Cuevas et al., Pivotal role of the North African Dipole Intensity (NAFDI) on alternate Saharan dust export...

With the emphasis of the Oxford History of the Ancient Near East firmly placed on the political, social, and cultural histories of the states and communities shaping Egypt and Western Asia (including the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), this introduction to the five-volume series seeks to place the region in its environmental context. It discusses the lay of the land between the North African coast and the Hindu Kush, including the role of tectonics and geomorphology. It also considers some key issues regarding climatic conditions, focusing in particular on the significance of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and the potential impact of megadroughts and pandemics.

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Ecological role of bracteoles in seed dispersal and germination of the North African halophyte Atriplex mollis under contrasting environments

Botany Letters ◽

10.1080/23818107.2019.1652850 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 166 (4) ◽

pp. 478-486

Author(s):

Abderrazak Tlili ◽

Jamila Zammouri ◽

Mustapha Gorai ◽

Mohamed Neffati

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Ecological Role ◽

North African ◽

The North

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The pulsating nature of large-scale Saharan dust transport as a result of interplays between mid-latitude Rossby waves and the North African Dipole Intensity

Atmospheric Environment ◽

10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.08.059 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 167 ◽

pp. 586-602 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

E. Cuevas ◽

A.J. Gómez-Peláez ◽

S. Rodríguez ◽

E. Terradellas ◽

S. Basart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Rossby Waves ◽

Saharan Dust ◽

North African ◽

Dust Transport ◽

The North

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A Social and Economic Perspective on the Libyan Conflict. Tribalism and Oil Cases

Land Forces Academy Review ◽

10.2478/raft-2020-0039 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 325-330

Author(s):

Anca Dinicu

Keyword(s):

Foreign Aid ◽

Economic Value ◽

The Political ◽

Economic Perspective ◽

North African ◽

Oil Reserves ◽

The North ◽

Points Of Interest ◽

Strategic Position

AbstractThe Libyan conflict has become an issue at the global level since its beginning. The foreign aid and support help got by the revolutionaries in their attempt to overthrow the Qaddafi regime and the role of tribes not only during these events but also afterwards, the country’s strategic position and oil reserves are the main points of interest when considering the North African internationalized civil war. While the role played by the tribes in stabilizing the political and social framework still lays at crossroads, being extremely controversial, the economic value and strategic importance of oil, for domestic actors as well as the international ones, are above any doubt.

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China’s Policy in North African and Eastern Mediterranean Countries

10.31132/2412-5717-2018-43-2-95-110 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 95-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tatiana Deych

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

North Africa ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

North African ◽

African Countries ◽

The North ◽

Mediterranean Countries ◽

China’S Foreign Policy ◽

Internal Affairs

The object of this paper is North Africa and Mediterranean. The subject of research is China’s policy towards North African countries during “Arab spring” and at the present historical stage. This article is devoted to the role of the North African and Mediterranean countries in contemporary China’s foreign policy and in new Chinese initiative “One Belt–One Road”(BRI). The methodological basis of research is comparative political approach. The fundamental China’s foreign policy principle is non – interference in internal affairs of other countries. The study shows, that “Arab awakening” has become a test for Beijings’ traditional commitment to this principle, composing it by measures for protection of Chinese citizens, business and financial investments abroad. At the same time, Beijing drew conclusions from the Libyan events. Together with Russia it has prevented the escalating of Syrian conflict under the Libyan scenario. In Beijing foreign policy strategy the new initiative BRI takes the leading place. The aim of this research is to show that the North African and Mediterranean countries, located at the crossroads of the land and sea Silk roads, play an important role in new Chinese project. Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are in focus of China’s interests. The implementation of Chinese initiative envisages infrastructure projects, which should cover all expanse of the Belt. These projects include the construction of railways and highways, aviation, energy, industrial parks, construction of ports in Turkey, Greece, Israel and other coastal countries. The author makes the conclusion: although China adheres to doctrine of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and avoids participation in armed confrontation, it aspires to play the role of influential player in North Africa and Mediterranean and to strengthen its economic, political and military influence in this important region.

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Green Sahara Megaperiods during the Pliocene: What was the role of North Atlantic Ocean temperature?

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20327 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Wilson ◽

