An experiment for estimating Moho depth is carried out based on satellite altimetry and topographic information using the Vening Meinesz-Moritz gravimetric isostatic hypothesis. In order to investigate the possibility and quality of satellite altimetry in Moho determination, the DNSC08GRA global marine gravity field model and the DTM2006 global topography model are used to obtain a global Moho depth model over the oceans with a resolution of 1 degrees x 1 degrees. The numerical results show that the estimated Bouguer gravity disturbance varies from 86 to 767 mGal, with a global average of 747 mGal, and the estimated Moho depth varies from 3 to 39 km with a global average of 19 km. Comparing the Bouguer gravity disturbance estimated from satellite altimetry and that derived by the gravimetric satellite-only model GOGRA04S shows that the two models agree to 13 mGal in root mean square (RMS). Similarly, the estimated Moho depths from satellite altimetry and GOGRA04S agree to 0.69 km in RMS. It is also concluded that possible mean dynamic topography in the marine gravity model does not significantly affect the Moho determination.

We present a combined method for estimating a new global Moho model named KTH15C, containing Moho depth and Moho density contrast (or shortly Moho parameters), from a combination of global models of gravity (GOCO05S), topography (DTM2006) and seismic information (CRUST1.0 and MDN07) to a resolution of 1° × 1° based on a solution of Vening Meinesz-Moritz’ inverse problem of isostasy. This paper also aims modelling of the observation standard errors propagated from the Vening Meinesz-Moritz and CRUST1.0 models in estimating the uncertainty of the final Moho model. The numerical results yield Moho depths ranging from 6.5 to 70.3 km, and the estimated Moho density contrasts ranging from 21 to 650 kg/m³, respectively. Moreover, test computations display that in most areas estimated uncertainties in the parameters are less than 3 km and 50 kg/m³, respectively, but they reach to more significant values under Gulf of Mexico, Chile, Eastern Mediterranean, Timor sea and parts of polar regions. Comparing the Moho depths estimated by KTH15C and those derived by KTH11C, GEMMA2012C, CRUST1.0, KTH14C, CRUST14 and GEMMA1.0 models shows that KTH15C agree fairly well with CRUST1.0 but rather poor with other models. The Moho density contrasts estimated by KTH15C and those of the KTH11C, KTH14C and VMM model agree to 112, 31 and 61 kg/m³ in RMS. The regional numerical studies show that the RMS differences between KTH15C and Moho depths from seismic information yields fits of 2 to 4 km in South and North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica, respectively.

According to Vening Meinesz-Moritz (VMM) global inverse isostatic problem, either the Moho density contrast (crust-mantle density contrast) or the Moho geometry can be estimated by solving a non-linear Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. Here solutions to the two Moho parameters are presented by combining the global geopotential model (GOCO-03S), topography (DTM2006) and a seismic crust model, the latter being the recent digital global crustal model (CRUST1.0) with a resolution of 1A(0)x1A(0). The numerical results show that the estimated Moho density contrast varies from 21 to 637 kg/m(3), with a global average of 321 kg/m(3), and the estimated Moho depth varies from 6 to 86 km with a global average of 24 km. Comparing the Moho density contrasts estimated using our leastsquares method and those derived by the CRUST1.0, CRUST2.0, and PREM models shows that our estimate agrees fairly well with CRUST1.0 model and rather poor with other models. The estimated Moho depths by our least-squares method and the CRUST1.0 model agree to 4.8 km in RMS and with the GEMMA1.0 based model to 6.3 km.

In this study, the Moho depth is estimated based on the refined spherical Bouguer gravity disturbance and DTM2006 topographic data using the Vening Meinesz-Moritz gravimetric-isostatic hypothesis. In this context, we compute the refined spherical Bouguer gravity disturbances in a set of 1° × 1° blocks. The spherical terrain correction, a residual correction to each Bouguer shell, is computed using rock heights and ice sheet thicknesses from the DTM2006 and Earth2014 models. The study illustrates that the defined simple Bouguer gravity disturbance corrected for the density variations of the oceans, ice sheets and sediment basins and also the non-isostatic effects needs a significant terrain correction to become the refined Bouguer gravity disturbance, and that the isostatic gravity disturbance is significantly better defined by the latter disturbance plus a compensation attraction. Our study shows that despite the fact that the lateral variation of the crustal depth is rather smooth, the terrain affects the result most significantly in many areas. The global numerical results show that the estimated Moho depths by the simple and refined spherical Bouguer gravity disturbances and the seismic CRUST1.0 model agree to 5.6 and 2.7 km in RMS, respectively. Also, the mean value differences are 1.7 and 0.2 km, respectively. Two regional numerical studies show that the RMS differences between the Moho depths estimated based on the simple and refined spherical Bouguer gravity disturbance and that using CRUST1.0 model yield fits of 4.9 and 3.2 km in South America and yield 3.2 and 3.4 km in Fennoscandia, respectively.

In the sphere of international diplomacy and politics, the United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties (COP) assemblies hold significant importance in tackling urgent global environmental challenges. These gatherings bring together nations worldwide to negotiate and devise solutions for a sustainable future. The negotiation tables of UN COP assemblies, characterized by complexity and diverse interests, provide a distinctive platform to investigate the influence of cognitive biases on integrative decision-making aimed at achieving the objectives of international agreements.

This study delves into the cognitive shortcuts and predispositions that profoundly affect negotiation outcomes and the efficacy of global agreements. Its aim is to comprehend how cognitive biases shape negotiation processes, agreement quality, and global environmental cooperation. The overarching goal is to advocate for the adoption of a principles-based negotiation framework, particularly the Harvard Negotiation Project, to bolster effective negotiations amidst conflicting interests.

The thesis concludes by underscoring the necessity of addressing cognitive biases for successful international negotiations and presents a new theory that straddles cognitive psychology and negotiation theory, the Cognitive-Behavioral Negotiation Theory (CBNT). Ultimately, it contributes to the broader discourse on climate diplomacy and highlights the importance of mitigating cognitive biases to forge sustainable international agreements for environmental governance.

Multidecadal sea level variation in the Baltic Sea is investigated from 1900 to 2020 deploying satellite and in situ datasets. As a part of this investigation, nearly 30 years of satellite altimetry data are used to compare with tide gauge data in terms of linear trend. This, in turn, leads to validation of the regional uplift model developed for the Fennoscandia. The role of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in multidecadal variations of the Baltic Sea is also analyzed. Although NAO impacts the Baltic Sea level on seasonal to decadal time scales according to previous studies, it is not a pronounced factor in the multidecadal variations. The acceleration in the sea level rise of the basin is reported as statistically insignificant in recent studies or even decelerating in an investigation of the early 1990s. It is shown that the reason for these results relates to the global warming hiatus in the 1950s−1970s, which can be seen in all eight tide gauges used for this study. To account for the slowdown period, the acceleration in the basin is investigated by fitting linear trends to time spans of six to seven decades, which include the hiatus. These results imply that the sea level rise is accelerated in the Baltic Sea during the period 1900–2020.

From domestic and industrial waste water will have to be cleaned before it can be released into lakes and streams again. This purification takes place through various stages of treatment plants. Wastewater contains many substances that are harmful to the environment as well as human and animal health, so it is important that the purification that is done is done in an efficient and thoughtful manner. The steps that are common in Swedish cleaning plants are mechanical, biological and chemical purification. These purification steps ensure that larger particles do not come out to the open water, convert nitrogen into nitrogen through the activation process, and that by chemical treatment, the emission of phosphorus is reduced. All of these purification steps can be designed differently and vary from purification plants to purification plants. Therefore, the degree of purification and emissions can distinguish between different treatment plants. Because there are many factors involved in the processes at Swedish waste treatment plants, it is important to carry out annual audits to detect problems that can lead to environmental damage.If cleaning does not work, exercise can increase in lakes and seas, which causes people and animals to suffer. Bottom dead and acid deficiency are already a major problem for the Baltic Sea. In order to reduce the negative environmental effects, emissions of nutrients are drastically reduced. This concerns the release of nutrients from all countries around the Baltic Sea.This study focuses on nitrogen and phosphorus purification from 5 wastewater treatment plants, Henriksdal's purification plant (Stockholm), Ryaverket (Gothenburg), Sjölunda purification plant (Malmö), Kungssängsverket (Uppsala) and Duvbacken purification plant (Gävle). Information about its activities has been obtained through interviews and works own reports.The purification plants use different technical solutions, and all treatment plants meet today's requirements for purification. The biggest difference is the degree of nitrogen purification. All wastewater treatment plants have a history of changes in technical solutions to improve treatment. Cleaning wastewater from households and industries costs a lot of money for the treatment plants, so it's always a challenge for the wastewater treatment plants to clean the water in the best possible way without costing too much.It is expected that the cleaning requirements will be tightened and all treatment plants should continue to develop to increase efficiency. Current purification requirements are designed to suit the recipient's sensitivity. If the EU's idea of ​​the same degree of purification across the country is transformed into requirements, Duvbacken will need to significantly improve the nitrogen treatment at the waste water treatment plant.

