scholarly journals Relationship between lightning and model simulated microphysical parameters over the central and eastern Mediterranean

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1719-1726
Author(s):  
D. K. Katsanos ◽  
K. Lagouvardos ◽  
V. Kotroni

Abstract. In this study the relationship between lightning and simulated microphysical parameters of clouds, is examined. In order to investigate such a relationship, a number of cases with significant lightning activity that occurred during the wet period of the year over the central and eastern Mediterranean have been selected, based on the lightning activity reported by the ZEUS lighting detection network, operated by the National Observatory of Athens. For the same cases, simulations with the non-hydrostatic MM5 model were performed with the aim of reproducing the dynamical and microphysical parameters associated with the weather systems that produced lightning. The analysis showed that the temporal distribution of convective rainfall is not well correlated with that of lightning, while on the contrary, the temporal distribution of the simulated concentrations of solid hydrometeors correlates well with lightning and there is also a general coincidence of their maxima. Further, it was shown that the best correlation was found during the development stage of the storms, while during the decay phase the number of lightning decreases much faster that the simulated concentrations of solid hydrometeors.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 671-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Korbinian Breinl ◽  
Hannes Müller-Thomy ◽  
Günter Blöschl

AbstractWe estimate areal reduction factors (ARFs; the ratio of catchment rainfall and point rainfall) varying in space and time using a fixed-area method for Austria and link them to the dominating rainfall processes in the region. We particularly focus on two subregions in the west and east of the country, where stratiform and convective rainfall processes dominate, respectively. ARFs are estimated using a rainfall dataset of 306 rain gauges with hourly resolution for five durations between 1 h and 1 day. Results indicate that the ARFs decay faster with area in regions of increased convective activity than in regions dominated by stratiform processes. Low ARF values occur where and when lightning activity (as a proxy for convective activity) is high, but some areas with reduced lightning activity exhibit also rather low ARFs as, in summer, convective rainfall can occur in any part of the country. ARFs tend to decrease with increasing return period, possibly because the contribution of convective rainfall is higher. The results of this study are consistent with similar studies in humid climates and provide new insights regarding the relationship of ARFs and dominating rainfall processes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 1901-1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Katsanos ◽  
K. Lagouvardos ◽  
V. Kotroni ◽  
A. A. Argiriou

Abstract In this paper, the relationship of lightning activity in the central and eastern Mediterranean with the 85-GHz polarization-corrected temperature (PCT) and radar reflectivity provided by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is investigated. Lightning observations were mainly provided by the Met Office’s Arrival Time Difference system as well as by the TRMM Lightning Imaging Sensor. The studied period spans from September 2003 to April 2004 and focuses on the events with the most important lightning activity. It was found that 50% of the cases with flashes have PCTs lower than 225 K, while only 3% of the “no lightning” cases have PCTs below this value. Further, if PCT is used as a proxy for the presence of lightning, the value of 217 K gives the best statistical scores for the presence of at least one observed flash. In addition, the ratio of cloud-to-ground lightning to total lightning activity has higher values for the “colder” PCT values and decreases as PCT increases. In addition, the mean and maximum reflectivity profiles with collocated lightning are from 3 to 10 dB and from 6 to 15 dB, respectively, higher than that without lightning. Further, a reflectivity profile with values greater than 53 dBZ in the low levels (below 3 km), of ∼45 dBZ at 5 km and 40 dBZ at 7 km is associated with a probability of 80% for lightning occurrence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-205
Author(s):  
Davide Tanasi

AbstractThe relationship between Sicily and the eastern Mediterranean – namely Aegean, Cyprus and the Levant – represents one of the most intriguing facets of the prehistory of the island. The frequent and periodical contact with foreign cultures were a trigger for a gradual process of socio-political evolution of the indigenous community. Such relationship, already in inception during the Neolithic and the Copper Age, grew into a cultural phenomenon ruled by complex dynamics and multiple variables that ranged from the Mid-3rd to the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. In over 1,500 years, a very large quantity of Aegean and Levantine type materials have been identified in Sicily alongside with example of unusual local material culture traditionally interpreted as resulting from external influence. To summarize all the evidence during such long period and critically address it in order to attempt historical reconstructions is a Herculean labor.Twenty years after Sebastiano Tusa embraced this challenge for the first time, this paper takes stock on two decades of new discoveries and research reassessing a vast amount of literature, mostly published in Italian and in regional journals, while also address the outcomes of new archaeometric studies. The in-depth survey offers a new perspective of general trends in this East-West relationship which conditioned the subsequent events of the Greek and Phoenician colonization of Sicily.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-240
Author(s):  
Sara Salem

AbstractThis article is a review of Ilham Khuri-Makdisi’s bookThe Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Capitalism, 1860–1914. I argue that this book is a valuable contribution to historiographies of the Left in the Middle East, a field that remains under-represented given the importance of labour to the nationalist movements as well as broader worker-activism in the region throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. I review the main debates of the book, and raise critical questions about aspects that could have been probed further, among them the questions of imperialism and race in contexts such as Egypt and Lebanon, and the relationship(s) between workers and the radical intellectuals discussed throughout the book.


