scholarly journals A Review of Drought in the Middle East and Southwest Asia

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (23) ◽  
pp. 8547-8574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew Barlow ◽  
Benjamin Zaitchik ◽  
Shlomit Paz ◽  
Emily Black ◽  
Jason Evans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Data Uncertainty ◽  
Southwest Asia ◽  
Drought Forecasting ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract The Middle East and southwest Asia are a region that is water stressed, societally vulnerable, and prone to severe droughts. Large-scale climate variability, particularly La Niña, appears to play an important role in regionwide droughts, including the two most severe of the last 50 years—1999–2001 and 2007/08—with implications for drought forecasting. Important dynamical factors include orography, thermodynamic influence on vertical motion, storm-track changes, and moisture transport. Vegetation in the region is strongly impacted by drought and may provide an important feedback mechanism. In future projections, drying of the eastern Mediterranean region is a robust feature, as are temperature increases throughout the region, which will affect evaporation and the timing and intensity of snowmelt. Vegetation feedbacks may become more important in a warming climate. There are a wide range of outstanding issues for understanding, monitoring, and predicting drought in the region, including dynamics of the regional storm track, the relative importance of the range of dynamical mechanisms related to drought, the regional coherence of drought, the relationship between synoptic-scale mechanisms and drought, the predictability of vegetation and crop yields, the stability of remote influences, data uncertainty, and the role of temperature. Development of a regional framework for cooperative work and dissemination of information and existing forecasts would speed understanding and make better use of available information.

scholarly journals Identifying pathways for large-scale implementation of a school-based mental health programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a theory-driven approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii112-ii123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olakunle Alonge ◽  
Anna Chiumento ◽  
Hesham M Hamoda ◽  
Eman Gaber ◽  
Zill-e- Huma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Programme Implementation ◽  
School Based ◽  
Mental Health Programme ◽  
Health Programme

Abstract Globally there is a substantial burden of mental health problems among children and adolescents. Task-shifting/task-sharing mental health services to non-specialists, e.g. teachers in school settings, provide a unique opportunity for the implementation of mental health interventions at scale in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is scant information to guide the large-scale implementation of school-based mental health programme in LMICs. This article describes pathways for large-scale implementation of a School Mental Health Program (SMHP) in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). A collaborative learning group (CLG) comprising stakeholders involved in implementing the SMHP including policymakers, programme managers and researchers from EMR countries was established. Participants in the CLG applied the theory of change (ToC) methodology to identify sets of preconditions, assumptions and hypothesized pathways for improving the mental health outcomes of school-aged children in public schools through implementation of the SMHP. The proposed pathways were then validated through multiple regional and national ToC workshops held between January 2017 and September 2019, as the SMHP was being rolled out in three EMR countries: Egypt, Pakistan and Iran. Preconditions, strategies and programmatic/contextual adaptations that apply across these three countries were drawn from qualitative narrative summaries of programme implementation processes and facilitated discussions during biannual CLG meetings. The ToC for large-scale implementation of the SMHP in the EMR suggests that identifying national champions, formulating dedicated cross-sectoral (including the health and education sector) implementation teams, sustained policy advocacy and stakeholders engagement across multiple levels, and effective co-ordination among education and health systems especially at the local level are among the critical factors for large-scale programme implementation. The pathways described in this paper are useful for facilitating effective implementation of the SMHP at scale and provide a theory-based framework for evaluating the SMHP and similar programmes in the EMR and other LMICs.

Events in Northern Africa and Middle East: Causes and Consequences

2011 ◽  
pp. 11-25
Author(s):  
I. Labinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Northern Africa ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Oriental Studies

Political developments in North Africa and the Middle East that have begun in January 2011 are gaining strength and involve an increasing number of Arab countries. The participants of the Roundtable – experts from IMEMO, Institute of Oriental Studies (RAS), Institute of the USA and Canada (RAS) and Mrs. E. Suponina from “Moscow News” newspaper analyzed a wide range of issues associated with these events. Among them are: 1) the reasons for such a large-scale explosion, 2) the nature of the discussed developments (revolutions, riots?) and who are the subjects of the current “Arab drama”, 3) the role of Islam and political Islamism, 4) the role of external factors.

scholarly journals Enabling virtual collaboration in Digital Cultural Heritage in the SEEM region

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-174
Author(s):  
Panayiotis Charalambous ◽  
George Artopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Data Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Virtual Collaboration ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Digital Cultural Heritage

