scholarly journals The Identification of Iran’s Moisture Sources Using a Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Heydarizad ◽  
Ezzat Raeisi ◽  
Rogert Sori ◽  
Luis Gimeno

Iran has faced many water shortage crises in the past. Iran’s moisture sources for precipitation were identified by Lagrangian approach using the FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART) v9.0 model. The results demonstrate that Iran receives its moisture from both continental and oceanic sources. During the wet season, moisture uptake from the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea is dominant, while during the dry season, the role of the Red Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Persian Gulf is intensified. Studying drought conditions by comparing 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) with (E-P) values of oceanic and continental moisture sources (E stands for the evaporation and P the precipitation) using multiregression model demonstrates that among oceanic sources the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean affect SPI values and among continental sources, moisture from bare grounds and cultivated lands influences SPI values during wet season. However, no correlation exists between oceanic and continental (E-P) and SPI values during the dry season. The results obtained by this study can be used by meteorologists and hydrology scientists for future water management programmes in Iran.

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 7229-7253
Author(s):  
C. Stumpp ◽  
A. Ekdal ◽  
I. E. Gönenc ◽  
P. Maloszewski

Abstract. Lagoons are important ecosystems occupying large coastal areas worldwide. Lagoons contain various mixtures of marine and freshwater sources which are highly dynamic in time. However, it often remains a challenge to identify and quantify dynamic changes of water sources, particularly in heterogeneous lagoon systems like the Köycegiz-Dalyan Lagoon (KDL), which is located at the southwest of Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea coast. The objective of this study was to quantify different contributions of potential water sources i.e. surface water, groundwater and seawater in the lagoon and how these water sources changed over time and space. In the wet and dry season stable isotopes of water, chloride concentration (Cl-) and salinity were measured in two depths in the lagoon and surrounding water bodies (sea, lake, groundwater). Different components of water sources were quantified with a three component endmember mixing analysis. Differences in Cl- and stable isotopes over time indicated the dynamic behaviour of the system. Generally, none of the groundwater samples was impacted by water of the Mediterranean Sea. During the wet season, most of the lagoon water (>95%) was influenced by freshwater and vertically well mixed. During the dry season, high Cl- in the deeper sampling locations indicated a high contribution of marine water throughout the entire lagoon system due to salt water intrusion. However, a distinct layering in the lagoon was obvious from low Cl- and depleted isotope contents close to the surface supporting freshwater inflow into the system even during the dry season. Besides temporal dynamics also spatial heterogeneities were identified. Changes in water sources were most evident in the main lagoon channel compared to more isolate lagoon lakes, which were influenced by marine water even in the wet season, and compared to side branches indicating slower turnover times. We found that environmental tracers helped to quantify contributions of different water sources in the Köycegiz-Dalyan Lagoon which is a highly dynamic and heterogeneous groundwater dependent ecosystem.


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 4825-4837 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Stumpp ◽  
A. Ekdal ◽  
I. E. Gönenc ◽  
P. Maloszewski

Abstract. Lagoons are important ecosystems occupying large coastal areas worldwide. Lagoons contain various mixtures of marine and freshwater sources which are highly dynamic in time. However, it often remains a challenge to identify and quantify dynamic changes of water sources, particularly in heterogeneous lagoon systems like the Köycegiz–Dalyan lagoon (KDL), which is located at the south-west of Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea coast. The objective of this study was to quantify different contributions of potential water sources i.e. surface water, groundwater and seawater in the lagoon and how these water sources changed over time and space. In the wet- and dry-season stable isotopes of water, chloride concentration (Cl-) and salinity were measured in two depths in the lagoon and surrounding water bodies (sea, lake, groundwater). Different components of water sources were quantified with a three component endmember mixing analysis. Differences in Cl- and stable isotopes over time indicated the dynamic behaviour of the system. Generally, none of the groundwater samples was impacted by water of the Mediterranean Sea. During the wet season, most of the lagoon water (> 95%) was influenced by freshwater and vertically well mixed. During the dry season, high Cl- in the deeper sampling locations indicated a high contribution of marine water throughout the entire lagoon system due to saltwater intrusion. However, a distinct layering in the lagoon was obvious from low Cl- and depleted isotope contents close to the surface supporting freshwater inflow into the system even during the dry season. Besides temporal dynamics also spatial heterogeneities were identified. Changes in water sources were most evident in the main lagoon channel compared to more isolate lagoon lakes, which were influenced by marine water even in the wet season, and compared to side branches indicating slower turnover times. We found that environmental tracers helped to quantify highly dynamic and heterogeneous contributions of different water sources in the Köycegiz–Dalyan lagoon.


