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Sixty-two paintings, most of which were on paper, by Balinese artists, were sent on loan to Museum Puri Lukisan in Ubud, Bali, which had been set up in 1956 with help from the collector of the works, the Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet. The exhibition travelled from Bali to Jakarta. The museum building on Bali had no climate control; so the paintings were sealed in simple, unmodified frames in an unobtrusive manner. Conditions inside and outside the sealed packages were recorded throughout the loan using tiny electronic dataloggers developed for testing within food and drugs packaging. The project demonstrated that relatively simple and inexpensive techniques proved highly effective in protecting the works from warm and humid tropical conditions. Resume «Retour a Bali: l'efficacite de l'utilisation de micro-climats au cours d'un pret d'œuvres sur papier entre les Pays-Bas et l'Indonesie» Soixante deux peintures, dont la plupart realisees sur papier par des artistes de Bali, furent envoyees en pret au musee Puri Lukisan in Ubud de Bali, qui avait ete cree en 1956 avec l'aide d'un collectionneur d'œuvres, l'artiste hollandais Rudolf Bonnet. L'exposition a voyage de Bali a Jakarta. Le batiment du musee de Bali n'avait pas de systeme de controle du climat; les peintures ont donc ete scellees d'une facon discrete dans de simples cadres sans qu'on ait eu a les modifier. Les conditions a l'interieur et a l'exterieur des paquets scelles ont ete enregistrees tout au long du pret en utilisant de petits capteurs electroniques mis au point pour evaluer les emballages de denrees alimentaires et de medicaments. Le projet a demontre que des techniques relativement simples et peu couteuses s'averent tres efficaces dans la protection des œuvres dans un climat tropical chaud et humide. Zusammenfassung „Zuruck nach Bali: Die Effektivitat von Mikroklimaten wahrend einer Leihgabe von Kunst auf Papier aus den Niederlanden nach Indonesien” 62 Gemalde von balinesischer Kunstler, die meisten auf einem Papiertrager, wurden an das Museum Puri Lukisan in Ubud, Bali, verliehen. Diese Museum war 1956 mit Hilfe des Sammlers der Gemalde, dem niederlandischen Kunstler Rudolf Bonnet, aufgebaut worden. Die Ausstellung reiste von Bali nach Jakarta. Das Museumsgebaude auf Bali hatte keine Moglichkeit der Klimakontrolle und so wurden die Gemalde in einfachen, unmodifizierten Rahmen gerahmt. Die Bedingungen innerhalb und ausserhalb der versiegelten Pakete wurden wahrend des gesamten Verleihs mit winzigen elektronischen Dataloggern gespeichert, die fur Test von Nahrungsmitteln und medizinischen Verpackungen entwickelt wurden. Das Projekt zeigte, wie relativ einfache und billige Methoden sich als sehr effektiv erwiesen, um die Werke von den feuchtwarmen tropischen Bedingungen zu schutzen. Resumen “Regreso a Bali: la efectividad en el uso de microclimas durante el prestamo de obras de arte sobre papel entre Holanda e Indonesia” Sesenta y dos pinturas, la mayoria de ellas sobre papel, de artistas balineses, fueron enviadas bajo prestamo al museo Puri Lukisan en Ubud, Bali, que en 1956 habian sido instaladas con la ayuda del coleccionista de los trabajos, el artista holandes Rudolf Bonnet. La exposicion viajo desde Bali a Yacarta. El edificio del museo en Bali no tenia control climatico; por tanto las pinturas fueron selladas en marcos sencillos de la manera menos intrusiva. Se registraron durante todo el proceso las condiciones dentro y fuera del embalaje usando unos minusculos medidores electronicos desarrollados para testar comida o droga empaquetada. El proyecto demostro que unas tecnicas relativamente simples y baratas eran muy efectivas en la proteccion de las obras de las condiciones de calor y humedad tropical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the US and the Netherlands have been on opposing sides of the spectrum regarding climate litigation. Dutch courts, in several revolutionary climate cases, have been an arena of societal change, whilst climate claims in the US have been largely unsuccessful. In a way this difference seems strange, because the US judiciary has the power of constitutional review, whilst the Dutch judiciary does not. Against that background, this paper extensively compares the doctrines of judicial competence regarding political questions in both jurisdictions. As a comparative framework, this paper uses three judicial phases, namely: the institutional phase, the substantial phase, and the remedial phase. Climate litigation reveals that the Dutch doctrine of judicial competence is focused on the substantial and remedial phases, which has allowed it more freedom in reviewing climate litigation. On the other hand, climate litigation reveals that the US doctrine of judicial competence is focused on a strict institutional phase, dominated by the Political Question Doctrine (PQD). The main contribution of this paper to the constitutional debate is that climate litigation reveals fundamental differences in doctrines of judicial competence. This is not only an important takeaway for future climate litigation, but also, in terms of the Radbruch formula, for other potential gaps between the executive and justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses worldwide challenges, perhaps most in coastal areas. Governments on different scales respond with planning and policy measures, many with drastic impact. In this paper we assess the role of cultural heritage in planning for climate change on the former island Goeree‐Overflakkee in the Netherlands. We do so by exploring the theoretical discourse on the nexus of climate change and heritage discourses and relating these to an analysis of mitigation and adaptation measures on the island of Goeree‐Overflakkee in the Dutch river delta. It appears that the scale and political urgency of climate change induces involvement of many different governments, resulting in an inconsistent integration of cultural heritage in these plans and policies. These outcomes demonstrate that in order to integrate heritage in climate adaptation and mitigation planning, governments cannot rely on established planning traditions for other spatial challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand why climate information is produced differently from country to country. To do this, we critically examined and compared the social and scientific values that shaped the