6^th International Conference on Earth Science and Climate Change September 18-19, 2017 Hong Kong

Soil physics defines and measures the physical properties, behavior and processes of soil. Soil physics deals with properties such as structure, density, texture, and aggregate stability along with water-content and water retention character of soils. Physical processes involve transport of heat, solutes, gases and water are characterized. Soil genesis or pedogenesis may involve translocation, organic changes, podzolisation/cheluviation, gleying or desilication/laterisaton depending on prevailing physical conditions. Parent rock, climate, biotic activity, and topography are major factors in soil genesis. Soil mineralogy is the study of the soil mineral phase, which accounts for up to 90% of the volume of soils. Unfortunately, this fantastically complex environment has been degraded by different ill practices and has taken shape of serious global environmental problem. Technologies in soil remediation or soil washing are being developed to remove anthropogenic contaminants from soils in an effort to benefit commercial agriculture and wild flora and fauna. Soil is the basis for agriculture and farming. And with the global population estimated to reach around ten billion by 2050, new agricultural practices will be needed. In addition, climate change has quite specifically, adversely affected the agricultural nations with unusual monsoon patterns and droughts. To maintain and increase food production in such poor conditions, efforts will be needed to prevent soil degradation that may result from increased pressure on the resource. Sustainable agriculture and soil management measures will have to be practiced to produce food in a manner which causes minimal deterioration of soil quality.

Hydrological Sciences

Hydrology encompasses the study of the availability, distribution, movement and quality of water on Earth and its relationship with the environment within every phase of the water cycle. This cycle consists of a delicate balance of processes of water precipitation, evaporation, freezing, melting and condensation. These processes are highly dependent on temperature, and with climate change and atmospheric warming happening on a global level, the impacts are felt in the hydrologic balance and hydrological systems everywhere.

There are three key variables that determine the health and balance of hydrological systems: (a) soil moisture, which is a primary control on vegetation and ecosystems; (b) groundwater recharge, which feeds groundwater reserves; and (c) runoff, which feeds rivers and causes floods. Areas of research in hydrological sciences focus on these variables while studying, the quality of the water, the movement of water between its various states or within a given state, or a quantification of the amounts in the different states in a given region. 

Warmer temperatures increase the rate of evaporation of water into the atmosphere, resulting in less snow formation, as well as changes in mean rainfall, rainfall intensity, and rainfall seasonality. With the relationship between rainfall and runoff being non-linear, the response of runoff generated by rainfall is magnified. This leads tovarious climate change effects such as increased flooding and drought. The frequency of heavy precipitation events will very likely increase in most regions, with consequences for the risk of rain-generated floods. At the same time, the proportion of land surface in extreme drought at any one time is also projected to increase.

In a warmer environment, more precipitation will materialize as rain rather than snow, which means there will be an increased occurrence of water shortages. Because rain flows faster than melting snow, higher levels of soil moisture and groundwater recharge are less likely to occur. When rain falls, reservoirs fill quickly to capacity, which can also result in excess water runoff that can’t be stored. Higher water temperatures and changes in extremes, including floods and droughts, are also projected to affectwater quality.Intense rainfall, for example, leads to an increase in suspended solids in lakes and reservoirs, as well as an enhanced transport of pathogens and other dissolved pollutants.

These changes in water quantity and quality due to climate change are expected to affect food availability, stability, access and utilization. These adverse effects of climate change on hydrological systems in turn aggravate the impacts of other stresses, such as population growth, changing economic activity, land-use change and urbanization. With a predicted global growth in water demand over the coming decades, it is essential to develop and implement long term lasting solutions for the conservation of water resources. This includes adaptation procedures and risk management practices that incorporate the projected hydrological changes, improve water-use efficiency and water access for all of adequate quality and quantity.

