Frances Drake | University of Leeds (original) (raw)

Papers by Frances Drake

The Holocene, 2002

Over the last 10 to 15 years the investigation of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in deep marine sediment... more Over the last 10 to 15 years the investigation of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in deep marine sediments as a means of reconstructing past climate and, in particular, the dynamics of palaeo-ice sheets, has become a major focus of palaeoceanographic research. In this context, the ...

Global Warming-The Science of Climate Change, by …, 2000

Extremely topical over recent years, global warming has been the subject of a huge and growing am... more Extremely topical over recent years, global warming has been the subject of a huge and growing amount of literature. Current literature however tends to fall into two camps: that which is highly scientific in nature and inaccessible to the average student, and that which is directed to ...

International Journal of Climatology, 1993

University Computing archive, 1988

This study examines how the science of climate change has helped to socially construct eight of t... more This study examines how the science of climate change has helped to socially construct eight of the nine English standard regions (excluding London). This is placed within the context of regional actors whose primary concern is one of economic development rather than environmental issues. The study explores how regional authorities make this global issue relevant to their region. The images and historical legacy that are drawn upon to position the region in relation to climate change are discussed. Furthermore, the study considers how the proposed responses to climate change seek to further a regional identity. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2018, 2018

CATENA, 2018

This paper portrays the application of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to elicit expert views on curr... more This paper portrays the application of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to elicit expert views on current condition and future scenario of coastal susceptibility to erosion in Bangladesh. The geomorphological characteristic of the coastal area is highly dynamic where land erosion and accretion with different rates are constant phenomena. This research focuses on three coastal zones: western, central and eastern that comprise the entire coastal area of the country. Using 'Mental Modeler' software this study quantified experts' judgements on the issue and developed FCMs by way of arranging workshops. At the basis, this study identified 33 factors of susceptibility to erosion for current baseline conditions. Considering future projections of hydro-climatic phenomena, this study accentuated potential factors of susceptibility to erosion for future scenario under three time-slices: near-future (2020), future (2050) and far-future (2080). The results generated from FCMs show that some factors such as sedimentation, soft and unconsolidated soils, shelf bathymetry, funnel shape of the Bay of Bengal, wave action, river discharge, monsoon wind, cyclone and storm surges, excessive monsoon rain, high tidal energy, variations of tidal range and sea level rise are highly influential that yielded higher centrality scores for both current and future susceptibility of the area to erosion. The experts' interpretations demonstrate that the future susceptibility to erosion might be higher in the central zone compared to the western and eastern zones of the coastal area. This is the first time that FCM based approach was applied to evaluate expert views on coastal susceptibility to erosion for 2 the country. This study suggests coastal managers, planners and policymakers to consider the current and future factors of susceptibility of coastal lands for taking specific measures options. This study is also significant from socioeconomic and demographic contexts of any densely populated coastal area like Bangladesh.

Ocean & Coastal Management, 2018

This paper draws upon the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques to investigate the dyn... more This paper draws upon the application of GIS and remote sensing techniques to investigate the dynamic nature and management aspects of land in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The geomorphological characteristic of the coastal areas is highly dynamic where land erosion and accretion with different rates remain a constant phenomenon. This study focuses on three coastal zones: western, central and eastern that comprise the entire coastal area of the country. At its core, this study uses the past 30 year Landsat satellite images. This research reveals that the rate of accretion in the study area is slightly higher than the rate of erosion. Overall land dynamics indicate a net gain of 237 km² (7.9 km² annual average) of land in the area for the whole period from 1985 to 2015. The results also demonstrate that the rates of both erosion and accretion are higher in the central zone compared to the western and the eastern zones of the coastal area. This is the first time that the entire coastal areas of Bangladesh have been considered for assessment. This study also recommends that coastal managers, planners and policymakers to consider the identified dynamic trends of coastal land before opting for any specific measure. Constant monitoring using the GIS and remote sensing techniques would be a viable management for this purpose. This study has identified some causes of land dynamics, particularly for the three coastal zones, that might be helpful for policymakers in identifying the nature of interventions needs to be taken for specific coastal zones.