production of three national climate scenarios in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK. A comparative analysis of documentary materials and expert interviews linked to the climate scenarios was performed. Our findings reveal a new typology of use-inspired research in climate science for decision-making: (i) innovators, where the advancement of science is the main objective; (ii) consolidators, where knowledge exchanges and networks are prioritised; and (iii) collaborators, where the needs of users are put first and foremost. These different values over what constitutes 'good' science for decision-making are mirrored in the way users were involved in the production process: (i) elicitation, where scientists have privileged decision-making power; (ii) representation, where multiple organisations mediate on behalf of individual users; and (iii) participation, where a multitude of users interact with scientists in an equal partnership. These differences help explain why climate knowledge gains its credibility and legitimacy differently even when the information itself might not be judged as salient and usable. If the push to deliberately co-produce climate knowledge is not sensitive to the national civic epistemology at play in each country, scientist-user interactions may fail to deliver more 'usable' climate information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is already having impacts on biodiversity within Europe, with habitats and species needing to change and adapt to rising global temperatures and shifts in bio-climatic zones. Spatial planning represents an important intervention to further European, national and local biodiversity objectives for climate change adaptation. Drawing on case-studies of plans for inland and coastal areas, and involving stakeholder workshops, this paper reports on a trans-national study examining the scope of spatial plans in the Netherlands, England and France in addressing the impact of climate change. It concludes that spatial planning is making provision for biodiversity and dynamic natural processes. However, while good practice in planning for biodiversity under conditions of climate change is developing, systematic use is not being made of available procedures. The paper examines some of the barriers to implementation of this new policy commitment to climate change adaptation. Recommendations are made covering policy development to include climate change impacts upon biodiversity, modified procedures for plan-making and the appraisal of plans and projects. Amongst the specific measures recommended are the climate-proofing of projects and plans through the use of EIA and SEA; the integration of plans through adoption of common objectives and review of time horizons and boundaries; and an ecosystem-based planning approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the possible consequences of global warming is that there will be more days with precipitation throughout the year, and also that the level of precipitation will be higher. In this paper a detailed statistical analysis of a century of daily precipitation levels is provided for the central meteorological station in the Netherlands. This paper shows that the often-considered gamma distribution does not fit well to samples of yearly data. It is argued that its incorrect use can lead to spuriously high probabilities of extreme precipitation levels. Relying on advanced nonparametric techniques, it is first found that there are fewer rainy days in the central part of the Netherlands. Next, more rainy days involve higher precipitation levels. Most importantly, no statistically significant shift is found in the annual largest values of daily rainfall over the course of the century, which suggest that the probability of extremely high levels has not changed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rain gauges can offer high quality rainfall measurements at their locations. Networks of rain gauges can offer better insight into the space-time variability of rainfall, but they tend to be too widely spaced for accurate estimates between points. While remote sensing systems, such as radars and networks of microwave links, can offer good insight in the spatial variability of rainfall they tend to have more problems in identifying the correct rain amounts at the ground. A way to estimate the variability of rainfall between gauge points is to interpolate between them using fitted variograms. If a dense rain gauge network is lacking it is difficult to estimate variograms accurately. In this paper a 30-year dataset of daily rain accumulations gathered at 29 automatic weather stations operated by KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) and a one-year dataset of 10 gauges in a network with a radius of 5 km around CESAR (Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research) are employed to estimate variograms. Fitted variogram parameters are shown to vary according to season, following simple cosine functions. Semi-variances at short ranges during winter and spring tend to be underestimated, but semi-variances during summer and autumn are well predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both in literature and in practice, it is claimed that joint knowledge production (JKP) by researchers, policy makers, and other societal actors is necessary to make science relevant for addressing climate adaptation. Although recent assessments of JKP projects have provided some arguments in favor of their societal merit, much less is known about their scientific merit. We explored the latter by developing a conceptual framework addressing characteristics of doing JKP as well as hypotheses on potential merits and pitfalls in terms of its process, output, and impact for science. Semistructured interviews with six environmental science research leaders as well as discussions with five researchers involved in past JKP projects were used to start operationalizing the framework into criteria and compiling a survey. This survey was filled out by 144 researchers involved in Knowledge for Climate, a large Dutch multiactor research program. The findings suggest that, at least in the context of recently carried out Dutch climate adaptation projects, JKP contributes to a broader empirical knowledge base; more reflexivity on the part of researchers; and more publications for policy makers. We conclude this paper by formulating next research steps, including