Recent changes in glacier area in the Central Southern Alps of New Zealand : - Mapped from ASTER satellite imagery

Change in glacier extent is a good indication of climate change. Inventories for glaciated areas should therefore be made at certain intervals. For New Zealand a digitized glacial inventory including both the two main islands’ glaciers was made from aerial photographs recorded in 1978. This inventory needed an update. One Aster scene (60*60km) recorded 14. February 2002 covering the central Southern Alps of New Zealand is used for the updating. The area covered by the image contained, in 1978, 41% of the glaciated areas in New Zealand. The image was orthorectified using a combination of points collected in field and points from the New Zealand topographic database and DEM made from 20-meter contour intervals in PCI. Due to the problems often involved in automatic methods for glacier extraction, the glacier areas on the image were manually digitized. For validation of the digitizing, field work was conducted during late summer of 2005 (Feb-April). Glacier outlines were mapped for 9 individual glaciers using a differential GPS. These data were later corrected to a base antenna giving sub-meter accuracy. 5 of these 9 glaciers were so called ‘Index glaciers’ that had been annually photographed since 1977 as a part of the New Zealand Annual Snowline Survey. Aerial photographs of the 5 field work Index glaciers, were used to adjust for eventual changes in the glacier outlines between image acquisition and the in-situ recordings. Automatic classifications were tested on the entire image and on 3 zoomed in study areas to give an estimate of the efficiency of these automatic methods in the New Zealand setting. Band ratio of ATER3/ASTER4 proved to be the most efficient automatic classification method, with the threshold set around 2.0. However, as a result of the large debris cover on many glaciers in New Zealand, automatic glacier extraction would require significant manual post processing. The manually digitized glacier map was used to calculate the change in glacier area since 1978. An overall reduction of 16.6% was found, more specifically 14.3% for the western and 18.3% eastern side of the Main Divide of the Southern Alps. The large and fast flowing western glaciers, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers, were pulsing back and forward in the study period, but showed an overall advance, whereas the large low-gradient heavily debris covered valley glaciers developed proglacial lakes and have shown a rapidly increasing retreat due to calving. The smaller high elevated alpine glaciers in the area show only slight changes

The weakening AMOC under extreme climate change

Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the quadrupled CO2 experiments conducted under the sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) are examined. Increased CO2 triggers extensive Arctic warming, causing widespread melting of sea ice. The resulting freshwater spreads southward, frst from the Labrador Sea and then the Nordic Seas, and proceeds along the eastern coast of North America. The freshwater enters the subpolar gyre north of the separated Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current. This decreases the density gradient across the current and the current weakens in response, reducing the infow to the deepwater production regions. The AMOC cell weakens in tandem, frst near the North Atlantic Current and then spreading to higher and lower latitudes. This contrasts with the common perception that freshwater caps the convection regions, stifing deepwater production; rather, it is the infow to the subpolar gyre that is suppressed. Changes in surface temperature have a much weaker effect, and there are no consistent changes in local or remote wind forcing among the models. Thus an increase in freshwater discharge, primarily from the Labrador Sea, is the precursor to AMOC weakening in these simulations

The kindergarten´s work with safety in the familiarization period.

