment, it has been found that there is a significant impact （20.37%） when waste load increases and flow rate decreases at the same time. This is followed by increases but flow rate decreases, increase of both waste load and the impact is predicted to be 11 temperature （15.82%）. If temperature 11%. The final results point to human activities as a significant influence on water quality and the Han River ecosystem, temperature is also one of the main factors which directly contribute to algal blooms in Han River. The results in present study are expected to give theoretical supports for further relevant research on water eutrophication.

Projected impacts of climate change on protected birds and nature reserves in China

Knowledge about climate change impacts on species distribution at national scale is critical to biodi- versity conservation and design of management programs. Although China is a biodiversity hot spot in the world, potential influence of climate change on Chinese protected birds is rarely studied. Here, we assess the impact of climate change on 108 protected bird species and nature reserves using species distribution modeling at a relatively fine spatial resolution （1 km） for the first time. We found that a large proportion of protected species would have potential suitable habitat shrink and northward range shift by 77-90 km in response to projected future climate change in 2080. Southeastern China would suffer from losing climate suitability, whereas the climate conditions in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northeastern China were projected to become suitable for more protected species. On average, each protected area in decline of suitable climate for China would experience a 3-4 species by 2080. Cli- mate change will modify which species each protected area will be suitable for. Our results showed that the risk of extinction for Chinese protected birds would be high, even in the moderate climate change scenario. These findings indicate that the management and design of nature reserves in China must take climate change into consideration.

Integrated watershed management:evolution,development and emerging trends

Watershed management is an ever-evolving practice involving the management of land, water, biota, and other resources in a defined area for ecological, social, and economic purposes. In this paper, we explore the following questions： How has watershed management evolved？ What new tools are available and how can they be integrated into sustainable watershed management？ To address these questions, we discuss the process of developing integrated watershed management strategies for sustainable manage- ment through the incorporation of adaptive management techniques and traditional ecological knowledge. We address the numerous benefits from integration acrossdisciplines and jurisdictional boundaries, as well as the incorporation of technological advancements, such as remote sensing, GIS, big data, and multi-level social-eco- logical systems analysis, into watershed management strategies. We use three case studies from China, Europe, and Canada to review the success and failure of integrated watershed management in addressing different ecological, social, and economic dilemmas in geographically diverse locations. Although progress has been made in watershed management strategies, there are still numerous issues impeding successful management outcomes; many of which can be remedied through holistic management approaches, incorporation of cutting-edge science and technology, and cross-jurisdictional coordination. We conclude by high- lighting that future watershed management will need to account for climate change impacts by employing techno- logical advancements and holistic, cross-disciplinary approaches to ensure watersheds continue to serve their ecological, social, and economic functions. We present three case studies in this paper as a valuable resource for scientists, resource managers, government agencies, and other stakeholders aiming to improve integrated watershed management strategies and more efficiently and successfully achieve ecological and socio-economic management objectives.

Impacts of Climate Change on Cotton Yield in China from 1961 to2010 Based on Provincial Data

To develop scientific countermeasures, the impacts of climate change on cotton yield during 1961-2010 in three major cotton-producing regions of China were studied by using the available provincial data. The results indicate that （1） a rise in average temperature increased the cotton yield in most provinces of Northwest China and the Yellow River valley; however, the rise in average temperature decreased the cotton yield in the Yangtze River valley. Moreover, cotton production across the entire study region was reduced by approximately 0.1% relative to the average during 1961-2010. （2） A decrease in diurnal temperature range （DTR） reduced cotton yield in some provinces, while a beneficial DTR effect was observed in the other provinces. Changes in DTR resulted in an average decrease in production by approximatly 5.5% across the entire study region. （3） A change in the amount of precipitation increased the cotton yield in some provinces; however, it caused a decrease in other provinces. The decrease in average production due to the change in precipitation was approximately 1.1%. We concluded that the changes in temperature and precipitation decreased cotton yields in China, while beneficial effects of temperature and precipitation existed in the cotton-growing regions of Northwest China during 1961-2010.

