DoR Communicatory - December 2014

The December 2014 issue of the the Division of Research newsletter.https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/research_newsletter/1003/thumbnail.jp

The impact of climate change on the archaeology of New Zealand’s coastline

Abstract: With rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns and an increased incidence of severe weather events being predicted as a result of global climate change, the Department of Conservation commissioned a study to determine the potential impacts of these effects on New Zealand’s archaeological sites, which are mostly located near the coast. A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based case study examined the distribution of archaeological sites in the Whangarei District and assessed the risk to the archaeological resource primarily from sea level rise associated with future climate change.The results of the analysis are fairly conclusive. Currently, the major threats to archaeological sites in coastal areas are erosion, flooding and ground instability, and some sites are at risk from more than one of these threats. Approximately one-third of the recorded site locations in the Whangarei District are potentially threatened by these hazards, regardless of any future climate change effects. Climate change will exacerbate existing coastal hazards, and increase the likelihood and severity of impacts on archaeological sites. An additional 2.5–10% of archaeological sites might be affected by increased threats due to predicted changes in climate, including rising sea levels. The types of sites that are most likely to be affected in the Whangarei District are coastal midden and small habitation sites relating to Māori occupation. Although these could be affected by all three of the major hazards identified, they are particularly susceptible to coastal erosion. Land stability issues and flooding are likely to affect a greater range of sites, including larger sites such as pā and sites relating to early European settlement. It is not possible to quantify the risk to sites from increased land instability as a result of global climate change, but it is noted that any increase in extreme weather events would not be confined to coastal areas. These sites potentially hold significant information relating to the history of both the district and New Zealand. The implications of the study are that coastal sites are already under considerable threat, and that important archaeological information is being lost at a rate that may increase significantly in the future. Action is needed now to protect or retrieve the information from significant sites under threat in coastal areas before these sites disappear completely

Estimation of the wind energy resource in relation to orographic complexity in Finland: A comparison study of three conventional wind simulation software

The aim of this study is to provide a comparative study for three conventionalsoftware for wind resource assessment (WindPRO, WindSim and Zephy TOOLS)applied to a place with a low orographic complexity terrain (Korpinen), a placewith a moderate slope (Lokan Tekojärvi) and a fictive case of a complex terrainwhere there is a current ski resort (Ylläs), all of them located in Finland. Themain outcome parameter to be investigated in the simulations is the wind speed.Furthermore, the analysis of the outcome will give a hint of the suitability of eachsoftware depending on the different site conditions and input parameters.Once the locations were defined, the input files for every software had to be pre-pared and processed in third software, such as QGis, OpenWind, Global Mapperand text editors in order to be handled in the correct extension for each software.The results indicate that both WindPRO and WindSim manage to estimate thewind resource accurately when the terrain has a low orographic complexity. Inthis case, the linear model, without the ability to model turbulence is as good as thenon-linear model in wind resource estimation terms. Zephy TOOLS overestimatesthe wind speeds in this type of terrain with only 0.40%. For the moderate slope,WindPRO and WindSim differ in only 0.13% while Zephy TOOLS over-predictsagain the wind speed in 0.40%. For the site with complex orography, the threesoftware present a significant difference of the wind estimation of around 1.35m/sbetween the

New Frontiers in Cosmology and Galaxy Formation: Challenges for the Future

(Abridged) Cosmology faces three distinct challenges in the next decade. (1) The dark sector, both dark matter and dark energy, dominates the Universe. Key questions include determining the nature of both. Improved observational probes are crucial. (2) Galaxy formation was initiated at around the epoch of reionization: we need to understand how and when as well as to develop probes of earlier epochs. (3) Our simple dark matter-driven picture of galaxy assembly is seemingly at odds with several observational results, including the presence of ULIRGS at high z, the `downsizing' signature, chemical signatures of alpha-element ratios and suggestions that merging may not be important in defining the Hubble sequence. Understanding the physical implications is a major challenge for theorists and refiniing the observational uncertainties a major goal for observers.Comment: To appear in "Structure Formation in the Universe", ed. Chabrier, G., Cambridge University Press. High resolution version on http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~rse/chamonix.pd

Clustering tales from the Greek construction sector: lessons from experience

The idea of increasing regional and national economic competitiveness through the implementation of cluster strategies is not something new. In each business sector, in each country, the creation of clusters has been used to capitalise on sector characteristics and address country specific productivity needs. While clusters have met with significant success in many context, the Greek context and in particularly the Greek Construction sector has not been so fruitful. This paper, through the development of a conceptual framework, questionnaires with 92 firms and interviews with 10 key firms, sought to investigate the critical success factors for the creation of a cluster within the challenging context of the Greek construction sector. Using evidence of good practicefrom other European countries facing similar challenges and the empirical data, the findings indicated a series of factors which firms could adopt, mitigate against or manage to help improve the potential success of the cluster. The findingstherefore have important implications for interventions not only by the state and local authorities that will encourage construction firms to participate in a cluster, but also by the managers/owners/practitioners for the creation of the required foundations for their participation in an environment where competitors cooperate