University of Exeter

About: University of Exeter is a education organization based out in Exeter, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 15820 authors who have published 50650 publications receiving 1793046 citations. The organization is also known as: Exeter University & University of the South West of England.

Increased human and economic losses from river flooding with anthropogenic warming

Abstract: River floods are among some of the costliest natural disasters1, but their socio-economic impacts under contrasting warming levels remain little explored2. Here, using a multi-model framework, we estimate human losses, direct economic damage and subsequent indirect impacts (welfare losses) under a range of temperature (1.5 °C, 2 °C and 3 °C warming)3 and socio-economic scenarios, assuming current vulnerability levels and in the absence of future adaptation. With temperature increases of 1.5 °C, depending on the socio-economic scenario, it is found that human losses from flooding could rise by 70–83%, direct flood damage by 160–240%, with a relative welfare reduction between 0.23 and 0.29%. In a 2 °C world, by contrast, the death toll is 50% higher, direct economic damage doubles and welfare losses grow to 0.4%. Impacts are notably higher under 3 C warming, but at the same time, variability between ensemble members also increases, leading to greater uncertainty regarding flood impacts at higher warming levels. Flood impacts are further shown to have an uneven regional distribution, with the greatest losses observed in the Asian continent at all analysed warming levels. It is clear that increased adaptation and mitigation efforts—perhaps through infrastructural investment4—are needed to offset increasing risk of river floods in the future. River floods have severe socio-economic impacts. A multi-model framework reveals river-flood-related human losses may rise by up to 83%, 134% and 265% at 1.5 °C, 2 °C and 3 °C warming, respectively, with economic losses also projected to rise.

Electron properties of fluorinated single-layer graphene transistors

Abstract: We have fabricated transistor structures using fluorinated single-layer graphene flakes and studied their electronic properties at different temperatures. Compared with pristine graphene, fluorinated graphene has a very large and strongly temperature-dependent resistance in the electroneutrality region. We show that fluorination creates a mobility gap in graphene's spectrum where electron transport takes place via localized electron states.

The impacts of grazing animals on the quality of soils, vegetation and surface waters in intensively managed grasslands

Abstract: This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the literature relating to the impacts of grazing animals on the quality of soils, vegetation, and surface waters. It focuses on intensively managed grasslands where there is the greatest potential for these impacts to be observed. The chapter indicates that while well-managed grazing can be beneficial to the environment, intensively managed grazing can actually lead to the degradation of both the soil and vegetation of grassland environments. The various causes, forms, and consequences of this degradation are discussed in detail, and gaps in the knowledge are identified. The chapter highlights the need for recognition and quantification of the relationships between the on-site impacts of grazing animals (i.e., changes in soil properties and vegetation cover) and the off-site impacts of grazing animals (i.e., the impact of these changes on hydrology and water quality in surface waters), as these relationships have, in the past, only been alluded to by authors. However, there exists relatively little research evidence to support and quantify these relationships, thus herein we describe data required to address the lack of understanding of the role of grazing animals on grasslands. Finally, the last section of this chapter considers the land management and remediation options available for the reduction of the impacts of intensive livestock farming.