scholarly journals Evaporation from weighing precipitation gauges: impacts on automated gauge measurements and quality assurance methods

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 12851-12871
Author(s):  
R. D. Leeper ◽  
J. Kochendorfer

Abstract. The effects of evaporation on precipitation measurements have been understood to bias total precipitation lower. For automated weighing-bucket gauges, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the use of evaporative suppressants with frequent observations. However, the use of evaporation suppressants is not always feasible due to environmental hazards and the added cost of maintenance, transport, and disposal of the gauge additive. In addition, research has suggested that evaporation prior to precipitation may affect precipitation measurements from auto-recording gauges operating at sub-hourly frequencies. For further evaluation, a field campaign was conducted to monitor evaporation and its impacts on the quality of precipitation measurements from gauges used at US Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations. Collocated Geonor gauges with (nonEvap) and without (evap) an evaporative suppressant were compared to evaluate evaporative losses and evaporation biases on precipitation measurements. From June to August, evaporative losses from the evap gauge exceeded accumulated precipitation, with an average loss of 0.12 mm h−1. However, the impact of evaporation on precipitation measurements was sensitive to calculation methods. In general, methods that utilized a longer time series to smooth out sensor noise were more sensitive to gauge (−4.6% bias with respect to control) evaporation than methods computing depth change without smoothing (< +1% bias). These results indicate that while climate and gauge design affect gauge evaporation rates computational methods can influence the magnitude of evaporation bias on precipitation measurements. It is hoped this study will advance QA techniques that mitigate the impact of evaporation biases on precipitation measurements from other automated networks.

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 2291-2300 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Leeper ◽  
J. Kochendorfer

Abstract. Evaporation from a precipitation gauge can cause errors in the amount of measured precipitation. For automated weighing-bucket gauges, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the use of evaporative suppressants and frequent observations to limit these biases. However, the use of evaporation suppressants is not always feasible due to environmental hazards and the added cost of maintenance, transport, and disposal of the gauge additive. In addition, research has suggested that evaporation prior to precipitation may affect precipitation measurements from auto-recording gauges operating at sub-hourly frequencies. For further evaluation, a field campaign was conducted to monitor evaporation and its impacts on the quality of precipitation measurements from gauges used at U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations. Two Geonor gauges were collocated, with one gauge using an evaporative suppressant (referred to as Geonor-NonEvap) and the other with no suppressant (referred to as Geonor-Evap) to evaluate evaporative losses and evaporation biases on precipitation measurements. From June to August, evaporative losses from the Geonor-Evap gauge exceeded accumulated precipitation, with an average loss of 0.12 mm h−1. The impact of evaporation on precipitation measurements was sensitive to the choice of calculation method. In general, the pairwise method that utilized a longer time series to smooth out sensor noise was more sensitive to gauge evaporation (−4.6% bias with respect to control) than the weighted-average method that calculated depth change over a smaller window (


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Stella Epifanio ◽  
Federica Andrei ◽  
Giacomo Mancini ◽  
Francesca Agostini ◽  
Marco Andrea Piombo ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the world in the year 2020 has put a strain on our ability to cope with events and revolutionized our daily habits. On 9 March, Italy was forced to lockdown to prevent the spread of the infection, with measures including the mandatory closure of schools and nonessential activities, travel restrictions, and the obligation to spend entire weeks in the same physical space. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures on quality of life (QoL) in a large Italian sample, in order to investigate possible differences in QoL levels related to both demographic and pandemic-specific variables. A total of 2251 Italian adults (1665 women, mainly young and middle adults) were recruited via a snowball sampling strategy. Participants were requested to answer to an online survey, which included demographic and COVID-related information items, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). The results showed statistically significant differences in QoL depending on a number of variables, including sex, area of residence in Italy, and being diagnosed with a medical/psychiatric condition. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess QoL during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, therefore the present findings can offer guidelines regarding which social groups are more vulnerable of a decline in QoL and would benefit of psychological interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 180-203
Author(s):  
Elena Stukalenko ◽  

