Climatological Features of Squall Line at the Borneo Coastline during Southwest Monsoon

Borneo Squall Line (BSL) is a disaster risk associated with intense rain and wind gust that affect the activities and residence near the northern coast of Borneo. Using 3-hourly rainfall from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42V7 during southwest monsoon season (May–September) from 1998–2018, a total of 629 squall days were identified. Their monthly and annual average was 6 and 30 days, respectively, with July representing the month with the highest number of squall line days. BSL is frequently initiated during midnight/predawn and terminated in the morning. Composite analyses of BSL days using the daily winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-Interim revealed that lower tropospheric wind convergence is a crucial controlling factor for BSL formation. The position of the monsoon trough closer to the equatorial South China Sea (SCS), and strong westerly and south-westerly winds played an important role in creating this wind convergence region. Analyses of tropical cyclone (TC) data from the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC), Tokyo showed that nearly 72% of BSL occurred with the presence of TC. Spectral analysis exhibited prominent frequencies mainly in the 3–4- and 6-year time scale, which likely reflected the influence of interannual modulation of El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Correlation coefficient between squall days and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies indicated that BSL increased after La-Niña events. This study is expected to have implications for real-time squall line forecasting in Malaysia and contributes toward a better understanding of BSL.

Innovative Vibrating Hydraulic Dredge for Striped Venus (Chamelea gallina) Fishing

This work proposes the experimentation of an innovative hydraulic dredge for clam fishing (Chamelea gallina) in the Adriatic Sea (Italy). This innovative gear aimed at increasing the selectivity of the typical hydraulic dredge used currently, while at the same reducing the impact on benthos through the conception, installation, and experimentation of innovative technological solutions, consisting mainly of a vibrating bottom panel on the dredge and a “warning device” on the dredge mouth. Comparative experiments of the traditional vs. the modified gear, employing two boats fishing in parallel on the northern coast of Abruzzi (Adriatic Sea) and contrasting the catch with both paired comparisons and through modelling, showed that the innovative hydraulic dredge retains fewer undersize clams while yielding similar amounts of commercial product, moreover of higher quality; at the same time, it takes on board less discard, and catches significantly less vagile fauna. In short, the innovative gear is gaining five times over a list of six parameters considered as positive and/or advantageous for the clam fishery. The results allow proposals of potential improvements to clam-fishing instruments to make the selection processes more effective while promoting a lower impacting fishery, which is essential for clam management.

Morphology, composition and structure of the fibers of a Chimu culture textile

In this work we studied the microfibers of a textile (T-shirt) of the Chimú culture. This culture developed on the northern coast of Peru. To determine the raw material and structural quality of the microfibers, the results of the Chimú textile were compared with the corresponding results for the microfibers of cotton from the northern coast of Peru (native cotton). Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the Chimú textile yarns are composed of a set of interwoven microfibers. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and pulsed laser-induced plasma spectroscopy techniques allowed the identification of characteristic cellulose atoms in the microfibers of Chimú textile and native cotton. Only for the Chimú textile, these spectroscopic techniques allowed the identification of atoms corresponding to natural dyes and powder residues. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy identified the same molecular bonds for the microfibers of Chimú textile and native cotton. For the microfibers of Chimú textile and native cotton, the X-ray diffractograms showed peaks characteristic of the cellulose Iβ polymorphism of of monoclinic P21 structure. The raw material of the Chimú textile is cotton and the microfibers of this material show significant structural stability.

Optimizing the utilization of scad fish (Decapterus spp.) resource in northern coast of Aceh

For ten years, the Scad fish production in the Northern Coast of Aceh has been increasing rapidly at 172.5%. This condition describes that the Scad fish resource exploitation is implemented under improper management that could encounter an overfishing case. This study aimed to analyze the Scad fish resource utilization level and recommend a management strategy to achieve an optimized Scad fish resource utilization in the Northern Coast of Aceh. This study was performed in the Ocean Fishing Port, Kutaraja, Banda Aceh. Bioeconomic analysis results showed that catching product and effort in MSY condition at 2,838.59 tons and 2,808 trips by economic rent was Rp23,902 million per year. In MEY condition, catching product at 2,748.01 ton with catching effort at 2,311 and economic rent was Rp25,056 million per year. The open-access condition of Scad fish resource with total catching effort at 5,386 trips and economic rent value obtained was Rp 0. Results demonstrated that the Scad fish resource utilization status in the Northern Coast of Aceh encounters biological and economical overfishing. The Scad fish resource management strategy for achieving MSY and MEY condition through input control and output control by establishing the total allowed catching product and catching quota.

