Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'South East Pacific'

Clouds are an important modulator of the global radiation budget and yet representing their formation, evolution and interaction with aerosols still remains as one of the largest uncertainties in modelling future climate. An important requirement to understanding the processes which govern clouds is accurate measurement of their global distribution and microphysical properties over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales which can only be satisfied by passive remote sensing measurements from satellite platforms. As such the development and validation of cloud remote sensing techniques is an important ongoing task. Of particular radiative importance are marine stratocumulus clouds, due to their large global extent and high solar reflectance. This thesis uses a range of in situ and remote sensing observations of marine stratocumulus over the South East Pacific taken during the Variability of the American Monsoon Systems (VAMOS) Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study Regional Experiment (VOCALS-REx) to investigate some outstanding issues relating to passive remote sensing. In particular answers to two questions are sought: 1) Do measurements of solar reflectance at multiple wavelengths with different absorption properties allow information about the vertical structure of the cloud to be derived? 2) Is there a high bias in passive retrievals of droplet effective radius? A unique airborne hyperspectral data set is evaluated for its potential to provide insight into these problems but through extensive comparison to collocated in situ and satellite observations along with an analysis of historical calibrations, it is concluded that the calibration quality of this dataset is not sufficient to meet its scientific objectives. A theoretical study into the information content of multi-wavelength measurements to retrieve the vertical variation of droplet size is presented. Measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite instrument are shown to contain little information related to the vertical structure of typical marine stratocumulus. The information content of hyperspectral measurements is shown to be significantly larger, indicating the potential to perform profile retrievals from future measurements. A comparison of in situ profile measurements to collocated MODIS cloud retrievals adds to the existing body of evidence that passive retrievals of the droplet effective radius of marine stratocumulus are high biased when compared to other measurement sources.Potential sources of this bias are investigated and many of the previously postulated reasons behind the bias are ruled out. It is also shown that the differences between MODIS retrievals of effective radius performed at different wavelengths bear no relation to the in situ observed vertical structure of the cloud.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1987.
Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE 15270 and OCE 16082.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1987.
Supervised by William J. Jenkins. "September 1987."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-250).
The isotopic evolution of helium and lead in the Earth is coupled by virtue of their common radioactive parents uranium and thorium. The isotopic signatures in oceanic volcanic rocks provide constraints on the temporal evolution of mantle source regions and volcanic magmas. He and Pb isotopes were measured in glassy basalts from young seamounts in the East Pacific, and in phenocrysts and corresponding whole rocks, respectively, from the island of St. Helena. He isotopes were also measured in glassy mid-ocean ridge basalts from the South Atlantic, previously studied for Pb isotopes by Hanan et al. (1986). A precise reconstruction of He-Pb isotope relationships in volcanic source regions is complicated by post-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth of ⁴He in non-zero age basalts, by pre-eruptive radiogenic ingrowth of ⁴He in magmas with elevated (U+Th)/He, by multi-stage fractionation processes involving (U+Th)/He, U/Pb and Th/Pb and by convective mixing in the Earth's interior. Aspects of each of these problems are addressed. (U+Th)/He ages are estimated from the isotope disequilibrium of ³He/ ⁴He between He trapped in vesicles and that dissolved in the glass phase of young alkali basalts at seamount 6 in the East Pacific. ³He/ ⁴He in the glass phase of these alkali basalts is subatmospheric, while in the vesicles it ranges between 1.2-2.5 RA (RA = atmospheric ratio). ³He/ ⁴He in vesicles (extracted by crushing in vacuo) allows a correction to be made in the dissolved phase He (by fusion of the remaining powder) for the inherited component in order to compute the radiogenic [He]. The method is applicable to rocks containing phases with different (U+Th)/He, and the results have implications for dating lavas in the age range of 0l to 106 years, and for reconstructing the temporal evolution of young volcanic systems.
