Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey: 2012 Findings and Recommendations

2012 was the warmest year on record in the Lower 48 states and the second most extreme weather year in U.S. history. This is not a coincidence. Extreme weather -- stronger, more damaging storms, unprecedented drought and heat in some regions and unprecedented rainfall and flooding in others -- are the predictable consequences of rising global temperatures.Eleven extreme weather events each caused at least a billion dollars in losses last year in the United States. A single event, Hurricane Sandy, caused more than $50 billion in economic losses. Insurance companies are on the hook for tens of billions of dollars in claims as a result of Sandy and other severe weather events. And American taxpayers are on the hook for tens of billions of dollars themselves, thanks to losses sustained by the National Flood Insurance Program as well as disaster relief spendingThis raises a fundamental question: Is the insurance industry prepared? Have insurers analyzed and measured their climate-related risk? Are they planning for life in a warmer world? These should be essential questions for insurance regulators in all 50 states to be asking, and some are

Bird Use of Cumberland Island\u27s Freshwater Wetlands

Cumberland Island is the southernmost barrier island off the coast of Georgia. Its freshwater wetlands are an important, rare habitat to have on a barrier island surrounded by saltmarsh and ocean. Many species of birds require freshwater wetlands as feeding, roosting and nesting grounds. However, the freshwater wetlands on Cumberland Island have been impacted by humans for centuries causing birds to abandon their historic nesting ground. Known land use histories of Cumberland Island\u27s freshwater wetlands were gathered to try and determine how the wetlands changed over time Wetlands were analyzed for presence of wetland-dependent birds and recorded. Thirty-six species of birds from 10 orders and 15 families were identified using the freshwater wetland habitat. The highest bird abundance and species richness is seen, in order, at Plum Orchard, Lake Whitney, Hickory Hill Pond, and the North Swamp Fields. Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Blackcrowned Night Herons were the species most frequently seen on the island. Rainfall was 24.7 cm below the 100 year average during the study, making water presence a determining factor in bird abundance. Habitat diversity, taken from the aerial maps also had an influence on bird abundance. Management recommendations should be made for restoration efforts of specific wetlands based on the species of birds that frequent the island

A characterization of seasonal pools in Central Oregon's high desert

Seasonal wetlands in arid and semi-arid lands provide an important source of surface water in otherwise dry lands. Central Oregon's high desert, located in the Northern Great Basin (NGB) is dotted with hundreds of seasonal pools, locally called playas. The playas hold water or snow during parts of winter and spring but typically dry up during summer months. The mechanisms of seasonal pool hydrology, especially in the NGB, are poorly understood and have not been thoroughly examined. There is high seasonal variability and inter-annual variability in surface water amounts in the playas. Historical over-grazing and a century of fire suppression have caused serious long-term ecological damage throughout the NGB ecoregion. A large portion of playas located on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Prineville District lands have been excavated to capture and retain increased water for livestock use. These dug-out playas exhibit an altered ponding regime, affecting the depth and duration of water on the surface. Playa excavations have affected the hydrologic behavior on the playas, possibly altering the vegetation communities. Playa habitat is important to many different species, including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a candidate for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. To obtain my objectives of fostering a greater understanding of the ecology of the playa systems and to begin documenting the variability across the landscape I explored various methods to characterize and monitor the playas. I analyzed field data collected by the BLM, including ecological site inventory. Because of the knowledge gap in playa ecology, I created a method to support and improve data collection to describe these unique wetlands. I created a field manual to characterize playas that will give land managers and scientists a tool to obtain and contribute useful information about the playas. The information can be used to answer a variety of questions concerning subjects such as: the perceived sensitivity of a site for livestock grazing, the relative importance of a playa to various wildlife species, and whether or not the site is appropriate for livestock troughs or wind turbines. Working with the BLM I helped to develop experimental habitat improvement strategies. To monitor the success of the habitat improvement strategies I used Electromagnetic induction (EMI) to map subsurface soil physical properties, looking specifically at salinity to gain information about hydrologic patterns. I compared hydrologic patterns of playas before and after habitat improvement strategies using EMI data. From initial visual observations of the EMI data, water appears to be distributed across the playas in greater areal extent following habitat improvement strategies. To further characterize the variability in the playas across Central Oregon's high desert, I examined whether relative ash concentration in the soil samples had an effect on the apparent physical characteristics of a playa. There were no discernable differences in relative ash concentration between any of the soil samples. Land managers have an inclination towards orchestrating restoration activities on the altered playas aimed at habitat improvement goals. I recommend caution and patience with restoration activities. Attempts to return systems to within their historical range of biotic and abiotic characteristics and processes may not be possible. Management activities directed at removing undesirable features of a system may perpetuate new undesirable systems. Directing management goals towards promoting biological diversity and hydrological functionality may be more successful focus. I recommend continuing to characterize these unique systems to facilitate the understanding of the role of these features in the high desert

Molecular movie of ultrafast coherent rotational dynamics of OCS

Recording molecular movies on ultrafast timescales has been a longstanding goal for unravelling detailed information about molecular dynamics. Here we present the direct experimental recording of very-high-resolution and -fidelity molecular movies over more than one-and-a-half periods of the laser-induced rotational dynamics of carbonylsulfide (OCS) molecules. Utilising the combination of single quantum-state selection and an optimised two-pulse sequence to create a tailored rotational wavepacket, an unprecedented degree of field-free alignment, 〈cos2θ2D〉 = 0.96 (〈cos2θ〉 = 0.94) is achieved, exceeding the theoretical limit for single-pulse alignment. The very rich experimentally observed quantum dynamics is fully recovered by the angular probability distribution obtained from solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with parameters refined against the experiment. The populations and phases of rotational states in the retrieved time-dependent three-dimensional wavepacket rationalises the observed very high degree of alignment

Major Tipping Points in the Earth’s Climate System and Consequences for the Insurance Sector

A 2°C rise in temperature from pre-industrial levels has been widely regarded as a tipping point for planet earth. Major Tipping Points in Earth's Climate System and Consequences for the Insurance Sector argues instead that sudden volatile transformations in earth's climate will occur long before this 2°C threshold is reached

Time-resolved single-particle x-ray scattering reveals electron-density as coherent plasmonic-nanoparticle-oscillation source

Dynamics of optically-excited plasmonic nanoparticles are presently understood as a series of sequential scattering events, involving thermalization processes after pulsed optical excitation. One important step is the initiation of nanoparticle breathing oscillations. According to established experiments and models, these are caused by the statistical heat transfer from thermalized electrons to the lattice. An additional contribution by hot electron pressure has to be included to account for phase mismatches that arise from the lack of experimental data on the breathing onset. We used optical transient-absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved single-particle x-ray-diffractive imaging to access the excited electron system and lattice. The time-resolved single-particle imaging data provided structural information directly on the onset of the breathing oscillation and confirmed the need for an additional excitation mechanism to thermal expansion, while the observed phase-dependence of the combined structural and optical data contrasted previous studies. Therefore, we developed a new model that reproduces all our experimental observations without using fit parameters. We identified optically-induced electron density gradients as the main driving source.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, 1 supporting information document include

How insurance can support climate resilience

Insurance is gaining importance in and beyond the climate negotiations and offers many opportunities to improve climate risk management in developing countries. However, some caution is needed, if current momentum is to lead to genuine progress in making the most vulnerable more resilient to climate change