Satellites Pinpoint Drivers of Urban Heat Islands in the Northeast - Zhang, Ping; Imhoff, Marc (NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, 2010)

Indices for monitoring changes in extremes based on daily temperature and precipitation data - Zhang, Xuebin; Alexander, Lisa; Hegerl, Gabriele C.; Jones, Philip; Tank, Albert Klein; Peterson, Thomas C.; Trewin, Blair; Zwiers, Francis W. (Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2011)

Co-benefits of global and regional greenhouse gas mitigation for US air quality in 2050 - Zhang, Yuqiang; Bowden, Jared H.; Adelman, Zachariah; Naik, Vaishali; Horowitz, Larry W.; Smith, Steven J.; West, Jason J. (Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2016)
ACP

Co-benefits of global, domestic, and sectoral greenhouse gas mitigation for US air quality and human health in 2050 - Zhang, Yuqiang; Smith, Steven J.; Bowden, Jared H.; Adelman, Zachariah; West, J. Jason (Environmental Research Letters, 2017)
Reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can bring ancillary benefits of improved air quality and reduced premature mortality, in addition to slowing climate change. Here we study the co-benefits of global and domestic GHG mitigation on US air quality and human health in 2050 at fine resolution using dynamical downscaling of meteorology and air quality from global simulations to the continental US, and quantify for the first time the co-benefits from foreign GHG mitigation. Relative to the reference scenario from which Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5) was created, global GHG reductions in RCP4.5 avoid 16 000 PM 2.5 -related all-cause deaths yr −1 (90% confidence interval, 11 700–20 300), and 8000 (3600–12 400) O 3 -related respiratory deaths yr −1 in the US in 2050. Foreign GHG mitigation avoids 15% and 62% of PM 2.5 -and O 3 -related total avoided deaths, highlighting the importance of foreign mitigation for US health. GHG mitigation in the US residential sector brings the largest co-benefits for PM 2.5 -related deaths (21% of total domestic co-benefits), and industry for O 3 (17%). Monetized benefits for avoided deaths from ozone and PM 2.5 are $137 ($87–$187) per ton CO 2 at high valuation and $45 ($29–62) at low valuation, of which 31% are from foreign GHG reductions. These benefits likely exceed the marginal cost of GHG reductions in 2050. The US gains significantly greater air quality and health co-benefits when its GHG emission reductions are concurrent with reductions in other nations. Similarly, previous studies estimating co-benefits locally or regionally may greatly underestimate the full co-benefits of coordinated global actions.

Extreme precipitation patterns and reductions of terrestrial ecosystem production across biomes - Zhang, Yongguang; Susan Moran, M.; Nearing, Mark A.; Ponce Campos, Guillermo E.; Huete, Alfredo R.; Buda, Anthony R.; Bosch, David D.; Gunter, Stacey A.; Kitchen, Stanley G.; Henry McNab, W.; Morgan, Jack A.; McClaran, Mitchel P.; et al. (Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, 2013)
Keywords: ANPP biomes climate change MODIS EVI extreme precipitation patterns 0414 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling 0456 Life in extreme environments 0480 Remote sensing

Climate-driven ground-level ozone extreme in the fall over the Southeast United States - Zhang, Yuzhong; Wang, Yuhang (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016)
Ground-level ozone is adverse to human and vegetation health. High ground-level ozone concentrations usually occur over the United States in the summer, often referred to as the ozone season. However, observed monthly mean ozone concentrations in the southeastern United States were higher in October than July in 2010. The October ozone average in 2010 reached that of July in the past three decades (1980–2010). Our analysis shows that this extreme October ozone in 2010 over the Southeast is due in part to a dry and warm weather condition, which enhances photochemical production, air stagnation, and fire emissions. Observational evidence and modeling analysis also indicate that another significant contributor is enhanced emissions of biogenic isoprene, a major ozone precursor, from water-stressed plants under a dry and warm condition. The latter finding is corroborated by recent laboratory and field studies. This climate-induced biogenic control also explains the puzzling fact that the two extremes of high October ozone both occurred in the 2000s when anthropogenic emissions were lower than the 1980s and 1990s, in contrast to the observed decreasing trend of July ozone in the region. The occurrences of a drying and warming fall, projected by climate models, will likely lead to more active photochemistry, enhanced biogenic isoprene and fire emissions, an extension of the ozone season from summer to fall, and an increase of secondary organic aerosols in the Southeast, posing challenges to regional air quality management.