(cont.) Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic variability observed at a small seamount field between 9-14'N near the East Pacific Rise covers -80% of the variability for Pacific MORB, due to small-scale heterogeneity in the underlying mantle. Tholeiites at these seamounts have He, Pb, Sr and Nd isotope compositions which are indistinguishable from MORB. Associated alkali basalts show more radiogenic He, Pb and Sr signatures. The lower ³He/⁴Heof He trapped in vesicles of these alkali basalts (1.2-2.6 RA) iS associated with low helium concentrations (< 5x10-' ccSTP/g). Evolved alkali basalts have lower ³He/⁴He (1.2-1.8 RA) than primitive alkali basalts (2.4-2.6 RA), suggesting some degree of magmatic control on inherited ³He/ ⁴He in these alkalic lavas. Collectively, the isotopic results suggest that as the lithosphere ages, material transfer from the MORB source becomes less significant because smaller degrees of melting average the chemical characteristics of heterogeneous mantle volumes less efficiently than near the ridge. Icelandites erupted at Shimada Seamount, an isolated volcano on 20 m.y. old seafloor, have Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions similar to post-erosional basalts at Samoa. ³He/⁴He at Shimada ranges between 3.9-4.8 RA and helium concentrations are too large for radiogenic contamination of magma to have lowered the ³He/⁴He appreciably. These results indicate the presence of an enriched mantle component previously unidentified beneath the East Pacific. Its low ³He/⁴He may be due to the melting of domains with high (U+Th)/He which formed during accretion of the oceanic lithosphere. Alternatively, it is an inherent characteristic of the source, which contains material recycled into the mantle at subduction zones.
(cont.) The mid-ocean ridge between 12-46°S in the South Atlantic displays ³He/⁴He lower than typical MORB values. Local anomalies occur at the latitudes of off-axis islands to the east, apparently due to contamination of depleted mantle asthenosphere by hotspot materials (as previously shown for (La/Sm)N and Pb isotopes; Schilling et al., 1985; Hanan et al., 1986). He - Pb Isotopic relationships along the 12-22°S ridge segment suggest that St. Helena has ³He/4 He less than MORB. ³He/⁴He in two St. Helena rocks (extracted by in vacuo crushing of olivine and pyroxene) is 5.8 RA when the extracteTdHe contents are greater than IxI0 - 13 ccSTP/g, consistent with the He - Pb observations along the St. Helena ridge segment. ⁴He/ ³He and radiogenic Pb isotope ratios are linearly correlated for the South Atlantic ridge segment between 2-120S. Linear correlation of ⁴He/3 He - ²⁰⁶Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb within an oceanic rock suite reflects the temporal evolution of ²⁰⁴Pb / ³He In the source. A linear correlation between volcanic suites derived from isotopically different sources (e.g., oceanic islands) may imply a coherent fractionation of (U+Th) from He and Pb during the evolutionary history of their respective mantle source regions.
by David W. Graham.
Ph.D.

This dissertation outlines the literature and methods used to create the Women’s RAISE Circle, a culturally-specific intervention for Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) women in a university or college setting. The term Asian American/Pacific Islander women is used to indicate inclusivity of women from all of the AAPI ethnic communities. The acronym RAISE represents the rationale and purpose of the circle: “ Reclaiming our Asian American/Pacific Islander Identity for Social justice and Empowerment.” Thus, the RAISE Circle provides a space for AAPI women to voice their concerns related to experiences of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. Included activities also seek to promote an exploration of personal and interpersonal experiences with intersecting identities and engagement in difficult conversations about oppression, power, and privilege. As an empowerment group, the RAISE Circle aims to help participants feel empowered to bring their concerns to the broader community and continue working for social justice for AAPI people. This dissertation includes the RAISE Circle Facilitator’s Handbook and Primer, indications for use, limitations, and implications for the future.

This study applies Deutsch’s security community framework to the states of Southeast Asia in order to assess whether or not, as at September 2002, there exist dependable expectations of peaceful change. The study has three primary goals. The first is to develop the framework so it may better reflect the realities of interstate and communal relations in Southeast Asia. The second is to assess whether or not Southeast Asia has in fact moved beyond the construction of a nascent security community where there exists adequate empirical evidence to suggest a future sustainable course towards ‘dependable expectations of peaceful change’. The third seeks to analyse the potential for Southeast Asia, as a community of states, to evolve to the higher tiers of integration and be characterised as a mature security community, where disputes between states and state-elites will be resolved without recourse to violence. In investigating these tasks, the dissertation considers a broad range of issues, including (but not limited to): the multilateral security frameworks embracing the region; the impact of ethnic and religious tensions as well as non-traditional security issues (with a focus here on narcotics and piracy); and the impact of terrorism and the recent economic crisis on the normative behaviours and ideologies of state elites throughout the region. It is found that while a substantial degree of interaction, integration and cooperation has developed in Southeast Asia, these developments have been insufficient to alleviate a number of traditional security issues and tensions (such as border and territorial conflicts). Consequently, there exists only a transient sense of expectations of peaceful change throughout Southeast Asia and this level of integration is characterised by the dissertation to represent nothing more than the embryonic phase of a security community’s evolution.