Climate variability is expected to increase in future but there exist very few experimental studies that apply different warming regimes on plant communities over several years. We studied an alpine meadow community under three warming regimes over three years. Treatments consisted of (a) a constant level of warming with open-top chambers (ca. 1.9 °C above ambient), (b) yearly stepwise increases in warming (increases of ca. 1.0, 1.9 and 3.5 °C), and (c) pulse warming, a single first-year pulse event of warming (increase of ca. 3.5 °C). Pulse warming and stepwise warming was hypothesised to cause distinct first-year and third-year effects, respectively. We found support for both hypotheses; however, the responses varied among measurement levels (whole community, canopy, bottom layer, and plant functional groups), treatments, and time. Our study revealed complex responses of the alpine plant community to the different experimentally imposed climate warming regimes. Plant cover, height and biomass frequently responded distinctly to the constant level of warming, the stepwise increase in warming and the extreme pulse-warming event. Notably, we found that stepwise warming had an accumulating effect on biomass, the responses to the different warming regimes varied among functional groups, and the short-term perturbations had negative effect on species richness and diversity.

Environmental changes are predicted to have severe and rapid impacts on polar and alpine regions. At high latitudes/altitudes, cryptogams such as bryophytes and lichens are of great importance in terms of biomass, carbon/nutrient cycling, cover and ecosystem functioning. This seven-year factorial experiment examined the effects of fertilizing and experimental warming on bryophyte and lichen abundance in an alpine meadow and a heath community in subarctic Sweden. The aim was to determine whether shortterm responses (five years) are good predictors of longer-term responses (seven years). Fertilizing and warming had significant negative effects on total and relative abundance of bryophytes and lichens, with the largest and most rapid decline caused by fertilizing and combined fertilizing and warming. Bryophytes decreased most in the alpine meadow community, which was bryophyte-dominated, and lichens decreased most in the heath community, which was lichen-dominated. This was surprising, as the most diverse group in each community was expected to be most resistant to perturbation. Warming alone had a delayed negative impact. Of the 16 species included in statistical analyses, seven were significantly negatively affected. Overall, the impacts of simulated warming on bryophytes and lichens as a whole and on individual species differed in time and magnitude between treatments and plant communities (meadow and heath). This will likely cause changes in the dominance structures over time. These results underscore the importance of longer-term studies to improve the quality of data used in climate change models, as models based on short-term data are poor predictors of long-term responses of bryophytes and lichens.

Globally, the rising extraction of raw materials results in substantial resource depletion. The global circularity rate declines yearly as goods manufacturing consumes energy, fossil fuels, and primary materials. In the EU, about 11 million tonnes of furniture are discarded annually, and most end up in landfills. Sweden discards about 330.000 tonnes of office furniture each year. Sharing and reusing with Circular Economy (CE) strategies can possibly reduce environmental impact, yet challenges may arise from extra measures and expectancies when sharing. There are few studies that assess CE strategies in the use phase and environmental impacts of furniture. For the evaluation of CE strategies and a product's potential environmental impact and comparing user scenarios, this study used a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The goal is to explore under what circumstances height adjustable desks (desks) in four user scenarios (baseline scenario and three scenarios with adopted CE strategies for closing, slowing, and narrowing the material loops) are the most beneficial for the environment. The evaluation is conducted by analysing the scenario’s potential impact (i.e., midpoint categories GWP, HNCT and MRS). The results show that the manufacturing of the desk frame has a significant impact in the midpoint categories GWP and MRS, and the manufacturing of the motor in the midpoint category HNCT, in all four scenarios. The rental scenario, with high utilisation (80%) due to flexibility, has the lowest potential impact, compared to the three other scenarios with 40% utilisation. Two sensitivity analyses were conducted, which showed that the utilisation rate and lifespan of parts (due to aesthetic expectations) is crucial for what scenario that has the best outcome. Rental and reuse have a lower impact compared to recycling and baseline. The circumstances of high utilisation rate and flexibility benefitted the rental scenario. Product design strategies such as modular, easy repair and maintenance, and the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) keeping ownership or agreeing with the user are critical for substituting parts in the reuse and rental scenarios. This study shows that renting office desks is the best option, compared to the other scenarios, as long as utilisation is over 54% and high user expectations do not demand new desktops every 5th year.

The International Association of Geodesy defined the International Height Reference System (IHRS) in 2015. IHRS will be realised through the International Reference Frame (IHRF) primarily by geopotential numbers (or physical heights). On the global scale, a sparse core reference network will be the basis for the realisation. To ensure local access to the frame and the best possible conditions for height datum unification, denser realisations (or densifications) will be needed. The adopted realisations can be either regional, national, or local. According to the published recommendations on regional IHRS realisation, GNSS ellipsoidal heights and a gravimetric (quasi-) geoid model form the basis to compute a pointwise IHRS realisation, but it is possible to supplement this by local levelling to gain local access to the frame and improve the relative uncertainty. The main purpose of this article is to investigate different ways to incorporate levelling observations in the IHRS realisation process and explore potential improvements. The investigation is a case study over Sweden that uses an initial pointwise IHRS realisation and precise levelling observations from the Baltic Levelling Ring (BLR) project. The levelling network is adjusted with respect to the pointwise IHRF geopotential numbers using three different approaches regarding the a priori variance-covariance matrix used for weighting of the observations. The approaches are constrained adjustment, weighted adjustment with realistic a priori uncertainties (variance covariance matrix) and weighted adjustment with Variance Component Estimation (VCE) to iteratively tune the a priori variance-covariance matrix. It is shown that the pointwise IHRS realisation can be improved significantly by the inclusion of levelling observations. Both the estimated standard uncertainty of the adjusted IHRF geopotential numbers as well as the relative standard uncertainty between nodal benchmarks are reduced by approximately 40 percent in the Swedish case. To fully exploit the potential of precise levelling observations in the IHRS realisation process, it is recommended to use some form of weighted adjustment, preferably using VCE to obtain a realistic balance between the initial pointwise and levelling observations.

A common global vertical reference frame for physical heights is essential in many applications, but an equivalent to the three-dimensional International Terrestrial Reference System has until recently been lacking for physical heights. The International Height Reference System, IHRS, was defined in 2015. It will be realised by the International Height Reference Frame, IHRF, on the global level by a sparse core reference network. To ensure local access and enable optimum height datum unification, adopted regional or national realisations (or densifications) are required. This thesis explores regional and national realisations of IHRS, employing both the standard pointwise methodology as well as levelling assisted approaches. Levelling observations have the potential to improve pointwise IHRS realisations. The thesis studies a regional levelling network that is adjusted with respect to an initial pointwise IHRS realisation using different approaches. The evaluation of these solutions is based on the resulting geopotential numbers and their estimated standard uncertainties. It is shown that including levelling observations in the IHRS realisation process might lead to significant improvements. It is recommended to employ a weighted adjustment of pointwise geopotential numbers and levelling observations, and to utilise variance component estimation as a tool to estimate a priori uncertainties. With a comparison to the Swedish levelling based realisation of the European Vertical Reference System, RH 2000, differences in the definitions of reference systems are explored. Corrections related to known effects, such as permanent tide concepts, postglacial land uplift epoch and zero level, are here considered. It is shown that the differences in the obtained geopotential numbers can be explained to rather large extent by these corrections. Finally, the thesis discusses how national and regional realisations of IHRS should be interpreted with respect to the global realisation.

