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Dive into the research topics where Austin Becker is active.

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Featured researches published by Austin Becker.


Environmental Science & Technology | 2013

CO2 mitigation potential of mineral carbonation with industrial alkalinity sources in the United States.

Abby Kirchofer; Austin Becker; Adam R. Brandt; Jennifer Wilcox

The availability of industrial alkalinity sources is investigated to determine their potential for the simultaneous capture and sequestration of CO2 from point-source emissions in the United States. Industrial alkalinity sources investigated include fly ash, cement kiln dust, and iron and steel slag. Their feasibility for mineral carbonation is determined by their relative abundance for CO2 reactivity and their proximity to point-source CO2 emissions. In addition, the available aggregate markets are investigated as possible sinks for mineral carbonation products. We show that in the U.S., industrial alkaline byproducts have the potential to mitigate approximately 7.6 Mt CO2/yr, of which 7.0 Mt CO2/yr are CO2 captured through mineral carbonation and 0.6 Mt CO2/yr are CO2 emissions avoided through reuse as synthetic aggregate (replacing sand and gravel). The emission reductions represent a small share (i.e., 0.1%) of total U.S. CO2 emissions; however, industrial byproducts may represent comparatively low-cost methods for the advancement of mineral carbonation technologies, which may be extended to more abundant yet expensive natural alkalinity sources.


Coastal Management | 2015

Stakeholder Perceptions of Seaport Resilience Strategies: A Case Study of Gulfport (Mississippi) and Providence (Rhode Island)

Austin Becker; Margaret R. Caldwell

Climate change is having and will continue to have a range of negative impacts on social–environmental systems. Many ports, with their coastal locations and essential roles in regional and national economies, face particular exposure to storm impacts that may worsen with climate change. Currently in the United States port resilience planning falls primarily on port operators. Engaging a wider range of stakeholders in long-term seaport functioning may reduce risks from disruptive and potentially irreversible impacts of climate change. This study uses empirical data gathered through two case studies of highly exposed U.S. ports, Gulfport (MS) and Providence (RI), to identify strategies that port planners and external stakeholders consider feasible for enhancing their ports resilience. This article categorizes these resilience strategies and suggests the potential role that different stakeholders could play in facilitation and implementation.


Archive | 2012

Vulnerability and Impacts on Human Development

Tony MacDonald; Austin Becker; Doug Bellomo; Virginia Burkett; Janet Cikir; Susan L. Cutter; Kirsten Dow; John A. Hall; Maria G. Honeycutt; Philip King; Paul Kirshen; Jim London; Aaron McGregor; Jeffrey A. Melby; Lindene Patton; Edmond Russo; Gavin Smith; Cindy A. Thatcher; Juli Trtanj

The societal vulnerability of U.S. coasts to climate change is multifaceted, including vulnerabilities of economic sectors, cultural resources, and human well-being of a diverse concentration of people. In addition to the vulnerability and potential impacts of a changing climate on natural resources and threats to ecosystem services described in Chapter 3, homes and other human development in the coastal zone are also increasingly at risk. This expanded vulnerability has three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity, and resilience or adaptive capacity. The interactions of climate-related vulnerabilities with other stresses, such as economic downturn, environmental degradation, loss of ecosystem services, and continued pressures for development pose further analytical challenges. Current research on societal vulnerability in the coastal area does not yet fully consider or capture these multifaceted attributes of societal vulnerability.


Maritime Policy & Management | 2016

Missing the tide? Workplace cultural differences as a barrier to seafarer mobility in the U.S. workboat and sail training sectors

Eric Romelczyk; Austin Becker

ABSTRACT While previous research details the psychological and social benefits of sail training programs for amateur ‘trainees,’ much less is known about the value and transferability of sail training work experience in terms of professional development for seafaring careers. This article reviews the current state of scientific knowledge on sail training and presents the findings of a qualitative study of maritime recruiter perceptions at 10 U.S. flag workboat companies. Results suggest that the maritime industry may benefit from an improved understanding of the role that sail training programs and the sail training community can play in training and inspiring the next generation of motivated and professional seafarers. Workboat recruiters see positive and negative aspects of sail training experience and perceive cultural divides within the maritime industry that may affect a seafarers’ job mobility, whether or not such divides actually exist.