Good economic governance is considered to be one of the key drivers of both inward FDI and economic growth. In spite of this wide belief, empirical estimates focusing on South and East Asia Pacific countries are less than conclusive. The aim of this thesis is to summarise the empirical findings of existing studies on the effect of governance on FDI, FDI on growth and governance on growth for South and East Asia & Pacific regions using systematic literature review and meta-regression analysis. Findings of first meta-regression analysis based on 771 estimates from 48 empirical studies suggest that, except for corruption all measures of governance have an important effect on FDI. While on one hand political stability, government effectiveness and regulation are positively related to FDI, on the other hand rule of law is negatively related to FDI. As expected, aggregate governance has positive effect FDI. Results of second meta-regression analysis applied to 633 estimates from 37 empirical studies indicate that FDI shows growth enhancing effect in the region as a whole. While FDI showed growth enhancing effects in the case of all estimates, estimates controlling for endogeneity and South East Asia, I did not have sufficient observations in the case of South Asia and East Asia to reach firm conclusions. The findings of third meta-regression analysis using 554 estimates from 29 studies suggest that except for corruption, other measures of governance such as law and aggregate governance have positive effect on growth. Surprisingly, in case of voice and accountability, research literature has failed to provide evidence of genuine effect of it on growth. In addition to the above, this thesis highlights that effect size and statistical significance of the reported estimates depends on study, real world, author and journal related aspects. The results of these three studies have important policy implications.

The relatively understudied intermediate waters of the world have been implicated as an important part of the global ocean circulation. This thesis discusses the intermediate waters of the Pacific over space and time. Initially, by using geochemical tracers to look at the present distribution, sources and mixing of the water masses. Secondly, by using oxygen and carbon isotopes from sediment cores to study changes in Antarctic Intermediate Waters (AAIW) over the late Quaternary in the north Tasman Sea. The sediment cores also provide sedimentological data on the hemipelagic sedimentation in the Capricorn Channel in the southern Great Barrier Reef as well information on changes in the East Australian surface current (EAC) over the last glacial-interglacial transition. [A more extended Abstract can be found in the files]

This thesis argues that the Australian military intervention in East Timor in 1999 was motivated primarily by the need to defend Australia’s own strategic interests. It was an act of Australian imperialism understood from a Marxist perspective, and was consistent with longstanding strategic policy in the region.¶ Australian policy makers have long been concerned about the security threat posed by a small and weak neighbouring state in the territory of East Timor. This led to the deployment of Australian troops to the territory in World War Two. In 1974 Australia supported Indonesia’s invasion of the territory in order to prevent it from becoming a strategic liability in the context of Cold War geopolitics. But, as an indirect result of the Asian financial crisis, by September 1999 the Indonesian government’s control over the territory had become untenable. Indonesia’s political upheaval also raised the spectre of the ‘Balkanisation’ of the Indonesian archipelago, and East Timor thus became the focal point for Australian fears about an ‘arc of instability’ that arose in this period.¶ Australia’s insertion of military forces into East Timor in 1999 served its own strategic priorities by ensuring an orderly transfer of sovereignty took place, avoiding a destabilising power vacuum as the country transitioned to independence. It also guaranteed that Australia’s economic and strategic interests in the new nation could not be ignored by the United Nations or the East Timorese themselves. There are therefore underlying consistencies in Australia’s policy on East Timor stretching back several decades. Despite changing contexts, and hence radically different policy responses, Australia acted throughout this time to prevent political and strategic instability in East Timor.¶ In addition, the intervention reinforced Australia’s standing as a major power in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. The 1999 deployment therefore helped facilitate a string of subsequent Australian interventions in Pacific island nations, both by providing a model for action and by building a public consensus in favour of the use of military intervention as a policy tool.¶ This interpretation of events challenges the consensus among existing academic accounts. Australia’s support of Indonesia’s invasion and occupation of East Timor from 1974 was frequently criticised as favouring realpolitik over ethical considerations. But the 1999 intervention, which ostensibly ended severe violence and secured national independence for the territory, drew widespread support, both from the public and academic commentators. It has generally been seen as a break with previous Australian policy, and as driven by political forces outside the normal foreign policy process. Moreover, it has been almost universally regarded as a triumph for moral conduct in international affairs, and even as a redemptive moment for the Australian national conscience. Viewing the intervention as part of the longstanding strategy of Australian imperialism casts doubt on such positive evaluations.

