Lake dynamics in Central Asia in the past 30 years

Water is a key resource in arid Central Asia (CA) and is heavily affected by climate change and human activities. Temperature across the region has increased drastically especially in the mountain region while precipitation change is less homogeneous. The increased temperature has caused increased melting of glacier and snow which has a large contribution to the runoff in rivers. Human activities such as agriculture irrigation and reservoir management also affect water availability. In the Soviet era, agriculture in CA expanded continuously and large amount of water was extracted from rivers for irrigation. This has caused the catastrophic decline of the Aral Sea. In the post-Soviet era, countries in CA have reorganized their agriculture structure to be self-sufficient. It is important to understand how these changes affect water availability in CA especially under climate change. This dissertation uses lakes as proxy indicators of water availability and assesses how climate and human activities have affected lakes in CA. Seventeen lakes located in three former Soviet republics and western China from seven basins are examined using remote sensing and hydrologic modeling to estimate their changes in area, water level and volume. Agriculture area changes in these basins from seven countries are also examined using remote sensing. It is found that 1) lakes located in the mountains have generally expanded due to the melting glaciers and snow; 2) lakes located in the lowlands have remained relatively stable due to the relative stability of agriculture area; 3) reservoirs exhibit different seasonal patterns due to their major function as power generation reservoirs release water during the winter while irrigation reservoirs release water during the summer; 4) agriculture area in the former Soviet Central Asia republics is highly dependent on precipitation due to the lack of efficient irrigation infrastructure while agriculture in China has continuously expanded due to the adoption of drip irrigation and groundwater extraction. In conclusion, climate is the more dominant factor affecting water availability especially in the mountains causing the lakes to expand while agriculture irrigation has offset some of the surplus in the lowlands causing the lakes to remain relatively stable

Glacier fluctuations at Kackar Dag in the Pontic Mountains, Turkey, and their palaeoclimatic significance

This thesis aims to make the first critical and quantitative reconstruction of the glacial chronology at Kaçkar Dağ in the Pontic mountains, Turkey and from this infer palaeoclimatic fluctuations in the eastern Black Sea. Geomorphological mapping has identified three sets of nested moraines in front of the north facing glaciers at Kaçkar Dağ. Lichenometry, Schmidt hammer and Micro-roughness were used to discriminate the relative age of moraines which imply that the two sets closest to the glacier are probably early Twentieth century and Little Ice Age, while the third is younger than the Last Glacial Maximum and probably late Pleistocene in age. [Continues.

Europe's ecological backbone: recognising the true value of our mountains

Europe's mountain areas have social, economic and environmental capital of significance for the entire continent. This importance has been recognised since the late 19th century through national legislation; since the 1970s through regional structures for cooperation; and since the 1990s through regional legal instruments for the Alps and Carpathians. The European Union (EU) first recognised the specific characteristics of mountain areas in 1975 through the designation of Less Favoured Areas (LFAs). During the last decade, EU cohesion policy and the Treaty of Lisbon have both focused specifically on mountain

Coastal Erosion in Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Finding Sustainable Solutions

The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and the Cape Cod Planning Commission have identified coastal erosion, flooding, and shoreline change as the number one risk affecting the heavily populated 1,068 square kilometers that constitute Cape Cod (CZM, 2013 and Cape Cod Commission 2010). This paper investigates natural and anthropogenic causes for coastal erosion and their relationship with established social and economic systems. Sea level rise, climate change, and other anthropogenic changes increase the rate of coastal erosion. The impacts associated with coastal erosion include habitat loss, property loss, infrastructure damage, and beach loss. These impacts will affect economic, ecological, and social systems in Cape Cod. We explore the relationships between socio-ecological systems in Cape Cod. There are structural and non-structural solutions that will help communities in Cape Cod adapt to challenges posed by coastal erosion. Structural solutions include coastal landscaping, beach nourishment, and soft infrastructure. Non-structural solutions include policy, economic compensation, education, and community involvement. In the future, Cape Cod should search for sustainable solutions to the problems associated with coastal erosion

Effects of Climate Changes on Tourism

This study investigates effects of the climate changes on tourism industry which causes environmental problems during the last several decades. The research aims to specify the precautions to reduce or prevent the problem of these effects while also exhibiting the effects of the climate change on the tourism industry.As a result of global warming, the climate change may have several outcomes such as reductions in glaciers and snow cover, the rise in the sea level, storm and hurricanes which causes consequently natural disasters ending up essential changes in the life of the all inhabitants of the earth. It is irresistible that the mass tourism and other specific tourism types such as winter, sailing, golf tourisms which are determined by the climate conditions may not be affected by these climate changes.All countries must take economic, sociologic and ecologic precautions against the outcomes of the climate changes. Moreover, educational programs must be considered so as to inform the public about these issues. The less CO2  releasing and energy consuming equipments must be produced to be used in the Tourism Industry and immediate and remedial precautions must be taken into consideration especially for the transportation sector and the energy needs of the tourism facilities. Besides, the tourism industry should pay more attention to the waste recycling issue and the local authorities must fulfill their responsibilities. The adequate educations and precautions must be provided to the administrations and personnel in the Tourism Industry. The government inspections in the Tourist facilities should be performed properly and the incentives must be promoted to the successful tourism businesses