Climatology

Global mean sea levels are projected to gradually rise in response to greenhouse warming. However, on shorter time scales, modes of natural climate variability in the Pacific, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), can affect regional sea level variability and extremes, with considerable impacts on coastal ecosystems and island nations. How these shorter-term sea level fluctuations will change in association with a projected increase in extreme El Niño and its atmospheric variability remains unknown. Using present-generation coupled climate models forced with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and subtracting the effect of global mean sea level rise, we find that climate change will enhance El Niño–related sea level extremes, especially in the tropical southwestern Pacific, where very low sea level events, locally known as Taimasa, are projected to double in occurrence. Additionally, and throughout the tropical Pacific, prolonged interannual sea level in-undations are also found to become more likely with greenhouse warming and increased frequency of extreme La Niña events, thus exacerbating the coastal impacts of the projected global mean sea level rise.

The Increasing pace of Industrialization throughout the world has brought with It a serious, and ever Increasing threat from air pollution. It Is true that this threat Is being taken seriously, and that many responsible research workers, government advisers and others are working towards Its reduction. But air pollution seems to have something of the nature of a hydra-headed monster: tackle one problem and another immediately grows to take its place. Actions taken sometimes have results that are far from what was envisioned, sometimes even seeming to make the problem worse.

In "The Forgotten Pollution", Roos shows clearly and In an often entertaining way, how many of the "unexpected" side effects of pollution by waste gases and particles can be explained by paying attention to the electrical activity of the atmosphere and the earth.
Using an Instrument, which he has developed the Electrostatic Charged Aerosol Monitor (ECAM), together with other instruments and reference to the literature, much of it dating back to the early days of science, when electrostatics was appreciated as a science more than It Is today, Roos has succeeded In explaining many hitherto "puzzling" phenomena in a clear, simple and intellectually satisfying way.

A general model is proposed for language and dialect spreads and population movement in mountain societies. Languages (and societies) are ver- tically distributed and often discontinuous. Isoglosses and language spreads move downhill during warm periods and uphill during cold periods. Population movements go in the opposite direction. The ethnic scope and degree of mytho- logization of origin legends correlate well with chronology and vertical direc- tionality of movements, so that even highly mythologized legends are reliable evidence of movements. This model is demonstrated on the ethnolinguistic history of the Chechen and Ingush peoples of the central Caucasus. 1. Introduction. Mountains are as distinctive linguistically as they are geographically and biologically. When inhabited by settled farming and herding people, they harbor unusual diversity of language families and grammatical structures relative to nearby lowlands. The considerable ecological diversity of mountain landsca...

This book “Disaster Management” provides a detailed skeleton towards disaster, its types along with real world as case studies and recovery planning. It provides a preliminary study on understanding the do’s and don’ts of disasters happening in real world. It gives a detailed initiative towards protecting, preventing and recovering the citizen of India from disaster. It provides an extensive idea on Disaster Management Act 2005 and 2009 and other initiatives taken by Government of India.

The subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) predictive timescale, encompassing lead times ranging from 2 weeks to a season, is at the frontier of forecasting science. Forecasts on this timescale provide opportunities for enhanced application-focused capabilities to complement existing weather and climate services and products. There is, however, a ‘knowledge-value’ gap, where a lack of evidence and awareness of the potential socio-economic benefits of S2S forecasts limits their wider uptake. To address this gap, here we present the first global community effort at summarizing relevant applications of S2S forecasts to guide further decision-making and support the continued development of S2S forecasts and related services. Focusing on 12 sectoral case studies spanning public health, agriculture, water resource management, renewable energy and utilities, and emergency management and response, we draw on recent advancements to explore their application and utility. These case studies mark a sign...