evaluating what would be a proper balance between more versus less participatory forms of scientific knowledge production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that effective climate adaptation depends on the ability of actors on various levels to achieve a multilevel governance process in which their distinct activities result in a coherent adaptation strategy. The classic government's capacity to coordinate such complex processes has proved limited. Therefore we explore the notion of synchronisation -- the ability of actors to connect governance processes that all have their own development, logic and selforganising dynamics. With a theoretical conceptualisation and a case study, we analyse whether and how the concept of synchronisation helps to understand the self-organising coordinative capacity within multilevel governance processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using 30years (1979–2009) of data from 33 automatic rain gauges in the Netherlands, a study of the space–time variability of rainfall is performed. This study uses 90-day averaged semi-variograms to find seasonal signals in the fitted spherical semi-variogram parameters of rainrates in the Netherlands, for accumulation intervals between 1 and 24h. These signals can be well-described by simple cosine functions. The dependence of these cosine functions on the accumulation interval is modeled in two different ways: (1) power-law relations between the variogram parameters and the accumulation interval, and (2) power-law relations between the parameters of the cosine functions and the accumulation interval. For the first method the cosine function at the 24-h accumulation interval is also needed. The second of these methods has more parameters, but is shown to model the temporal scaling best. The space–time scaling relations found in this paper are compared to those found by others for similar and contrasting climates. Seasonality is shown to play an important role in determining rainfall spatial variability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article provides a discussion on thermometer screen temperatures in different weather conditions. Ten thermometer screens were studied for six years in De Bilt in the Netherlands. Screen types include round naturally-ventilated multiplate screens and aspirated screens. Sensors were put on all screens and comparisons between time stamps of temperatures were made daily. The screens were tested under different weather including sunny, rainfall, and snow cover. The study categorized the screens into three groups including naturally ventilated Stevenson screens, round multiplate screens, and strongly aspirated screens. It concludes that different screens should be built according to the climates.

Abstract: Although a global climate regime has been developed, decisions regarding a definition of dangerous climate change have been postponed in the political arena and have only been marginally addressed by the IPCC. This paper presents a participatory integrated assessment method, consisting of an iterative set of science-policy dialogues within and between countries, as well as a focus on indicators of dangerous climate impacts, short-listing and clustering these indicators, identifying threshold levels of unacceptable impacts, and then back-calculating to greenhouse gas concentration levels. This method, applied in the Netherlands, yielded some interesting results and some consensus knowledge among the stakeholders who participated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the framework of the Cloud Liquid Water Network (CLIWA-NET) project, an attempt is made to reconstruct the spatial distribution of liquid water path (LWP) by combining data from a network of ground-based microwave radiometers with imagery of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). In order to provide atmospheric modelers sufficient high-quality reference data for model evaluation and improvement, measurements from three intensive measurement campaigns are analyzed. This paper describes the AVHRR quantitative cloud analysis environment that was developed and tested at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) during the project. The environment is named KLAROS (KNMI Local Implementation of APOLLO in an Operational System). KLAROS includes retrieval of a suite of physical cloud parameters. In order to evaluate the liquid water path retrieval, ground-based radiometer measurements are used. A new technique, called the Russian doll method, is introduced to assess the relation between ground and satellite measurements. This relation depends on the variability in time and space of the observed cloud fields and shows up clearly in the Russian doll diagrams. First, results from the comparisons give confidence that KLAROS gives plausible liquid water path values. We find that AVHHR data from the NOAA-16 platform is much better suited for quantitative cloud analysis than its predecessors. In particular, the availability of a 1.6-μm channel and the good calibration contribute to the improved accuracies. The retrieval method for liquid water path will be implemented in the framework of the Satellite Application Facility of Climate Monitoring (CM-SAF). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Programme management is increasingly used in The Netherlands to realize more integrated regional development, where different sectoral policy objectives are combined. To understand how integration of different objectives is realized in programme management approaches, it is important to have in depth knowledge on how actors manage social, cognitive and physical boundaries. Therefore, this article analyses how actors manage boundaries in a regional integrative programme. Within this case we focus on two integration attempts: one which has succeeded relatively well and one which was less successful. The analysis shows the importance of boundary spanning actions, such as jointly working on strategy documents, organizing events where actors can formally and informally interact, and the activities of a political change agent. Adding to previous insights, we find four additional explanations for successful integration which shed new light on how boundaries can be best managed in future programmatic approaches: the influence of contextual factors on boundary management and its success, the need to address both the social and cognitive dimension