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In this thesis, I investigated the factors influencing the growth and vertical distribution of planktonic algae in extremely acidic mining lakes (pH 2-3). In the focal study site, Lake 111 (pH 2.7; Lusatia, Germany), the chrysophyte, Ochromonas sp., dominates in the upper water strata and the chlorophyte, Chlamydomonas sp., in the deeper strata, forming a pronounced deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM). Inorganic carbon (IC) limitation influenced the phototrophic growth of Chlamydomonas sp. in the upper water strata. Conversely, in deeper strata, light limited its phototrophic growth. When compared with published data for algae from neutral lakes, Chlamydomonas sp. from Lake 111 exhibited a lower maximum growth rate, an enhanced compensation point and higher dark respiration rates, suggesting higher metabolic costs due to the extreme physico-chemical conditions. The photosynthetic performance of Chlamydomonas sp. decreased in high-light-adapted cells when IC limited. In addition, the minimal phosphorus (P) cell quota was suggestive of a higher P requirement under IC limitation. Subsequently, it was shown that Chlamydomonas sp. was a mixotroph, able to enhance its growth rate by taking up dissolved organic carbon (DOC) via osmotrophy. Therefore, it could survive in deeper water strata where DOC concentrations were higher and light limited. However, neither IC limitation, P availability nor in situ DOC concentrations (bottom-up control) could fully explain the vertical distribution of Chlamydomonas sp. in Lake 111. Conversely, when a novel approach was adopted, the grazing influence of the phagotrophic phototroph, Ochromonas sp., was found to exert top-down control on its prey (Chlamydomonas sp.) reducing prey abundance in the upper water strata. This, coupled with the fact that Chlamydomonas sp. uses DOC for growth, leads to a pronounced accumulation of Chlamydomonas sp. cells at depth; an apparent DCM. Therefore, grazing appears to be the main factor influencing the vertical distribution of algae observed in Lake 111. The knowledge gained from this thesis provides information essential for predicting the effect of strategies to neutralize the acidic mining lakes on the food-web.
Encounters with neighbours
(2003)
In this work, different aspects and applications of the recurrence plot analysis are presented. First, a comprehensive overview of recurrence plots and their quantification possibilities is given. New measures of complexity are defined by using geometrical structures of recurrence plots. These measures are capable to find chaos-chaos transitions in processes. Furthermore, a bivariate extension to cross recurrence plots is studied. Cross recurrence plots exhibit characteristic structures which can be used for the study of differences between two processes or for the alignment and search for matching sequences of two data series. The selected applications of the introduced techniques to various kind of data demonstrate their ability. Analysis of recurrence plots can be adopted to the specific problem and thus opens a wide field of potential applications. Regarding the quantification of recurrence plots, chaos-chaos transitions can be found in heart rate variability data before the onset of life threatening cardiac arrhythmias. This may be of importance for the therapy of such cardiac arrhythmias. The quantification of recurrence plots allows to study transitions in brain during cognitive experiments on the base of single trials. Traditionally, for the finding of these transitions the averaging of a collection of single trials is needed. Using cross recurrence plots, the existence of an El Niño/Southern Oscillation-like oscillation is traced in northwestern Argentina 34,000 yrs. ago. In further applications to geological data, cross recurrence plots are used for time scale alignment of different borehole data and for dating a geological profile with a reference data set. Additional examples from molecular biology and speech recognition emphasize the suitability of cross recurrence plots.