The International Height Reference System (IHRS) was defined by the International Association of Geodesy in 2015. Since then, the international geodetic community has been working on the specification and establishment of its realisation, the International Height Reference Frame (IHRF). This frame will primarily be realised by geopotential numbers (or physical heights) in a sparse global reference network. In Sweden, only one such global station is planned. Regional and national realisations (or densifications) computed in accordance with the IHRS definition are needed to enable the best possible unification of height datums. The main purpose of this article is to make a case study for Sweden regarding the national realisation of IHRS and to investigate in what way preliminary IHRF differs from the current Swedish levelling-based realisation of the European Vertical Reference System, RH 2000. The two different quasigeoid models that we consider best over Sweden at the present time are used to compute the preliminary IHRS realisations in the study. The realisations are compared to each other and to RH 2000. It is shown that a very significant part of the difference to RH 2000 is due to the different postglacial land uplift epochs, permanent tide concepts, and zero levels. The standard deviation for the difference between one of the preliminary national IHRS realisations and RH 2000 is reduced from 75.5 to 19.2 mm after correction of the postglacial land uplift and permanent tide effects. The corresponding mean differences are –208.5 and –454.7 mm, respectively. The magnitude of the mean difference thus increases when the corrections in question are applied.

The International Height Reference System (IHRS) was defined by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) in 2015. The global International Height Reference Frame (IHRF) should provide access to the IHRS in a broad sense. To provide high accuracy local access, regional (or national) realisations will also be needed. This study aims at evaluating different approaches to compute a denser regional realisation of IHRS in case a high accuracy levelling network is available. Using Sweden as a case study region, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and geoid based pointwise realisation is compared with three types of levelling assisted realisations. The latter are made by applying least squares adjustments of the precise levelling observations with fixed potential value(s) from either the global IHRF station in Sweden or the pointwise potentials of a larger number of stations. It is concluded that making a minimum constraint adjustment with one station fixed is not the best option. It is favourable to fix a reasonable number of pointwise stations at an internal distance over which the relative uncertainty of levelling is significantly lower than the relative uncertainty of the pointwise solution. The investigation is made using levelling data from the third precise levelling of Sweden, the NKG2015 quasigeoid model and the NKG2016LU postglacial land uplift model.

Recently, there is a tremendous amount of high resolution imagery that wasn’t available years ago, mainly because of the advancement of the technology in capturing such images. Most of the very high resolution (VHR) imagery comes in three bands only the red, green and blue (RGB), whereas, the importance of using such imagery in remote sensing studies has been only considered lately, despite that, there are no enough studies examining the usefulness of these imagery in urban applications. This research proposes a method to investigate high resolution imagery to analyse an urban area using UAV imagery for land use and land cover classification. Remote sensing imagery comes in various characteristics and format from different sources, most commonly from satellite and airborne platforms. Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a very good potential source to collect geographic data with new unique properties, most important asset is the VHR of spatiotemporal data structure. UAV systems are as a promising technology that will advance not only remote sensing but GIScience as well. UAVs imagery has been gaining popularity in the last decade for various remote sensing and GIS applications in general, and particularly in image analysis and classification. One of the concerns of UAV imagery is finding an optimal approach to classify UAV imagery which is usually hard to define, because many variables are involved in the process such as the properties of the image source and purpose of the classification. The main objective of this research is evaluating land use / land cover (LULC) classification for urban areas, whereas the data of the study area consists of VHR imagery of RGB bands collected by a basic, off-shelf and simple UAV. LULC classification was conducted by pixel and object-based approaches, where supervised algorithms were used for both approaches to classify the image. In pixel-based image analysis, three different algorithms were used to create a final classified map, where one algorithm was used in the object-based image analysis. The study also tested the effectiveness of object-based approach instead of pixel-based in order to minimize the difficulty in classifying mixed pixels in VHR imagery, while identifying all possible classes in the scene and maintain the high accuracy. Both approaches were applied to a UAV image with three spectral bands (red, green and blue), in addition to a DEM layer that was added later to the image as ancillary data. Previous studies of comparing pixel-based and object-based classification approaches claims that object-based had produced better results of classes for VHR imagery. Meanwhile several trade-offs are being made when selecting a classification approach that varies from different perspectives and factors such as time cost, trial and error, and subjectivity.

      Classification based on pixels was approached in this study through supervised learning algorithms, where the classification process included all necessary steps such as selecting representative training samples and creating a spectral signature file. The process in object-based classification included segmenting the UAV’s imagery and creating class rules by using feature extraction. In addition, the incorporation of hue, saturation and intensity (IHS) colour domain and Principle Component Analysis (PCA) layers were tested to evaluate the ability of such method to produce better results of classes for simple UAVs imagery. These UAVs are usually equipped with only RGB colour sensors, where combining more derived colour bands such as IHS has been proven useful in prior studies for object-based image analysis (OBIA) of UAV’s imagery, however, incorporating the IHS domain and PCA layers in this research did not provide much better classes. For the pixel-based classification approach, it was found that Maximum Likelihood algorithm performs better for VHR of UAV imagery than the other two algorithms, the Minimum Distance and Mahalanobis Distance. The difference in the overall accuracy for all algorithms in the pixel-based approach was obvious, where the values for Maximum Likelihood, Minimum Distance and Mahalanobis Distance were respectively as 86%, 80% and 76%. The Average Precision (AP) measure was calculated to compare between the pixel and object-based approaches, the result was higher in the object-based approach when applied for the buildings class, the AP measure for object-based classification was 0.9621 and 0.9152 for pixel-based classification. The results revealed that pixel-based classification is still effective and can be applicable for UAV imagery, however, the object-based classification that was done by the Nearest Neighbour algorithm has produced more appealing classes with higher accuracy. Also, it was concluded that OBIA has more power for extracting geographic information and easier integration within the GIS, whereas the result of this research is estimated to be applicable for classifying UAV’s imagery used for LULC applications.

Drinking water is a cornerstone to a prosperous society. The quality of drinking water is affected by the type of raw-water sources and how drinking water treatment is carried out in a drinking water treatment plant. If the quality of the drinking water deteriorates, it may indicate that the drinking water treatment is not optimal or that the quality of raw-water sources has changed.The municipality of Sandviken in Sweden has had recurring problems with brown and black discolorations of the drinking water. Brown and black discolorations can be caused by oxidation of iron and manganese in the drinking water distribution system. The oxidation of manganese leads to the formation of manganese dioxide that can accelerate the corrosion processes of cast iron pipes. The Swedish Food Agency has set a limit value for the concentration of iron and manganese in drinking water to prevent the formation of precipitates in the drinking water distribution system. The aim of the study is to investigate whether the discolorations are due to high levels of iron and manganese in the drinking water. Water samples were collected to practically and statistically analyse the concentrations of iron, manganese and the formation of manganese dioxide. The statistical analysis showed that the levels of manganese were at their highest closest to the drinking water treatment plant. No other statistical correlations have been established. The analysis of manganese showed that 20 out of 31 water samples were above the limit value. The limit value for manganese was already exceeded at the drinking water treatment plant. The analysis of iron showed that 2 out of 24 water samples were above the limit value. Results also showed the presence of manganese-oxidizing microorganisms in the drinking water distribution system. Manganese is emitted from the drinking water plant and favors microorganisms as well as increases the formation of manganese dioxide, which may cause corrosion on cast iron pipes. Thus, the composition of the drinking water can affect or accelerate corrosion in the drinking water distribution system.Theoretically, the discolorations that have been experienced by the users may be due to a high concentration of manganese. However, it cannot be excluded that discolorations may be caused by other factors as the result did not provide a statistical relationship between discoloration and the concentration of iron and manganese. Further studies are required to determine all the causes behind discoloured drinking water. The problem of the concentrations of manganese should be solved, whether or not it is the main cause of the water discoloration. The concentrations of iron and manganese are likely to increase in the raw water due to climate change. If the drinking water plant continues to mix surface and groundwater, the problem can be solved by installing a static mixer and introducing a separation step for iron and manganese. When choosing a biological separation method, microorganisms from the drinking water distribution system can be used.

