Climatology of Dust Sources in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Based on TOMS Data

2004 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 407-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Barkan ◽  
H. Kutiel ◽  
P. Alpert
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Dust Sources

Systematics of reptile-associated scale mites of the genus Pterygosoma (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae) derived from external morphology

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4603 (3) ◽  
pp. 401
Author(s):  
MONIKA FAJFER
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Mite Species ◽  
South American ◽  
The Family ◽  
Outgroup Species ◽  
Tree Lizards ◽  
Species Groups

The phylogeny of the mite genus Pterygosoma Peters, 1849 (Acariformes: Pterygosomatidae), permanent parasites of lizards of the families Agamidae, Gerrhosauridae and Liolaemidae (Reptilia: Squamata), was inferred with maximum parsimony, successive weighting and implied weighting approaches based on 182 characters of 48 ingroup and 12 outgroup species. All undertaken analyses questioned the monophyly of the genus. Based on this research, Pterygosoma includes 56 mite species associated with agamas from Africa and Asia (Sauria: Agamidae). Within the genus seven natural species groups were found: mutabilis, inermis, melanum, caucasica, fimbriata, singularis and foliosetis; 13 species of the genus were not assigned to any of the groups due to their unique morphological characters. For the ligare group of the subgenus Pterygosoma s. str. (7 species) associated with the South American tree lizards from the family Liolaemidae, a new genus, Neopterygosoma gen. nov., is established. The subgenus Gerrhosaurobia Lawrence, 1959 (3 species) associated with the African plated lizards of the family Gerrhosauridae is elevated to the genus rank. Diagnoses for the three genera are presented. Historical associations are reconstructed by fitting the obtained mite tree into the host topology on the family level. Results of coevolutionary analysis highlight the coincidence of both trees. The studies suggest that the ancestor of the genus Pterygosoma switched from the hosts of Gerrhosaurobia i.e. from the plated lizards (Gerrhosauridae) to the agamas (Agamidae), and the genus Pterygosoma has its biogeographic origin in North Africa, and colonized Asia via the Arabian Peninsula, which is congruent with the historical biogeography of its hosts.

scholarly journals History of desert dust deposition recorded in the Elbrus ice core

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislav Kutuzov ◽  
Michel Legrand ◽  
Suzanne Preunkert ◽  
Patrick Ginot ◽  
Vladimir Mikhalenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Drought Index ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dust Sources ◽  
Increasing Trend ◽  
History Of

Abstract. Ice cores are one of the most valuable paleo-archives. Records from the ice cores can provide information not only about the amount of dust in the atmosphere but also about dust sources and its changes in the past. A 182 m long ice core has been recovered at the western plateau of Mt. Elbrus (5115 m elevation) in 2009. This record was extended with the shallow ice core drilling in 2013. Here we present analysis of the concentrations of Ca2+, a commonly used proxy of dust, recorded in Elbrus ice core over the period 1774–2013. The calcium record reveals a quasi decadal variability with a general increasing trend. Using multiple regression analysis we found a statistically significant spatial correlation of the Elbrus Ca2+ summer concentrations and precipitation and soil moisture content in Levant region (specifically Syria and Iraq). The Ca2+ record also correlates with drought index in North Africa (r = 0.69 p 

North Africa and the Middle East

2020 ◽  
pp. 194-206
Author(s):  
Sam Hellmuth ◽  
Mary Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Horn Of Africa ◽  
Prosodic Phrasing ◽  
Word Prosody ◽  
Typological Variation

This chapter provides an overview of the prosodic systems of languages spoken in North Africa and the Middle East, taking in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, plus the Arabian Peninsula, and the Middle East (but excluding Kurdish). The survey sketches the nature and scope of typological variation—in respect to prosody—across the whole of the Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Saharan language families, addressing, within the limits of the existing literature: word prosody, prosodic phrasing, melodic structure, and prosodic expression of meaning (sentence modality, focus, and information structure). The survey is organized around language sub-families, reporting what is known about the different aspects of prosody for each sub-family, together with a brief discussion of priorities for future research.

Climatology of dust deposition in the Adriatic Sea and biological response of Rogoznica Lake (central Adriatic)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Mifka ◽  
Irena Ciglenečki ◽  
Maja Telišman Prtenjak
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Adriatic Sea ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Dust Transport ◽  
Desert Dust ◽  
Dust Sources ◽  
Marine System

