A soil temperature and energy balance model for integrated assessment of Global Change impacts at the regional scale

The investigation of the impact of Global Change on the basic resources on which life, and man, depends, is the main objective of the environmental science community at the beginning of the 21st century. Advances in information technology, new methods of spatially distributed data retrieval and increased understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes in the Earth system facilitate integrative models of the dynamic processes under change. Together with the integration of deep actors models from social and economical sciences into a common model framework, scenario runs based on inputs from Regional Climate Models (RCMs) and constrained by prognoses of the future developments in demography, economy and human behaviour are now possible. The objective of the integrative project GLOWA-Danube is the development of such a modelling system and its application on the mesoscale catchment of the Upper Danube river with an area of about 77,000 km2. The decision support system DANUBIA is designed for plausible predictions of the impact of changes in climate, human behaviour and land use on the future of the water and related matter cycles. DANUBIA is able to assist knowledge-based management decisions, by predicting the effects of adaptation and mitigation strategies on the natural resources of the Upper Danube basin. The closure of the water, energy, nitrogen and carbon cycles in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system relies on the adequate representation of all processes involved and their interaction. To close the energy cycle in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system and provide valuable input data for biochemical models of soil nitrogen and carbon transformation, this thesis presents the Soil Heat Transfer Module (SHTM) together with an energy balance algorithm of the soil surface for regional scale simulations. SHTM combines simplified physical algorithms for the computation of the actual temperature in the upper soil layers and a dynamic lower boundary condition to represent Climate Change conditions. Changes in soil moisture and soil freezing are explicitly taken into account. The surface ground heat flux as the driving force of the model is provided by an explicit solution of the soil surface energy balance and a snow-soil coupling algorithm, respectively. This thesis shows, that the soil temperature and energy balance modules developed as extensions of PROMET (PROcesses of Matter and Energy Transfer) are ready to bridge the gap between regional scale (up to 100,000 km2) application and the requirement of physical process models in predictive, coupled modelling systems like DANUBIA

Österreichischer Sachstandsbericht Klimawandel 2014

The AAR14 is the first Assessment Report on climate Change in Austria assessing the Impact of climate change and the Needs and possibilities of mitigation and Adaptation. This three-volume Report, developed through a multiple peer-Review process including stakeholder participation, presents a coherent assessment of scientific knowledge about climate and makes it accessible for both decision-makers and the General public. Approximately 240 scientists from 50 institutions have participated in this national Assessment ReportDer AAR14 ist der erste Sachstandsbericht zum Klimawandel in Österreich, zu dessen Auswirkungen, und den Erfordernissen und Möglichkeiten der Minderung und Anpassung. Der drei-bändige Bericht, der einen mehrstufigen Peer-Review-Prozess inklusive Stakeholder-Partizipation durchlaufen hat, legt den wissenschaftlich gesicherten Kenntnisstand für Österreich kohärent dar und macht ihn Entscheidungstragenden und der interessierten Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. An dem nationalen Sachstandbericht haben rund 240 WissenschafterInnen aus 50 Institutionen mitgewirkt.Der Österreichische Sachstandsbericht Klimawandel 2014 (AAR14) stellt einen Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-ähnlichen Bericht dar. Er besteht aus drei Bänden, in denen das bestehende Wissen zum Klimawandel in Österreich, zu dessen Auswirkungen, und den Erfordernissen und Möglichkeiten der Minderung und Anpassung zusammengefasst wird. Der Bericht verfolgt das Ziel, den wissenschaftlichen Kenntnisstand für Österreich kohärent und vollständig darzulegen und diesen auch in Form von politikrelevanten Analysen an die Österreichische Bundesregierung und politische Entscheidungsgremien auf allen Ebenen zu übermitteln, bzw. um dadurch Entscheidungsgrundlagen auch für den privaten Sektor und einen Wissensfundus für akademische Institutionen bereitzustellen. Ähnlich den IPCC-Sachstandsberichten liegt dem AAR14 das Prinzip zugrunde, entscheidungsrelevant zu sein, aber keinen empfehlenden Charakter zu haben

Österreichischer Sachstandsbericht Klimawandel 2014

The AAR14 is the first Assessment Report on climate Change in Austria assessing the Impact of climate change and the Needs and possibilities of mitigation and Adaptation. This three-volume Report, developed through a multiple peer-Review process including stakeholder participation, presents a coherent assessment of scientific knowledge about climate and makes it accessible for both decision-makers and the General public. Approximately 240 scientists from 50 institutions have participated in this national Assessment Repor