Our complex planet is continuously undergoing temporal and spatial changes. In this context, ongoing processes in the Earth subsystems (geosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere) cause changes in the gravity field of the Earth across a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. Accordingly, by both spatially and temporally tracing our planet’s ever-changing gravity field, scientists can better constrain the underlying processes contributing to such dynamic changes of mass distribution within the Earth system. Monitoring the Earth’s gravity field and its temporal variations is essential, among others, for tracking disasters and specifying land areas with a high risk of flooding, earthquakes, and droughts, movements of tectonic plates, and providing accurate positioning through satellite positioning technology. On short-term timescales, temporal variations in the Earth’s gravity field are mainly caused by the movement of water in its various forms. Accordingly, sea-level variations and ice-sheet and glacier changes, which are known as critical indicators of global warming and climate change, can be accurately monitored by tracking the Earth’s gravity field changes. Since there is a close link between water redistribution and the Earth’s energy cycle, climate system, food security, human and ecosystem health, energy generation, economic and societal development, and climate extremes (droughts and floods), it is essential to accurately monitor water mass exchange between the Earth system components. Among all observational techniques, satellite gravimetry has provided an integrated global view of ongoing processes within the Earth system. The current generation of satellite gravimetry missions (the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission and its successor, GRACE Follow-On) has dramatically revolutionized our understanding of dynamic processes in the Earth’s surface and, consequently, has significantly improved our understanding of the Earth’s climate system. By considering different aspects of studying the Earth’s gravity field, this thesis brings new insights to the determination and analysis of the mass change in the Earth system. First, by studying the shortcomings of the common techniques of estimating the geoid potential, a new approach is examined that simultaneously estimates the geoid potential, W0, and the geometrical parameters of the reference Mean Earth Ellipsoid (MEE). In this regard, as the geoid needs to be considered as a static equipotential surface, the sensitivity of the estimations to the time dependent Earth’s gravity field changes is studied. Secondly, relying on the GRACE monthly gravity fields and the complementary observational techniques, and by pushing the limit of GRACE, mass redistribution over land and ocean is investigated. Within the ocean, satellite altimetry and Argo products are utilized along with the GRACE monthly solutions for quantifying the global barystatic sea-level change and assessing the closure of the global mean sea level budget. Over land, a region with relatively high temporal mass change (oil and water extraction) is chosen in which by taking advantage of having in-situ observations and hydrological models, the ability of GRACE products in quantifying the changes in groundwater storage is studied. In this frame, for both the ocean and land studies, different aspects of the processing of GRACE monthly gravity fields are investigated and GRACE inherent errors are addressed appropriately to arrive at reliable and accurate estimates of the Earth’s surface mass change. As the final contribution in this thesis, a rigorous analytical model for detecting surface mass change from the time-variable gravity solutions is proposed and examined in different case studies of surface mass change. Since the launch of the GRACE twin satellites, the GRACE(-FO) time-varying gravity fields are conventionally converted into the surface mass change using a spherical analytical model that approximates the Earth by a sphere. More recently, the analytical mass change detection model has been improved by considering an ellipsoid as the shape of the Earth, which improved the previous estimations of surface mass change, especially over high latitudes with relatively large mass change signals. However, by taking into account the real shape of the Earth and considering more realistic assumptions, a new analytical solution for the problem of surface mass change detection from the time-varying gravity fields is proposed in this thesis. It is shown that the simplistic spherical and ellipsoidal geometries are no longer tenable and the new model surpasses the common spherical approach and its ellipsoidal version.

Sea level changes over time because of water mass exchange among the oceans and continents, ice sheets, and atmosphere. It fluctuates also due to variations of seawater salinity and temperature known as the steric contributor. GRACE-based Stokes coefficients provide a valuable source of information, about the water mass exchange as the main contributor to the Earth’s gravity field changes, within decadal scales. Moreover, measuring seawater temperature and salinity at different layers of ocean depth, Argo floats help to model the steric component of Global Mean Sea Level. In this study, we evaluate the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) budget closure using satellite altimetry, GRACE, and Argo products. Hereof, considering the most recent released GRACE monthly products (RL06), we examine an iterative remove-restore method to minimize the effect of artifact leaked large signal from ice sheets and land hydrology. In addition, the effect of errors and biases in geophysical model corrections, such as GIA, on the GMSL budget closure is estimated. Moreover, we quantify the influence of spatial and decorrelation filtering of GRACE data on the GMSL budget closure. In terms of the monthly fluctuations of sea level, our results confirm that closing the GMSL budget is highly dependent on the choice of the spatial averaging filter. In addition, comparing the trends and variations for both the global mean sea level time series and those estimated for mass and steric components, we find that spatial averaging functions play a significant role in the sea level budget closure.

Time-varying spherical harmonic coefficients determined from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data provide a valuable source of information about the water mass exchange that is the main contributor to the Earth’s gravity field changes within a period of less than several hundred years. Moreover, by measuring seawater temperature and salinity at different layers of ocean depth, Argo floats help to measure the steric component of global mean sea level (GMSL). In this study, we quantify the rate of barystatic sea-level change using both GRACE RL05 and RL06 monthly gravity field models and compare the results with estimates achieved from a GMSL budget closure approach. Our satellite altimetry-based results show a trend of 3.90 ± 0.14 mm yr−1 for the GMSL rise. About 35% or 1.29 ± 0.07 mm yr−1 of this rate is caused by the thermosteric contribution, while the remainder is mainly due to the barystatic contribution. Our results confirm that the choice of decorrelation filters does not play a significant role in quantifying the global barystatic sea-level change, and spatial filtering may not be needed. GRACE RL05 and RL06 solutions result in the barystatic sea-level change trends of 2.19 ± 0.13 mm yr−1 and 2.25 ± 0.16 mm yr−1, respectively. Accordingly, the residual trend, defined as the difference between the altimetry-derived GMSL and sum of the steric and barystatic components, amounts to 0.51 ± 0.51 and 0.45 ± 0.44 mm yr−1 for RL05 and RL06-based barystatic sea-level changes, respectively, over January 2005 to December 2016. The exclusion of the halosteric component results in a lower residual trend of about 0.36 ± 0.46 mm yr−1 over the same period, which suggests a sea-level budget closed within the uncertainty. This could be a confirmation on a high level of salinity bias particularly after about 2015. Moreover, considering the assumption that the GRACE-based barystatic component includes all mass change signals, the rather large residual trend could be attributed to an additional contribution from the deep ocean, where salinity and temperature cannot be monitored by the current observing systems. The errors from various sources, including the model-based Glacial Isostatic Adjustment signal, independent estimation of geocenter motion that are not quantified in the GRACE solutions, as well as the uncertainty of the second degree of zonal spherical harmonic coefficients, are other possible contributors to the residual trend.

The geoid, according to the classical Gauss–Listing definition, is, among infinite equipotential surfaces of the Earth’s gravity field, the equipotential surface that in a least squares sense best fits the undisturbed mean sea level. This equipotential surface, except for its zero-degree harmonic, can be characterized using the Earth’s global gravity models (GGM). Although, nowadays, satellite altimetry technique provides the absolute geoid height over oceans that can be used to calibrate the unknown zero-degree harmonic of the gravimetric geoid models, this technique cannot be utilized to estimate the geometric parameters of the mean Earth ellipsoid (MEE). The main objective of this study is to perform a joint estimation of W0, which defines the zero datum of vertical coordinates, and the MEE parameters relying on a new approach and on the newest gravity field, mean sea surface and mean dynamic topography models. As our approach utilizes both satellite altimetry observations and a GGM model, we consider different aspects of the input data to evaluate the sensitivity of our estimations to the input data. Unlike previous studies, our results show that it is not sufficient to use only the satellite-component of a quasi-stationary GGM to estimate W0. In addition, our results confirm a high sensitivity of the applied approach to the altimetry-based geoid heights, i.e., mean sea surface and mean dynamic topography models. Moreover, as W0 should be considered a quasi-stationary parameter, we quantify the effect of time-dependent Earth’s gravity field changes as well as the time-dependent sea level changes on the estimation of W0. Our computations resulted in the geoid potential W0 = 62636848.102 ± 0.004 m2 s−2 and the semi-major and minor axes of the MEE, a = 6378137.678 ± 0.0003 m and b = 6356752.964 ± 0.0005 m, which are 0.678 and 0.650 m larger than those axes of GRS80 reference ellipsoid, respectively. Moreover, a new estimation for the geocentric gravitational constant was obtained as GM = (398600460.55 ± 0.03) × 106 m3 s−2.