Late Miocene to Quaternary volcanic rocks from the frontal arc to the back-arc region of the Central Volcanic Zone in the Andes show a wide range of delta 11B values (+4 to -7 ‰) and boron concentrations (6 to 60 ppm). Positive delta 11B values of samples from the volcanic front indicate involvement of a 11B-enriched slab component, most likely derived from altered oceanic crust, despite the thick Andean continental lithosphere, and rule out a pure crust-mantle origin for these lavas. The delta 11B values and B concentrations in the lavas decrease systematically with increasing depth of the Wadati-Benioff Zone. This across-arc variation in delta 11B values and decreasing B/Nb ratios from the arc to the back-arc samples are attributed to the combined effects of B-isotope fractionation during progressive dehydration in the slab and a steady decrease in slab-fluid flux towards the back arc, coupled with a relatively constant degree of crustal contamination as indicated by similar Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios in all samples. Modelling of fluid-mineral B-isotope fractionation as a function of temperature fits the across-arc variation in delta 11B and we conclude that the B-isotope composition of arc volcanics is dominated by changing delta 11B composition of B-rich slab-fluids during progressive dehydration. Crustal contamination becomes more important towards the back-arc due to the decrease in slab-derived fluid flux. Because of this isotope fractionation effect, high delta 11B signatures in volcanic arcs need not necessarily reflect differences in the initial composition of the subducting slab. Three-component mixing calculations for slab-derived fluid, the mantle wedge and the continental crust based on B, Sr and Nd isotope data indicate that the slab-fluid component dominates the B composition of the fertile mantle and that the primary arc magmas were contaminated by an average addition of 15 to 30 % crustal material.
Studies of the role of disturbance in vegetation or ecosystems showed that disturbances are an essential and intrinsic element of ecosystems that contribute substantially to ecosystem health, to structural diversity of ecosystems and to nutrient cycling at the local as well as global level. Fire as a grassland, bush or forest fire is a special disturbance agent, since it is caused by biotic as well abiotic environmental factors. Fire affects biogeochemical cycles and plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry by releasing climate-sensitive trace gases and aerosols, and thus in the global carbon cycle by releasing approximately 3.9 Gt C p.a. through biomass burning. A combined model to describe effects and feedbacks between fire and vegetation became relevant as changes in fire regimes due to land use and land management were observed and the global dimension of biomass burnt as an important carbon flux to the atmosphere, its influence on atmospheric chemistry and climate as well as vegetation dynamics were emphasized. The existing modelling approaches would not allow these investigations. As a consequence, an optimal set of variables that best describes fire occurrence, fire spread and its effects in ecosystems had to be defined, which can simulate observed fire regimes and help to analyse interactions between fire and vegetation dynamics as well as to allude to the reasons behind changing fire regimes. Especially, dynamic links between vegetation, climate and fire processes are required to analyse dynamic feedbacks and effects of changes of single environmental factors. This led us to the point, where new fire models had to be developed that would allow the investigations, mentioned above, and could help to improve our understanding of the role of fire in global ecology. In conclusion of the thesis, one can state that moisture conditions, its persistence over time and fuel load are the important components that describe global fire pattern. If time series of a particular region are to be reproduced, specific ignition sources, fire-critical climate conditions and vegetation composition become additional determinants. Vegetation composition changes the level of fire occurrence and spread, but has limited impact on the inter-annual variability of fire. The importance to consider the full range of major fire processes and links to vegetation dynamics become apparent under climate change conditions. Increases in climate-dependent length of fire season does not automatically imply increases in biomass burnt, it can be buffered or accelerated by changes in vegetation productivity. Changes in vegetation composition as well as enhanced vegetation productivity can intensify changes in fire and lead to even more fire-related emissions. --- Anmerkung: Die Autorin ist Trägerin des von der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Potsdam vergebenen Michelson-Preises für die beste Promotion des Jahres 2002/2003.
In this thesis the gravitational lensing effect is used to explore a number of cosmological topics. We determine the time delay in the gravitationally lensed quasar system HE1104-1805 using different techniques. We obtain a time delay Delta_t(A-B) Delta_t(A-B) =-310 +- 20 days (2 sigma errors) between the two components. We also study the double quasar Q0957+561 during a three years monitoring campaign. The fluctuations we find in the difference light curves are completely consistent with noise and no microlensing is needed to explain these fluctuations. Microlensing is also studied in the quadruple quasar Q2237+0305 during the GLITP collaboration (Oct.1999-Feb.2000). We use the absence of a strong microlensing signal to obtain an upper limit of v=600 km/s for the effective transverse velocity of the lens galaxy (considering microlenses with 0.1 solar masses). The distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters is also studied in the second part of the thesis. In the cluster of galaxies Cl0024+1654 we obtain a mass-to-light ratio of M/L = 200 M_sun/L_sun (within a radius of 3 arcminutes). In the galaxy cluster RBS380 we find a relatively low X-ray luminosity for a massive cluster of L =2*10^(44) erg/s, but a rich distribution of galaxies in the optical band.