Oceanography is a richly interdisciplinary science encompassing the study of the deep sea and shallow coastal oceans. Oceanography comprises the study of biology, chemistry, geology and physics in the form they apply to the ocean. Physical oceanography deals with studying and understanding the changing patterns of ocean circulation, in addition to the distribution of its properties like salinity, temperature and the concentration of dissolved chemical elements and gases. Chemical oceanography is the study of the oceans’ chemistry, the pathways that chemical species follow on their journey through the oceans. The chemistry of the ocean is closely tied to the exchange of material with the atmosphere, cryosphere, continents, and the mantle, ocean circulation, climate, the plants and animals that live in the ocean. Biological oceanography seeks to understand the population dynamics of marine organisms and their interaction with their environment. Unfortunately, in spite of all the studies and endeavors, the oceans are bearing the brunt of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions thus leading to what is called ocean acidification. The acidity of oceans has been decreased by twenty-five percent and is estimated to decrease at an accelerated rate. Coral and other shell forming organisms are being gravely affected by this. Greenhouse gas emissions have not only increased the acidity of the ocean but also their temperature. The average annual temperature of the earth has risen by 1°F over the last century. This warming has taken place both on land as well as in the water, from the surface to a depth of around 700 meters. Warmer oceans pose diverse threats including coral bleaching, higher sea levels, stronger storms including other consequences.

Atmospheric physics draws on the processes by which the atmosphere affects Earth's energy balance. Atmospheric physics has links to climatology and meteorology and employs mathematical and physical models to study and understand the atmosphere, weather systems, atmospheric dynamics and energetics, electrical phenomena, and characteristics of the upper and middle atmospheric layers.  Atmospheric chemistry studies the chemical composition of the atmosphere. It is a multidisciplinary field and encompasses meteorology, environmental chemistry, geology, oceanography, volcanology and computer modeling, among other disciplines. Meteorology is an extremely interdisciplinary science, dealing with the study of the atmosphere including climate modeling, air quality, atmospheric physics, atmospheric effects on our weather, and other atmospheric phenomena. The relationship between the Earth’s climate, the atmosphere and the oceans is also studied. Climatology is a sub-discipline of atmospheric sciences concentrating on how changes in the atmosphere define and alter the climate of a region. The ozone layer present in the stratosphere plays a essential role in absorbing UV radiations of the sun. However, this layer is being gravely affected by the continual anthropogenic emissions of harmful compounds including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The ozone hole is not exactly a hole, but in fact, a thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer. The first appearance of a hole in the earth's ozone layer was discovered in 1976 over Antarctica. The ozone layer had diminished as the long lived CFC molecules catalyzed ozone destruction in the stratosphere. Models now predict that the ozone hole in Antarctica should recover around 2040.