According to the classical Gauss–Listing definition, the geoid is the equipotential surface of the Earth’s gravity field that in a least-squares sense best fits the undisturbed mean sea level. This equipotential surface, except for its zero-degree harmonic, can be characterized using the Earth’s Global Gravity Models (GGM). Although nowadays, the satellite altimetry technique provides the absolute geoid height over oceans that can be used to calibrate the unknown zero-degree harmonic of the gravimetric geoid models, this technique cannot be utilized to estimate the geometric parameters of the Mean Earth Ellipsoid (MEE). In this study, we perform joint estimation of W0, which defines the zero datum of vertical coordinates, and the MEE parameters relying on a new approach and on the newest gravity field, mean sea surface, and mean dynamic topography models. As our approach utilizes both satellite altimetry observations and a GGM model, we consider different aspects of the input data to evaluate the sensitivity of our estimations to the input data. Unlike previous studies, our results show that it is not sufficient to use only the satellite componentof a quasi-stationary GGM to estimate W0. In addition, our results confirm a high sensitivity of the applied approach to the altimetry-based geoid heights, i.e. mean sea surface and mean dynamic topography models. Moreover, as W0 should be considered a quasi-stationary parameter, we quantify the effect of time-dependent Earth’s gravity field changes as well as the time-dependent sea-level changes on the estimation of W0. Our computations resulted in the geoid potential W0 = 62636848.102 ± 0.004 m2s-2 and the semi-major and –minor axes of the MEE,a = 6378137.678 ± 0.0003 m and b = 6356752.964 ± 0.0005 m, which are 0.678 and 0.650 m larger than those axes of the GRS80 reference ellipsoid, respectively. Moreover, a new estimation for the geocentric gravitational constant was obtained as GM = (398600460.55 ± 0.03) × 106 m3s-2.

Within-city green infrastructure can offer opportunities and new contexts for people to become stewards of ecosystem services. We analyze cities as social-ecological systems, synthesize the literature, and provide examples from more than 15 years of research in the Stockholm urban region, Sweden. The social-ecological approach spans from investigating ecosystem properties to the social frameworks and personal values that drive and shape human interactions with nature. Key findings demonstrate that urban ecosystem services are generated by social-ecological systems and that local stewards are critically important. However, land-use planning and management seldom account for their role in the generation of urban ecosystem services. While the small scale patchwork of land uses in cities stimulates intense interactions across borders much focus is still on individual patches. The results highlight the importance and complexity of stewardship of urban biodiversity and ecosystem services and of the planning and governance of urban green infrastructure.

This study seeks to contribute to a more complete understanding of how urban form influences biodiversity by investigating the effects of green area distribution and that of built form. We investigated breeding bird diversity in three types of housing development with approximately the same amount of tree cover. No significant differences in terms of bird communities were found between housing types in any of the survey periods. However, detached housing, especially with interspersed trees, had more neotropical insectivores and higher overall diversity of insectivores. Based on our results and theory we suggest a complementary approach to managing biodiversity in urban landscapes - instead of maximising the value and quality of individual patches efforts could go into enhancing over-all landscape quality at the neighbourhood scale by splitting up part of the green infrastructure. The relatively small differences in bird communities also suggest that different stakeholder groups may be engaged in management.

Urban infrastructure will require transformative changes to adapt to changing disturbance patterns. We ask what new opportunities hybrid infrastructure—built environments coupled with landscape-scale biophysical structures and processes—offer for building different layers of resilience critical for dealing with increased variation in the frequency, magnitude and different phases of climate-related disturbances. With its more diverse components and different internal logics, hybrid infrastructure opens up alternative and additive ways of building resilience for and through critical infrastructure, by providing a wider range of functions and responses. Second, hybrid infrastructure points toward greater opportunities for ongoing (re)design at the landscape level, where structure and function can be constantly renegotiated and recombined.

One of the today’s greatest challenges is to adjust our behavior so that we can avoid a major climate disaster. To do so, we must make sacrifices for the sake of the environment. The study reported here investigates how anchors (extrinsic motivational-free information) and normative messages (extrinsic motivational information) influence people’s tradeoffs between travel time and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the context of car travel and whether any interactions with environmental concern (an intrinsic motivational factor) can be observed. In this study, people received either a CO2, health or no normative message together with either a high anchor, a low anchor, or no anchor. People that received both a high anchor and a CO2 emission normative message were willing to travel for a longer time than those that only received a high anchor. If a low anchor was presented, no differences in willingness to travel for a longer time were found between the three different conditions of normative message groups, i.e., CO2 normative message, health normative message, or no normative message. People with higher concern for the environment were found to be willing to travel for a longer time than those with lower concern for the environment. Further, this effect was strongest when a high anchor was presented. These results suggest that anchors and normative messages are among the many factors that can influence people’s tradeoffs between CO2 emission and travel time, and that various factors may have to be combined to increase their influence over pro-environmental behavior and decisions.

The term green infrastructure captures the need to conserve biodiversity and to sustain landscapes’ different ecosystem services. Maintaining green infrastructures through protected areas, management and landscape restoration requires knowledge in geography, spatial data about biophysical, anthropogenic and immaterial values, spatial comprehensive planning, and thus geographical information systems (GIS). To understand land use planning practices and planning education regarding GIS in Sweden we interviewed 43 planners and reviewed 20 planning education programmes. All planners used GIS to look at data but did not carry out spatial analyses of land covers. BSc programmes included more GIS than MSc programmes but very few taught analyses for spatial planning. As key spatial planning actors, municipalities’ barriers and bridges for improved GIS use for collaborative learning about green infrastructures are discussed. A concluding section presents examples of how GIS can support spatial planning for green infrastructures.

Plastic and microplastics in nature, sea and water are a major global problem. Because plastics in different forms are present in a big variety of products, this leads to a big volume of plastics that can be spread out to nature from different emission sources. Plastics do not have a sure degradation time; plastics can, therefore, affect the environment for a very long time due to the formation of degraded plastics microplastics over time. Microplastics can also be manufactured as such, in the form of, for example rubber granules. This thesis is a literature study of microplastics in the municipality of Hudiksvall, with a delimitation of four of the following major emission sources of microplastics, artificial turf, littering, washing of synthetic fibres textiles and wire tear and road marking paint. The rapport is also showing the approximate quantity of the emissions from the sources above in the municipality of Hudiksvall together with proposed actions with a proposed priority order. The results show the emissions within the municipality to be relatively large, however, it is possible to greatly reduce some of the emissions with relatively simple and cost-effective means. The emissions from artificial turf can be greatly reduced with the following actions. Shoe brushes near the artificial grass, granular traps in the nearby stormwater drains for collection of rubber granular that otherwise would have ended up in the stormwater. The third action is a barrier at the sides of the artificial turf to prevent the spreading of rubber granular to nearby areas. More studies are needed regarding the emissions from littering, wire tear and road marking paints and washing of synthetic textiles to find more secure local and regional data and to get more data of what happens to the microplastics after it leaves the roads. The emissions of microplastics from artificial turfs can physically be addressed while the other three emission sources require both more information and changed habits and patterns to give a bigger impact to the measures.  Some examples may be to reduce the use of trucks for heavy transport and use trains to a greater extent. Another is to increase the use of public transport to reduce the use of cars. The municipality of Hudiksvall intends to follow Agenda 2 030, which is several global goals for economic, social, and ecological sustainability. In Sweden and Hudiksvall the environmental goals have been even more specified to clarify the most important measures. Hudiksvall municipality is an eco-municipality since 2 002. That means all decisions must be included in the sustainability principle, new ways of thinking are seen as important. Future studies of microplastics and its emission pathways are required to get more specific local data to be able to work actively to reduce the emissions regardless of the size or source.

