BC3 Open Day

Understanding of the physical basis of climate change with primarily focus on polar regions, promoting methodological innovations in statistical analysis and dynamic systems modelling, but also tackling the socio-economic implications of changes in the physical processes that control the climate at regional and global scales.

Key Words: Glaciology, Multiple ice structures, Paleoclimate records,Paleoclimate reconstructions, Mathematical tools, Cryosphere, Cryospheric change, Arctic region, Sea-ice-albedo feedback, Mitigation Little Ice Age, ,Sea surface temperature, Total solar irradiance, Ice, Numerical simulations, Two phase, Growth constant, Growth exponent, Sea ice,Low-temperature science.

This research group focuses on problem-oriented science to inform some of the most pressing global environmental challenges society faces today, including climate change. The social-ecological and ecosystem services frameworks are used as means to explore human-nature relationships to better inform ecologically sustainable, economically efficient and socially equitable governance systems. Novel conceptual approaches, as well as qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. The research outputs include scientific papers, research projects and policy orientated documents to share information that can facilitate the transition to a sustainable future under climate change.

Keywords: sustainability science, science-policy, social-ecological systems, ecological economics, equity

Integrated Agriculture and Land management for sustainability: Effective land use decisions require consideration of the interplay of social, economic and environmental effects on land, the recovery pathways of agricultural systems, and the socio-ecological tradeoffs between objectives. This group evaluates the optimal land resources allocation for sustainable, efficient and equitable development while promoting integrative, climate-smart agriculture and ecosystem management producing new knowledge that can be readily used by stakeholders.

Keywords: Integrated solutions for the Livestock sector, Land use and the agri-food system, Mitigating and adapting to climate change through forest practices and metrics, Modelling social-ecological dynamics of agrobiodiversity.

The “Low Carbon” (LC) research line deals with the implications of the transition to a low carbon (and sustainable) economy that will allow us to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. We aim to understand how to reduce as soon as possible greenhouse emissions without unduly affecting economic and social wellbeing, especially among most vulnerable people. We contribute to this research line by assessing the co-benefits and negative side effects of different energy transitions and mitigation options, such as those related to air pollution and health, land-use change and ecosystem services or its macroeconomic implications, so that policy makers can take informed decisions

Different tools and methods are used (for example, Integrated Assessment, CGE, Input-Output, Micro-simulation or Real options model), that allow us to assess the direct, indirect effects and trade-offs of many different policy options and in many diferent dimensions (such as efficiency, equity, job creation or health implications).

Keywords (general): Low-carbon, mitigation, energy, energy transitions, modelling, support policy-makers.

Keywords (Methodological): Integrated Assessment models, CGE models, Input-Output model, Energy-Environment-Economy models, Micro-simulation models or Real Options models.

Planning of water infrastructure is a “wicked” problem, with driving forces and boundary conditions that change at small time scales compared with the life span of the infrastructure itself. Using historical analysis and hindsight assessment, we assess the adaptive capacity and the limits of prediction in these systems. Such analysis can then be used to judge the adequacy of proposed decision, dealing with deep uncertainty.

Keywords: Adaptive management, Planning, Uncertainty, Urban infrastructure, Wastewater, Complexity, Model quality assessment, Parameter estimation, Wastewater treatment, Global sensitivity analysis, MBR modelling.