scholarly journals The rainfall regime and its uncertainty in Valencia and Larnaca

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 101-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Reiser ◽  
H. Kutiel

Abstract. The Most Expected Rainfall Regime – MERR in a certain region is composed of various parameters regarding the annual rainfall regime in that region. The present study examines several parameters of the MERR, such as: the rainfall TOTAL, the Date of Accumulated Percentage-DAP, the Rainy Season Length-RSL, the Number of Rain-Spells-NRS, the Rain-Spell Yield-RSY, the ratio between Average and Median rainfall-AMED, the relationship between accumulated precipitation and the number of rain-spells and the Dry-Spell Distribution-DSD. Two stations at the two sides of the Mediterranean basin, Valencia and Larnaca, have been used to illustrate the distribution of the above parameters across the Mediterranean. The main conclusion of the study is that the rainfall regime at Larnaca is less uncertain as compared with the regime in Valencia. This is probably due to the fact that rainfalls are completely absent during the summer in Larnaca, which better suits the definition of a Mediterranean climate than that of Valencia.

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragan Buric ◽  
Vladan Ducic ◽  
Jovan Mihajlovic ◽  
Jelena Lukovic ◽  
Jovan Dragojlovic

This study investigates the influence of atmospheric circulation in the Mediterranean region on the precipitation in Montenegro. Nine precipitation parameters have been used in the analysis and the relationship has been investigated by the Mediterranean and West Mediterranean Oscillation change index (MO and WeMO). According to a 60 - year observed period (1951-2010), the research results show that nothing characteristic happens with seasonal and annual precipitation sums because the trend is mainly insignificant. However, precipitation extremes are getting more extreme, which corresponds with a general idea of global warming. Negative consequences of daily intensity increase and frequency of precipitation days above fixed and percentile thresholds have been recorded recently in the form of torrents, floods, intensive erosive processes, etc., but it should be pointed out that human factor is partly a cause of such events. The estimate of the influence of teleconnection patterns primarily related to the Mediterranean Basin has shown that their variability affects the observed precipitation parameters on the territory of Montenegro regarding both seasonal and annual sums and frequency and intensity of extreme events shown by climate indices.


Water ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Deitch ◽  
Michele Sapundjieff ◽  
Shane Feirer

The Mediterranean climate is principally characterized by warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. However, there are large variations in precipitation dynamics in regions with this climate type. We examined the variability of precipitation within and among Mediterranean-climate areas, and classified the Mediterranean climate as wet, moderate, or dry based on annual precipitation; and strongly, moderately, or weakly seasonal based on percentage of precipitation during summer. Mediterranean biomes are mostly dry (<700 mm annually) but some areas are wet (>1300 mm annually); and many areas are weakly seasonal (>12% of annual precipitation during summer). We also used NOAA NCDC climate records to characterize interannual variability of annual and dry-season precipitation, as well as trends in annual, winter, and dry-season precipitation for 337 sites that met the data quality criteria from 1975 to 2015. Most significantly, sites in many Mediterranean-climate regions show downward trends in annual precipitation (southern California, Spain, Australia, Chile, and Northern Italy); and most of North America, the Mediterranean basin, and Chile showed downward trends in summer precipitation. Variations in annual and summer precipitation likely contribute to the high biodiversity and endemism characteristic of Mediterranean-climate biomes; the data indicate trends toward harsher conditions over the past 40 years.


2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
MOSHE GIL

This article is based on letters from the Geniza. The writers were merchants who dealt in imports and exports between Egypt and other countries of the Mediterranean basin. These merchants were part of the Jewish elite and maintained close ties with the Muslim authorities. They enjoyed considerable status with these authorities, who co-operated with the merchants, especially in the transport of goods; some of the high officials were, in fact, ship-owners. The administration of the time took a great interest in imports and exports, and would at times confiscate goods required by the army. The article reviews a series of citations from letters thus examining the relationship between the merchants and the authorities. The second part deals with the evidence of the droughts found in the merchants' letters; it is interesting to compare the details on droughts with the information in the Arabic sources. The third part discusses the information contained in the Geniza documents on the conquest of Jerusalem (638). This is followed by a discussion of two figures who are also known from Arabic sources: Manasseh b. Abraham Ibn al-Qazza¯z, and Barjawa¯n. The letters also reflect the restrictive measures against Jews and Christians in the days of Caliph al-Ha¯kim.