This study aims to investigate and disentangle the impact of land use and climate variability on the Baltic Sea coastal zone from a millennial perspective. To assess the environmental status of the coastal zone we make use of siliceous microfossils (mainly diatoms), stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes, organic carbon accumulation rates, and lithological changes analyzed in a sediment core collected in Gamlebyviken, Swedish east coast, dated to cover the last 3000 years. Changes in land use and vegetation cover are modelled using pollen stratigraphical data to obtain the percentage coverage of coniferous woodland (Pinus and Picea), deciduous woodland, wetland (Cyperaceae), grassland (including Juniperus) and cropland (cereals) while changes in climatic conditions are assessed through well-documented climatic periods that have occurred in the Baltic Sea region. The reconstructed regional vegetation cover shows that already 3000 years ago, humans used the landscape for both animal husbandry (grasslands) and farming (cropland), but the impact on the Baltic coastal waters was minor. The diatom accumulation rates were quite high (∼3100–2600 cal yr BP) containing taxa indicative of high nutrient conditions/upwelling, and stable carbon isotopes show that the carbon was produced in the basin but did not result in elevated organic carbon accumulation rates. A gradual change to less marine conditions in Gamlebyviken from about 2500 to 1400 cal yr BP can be attributed to the ongoing land uplift which resulted in a more enclosed embayment with only a narrow inlet area today. The Medieval Climate Anomaly (1000–700 cal yr BP/950–1250 CE) is a time where extensive eutrophication is registered in the open Baltic Sea, but afforestation is recorded between 1000 and 500 cal yr BP and attributed to the expansion of spruce favored by land-use reorganization with a transition from a one-course rotation system to the three-course rotation system fully established in southern Sweden in the 13th century, and only minor environmental change is recorded in the coastal zone. The Little Ice Age is documented in our data between 400 and 250 cal yr BP/1550–1700 CE as a decrease in regional cropland (cereals) cover, possibly indicating years of poor crop harvest, and changes in the Baltic coastal zone are evidenced as low carbon and diatom accumulation rates, increase in benthic diatom taxa (low turbidity), and high abundance in diatom taxa associated with sea ice indicating a cold climate. The most significant changes occurred from about 100 cal yr BP/1850 CE up to present, with a maximum regional cover of grassland and cropland (ca. 35%) at the expense of deciduous woodland, and major changes indicative of a highly eutrophic environment recorded in the coastal zone. Organic carbon accumulation rates peaked in 1968 CE at approximately 134 g C m2 yr−1 before subsequently declining to present-day values of 53 g C m2 yr−1, mirroring a similar trend observed in diatom accumulation rates. The high organic carbon accumulation rate shows that deep unvegetated accumulation bottoms in the coastal Baltic Sea serve as carbon sinks and are worth exploring for their potential in mitigating climate change. Variation partitioning shows that 26% of the variance in the diatom assemblages is associated with land use changes. The variables grassland, cropland, and stable nitrogen isotopes are accordingly strong predictors of environmental change in the Baltic coastal zone as reflected by the diatom assemblages.

Cities, with high population density, hard surfaces and built structures, attract more and more people, and the effects of urbanization leave a mark on nature and the climate. Cities are increasingly seen as disconnected from nature, but networks of ecosystem services are still fundamental to human well-being. Urban ecosystem services integrated into urban planning can contribute to solving many of the environmental problems that arise in cities, and to increase the resilience of cities. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken an increasing place in society and in the environmental field, and despite the fact that many aspects of AI and sustainable development have been studied, there is a lack of research on how AI technology has been applied in integrating and supporting urban ecosystem services in urban planning.

The Stockholm region needs to be exploited and densified further in line with urbanization and population growth. At the same time, climate-related events such as heavy downpours and intense heat waves are expected to increase in Stockholm, and several of the city's environmental goals related to urban ecosystem services show uncertain goal fulfillment. Against this background, the purpose of the study is to investigate how AI technology can be used to integrate urban ecosystem services in the planning of Stockholm's municipalities. The study is limited to a number of municipalities within the Stockholm region, and to a number of urban ecosystem services of relevance to the city. Through a literature review and interviews with municipal planners, an overview is presented of the municipalities' prerequisites for integrating urban ecosystem services within planning, and for applying AI technology within the research area.

The results of the study show that ecosystem services as a concept are not defined in Plan- och Bygglagen, but that there are a plethora of tools and methods that can support municipal planners' work in integrating ecosystem services. Despite a high awareness of the value of ecosystem services, and guidelines for integrating them into planning processes, goal conflicts often arise where nature has to back down against economics and political directives for increased exploitation. At the same time, there is a large focus on a number of ecosystem services that have a clear connection to climate adaptation within the municipalities' planning processes. Furthermore, the results show that the use of AI within the municipalities is generally low, and that challenges such as information security and lack of skills risk hindering further AI application. Data collection and analysis are identified, among other things, as areas where AI has the potential to improve, and the study lays the foundation for further research in the area. The study also emphasizes the importance of adopting a systems perspective to ensure a continued production of ecosystem services, and in addition a strengthened resilience in vulnerable cities.

In all attempts to analyze and realize Left-Handed materials, so far, most researchers have used the same idea of extracting only some or certain behaviors of Metamaterials from a set of unit cells gathered together in a designed order. Nevertheless meeting all criteria in order to consider a media as real double-negative material has never come true.

Starting with criticizing and arguing the validity of calling any set of unit cells as a medium of propagation, the work at hand will go further demonstrating analogies between a medium which could be assigned permittivity or permeability factors and the medium consisting a set of unit cells.

After presenting the critical analysis on previous studies in the field, here it is shown that it is impossible to build Metamaterials using any number of passive unit cells. A deep insight into the concept of phase and group velocities as well as Poynting’s vector will reveal weakness of the public perception of their relation with each other. Unlike the past and current trend in analyzing these two velocities in meta-materials, they will be proven to possess the same direction.

Moreover, in this work, a solid proof over violation of energy conservation in the intersection plane between a normal material and a Left Handed material is presented which requires us to believe and accept generation of energy at this plane. This view will consequently leave meaningless all attempts to build meta-materials by passive elements.

In present work a method is proposed at which a material with positive permittivity and permeability can behave like and yield all characteristics of Metamaterials only if the foregoing parameters, while remaining positive, can vary and be governed by the magnitude of the electromagnetic field. Independence of this method from frequency broadens the range of its application and also the interest it may attract.

Sustainability assessment and decision-making is a complex task for companies and considering the new requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, there will be an increased demand on companies to make sure that their impact on the environment and people is assessed. In alignment with these new requirements, this study aims to combine three methods; LCA, S-LCA, and LCC, also known as LCSA, to investigate the environmental-, social- and cost impact of a safety barrier called SVEA. This has been done in collaboration with Ramudden and Worxsafe who are the developers of SVEA. By combining these three methods the goal is to identify hotspots throughout the lifecycle to see where mitigations can be made to make SVEA even more adapted for a ‘green’ future.

The environmental hotspots that have been identified are global warming potential and abiotic depletion. These were further interpreted in the discussion which shows that several improvements are possible in the life cycle of SVEA. These improvements are related to the concrete and steel that SVEA consists of. For the S-LCA, several social improvements for health and safety and the gap between employed men/women were further discussed and interpreted. Additionally, a “partial LCC” was applied in order to create an understanding of the possible trade-offs between environmental and social benefits and the cost of different improvement possibilities. The results showed that the suggested improvements can also provide economic advantages. Lastly, one big takeaway from this thesis is that the combination of LCA, S-LCA, and LCC is a promising method to reach a more holistic assessment of the three pillars of sustainable development, which can also help deal with the complexity of the new corporate sustainability reporting directive. However, as noticed when conducting this thesis, more harmonization and standardization of these three methods is still required to create a more effective and valuable implementation for companies and create a bigger foundation for LCSA.        

This thesis is a critical review of two central theories in the modern sustainability paradigm – namely… (1) the theory that the Earth’s geosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere form a complex adaptive system – the Earth system, and (2) the theory that all human activities are intrinsically dependent on, and constrained by, non-anthropogenic states and processes in the Earth system. The thesis explains the origins and the logic of these theories, and subjects them to formal, semi-formal and comparative criticism. Ultimately, it refutes both on formal and comparative grounds. Most importantly, it shows that theories 1 and 2 are in conflict with the theory of evolution by natural selection, and with the hypothetico-deductive model of scientific research. It also shows that they are in conflict – both directly and indirectly – with the known laws of physics. While it is true that all human activities rely on biospheric resources today, there are no physical, or natural laws that make it impossible for us to break those dependencies over time. In fact, the thesis shows that it is possible in principle to satisfy any human need by strictly artificial means, and abiotic resources that exist in abundance both inside and outside of the Earth system. An important corollary to this finding is that social and economic progress is not inextricably tied – as the modern sustainability literature suggests – to the exploitation of finite and rapidly diminishing resources here on Earth. Theories 1 and 2 both contribute to this confusion, and hence, to the bleak and irrational Malthusianism that still permeates so much of the sustainability domain. In addition, they appear to blind many researchers to the ecological benefits of technological development. That humanity can break its dependence on the biosphere is a very good thing for its non-human inhabitants. As we become more technologically advanced, we will find it easier and easier to sustain ourselves without destabilizing the world's ecosystems. The Earth’s biosphere is an oasis of beauty, complexity and connection in a Universe that is overwhelmingly empty and boring. As the only animals capable of appreciating this fact, we have a clear moral duty to protect and preserve it. And we can protect and preserve it. If we just let go of the religious ideas that have dominated our field since its inception, we will find that our potential to do good in the world is far greater than we previously imagined.