Next generation biorefineries will solve the food, biofuels, and environmental trilemma in the energy–food–water nexus - Zhang, Y. H. Percival (Energy Science & Engineering, 2013)
Keywords: Artificial photosynthesis biofuels biomass role biorefineries energy–food–water nexus food– biofuels–environmental trilemma food security

Modeling climate change impacts on the US agricultural exports - Zhang, Yu-quan; Cai, Yong-xia; Beach, Robert H.; McCarl, Bruce A. (Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2014)
Keywords: climate change relative competitiveness trade agricultural sector model (ASM)

Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates - Zhao, Chuang; Liu, Bing; Piao, Shilong; Wang, Xuhui; Lobell, David B.; Huang, Yao; Huang, Mengtian; Yao, Yitong; Bassu, Simona; Ciais, Philippe; Durand, Jean-Louis; Elliott, Joshua; et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2017)
Wheat, rice, maize, and soybean provide two-thirds of human caloric intake. Assessing the impact of global temperature increase on production of these crops is therefore critical to maintaining global food supply, but different studies have yielded different results. Here, we investigated the impacts of temperature on yields of the four crops by compiling extensive published results from four analytical methods: global grid-based and local point-based models, statistical regressions, and field-warming experiments. Results from the different methods consistently showed negative temperature impacts on crop yield at the global scale, generally underpinned by similar impacts at country and site scales. Without CO2 fertilization, effective adaptation, and genetic improvement, each degree-Celsius increase in global mean temperature would, on average, reduce global yields of wheat by 6.0%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1%. Results are highly heterogeneous across crops and geographical areas, with some positive impact estimates. Multimethod analyses improved the confidence in assessments of future climate impacts on global major crops and suggest crop- and region-specific adaptation strategies to ensure food security for an increasing world population.

Yield and water use of drought-tolerant maize hybrids in a semiarid environment - Zhao, Jin; Xue, Qingwu; Jessup, Kirk E.; Hao, Baozhen; Hou, Xiaobo; Marek, Thomas H.; Xu, Wenwei; Evett, Steven R.; O’Shaughnessy, Susan A.; Brauer, David K. (Field Crops Research, 2018)
Keywords: Drought-tolerant hybrid Soil water extraction Deficit irrigation Evapotranspiration

Biophysical forcings of land‐use changes from potential forestry activities in North America - Zhao, Kaiguang; Jackson, Robert B (Ecological Monographs, 2014)

Strong contributions of local background climate to urban heat islands - Zhao, Lei; Lee, Xuhui; Smith, Ronald B.; Oleson, Keith (Nature, 2014)

The impact of land cover change on the atmospheric circulation - Zhao, M.; Pitman, A. J.; Chase, T. (Climate Dynamics, 2001)