PLANETARY AND SPACE SCIENCES

The exploration of the universe is a very multidisciplinary area of research, involving many sciences, and because of the fast information exchange, it directly permits scientists to interact among themselves and with the broad public. Planetary space science has rapidly evolved in the past several years thanks to the introduction of powerful computers and computational simulation methods, larger and larger telescopes- earth-bound and space-borne. Space missions currently exploring remotely the Universe and in situ several objects in our solar system ,with the help of a wealth of improved analytical instruments such as spectrometers, cameras, radars, and other space-flight instrumentation has opened the path to phenomenal new discoveries. This human effort has now reached another peak in space exploration with a multitude of missions, targeting to enhance our understanding of the geological, atmospheric and internal processes at play on different planets and their satellites. From a fuller understanding of the climatology within the Sun’s planetary family, and eventually that of the planets in other stellar systems, we may better understand our own, and develop predictive models for the future Earth. With this as our objective, several objects stand out: in the inner Solar System, Mars and Venus, and in the outer solar system Saturn’s large and Earth-like satellite Titan. Also, the study of comets and asteroids is instructive in our quest for understanding the Earth. These objects are considered as possible habitats (favorable for the emergence and sustenance of life with liquid water on the surface or in the interior) and have a high astrobiological potential, which is of high importance to the search for the emergence and evolution of life. Comparison with conditions on other planetary objects in the studies of atmospheric, surface and internal processes can bring us valuable insights on our own planet, the Earth, as revealed recently by the Rosetta mission. As a consequence, several space missions, from Europe, the US, China and Japan have been directed towards the objective of thoroughly studying these worlds: for Venus we have had Venus Express and Magellan; for Mars we have had Mars Express, and several robotic rovers on the surface like XXX. Further out in the Solar System, at 10 AU, a world half the size of the Earth, with a significant nitrogen atmosphere and an intense organic chemistry, probably harboring an undersurface ocean and subject to seasonal effects, Titan, revolves around Saturn and has been studied by the Cassini-Huygens mission since 2004. In the future, ExoMars is aimed to study the atmospheric composition of Mars and land there allowing for deep drilling. With the powerful telescopes (Hubble and its successor JWST) we are now able to search for and characterize Earth-like exoplanets (planets similar to Earth but orbiting other suns of our galaxy); ESA’s CHEOPS and PLATO missions; and USA's KEPLER and TESS missions are examples. The previous list is not all exhaustive. In situ sample analysis and sample return are aimed for Mars and asteroids, connecting laboratory studies (for instance on Earth analogues or extremophiles) with planetary missions. Terrestrial planet climate studies provide insights on the climate changes currently affecting the Earth, which have generated wide concern about a decline in habitability as the population grows with increasingly harmful effects on the environment. Dramatic changes in climate and potential habitability, have also taken place on Mars, and probably on Venus and Titan as well (although the timescales there remain uncertain). Modeling of such foreign climates not only allows us to develop detailed scenarios and possible histories for those extreme variants of the terrestrial situation, it shows up deficiencies in our understanding that could make important differences to climate forecast for the near future of life on Earth. Model inter-comparisons that work quite well for present-day Earth, Venus, Mars and Titan raise the prospect of extrapolating the model descriptions of climate into the past, and into the future. The study of planetary environments can help us to better understand our own planet, and vice versa.

The collection of information about an area or a particular object without coming in contact is the science of remote sensing. Satellites and aircrafts are most commonly employed for remote sensing. Remote Sensing is limited to methods which utilize electromagnetic radiation to detect and/ or measure the characteristics of the target. Remote Sensing has grown from aerial photography in its earliest stages to utilizing electronic-optical sensors which produce multispectral images that are analyzed by computer software. Remote sensing finds use in atmospheric monitoring, oceans and coastal monitoring, hydrological and geological sciences, forestry and agriculture.  Geographic Information System is designed to stock, retrieve, manage, analyze and interpret all kinds of spatial and geographic data. GIS has leaped from physically overlaying maps on top of one another to look up any map on a computer and change and overlay these maps to create complex data sets and new information. Another advancement in GIS technology is its relationship with GPS system. GIS provides real-time, on ground data that GPS utilizes to apprise its users of their location and surroundings. Three dimensional displays and the ability to overlay one 3-D map on top of another is now very common- the next step will be the introduction of four dimensional maps, which would add the dimension of time as well.

Pollution has become a major environmental issue due to mere negligence and carelessness of man. With consequences detrimental to mankind and the environment, every form of pollution needs to minimized or curbed from the domestic to the international level. Every natural resource on this planet has been contaminated and the need to reverse this contamination is urgent. Air pollution has been consistently worsening and poses serious perils on health as well as on the environment. With new green and environmentally friendly technologies emerging, it is possible to reduce the amount of pollutants entering the atmosphere. Soil contamination needs special concern, since there is an ever increasing need to increase soil productivity. An increased use of organic fertilizers needs to be implemented to preserve soil quality. It needs not be spelt out that water is one of the most important resources for life to flourish. Yet, fresh and marine water bodies are being polluted tremendously without abatement. Wastewater treatment is catching momentum and persistent measures need to be carried out in wastewater treatment before being released in any freshwater body. Deforestation is causing the earth to increasingly lose its forest cover every year. Major causes for deforestation include agriculture, logging, fuel wood harvesting and forest fires. Reforestation efforts are promising and point towards alleviating the problem, if not completely eradicating it.