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 403-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anirban Guha ◽  
Trisanu Banik ◽  
Rakesh Roy ◽  
Barin Kumar De

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Skourtsos ◽  
Haralambos Kranis ◽  
Spyridon Mavroulis ◽  
Efthimios Lekkas

<p>The NNE-SSW, right-lateral Kefalonia Transform Fault (KTF) marks the western termination of the subducting Hellenic slab, which is a part of the oceanic remnant of the African plate. The inception of the KTF, described as a STEP fault, is placed in the Pliocene. KTF is considered to be the most active earthquake source in the Eastern Mediterranean. During the last two decades, four significant earthquakes (M>6.0) have been associated with the KTF. These events are attributed to the reactivation of different segments of the KTF, which are (from North to South) the North Lefkada, South Lefkada, Fiskardo, Paliki and Zakynthos segments: the North Lefkada segment ruptured in the 2003 earthquake, the 2014 Kefalonia events are associated with the Paliki segment and the 2015 Lefkada earthquake with the South Lefkada (and possibly the Fiskardo) segments.</p><p>The upper plate structure in the islands of Lefkada and Kefalonia is characterized by the Ionian Unit, thrusted over the Paxi (or Pre-Apulian) Unit. The Ionian Thrust, which brings the Ionian over the Paxi Unit, is a main upper-plate NNW-SSE, NE-dipping structure. It runs through the island of Lefkada, to be mapped onshore again at the western coast of Ithaki and at SE Kefalonia. Two other major thrusts are mapped on this island: the Aenos thrust, which has a WNW-ESE strike at the southern part of the island and gradually curves towards NNW-SSE in the west and the Kalo Fault in the northern part. These Pliocene (and still active) structures developed during the late-most stages of thrusting in the Hellenides, strike obliquely to the KTF and appear to abut against it.</p><p>We suggest that these thrusts control not only the deformation within the upper plate, but also the earthquake segmentation of the KTF. This suggestion is corroborated by the spatio-temporal distribution and source parameters of the recent, well-documented earthquake events and by the macroseismic effects of these earthquakes. The abutment of the Ionian thrust against the KTF marks the southern termination of the Lefkada earthquake segment, which ruptured in the 2003 earthquake, while the Aenos, (or the Kalo) thrust mark the southern end of the Fiskardo segment. The spatial distribution of the Earthquake Environmental Effects related to the four significant events in the last 20 years displays a good correlation with our interpretation: most of the 2003 macroseismic effects are located in the northern part of Lefkada, which belongs to the upper block of the Ionian thrust; similarly, the effects of the 2014 earthquakes of Kefalonia are distributed mainly in the Paliki Peninsula and the southern part of the island that belong to the footwall of the Aenos thrust and the 2015 effects are found in SW Lefkada, which is part of the footwall of the Ionian thrust.</p><p>We suggest that correlation between upper-plate structure and plate boundary faulting can provide insights in the understanding of faulting pattern in convergent settings, therefore contributing to earthquake management plans.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2125-2135 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Shalev ◽  
H. Saaroni ◽  
T. Izsak ◽  
Y. Yair ◽  
B. Ziv