2020 ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Aghavni HARUTYUNYAN

Launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the One Belt, One Road initiative (OBOR), which consists of land (EBSR) and sea routes (MSR), aims to connect Asia and Europe through the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. The MSR strategy focuses on creating Chinese strongholds or “naval posts” with military or geopolitical influence along the Indian Ocean littoral, the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, called a “String of Pearls” - similar to the “Dual Use Logistics Facility”. It is related to Beijing’s need for geostrategic security of the “choke points” and maritime [oil and trade] routes critical of its development and based on China’s need to establish an increased level of influence and advanced presence along the sea routes through the use of investment, port development, economic, political, diplomatic and military means. China hopes to contribute to strengthening regional security on the southern gateway from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world’s biggest shipping lanes and a pivotal part of the MSR. Today the Chinese energy security policy has been militarized by creating a navy and deploying troops to protect and implement energy and infrastructure projects in the Middle East and North Africa region. It is an important hub for the two OBOR routes due to its strategic location at the intersection of land and sea roads connecting Asia, Africa and Europe, and the three most important economic maritime regions: the South China Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea.


Ocean Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 687-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre L'Hégaret ◽  
Xavier Carton ◽  
Stephanie Louazel ◽  
Guillaume Boutin

Abstract. The Persian Gulf produces high-salinity water (Persian Gulf Water, PGW hereafter), which flows into the Sea of Oman via the Strait of Hormuz. Beyond the Strait of Hormuz, the PGW cascades down the continental slope and spreads in the Sea of Oman under the influence of the energetic mesoscale eddies. The PGW outflow has different thermohaline characteristics and pathways, depending on the season. In spring 2011, the Phys-Indien experiment was carried out in the Arabian Sea and in the Sea of Oman. The Phys-Indien 2011 measurements, as well as satellite observations, are used here to characterize the circulation induced by the eddy field and its impact on the PGW pathway and evolution. During the spring intermonsoon, an anticyclonic eddy is often observed at the mouth of the Sea of Oman. It creates a front between the eastern and western parts of the basin. This structure was observed in 2011 during the Phys-Indien experiment. Two energetic eddies were also present along the southern Omani coast in the Arabian Sea. At their peripheries, ribbons of freshwater and cold water were found due to the stirring created by the eddies. The PGW characteristics are strongly influenced by these eddies. In the western Sea of Oman, in 2011, the PGW was fragmented into filaments and submesoscale eddies. It also recirculated locally, thus creating salty layers with different densities. In the Arabian Sea, a highly saline submesoscale lens was recorded offshore. Its characteristics are analyzed here and possible origins are proposed. The recurrence of such lenses in the Arabian Sea is also briefly examined.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (13) ◽  
pp. 5041-5062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengfei Xue ◽  
Elfatih A. B. Eltahir

Abstract Because of the scarcity of observational data, existing estimates of the heat and water budgets of the Persian Gulf are rather uncertain. This uncertainty leaves open the fundamental question of whether this water body is a net heat source or a net heat sink to the atmosphere. Previous regional modeling studies either used specified surface fluxes to simulate the hydrodynamics of the Gulf or prescribed SST in simulating the regional atmospheric climate; neither of these two approaches is suitable for addressing the above question or for projecting the future climate in this region. For the first time, a high-resolution, two-way, coupled Gulf–atmosphere regional model (GARM) is developed, forced by solar radiation and constrained by observed lateral boundary conditions, suited for the study of current and future climates of the Persian Gulf. Here, this study demonstrates the unique capability of this model in consistently predicting surface heat and water fluxes and lateral heat and water exchanges with the Arabian Sea, as well as the variability of water temperature and water mass. Although these variables are strongly coupled, only SST has been directly and sufficiently observed. The coupled model succeeds in simulating the water and heat budgets of the Persian Gulf without any artificial flux adjustment, as demonstrated in the close agreement of model simulation with satellite and in situ observations. The coupled regional climate model simulates a net surface heat flux of +3 W m−2, suggesting a small net heat flux from the atmosphere into the Persian Gulf. The annual evaporation from the Persian Gulf is 1.84 m yr−1, and the annual influx and outflux of water through the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea are equivalent to Persian Gulf–averaged precipitation and evaporation rates of 33.7 and 32.1 m yr−1, with a net influx of water equivalent to a Persian Gulf–averaged precipitation rate of 1.6 m yr−1. The average depth of the Persian Gulf water is ~38 m. Hence, it suggests that the mean residency time scale for the entire Persian Gulf is ~14 months.


Author(s):  
Yaron Harel

This chapter examines the Jewish minority in Syria in 1840, when the Damascus affair took place and ended when economic disaster overtook Damascus Jewry. It highlights profound changes in Ottoman imperial rule and society in Syria from 1840, when Ottoman rule was reinstated. It also analyses shifts in Jewish society against the broad background of the political, social, and economic changes that took place in Syria. The chapter looks at the difference between the Jewish communities of Damascus and Aleppo with regard to social structure, economic endeavour, communal leadership and organization, and education. It recounts Jewish merchants in both Damascus and Aleppo in 1840 that engaged in international trade via the camel caravans that travelled between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.


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