This thesis describes the development and application of the impacts module of the ICLIPS model, a global integrated assessment model of climate change. The presentation of the technical aspects of this model component is preceded by a discussion of the sociopolitical context for model-based integrated assessments, which defines important requirements for the specification of the model. Integrated assessment of climate change comprises a broad range of scientific efforts to support the decision-making about objectives and measures for climate policy, whereby many different approaches have been followed to provide policy-relevant information about climate impacts. Major challenges in this context are the large diversity of the relevant spatial and temporal scales, the multifactorial causation of many climate impacts', considerable scientific uncertainties, and the ambiguity associated with unavoidable normative evaluations. A hierarchical framework is presented for structuring climate impact assessments that reflects the evolution of their practice and of the underlying theory. Integrated assessment models of climate change (IAMs) are scientific tools that contain simplified representations of the relevant components of the coupled society-climate system. The major decision-analytical frameworks for IAMs are evaluated according to their ability to address important aspects of the pertinent social decision problem. The guardrail approach is presented as an inverse' framework for climate change decision support, which aims to identify the whole set of policy strategies that are compatible with a set of normatively specified constraints (guardrails'). This approach combines, to a certain degree, the scientific rigour and objectivity typical of predictive approaches with the ability to consider virtually all decision options that is at the core of optimization approaches. The ICLIPS model is described as the first IAM that implements the guardrail approach. The representation of climate impacts is a key concern in any IAM. A review of existing IAMs reveals large differences in the coverage of impact sectors, in the choice of the impact numeraire(s), in the consideration of non-climatic developments, including purposeful adaptation, in the handling of uncertainty, and in the inclusion of singular events. IAMs based on an inverse approach impose specific requirements to the representation of climate impacts. This representation needs to combine a level of detail and reliability that is sufficient for the specification of impact guardrails with the conciseness and efficiency that allows for an exploration of the complete domain of plausible climate protection strategies. Large-scale singular events can often be represented by dynamic reduced-form models. This approach, however, is less appropriate for regular impacts where the determination of policy-relevant results generally needs to consider the heterogeneity of climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors at the local or regional scale. Climate impact response functions (CIRFs) are identified as the most suitable reduced-form representation of regular climate impacts in the ICLIPS model. A CIRF depicts the aggregated response of a climate-sensitive system or sector as simulated by a spatially explicit sectoral impact model for a representative subset of plausible futures. In the CIRFs presented here, global mean temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration are used as predictors for global and regional impacts on natural vegetation, agricultural crop production, and water availability. Application of a pattern scaling technique makes it possible to consider the regional and seasonal patterns in the climate anomalies simulated by several general circulation models while ensuring the efficiency of the dynamic model components. Efforts to provide quantitative estimates of future climate impacts generally face a trade-off between the relevance of an indicator for stakeholders and the exactness with which it can be determined. A number of non-monetary aggregated impact indicators for the CIRFs is presented, which aim to strike the balance between these two conflicting goals while taking into account additional constraints of the ICLIPS modelling framework. Various types of impact diagrams are used for the visualization of CIRFs, each of which provides a different perspective on the impact result space. The sheer number of CIRFs computed for the ICLIPS model precludes their comprehensive presentation in this thesis. Selected results referring to changes in the distribution of biomes in different biogeographical regions, in the agricultural potential of various countries, and in the water availability in selected major catchments are discussed. The full set of CIRFs is accessible via the ICLIPS Impacts Tool, a graphical user interface that provides convenient access to more than 100,000 impact diagrams developed for the ICLIPS model. The technical aspects of the software are described as well as the accompanying database of CIRFs. The most important application of CIRFs is in inverse' mode, where they are used to translate impact guardrails into simultaneous constraints for variables from the optimizing ICLIPS climate-economy model. This translation is facilitated by algorithms for the computation of reachable climate domains and for the parameterized approximation of admissible climate windows derived from CIRFs. The comprehensive set of CIRFs, together with these algorithms, enables the ICLIPS model to flexibly explore sets of climate policy strategies that explicitly comply with impact guardrails specified in biophysical units. This feature is not found in any other intertemporally optimizing IAM. A guardrail analysis with the integrated ICLIPS model is described that applies selected CIRFs for ecosystem changes. So-called necessary carbon emission corridors' are determined for a default choice of normative constraints that limit global vegetation impacts as well as regional mitigation costs, and for systematic variations of these constraints. A brief discussion of recent developments in integrated assessment modelling of climate change connects the work presented here with related efforts.