Uncertainties in historical changes and future projections of drought. Part II: Model-simulated historical and future drought changes - Zhao, Tianbao; Dai, Aiguo (Climatic Change, 2017)
While most models project large increases in agricultural drought frequency and severity in the 21st century, significant uncertainties exist in these projections. Here, we compare the model-simulated changes with observation-based estimates since 1900 and examine model projections from both the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 3 (CMIP3) and Phase 5 (CMIP5). We use the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index with the Penman-Monteith potential evapotranspiration (PET) (sc_PDSI_pm) as a measure of agricultural drought. Results show that estimated long-term changes in global and hemispheric drought areas from 1900 to 2014 are consistent with the CMIP3 and CMIP5 model-simulated response to historical greenhouse gases and other external forcing, with the short-term variations within the model spread of internal variability, despite that regional changes are still dominated by internal variability. Both the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models project continued increases (by 50–200 % in a relative sense) in the 21st century in global agricultural drought frequency and area even under low-moderate emissions scenarios, resulting from a decrease in the mean and flattening of the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the sc_PDSI_pm. This flattening is especially pronounced over the Northern Hemisphere land, leading to increased drought frequency even over areas with increasing sc_PDSI_pm. Large differences exist in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 model-projected precipitation and drought changes over the Sahel and northern Australia due to uncertainties in simulating the African Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the subsidence zone over northern Australia, while the wetting trend over East Africa reflects a robust response of the Indian Ocean ITCZ seen in both the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models. While warming-induced PET increases over all latitudes and precipitation decreases over subtropical land are responsible for mean sc_PDSI_pm decreases, the exact cause of its PDF flattening needs further investigation.

Association between air pollutants and asthma emergency room visits and hospital admissions in time series studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis - Zheng, Xue-yan; Ding, Hong; Jiang, Li-na; Chen, Shao-wei; Zheng, Jin-ping; Qiu, Min; Zhou, Ying-xue; Chen, Qing; Guan, Wei-jie (PLOS ONE, 2015)
Background Air pollution constitutes a significant stimulus of asthma exacerbations; however, the impacts of exposure to major air pollutants on asthma-related hospital admissions and emergency room visits (ERVs) have not been fully determined. Objective We sought to quantify the associations between short-term exposure to air pollutants [ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter ≤10μm (PM10) and PM2.5] and the asthma-related emergency room visits (ERV) and hospitalizations. Methods Systematic computerized searches without language limitation were performed. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were estimated using the random-effect models. Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were also performed. Results After screening of 246 studies, 87 were included in our analyses. Air pollutants were associated with significantly increased risks of asthma ERVs and hospitalizations [O3: RR(95%CI), 1.009 (1.006, 1.011); I2 = 87.8%, population-attributable fraction (PAF) (95%CI): 0.8 (0.6, 1.1); CO: RR(95%CI), 1.045 (1.029, 1.061); I2 = 85.7%, PAF (95%CI): 4.3 (2.8, 5.7); NO2: RR(95%CI), 1.018 (1.014, 1.022); I2 = 87.6%, PAF (95%CI): 1.8 (1.4, 2.2); SO2: RR(95%CI), 1.011 (1.007, 1.015); I2 = 77.1%, PAF (95%CI): 1.1 (0.7, 1.5); PM10: RR(95%CI), 1.010 (1.008, 1.013); I2 = 69.1%, PAF (95%CI): 1.1 (0.8, 1.3); PM2.5: RR(95%CI), 1.023 (1.015, 1.031); I2 = 82.8%, PAF (95%CI): 2.3 (1.5, 3.1)]. Sensitivity analyses yielded compatible findings as compared with the overall analyses without publication bias. Stronger associations were found in hospitalized males, children and elderly patients in warm seasons with lag of 2 days or greater. Conclusion Short-term exposures to air pollutants account for increased risks of asthma-related ERVs and hospitalizations that constitute a considerable healthcare utilization and socioeconomic burden.

Recent accelerated warming of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Physical drivers - Zhong, Yafang; Notaro, Michael; Vavrus, Stephen J.; Foster, Michael J. (Limnology and Oceanography, 2016)

Why did South Dakota snowstorm kill so many cattle? - Zhorov, Irina (National Geographic, 2013)

Evidence for a significant urbanization effect on climate in China - Zhou, Liming; Dickinson, Robert E; Tian, Yuhong; Fang, Jingyun; Li, Qingxiang; Kaufmann, Robert K; Tucker, Compton J; Myneni, Ranga B (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2004)