Choice Reviews Online, 2001

This topical textbook provides a bridge between technical and popular texts on global warming wit... more This topical textbook provides a bridge between technical and popular texts on global warming within the broader context of climate change. Written at an introductory level, it explains the interacting components of this system : what the greenhouse effect is; and how scientists seek to predict climate change. It makes accessible the technical and heavy science literature to the 'non-science' student. Global warming is one of the major environmental problems facing the world today. But it is an issue surrounded by great contention because it is based largely on scientific prediction and has yet to be proven. Opinion is divided regarding whether global warming will occur and, if it does, what the effects will be. In order to appreciate the uncertainties surrounding this issue, it is necessary to understand the workings of the climate system and the methods by which scientists seek to predict climate change. 'Global Warming' aims to make accessible the heavily technical literature to the non-science student, providing a bridge between the highly scientific and the popular non-academic texts. Placing global warming within the broader context of climate change, this textbook details the interacting components of the climatic system, reviewing the importance of changing carbon dioxide levels for the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere and climate. Utilising observed and modelled data, it presents the latest evidence for and against global warming whilst highlighting the difficulties involved with analysing both types of data and introducing areas of controversy within research. The book also addresses the important problem of making policy decisions for the future, based on the uncertain science of global warming.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2011

Journal of Geophysical Research, 1987

A comparison has been undertaken between surface-observed total low-and high-cloud amount and ret... more A comparison has been undertaken between surface-observed total low-and high-cloud amount and retrievals from METEOSAT radiance data made using the cluster technique of Desbois eli al. (1982). The aim of the study was to establish whether surface-observed cloud information could be usefully exploited to benefit satellite-based cloud retrievals. Observations from 124 surface stations at 1200 UT for the 20-day period from July 22 to August 10, 1983, were compared with retrievals made from METEOSAT radiances measured at 1130 UT. The comparisons for total and low-cloud amount are made for France and southern Britain. The high-cloud amount comparison was limited to 34 stations in southern Britain. The location and time period were selected to coincide with one of the regions designated for special study in the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) (Schiffer, 1982). For total cloud amount, 29% of the retrievals were fully in agreement with the surface observations and 64% of differences were within •1 okra (•1 eighth of sky cover). In the case of layer cloud amounts, 64% of the low-cloud amount differences and 50% of the high-cloud amount differences were within •1 okra, although many of these successes (71% in the low-cloud amount) were for cases of totally clear or totally cloudy skies. Surface observations, which offer the only source of accurate low-cloud amount evaluation in any multilayered situation, were found to identify thin cirrus which was not detected by the satellite retrieval and to detect small gaps in cloud decks and small clouds missed by the satellite retrieval. In addition, cloud retrievals in coastal locations seemed to be more successfully accomplished by surface observers than by the satellite retrieval algorithm used here, which does not take into account land-sea partition. 1. INTRODUCTION It has been widely recognized that the radiative properties of clouds need to be better known and understood [Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP), 19781. To this end a new global cloud climatology is at present being compiled under the auspices of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) [$chi•er, 1982; $chi•er and Rossow, 1983, 1985]. This will be a 5-year archive, beginning in 1983, and is being compiled from satellite data. One of the stated objectives of the research component of ISCCP is "investigation of methods to infer additional cloud properties from satellite observationsf [Rossow et al., 1985, p. 901]. In order to achieve such an objective it is first essential to establish which cloud properties are readily and successfully derivable from satellite data and which are less accessible. One approach is to compare results from a range of different cloud retrieval algorithms. Such a comparison (described by Rossow et al., [1985]) formed the basis for the construction of the ISCCP algorithm. The fact that cloud fields are three-dimensional suggests an alternative, complementary approach: comparison of surface (bottom-up) and satellite (top-down) cloud retrievals. As part of the research component of the ISCCP, a joint venture by United Kingdom and French scientists has focused on a comparison of surface observations and satellite retrievals of clouds. It must be recognized that the comparison described here tilayered, overlapping, and dynamic cloud scene. In order to capture the fullest description of clouds, the best possible approach might be the strategy adopted by the U.S. Air Force, which includes as much information as possible: surface observations, satellite retrievals and aircraft reports [Fye, !978]. On the other hand, this practice leads inevitably to heterogeneity [e.g., Hughes and Henderson-Sellers, 1985]. Another way to help resolve the dilemmas of insufficient data and ambiguous satellite retrievals is to exploit additional information or retrieval methods only where they can improve the cloud characterization substantially. One example of this is to improve cloud cover and type evaluation using statistical retrievals for selected scenes [Rossow et al., 1985]. In this paper, another question is examined: whether surface observations of clouds can be exploited to resolve ambiguities in satellite retrievals and to add lowerlayer information unobtainable from satellites. 2. DATA 5OURCES AND METhODS or COMPARISON 2.1. Location and Timing The location (France and southern Britain) and the time period studied (July 22 to August 10, 1983) were selected to coincide with one of the special study regions identified by ISCCP. Meteorologically, the 20-day period offers a range of conditions typical of this region in the summertime. There was an outbreak of Saharan dust from north Africa which is not intended to be a validation exercise. Indeed the term spread over the Mediterranean Sea early in the period, while "validation • is hard to understand in the context of a mul-depression systems crossed the northern part of the region. Beginning around ,luly 28, an anticyclone drifted in from ...... the west to become established over the region, and it dom-1Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, inated the synoptic conditions for the rest of the period. England. The last few days in July saw very high temperatures over 2Laboratoire de M6t•orologie Dynamiq•e, Centre National de most of Europe. Cloud types were varied, including adla Recherche Scientifique, Palaiseau, France• vected fog; cumulonimbus (especially over southern France), Copyright 1987 by the American Geophysical Union. frontal cloud, and isolated cirrus. Paper number 5D0383. The method of investigation was twofold: a straightfor-0148-0227/87/006D-0383505.00 ward comparison of surface and satellite cloud retrievals pre.