Neste trabalho foi investigado o impacto da evolução dos eventos El Niño (EN) de acordo com as fases distintas da Oscilação Decadal do Pacífico (positiva, ODP(+) e negativa, ODP(-)) nas mudanças no transporte de umidade sobre o Sudeste da América do Sul (SEAS) durante o verão austral de 1950-1999. A resposta da variabilidade do Jato de Baixos Níveis a leste do Andes (JBN) e de algumas propriedades dos ciclones extratropicais sobre o cone sul do continente as modificações na circulação associadas aos eventos mencionados acima foi analisada. Foi mostrado que existem poucas mudanças significativas no regime de precipitação sobre a América do Sul ao se considerar a influência dos anos neutros do Pacífico Equatorial durante a ODP(+) quando comparado com os anos da ODP(- ). Entretanto, os eventos EN da ODP(+) indicam diferenças no padrão de anômalo de ondas em altos níveis em resposta as diferentes anomalias de Temperatura de Superfície do Mar (TSM) dos oceanos Pacífico e Atlântico Equatorial quando comparado com os eventos da ODP(-). Como conseqüência foram observadas anomalias positivas de precipitação no SEAS associadas à intensificação do fluxo convergente de umidade em baixos níveis oriundo do Atlântico Equatorial e região Amazônica para esta região durante os eventos EN da ODP(+). Todavia, os eventos da ODP(-) apresentaram anomalias positivas de precipitação apenas ao sul do SEAS e negativas ao norte desta como resposta ao movimento descendente e divergência anômala sobre o centro-leste do Brasil seguido de enfraquecimento do fluxo de umidade transportado pelos ventos alísios em direção aos subtrópicos. Os experimentos numéricos com Community Atmosphere Model versão 3.0 serviram para ajudar na interpretação das análises observacionais onde foi sugerido que o fenômeno EN é mais importante para forçar as anomalias climáticas de verão do continente do que o modo de ODP. A maior freqüência de casos de JBN detectados com o critério 1 de Bonner durante anos de EN da ODP(+) em relação a ODP(-) foi proporcional à quantidade de eventos selecionados em cada categoria. Em geral, os casos de JBN anômalo se deslocaram desde a Amazônia até o Sul do Brasil e Nordeste da Argentina, mas foi na ODP(-) que o sistema foi mais intenso apesar de apresentar menor potencial para o transporte de umidade para o SEAS quando comparado com os casos da ODP(+). Através do esquema numérico de Murray e Simmonds foi observado que, coerentemente com a intensificação do fluxo convergente de ar quente e úmido dos trópicos para o SEAS, os eventos EN da ODP(+) apresentaram ciclones extratropicais mais freqüentes e com pressões centrais mais baixas sobre o extremo Sul do Brasil, Uruguai, Nordeste da Argentina e vizinhanças do Atlântico Sudoeste em comparação com os eventos da ODP(-).