of boundaries, the need to make the programme attractive for the actors governing the issues it wants to integrate with, and the role of boundary drawing to create an understanding and respect for boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prison climate is commonly regarded as an important feature of a prison. However, the state of the art in the current literature is that the theoretical assumptions underlying the concept of prison climate are unclear, and empirical studies on prison climate lack precision. The aims of this paper are to provide (1) an overview of the general theoretical model, (2) a review of the empirical literature and its shortcomings in relation to the model, and (3) to test the relevant theoretical assumptions regarding the existence of shared and distinct prison climates. This is done using high-quality data from the Life in Custody Study, a nation-wide survey study among men and women imprisoned in the Netherlands (N = 4538). Supporting evidence is found for the existence of a shared prison climate, which can distinguish between prisons and prison units. Yet, most variation rests with individual perceptions. Contextual effects of different dimensions of climate are identified for well-being and misconduct. Distinct prison climates exist for prison units, and to a lesser extent prisons, and they can be detected with sufficiently large samples. Adequate methods are required to measure prison climate, including climate consensus, and study its effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sand nourishments are increasingly applied as adaptive coastal protection measures. Predictions of the evolution of these nourishments and their impact on the surrounding coastline contain many uncertainties. The sources that add to this uncertainty can be delineated between intrinsic and epistemic uncertainty, i.e. inevitably in the system or related to knowledge limitations. Effects of intrinsic uncertainty (e.g. due to wave climate variability) on coastal evolution can be significant. In studying these effects, it has often been assumed that intrinsic uncertainty is dominant over epistemic uncertainty (e.g. introduced by the model), yet the magnitude of both contributions have not been explicitly quantified to assess the validity of this assumption. This paper examines the relative importance of intrinsic and epistemic uncertainty in coastline modeling of a large-scale nourishment. It uses a probabilistic framework in which sediment transport is considered to be a function of random wave forcing (intrinsic) and model (epistemic) uncertainty, calculating transport using a one-line model. The test case for this analysis is the mega-nourishment, the Sand Engine, located in the Netherlands. The applied wave climate variability is obtained from long term wave observations, whereas model uncertainty is quantified using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) method relying on monthly observations. We find that the confidence intervals on predicted volume losses increase substantially when including both intrinsic and epistemic sources of uncertainty. A global sensitivity analysis shows that ignoring model uncertainty would underestimate the variance by at least 50% after a 2.5-year simulation period for the Sand Engine, hence producing significant overconfidence in the results. These findings imply that for coastal modeling purposes a dual approach should be considered, evaluating both epistemic and intrinsic uncertainties. • Wave climate variability and model uncertainty both influence prediction uncertainty. • Model uncertainty can be estimated from observations through the GLUE method. • Wave climate variability explains less than half of the predicted variance after 2.5 yr. • Assessing only wave climate variability can produce significant overconfident results. • Evaluating both intrinsic and epistemic uncertainty is essential in predicting shoreline evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (mPWP; 3264–3025 ka) represents the most recent interval in Earth's history where atmospheric CO2 levels were similar to today. The reconstruction of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and climate modelling studies has shown that global temperatures were 2–4 ∘ C warmer than present. However, detailed reconstructions of marginal seas and/or coastal zones, linking the coastal and continental climate evolution, are lacking. This is in part due to the absence of precise age models for coastal sedimentary successions, as they are generally formed by dynamic depositional systems with varying sediment and freshwater inputs. Here, we present a multi-proxy record of Pliocene climate change in the coastal southern North Sea basin (SNSB) based on the sedimentary record from borehole Hank, the Netherlands. The marginal marine setting of the Hank borehole during the late Pliocene provides an excellent opportunity to correlate marine and terrestrial signals due to continental sediment input mainly derived from the proto-Rhine–Meuse River. We improve the existing low-resolution palynology-based age model for the Hank borehole using stable oxygen and carbon isotope (δ18O and δ13C) measurements of the endobenthic foraminifera species Cassidulina laevigata , integrated with biochrono- and seismostratigraphy. Identification of hiatuses and freshwater effects in the record allows us to isolate glacial–interglacial climate signals in order to tune the endobenthic oxygen stable isotope record to a global benthic δ18O stack. This results in a tuned age framework for the SNSB for the late Pliocene (∼3190 –2770 ka). Our multi-proxy climate reconstruction for the interval which covers part of the mPWP (∼3190 –3000 ka) shows a strong agreement between lipid biomarker and palynology-based terrestrial temperature proxies, which suggest a stable climate, 1–2 ∘ C warmer than present. In the marine realm, however, biomarker-based SSTs show a large range of variation (10 ∘ C). Nevertheless, the fluctuation is comparable to other SST records from the North Atlantic and Nordic Seas, suggesting that a common factor, possibly ocean circulation, exerted a strong influence over SSTs in the North Atlantic and the North Sea at this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planning and implementation of climate adaptation measures requires the participation of citizens. The design of public participation is often determined by local government. Yet, it