scholarly journals Influences of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on Rainy Season Precipitation for the Southernmost Caribbean Small Island State, Trinidad

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 707
Author(s):  
Nkese D. Mc Shine ◽  
Ricardo M. Clarke ◽  
Silvio Gualdi ◽  
Antonio Navarra ◽  
Xsitaaz T. Chadee
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Small Island ◽  
The South ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Composite Maps

Seasonal rainfall in the Caribbean Basin is known to be modulated by sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and particularly those in the Equatorial Pacific and Atlantic and the Tropical North Atlantic. However, little is known about how these major oceans influence the seasonal precipitation of individual small island states within the region as climate variability at the island-scale may differ from the Caribbean as a whole. Correlation and composite analyses were determined using monthly rainfall data for the southernmost island of the Caribbean, Trinidad, and an extended area of global SSTAs. In addition to the subregions that are known to modulate Caribbean rainfall, our analyses show that sea surface temperatures (SSTs) located in the subtropical South Pacific, the South Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico also have weak (r2 < 0.5) yet significant influences on the islands’ early rainy season (ERS) and late rainy season (LRS) precipitation. Composite maps confirm that the South Pacific, South Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico show significant SSTAs in December–January–February (DJF) and March–April–May (MAM) prior to the ERS and the LRS. Statistical models for seasonal forecasting of rainfall at the island scale could be improved by using the SSTAs of the Pacific and Atlantic subregions identified in this study.

Searching for appropriate criminal evidence laws in the South Pacific

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-241
Author(s):  
Jennifer Corrin
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
The South ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Island States ◽  
Small Island States ◽  
The Common ◽  
The 19Th Century

Most island states in the South Pacific have inherited a common law legal system as a consequence of their colonial history. After independence only a few of these countries have been active in replacing or amending the inherited laws. In the field of evidence, many countries are still reliant on introduced statutes from the 19th century. Commencing with a brief outline of legal systems in the small island states of the South Pacific, this article moves on to identify the legislation which governs criminal evidence in a representative sample of countries from Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. It explains the complexities of this exercise in countries which still rely in whole or in part on legislation introduced during the colonial era. The article then moves on to discuss the application of the common law and the extent to which South Pacific courts have developed their own jurisprudence in this area. It considers how far these countries have come in developing their own rules of criminal evidence. The article concludes with a discussion of whether the prevailing criminal evidence laws are suitable for the circumstances of South Pacific island countries.

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