Mastergradsoppgave i tilpasset opplæring, Avdeling for lærerutdanning og naturvitenskap, Høgskolen i Innlandet, 2017.Norsk: Dette forskningsprosjektet er en avsluttende masteroppgave i emnet tilpasset opplæring ved Høgskolen i Innlandet. Vi er to studenter som samarbeider om forskningsprosjektet. Dette forskningsprosjektet er et fenomenologisk studie som omhandler barnehagelærerens erfaringer med tilknytning og tilvenning, hvordan dette kommer til syne i praksis, og hvilken betydning tilknytning har for barns tilvenning i barnehagen. Vi har valgt å benytte oss av kvalitativ forskningsdesign, hvor vi har intervjuet fire barnehagelærere. Vi har også observert to barn i tilvenningsperioden. Intervjuene våre baserte seg på semistrukturert intervju, som ble tatt opp med diktafon. Barnehagelærerne delte sine erfaringer med oss underveis i intervjuet og vi stilte oppfølgingsspørsmål underveis ved behov. Funn og resultater i dette masterprosjektet, viser at barnehagelærerne har ulike tanker og erfaringer med tilknytning i tilvenningsperioder. Det kan tyde på at det er ulike kunnskaper hos barnehagelærerne om barns tilknytning ute i barnehagene. Funnene viser videre at barnehagene har ulike rammer for hvordan de fremmer barns tilknytning. Barnehagene organiserer rutiner i tilvenningsperioder også forskjellig. Disse resultatene kan tyde på, at det er viktig å ha et godt samarbeid med foreldrene for å skape trygg tilknytning og for at barnet skal få en så trygg tilvenning som mulig. Noen funn var ikke som forventet og overrasket oss. Det blir fortsatt benyttet avledning i situasjoner der barn er lei seg i tilvenningsperioder. Et annet funn viser at barnehagelæreren hadde ulike syn på tilknytningsperson, og i hvilken grad dette er bra eller ikke. Videre ser vi betydning av kunnskapsutvikling om tilknytning i barnehagen, og hvor viktig det er med trygge rammer i tilvenningsperioder, slik at barnet skal kunne føle trygghet og tilknytning.English: This research project is a final master's thesis on the subject of adapted education at the College of Innlandet. We are two students who collaborate on this research project. This research project is a phenomenological study in which it deals with the kindergarten teacher's experiences with attachment and familiarization, how this appears in practice, and what impact attachment has for children's familiarization in kindergarten. We have chosen to use qualitative research design, where we have interviewed four kindergarten teachers. We also have observed two children in the familiarization period. All the interviews are based on a semi-structured interview, which was recorded by using a Dictaphone. The kindergarten teachers shared their experiences with us along the way in the interview and we asked followup questions along the way when needed. The findings and results of this master project, shows that kindergarten teachers have different thoughts and experiences with the relation in the familiarization periods. It may indicate that kindergarten teachers have different skills about children's attachment in the projects. The findings further show that the kindergartens have different frames for how they promote children's attachment. The kindergartens also organize the routines in these periods differently. The results may suggest that it is important to have a good working relationship with parents to create safe attachment as possible. Some findings were not as expected and surprised us. Among other things, diversion is still used as a tool in situations where children are upset in the familiarization periods. Other findings show that kindergarten teacher had different views on the attachment person, and to what extent this is good or not. Furthermore, we see the importance of the knowledge about attachment, and how important it is with safe frames in the familiarization periods, so that the child should be able to feel the confidence and affiliation

Deglaciation of coastal south-western Spitsbergen dated with in situ cosmogenic 10Be and 14C measurements

The Svalbard-Barents ice sheet was predominantly a marine-based ice sheet and reconstructing the timing and rate of its decay during the last deglaciation can inform predictions of future decay of marine-based ice sheets (e.g. West Antarctica). Records of ice-sheet change are now routinely built with cosmogenic surface exposure ages, but in some regions, this method is complicated by the presence of isotopic inheritance yielding artificially old and erroneous exposure ages. Here, we present forty-six 1025 Be ages from bedrock (n = 38) and erratic boulders (n = 8) in southwestern Spitsbergen that, when paired with in situ 1427 C measurements (n = 5), constrain the timing of coastal deglaciation following the last glacial maximum. 10Be and 1428 C measurements from bedrock along a ~400 m elevation transect reveal inheritance-skewed 10Be ages, whereas 1429 C measurements constrain 400 m of ice-sheet thinning and coastal deglaciation at 17.4 ± 1.5 ka. Combined with three additional 10Be-dated coastal sites, we show that the southwestern margin of the Svalbard-Barents ice sheet retreated out of Norwegian Sea between ~18-16 ka. In situ 1432 C measurements can provide key chronological information on ice-sheet response to the last termination in cases where measurements of long-lived nuclides are compromised by isotopic inheritance

The glaciers climate change initiative: Methods for creating glacier area, elevation change and velocity products

Glaciers and their changes through time are increasingly obtained from a wide range of satellite sensors. Due to the often remote location of glaciers in inaccessible and high-mountain terrain, satellite observations frequently provide the only available measurements. Furthermore, satellite data provide observations of glacier character- istics that are difficult to monitor using ground-based measurements, thus complementing the latter. In the Glaciers_cci project of the European Space Agency (ESA), three of these characteristics are investigated in detail: glacier area, elevation change and surface velocity. We use (a) data from optical sensors to derive glacier outlines, (b) digital elevation models from at least two points in time, (c) repeat altimetry for determining elevation changes, and (d) data from repeat optical and microwave sensors for calculating surface velocity. For the latter, the two sensor types provide complementary information in terms of spatio-temporal coverage. While (c) and (d) can be generated mostly automatically, (a) and (b) require the intervention of an analyst. Largely based on the results of various round robin experiments (multi-analyst benchmark studies) for each of the products, we suggest and describe the most suitable algorithms for product creation and provide recommendations concerning their practical implementation and the required post-processing. For some of the products (area, velocity) post-processing can influence product quality more than the main-processing algorithm

