| 1. |
- Sirocko, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Muted multidecadal climate variability in central Europe during cold stadial periods
- 2021
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In: Nature Geoscience. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1752-0894 .- 1752-0908. ; 14, s. 651-658
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the last ice age, the Northern Hemisphere experienced a series of abrupt millennial-scale climatic changes linked to variations in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea-ice extent. However, our understanding of their impacts on decadal-scale climate variability in central Europe has been limited by the lack of high-resolution continental archives. Here, we present a near annual-resolution climate proxy record of central European temperature reconstructed from the Eifel maar lakes of Holzmaar and Auel in Germany, spanning the past 60,000 years. The lake sediments reveal a series of previously undocumented multidecadal climate cycles of around 20 to 150 years that persisted through the last glacial cycle. The periodicity of these cycles suggests that they are related to the Atlantic multidecadal climate oscillations found in the instrumental record and in other climate archives during the Holocene. Our record shows that multidecadal variability in central Europe was strong during all warm interstadials, but was substantially muted during all cold stadial periods. We suggest that this decrease in multidecadal variability was the result of the atmospheric circulation changes associated with the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the expansion of North Atlantic sea-ice cover during the coldest parts of the last ice age.
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| 2. |
- Sjors, Camilla, et al.
(author)
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Diet-related greenhouse gas emissions assessed by a food frequency questionnaire and validated using 7-day weighed food records
- 2016
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In: Environmental Health. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1476-069X. ; 15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The current food system generates about 25 % of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), including deforestation, and thereby substantially contributes to the warming of the earth's surface. To understand the association between food and nutrient intake and GHGE, we therefore need valid methods to assess diet-related GHGE in observational studies. Methods: Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies assess the environmental impact of different food items. We linked LCA data expressed as kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO(2)e) per kg food product to data on food intake assessed by the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) Meal-Q and validated it against a 7-day weighed food record (WFR). 166 male and female volunteers aged 20-63 years completed Meal-Q and the WFR, and their food intake was linked to LCA data. Results: The mean GHGE assessed with Meal-Q was 3.76 kg CO(2)e per day and person, whereas it was 5.04 kg CO(2)e using the WFR. The energy-adjusted and deattenuated Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were 0.68 and 0.70, respectively. Moreover, compared to the WFR, Meal-Q provided a good ranking ability, with 90 % of the participants classified into the same or adjacent quartile according to their daily average CO(2)e. The Bland-Altman plot showed an acceptable level of agreement between the two methods and the reproducibility of Meal-Q was high. Conclusions: This is the first study validating the assessment of diet-related GHGE by a questionnaire. The results suggest that Meal-Q is a useful tool for studying the link between food habits and CO(2)e in future epidemiological studies.
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| 3. |
- Wamsler, Christine, et al.
(author)
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Linking internal and external transformation for sustainability and climate action : Towards a new research and policy agenda
- 2021
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In: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780. ; 71
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate change is an increasing threat to sustainable development worldwide. However, the dominant incremental policy approaches have not generated action at anywhere near the rate, scale or depth that is needed. This is largely due to the fact that climate change has historically been framed as a purely external, technical challenge. There is an urgent need for a more integral understanding that links internal and external (collective and systems) approaches to support transformation. However, related knowledge is scarce and fragmented across disciplines. This study addresses this gap. Through a systematic literature review, we analyse how the linkages between internal and external change are portrayed and understood in current research. We assess the scope, perspectives and approaches used to understand why, and how, internal change relates to climate action and sustainability. Our results highlight patterns and gaps regarding foci, conceptualisation, methods, epistemology, ontology and ethics that hamper emergent solutions and progress. Starting from the status quo, we propose an integrated model of change as an agenda and roadmap for future research, policy and practice.
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