Predictability of state-level flood damage in the conterminous United States: The role of hazard, exposure and vulnerability - Zhou, Qianqian; Leng, Guoyong; Feng, Leyang (Scientific Reports, 2017)
Understanding historical changes in flood damage and the underlying mechanisms is critical for predicting future changes for better adaptations. In this study, a detailed assessment of flood damage for 1950–1999 is conducted at the state level in the conterminous United States (CONUS). Geospatial datasets on possible influencing factors are then developed by synthesizing natural hazards, population, wealth, cropland and urban area to explore the relations with flood damage. A considerable increase in flood damage in CONUS is recorded for the study period which is well correlated with hazards. Comparably, runoff indexed hazards simulated by the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model can explain a larger portion of flood damage variations than precipitation in 84% of the states. Cropland is identified as an important factor contributing to increased flood damage in central US while urbanland exhibits positive and negative relations with total flood damage and damage per unit wealth in 20 and 16 states, respectively. Overall, flood damage in 34 out of 48 investigated states can be predicted at the 90% confidence level. In extreme cases, ~76% of flood damage variations can be explained in some states, highlighting the potential of future flood damage prediction based on climate change and socioeconomic scenarios.

Impacts of future climate change on urban flood volumes in Hohhot in northern China: Benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptations - Zhou, Q.; Leng, G.; Huang, M. (Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2018)
HESS

Atlanta’s urban heat island under extreme heat conditions and potential mitigation strategies - Zhou, Yan; Shepherd, J. Marshall (Natural Hazards, 2010)
The urban heat island (UHI), together with summertime heat waves, foster’s biophysical hazards such as heat stress, air pollution, and associated public health problems. Mitigation strategies such as increased vegetative cover and higher albedo surface materials have been proposed. Atlanta, Georgia, is often affected by extreme heat, and has recently been investigated to better understand its heat island and related weather modifications. The objectives of this research were to (1) characterize temporal variations in the magnitude of UHI around Metro Atlanta area, (2) identify climatological attributes of the UHI under extremely high temperature conditions during Atlanta’s summer (June, July, and August) period, and (3) conduct theoretical numerical simulations to quantify the first-order effects of proposed mitigation strategies. Over the period 1984–2007, the climatological mean UHI magnitude for Atlanta-Athens and Athens-Monticello was 1.31 and 1.71°C, respectively. There were statistically significant minimum temperature trends of 0.70°C per decade at Athens and −1.79°C per decade at Monticello while Atlanta’s minimum temperature remained unchanged. The largest (smallest) UHI magnitudes were in spring (summer) and may be coupled to cloud-radiative cycles. Heat waves in Atlanta occurred during 50% of the years spanning 1984–2007 and were exclusively summertime phenomena. The mean number of heat wave events in Atlanta during a given heat wave year was 1.83. On average, Atlanta heat waves lasted 14.18 days, although there was quite a bit of variability (standard deviation of 9.89). The mean maximum temperature during Atlanta’s heat waves was 35.85°C. The Atlanta-Athens UHI was not statistically larger during a heat wave although the Atlanta-Monticello UHI was. Model simulations captured daytime and nocturnal UHIs under heat wave conditions. Sensitivity results suggested that a 100% increase in Atlanta’s surface vegetation or a tripling of its albedo effectively reduced UHI surface temperature. However, from a mitigation and technological standpoint, there is low feasibility of tripling albedo in the foreseeable future. Increased vegetation seems to be a more likely choice for mitigating surface temperature.

