Suchergebnisse

The thesis consists of four scientific papers dealing with different aspects of the interaction between socioeconomic systems and the global ecosystem with an emphasis on the extraction and use of natural resources and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The analysis of these interactions is complemented by a focus on policy measures aimed at reducing the impact of socioeconomic activities on the environment. This approach provides for both the scientific and political relevance of the thesis. The first two papers deal with historic and projected levels of natural resource use (both on the global and on the European level) within the context of Material Flow Analysis (MFA). While these two papers focus on measuring and reducing the use of natural resources by socioeconomic systems (i.e. on dematerialisation), the other two papers deal with the mitigation of climate change (i.e. with decarbonisation), its financial implications as well as with synergies of climate policies with other political aims such as ensuring the long-term security of energy supplies. The links between the concepts of dematerialisation and decarbonisation are described in the introduction of the thesis. ; Keine Zusammenfassung vorhanden ; Arno Behrens ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers ; Klagenfurt, Alpen-Adria-Univ., Diss., 2011 ; OeBB ; (VLID)2412727

Abstract. This study addresses the impact of wind, waves, tidal forcing and baroclinicity on the sea level of the German Bight during extreme storm events. The role of wave-induced processes, tides and baroclinicity is quantified, and the results are compared with in situ measurements and satellite data. A coupled high-resolution modelling system is used to simulate wind waves, the water level and the three-dimensional hydrodynamics. The models used are the wave model WAM and the circulation model GETM. The two-way coupling is performed via the OASIS3-MCT coupler. The effects of wind waves on sea level variability are studied, accounting for wave-dependent stress, wave-breaking parameterization and wave-induced effects on vertical mixing. The analyses of the coupled model results reveal a closer match with observations than for the stand-alone circulation model, especially during the extreme storm Xaver in December 2013. The predicted surge of the coupled model is significantly enhanced during extreme storm events when considering wave–current interaction processes. This wave-dependent approach yields a contribution of more than 30 % in some coastal areas during extreme storm events. The contribution of a fully three-dimensional model compared with a two-dimensional barotropic model showed up to 20 % differences in the water level of the coastal areas of the German Bight during Xaver. The improved skill resulting from the new developments justifies further use of the coupled-wave and three-dimensional circulation models in coastal flooding predictions.