Author(s):  
Marilda Azulay Tapiero ◽  
Vicente Mas Llorens

The system of tourist settlements on the Mediterranean coast presents a great complexity, as well as its geographical, landscape, morphological, urban and architectural conditions like for the varied way of relating to it the social and economic groups involved. The purpose of the communication is to expose the research about the need and the possibility of actions providing tourist settlements with urban and territorial cohesion, and enabling new proposals where what is decisive is not only acting on the parties but, globally, on the conditions that defines the scenes of action. In order to deal with the complexity of the tourist development on the Valencian Mediterranean coast, we proposed, as a first step, the identification of settlement types where, contrary to the buildings type, it will be necessary to apply mechanisms that take into account there are structures in the process of evolution. As Giorgio Grassi (1973) already said, a classification is not a type but allows an approximation to it. This has allowed the development of a “Typological Map of Tourist Settlements in the Comunidad Valenciana” where situate case studies while reading the territory as a whole and each settlement in relation to others settlements. A map to add data, based on the definition of parameters related to structure, urban form and architecture, but also to the relationship with the coastal physical environment, and selected for their capacity to provide data for the research purposes.


Author(s):  
Jean Margat

The geography of natural water resources in the Mediterranean basin cannot simply be reduced to the study of water inputs, water distribution, and the pattern of runoff-generating precipitation determined by climate and relief—although these are, of course, fundamental controls (Margat 1992; Benblidia et al. 1996). Any consideration of basin-wide water resources also needs to consider a range of territorially determined factors affecting water resources. These include: (1) the nature of surface and underground flows, which depends on river basin and hydrogeological characteristics; (2) the natural storage capacity of lakes and aquifers and their role in regulating flows, and any losses from these stores which reduce the resulting flows; (3) the existence of favourable conditions for water management and exploitation such as suitable sites for dam construction and the productivity of aquifers, as these factors dictate accessibility to water resources and the production costs; (4) the natural quality of the water, its vulnerability to pollution and its capacity for self-purification; (5) any constraints imposed for reasons of environmental conservation, which may effectively exclude a proportion of water reserves from the category of exploitable resources. It is important to appreciate that each of these factors influences the assessment of water resources in a given area and each factor has its own geography (Margat 1997; Margat and Vallée 1999a). In spite of the broad similarities in climate and landscape between the different parts of the Mediterranean basin, there are considerable variations between regions that impact upon the availability of water resources. Many of the factors affecting water resources cited above are subject to a similar degree of variation (Grenon and Batisse 1989; Chapter 8) and these are discussed in turn below. Marking the transition between the temperate climate of Europe and the aridity of North Africa and the Near East, the Mediterranean climate contains wide variation, and this is reflected in a highly uneven distribution of rainfall (Benblidia et al. 1996; Margat and Vallée 1999a; Chapter 3). For example, moving from one extreme to another, average annual rainfall ranges from more than 3,000 mm in parts of the Dinaric Alps to less than 50 mm in Libya.


2011 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ó. Dembilio ◽  
G.V. Tapia ◽  
M.M. Téllez ◽  
J.A. Jacas

AbstractThe red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an economically important pest of palms worldwide. To better understand the phenology of R. ferrugineus populations in the Mediterranean basin, the objective of the present work has been to estimate the effect of temperatures within the range 10–25°C on the reproductive parameters of R. ferrugineus and to determine its lower temperature thresholds for oviposition and egg hatching. Our results confirm that oviposition in R. ferrugineus is strongly affected by temperature. Lower thresholds for oviposition and egg hatching (15.45° and 13.95°C, respectively) are below the mean monthly temperatures registered in winter in most of the northern shore of the Mediterranean basin. Under these circumstances, new palm infestations would be difficult during most of the winter. These results should be taken into account when planning some palm management practices, such as pruning or pesticide treatments, in areas under a Mediterranean climate.