Complex innovations in agriculture, environment, and health – the perceptions of rice farmers in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru

The increased use of water in irrigated rice monocultures in the Jequetepeque Valley, on the northern coast of Peru, has exacerbated environmental, socioeconomic and health problems. The Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation technique aims to increase water management efficiency in rice cultivation. The objective of the present article is to understand farmers’ perceptions about the benefits and risks of implementing AWD. Data from interviews with 319 farmers showed that they recognise nine interactions between AWD's economic, environmental and health aspects but prioritise economic factors when assessing its benefits. We also identified the main channels and spaces of communication and debate on issues related to agriculture and health that are likely to be effective in promoting the diffusion of AWD. The study demonstrated the relevance of integrated actions to encourage the adoption of agricultural innovations which consider the interactions between environmental sustainability, health issues, and producers' economic priorities.

Numerical Study of Bamboo Breakwater for Wave Reduction

Flood inundation and shoreline erosion have long occurred in Sayung, Demak area, the northern coast of Central Java Province, Indonesia. The people of Sayung planted mangroves to reduce the flood inundation and shoreline erosion in that area. They built the bamboo array to protect the juvenile mangroves from incoming waves. The bamboo acts as a breakwater and is considered an environmentally friendly permeable structure to reduce wave energy and stimulate sedimentation. This paper discusses three bamboo arrays’ effectiveness in wave reduction using Numerical Wave Tank (NWT). The interaction of regular waves with a permeable structure comprising a single row of vertical circular poles was conducted based on the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The effect of different waves and structural dimensions on the permeable structure was investigated based on the structure’s transmission coefficient (Kt) performance. The investigations have revealed that structures with the combination of Vertical-Horizontal formation (VH) attenuate more wave energy than Vertical Only (VO) and the combination of Vertical-Diagonal formation (VD). As the wave steepness increases, the transmission coefficient decreases. Likewise, the transmission coefficient (Kt) is decreasing when the wave height is increasing. On the other hand, the transmission coefficient (Kt) increases as the wave period increases. As the structure spacing ratio between end-to-end and center-to-center spacing (e/S) rises, the transmission coefficient (Kt) also increases. The diameter (D) has a slight effect on the transmission coefficient (Kt). However, the center-to-center spacing (S) has a more significant impact than the diameter on the transmission coefficient, affecting an inclination on the transmission coefficient (Kt) when center-to-center spacing (S) goes up.

Anthropogenic impact on the shores and the bottom of the Jebriyan bay in the Northwestern part of the Black Sea

The Jebriyan Bay is located in the northern part of the Kiliya Danube Delta, at a junction of the delta cone and the indigenous coast. This is a zone of very high anthropogenic impact on the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The two opposite shores of this bay are fundamentally different. Along the northern shore, the Northwest coastal sand sediment flows discharge from the Cape of the Great Fontanne to the Jebriyan Bay. That is why the northern coast of the bay is made up of sandy forms of coastal topography (marine accumulative terrace and spit). The southern coast is deltaic; composed of a mixture of muddy, siltstone and sandy sediments. The area of the bay is limited to isobaths –11 m and is about 80 km2. The bottom of the bay has a gentle relief, made up of smooth outlines, with an average depth of 6.2 m. The shape of the transverse profile of the underwater slope is mostly convex. The natural system of the bay was affected by fishing, recreation, shipping and industrial sand production on coastal accumulative landforms. Coastal fishing uses a system of fixed bottom seines and small motorized floating equipment. Recreational facilities are designed to serve about 350 thousand people during the warm period each year. The impact of shipping was expressed in the construction and operation of the seaport of Ust-Dunaysk, together with suitable canal and the technical canal between the sea and the branch of the delta breakthrough the system of the large Ochakov branch. The ladle port had an area of about 1.5 km2, a maximal depth of 16 m, and an average depth of 13.7 m. The trough was connected to the Ochakov branch of the Danube Delta by a technical canal with a depth of 4 m. Vessels could enter the harbor of Ust-Danube through an access navigation channel with a depth of 11–12 m and a bottom width of 125 m. The port was used for the transshipment of large containers, general forest cargo from ocean vessels (displacement of 60–100 thousand tons) on regular sea lines from the countries of Southeast Asia to the Black Sea, to the Danube and further to the countries of Central Europe and to the ports of the North and the Baltic Seas. But it was unfortunate that the port construction site did not last as expected. Between 1980–2010 the harbor and approach canal of Ust-Dunaysk were filled with Danube river sediments. The example of Jebriyan Bay has shown that when executing any type of sustainable nature management project, it is very important to take into account the natural milieu.