remains largely unclear to what extent there is deliberate design of participation efforts and which objectives are served with the designs put into practice. This article reviews three cases of adaptation planning in the Netherlands, using a theory-derived framework that links the design of public participation with nine different objectives that participation could have. These case studies illustrate that participants did not depart from an explicitly formulated and agreed-upon objective, leading to a design of the participatory process that was highly contingent. The findings suggest that a more systematic and deliberate approach, in which both the objectives and the design of public participation are communicated explicitly, and are discussed by participants, increases the chance that the objectives are met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the relative influence of shared and individual perceptions of prison climate on adjustment to incarceration. This study investigated the relationship between prison climate and well-being among a sample of 4,538 adults incarcerated in the Netherlands. Prison climate dimensions were considered both as prison unit-level variables and as individual-level perceptions. Multilevel analysis results showed that most variance for well-being is found at the individual rather than the unit level. This implies that it does not make much of a difference for well-being in which prison unit someone resides. Positive effects of prison climate on well-being were primarily found for individual perceptions of prison climate, rather than for the aggregate unit measures. More research is needed to determine whether this finding holds true in other countries. The findings confirm the importance of disentangling the contribution of prison climate at the individual and group level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Netherlands is characterized by highly variable land use within a small area, and a strong influence of the North Sea on national climate. Devoid of significant topography, it is an excellent location for assessing the relative influence of various factors on fog occurrence in the absence of terrain effects. Using observations from a dense network of weather stations throughout the country, the climatology of fog in the Netherlands is assessed over a period of 45 years. On a national scale, interannual variability is linked to changes in synoptic pressure‐gradient forcing. Within the country, a comprehensive in‐depth analysis of regional differences between fog occurrence is made, together with an assessment of local physical factors which could bias fog formation in one location over another. Regional variability is shown to be strongly related to the mesoscale influences of urbanization and the North Sea. In fact, some locations experience over twice as much fog as others. From this finding, a simple index is presented, which combines the water and urban fraction surrounding a station. This "Regionally Weighted Index" (RWI) is able to accurately sort the stations according to their relative fogginess. Its practical use is encouraged for assessing a given site's climatological favourability, even when in situ meteorological observations are unavailable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various models and datasets related to aflatoxins in the maize and dairy production chain have been developed and used but they have not yet been linked with each other. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of climate change on aflatoxin B1 production in maize and its consequences on aflatoxin M1 contamination in dairy cow’s milk, using a full chain modelling approach. To this end, available models and input data were chained together in a modelling framework. As a case study, we focused on maize grown in Eastern Europe and imported to the Netherlands to be fed–as part of dairy cows’ compound feed–to dairy cows in the Netherlands. Three different climate models, one aflatoxin B1 prediction model and five different carryover models were used. For this particular case study of East European maize, most of the calculations suggest an increase (up to 50%) of maximum mean aflatoxin M1 in milk by 2030, except for one climate (DMI) model suggesting a decrease. Results from all combinations of carryover and climate models suggest a similar or slight increase (up to 0.6%) of the chance of finding aflatoxin M1 in milk above the EC limit of 0.05 μg/kg by 2030. Results varied mainly with the climate model data and carryover model considered. The model framework infrastructure is flexible so that forecasting models for other mycotoxins or other food safety hazards as well as other production chains, together with necessary input databases, can easily be included as well. This modelling framework for the first time links datasets and models related to aflatoxin B1 in maize and related aflatoxin M1 the dairy production chain to obtain a unique predictive methodology based on Monte Carlo simulation. Such an integrated approach with scenario analysis provides possibilities for policy makers and risk managers to study the effects of changes in the beginning of the chain on the end product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gerechtshof in The Hague has condemned the Netherlands to take measures to ensure a reduction of at least 25% of Dutch greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2020. The court thus confirms the first-instance Urgenda decision, which had attracted much attention worldwide and which serves as a model for a whole series of other climate change litigations, some of which have since failed, some are still pending or planned. Even bearing in mind the urgency of the climate protection goal pursued by these lawsuits, the idea of a world rescue through court decisions is ultimately misleading. It overestimates the power of the judicial branch and risks being lost in mere symbolism. Worse still, it shifts responsibilities and creates expectations that tend to further de-legitimize the constitutional democratic systems of the world and their concept of a separation of powers. Even from a solely environmental point of view, this constitutes a high risk, because there are no better alternatives of responsible government. Keeping this risk in mind, the fact that the specific "Urgenda"-decision is legally not convincing seems an almost minor aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method is presented to estimate average diffuse aquifer recharge of water table aquifers in temperate climates using time series analysis of water table level fluctuations. An accurate estimate of the recharge caused by rainfall requires an accurate estimate of the influence of evaporation. In temperate climates, evaporation imprints a seasonal component in the water table fluctuations. As such, recharge is estimated from time series models fitted to observed heads under the additional constraint that the seasonal harmonic of the observed head is reproduced as the sum of the transformed seasonal harmonics present in precipitation, evaporation, and pumping. An explicit equation is presented, in terms of the model parameters, for the damping and phase shift of the response to the seasonal harmonic of the stresses. Taking into account the seasonal harmonic of the observed heads results in more reliable recharge estimates compared to standard time series analysis. The method is limited to systems that are sufficiently linear and that remain unaltered over the analysis period. Head fluctuations and stresses should contain a seasonal harmonic that can be estimated with accurately. Runoff must be negligible or quantifiable. The method is applied to measured heads obtained from piezometers situated on and around the ice‐pushed sand ridge of Salland in the Netherlands and compares well with recharge estimates based on the saturated zone chloride mass balance. Key Points: A new approach to estimate average diffuse aquifer recharge from time series analysis of head fluctuations measured in piezometersThe seasonal harmonic of head fluctuations is used as constraint to identify the effect of evaporation accuratelyThe method results in average recharge estimates without the knowledge of aquifer parameters [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors such as climate variability can place significant constraints on demographic behavior in a range of settings. However, few studies investigate the relationships between demography and climate in historical contexts. Using longitudinal individual-level demographic data from the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN) and climate and economic data from 1871 to 1937, we examine the effects of climate variability on marriage. This analysis reveals that marriage increases with negative environmental conditions such as cold temperatures, riverine flooding, and high rye prices. These findings are not consistent with a Malthusian narrative of marriage behavior or with the expectation that environmental constraints were stronger in the historical past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather extremes may have strong effects on biodiversity, as known from theoretical and modelling studies. Predicted negative effects of increased weather variation are found only for a few species, mostly plants and birds in empirical studies. Therefore, we investigated correlations between weather variability and patterns in occupancy, local colonisations and local extinctions (metapopulation metrics) across four groups of ectotherms: Odonata, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Reptilia. We analysed data of 134 species on a 1×1 km-grid base, collected in the last 20 years from the Netherlands, combining standardised data and opportunistic data. We applied dynamic site-occupancy models and used the results as input for analyses of (i) trends in distribution patterns, (ii) the effect of temperature on colonisation and persistence probability, and (iii) the effect of years with extreme weather on all the three metapopulation metrics. All groups, except butterflies, showed more positive than negative trends in metapopulation metrics. We did not find evidence that the probability of colonisation or persistence increases with temperature nor that extreme weather events are reflected in higher extinction risks. We could not prove that weather extremes have visible and consistent negative effects on ectothermic species in temperate northern hemisphere. These findings do not confirm the general prediction that increased weather variability imperils biodiversity. We conclude that weather extremes might not be ecologically relevant for the majority of species. Populations might be buffered against weather variation (e.g. by habitat heterogeneity), or other factors might be masking the effects (e.g. availability and quality of habitat). Consequently, we postulate that weather extremes have less, or different, impact in real world metapopulations than theory and models suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile temperature and humidity measurements have been performed along a 14-km transect through the city of Utrecht, in the Netherlands (311 000 inhabitants), during the period March 2006-January 2009. The measurements took place on a bicycle during commuter traffic and resulted in 106 nighttime profiles (before sunrise) and 77 daytime (afternoon) profiles. It is shown how the intensity of the urban heat island depends on wind direction, cloudiness, and wind speed. Statistical models are constructed that relate the mean and maximum nighttime urban heat island intensity profiles to area-averaged sky-view factors and land use combined at both the micro- and local scales. Sky-view factors are estimated from a 0.5 m × 0.5 m surface elevation database, and land use is obtained from a 25 m × 25 m land-use database. The models are calibrated using the mobile measurements and provide estimates of the spatial distribution of the mean and maximum nighttime urban heat island intensity in Utrecht. Both models explain more than 75% of the variance. A separate nonlinear model is introduced that relates the temperature differences between the warmest part and coolest part of the transects to wind speed and cloudiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review of recent literature on adaptation to climate change and general literature on policy processes shows that there are a large number of barriers that hamper the development and implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. To reduce and manage the number of barriers and combine both streams of literature, we propose seven clusters of barriers to adaptation. Little is known, however, about the relative importance of these barriers to climate change adaptation policies and practices. An online survey was conducted between