It has been observed that many researchers in the humanities do not use digital tools to their full extent for their research. Some of the most pressing needs of researchers in Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) are data storage and handling and large scale computing. Linking these researchers to experienced groups will significantly improve productivity and research innovation in DCH. This work presents our efforts in enabling virtual collaboration for research in the South East and Eastern Mediterranean region and more specifically the deployment of the Clowder CMS system and the development of extraction services to handle, manage and automatically process DCH data. We give technical descriptions of the system and provide some results and discussions of our efforts to enable virtual collaboration between regional level DCH researchers in the context of the Horizon 2020 funded VI-SEEM project.

scholarly journals The Hydrological Cycle over a Wide Range of Climates Simulated with an Idealized GCM

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 3815-3832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. O’Gorman ◽  
Tapio Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Optical Thickness ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Temperature Relation ◽  
Precipitation Temperature ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract A wide range of hydrological cycles and general circulations was simulated with an idealized general circulation model (GCM) by varying the optical thickness of the longwave absorber. While the idealized GCM does not capture the full complexity of the hydrological cycle, the wide range of climates simulated allows the systematic development and testing of theories of how precipitation and moisture transport change as the climate changes. The simulations show that the character of the response of the hydrological cycle to variations in longwave optical thickness differs in different climate regimes. The global-mean precipitation increases linearly with surface temperature for colder climates, but it asymptotically approaches a maximum at higher surface temperatures. The basic features of the precipitation–temperature relation, including the rate of increase in the linear regime, are reproduced in radiative–convective equilibrium simulations. Energy constraints partially account for the precipitation–temperature relation but are not quantitatively accurate. Large-scale condensation is most important in the midlatitude storm tracks, and its behavior is accounted for using a stochastic model of moisture advection and condensation. The precipitation associated with large-scale condensation does not scale with mean specific humidity, partly because the condensation region moves upward and meridionally as the climate warms, and partly because the mean condensation rate depends on isentropic specific humidity gradients, which do not scale with the specific humidity itself. The local water vapor budget relates local precipitation to evaporation and meridional moisture fluxes, whose scaling in the subtropics and extratropics is examined. A delicate balance between opposing changes in evaporation and moisture flux divergence holds in the subtropical dry zones. The extratropical precipitation maximum follows the storm track in warm climates but lies equatorward of the storm track in cold climates.

scholarly journals Classifications of Winter Euro-Atlantic Circulation Patterns: An Intercomparison of Five Atmospheric Reanalyses

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (19) ◽  
pp. 7847-7861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Stryhal ◽  
Radan Huth
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Synoptic Climatology ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
Twentieth Century Reanalysis

Abstract Atmospheric reanalyses have been widely used to study large-scale atmospheric circulation and its links to local weather and to validate climate models. Only little effort has so far been made to compare reanalyses over the Euro-Atlantic domain, with the exception of a few studies analyzing North Atlantic cyclones. In particular, studies utilizing automated classifications of circulation patterns—one of the most popular methods in synoptic climatology—have paid little or no attention to the issue of reanalysis evaluation. Here, five reanalyses [ERA-40; NCEP-1; JRA-55; Twentieth Century Reanalysis, version 2 (20CRv2); and ECMWF twentieth-century reanalysis (ERA-20C)] are compared as to the frequency of occurrence of circulation types (CTs) over eight European domains in winters 1961–2000. Eight different classifications are used in parallel with the intention to eliminate possible artifacts of individual classification methods. This also helps document how substantial effect a choice of method can have if one quantifies differences between reanalyses. In general, ERA-40, NCEP-1, and JRA-55 exhibit a fairly small portion of days (under 8%) classified to different CTs if pairs of reanalyses are compared, with two exceptions: over Iceland, NCEP-1 shows disproportionately high frequencies of CTs with cyclones shifted south- and eastward; over the eastern Mediterranean region, ERA-40 and NCEP-1 disagree on classification of about 22% of days. The 20CRv2 is significantly different from other reanalyses over all domains and has a clearly suppressed frequency of zonal CTs. Finally, validation of 32 CMIP5 models over the eastern Mediterranean region reveals that using different reanalyses can considerably alter errors in the CT frequency of models and their rank.