Typologies of the Fiqh Conception in the Covid-19 Pandemic Era (Exploration on Religious Views and Attitudes of Kyai-in mosques of North Coast of Java)

This study aims to analyze the dynamics of the fiqh conception of the kyai and their congregations in the act of worship in the mosque. The practice of worship during the Covid-19 pandemic shifted in patterns and choices of kyai schools of thought after the MUI fatwa, which issued regulation regarding the temporary abolition of Friday, Eid prayers, tarawih, and the use of masks, hand sanitizers, and social distance (distanced rows) in congregation of 5 daily prayers and religious activities in the mosque. This diversity is interesting to explore because these various conceptions of the acts of worship give negative impacts to intra-religious harmony. There are signs of socio-religious conflicst, distrust of certain community leaders, symptoms of disharmony, disbelieve in other parties in the public sphere and social media. This socio-religious dialectical context is encountered by the kyai, leaders and communities on the northern coast of Central Java, especially in Pati Regency and Semarang City. This is qualitative research using multi-disciplinary methods regarding normative analysis of Islamic law and socio-anthropology. Data was collected through interviews with kyai and community leaders, observation and documentation. Data validation was carried out through triangulation, as well as descriptive-qualitative analysis, through reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The findings of this study are as follows: first, the dynamics of a new conception of fiqh as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic amid various MUI and government policies through the implementation of health protocol. Second, four typical new conceptions of fiqh were found for kyai and the public during a pandemic. The diversity of this community typology can be seen from their worship behavior and religious actions. Typical of the first group is ‘normative’ whose written texts are understood in literal sence about the pandemic jurisprudence and are very strict about implementing health protocol. The second is the ‘moderate group’ who is flexible in conceptualizing the fiqh of pandemic and carrying out health protocol. Third, there are ‘liberative-ignore’ groups who are liberal in understanding fiqh during the pandemic, and they do not pay much attention to the health protocol. Typical of the fourth group, the ‘skeptics’ who do not believe in the presence of the covid-19 pandemic, even among this group there are those who think that covid is just a power politics engineering.

The role of tropopause polar vortices in the intensification of summer Arctic cyclones

Human activity in the Arctic is increasing as new regions become accessible, with a consequent need for improved understanding of hazardous weather there. Arctic cyclones are the major weather systems affecting the Arctic environment during summer, including the sea ice distribution. Mesoscale to synoptic-scale tropopause polar vortices (TPVs) frequently occur in polar regions and are a proposed mechanism for Arctic cyclone genesis and intensification. However, while the importance of pre-existing tropopause-level features for cyclone development, as well as being an integral part of the three-dimensional mature cyclone structure, is well established in the mid-latitudes, evidence of the importance of pre-existing TPVs for Arctic cyclone development is mainly limited to a few case studies. Here we examine the extent to which Arctic cyclone growth is coupled to TPVs by analysing a climatology of summer Arctic cyclones and TPVs produced by tracking both features in the latest ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5). The annual counts of Arctic cyclones and TPVs are significantly correlated for features with genesis either within or outside the Arctic, implying that TPVs have a role in the development of Arctic cyclones. However, only about one-third of Arctic cyclones have their genesis or intensify while a TPV of Arctic origin is (instantaneously) within about twice the Rossby radius of the cyclone centre. Consistent with the different track densities of the full sets of Arctic cyclones and TPVs, cyclones with TPVs within range throughout their intensification phase (matched cyclones) track preferentially over the Arctic Ocean along the North American coastline and Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In contrast, cyclones intensifying distant from any TPV (unmatched cyclones) track preferentially along the northern coast of Eurasia. Composite analysis reveals the presence of a distinct relative vorticity maximum at and above the tropopause level associated with the TPV throughout the intensification period for matched cyclones and that these cyclones have a reduced upstream tilt compared to unmatched cyclones. Interaction of cyclones with TPVs has implications for the predictability of Arctic weather, given the long lifetime but relatively small spatial scale of TPVs compared with the density of the polar observation network.

Conceptual Framework for Disaster Management in Coastal Cities Using Climate Change Resilience and Coping Ability

Global warming and environmental changes have resulted in more frequent and extreme weather events, as well as larger-scale disasters around the world. This study presents a disaster risk analysis in Taiwan coastal area using the Climate Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI) and examines the strategies adopted by the coastal residents of Taiwan, through a new concept of “copability” analysis. Based on the results, the majority of the coastal regions fall under the medium-to-low resilient category with the south-western and northern coast of Taiwan as the most high-risk regions posing a high risk to millions of people facing climatic disasters in the future. The coping mechanisms used by local residents are also influenced by the socioeconomic status of the decision-makers as well as the synchronization of disasters. Based on the findings, a 4R management package is developed in which the copability and resilience management strategy are squeezed into four main sectors of resource, reason, roadmap, and respond to work towards a more coordinated management and use of natural resources across sectors and scales. It is advised that all governmental, private, and community actors implement coherent climate risk management measures, accompanied by mitigation initiatives, in order to establish a sustainable level of climate resilience in cities.