March 2010 and July 2010 among 264 scientists, policymakers, and private actors from different sectors and levels who are involved in climate change adaptation projects and programmes in the Netherlands. The survey aimed to gather their experiences with, and perceptions of, the barriers identified in the literature and encountered in their daily work. Both climate-related and non-climate-related barriers were included in the survey. Data were subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey feedback workshop was organized to discuss the results with several of the survey respondents. Results of this study revealed that respondents considered conflicting timescales as the most important cluster of barriers to adaptation. Other highly ranked barriers include conflicting interests; lack of financial resources; unclear division of tasks and responsibilities; uncertain societal costs and future benefits; and fragmentation within and between scales of governance. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that scales matter in understanding the barriers to adaptation: actors from low levels of governance seem to consider the barriers as more severe than actors from high levels of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 700-year time series of ice winter severity index (referred to as Ice Index in this contribution) which additionally includes the period from 1301 to 1500 is now available for the region of the western Baltic. It is compared with air temperature time series, NAO, and other relevant indices. As expected for a regional time series, agreement with larger-scale northern hemisphere temperature variations is found only on longer time scales. Very good correspondence, even on shorter time scales, is obtained using a geographically close time series of annual mean air temperatures for the Low Countries (The Netherlands and Belgium). Although the data basis for the additionally included 1301-1500 period is quite sparse, there is also very good correspondence in this period. Correlation with the NAO Winter Index is generally negative, but the correlation is not significant for earlier periods. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather radars give quantitative precipitation estimates over large areas with high spatial and temporal resolutions not achieved by conventional rain gauge networks. Therefore, the derivation and analysis of a radar-based precipitation “climatology” are highly relevant. For that purpose, radar reflectivity data were obtained from two C-band Doppler weather radars covering the land surface of the Netherlands (≈3.55 × 104 km2). From these reflectivities, 10 yr of radar rainfall depths were constructed for durations D of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h with a spatial resolution of 2.4 km and a data availability of approximately 80%. Different methods are compared for adjusting the bias in the radar precipitation depths. Using a dense manual gauge network, a vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) and a spatial adjustment are applied separately to 24-h (0800–0800 UTC) unadjusted radar-based precipitation depths. Further, an automatic rain gauge network is employed to perform a mean-field bias adjustment to unadjusted 1-h rainfall depths. A new adjustment method is developed (referred to as MFBS) that combines the hourly mean-field bias adjustment and the daily spatial adjustment methods. The record of VPR gradients, obtained from the VPR adjustment, reveals a seasonal cycle that can be related to the type of precipitation. A verification with automatic (D ≤ 24 h) and manual (D = 24 h) rain gauge networks demonstrates that the adjustments remove the systematic underestimation of precipitation by radar. The MFBS adjustment gives the best verification results and reduces the residual (radar minus rain gauge depth) standard deviation considerably. The adjusted radar dataset is used to obtain exceedance probabilities, maximum rainfall depths, mean annual rainfall frequencies, and spatial correlations. Such a radar rainfall climatology is potentially valuable for the improvement of rainfall parameterization in weather and climate models and the design of hydraulic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a general decrease in Dutch environmental emission trends, it remains difficult to comply with European Union (EU) environmental policy targets. Furthermore, environmental issues have become increasingly complex and entangled with society. Therefore, Dutch environmental policy follows a pragmatic line by adopting a flexible approach for compliance, rather than aiming at further reduction at the source of emission. This may be politically useful in order to adequately reach EU targets, but restoration of environmental conditions may be delayed. However, due to the complexity of today’s environmental issues, the restoration of environmental conditions might not be the only standard for a proper policy approach. Consequently this raises the question how the Dutch pragmatic approach to compliance qualifies in a broader policy assessment. In order to answer this question, we adapt a policy assessment framework, developed by Hemerijck and Hazeu (Bestuurskunde 13(2), ), based on the dimensions of legitimacy and policy logic. We apply this framework for three environmental policy assessments: flexible instruments in climate policy, fine-tuning of national and local measures to meet air quality standards, and derogation for the Nitrate Directive. We conclude with general assessment notes on the appliance of flexible instruments in environmental policy, showing that a broad and comprehensive perspective can help to understand the arguments to put such policy instruments into place and to identify trade-offs between assessment criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate scenarios for the Netherlands are constructed by combining information from global and regional climate models employing a simplified, conceptual framework of three sources (levels) of uncertainty impacting on predictions of the local climate. In this framework, the first level of uncertainty is determined by the global radiation balance, resulting in a range of the projected changes in the global mean temperature. On the regional (1,000–5,000 km) scale, the response of the atmospheric circulation determines the second important level of uncertainty. The third level of uncertainty, acting mainly