ABSTRACT:A biofuel is a fuel that is produced
through contemporary processes from biomass,
rather than a fuel produced by the very slow
geological processes involved in the formation
of fossil fuels, such as oil.
Since biomass technically can be used as a fuel
directly, some people use the terms biomass and
biofuel interchangeably. More often than not,
however, the word biomass simply denotes the
biological raw material the fuel is made of. The
word biofuel is usually reserved for liquid or
gaseous fuels, used for transportation.Biofuels can
be classified into two categories: primary and
secondary biofuels. The primary biofuels are
directly produced from burning woody or cellulosic
plant material and dry animal waste. The secondary
biofuels can be classified into three generations that
are each indirectly generated from plant and animal
material. The incessant increase in world
population growth leading to increased human
activities in the form of transportation,
industrialization and other economic activities
results into high energy demand to satisfy the
human socio-economic development. Fossil fuel
(Coal, Oil and Gas) based energy generation has
been in usefor years which brings about carbon
dioxide emission, causing health issues for man
and the environment. This study evaluates the
impacts of fossil fuels and readily available
opportunities in biofuel as an alternative source of
energy for sustainable economic development. The
continuous consumption of fossil fuel as a major
source of energy has
contributed adversely to the emission of Green
House Gases (GHG) and eventually lead to Climate
change. Biomass can be obtained from the
following resources wood and agricultural
products, landfill and biogas, livestock residues,
ethanol/biodiesel and solid waste. Biofuel produced
from biomass which can replenish itself quickly
after consumption is called Renewable energy. This
study focuses on biomass and their various
sources.In this research we describe the economic
benefit of biofuel for cleaner environment and
economic development. Recommendations was
made on how to improve on current biofuel
production for sustainable energy.
Keywords: Biomass, Bioethanol, Biofuel,
Renewable energy, Transportation

In the Andes of Central Chile, flowering commences 1–2 months earlier on equatorial-(north-) facing than on polar-(south-) facing slopes, and pollinator assemblages also differ between these habitats. In order to understand the potential influence of these differences on gene flow, we monitored flowering periods and insect visitation rates to flowers of 60 individuals of Anarthrophyllum cumingii (Papilionaceae) on two equatorial-and two polar-facing slopes in the Andes of central Chile (33 35 0 S;70 32 0 W). Flowering began about 30 days earlier on equatorial-facing slopes. Flowering periods of individuals on slopes with the same aspect had a mean overlap of 0.52, while those on opposite slopes had a mean overlap of 0.15. On equatorial-facing slopes Yramea lathionoides (Lepidoptera) accounted for 60% of the visits to flowers of A. cumingii, while on polar-facing slopes Centris cineraria (Hymenoptera) was responsible for more than 80% of flower visits. Average similarities of visitor assemblages among individual plants on slopes with the same aspect was 0.83, while the mean similarity between individuals on opposite slopes was only 0.23. Within slopes fluorescent dyes were dispersed up to 40 m from the donor plants, but there was no movements of dyes between individuals growing on opposite slopes, even when they were separated by less than 10 m. Synchronous blooming and a common pollen vector are necessary conditions for pollen exchange between individuals. The overall probability of pollen exchange estimated by multiplying the inter-individual overlap for both factors, was nearly 0.5 for individuals growing on slopes with the same aspect, and less than 0.04 for individuals growing on opposite slopes. Consequently, at equivalent distances, the probability of pollen exchange between individuals growing on slopes of opposite aspect is more than 10-times lower than between those growing on the same slopes. Seed dispersal cannot compensate for restricted gene flow through pollination, because seeds of A. cumingii were dispersed less than 2 m away from a parent plant. Presumably, restricted gene flow could enhance genetic divergence between populations on slopes of contrasting aspects. This factor could be important in contributing to the high diversity and endemism in the Chilean Andes.

The temporal evolution of nine daily precipitation indices over the northeastern Iberian Peninsula was analysed for the period 1955–2006, using data from 217 observatories. Cross-tabulation analysis enabled detection of statistically significant overlap among spatial distributions of trends in the study area. There was a general decrease in annual precipitation at most observatories, a decrease in the number of rainy days and precipitation intensity and an increase in the duration of dry spells. The frequency and contribution to annual precipitation of moderate and heavy rainfall events did not change at most observatories, or showed a decreasing trend in these events. There was very large spatial and seasonal variability, with implications for water management and risk assessment in the region. The decrease in precipitation was very marked in headwaters during winter and spring, potentially affecting reservoir management in the region. Heavy rainfall events generally decreased in the west of the region in winter, and in the east of the region in autumn, when these areas are more exposed to hazards related to extreme rainfall. Large differences in the sign and magnitude of trends occurred over very short distances, suggesting the need for dense networks of observatories to ensure reliable and robust detection of regional trends. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