During the past several decades polymer materials become widely used as components of medical devices and implants such as hemodialysers, bioartificial organs as well as vascular and recombinant surgery. Most of the devices cannot avoid the blood contact in their use. When the polymer materials come in contact with blood they can cause different undesired host responses like thrombosis, inflammatory reactions and infections. Thus the materials must be hemocompatible in order to minimize these undesired body responses. The earliest and one of the main problems in the use of blood-contacting biomaterials is the surface induced thrombosis. The sequence of the thrombus formation on the artificial surfaces has been well established. The first event, which occurs, after exposure of biomaterials to blood, is the adsorption of blood proteins. Surface physicochemical properties of the materials as wettability greatly influence the amount and conformational changes of adsorbed proteins. In turn the type, amount and conformational state of the adsorbed protein layer determines whether platelets will adhere and become activated or not on the artificial surface and thus to complete the thrombus formation. The adsorption of fibrinogen (FNG), which is present in plasma, has been shown to be closely related to surface induced thrombosis by participating in all processes of the thrombus formation such as fibrin formation, platelet adhesion and aggregation. Therefore study the FNG adsorption to artificial surfaces could contribute to better understanding of the mechanisms of platelet adhesion and activation and thus to controlling the surface induced thrombosis. Endothelization of the polymer surfaces is one of the strategies for improving the materials hemocompatibility, which is believed to be the most ideal solution for making truly blood-compatible materials. Since at physiological conditions proteins such as FNG and fibronectin (FN) are the usual extracellular matrix (ECM) for endothelial cells (EC) adhesion, precoating of the materials with these proteins has been shown to improve EC adhesion and growth in vitro. ECM proteins play an essential role not only like a structural support for cell adhesion and spreading, but also they are important factor in transmitting signals for different cell functions. The ability of cells to remodel plasma proteins such as FNG and FN in matrix-like structures together with the classical cell parameters such as actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion formation could be used as an criteria for proper cell functioning. The establishment and the maintaining of delicate balance between cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts is another important factor for better EC colonization of the implants. The functionality of newly established endothelium in order to produce antithromotic substances should be always considered when EC seeding is used for improving the hemocompatibility of the polymer materials. Controlling the polymer surface properties such as surface wettability represents a versatile approach to manipulate the above cellular responses and therefore can be used in biomaterial and tissue engineering applications for producing better hemocompatible materials.
The development of fast and reliable biochemical tools for on-site screening in environmental analysis was the main target of the present work. Due to various hazardous effects such as endocrine disruption and toxicity phenolic compounds are key analytes in environmental analysis and thus were chosen as model analytes. Three different methods were developed: For the enzymatic detection of phenols in environmental samples an enzyme-based biosensor was developed. In contrast to reported work using tyrosinase or peroxidases, we developed a biosensor based on glucose dehydrogenase as biorecognition element. This biosensor was devoted for an application in a laboratory flow system as well as in a portable device for on-site measurements. This enzymatic detection is applicable only for a limited number of phenols due to substrate specificity of the enzyme. For other relevant compounds based on a phenolic structure (i.e. nitrophenol, alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates) immunological methods had to be developed. The electrochemical GDH-biosensor was used as the label detector in these immunoassays. Two heterogeneous immunoassays were developed where ßGal was used as the label. An electrochemical method for the determination of the marker enzyme activity was processed. The separation step was realized with protein A/G columns (laboratory flow system) or by direct immobilization of the antibodies in small disposable capillaries (on-site analysis). All methods were targeted on the contemporary analysis of small numbers of samples.