Climate change is going to be the most crucial scientific issue to be addressed in the twenty-first century. There is global concurrence that the climate of the earth has been rising for the past century and will rise even more quickly if stringent and timely actions are not taken. Much of it is due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful compounds. For the first time in centuries, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has reached above 400 ppm. This is the major cause of global warming and climate change. There is compelling evidence for rapid climate change. Global temperature rise, shrinking ice sheets, declining Arctic sea ice, glacial retreat, sea level rise, warming oceans, ocean acidification, extreme events, and decreased snow cover are all compelling evidences telling us unequivocally that the climate of the Earth is warming. Majority of this warming takes place in the ocean. The temperature of the oceans is at an all time high for the past fifty years and even if the emissions are brought to zero, the oceans will keep getting warmer as they absorb slowly the extra warmth of the atmosphere. Marine ecosystems are under a serious threat under this changing environment. The increase in the frequency of extreme events is an undeniable evidence of climate change. Increase in the frequency of tropical storms, erratic monsoon patterns and droughts, all point towards a lack of equilibrium in the climate. The single largest threat to the climate of the planet in the time to come will be the build-up of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The issue is being addressed by reducing the carbon footprint through decreased consumption and better technology. But unabated human population growth is overwhelming these efforts, leading to the conclusion that not only do we need smaller footprints, but also fewer feet. Forests are vital for the resource that they are and those which they provide. Most importantly, forests play a key role in the carbon cycle of the planet, recycling the carbon dioxide. Deforestation not only releases the carbon dioxide stored, but also puts an end to the carbon absorption, thus contributing majorly to climate change. Unrestrained burning of fossil fuels releases the key greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. The second major greenhouse gas is methane, released from agricultural activities, biomass combustion and inefficient waste management. Nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases and chlorofluorocarbons are all released by anthropogenic activities and are much more potent greenhouse agents. Besides the emissions of greenhouse gases from energy, agricultural, industrial and other activities, humans also affect climate through changes in land use and land cover. Deforestation and extensive animal and crop farming are the aforesaid changes in land use that contribute to climate change.

El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of the most important modes of variability of year-to-year climate in the Earth System. A distinct feature of ENSO is large positive and negative swings in the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial tropical Pacific that are referred to as El Niño (warmer SSTs) and La Niña (colder SSTs). SST variations have distinct fingerprints on various climate features over remote regions over the globe – droughts and floods over Indonesia; frequency of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean basin; variations in surface temperature over the United States during northern summer etc. Because of larger thermal inertia of oceans, slower variations in ENSO SSTs can be predicted during next few seasons, and connections between variations in SSTs and global climate, therefore, impart useful predictability to the near-term evolution of climate. Indeed, seasonal predictions based on the ENSO are now made operationally and are provided to the user community. Such long-range forecasts are an important aspect of developing climate services and managing risks and advantages associated with climate variability. Another important aspect of ENSO is understanding its variations on slower time scales and what physical reasons may be responsible for it. Similar to ENSO that is one specific mode of climate variability in the Earth System; other modes of climate variability also exist. These modes span a multitude of time scales varying from weather, monthly, seasonal and decadal. Examples include Blocking, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific North-American (PNA) Oscillation, Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation (AMO) etc. These modes of climate variability also have regional fingerprints in surface temperature and precipitation variability, and therefore, can have significant influence on different aspects of societal activities. Understanding causes of their onset, persistence and decay, together with interactions among different modes of variability, are important for understanding and quantifying their predictability. It is also argued that regional aspects of anthropogenic climate change will also be manifested via its influence on models of climate variability.

The main focus of the Paris Agreement is to strengthen the global response to the threats of climate change by trying to keep the global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also aims at strengthening the ability of countries to deal with the adverse effects of climate change. Financial flows from developed countries, new technology frameworks and an enhanced capacity building framework will be established to meet the above goals in order to ensure supporting action from the developing and the most vulnerable countries, in harmony with their own national objectives. All Parties are required to put forward their best efforts in checking their emissions and regularly reporting their implementation efforts. Some of the essential elements of the Paris Agreement are:

• long-term goal of keeping the temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius
• climate change mitigation
• to conserve and strengthen the sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases
• climate change adaptation
• to enhance the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage

The Paris Agreement will come into action (and become fully effective) once 55 countries which produce at least 55% of the world's greenhouse gases ratify, accept, approve or accede to the agreement.