Climate-driven chemistry and aerosol feedbacks in CMIP6 Earth system models

Feedbacks play a fundamental role in determining the magnitude of the response of the climate system to external forcing, such as from anthropogenic emissions. The latest generation of Earth system models include aerosol and chemistry components that interact with each other and with the biosphere. These interactions introduce a complex web of feedbacks which it is important to understand and quantify. This paper addresses multiple pathways for aerosol and chemical feedbacks in Earth system models. These focus on changes in natural emissions (dust, sea salt, di-methyl sulphide, biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and lightning) and changes in reaction rates for methane and ozone chemistry. The feedback terms are then given by the sensitivity of a pathway to climate change multiplied by the radiative effect of the change. We find that the overall climate feedback through chemistry and aerosols is negative in the sixth coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP6) Earth system models due to increased negative forcing from aerosols in a climate with warmer surface temperatures following a quadrupling of CO2 concentrations. This is principally due to increased emissions of sea salt and BVOCs which are both sensitive to climate change, and cause strong negative radiative forcings. Increased chemical loss of ozone and methane also contributes to a negative feedback. However overall methane lifetime is expected to increase in a warmer climate due to increased BVOCs. Increased emissions of methane from wetlands would also offset some of the negative feedbacks. The CMIP6 experimental design did not allow the methane lifetime or methane emission changes to affect climate so we find a robust negative contribution from interactive aerosols and chemistry to climate sensitivity in CMIP6 Earth system models

Assessing atmospheric sensitivity to sea surface temperature variations using the Maximum Entropy Production Principle

Paltridge (1975,1978) proposed that the atmosphere seeks to maximize entropy production, as a non-equilibrium thermodynamic system. He constructed a simple box model of the atmosphere which yields surprisingly realistic predictions for the latitudinally-averaged surface temperature, fractional cloud cover and meridional heat fluxes. The poleward shift of the mid-latitude storm tracks is one of the most robust predicted features under global warming. Graff and LaCasce (2012) examined the relation between perturbed sea surface temperature (SST) and the intensity and position of the storm tracks using an Atmospheric General Climate Model (CAM 3.0). In line with several other studies, their findings suggest that both the intensity and position change in response to altered SST. Heat transport in the atmosphere is intensified in the storm tracks. Thus, a change in the position of the storm tracks should correspond to a change in the maximum heat transport. The purpose of this study is to examine atmospheric sensitivity, and the sensitivity of atmospheric heat transport in particular, to changes in SST using a simplified energy balance model based on the principle of Maximum Entropy Production (MEP), similar to Paltridge's MEP model (1975; 1978). A hierarchy of box models are developed and investigated, including Paltridge's original model. An Atmospheric MEP (AMEP) model is developed to make a model comparison with CAM 3.0 possible. The results from the AMEP model are compared to data from Graff and LaCasce (2012), to explore if we can capture the SST dependence. Despite having feedback mechanisms, the AMEP model is able to predict the main tendencies of the changes in temperature, convective heat flux and meridional heat transport. However,it fails to capture the shift in the meridional heat transport

Sykepleiers erfaring med bruk av telefontolk i kommunikasjon med fremmedspråklige pasienter

NORSK: Helse Sør-Øst samarbeider med tolkeselskapet Noricon for å lette kommunikasjonen mellom AMK og fremmedspråklig pasient for rask helsehjelp til pasienten. Hensikten med studien var å beskrive sykepleiers erfaring i bruk av telefontolk ved akutt helsehjelp til fremmedspråklige pasienter. Metode: En kvalitativt beskrivende design der åtte sykepleier ble intervjuet individuelt, rekruttert fra AMK sentral som betjener to kommuner. I dataanalysen ble det benyttet kvalitativ induktiv innholdsanalyse. Funn: Sykepleiers erfaringer beskrives i tre kategorier; faktorer som fremmer eller hemmer kommunikasjon og samarbeid mellom sykepleier og tolk, samt faktorer hos sykepleier som fremmer god kommunikasjon. Funnene sammenfattes i en hovedkategori «Sykepleiers interaksjon og mestringsstrategier ved tverrkulturelle møter der telefontolk anvendes». Intensjon for å opprette god kommunikasjon mellom tolk og sykepleier for å sikre rask informasjon om pasientens helsetilstand fremgår som viktig. Eksempel på hemmende faktorer i kommunikasjonen var manglende tilbakemeldinger fra tolk og utelukkelse av sykepleier. Kunnskaper og erfaringer sykepleier opplever viktige var faglige kunnskaper og erfaringer, handlingsberedskap og god formidlingsevne. Konklusjon: Studien viste at mangelfull kommunikasjon mellom sykepleier og tolk kan medføre forsinkelser i behandlingen. Sykepleier er avhengig av at tolken kan gi informasjon raskt mellom sykepleier og pasient. Studien viser at det er et ønske om opplæring om kommunikasjon på tvers av kulturer

