Adaptation to climate change requires the implementation of new and revision of existing policies in order to change collective behaviour in a way that reduces vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. At the same time, the efficiency of environmental governance has been questioned due to perceived deficiencies in implementation in the past. As a consequence, it is observed that high levels of adaptive capacity are often not used for adaptive action, and therefore communities remain vulnerable. This thesis is looking at the socio-cognitive dimension of adaptation from the perspective of socio-cultural construction of values and practices that influence risk perceptions and behavioural intentions in coastal management and adaptation to climate variability and change. The construction of values and practices is analysed through discursive fields on the respective topics in local media from three states on the US mid-Atlantic coast.
Content:
Regional Activities:
The Bay of Kiel Climate Alliance Receives BMU Support;
Northern German Regional Conference;
New Website Provides Information about the Need for Coastal Protection;
RADOST GIS Presents Water Quality Indicators;
Coastal Research, Use, and Protection;
National Activities:
KLIMZUG Final Conference;
International Activities:
HELCOM Workshop in Warnemünde;
RADOST at the Dupont Summit 2012;
Publications:
Results of the 2012 RADOST Tour;
Integrating Climate Change into Economic Analyses under the EU Water Framework Directive
Content:
Regional Activities:
Schoolchildren Explore Biodiversity in a Changing Climate;
Rügen in the Year 2030;
RADOST Findings in the “Climate Change in Northern Germany” Dossier;
International Activities:
RADOST at the ECCA Conference;
Adaptation in Mountain & Coastal Areas;
Publications:
Book Release: “Climate Change Adaptation in Practice”;
Contested Values and Practices in the US;
“Coastal & Marine” Magazine;
International Examples of Climate Change Adaptation
Content:
Regional Activities:
RADOST Event at the Darßer Arche;
Save the Date: RADOST Final Conference;
Local Adaptation Strategies for Schleswig-Holstein;
Bay of Kiel Climate Alliance Supports Adaptation Strategy
of the City of Kiel;
“Nothing Stays the Same” – RADOST at the BWK Federal Congress;
Concordance Maps in the North German Climate Atlas;
International Activities:
Adaptation to Climate Change in Mountain & Coastal Areas;
Publications:
„Die Zeit“ Reports on RADOST;
4th RADOST Annual Report;
Adaptation Strategy for the Ports of Lübeck
Information about possible changes of extreme wave heights are essential for the future safe design of coastal and flood protection structures likes dykes, flood protection dunes, revetments etc. In this study, scenarios of regional climate change up to 2100 are used for the evaluation of changes of wave conditions. Analyses on calculated significant wave heights derived from extreme value statistics are showing a different signal of change for the selected locations along the German Baltic Sea Coast. The results are showing that extreme wave heights with a return level of 200 years can increase up to +14%. But also a decrease of down to -14% were found compared to actual conditions, depending on the location and climate change scenario applied. At the location of Warnemünde a slight increasing trend for the change of extreme wave heights could be found for 3 of 4 scenario runs with a maximum increase of +7%.
A statistical downscaling method has been developed to produce highly resolved precipitation data from regional climate model (RCM) output, using the model CLM (2 runs, scenario A1B). The procedure is based on the analogue method with the predictors precipitation (daily sums on CLM grid points) and objective weather types (DWD). Analogue days of the time period 2001-2009 are searched using corrected and adjusted data of radar Essen and DWD measurements of objective weather types. The radar data is used to produce high-resolution precipitation data sets (1km², 5min) with realistic spatial and temporal correlations for three catchments in North Rhine-Westphalia. Results in
the reference period (1961 - 1990) are examined using extreme value statistics and compared to corrected station data. Data sets of the near and the far future (2021-2050, 2071-2100) are analysed with respect to future trends, and uncertainties of the downscaling procedure are discussed.
Rainfall statistics are composed based on data gained by precipitation measurements and from climate models. These statistics are carried out for both periods in the past and the future. When analysing the time series, different trends can be seen in the measured data of the past and the model data for future periods. Influences on the statistically determined precipitation amounts caused by changes can be neglected for past periods. However, significant increases of the statistical precipitation amounts can be observed for the future. Here a pragmatic approach is presented, showing how to consider possible increases in the statistical precipitation amounts – due to the climate change signal – in the dimensioning of water management systems.
The precipitation data of the Regional Climate Model CLM are used for the water management impact models within the dynaklim networking and research project. For this purpose, it is necessary to apply a bias correction to the CLM
precipitation data. First, the bias assessed for varying temporal resolutions and precipitation characteristics is described. Subsequently, a method for the bias correction is introduced. The developed methodology is a modified form of the socalled
quantile mapping. The focus lies on the corrections of the dry days and the heavy rainfall events. They are considered separately, deviating from other quantile mapping procedures.