This work investigates the impact of the El Niño (EN) events and their evolution according to the PDO phases (warm, PDO(+) and cold, PDO(-)) focusing on the moisture transport exchanges from the north to the Southeast of the South America (SESA) during the austral summer period of 1950-1999. The variability of the Low Level Jet east of the Andes (LLJ) and some properties of extratropical cyclones over the southern cone of the continent in response to the modifications in the atmosphere circulation due to above mentioned events is analyzed. It is shown that on the South America continent there are not any significant changes in precipitation distribution during the neutral years in the Equatorial Pacific for PDO(+) when compared to the years of PDO(-). However, the EN events during PDO(+) indicate some differences in the anomalous wave pattern at high levels due to the variability of the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies on the Equatorial Pacific and Atlantic oceans when compared with the events for PDO(-). This implies in positive precipitation anomalies over the SESA which is associated to the enhancement of convergent moisture flux in this region. However, the events for PDO(-) showed positive precipitation anomalies only over the southern part of the SEAS and negative to the north which is associated to the downward motion and anomalous divergence over the centraleastern Brazil. This pattern may have contributed for weakening the moisture flux transported by the trade winds towards the subtropics. Numerical experiments with the Community Atmosphere Model version 3.0 also helped on the interpretation of the observational analysis where was suggested that EN events are more important to force the climate anomalies in the summer season over the continent than the PDO mode. The frequency of LLJ cases detected with the Bonner criterion 1 during the years of EN for PDO(+) is bigger than for PDO(-). The spatial position pattern for both categories of the anomalous LLJ is from the Amazon to Southern Brazil and Northeastern Argentina. During the PDO(-) the jet is more intense, however it seems to transport less moisture towards the SEAS region when compared to the PDO(+) cases. The extratropical cyclones tracked through a numerical scheme showed higher frequency and lower central pressures on the extreme of Southern Brazil, Uruguay, Northeastern Argentina and around the Southwest Atlantic during the EN events of PDO(+) when compared to the events of PDO(-). This is in agreement with the largest flux convergence of warm and humid air from the tropics to these areas.

La variabilité et la dynamique de l'upwelling côtier du Nord du Pérou au Sud du Chili (50°S) et des courants associés (CPCC Chile Peru coastal Current et PCUC Peru-Chile Undercurrent) ont été étudiées à l'aide de données satellites et de modèles numériques. Les caractéristiques des variations le long de la côte sont séparées par une zone de transition autour de 20°S où les vents, l'upwelling et le PCUC sont particulièrement faibles. Les origines des eaux du PCUC et de l'upwelling ont également été étudiées à l'aide d'outils lagrangiens et les transports ont été quantifiés. Trois sources ont été identifiées : l'EUC (Equatorial Undercurrent), les SSCC (Southern Sub-Surface Counter Current) et une troisième source au Sud du Chili, liée à l'ESPIW (Eastern South Pacific Intermediate Water).

Three-dimensional gravity analysis is the process of removing the predictable components from the free-air gravity anomalies and has proven to be useful for interpreting the subsurface structures and active processes at mid-ocean ridges. The three-dimensional effects of the seafloor and Moho topography, assuming a constant crustal thickness and constant crust and upper mantle densities, are subtracted from the free-air anomalies, yielding the mantle Bouguer anomalies. Mantle Bouguer anomalies at mid-ocean ridges are believed to be largely due to the three-dimensional thermal structure, which can be predicted using a simple passive flow model. When the gravity contribution from the predicted thermal structure is removed from the mantle Bouguer anomalies, the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies are created, which represent lateral variations in the crustal thickness and/or density variations from the assumed model. Three-dimensional gravity analysis has been carried out over three areas along the Pacific-Antarctic East Pacific Rise (EPR): (1) the eastern intersection of the Menard transform with the EPR, (2) the overlapping spreading center (OSC) at 36.5°S and, (3) the western intersection of the Raitt transform with the EPR. This geophysical analysis provides an essential tool for understanding the subsurface crustal/upper mantle structure of the fast spreading EPR, and more specifically at transform and nontransform offsets along the EPR. Several interesting features were observed at the eastern intersection between the Menard transform and the EPR. The continuous nature of the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies along the ridge axis suggests that the 60 km of ridge axis surveyed here has a fairly uniform crustal/upper mantle structure. Significant features are not observed in the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies at the ridge-transform intersection or along the eastern 75 km of the Menard transform. At the ridge-transform intersection, fresh lavas from the observed overshot ridge have filled in the transform valley and have subsequently thickened the crust, eliminating any crustal thinning that is occurring there. The large OSC at 36.5°S has a left-stepping offset of approximately 34 km. The most significant feature in the gravity data from this study area is the observed low in the mantle Bouguer anomalies which extends from the northern ridge segment, eastward to the "inactive" rift and continued along the southern ridge segment. This gravity low suggests that this region is underlain by thicker crust and/or hotter, less dense material. No significant features are observed in the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies associated with the overlap basin or the two smaller basins that border the "inactive" rift. The western ridge-transform intersection (RTI) between the Raitt transform and the EPR significantly differs from the Menard transform study area. A transform valley is not observed at this RYE and neither is an overshot ridge. Instead, a transformparallel median ridge is observed east of the RTI, and a fossil transform valley is observed north of the RTI. A low in the residual mantle Bouguer anomalies is associated with the fossil transform valley and the median ridge, suggesting that these areas are underlain by thicker crust and/or less dense material. Positive residual mantle Bouguer anomalies observed at the inside corner of the RYE suggest that this area is underlain by thinner crust and/or colder, more dense material; while at the outside corner of the ridge-transform intersection, a residual anomaly low is observed which suggests that the outside corner is underlain with thicker crust and/or hotter, less dense material.