All the storms and depressions that formed in the Bay of Bengal during 1974–99 have been analysed. The number of occurrences in July is not in harmony with that of other months of the monsoon. Regions stricken are taken into account on a monthly, seasonal and annual basis. The Indian coast faces almost an equal number of storms and depressions that are formed from June to November. The most vulnerable months for storms are May, October and November for Bangladesh; May for Myanmar; June, August and September for Kolkata–Vishakhapatnam in India and October and November for Vishakhapatnam–Tamilnadu in India. Most of the monsoon depressions cross the Kolkata–Vishakhapatnam coast of India. The frequency of formation has been observed to decrease during the period of analysis. It is also observed that the frequency distribution of the Bay of Bengal storms has two peaks: one in the month of May and the other in the month of November. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society

Climate is one of the single most important factors affecting watershed ecosystems and water resources. The effect of climate variability and change has been studied extensively in some places; in many places, however, assessments are hampered by limited availability of long-term continuous climate data. Weather generators provide a means of synthesizing long-term climate data that can then be used in natural resource assessments. Given their potential, there is the need to evaluate the performance of the generators; in this study, three commonly used weather generators—CLImate GENerator (CLIGEN), Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG), and Weather Generators (WeaGETS) were compared with regard to their ability to capture the essential statistical characteristics of observed data (distribution, occurrence of wet and dry spells, number of snow days, growing season temperatures, and growing degree days). The study was based on observed 1966–2015 weather station data from the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), from which 50 different realizations were generated, each spanning 50 years. Both CLIGEN and LARS-WG performed fairly well with respect to representing the statistical characteristics of observed precipitation and minimum and maximum temperatures, although CLIGEN tended to overestimate values at the extremes. This generator also overestimated dry sequences by 18%–30% and snow-day counts by 12%–19% when considered over the entire WLEB. It (CLIGEN) was, however, well able to simulate parameters specific to crop growth such as growing degree days and had an added advantage over the other generators in that it simulates a larger number of weather variables. LARS-WG overestimated wet sequence counts across the basin by 15%–38%. In addition, the optimal growth period simulated by LARS-WG also exceeded that obtained from observed data by 16%–29% basin-wide. Preliminary results with WeaGETS indicated that additional evaluation is needed to better define its parameters. Results provided insights into the suitability of both CLIGEN and LARS-WG for use with water resource applications.

We present a new seasonal forecasting model for the June-September rains in Ethiopia. It has previously been found that the total June-September rainfall over the whole country is difficult to predict using statistical methods. A detailed study of all available data shows the rainfall seasonality varies greatly from one region to another, which would explain why the total June-September rainfall over all regions is a difficult property to forecast. In addition, the correlation between rainfall and the southern oscillation index varies spatially, with a strong teleconnection present only in some regions. This study accounts for the spatial variability in rainfall by grouping the rain gauge stations into four geographical clusters based on seasonality and cross-correlation of rainfall anomalies. Linear regression equations are then developed separately for each cluster. The variables we use for the regressions are sea-surface temperature anomalies in the preceding March, April and May of the tropical western Indian Ocean, the tropical eastern Indian Ocean, and Niño3.4. Formal skill testing of the equations shows that the new forecasting scheme is more effective in central western Ethiopia than either climatology or persistence - the methods currently used by the Ethiopian National Meteorological Services Agency.

This study presents partial energy budget evaluations for a dry east-west oriented urban canyon in Columbus, Ohio, based on canyon-top measurements of net radiation and the turbulent and circulation-related components of the sensible heat flux. While net radiation data were similar to those reported in previous studies, the sensible heat exchanges were small in absolute magnitude, showed a “flat” diurnal regime and were uncorrelated with the net radiation. These results suggest a minimal degree of coupling by heat exchange between the canyon air space and the urban boundary layer above roof level. Speculations are offered on the nature of the unmeasured residual in the canyon energy budget. Evidence suggests that both a substrate heat flux and a significant advective term (through the canyon ends and top) may be instrumental in accounting for the residual. However, definitive conclusions were precluded by the absence of simultaneous evaluations of all the energy budget components. The need for such studies at canyon sites with diverse structures and fabrics is emphasized.