Le Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg : vecteur de la langue et la culture alsaciennes : la perception du théâtre dans l'entre-deux-guerres par les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg/Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten

L’histoire de l’Alsace est marquée par de grands bouleversements politiques et culturels. La région s’est tantôt trouvée sous la domination allemande, tantôt sous la domination française. Tout en incorporant les influences culturelles et linguistiques, les Alsaciens ont gardé une forte identité régionale. Entre autres, le particularisme alsacien a été exprimé par le Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg, qui dès sa fondation en 1898 demeure un vecteur important de la culture et la langue alsaciennes. L’entre-deux-guerres marqua une nouvelle réalité pour les Alsaciens. La politique des nouvelles autorités cherchait une intégration rapide à la France, notamment dans les domaines politique, religieux, culturel et linguistique. Quelle serait la place de la culture et la langue alsaciennes dans la région redevenue française? Dans ce mémoire, je vais étudier la perception du Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg à l’entre-deux-guerres par le grand quotidien alsacien les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg/Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten (DNS/SNN), un journal qui paraîtra en deux éditions, l’une en langue allemande et l’autre en langue française. Le mémoire est divisé en deux parties. La première partie, la présentation, traite l’histoire culturelle et linguistique de l’Alsace, l’histoire de la presse alsacienne et des Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg/Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten, le paysage politique de l’entre-deux-guerres et finalement le Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg. La deuxième partie, l’analyse, est composée de deux éléments : d’un côté le Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg et les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg/Strassburger Neueste Nachrichten de l’autre. J’ai établi un corpus des textes retenus des DNS/SNN des années 1921, 1930 et 1939 qui concernent le Théâtre Alsacien de Strasbourg. Les articles retenus sont la base des analyses comparatives : l’analyse comparative synchronique et l’analyse comparative diachronique. La perception du théâtre peut être replacée dans un contexte plus général ; l’opinion des DNS/SNN sur le T.A.S. peut refléter les positions du journal à l’égard de la culture alsacienne dans l’entre-deux-guerres, une époque où l’intégration de l’Alsace à la France était l’une des prioritaires des autorités. Comment ces deux éditions percevaient-elles les représentations du T.A.S. ? Partageaient-elles les mêmes opinions ? Est-ce que les critiques des pièces ont changé au cours de la période ? Étaient-elles influencées par la situation politique

CPU and GPU Co-processing for Sound

When using voice communications, one of the problematic phenomena that can occur, is participants hearing an echo of their own voice. Acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) is used to remove this echo, but can be computationally demanding.The recent OpenCL standard allows high-level programs to be run on both multi-core CPUs, as well as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and custom accelerators. This opens up new possibilities for offloading computations, which is especially important for real-time applications. Although many algorithms for image- and video-processing have been studied on the GPU, audio processing algorithms have not similarly been well researched. This can be due to these algorithms not being viewed as computationally heavy and thus as suitable for GPU-offloading as, for instance, dense linear algebra.This thesis studies the AEC filter from the open-source library Speex for speech compression and audio preprocessing. We translate the original code into an optimized OpenCL program that can run on both CPUs and GPUs. Since the overhead of the OpenCL vendor implementations dominate running times, our results show that the existing reference implementation is faster for single channel input/output, due to its simplicity and low computational intensity. However, by increasing the number of channels processed by the filter and the length of the echo tail, a speed-up of up to 5 on CPU+GPU over CPU only, was achieved. Although these cases may not be the most common, the techniques developed in this thesis are expected to be of increasing importance as GPUs and CPUs become more integrated, especially on embedded devices. This makes latencies less of an issue and hence the value of our results stronger. An outline for future work in this area is thus also included