Digital technologies, ubiquitous in our daily life, have radically changed the way we work, communicate, and consume in a short period of time. They affect all components of quality of life: well-being, work, health, education, social connections, environmental quality, the ability to participate and govern civil society, and so on. Digital transformation creates both opportunities and serious risks to the well-being of people. Researchers and statistical agencies around the world are facing a major challenge to develop new tools to analyze the impact of digital transformation on the well-being of the population. The risks are very diverse in nature and it is very difficult to identify the key factor. All researchers conclude that secure digital technologies significantly improve the lives of those who have the skills to use them and pose a serious risk of inequality for society, as they introduce a digital divide between those who have the skills to use them and those who do not. In the article, the author examines the risks created by digital technologies for some components of the quality of life (digital component of the quality of life), which are six main components: the digital quality of the population, providing the population with digital benefits, the labor market in the digital economy, the impact of digitalization on the social sphere, state electronic services for the population and the security of information activities. The study was carried out on the basis of the available statistical base and the results of research by scientists from different countries of the world. The risks of the digital economy cannot be ignored when pursuing state social policy. Attention is paid to government regulation aimed at reducing the negative consequences of digitalization through the prism of national, federal projects and other events.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 00037
Author(s):  
Resha Ayu Putri Belinawati ◽  
Tri Edhi Budhi Soesilo ◽  
Herdis Herdiansyah ◽  
Intan Nurul Aini

As one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world, Citarum river pollution has become the world’s spotlight. The pollution that occurred along the Citarum River in West Java has been the concern of the local government. Pollution not only comes from a plant and household, but also from industries. In this study the authors use descriptive quantitative method, where researchers will describe and compare the existing variables to see the possibilities that arise. Variable used is the number of industries that exist and how the impact against BOD. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measuring instrument that is widely used to see the quality of oxygen levels in the water. In this paper shows that there is a possibility if BOD increases if the number of industries increases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-79
Author(s):  
Aslan H Abashidze ◽  
Vladislav S Malichenko

The article highlights the main steps in the formation of compulsory licensing mechanism before the establishment of the World Trade Organization, and analyzes the main provisions of this mechanism implementation under the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration. Based on the analysis of examples from different regions of the world, the article determines the main advantages of using compulsory licensing with regard to expand of access to medicines, possible impact on quality of the medicinal products being produced and the investment attractiveness of the countries applying this mechanism are assessed. The purpose of this article is to analyze the main approaches to the implementation of compulsory licensing in order to determine the most effective strategy for using this mechanism in the Russian Federation in order to expand the availability of drug therapy for the treatment of life-threatening diseases. Based on the impact of compulsory licensing implementation, the author concludes that it does not correspond to the objectives of the Russian pharmaceutical industry development identified as a priority by Russian Government. Despite a possibility of using compulsory licensing under regulation of many countries, this mechanism is implemented rarely. A possibility of issuing a compulsory licensing is a strong argument in price negotiations with producers. According to the authors position, implementation of compulsory licensing has to be preceded by cost containment mechanism, primarily based on negotiations with producers.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Clarke-Deelder ◽  
Christian Suharlim ◽  
Susmita Chatterjee ◽  
Logan Brenzel ◽  
Arindam Ray ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionThe world is not on track to achieve the goals for immunization coverage and equity described by the World Health Organization’s Global Vaccine Action Plan. In India, only 62% of children had received a full course of basic vaccines in 2016. We evaluated the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI), a campaign-style intervention to increase routine immunization coverage and equity in India, implemented in 2017-2018.MethodsWe conducted a comparative interrupted time-series analysis using monthly district-level data on vaccine doses delivered, comparing districts participating and not participating in IMI. We estimated the impact of IMI on coverage and under-coverage (defined as the proportion of children who were unvaccinated) during the four-month implementation period and in subsequent months.FindingsDuring implementation, IMI increased delivery of thirteen infant vaccines by between 1.6% (95% CI: −6.4, 10.2%) and 13.8% (3.0%, 25.7%). We did not find evidence of a sustained effect during the 8 months after implementation ended. Over the 12 months from the beginning of implementation, IMI reduced under-coverage of childhood vaccination by between 3.9% (−6.9%, 13.7%) and 35.7% (−7.5%, 77.4%). The largest estimated effects were for the first doses of vaccines against diptheria-tetanus-pertussis and polio.InterpretationIMI had a substantial impact on infant immunization delivery during implementation, but this effect waned after implementation ended. Our findings suggest that campaign-style interventions can increase routine infant immunization coverage and reach formerly unreached children in the shorter term, but other approaches may be needed for sustained coverage improvements.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zadrian Ardi ◽  
Indah Sukmawati