Failure to migrate: Lack of tree range expansion in response to climate change - Zhu, Kai; Woodall, Christopher W.; Clark, James S. (Global Change Biology, 2012)
Keywords: biogeography climate change Forest Inventory and Analysis latitude presence/absence range shift seedling tree migration

Greening of the Earth and its drivers - Zhu, Zaichun; Piao, Shilong; Myneni, Ranga B.; Huang, Mengtian; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Canadell, Josep G.; Ciais, Philippe; Sitch, Stephen; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Arneth, Almut; Cao, Chunxiang; Cheng, Lei; et al. (Nature Climate Change, 2016)

Hawaiian Natural History, Ecology, and Evolution - Ziegler, A.C. (University of Hawaii Press, 2002)

Climate change and underserved communities - Ziegler, Carol; Morelli, Vincent; Fawibe, Omotayo (Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 2017)
Keywords: Climate change Global warming Greenhouse gases Greenhouse gas emissions Patient education

Seven ways Alaska is seeing climate change in action - Zielinski, Sarah (Smithsonian.com, 2016)

Modeling the evolution of the Juneau Icefield between 1971 and 2100 using the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) - Ziemen, Florian A.; Hock, Regine; Aschwanden, Andy; Khroulev, Constantine; Kienholz, Christian; Melkonian, Andrew; Zhang, Jing (Journal of Glaciology, 2016)
Keywords: Ice sheet modeling Juneau Icefield Alaska Glacier Climate downscaling mass balance

Migration and health: A framework for 21st century policy-making - Zimmerman, Cathy; Kiss, Ligia; Hossain, Mazeda (PLOS Medicine, 2011)
In the introductory article to a six-part PLoS Medicine series on Migration & Health, series guest editors Cathy Zimmerman, Mazeda Hossain, and Ligia Kiss outline a migratory process framework that involves five phases: pre-departure, travel, destination, interception, and return.

Promoting Transportation Flexibility in Extreme Events Through Multi-Modal Connectivity - Zimmerman, Rae; Restrepo, Carlos E.; Sellers, Joshua; Amirapu, Arundathis; Pearson, Theodore R. (U.S. Department of Transportation, Region 2 Urban Transportation Research Center; NYU-Wagner, 2014)

High fitness costs of climate change-induced camouflage mismatch - Zimova, Marketa; Mills, L. Scott; Nowak, J. Joshua (Ecology Letters, 2016)
Anthropogenic climate change has created myriad stressors that threaten to cause local extinctions if wild populations fail to adapt to novel conditions. We studied individual and population-level fitness costs of a climate change-induced stressor: camouflage mismatch in seasonally colour molting species confronting decreasing snow cover duration. Based on field measurements of radiocollared snowshoe hares, we found strong selection on coat colour molt phenology, such that animals mismatched with the colour of their background experienced weekly survival decreases up to 7%. In the absence of adaptive response, we show that these mortality costs would result in strong population-level declines by the end of the century. However, natural selection acting on wide individual variation in molt phenology might enable evolutionary adaptation to camouflage mismatch. We conclude that evolutionary rescue will be critical for hares and other colour molting species to keep up with climate change.

Benefits and beneficiaries of the Oklahoma Mesonet: A multisectoral ripple effect analysis - Ziolkowska, Jadwiga R.; Fiebrich, Christopher A.; Carlson, J. D.; Melvin, Andrea D.; Sutherland, Albert J.; Kloesel, Kevin A.; McManus, Gary D.; Illston, Bradley G.; Hocker, James E.; Reyes, Reuben (Weather, Climate, and Society, 2017)
Since the Oklahoma Mesonet (the state’s automated mesoscale weather station network) was established in 1994, it has served a number of diverse groups and provided public services to foster weather preparedness, education, and public safety, while also supporting decision-making in agricultural production and wildland fire management.With 121 monitoring stations across the state, the Oklahoma Mesonet has developed an array of technologies to observe a variety of atmospheric and soil variables in 5- to 30-min intervals. These consistent observations have been especially critical for predicting and preparing for extreme weather events like droughts, floods, ice storms, and severe convective storms as well as for development of value-added tools. The tools, outreach programs, and mesoscale data have been widely utilized by the general public, state decision-makers, public safety officials, K–12 community, agricultural sector, and researchers, thus generating wide societal and economic benefits to many groups.Based on practical application examples of weather information provided by the Oklahoma Mesonet, this paper analyzes both benefits generated by Oklahoma Mesonet information to the public and decision-makers and ripple effects (spreading amplified outcomes/implications) of those benefits in the short and long term. The paper further details ongoing and anticipated Oklahoma Mesonet innovations as a response to changing needs for weather-related information over time, especially as a result of technological developments and weather variability.
Keywords: Social Science,Mesoscale systems,Automatic weather stations,In situ atmospheric observations,Nowcasting