on a local scale of 10 (and less) to 1,000 km, is related to the small-scale processes, like for example those acting in atmospheric convection, clouds and atmospheric meso-scale circulations—processes that play an important role in extreme events which are highly relevant for society. Global climate models (GCMs) are the main tools to quantify the first two levels of uncertainty, while high resolution regional climate models (RCMs) are more suitable to quantify the third level. Along these lines, results of an ensemble of RCMs, driven by only two GCM boundaries and therefore spanning only a rather narrow range in future climate predictions, are rescaled to obtain a broader uncertainty range. The rescaling is done by first disentangling the climate change response in the RCM simulations into a part related to the circulation, and a residual part which is related to the global temperature rise. Second, these responses are rescaled using the range of the predictions of global temperature change and circulation change from five GCMs. These GCMs have been selected on their ability to simulate the present-day circulation, in particular over Europe. For the seasonal means, the rescaled RCM results obey the range in the GCM ensemble using a high and low emission scenario. Thus, the rescaled RCM results are consistent with the GCM results for the means, while adding information on the small scales and the extremes. The method can be interpreted as a combined statistical–dynamical downscaling approach, with the statistical relations based on regional model output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sun photometer measurements at the AERONET station at the North Sea coast in The Hague (The Netherlands) provide a climatology of optical and physical aerosol properties for the area. Results are presented from the period January 2002 to July 2003. For the analysis and interpretation these data are coupled to chemical aerosol data from a nearby station of the Dutch National Air Quality Network. This network provides PM10 and black carbon concentrations. Meteorological conditions and air mass trajectories are also used. Due to the location close to the coast, the results are strongly dependent on wind direction, i.e. air mass trajectory. In general the aerosol optical properties are governed by industrial aerosol emitted form various industrial, agricultural and urban areas surrounding the site in almost all directions over land. For maritime air masses industrial aerosols are transported from over the North Sea, whereas very clean air is transported from the NW in clean polar air masses from the North Atlantic. In the winter the effect of the production of sea salt aerosol at high wind speeds is visible in the optical and physical aerosol data. In these cases fine and coarse mode radii are similar to those reported in the literature for marine aerosol. Relations are derived between the Ångström coefficients with both the fine/coarse mode fraction and the ratio of black carbon and PM10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the response of the land-surface to prescribed atmospheric forcing for 31 May 1978 at Cabauw, Netherlands, using the land-surface scheme from the Coupled Atmospheric boundary layer-Plant-Soil (CAPS) model. Results from model runs show realistic daytime surface fluxes are produced using a canopy conductance formulation derived from Cabauw data (for 1987, a different year), andun-tunedparameterizations of root density (near-uniform with depth) and soil heat flux (reduced thermal conductivity through vegetation). Sensitivity of model-calculated surface heat fluxes to initial values of soil moisture is also examined. Results of this study provide the land-surface “base state” for a coupled land-atmosphere modeling study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weather derivatives enable policy-holders to safeguard themselves against extreme weather conditions. The effectiveness and the efficiency of the risk transfer is determined by the spatial risk basis, which is the stochastic dependency of the local weather outcome being insured and the outcome of the weather underlying the insurance instrument. The lower this risk basis the higher the effectiveness and the efficiency of the risk transfer. To study the spatial risk basis component in relation to the design and evaluation of a weather derivative contract to insure for heating degree-days (HDD), the historical temperature records were analyzed for five sites across the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflects on the experiences with interactive backcasting, an alternative approach to traditional forecasting and planning methods, in the Dutch project Climate OptiOns for the Long term. Background on the project; Analysis of response options to climate change; Suggestions for the improvement of the interactive backcasting method.

The building sector contributes approximately one third of the total energy consumption worldwide. A large part of this energy is used for the heating and cooling of buildings, which can be drastically reduced by use of energy-efficient glazing. In this study, we performed building energy simulations on a prototypical residential building, and compared commercially available static (low-e, solar IR blocking) to newly developed adaptive thermochromic glazing systems for various climate regions. The modeling results show that static energy-efficient glazing is mainly optimized for either hot climates, where low solar heat gain can reduce cooling demands drastically, or cold climates, where low-e properties have a huge influence on heating demands. For intermediate climates, we demonstrate that adaptive thermochromic glazing in combination with a low-e coating is perfectly suited. The newly developed thermochromic glazing can lead to annual energy consumption improvement of up to 22% in comparison to clear glass, which exceeds all other glazing systems. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in the Netherlands the use of this new glazing system can lead to annual cost savings of EU 638 per dwelling (172 m2, 25% window façade), and to annual nationwide CO2 savings of 4.5 Mt. Ergo, we show that further development of thermochromic smart windows into market-ready products can have a huge economic, ecological and societal impact on all intermediate climate region in the northern hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]