Various studies in the information technology revealed that there has been a change in the trend of internet use in recent years. Internet users in the world prefer to spend time accessing the internet through the social media. Social media with a variety of platforms provides special communities with their own uniqueness and allows users to share lots of content. The members involves creates a new social community with various phenomena, both positive and negative. Counselors in the millennium era are required to have the insight andknowledge that is qualified to deal with the well being conditions of individuals from activities in social media. Counselors are also required to have specific skills in providing handling with the condition of well being individuals related to the impact of activities on social media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e30510212535
Author(s):  
Gabriel Kiaro Leite Nunes ◽  
Karinne Alice Santos de Araújo ◽  
Thais Ranielle Souza de Oliveira ◽  
Marcelina da Conceição Botelho Teixeira ◽  
Ieler Ferreira Ribeiro ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about major changes in the lifestyle of the world population. Due to the lack of vaccines or a definitive treatment for disease, governments around the world have adopted social isolation and quarantine as methods to control the spread of the virus. Objective: Thus, the objective of this study was to discuss how social isolation and quarantine periods affected people's mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An integrative literature review was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic between March and September 2020, establishing the following guiding question: How did social isolation and quarantine affect the mental health and quality of life of the population in the COVID-19 pandemic? Results: The final sample consisted of nineteen (19) articles, two (2) addressed depression during the pandemic period, three (3) presented the pandemic and the relationship with sociodemographic aspects, five (5) analyzed mental health in the pandemic, four (4) reported the impact of COVID-19 on the population's style and quality of life and the last five (5) demonstrated the quality of human relationships and emotional aspects in the face of the pandemic. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that isolation and the quarantine period had a negative impact on the population's quality of life and long-term mental health.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2238
Author(s):  
Sumi Sarkar ◽  
Marium Khatun ◽  
Farzana Mustafa Era ◽  
A. K. M. Mominul Islam ◽  
Md. Parvez Anwar ◽  
...  

Abiotic stresses varyingly affect the grain composition and quality of food legumes. This paper is aimed at discussing the impact of abiotic stresses on the grain composition and quality of food legumes. As protein is the main grain constituent of food legumes for which it is being consumed by humans as a cheap protein source, abiotic stresses such as heat, cold, drought, salinity and heavy metals alter this grain protein content in different dimensions for different food legumes. Moreover, other valuable constituents such as starch, soluble sugar, oil, fatty acid and fiber content are affected differently by the abiotic stresses. The diverse impact of these abiotic stresses ultimately declines the grain quality and yield of food legumes. As food legumes play a vital role in the nutritional diet of millions of people in the world and are occasionally denoted as the meat of poor people, it is important to recognize that the sustainable production of food legumes, even under various environmental stresses, has the potential to ensure protein security for people globally. Therefore, it has become a necessity to improve the productivity and quality of food legumes under abiotic stresses through proper crop management and improved breeding strategies, thus enhancing food and economic security to the farmers, particularly in the developing countries of the world.


Author(s):  
Vimbi Petrus Mahlangu

The purpose of this chapter is to argue that all open and distance learning (ODL) institutions should carry out quality assurance and accreditation processes in order for students and funders to have confidence in them. It also explains in detail what quality assurance and accreditation entails in ODL. This chapter follows a qualitative approach in understanding quality assurance and accreditation in ODL. Data were collected via literature review. During recent decades, the discourse and practices of systematic quality assurance and quality control have spread around the world, resulting to a great extent in market-based models related to the ideology and policy of neo-liberalism and expressed in economic rationalities such as new public management, total quality management, public choice, and human capital. Quality assurance and accreditation in ODL aims to maintain and raise the quality of education and to guarantee the improvement of its standards.


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