<p>Airborne desert dust is one of the most abundant aerosols and an important factor in climate<br>change. After deposition in the sea, mineral dust acts as the nutrient. In this study, the climatology<br>of desert dust deposition in the Adriatic Sea was investigated with special reference to the possible<br>source and mineralogical characteristics of transported dust from North Africa. The effect is<br>particularly examined in unique, isolated marine system, Rogoznica Lake (RL; 43° 32 ’N, 15° 58’<br>E) through its biological response.<br>For that purpose, the MERRA-2 reanalysis data for dust deposition in the period 1989-<br>2019 were used. Annual dust deposition cycle in the Adriatic Sea has maximum in spring and fall<br>with stronger deposition in central and south. Wet deposition accounts for 63-92% of total<br>deposition and 75% of data contains less than 1.5% of the mass. Intensity classes are defined for<br>the remaining 25% and each refers to about 30% of the mass. On average, over 73 days per year<br>is of weak, 14.6 of moderate, and 3.65 of extreme intensity, which varies spatially. In order to<br>detect the specific synoptic patterns for the dust transport in relation to the dust sources activity<br>and deposition in the Adriatic Sea, the EOF analysis on 850 hPa was utilized. Positive or negative<br>mode phases correspond to deposition anomalies in the Adriatic Sea and can be related to particular<br>dust sources in North Africa.<br>Given the seasonal strong physicochemical stratification, relatively small volume, and only<br>source of freshwater and nutrients through precipitation during stratification, the Rogoznica Lake<br>proved ideal for monitoring desert dust deposition events, by monitoring nutrient concentration in<br>the surface layer (0–2 m). For the 2000-2012 period no correlation with MERRA-2 deposition<br>time series were found, but biological activity as a direct consequence of nutrient increase was<br>observed during deposition events. Since the Adriatic Sea was proved to be phosphate (P) and iron<br>(Fe) limited, the mineralogical database was used to estimate the amount of deposited P and Fe<br>during intense deposition events.</p>

scholarly journals The impact of Pacific Decadal Oscillation on springtime dust activity in Syria

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Pu ◽  
Paul Ginoux
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Optical Depth ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Pacific Decadal Oscillation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Dust Storms ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Deep Blue ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The increasing trend of aerosol optical depth in the Middle East and a recent severe dust storm in Syria have raised questions as whether dust storms will increase and promoted investigations on the dust activities driven by the natural climate variability underlying the ongoing human perturbations such as the Syrian civil war. This study examined the influences of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) on dust activities in Syria using an innovative dust optical depth (DOD) dataset derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue aerosol products. A significantly negative correlation is found between the Syrian DOD and the PDO in spring from 2003–2015. High DOD in spring is associated with lower geopotential height over the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa, accompanied by near surface anomalous westerly winds over the Mediterranean basin and southerly winds over the eastern Arabian Peninsula. These large-scale patterns promote the formation of the cyclones over the Middle East to trigger dust storms and also facilitate the transport of dust from North Africa, Iraq, and Saudi Arabian to Syria, where the transported dust dominates the seasonal mean DOD in spring. A negative PDO not only creates circulation anomalies favorable to high DOD in Syria but also suppresses precipitation in dust source regions over the eastern and southern Arabian Peninsula and northeastern Africa. On the daily scale, in addition to the favorable large-scale condition associated with a negative PDO, enhanced atmospheric instability in Syria associated with increased precipitation in Turkey and northern Syria is also critical for the development of strong springtime dust storms in Syria.

“Arab” Textiles in the Near East

1998 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray Lee Eiland
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Near East ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Arabian Population

Beginning in the seventh century, the expansion of Islam brought with it an outpouring of peoples from the Arabian Peninsula. While the composition of these Islamic armies became more diverse as the religion spread through the Near East and across North Africa to Western Europe, there were clearly elements of both the urban Arabian population, of which the Prophet was a member, and the rural Bedouins, whose migrations from their original homeland continued sporadically for several centuries. This slowed during the period of Turkish hegemony, but it left a scattering of enclaves identifying themselves as ethnic Arabs throughout the Islamic world.

Late Cretaceous (Campanian—Maastrichtian) marine reptiles from the Adaffa Formation, NW Saudi Arabia

2008 ◽  
Vol 145 (5) ◽  
pp. 648-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. KEAR ◽  
T. H. RICH ◽  
M. A. ALI ◽  
Y. A. AL-MUFARRIH ◽  
A. H. MATIRI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Detailed Report ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Marine Reptiles ◽  
Lower Maastrichtian ◽  
Marine Reptile ◽  
Lower Campanian

AbstractMarine reptile remains occur in the Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian to lower Maastrichtian) Adaffa Formation of NW Saudi Arabia. This is the first detailed report of late Mesozoic marine reptiles from the Arabian Peninsula. The fossils include bothremydid (cf. Taphrosphyini) turtles, dyrosaurid crocodyliforms, elasmosaurid plesiosaurs, mosasaurs (Prognathodon, plioplatecarpines) and an indeterminate small varanoid. The assemblage is compositionally similar to contemporary faunas from elsewhere in the Middle East/North Africa, and comprises taxa that are typical of the southern margin of the Mediterranean Tethys.

scholarly journals AEOLIAN SANDS IN NORTH AFRICA AND THE SOUTHWEST OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74
Author(s):  
E. V. Rakhimova ◽  
A. K. Naravas ◽  
E. O. Dernova ◽  
A. S. Mahmoud
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Arabian Peninsula ◽  
Aeolian Sands
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