The present work investigates the structure formation and wetting in two dimensional (2D) Langmuir monolayer phases in local thermodynamic equilibrium. A Langmuir monolayer is an isolated 2D system of surfactants at the air/water interface. It exhibits crystalline, liquid crystalline, liquid and gaseous phases differing in positional and/or orientational order. Permanent electric dipole moments of the surfactants lead to a long range repulsive interaction and to the formation of mesoscopic patterns. An interaction model is used describing the structure formation as a competition between short range attraction (bare line tension) and long range repulsion (surface potentials) on a scale Delta. Delta has the meaning of a dividing length between the short and long range interaction. In the present work the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions for the shape of two phase boundary lines (Young-Laplace equation) and three phase intersection points (Young′s condition) are derived and applied to describe experimental data: The line tension is measured by pendant droplet tensiometry. The bubble shape and size of 2D foams is calculated numerically and compared to experimental foams. Contact angles are measured by fitting numerical solutions of the Young-Laplace equation on micron scale. The scaling behaviour of the contact angle allows to measure a lower limit for Delta. Further it is discussed, whether in biological membranes wetting transitions are a way in order to control reaction kinetics. Studies performed in our group are discussed with respect to this question in the framework of the above mentioned theory. Finally the apparent violation of Gibbs′ phase rule in Langmuir monolayers (non-horizontal plateau of the surface pressure/area-isotherm, extended three phase coexistence region in one component systems) is investigated quantitatively. It has been found that the most probable explanation are impurities within the system whereas finite size effects or the influence of the long range electrostatics can not explain the order of magnitude of the effect.
This paper argues that the texts surviving from the Old English period do not reflect the spoken language of the bulk of the population under Anglo-Saxon elite domination. While the Old English written documents suggest that the language was kept remarkably unchanged, i.e. was strongly monitored during the long OE period (some 500 years!), the spoken and "real Old English" is likely to have been very different and much more of the type of Middle English than the written texts. "Real Old Engish", i.e. of course only appeared in writing after the Norman Conquest. Middle English is therefore claimed to have begun with the 'late British' speaking shifters to Old English. The shift patterns must have differed in the various part of the island of Britain, as the shifters became exposed to further language contact with the Old Norse adstrate in the Danelaw areas and the Norman superstrate particularly in the South East, the South West having been least exposed to language contact after the original shift from 'Late British' to Old English. This explains why the North was historically the most innovative zone. This also explains the conservatism of the present day dialects in the South West. It is high time that historical linguists acknowledge the arcane character of the Old English written texts.