Archive | 2017

A Critical Discussion on the Roles of Institutions on Ports’ Adaptation to the Impacts Posed by Climate Change

Huiying Zhang; Adolf K.Y. Ng; Austin Becker

Ports are increasingly vulnerable to the negative impacts posed by climate change, and thus port stakeholders have recently been engaged in different adaptation efforts. However, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to move up to the ‘next level’—often staying in the embryonic stage of knowledge sharing and exploration rather than actual planning and implementation of adaptation strategies and measures, and institutions play a significant role on such stagnancy. Understanding such, the article critically reviews the impacts of institutions on the process of climate adaptation planning. It specifically focuses on how institutional embeddedness acts as a significant barrier that hinders ports in progressing through the climate adaptation process. Also, it offers constructive insight on how the institutional structure of planning should be transformed so as to overcome such barriers.


Archive | 2017

Seaport Climate Vulnerability Assessment at the Multi-port Scale: A Review of Approaches

R. Duncan McIntosh; Austin Becker

In the face of climate change impacts projected over the coming century, seaport decision makers have the responsibility to manage risks for a diverse array of stakeholders and enhance seaport resilience against climate and weather impacts. At the single port scale, decision makers such as port managers may consider the uninterrupted functioning of their port the number one priority. But, at the multi-port (regional or national) scale, policy-makers will need to prioritize competing port climate-adaptation needs in order to maximize the efficiency of limited physical and financial resources and maximize the resilience of the marine transportation system as a whole. This chapter provides an overview of a variety of approaches that set out to quantify various aspects of seaport vulnerability. It begins with discussion of the importance of a “multi-port” approach to complement the single case study approach more commonly applied to port assessments. It then addresses the components of climate vulnerability assessments and provides examples of a variety of approaches. Finally, it concludes with recommendations for next steps.


Handbook of Coastal Disaster Mitigation for Engineers and Planners | 2015

Considering Sea Level Change When Designing Marine Civil Works: Recommendations for Best Practices

Austin Becker; Jean O. Toilliez; Todd Mitchell

Abstract The design and construction of marine civil works should consider relative sea level change to ensure that structures function properly throughout their service life. This chapter recommends ways to include relative sea-level change considerations during the design and planning stages for a particular project at the local scale. It is directed both at stakeholders involved in planning a marine project in general, and at practicing engineers in particular, with the aim of providing systematic methods and tools. These recommendations can assist in managing design factors, uncertainty, and to a certain extent, implementation of risk-reduction measures.


Coastal Management | 2018

Port Decision Maker Perceptions on the Effectiveness of Climate Adaptation Actions

Adolf K.Y. Ng; Huiying Zhang; Mawuli Afenyo; Austin Becker; Stephen Cahoon; Shu-Ling Chen; Miguel Esteban; Claudio Ferrari; Yui-yip Lau; Paul Tae-Woo Lee; Jason Monios; Alessio Tei; Zaili Yang; Michele Acciaro

ABSTRACT Effective adaptation to climate change impacts is rapidly becoming an important research topic. Hitherto, the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders on climate adaptation actions are under researched, partly due to the emphasis on physical and engineering aspects during the adaptation planning process. Building on such considerations, the paper explores the perceptions of port decision makers on the effectiveness of climate adaptation actions. The findings suggest that while port decision makers are aware of potential climate change impacts and feel that more adaptation actions should be undertaken, they are skeptical about their effectiveness and value. This is complemented by a regional analysis on the results, suggesting that more tailor-made adaptation measures suited to local circumstances should be developed. The study illustrates the complexity of climate adaptation planning and of involving port decision makers under the current planning paradigm.


International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure 2014American Society of Civil Engineers | 2014

Sea-Level Change Considerations for Marine Civil Works--COPRI Committee Update on Best Practices

Jean O. Toilliez; Todd Mitchell; Austin Becker

The Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI) within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is developing a Manual of Best Practice to address the inclusion of sea-level change considerations during the design of marine civil works. The committee serves the needs of all stakeholders involved in a marine project and designers and engineers in particular. The manual will provide designers and engineers with systematic methods for incorporating sea-level change projections into their project designs. Studies use different methods and data for calculation and thus global mean sea-level rise estimates for 2100 range from 0.6 to 2.0 m. In addition, planning for marine civil works should consider local sea level variations. In response, this committee is developing recommendations to assist in managing design factors, uncertainty, and to a certain extent, measure implementation. This paper provides an overview of these issues the recommendations that the committee is developing.


Climatic Change | 2012

Climate change impacts on international seaports: knowledge, perceptions, and planning efforts among port administrators

Austin Becker; Satoshi Inoue; Ben Schwegler

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Vladimir Stenek

International Finance Corporation

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Zaili Yang

Liverpool John Moores University

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Stephen Cahoon

Australian Maritime College

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Regina Asariotis

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

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