Bahía Culebra, at Gulf of Papagayo on the north Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is an area of seasonal
upwelling where more intense cooling events may occur during some boreal winter weeks mainly. To study these
extreme cool events, records of nine sea subsurface temperature stations from 1998 to 2010 were analyzed. Five
events associated with extremely cool temperatures in this region were identified from these records and taken
as study cases. Sea temperatures decreased about 8-9oC during these events and occurred while cold fronts were
present in the Caribbean, with strong trade wind conditions over Central America. These strong wind conditions
may have favored the offshore displacement of the sea surface water. The axis of Bahía Culebra runs northeast-
southwest, a condition that favors and triggers cool water events, mainly because the displaced water is replaced
by water from deeper levels. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 2): 173-186.

Rekreativne aktivnosti i kretanja u većini regiona karakteriše izrazita sezonalnost, odnosno koncentriranost na ljetnu i zimsku sezonu. Ovo se prvenstveno odnosi na izrazito planinske i primorske regije koji su prepoznatljivi uglavnom po ski turizmu ili kupališnom turizmu. Međutim regije bez prepoznatljivog ''turističkog identiteta'' a sa atraktivnom prirodnom osnovom i mnoštvom potencijala, posebno klimatskih, kao što je Sjeveroistočna Bosna imaju mogućnost da razviju različite oblike rekreativnog turizma (sportsko-rekreativni, izletničko-rekreativni, zdravstveno-rekreativni) u pojedinim dijelovima tokom cijele godine. Povoljnost klimatskih predispozicija Sjeveroistočne Bosne istaknuta je rezultatima analiza koji pokazuju da se tokom godine na ovom području ne javljaju niti nepovoljni niti nemogući klimatski uslovi za razvoj različitih oblika rekretivnog turizma. Kvalitetan aktivni odmor na otvorenom u proljetnim i jesenskim mjesecima najčešće se provodi kroz pješačenje, trčanje, planinarenje, biciklizam, izlete i slično, u ljetnim, pored navedenih, moguće je i kampovanje, plivanje, kupanje, splavarenje, jedrenje i sl., a u zimskim i rekreacija na snijegu (hodanje po snijegu, sankanje, skijanje, vožnja motornim sankama i sl.).

A climatology of the Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) is developed from 2 yr of research rawinsonde data obtained up to eight times per day at a site in north-central Oklahoma. These data have better height and time resolution than earlier studies, and show that jets are stronger than previously reported and that the heights of maximum wind speed are closer to the ground. LLJs are present in 47% of the warm season soundings and 45% of the cold season soundings. More than 50% of the LLJs have wind maxima below 500 m above ground level (AGL). Because the 404-MHz radar profiler network in the central United States has its first data points at 500 m AGL, it is likely to miss some LLJ events and will have inadequate vertical resolution of LLJ wind structure.Previous studies have identified LLJs on the basis of a wind speed profile criterion. This criterion fails to separate the classical southerly LLJs from the less frequent northerly jets, which differ in both structure and evolution. Classical southerly jets are more frequent; they occur year round, with the highest frequency in the summer and at night. Southerly LLJ wind speed maxima are most frequently found at 300-600 m AGL, and peak speeds, typically between 15 and 21 m s1, are attained at 0200 CST. The height of the wind speed maximum varies little during nighttime-a period when surface-based inversions grow in depth but generally remain below the jet. Winds at the nose of the southerly jets exhibit a distinct diurnal clockwise turning in wind direction and an oscillation in speed.Northerly jets occur year round. They are generally associated with cold air outbreaks and are found in the cold air behind southward-moving cold fronts. In winter, their frequency of occurrence rivals that of the southerly jets. Their occurrence, however, is less dependent on time of day, with a weak daytime maximum. They are more variable in the heights of their wind speed maxima, are associated more frequently with elevated frontal inversions, and do not exhibit a clockwise turning with time. The heights of the jet speed maxima are found to increase with distance behind the surface cold front.