Contents: Chapter 4: Pseudodifferential Operators 4.1. Preliminary Remarks 4.1.1. Why are pseudodifferential operators needed? 4.1.2. What is a pseudodifferential operator? 4.1.3. What properties should the pseudodifferential calculus possess? 4.2. Classical Pseudodifferential Operators on Smooth Manifolds 4.2.1. Definition of pseudodifferential operators on a manifold 4.2.2. Hörmander’s definition of pseudodifferential operators 4.2.3. Basic properties of pseudodifferential operators 4.3. Pseudodifferential Operators in Sections of Hilbert Bundles 4.3.1. Hilbert bundles 4.3.2. Operator-valued symbols. Specific features of the infinite-dimensional case 4.3.3. Symbols of compact fiber variation 4.3.4. Definition of pseudodifferential operators 4.3.5. The composition theorem 4.3.6. Ellipticity 4.3.7. The finiteness theorem 4.4. The Index Theorem 4.4.1. The Atiyah–Singer index theorem 4.4.2. The index theorem for pseudodifferential operators in sections of Hilbert bundles 4.4.3. Proof of the index theorem 4.5. Bibliographical Remarks
Contents: Chapter 3: Eta Invariant and the Spectral Flow 3.1. Introduction 3.2. The Classical Spectral Flow 3.2.1. Definition and main properties 3.2.2. The spectral flow formula for periodic families 3.3. The Atiyah–Patodi–Singer Eta Invariant 3.3.1. Definition of the eta invariant 3.3.2. Variation under deformations of the operator 3.3.3. Homotopy invariance. Examples 3.4. The Eta Invariant of Families with Parameter (Melrose’s Theory) 3.4.1. A trace on the algebra of parameter-dependent operators 3.4.2. Definition of the Melrose eta invariant 3.4.3. Relationship with the Atiyah–Patodi–Singer eta invariant 3.4.4. Locality of the derivative of the eta invariant. Examples 3.5. The Spectral Flow of Families of Parameter-Dependent Operators 3.5.1. Meromorphic operator functions. Multiplicities of singular points 3.5.2. Definition of the spectral flow 3.6. Higher Spectral Flows 3.6.1. Spectral sections 3.6.2. Spectral flow of homotopies of families of self-adjoint operators 3.6.3. Spectral flow of homotopies of families of parameter-dependent operators 3.7. Bibliographical Remarks
We investigate crack problems, where the crack boundary has conical singularities. Elliptic operators with two-sided elliptc boundary conditions on the plus and minus sides of the crack will be interpreted as elements of a corner algebra of boundary value problems. The corresponding operators will be completed by extra edge conditions on the crack boundary to Fredholm operators in corner Sobolev spaces with double weights, and there are parametrices within the calculus.
We construct a class of elliptic operators in the edge algebra on a manifold M with an embedded submanifold Y interpreted as an edge. The ellipticity refers to a principal symbolic structure consisting of the standard interior symbol and an operator-valued edge symbol. Given a differential operator A on M for every (sufficiently large) s we construct an associated operator As in the edge calculus. We show that ellipticity of A in the usual sense entails ellipticity of As as an edge operator (up to a discrete set of reals s). Parametrices P of A then correspond to parametrices Ps of As, interpreted as Mellin-edge representations of P.
Green formulae for elliptic cone differential operators are established. This is achieved by an accurate description of the maximal domain of an elliptic cone differential operator and its formal adjoint; thereby utilizing the concept of a discrete asymptotic type. From this description, the singular coefficients replacing the boundary traces in classical Green formulas are deduced.
Contents: Chapter 5: Manifolds with Isolated Singularities 5.1. Differential Operators and the Geometry of Singularities 5.1.1. How do isolated singularities arise? Examples 5.1.2. Definition and methods for the description of manifolds with isolated singularities 5.1.3. Bundles. The cotangent bundle 5.2. Asymptotics of Solutions, Function Spaces,Conormal Symbols 5.2.1. Conical singularities 5.2.2. Cuspidal singularities 5.3. A Universal Representation of Degenerate Operators and the Finiteness Theorem 5.3.1. The cylindrical representation 5.3.2. Continuity and compactness 5.3.3. Ellipticity and the finiteness theorem 5.4. Calculus of ΨDO 5.4.1. General ΨDO 5.4.2. The subalgebra of stabilizing ΨDO 5.4.3. Ellipticity and the finiteness theorem
Acclimatization
(2003)
Together with their wives Otto and Richard Schomburgk arrived in Port Adelaide (South Australia) on August 16th 1849. The essay looks at how these two brothers, who had received their scientific training and promotion in the circle surrounding Alexander von Humboldt, reacted to the unfamiliar conditions in the young British colony. Some indication will be given as to the differences between the Schomburgk brothers treatment of the natural resources of the new colony and that of the English colonists of the time.