The global climate change is a reality and affecting society and transport systems. Climate change adaptation of transport systems will make the means of transportation more resilient and decrease the risk and magnitude of disruptions. Generally, climate change adaptations in road construction, operation and maintenance will need relatively large changes, but there is a shortage of the specific knowledge required as to what steps need to be taken, when and where, before measures can actually be implemented. Since climate change effects vary among Sweden's climatic zones, the impact of climate change on the road behavior and longevity is extremely difficult to predict. The need for winter maintenance in Sweden will generally decrease due to the warmer climate. Ploughing frequency will probably decrease as well, but preparedness should not be reduced too much since occasions with more extreme instances will increase. In order to succeed in making the road transport system resilient to climate change, we conclude that there is a need to develop more knowledge about the impact on the road infrastructure system as well as the operation and maintenance of the system including how to adapt through different types of variable and flexible climate adaptation measures and the effects of extreme weather events.

Sverige har en stark möbelindustri och en stolt tradition av att tillverka tidlösa och högkvalitativa möbler, ofta av naturmaterial. 2016 producerade Sverige möbler för 22,8 miljarder SEK, varav kontorsmöbler stod för nästan en fjärdedel1. Det saknas idag statistik över vad som händer med dessa möbler när de inte längre används, men det står klart att många av dem slängs i förtid när verksamheter flyttar eller när deras behov ändras. Samtidigt syns en tydlig utveckling mot att kunder mer och mer efterfrågar återbrukade eller renoverade möbler som en del i sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Denna utveckling var startpunkten för projektet ”Affärsmodell-innovation för cirkulära möbelflöden”. Affärsmodellinnovation för cirkulära möbelflöden är ett Vinnovafinansierat projekt som under åren 2015-2017 arbetat med att utveckla och testa koncept för cirkulära affärsmodeller för i första hand offentliga möbler. I projektet har tjugo aktörer från hela värdekedjan, från underleverantörer, möbelproducenter, återförsäljare och användare till forskare och branschorgan, samarbetat kring affärsutveckling, kundincitament, produktdesign, logistik, hållbarhets- och certifieringsfrågor. Den här skriften belyser hur nya affärsmodeller för mer cirkulära möbelflöden kan bidra till en mer hållbar utveckling och ger smakprov på slutsatser från projektet. Skriften riktar sig framför allt till producenter och återförsäljare av möbler för offentliga miljöer, men även kunder och inköpare tror vi kan ha stor nytta av skriften. Vi hoppas att den även kan fungera som inspiration för andra industrier och branscher som funderar på en övergång till mer cirkulära affärsekosystem.

In cities where land availability is limited, rooftop photovoltaic panels (RPVs) offer high potential for satisfying concentrated urban energy demand by using only rooftop areas. However, accurate estimation of RPVs potential in relation to their spatial distribution is indispensable for successful energy planning. Classification, plane segmentation, and spatial analysis are three important aspects in this context. Classification enables extracting rooftops and allows for estimating solar energy potential based on existing training samples. Plane segmentation helps to characterize rooftops by extracting their planar patches. Additionally, spatial analyses enable the identification of rooftop utilizable areas for placing RPVs. This dissertation aims to address some issues associated with these three aspects, particularly (a) training support vector machines (SVMs) in large datasets, (b) plane segmentation of rooftops, and (c) identification of utilizable areas for RPVs. SVMs are among the most potent classifiers and have a solid theoretical foundation. However, they have high time complexity in their training phase, making them inapplicable in large datasets. Two new instance selection methods were proposed to accelerate the training phase of SVMs. The methods are based on locality-sensitive hashing and are capable of handling large datasets. As an application, they were incorporated into a rooftop extraction procedure, followed by plane segmentation. Plane segmentation of rooftops for the purpose of solar energy potential estimation should have a low risk of overlooking superstructures, which play an essential role in the placement of RPVs. Two new methods for plane segmentation in high-resolution digital surface models were thus developed. They have an acceptable level of accuracy and can successfully extract planar segments by considering superstructures. Not all areas of planar segments are utilizable for mounting RPVs, and some factors may further limit their useability. Two spatial methods for identifying RPV-utilizable areas were developed in this realm. They scrutinize extracted planar segments by considering panel installation regulations, solar irradiation, roof geometry, and occlusion, which are necessary for a realistic assessment of RPVs potential. All six proposed methods in this thesis were thoroughly evaluated, and the experimental results show that they can successfully achieve the objectives for which they were designed.

Rooftop solar energy has long been regarded as a promising solution to cities’ growing energy demand and environmental problems. A reliable estimate of rooftop solar energy facilitates the deployment of photovoltaics and helps formulate renewable-related policies. This reliable estimate underpins the necessity of accurately pinpointing the areas utilizable for mounting photovoltaics. The size, shape, and superstructures of rooftops as well as shadow effects are the important factors that have a considerable impact on utilizable areas. In this study, the utilizable areas and solar energy potential of rooftops are estimated by considering the mentioned factors using a three-step methodology. The first step involves training PointNet++, a deep network for object detection in point clouds, to recognize rooftops in LiDAR data. Second, planar segments of rooftops are extracted using clustering. Finally, areas that receive sufficient solar irradiation, have an appropriate size, and fulfill photovoltaic installation requirements are identified using morphological operations and predefined thresholds. The obtained results show high accuracy for rooftop extraction (93%) and plane segmentation (99%). Moreover, the spatially detailed analysis indicates that 17% of rooftop areas are usable for photovoltaics.

The ongoing trend to invest in fossil-free electricity can be viewed from different perspectives. The debate regarding wind power is well known. The University of Gävle is involved in the project “Förankrad i med och motvind (FIMM)” together with the organization “Hela Sverige ska leva”. FIMM aims to increase knowledge about local wind power establishments and act as support for the community with a focus on local participation. This report aims to investigate how complex challenges in the form of local wind power establishments should be addressed from a local perspective in Gävleborg County. The work addresses the issues through systematic literature reviews, geographical mapping, statistical distribution, calculations and interviews with local actors. The results show a complexity in the establishment due to different local needs. Furthermore, it is shown that Gävleborg has great potential to contribute to both regional and national energy supply. One of the main technical challenges has been shown to be that designated wind power areas do not reflect the latest technological advances. The attitude towards wind power in the county varies between the investigated actors and the level of knowledge has not been shown to affect the attitude. Politicians and business owners tend to be more positive and public attitudes are more mixed. Involvement of the public and dissemination of knowledge should, according to the results, be done by impartial intermediaries, where early involvement in the process has been shown to be decisive for the attitude towards establishment. Compensation has also been seen as positive for establishment, preferably financial but not necessarily. Wind power is considered to have an important role in the future of Gävleborg and can make a significant contribution to fossil-free energy. Lack of further development can have negative consequences for local business and prosperity. The conclusions are that an increased systemic perspective and breadth of knowledge will be beneficial for all actors involved in the process if it comes from a reliable intermediary. Furthermore, it is suggested that the public be involved early in the process, preferably already during the planning process of land for the municipality or documents for guidelines regarding wind power. A further suggestion is that wind energy areas and national interests are revised with regard to technical progress at more frequent intervals to better reflect the current conditions. Any financial compensation is proposed to be regulated nationally or regionally but should be adapted to local needs. Furthermore, it is proposed that the municipal endorsement be changed to a rejection. Finally, it is recommended that both scenarios with and without wind power establishment should be presented by impartial intermediaries from a local perspective, preferably with current empirical data and good examples.