Abstract. The spatio-temporal distribution of lightning flashes over Israel and the neighboring area and its relation to the regional synoptic systems has been studied, based on data obtained from the Israel Lightning Location System (ILLS) operated by the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). The system detects cloud-to-ground lightning discharges in a range of ~500 km around central Israel (32.5° N, 35° E). The study period was defined for annual activity from August through July, for 5 seasons in the period 2004–2010. The spatial distribution of lightning flash density indicates the highest concentration over the Mediterranean Sea, attributed to the contribution of moisture as well as sensible and latent heat fluxes from the sea surface. Other centers of high density appear along the coastal plain, orographic barriers, especially in northern Israel, and downwind from the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Israel. The intra-annual distribution shows an absence of lightning during the summer months (JJA) due to the persistent subsidence over the region. The vast majority of lightning activity occurs during 7 months, October to April. Although over 65 % of the rainfall in Israel is obtained during the winter months (DJF), only 35 % of lightning flashes occur in these months. October is the richest month, with 40 % of total annual flashes. This is attributed both to tropical intrusions, i.e., Red Sea Troughs (RST), which are characterized by intense static instability and convection, and to Cyprus Lows (CLs) arriving from the west. Based on daily study of the spatial distribution of lightning, three patterns have been defined; "land", "maritime" and "hybrid". CLs cause high flash density over the Mediterranean Sea, whereas some of the RST days are typified by flashes over land. The pattern defined "hybrid" is a combination of the other 2 patterns. On CL days, only the maritime pattern was noted, whereas in RST days all 3 patterns were found, including the maritime pattern. It is suggested that atmospheric processes associated with RST produce the land pattern. Hence, the occurrence of a maritime pattern in days identified as RST reflects an "apparent RST". The hybrid pattern was associated with an RST located east of Israel. This synoptic type produced the typical flash maximum over the land, but the upper-level trough together with the onshore winds it induced over the eastern coast of the Mediterranean resulted in lightning activity over the sea as well, similar to that of CLs. It is suggested that the spatial distribution patterns of lightning may better identify the synoptic system responsible, a CL, an "active RST" or an "apparent RST". The electrical activity thus serves as a "fingerprint" for the synoptic situation responsible for its generation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Shen ◽  
Yue Du ◽  
Hua sheng Zhou

Abstract Background: This study aimed to understand the temporal distribution characteristics of road traffic collisions and the drunk driving collisions and casualty rates in some districts of Guangzhou city to develop suggestions for prevention of drunk driving. Methods: Data such as test results, casualties, and occurrence time from a total of 4986 traffic collisions reports issued by the Health Laboratory Centre of Southern Medical University between 2012 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Outcome measures included the relationship between the temporal distribution and rate of drunkdriving collisions and casualties. Data from the recent five years indicated that the number of collisions declined yearly, and the detection detection rate of drunk driving increased yearly. Drunk driving collisions mainly occurred during the period from 22:00-04:00 every day. The number of traffic collisions and the detection rate of drunk driving were significantly higher in the nighttime than that in the daytime. Most collisions occurred on Wednesday. The detection rate of drunk driving collisions was high in February, October, November and December, all with a percentage of more than 63%. The casualty rate of collisions that did not involve drunk driving was significantly higher than that of drunk driving collisions. Conclusion: Through the analysis of drunk driving in some districts of Guangzhou, we can control the intensity of drunk driving inspection so as to prevent road traffic collisions caused by drunk driving. At the same time, the government should step up publicity and education on the hazards of drunk driving to reduce the occurrence of drunk driving Road traffic collisions.


Author(s):  
Devrim Şahin ◽  
Ahmet Sözen

The discovery of energy sources in the Eastern Mediterranean region, while providing opportunities, further complicates Turkey-Israeli relationship. If Israel and Turkey can cooperate on energy, they can revitalize their relationship to the extent when the military elites were strong in Turkey and the relationship between two countries was established with the hands of generals. The 2016 Israel-Turkey agreement, which ended years of tension, provides Israel and Turkey with the opportunity to cooperate in energy areas. This collaboration, in turn, could generate the eventual emergence of the new ruling elites that would fill the vacuum created by the decline of the military's role in Turkey. It was the crisis management experience of the US that made the agreement between two countries possible in June 2016. Yet, any normalization process between Israel and Turkey will not be easy. US policy in the Mideast influences Turkey-Israel relations, and Turkey-Israel relations, in turn, affect the future of the Middle East. This obliges the US to bear a tremendous responsibility.


Author(s):  
Donald W. Winnicott

In this talk to London County Council Children’s Department senior staff, Winnicott describes the features of adolescence that he believes are important for this audience of his to attend to. He speaks of each adolescent having to negotiate this age-specific phase, whilst also dealing with the onset of puberty, so as to arrive at adulthood. He is aware that adolescent breakdowns put a strain on society and require toleration and treatment. For Winnicott, three social developments have altered the climate of adolescence: treatment for venereal disease, the availability of contraceptive techniques, and the creation of the atom bomb, all of which affects the relationship between adult society and adolescence. The adolescent is pre-potent, and does not accept false solutions. The real cure for adolescence is the passage of time, and to get through this development stage, there will be a period Winnicott calls the adolescent doldrums.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document