Graduation date: 1995
Figures in original document are black and white photocopies. Best scan available.

Ocean nitrogen fixation and denitrification are crucial nitrogen source and sink mechanisms for the global ocean environment. While recent studies have reported that oceanic denitrification has increased over the last few decades, others have suggested that global ocean nitrogen fixation rates have been underestimated, and still others that anthropogenic perturbations have altered the global nitrogen cycle. This implies that the current estimates of the oceanic nitrogen inventory are incomplete and they need to be revised with more information. In addition, current denitrification estimates need to be reexamined due to their large associated uncertainties. Thus, I have conducted research estimating denitrification rates in three different locations: the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the East/Japan Sea (EJS), and the South Pacific: from coastal to marginal to open ocean scale in different oceanographic conditions. Denitrification rates in the bottom layer (including bottom waters+sediments) at the shallow and often hypoxic northern GOM ranged from 103-544 [mu]mol N m⁻² d⁻¹ (=1.4 to 7.4 Gg N mon⁻¹ with area=3.24x10¹⁰m²), and were controlled not only by biogeochemical factors (i.e. organic matter supply and remineralization), but also by physical factors (i.e. stratification and relative contributions from different water masses). Despite high dissolved oxygen concentrations, the significant decrease in nitrate concentrations below the expected levels, low N/P ratio (<12.4), and deep nitrite peak in the bottom layer indicate a presence of denitrification in EJS, confined at the Tatar Strait and the Ulleung Basin areas. The estimated denitrification rates range from 0.3 to 33.2 [mu]mol N m⁻² d⁻¹, and was comparable to the directly measured denitrification rates from sediment samples. The high-quality repeat hydrographic datasets observed at 32°S of the South Pacific Ocean offer an opportunity to estimate water column denitrification rates on a basin-scale in the open ocean away from the Eastern Tropical Pacific oxygen minimum zones. The mean water column denitrification rates in the oxygen minimum layer of P06 line (32°S) were estimated to range between 7.1 and 18.5 [mu]mol N m⁻² d⁻¹. The results imply that, although very small at any particular site, once integrated over a basin-scale, the open ocean water column denitrification can be a significant component of the oceanic nitrogen budget. Denitrification is subject to seasonal, decadal and possibly climate scale variations. While it is commonly estimated at the oxygen minimum zones or sediments, denitrification is not merely confined to such regions only, and small amounts of denitrification occur in other oceanic parts. Once integrated, it may be quantitatively significant for the world's oceans. Denitrification is playing a significant role in local, regional, and global ocean scales. In the future, we need to consider variability of denitrification in coastal regions, and to investigate denitrification in unexpected and unexplored regions, in order to improve our knowledge on global oceanic mass balance.
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CHINA IN GLOBAL AND REGIONAL POLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY - GEOPOLITICAL CLASH WITH JAPAN, INDIA, USA, RUSSIA AND EUROPE Mgr. Martin Petrtýl Supervisor: Doc. Dr. Bořivoj Hnízdo, PhD. Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences This dissertation discusses the current and future role of China in the 21st century. I worked with the idea to prepare a systematically detailed analytical study of the country in relation to its surroundings as well as its internal environment for more than 8 years, including many interruptions. I, above all, contemplated about the way how to truly scientifically, i.e. credibly, it means in the maximum possible the limits of verifiability, develop a full work that could hold up to the colleagues from the scientific community and myself. It is logical it was and is my attempt to allow minimal possibility of any criticism of this work for its formal, content, or other deficiencies. First, I decided to analyse in some detail the currently known theoretical approaches and methods of study, not only in political sciences, especially those used by political geographers, but also in other related fields, especially in the field of study of international relations, sociology, political science or general security studies. I did not want to study the issue is the...