Amy Jewell ◽

Anya Crocker ◽

Solana Buchanan ◽

Bryce Mitsunaga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

North Atlantic ◽

North Atlantic Ocean ◽

Saharan Dust ◽

The North ◽

Sst Variability ◽

Scan Data ◽

Sahel Region ◽

Strong Control

The Sahel region is one of the most vulnerable regions on Earth to anthropogenically-driven climate change, but also one of the least equipped to deal with the consequences. Predictions of precipitation levels over the forthcoming centuries diverge, not only in magnitude, but also in the sign of change. One key aspect of this uncertainty comes from the role of Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperatures (SST), which are known to exert a strong control over precipitation in the Sahel and are implicated in both the major drought of the late 20th century and extreme droughts associated with the Heinrich events of the last glacial. To better understand how Sahelian hydroclimate may respond to SST variability in a warmer world, we turn to the Pliocene epoch, when atmospheric CO2 levels were comparable to present.&#160;We studied sediments from Ocean Drilling Project Site 659, which is situated in the subtropical North Atlantic beneath the major modern summer Saharan dust plume. Our new dust accumulation rates and X-ray fluorescence core scan data indicate that there were major shifts between highly arid conditions and humid intervals with vegetated or &#8220;Green Sahara&#8221; conditions over much of northern Africa, driven by both solar insolation and glacial-interglacial variability. We also report three unusually long Plio-Pliocene humid intervals (each lasting ca. 100 kyr) characterised by very low dust emissions, that we term &#8220;Green Sahara Megaperiods (GSMPs)&#8221;. All three of these GSMPs occur at times when insolation variability was weak, resulting in values close to the long-term mean. This observation strongly suggests that factors other than insolation drove the sustained humidity of GSMPs. We present paired alkenone SST estimates and multi-species planktonic foramaniferal isotope records from 3.5&#8211;2.3 Myr ago to explore the extent to which the GSMPs were accompanied by intervals of extended warmth in the surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

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Manichaean Women in a Pseudo-Augustinian Testimony: An Analysis of the North African Testimonium de Manichaeis sectatoribus

Vigiliae Christianae ◽

10.1163/15700720-12341258 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 85-94

Author(s):

Johannes van Oort

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

Original Form ◽

North African ◽

The North ◽

Role Of Women ◽

Roman Africa

The article analyses the rather unknown and understudied Testimonium de Manichaeis sectatoribus. This Pseudo-Augustinian text has come down to us in two Latin manuscripts (one from Saint Gervais, Paris; the other from a Vatican codex) and interestingly elucidates the place and role of women among the Manichaeans of Roman Africa. Differences between the mss lead to the conclusion that, in all likelihood, the text underwent some ‘masculinisation’ in the course of its tradition. In its (in all probability) most original form, i.e., in the ms from Saint Gervais, Manichaean women appear to have played a major role. On the basis of the Testimonium, furthermore, it may be suggested that—at least in Roman Africa—female Manichaeans were (re)named with names that were highly symbolic to the ‘Religion of Light’.

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Meteorological Patterns Associated with Intense Saharan Dust Outbreaks over Greece in Winter

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2012/828301 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

P. T. Nastos

Keyword(s):

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Point Of View ◽

Saharan Dust ◽

Tyrrhenian Sea ◽

North African ◽

The West ◽

The North ◽

African Coast ◽

Strong Surface ◽

The Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean Basin and southern Europe are often affected by Saharan dust outbreaks, which influence the aerosol load and properties, air quality standards, visibility and human health. The present work examines, mainly of the meteorological point of view, three intense dust outbreaks occurred over Greece with duration of one or two days, on 4 and 6 February and 5-6 March 2009. The synoptic analysis on the dusty days showed the presence of low-pressure systems in the west coasts of Europe and the north Tyrrhenian Sea, respectively, associated with a trough reaching the north African coast. The result of these conditions was the strong surface and mid troposphere winds that carried significant amounts of dust over Greece. During the dusty days extensive cloud cover associated with the dust plume occurred over Greece. The air-mass trajectories showed a clear Saharan origin in all atmospheric levels, while the satellite (MODIS Terra/Aqua) observations as well as the model (DREAM) predictions verified the intense dust outbreaks over eastern Mediterranean and Greece. The ground based particulate matter concentrations in Athens were excessively increased on the dusty days (PM10: 150–560 μg/m3), while significant dry and wet deposition occurred as forecasted by DREAM model.

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Experiencias de incidencia política de la sociedad civil en el Norte de África

Trabajo Social Global-Global Social Work ◽

10.30827/tsg-gsw.v4i6.2185 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 31-48

Author(s):

Laurence Thieux

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

Political Transformation ◽

Political Systems ◽

Collective Actions ◽

North African ◽

Complex Processes ◽

The North ◽

Sociedad Civil

Este artículo analiza el papel de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en los procesos de transformación política de varios países del Norte de África. A través de diferentes casos de estudios se analizan experiencias concretas de incidencia política así como su rol en los procesos de movilización colectiva que han impulsado los procesos de reforma o transformación política en estos países. Lejos de presentar un panorama homogéneo, las “primaveras” han acentuado las disparidades y la heterogeneidad que caracteriza la evolución política de las sociedades norteafricanas. Mientras que algunos países han mantenido sus sistemas políticos autoritarios (Argelia), otros han conseguido mantener las estructuras y equilibrios de poderes al adoptar reformas sin cambiar la naturaleza del sistema (Marruecos). Otros (Túnez y Egipto) están inmersos en complejos procesos de transición en los cuales las organizaciones de la sociedad civil han tenido mayor o menor influencia según el caso. This article analyses the role of civil society in the process of political transformation in several countries in North Africa. Through different case studies, concrete experiences of advocacy strategy and the role of CSO in the mobilization of collective actions that have driven reform processes or political transformation in these countries are highlighted. Far from presenting a homogeneous scenario, "Arab Springs" have accentuated disparities and divergences in the political evolution of the North African societies. While some countries have maintained their authoritarian political systems (Algeria), others have managed to maintain the structures and balances of powers and they have tried to adopt reforms without changing the nature of the system (Morocco). Others (Tunisia and Egypt) are involved in complex processes of transition in which civil society organizations have had varying influence accordingly.

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