Climate finance involves the flows of funds by different entities to address climate change mitigation and adaptation through various projects and programs. Climate finance is imperative to addressing climate issues since large-scale investments are required to reduce emissions, especially in sectors that are large-scale emitters of greenhouse gases. Climate finance is also necessary for adaptation, for which major financial aid is required to allow countries to adapt to the effects of climate change. Climate finance has been a vital element of international climate change agreements from the beginning. It is aimed at the transition towards climate-resilience and low-carbon growth and development. The search for new institutional arrangements for climate finance has been an important aspect of the discussion. The outcome is the creation of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a new organization, which will act as the main channel through which climate finance will be allocated. Finance has a crucial role to play in sustaining developing countries to reduce emissions and adapt and adjust to the effects of climate change. But questions still remain as to how effective multilateral funds have been at reducing emissions and building resilience to climate change? And how can the architecture of climate-finance made more effective?

Mitigation refers to the measures taken to reduce or prevent climate change, primarily by cutting down on green house gas emissions. Mitigation encompasses both, increasing the capacity of the carbon sinks and reducing the emissions of environmentally unfriendly substances. An increased dependence on low carbon and carbon neutral fuels has to be incorporated. Climate engineering measures focus on the removal the most abundant greenhouse gas– carbon dioxide. These strategies are especially important in the developing countries. Stringent actions have to be taken to reduce the rate of greenhouse gases emissions, in addition to the removal of greenhouse gases. Though mitigation strategies are being developed and implemented, the adverse effects of climate change are visible. Erratic weather patterns, ocean warming and acidification, shrunken glaciers and accelerated sea level rise are to name a few. There is a very slim chance that the damage could be reversed and so the need to adapt to these changes arises. Strategies- to minimize the damage they are causing- are needed at every level of administration, from local to the international level. The strategies that need to be implemented also depend on the area and the kind of effect the area is suffering. International associations need to coordinate and ensure that adaptation considerations are addressed in a proper manner.

The world relies heavily on fossil fuels to meet the energy demands. Since these resources are finite, these will dwindle and eventually run out. A shift to renewable energy sources has to be made since these resources can be replenished quite easily and, in fact, will never run out. A big plus of using renewable energy is that these are clean energy sources and are not environmentally damaging. In contrast, fossil-fuels are detrimental to the environment releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases, and contributing to global warming and climate change. Solar energy is the most abundant and cleanest renewable energy source. On its own, solar energy can meet the requirements of the world. Wind energy is another renewable energy resource which is virtually inexhaustible and depends on the kinetic energy of the wind. These resources have almost zero impact on the environment but do suffer from some disadvantages, the major one being the initial cost of instalment. Apart from this, solar power generation on a commercial scale requires quite a lot of space and wind sites are often found in remote locations. Some of these shortcomings prove detrimental to the convenience of renewable energy utilization. In spite of these drawbacks, every year, a greater fraction of our energy and electricity demands are being met by renewable energy.

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."*

Development in such a manner which confers harmony among our social, economic and environmental needs is sustainable development. A harmony has been so difficult to achieve since most of these needs are conflicting with one or another requirement. The concept is quite complex and an array of strategies are required to lead to a sustainable future. With climate change in perspective, it is absolutely imperative  to change our individual and collective behaviours to implement a sustainable society paying increasingly greater heed to preserving our natural environment and its biodiversity,  saving renewable and non renewable natural resources and restoring degraded areas like forests that are the Earth’s green lungs. In addition, cleaner fossil-fuel technologies are required besides a decreasing reliance on fossil-fuels; there needs to be a more enthusiastic approach on renewable energy generation and energy efficiency. With the human population ever swelling, sustainable agricultural practices need to be promoted, which not only help to combat climate change and loss of biodiversity, but also progressively improve the ecosystems and soil quality. Sustainable industrialization should be promoted with energy efficient infrastructure environmentally friendly practices. Global climate change should be promoted in national and international policies and strategies.