Biogenic amines and their receptors regulate and modulate many physiological and behavioural processes in animals. In vertebrates, octopamine is only found in trace amounts and its function as a true neurotransmitter is unclear. In protostomes, however, octopamine can act as neurotransmitter, neuromodulator and neurohormone. In the honeybee, octopamine acts as a neuromodulator and is involved in learning and memory formation. The identification of potential octopamine receptors is decisive for an understanding of the cellular pathways involved in mediating the effects of octopamine. Here we report the cloning and functional characterization of the first octopamine receptor from the honeybee, Apis mellifera . The gene was isolated from a brain-specific cDNA library. It encodes a protein most closely related to octopamine receptors from Drosophila melanogaster and Lymnea stagnalis . Signalling properties of the cloned receptor were studied in transiently transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. Nanomolar to micromolar concentrations of octopamine induced oscillatory increases in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. In contrast to octopamine, tyramine only elicited Ca2+ responses at micromolar concentrations. The gene is abundantly expressed in many somata of the honeybee brain, suggesting that this octopamine receptor is involved in the processing of sensory inputs, antennal motor outputs and higher-order brain functions.
Concerns have been raised that anthropogenic climate change could lead to large-scale singular climate events, i.e., abrupt nonlinear climate changes with repercussions on regional to global scales. One central goal of this thesis is the development of models of two representative components of the climate system that could exhibit singular behavior: the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and the Indian monsoon. These models are conceived so as to fulfill the main requirements of integrated assessment modeling, i.e., reliability, computational efficiency, transparency and flexibility. The model of the THC is an interhemispheric four-box model calibrated against data generated with a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity. It is designed to be driven by global mean temperature change which is translated into regional fluxes of heat and freshwater through a linear down-scaling procedure. Results of a large number of transient climate change simulations indicate that the reduced-form THC model is able to emulate key features of the behavior of comprehensive climate models such as the sensitivity of the THC to the amount, regional distribution and rate of change in the heat and freshwater fluxes. The Indian monsoon is described by a novel one-dimensional box model of the tropical atmosphere. It includes representations of the radiative and surface fluxes, the hydrological cycle and surface hydrology. Despite its high degree of idealization, the model satisfactorily captures relevant aspects of the observed monsoon dynamics, such as the annual course of precipitation and the onset and withdrawal of the summer monsoon. Also, the model exhibits the sensitivity to changes in greenhouse gas and sulfate aerosol concentrations that are known from comprehensive models. A simplified version of the monsoon model is employed for the identification of changes in the qualitative system behavior against changes in boundary conditions. The most notable result is that under summer conditions a saddle-node bifurcation occurs at critical values of the planetary albedo or insolation. Furthermore, the system exhibits two stable equilibria: besides the wet summer monsoon, a stable state exists which is characterized by a weak hydrological cycle. These results are remarkable insofar, as they indicate that anthropogenic perturbations of the planetary albedo such as sulfur emissions and/or land-use changes could destabilize the Indian summer monsoon. The reduced-form THC model is employed in an exemplary integrated assessment application. Drawing on the conceptual and methodological framework of the tolerable windows approach, emissions corridors (i.e., admissible ranges of CO2- emissions) are derived that limit the risk of a THC collapse while considering expectations about the socio-economically acceptable pace of emissions reductions. Results indicate, for example, a large dependency of the width of the emissions corridor on climate and hydrological sensitivity: for low values of climate and/or hydrological sensitivity, the corridor boundaries are far from being transgressed by any plausible emissions scenario for the 21st century. In contrast, for high values of both quantities low non-intervention scenarios leave the corridor already in the early decades of the 21st century. This implies that if the risk of a THC collapse is to be kept low, business-as-usual paths would need to be abandoned within the next two decades. All in all, this thesis highlights the value of reduced-form modeling by presenting a number of applications of this class of models, ranging from sensitivity and bifurcation analysis to integrated assessment. The results achieved and conclusions drawn provide a useful contribution to the scientific and policy debate about the consequences of anthropogenic climate change and the long-term goals of climate protection. --- Anmerkung: Die Autorin ist Trägerin des von der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Potsdam vergebenen Michelson-Preises für die beste Promotion des Jahres 2003/2004.