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2013

In the 1990s, regionalisation in England held out the promise that regions could forge their own ... more In the 1990s, regionalisation in England held out the promise that regions could forge their own unique policies to address climate change. This paper considers the Yorkshire &amp; Humber region's climate change action plan. The study uses critical discourse to analyse the plan and a series of interviews with those who helped develop the initiative. It shows that in the

International Journal of Remote Sensing, 1986

... Heathrow 13 5 51·48 -0·45 Brest Tour Gatwick 14 5 51·15 -0.\8 Cesar 56 3 48·38 -4·48 ... Regi... more ... Heathrow 13 5 51·48 -0·45 Brest Tour Gatwick 14 5 51·15 -0.\8 Cesar 56 3 48·38 -4·48 ... Region 2 3 4 5 Station Montpellier Sete Nimes Agen Gourdon Mont de Marsan Point du Grouin Ile de Brehat Rennes Villacoublay Trappes Paris Orly london We Heathrow Gatwick Comment ...

International Journal of Climatology, 1996

Geological Magazine, 1993

Geological Magazine, 1994

Advances in Space Research, 1987

A comparison between surface-observed total, low and high cloud amount and retrievals from METEOS... more A comparison between surface-observed total, low and high cloud amount and retrievals from METEOSAT radiance data made using the cluster technique of Desbois et al. has been undertaken. Observations for 12.00 GMT for the 20 day period 22nd July to 10th August 1983 were compared with retrievals made from }IETEOSAT radiances measured at 11.30 GET. The comparisons for total and low cloud amount were made for 204 stations covering France, southern Britain and West Germany although high cloud amount comparisons were not possible for France, so only 114 stations were used. The location and time period were selected to coincide with one of the regions designated for the validation phase of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, ISCCP. The results are generally good: for total cloud amount 30% of retrievals were fully in agreement and 64% of the differences were within +1 okta. As anticipated, the surface observations offered additional information on low cloud cover in multi-layer situations. Surface observers were also found to identify thin cirrus which was not detected by the satellite retrieval and to detect small gaps in cloud decks and small clouds missed by the satellite retrieval.