Ch. 7: Food safety, nutrition, and distribution - Ziska, Lewis; Crimmins, Allison; Auclair, Allan; DeGrasse, Stacey; Garofalo, Jada F.; Khan, Ali S.; Loladze, Irakli; Pérez de León, Adalberto A.; Showler, Allan; Thurston, Jeanette; Walls, Isabel (The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, 2016)

Recent warming by latitude associated with increased length of ragweed pollen season in central North America - Ziska, L.; Knowlton, K.; Rogers, C.; Dalan, D.; Tierney, N.; Elder, M. A.; Filley, W.; Shropshire, J.; Ford, L. B.; Hedberg, C.; Fleetwood, P.; Hovanky, K. T.; et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011)
A fundamental aspect of climate change is the potential shifts in flowering phenology and pollen initiation associated with milder winters and warmer seasonal air temperature. Earlier floral anthesis has been suggested, in turn, to have a role in human disease by increasing time of exposure to pollen that causes allergic rhinitis and related asthma. However, earlier floral initiation does not necessarily alter the temporal duration of the pollen season, and, to date, no consistent continental trend in pollen season length has been demonstrated. Here we report that duration of the ragweed (Ambrosia spp.) pollen season has been increasing in recent decades as a function of latitude in North America. Latitudinal effects on increasing season length were associated primarily with a delay in first frost of the fall season and lengthening of the frost free period. Overall, these data indicate a significant increase in the length of the ragweed pollen season by as much as 13-27 d at latitudes above similar to 44 degrees N since 1995. This is consistent with recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections regarding enhanced warming as a function of latitude. If similar warming trends accompany long-term climate change, greater exposure times to seasonal allergens may occur with subsequent effects on public health.
Keywords: aerobiology; allergies; global warming; ambrosia-artemisiifolia l.; climate-change; common ragweed; public-health; united-states; aeroallergens; allergy; urbanization; temperatures; counts

Evaluation of the growth response of six invasive species to past, present and future atmospheric carbon dioxide - Ziska, L.H. (Journal of Experimental Botany, 2003)

Impacts of climate change on allergen seasonality - Ziska, Lewis H. (Impacts of Climate Change on Allergens and Allergic Diseases, 2016)

Anthropogenic climate change and allergen exposure: The role of plant biology - Ziska, Lewis H.; Beggs, Paul J. (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2012)
Keywords: Climate change aerobiology pollen allergen allergic rhinitis asthma exposure

Recent and projected increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration can enhance gene flow between wild and genetically altered rice (Oryza sativa) - Ziska, Lewis H.; Gealy, David R.; Tomecek, Martha B.; Jackson, Aaron K.; Black, Howard L. (PLOS ONE, 2012)
Although recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can alter plant phenological development, these changes have not been quantified in terms of floral outcrossing rates or gene transfer. Could differential phenological development in response to rising CO2 between genetically modified crops and wild, weedy relatives increase the spread of novel genes, potentially altering evolutionary fitness? Here we show that increasing CO2 from an early 20th century concentration (300 µmol mol−1) to current (400 µmol mol−1) and projected, mid-21st century (600 µmol mol−1) values, enhanced the flow of genes from wild, weedy rice to the genetically altered, herbicide resistant, cultivated population, with outcrossing increasing from 0.22% to 0.71% from 300 to 600 µmol mol−1. The increase in outcrossing and gene transfer was associated with differential increases in plant height, as well as greater tiller and panicle production in the wild, relative to the cultivated population. In addition, increasing CO2 also resulted in a greater synchronicity in flowering times between the two populations. The observed changes reported here resulted in a subsequent increase in rice dedomestication and a greater number of weedy, herbicide-resistant hybrid progeny. Overall, these data suggest that differential phenological responses to rising atmospheric CO2 could result in enhanced flow of novel genes and greater success of feral plant species in agroecosystems.