2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Doussi ◽  
Costas A. Thanos

Ecophysiological aspects of seed germination were investigated in four Mediterranean geophytes of the genus Muscari (Liliaceae): M. comosum (tassel hyacinth), M. neglectum (common grape hyacinth), M. commutatum and M. weissii. Experiments were performed at constant temperatures in the dark and under temperature and light conditions simulating those prevailing in nature during November–January, i.e. well into the rainy season of the Mediterranean climate. In all species, no primary dormancy was revealed, and germination occurred in a rather narrow range of cool temperatures (optimum at 10 or 15°C) and at a remarkably slow rate; both germination characteristics seem to be associated with autumn/winter seed germination and seedling establishment. Such a postulated strategy is ecologically advantageous within an unpredictable rainfall regime, known to prevail during the start of the rainy period of the Mediterranean climate. This strategy may also explain the spread of germination of M. comosum seeds over two consecutive years, observed by Theophrastus. Far-red light, simulating light conditions under a dense canopy, resulted in only a slight delay of germination compared to dark controls. Diurnal white light, qualitatively simulating natural daylight, caused a significant decrease of the germination rate in all four species studied. Moreover, white light was found to suppress considerably final seed germination (photoinhibition) in M. weissii and M. neglectum; in the latter species, prolonged imbibition under white light also led to the induction of secondary dormancy.


Author(s):  
A-G Shaibu ◽  
H. Ishikawa

Groundwater is a very important asset to the people of Northern Ghana where majority are farmers as its used for many domestic and agricultural activities. The research evaluated the effects of absolute and barometric pressures on water-table fluctuations of boreholes in Wa West and Tolon Districts of Northern Ghana. Pumping tests, absolute and barometric pressures were monitored using non-vented water level sensors for one year, from 2015-2016. The results of the research indicate that, the aquifer of the Kpaligung borehole is of Voltaian province while that of Baleofili is Granitoid intrusions. The yield of the Baleofili borehole is 1.8 m3/h (30 l/min), while that of the Kpaligung borehole yields 1.4 m3/h (23 l/min). Rainfall regime has considerable effects on Kpaligung and Baleofili boreholes` recharge and water-table fluctuation due to the effects of both absolute and barometric pressure throughout the year. The relationship between barometric pressure and water pressure for the Kpaligung borehole shows positive, but weak correlation value (0.2) that is, increase in barometric pressure leads to an increase in water level and vice versa. The Baleofili borehole shows an inverse relationship between barometric pressure and water level pressure with the coefficient of correlation being 0.5. The relationship between the changes in water level of the boreholes with the corresponding change in rainfall amount suggests that the groundwater recharge of the boreholes depends considerably on annual rainfall variation in the study areas considered.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Avanza

Studies of the pro-life movement have invariably been undertaken in relation to the pro-choice movement. The stress on comparison has tended to homogenize the two sides, thus understating their internal differences. This article extends beyond an analysis bounded by a movement―countermovement dichotomy. Based on ethnographic data and on the Italian case, it considers several questions that arise from revealing the intramovement divisions at various levels. First, there are tensions relating to the relationship between orthodoxy and institutionalized politics: how far, if at all, should there be doctrinal compromises in exchange for influence over public policy? Secondly, the conflicts over modes of action. In this respect, should protests be visible in public spaces, and if so how? These two issues govern the tense relationship between the <em>Movimento per la Vita</em> and more radical groups. Thirdly, the issue that divides the <em>Movimento </em>itself; the ongoing dialogue over the attitude to be taken towards contraception, and thus sexuality. At the heart of these intramovement struggles is the definition of what a ‘real’ pro-life movement is, and how a ‘real’ pro-life movement should mobilize. This article reveals a complex and highly fragmented image of the pro-life movement that, like every social movement of a certain size, is heterogeneous in its demographic composition, objectives and strategies. To show this complexity, the article adopts an emic approach that does not limit itself to a reading of conservative movements through the eyes of progressive movements.


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