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WATER DEFICIT AND PRODUCTION OF WINTER WHEAT IN NORTH CHINA

The water deficits in different development stages and the whole growing season of winter wheat in North China under climate change scenarios are analyzed based on the meteorological da- ta,crop phenomenon and soil hydrological data of 30 weather stations.The results show that if the temperature rises,the potential evapotranspiration and crop maximum transpiration will in- crease 8%-10%;the actual evapotranspiration in whole growing season will increase about 1%- 2%;and it seems to decrease in spring.Therefore the water deficit status would deteriorate.The amount of water deficit in whole growing season would increase 14%-30%,and the water deficit isolines might shift southward with maximum shift distance being 190 km.As a result the climatic suitability of winter wheat would change,and the variation rate of yield reduction will be 8%- 20% of the present value which results in the declining output values.The irrigation amount would increase 25%-33%,and the agriculture cost might increase owing to additional irrigation.

Impact of climate change on fluctuations of grain harvests in China from the Western Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties(206 BC–960 AD)

The occurrence of bumper or poor grain harvests in ancient China plays an important role in explaining how past climate changes affected the economy.Because of the lack of long-term continuous and high-resolution quantitative data for reconstructing the series of grain harvests in ancient China,understanding of the impacts and mechanisms involved in climate change is limited.This study presents a method designed for reconstructing grain harvest series by quantifying grain output levels based on the descriptions in historical documents.The method involves setting the grain output level for each year based on very specific meanings of different words,calculating a yield index based on the structure of each level and assessing grain yields(bumper or poor harvests)every 10 years.First,1636 records related to grain yields(including crop yields,food security,agricultural disasters,grain prices,grain storage and people's livelihoods)for each year were retrieved from history books called the Twenty-Four Histories.Second,using this method,a 10-year resolution graded grain harvest series from the Western Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties(206 BC–960 AD)is reconstructed.Finally,the relationship between the variations in temperature and precipitation and the fluctuation of grain yields is examined.The results show that from the Western Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties,bumper,average and poor harvest decades accounted for 33.3%,39.3%and 27.4%of the 1,166-year period,respectively.The grain yields during 206 BC–960 AD can be divided into three stages:a period of bumper harvests during 206–51 BC,poor harvests during 50 BC–590 AD and bumper harvests during 591–960 AD.Bumper harvest decades typically experienced a warm climate with normal or high levels of precipitation,while poor harvest decades had a cold and dry climate.A positive correlation was found between temperature and grain yield because a warm climate allows a full use of resources.The observed relationship between precipitation and grain yield indicated that both flooding and droughts cause poor harvests,which confirms that agricultural production in the monsoon climate of eastern China is greatly impacted by conditions of limited heat and extreme precipitation.

Seasonal and interannual variations of flow discharge from Pearl River into sea

Flow discharge from the river basin into the sea has severe impacts on the immediate vicinity of river channels, estuaries, and coastal areas. This paper analyzes the features and temporal trends of flow discharge at Pearl River＇s three main gauge stations： the Wuzhou, Shijiao, and Boluo gauge stations on the West River, North River, and East River, respectively. The results show no significant trend in annual mean discharge into the sea at the three gauge stations. Changes of monthly mean discharge at the Boluo Gauge Station are evident, and a majority of monthly discharge in the dry season displays significant increasing trends. Furthermore, changes of the extreme discharge are quite evident, with a significant decreasing trend in the annual maximum discharge and a significant increasing trend in the minimum one. The significantly decreasing ratio of the flood discharge to annual discharge at the Boluo Gauge Station indicates that the flow discharge from the East River has increased in the dry season and decreased in the flood season since the construction of dams and reservoirs. At the other two gauge stations, the Wuzhou and Shijiao gauge stations, the seasonal discharge generally does not change perceptibly. Human impacts, especially those pertaining to reservoir and dam construction, appear to be responsible for the seasonal variation of flow discharge. The results indicate that the construction and operation of dams and reservoirs in the East River have a greater influence on flow discharge, which can well explain why the seasonal variation of flow discharge from the East River is more evident.