Cities as harbingers of climate change: Common ragweed, urbanization, and public health - Ziska, Lewis H.; Gebhard, Dennis E.; Frenz, David A.; Faulkner, Shaun; Singer, Benjamin D.; Straka, James G. (Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003)
Ch9

Climate change, carbon dioxide, and pest biology: Monitor, mitigate, manage - Ziska, Lewis H.; McConnell, Laura L. (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2016)

Rising atmospheric CO2 is reducing the protein concentration of a floral pollen source essential for North American bees - Ziska, Lewis H.; Pettis, Jeffery S.; Edwards, Joan; Hancock, Jillian E.; Tomecek, Martha B.; Clark, Andrew; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Loladze, Irakli; Polley, H. Wayne (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2016)
At present, there is substantive evidence that the nutritional content of agriculturally important food crops will decrease in response to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, Ca. However, whether Ca-induced declines in nutritional quality are also occurring for pollinator food sources is unknown. Flowering late in the season, goldenrod (Solidago spp.) pollen is a widely available autumnal food source commonly acknowledged by apiarists to be essential to native bee (e.g. Bombus spp.) and honeybee (Apis mellifera) health and winter survival. Using floral collections obtained from the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, we quantified Ca-induced temporal changes in pollen protein concentration of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), the most widespread Solidago taxon, from hundreds of samples collected throughout the USA and southern Canada over the period 1842–2014 (i.e. a Ca from approx. 280 to 398 ppm). In addition, we conducted a 2 year in situ trial of S. canadensis populations grown along a continuous Ca gradient from approximately 280 to 500 ppm. The historical data indicated a strong significant correlation between recent increases in Ca and reductions in pollen protein concentration (r2 = 0.81). Experimental data confirmed this decrease in pollen protein concentration, and indicated that it would be ongoing as Ca continues to rise in the near term, i.e. to 500 ppm (r2 = 0.88). While additional data are needed to quantify the subsequent effects of reduced protein concentration for Canada goldenrod on bee health and population stability, these results are the first to indicate that increasing Ca can reduce protein content of a floral pollen source widely used by North American bees.

Future weed, pest, and disease problems for plants - Ziska, L.H.; Runion, G.B. (Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate, 2007)

Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget - Zona, Donatella; Gioli, Beniamino; Commane, Róisín; Lindaas, Jakob; Wofsy, Steven C.; Miller, Charles E.; Dinardo, Steven J.; Dengel, Sigrid; Sweeney, Colm; Karion, Anna; Chang, Rachel Y.-W.; Henderson, John M.; et al. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016)
Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH4); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH4 emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH4 emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50% of the annual CH4 flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the “zero curtain” period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0 °C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH4 emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH4 derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH4 emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95% confidence interval) Tg CH4 y−1, ∼25% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or ∼6% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH4 emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.

Concentration-response of short-term ozone exposure and hospital admissions for asthma in Texas - Zu, Ke; Liu, Xiaobin; Shi, Liuhua; Tao, Ge; Loftus, Christine T.; Lange, Sabine; Goodman, Julie E. (Environment International, 2017)
Keywords: Ozone Air pollution Asthma Hospital admissions Epidemiology Concentration-response Exposure science

Poleward shifts in breeding bird distributions in New York State - Zuckerberg, Benjamin; Woods, Anne M.; Porter, William F. (Global Change Biology, 2009)
Keywords: bird atlas bird distributions climate change elevational shifts global warming information-theoretic latitudinal shifts New York State range shifts