The biggest challenge of the time today is climate change and its negative effects. One reason for many cases of political inequality, health risks and human rights inequalities is consumption and production patterns that lead to environmental degradation and injustice. Statistics from the Swedish Agency for Growth (2020) have shown that almost half of Swedish industry works with sustainable work. On the other hand, however, it is important to observe that the work towards sustainable development has expanded and become increasingly complicated to meet the latest conditions. 

The purpose of this study is to investigate how highly the smaller companies value the UN's Global Sustainability Goals 12.4 in two different industries, and how they actively work to improve that work. The purpose has been fulfilled by the authors conducting interviews with two case companies, thus the authors have conducted a literature study in areas considered relevant. The study identified two key factors, the first key factor being that Gästrike Ekogas does not work on the basis of the global goals and therefore does not have values. In order to improve the work in sustainability, it has also been demonstrated that the business lacks resources. The other key factor identified by the authors is that St:Erik's vision is that they should be the obvious choice in sustainable community building, which indicates a lot that they have a serious value about sustainability. They also have the environment as a focus area, and which they work with constantly. As the business takes into account the chemical emissions and its consequences, and that St:Eriks also works constantly to reduce these emissions with the help of resources that exist within the business and with the help of third parties. 

It has also been demonstrated that the activities in question should have the capability to combine new technologies, changes to practices, with new business models. In order for businesses to fortunately adopt and implement sustainable consumption and production, it is basically about demanding change in the organization's vision and education. Since St:Erik's products have a long lifespan, it was very important for them to relate to the UN's 12th global goals as it includes production and consumption.

Carbon footprint (CF) research has received increasing attention in recent years, as evidenced by a rise in publications and citations, reflecting a growing concern for the environmental impact of human activities. However, the alignment of this scientific literature with the three dimensions of sustainability performance provided by the TBL paradigm (people, planet, and profit) has received limited attention. This study addresses this research gap by undertaking a large-scale bibliometric analysis of 9032 Web of Science (WoS) publications from 1992 to 2020. At the macro (journals) and micro (papers) levels, a methodology approach to classify research publications according to TBL dimensions was designed. The results indicate that the output and impact of CF research are balanced with respect to the environmental (planet) and economic (prosperity/profit) dimensions, while the social impact is balanced with respect to the people+profit dimensions. Other than that, “Affordable and Clean Energy” (3761 publications) and “Climate Action” (3091 publications) are the most frequently represented (and interconnected) objectives. The results obtained contribute to a greater understanding of the contribution of CF research to the attainment of the SDGs.

An increased use of energy, coupled with the expansion of wind power, is expected to lead to increased amounts of waste from end-of-life wind turbine blades and demands for sustainable management across the entire value chain. The complexity of the materials used in wind turbine blades makes recycling difficult, which leads to the majority of blades ending up in landfills with both environmental pollution and resource losses as a result. The study aims to investigate the opportunities and challenges of repurposing wind turbine blades for various application areas by evaluating existing research as well as completed and potential projects, with a focus on environmental, technical and economic aspects. Data was collected through both quantitative and qualitative methods, including literature studies and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders in the wind power and recycling industry. The method also includes a SWOT analysis and a case study that investigates repurposing of wind turbine blades in the municipality of Umeå, including an investigation of the municipality's market needs as well as what opportunities and challenges potential stakeholders see in the repurposing process.

The combined results from literature studies, interviews and SWOT analysis shows several technical, economic and environmental opportunities with repurposing of wind turbine blades, including the possibility of potentially reducing both material costs and greenhouse gas emissions compared to the alternatives of incineration or landfilling. Several challenges were identified, including challenges around disassembly, transport, testing the material's strength and lack of information about the material's content. Financial and logistical obstacles regarding the responsibility of manufacturers and operators as well as the lack of cooperation to create an efficient value chain were also found. The result highlights the importance of cooperation between stakeholders, manufacturers and waste handlers as crucial to creating effective solutions and enabling the reuse of wind turbine blades. The case study of Umeå municipality's market needs shows that reuse of wind turbine blades could cover a significant part of the municipality's needs for playgrounds, pedestrian bridges and urban furniture and at the same time contribute to saving carbon dioxide emissions. Despite financial, technical and logistical challenges surrounding dismantling, processing and transport, potential stakeholders see the creation of sustainable business models and technical capabilities as positive opportunities.

The study contributes to increased understanding and knowledge about opportunities and challenges with the reuse of wind turbine blades, which is crucial for streamlining the process for current and future stakeholders in the industry. It is particularly relevant based on the expected amounts of waste in the future and the need for an efficient value chain.

The utilization of remote sensing observations to monitor essential climate variables (ECVs) has become increasingly important in studying their regional and global impacts, as defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). Understanding the Earth’s surface conditions, including soil moisture runoff, snow, temperature, precipitation, water vapour, radiation, groundwater and sea surface height (SSH), can positively impact the environment and ecosystems. Here, the authors present an overview of how global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) can be employed for environmental monitoring, with a particular focus on sea surface height monitoring. This includes examination of the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing a network of permanent GNSS stations for monitoring sea level rise along shorelines.

Human-made infrastructure, such as dams, bridges, tunnels, and high towers, requires highly precise geodetic control networks and continuous monitoring to detect potential failure risks and plan civil engineering maintenance works. In classical 2D geodetic networks, reducing slope distances to horizontal ones is an important task for engineers. The common practice for this reduction involves using vertical angles and applying trigonometric rules. However, using vertical angles introduces systematic errors, primarily due to air refraction, deflections of the vertical (DOV), and the geometric effects of the reference surface, whether it is a sphere or an ellipsoid. Therefore, employing vertical angles in establishing geodetic control networks in 2D is challenging due to these systematic errors. To mitigate the refraction and DOV effects, reciprocal observations of vertical angles can be considered, especially if the elevation differences are small. In this study, we quantify these effects and propose an innovative solution to eliminate these systematic errors in small-scale geodetic networks. Specifically, we propose a new technique that does not rely on vertical angles for the reduction of distances, which is called the network-aided method. Thus, the geometric, physical, and refraction effects cancel out in this method. The results of this study hold significant importance for surveying guidelines. The main advantage of the proposed method is less fieldwork and, hence cost reduction since there is no need for different OFF-construction (reference) and ON-construction (monitoring) networks. Consequently, the number of network points will be less than in traditional networks. There is no need for reciprocal observations since vertical angles are not utilized, while the precision remains equal or even superior (in terms of quality factors i.e., higher redundancy numbers and smaller error ellipses).

This study aims to investigate the ability of different least squares adjustment techniques for detecting deformation. A simulated geodetic netwo rk is used for this purpose. The observations are collected using the Total Station instrument in three epochs and different least squares adjustment methods are used to analyze the simulated network. The applied methods are adjustment-byelement, using variance-covariance components and Tikhonov regularization. For numerical computation, we utilized exist geodetic network around the simulated network and the deformation (changes in the simulated network) imposes to the object using a simulator in each epoch. The obtained results demonstrate that more accurate outcome for detection of small deformation is possible by estimating variance-covariance components. The difference of the estimated and the simulated deformations in the best scenario, i.e., applying variance-covariance components, is 0.2 and 0.1 mm in x and y directions. In comparison with adjustment by element and Tikhonov regularization methods the differences are 1.1 and 0.1 in x direction and 1.4 and 1.1 mm in y direction, respectively. In addition, it is also possible to model the deformation and therefore it can be seen that how the calculated displacement will affect the result of deformation modelling. It has been demonstrated that determining reasonable variance-covariance components is very important to estimate realistic deformation model and monitoring the geodetic networks. 

Most human-made infrastructures require regular deformation monitoring to detect failure risks and plan maintenance works. Continuous health monitoring is crucial for assessing infrastructure stability and plays a key role in mitigating damages and disasters within various environmental and engineering contexts. Structural deformation monitoring methods can be divided into two methods: geodetic and non-geodetic. Geodetic techniques enable the detection of displacements with respect to an external geodetic reference system, while non-geodetic methods can detect relative, internal changes within the monitored object. Both methods will be covered in this lecture note. In addition, after presenting the theoretical background and principle of the least-squares approach in Chapter 1, the necessary recommendations and guidelines for deformation monitoring using geodetic and non-geodetic methods will be provided.

The aim of this lecture note is to provide a theoretical background in the field of deformation monitoring, specifically using geodetic methods, for engineers, students, and researchers. One of the motivations behind this effort is the lack of references that adequately present the methods and recommendations for this purpose.