Related papers: Scientific reticence and sea level rise
We consider a simple-model population, whose individuals react with a certain delay to temporal variations of their habitat. We investigate the impact of such a delayed-answer on the survival chances of the population, both in a…
What is the chance we start a conversation with another civilization like our own? Our technological society produced signals that could be received by other extraterrestrial civilizations, within a sphere around us with a radius of $\sim…
The scientific method drives improvements in public health, but a strategy of obstructionism has impeded scientists from gathering even a minimal amount of information to address America's gun violence epidemic. We argue that in spite of a…
Sea-level rise poses considerable risks to coastal communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. Decision makers are faced with uncertain sea-level projections when designing a strategy for coastal adaptation. The traditional methods are…
Recent analyses indicate that the amount of atmospheric CO2 required to cause dangerous climate change is at most 450 ppm, and likely less than that. Reductions of non-CO2 climate forcings can provide only moderate, albeit important,…
With climate change, we are expecting more frequent extreme weather events in many regions worldwide. These events can trigger disruptive, deadly natural hazards, which catch the attention of the media and raise awareness in citizens and…
Coastal regions have a high social, economical and environmental importance. Due to this importance the sea level fluctuations can have many bad consequences. In this research the correlation between the increasing trend of temperature in…
The possibility that extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) could be hostile to humanity has been raised as a reason to avoid even trying to contact ETIs. However, there is a distinct shortage of analytical discussion about the risks of an…
Planet Earth and the biodiversity it supports are in crisis. Human impact on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems and the hundreds of thousands of organisms that inhabit them is global. To what extent can we push ecosystems before…
This paper presents perspectives on the state of AI, as held by a sample of experts. These experts were early signatories of the recent open letter from Future of Life, which calls for a pause on advanced AI development. Utmost effort was…
Using in a simple way the theory of non linear dynamical systems, we show that increasing climatic instabilities may be a qualitative warning sign for the occurrence of a nearby bifurcation, yielding a discontinuous and sudden climate…
Satellite altimeter observations retrieved since 1993 show that the global mean sea level is rising at an unprecedented rate (3.4mm/year). With almost three decades of observations, we can now investigate the contributions of anthropogenic…
In the past decades human activities caused global Earth system changes, e.g., climate change or biodiversity loss. Simultaneously, these associated impacts have increased environmental awareness within societies across the globe, thereby…
When do we stop an ongoing science project to make room for something new? Decision-making is a complex process, ranging from budgetary considerations and tension between ongoing projects, to progress assessments and allowance for novel…
How does the extent to which a model is open or closed impact the scientific inferences that can be drawn from research that involves it? In this paper, we analyze how restrictions on information about model construction and deployment…
Numerous studies have revealed biases within the scientific communication system and across all scientific fields. For example, already prominent researchers receive disproportional credit compared to their (almost) equally qualified…
The increasing challenges posed by climate change necessitate a comprehensive examination of the resilience of waterborne transport systems. This paper explores the nexus of climate resilience, and waterborne transport, addressing the…
Sea level change, one of the most dire impacts of anthropogenic global warming, will affect a large amount of the world's population. However, sea level change is not uniform in time and space, and the skill of conventional prediction…
Marine plastic pollution is an emerging environmental problem since it pollutes the ocean, air and food whilst endangering the ocean wildlife via the ingestion and entanglements. During the last decade, an enormous effort has been spent on…
Communicating new scientific discoveries is key to human progress. Yet, this endeavor is hindered by monetary restrictions for publishing one's findings and accessing other scientists' reports. This process is further exacerbated by a large…