Bacterial solubilization of mineral phosphates: Historical perspective and future prospects

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan H. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Mineral Nutrient ◽  
Phosphorus Fertilization ◽  
Ionic Form ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Mineral Phosphate ◽  
Phosphate Solubilizing

AbstractMaximum crop yields require sufficient phosphorus fertilization. Only phosphate in a soluble ionic form (Pi) is effective as a mineral nutrient. Current fertilizer technology supplies the soil solution with Pi via the application of large amounts of phosphate salts. Problems with this technology include energy-intensive production processes, the need for large scale mechanical application with associated environmental consequences, and reprecipitation of the phosphate into insoluble mineral complexes. It has been estimated that in some soils up to 75% of applied phosphate fertilizer may be lost to the plant because of mineral phase reprecipitation. Many approaches, ranging from cultural practices to biological inoculants such as mycorrhizal fungi, are being employed to enhance P-use efficiency. One area that is currently under-investigated is the ability of certain types of bacteria to solubilize mineral and organic phosphates. A review of the literature in the area of bacterial phosphate solubilization confirms that this trait is displayed by a wide range of bacteria. The phosphate starvation inducible (PSI) organic phosphate-solubilizing capability of E. coli is a component of a coordinately regulated gene system: the pho regulon. It has long been known that bacteria are also capable of solubilizing mineral phosphates such as hydroxyapatite. To date there has been no systematic study of the genetics of this phenomenon. Data from my laboratory indicate that the bacterial mineral phosphate-solubilizing (MPS) trait is regulated by the external level of Pi This conclusion is supported by results obtained from several types of molecular genetic studies. It is proposed that bacteria have mineral phosphate solubilizing (mps) genes. The potential agronomic applications of bacterial mineral and organic P solubilizing systems are discussed.

scholarly journals Recent advances in research and control of malaria, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis and schistosomiasis

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 518-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Croft ◽  
L. Vivas ◽  
S. Brooker
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
World Health ◽  
Roll Back Malaria ◽  
Regular Treatment ◽  
Recent Advances

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization [WHO], malaria, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are the parasitic diseases of major importance. Our review focuses on recent advances in the control and treatment of these diseases with particular reference to diagnosis, chemotherapy, vaccines, vector and environmental control. The Roll Back Malaria Programme, for example, emphasizes the use of insecticide treated bednets in Africa and targets a 30-fold increase in treated bednet use by 2007. Increasing risk factors for leishmaniasis include urbanization, extended agricultural projects and civil unrest and the increase in patients with Leishmania infantum and HIV co-infection in the Region may signal a new threat. In the past 20 years, human African trypanosomiasis has resurged in sub-Saharan Africa; within the Region it has become more common in the southern Sudan where anthroponotic and zoonotic sub-species infections overlap. Schistosomiasis in the Region is caused by either Schistosoma haematobium or S. mansoni and large-scale control efforts include providing regular treatment to at-risk groups and supporting drug delivery through schools.

scholarly journals Summertime free tropospheric ozone pool over the Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 22025-22058 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Zanis ◽  
P. Hadjinicolaou ◽  
A. Pozzer ◽  
E. Tyrlis ◽  
S. Dafka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Ozone Data ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. Observations show that the Mediterranean troposphere is characterized by a marked enhancement in summertime ozone with a maximum over the Eastern Mediterranean. This has been linked to enhanced ozone photochemical production and subsidence under cloud-free anticyclonic conditions. The Eastern Mediterranean region has among the highest levels of background tropospheric ozone around the globe and it can be considered as a global air pollution hotspot. A 12 yr climatological analysis (1998–2009) of free tropospheric ozone was carried out over the region based on ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) ERA-interim reanalysis data and simulations with the EMAC (ECHAM5-MESSy for Atmospheric Chemistry) atmospheric chemistry climate model. EMAC is nudged towards the ECMWF analysis data and includes a stratospheric ozone tracer. A characteristic summertime pool with high ozone concentrations is found in the middle troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean/Middle East (EMME) by ERA-interim ozone data, which is supported by Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) satellite ozone data and simulations with EMAC. The enhanced ozone over the EMME is a robust feature, propagating down to lower free tropospheric levels. The investigation of ozone in relation to potential vorticity and water vapour and the stratospheric ozone tracer indicates that the dominant mechanism causing the free tropospheric ozone pool is downward transport from the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere associated with the enhanced subsidence and the limited outflow transport that dominates the summertime EMME circulation. The implications of these summertime high free tropospheric ozone values on the seasonal cycle of near surface ozone over the Mediterranean are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document