The study of a severe dust storm over Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean with two operational dust forecasting models

Introduction: The entry of dust particles into water areas, which has increased sharply in recent years, causes a lot of environmental damage. The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are among the water areas that are covered with dust many times of the year. Materials and methods: In this study, a severe dust from July 27 to 31, 2018 is analyzed, in which a large part of the Persian Gulf, Oman Sea and the western part of the Indian Ocean was involved. To study this phenomenon from different perspectives, satellite products, visibility from synoptic stations and synoptic maps were analyzed and the output of two numerical dust models of NASA-GEOS and DREAM8-MACC were examined. To qualitative and quantitative evaluate of the model outputs, the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) of TERRA/MODIS was used. Results: Satellite imagery shows that in this case study, parts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman were affected by dust, and on July 30, dust particles entered the western half of the Indian Ocean. Comparison of model outputs with satellite data resulted that both models underestimate the AOD values, especially over water, and do not show well the entrance of dust particles into the eastern part of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the western half of the Indian Ocean. Conclusion: Qualitative and quantitative comparison of AOD output of the two models with satellite data showed that the NASA-GEOS model had better performance and its output correlation with observational data was higher.

Analysis of spatial patterns of trends in the frequency and intensity of Indian precipitation

bl ‘’kks/k Ik= esa lewps Hkkjr ds 129 ekSle dsanzksa ds fy, 1910 ls 2000 rd dh le;kof/k ds nSfud o"kkZ ds fjdkM+ksaZ dks ,df=r fd;k x;k gS A blds ckn fofHkUu ekSle foKkfud mi[kaM+ksa ds fy, ek/; okf"kZd o"kkZ ds ekuksa ds vuqlkj bu dsanzksa dks ukS fHkUu&fHkUu {ks=ksa esa ck¡Vk x;k gS A izR;sd {ks= ds fy, gj ik¡p izfr’kr ds varjky ij dqy o"kkZ vkSj o"kkZ dh ckjackjrk dk foLr`r fo’ys"k.k fd;k gS A bu ifj.kkeksa ls lkekU;r% Hkkjr ds yxHkx lHkh Hkkxksa esa o"kkZ dh deh dk irk pyk gS tcfd dsoy mRrj if’peh Hkkxksa esa o"kkZ esa o`f) ns[kh xbZ gS A o"kkZ ds izfr lSadM+k oxZ varjkyksa ds vuqlkj fd, x, gekjs fo’ys"k.k ls ;g irk pyrk gS fd fo’ks"k :Ik ls ns’k ds vk/ks Hkkx if’peh {ks= esa vfro`f"V dh ?kVuk,¡ ckj&ckj gksrh gSa A Hkkjrh; o"kkZ ds LFkkfud vk;keksa ij izdk’k Mkyus okys gkmxVu bR;kfn (2001) ds vkbZ- ih- lh- lh- ds oSKkfud ewY;kadu vkSj vU; v/;;uksa ds lkFk gekjs ifj.kke O;kid :Ik ls esy [kkrs gSa A We assembled daily precipitation records for 129 weather stations spread all over India for the time period 1910 to 2000. Next we classified these stations into nine different regions according to the mean annual precipitation values for the different India meteorological sub-divisions. We conducted detailed analysis of total precipitation and the frequency of precipitation for each five-percentile interval for every region. In general, our results show a decrease in precipitation throughout much of India with only the northwest showing an increase. Our analyses by precipitation percentile class intervals show that the most extreme events have become more frequent, particularly in the western half of the country. Our results are broadly consistent with the IPCC Scientific Assessment by Houghton et al. (2001) and other studies focusing on the spatial dimensions of Indian precipitation over time.

OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE BIOLOGY AND THE ECOLOGY OF THE SPECIES TURDUS PILARIS LINNAEUS 1758 IN THE WESTERN HALF OF ROMANIA

The paper presents the results of the researches performed by the authors between 2000-2019 regarding the biology and the ecology of the species Turdus pilaris L. in the western half of Romania.The extension of the territory, breeding, clutch size, behaviour, number of generations , the phenology and food were studied. The height of nests above the ground varied till to 20 meters in a different trees. The nest is cup – shaped and the material of construction is extremely different : moss, roots, dry twigs, ground mixed with grass, herbs. It presents 2 -3 yearly generations, a complete clutch consists of 5 – 6 eggs. The post – embrionic development lasts 12 – 16 days. The phenology is different : in high hilly and the mountainous areas the species is sedentary, in low hilly and plain areas the species is partial – migratory or passage or in many times winter visitor. The food is extremely different: insects, fruits, worms, spiders, molusca, little mammals.

INTERPRETATION OF AEROMAGNETIC DATA AND LANDSAT IMAGERY OVER THE NIGERIAN YOUNGER GRANITES IN AND AROUND KAFANCHAN AREA, NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA

In this research the lineaments of the Kafanchan area in North-central Nigeria were investigated in order to explore the mineralization zones of the area. Aeromagnetic data over Kafanchan and environs within the Younger Granite Province, in the North-Central Nigeria were collated and analyzed. The aeromagnetic map of the area was interpreted both qualitatively and quantitatively so as to identify the nature of the magnetic sources and the trends direction in the study area. The trend of the Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) map is predominantly in NE-SW. The First Vertical Derivative (FVD) Lineaments Map was also correlated with LADSAT lineaments map and both maps agreed in most areas. The study area is characterized by predominant magnetic lineament trend in NE-SW direction and subordinate E-W direction. The result also shows that the most significant structural trends affecting the distribution of these magnetic anomalies in the study area is in NE-SW direction. The TMI map indicates that there are three major mineralization zones in the study area. The high magnetization contrast in the NE and SE parts of the study area correlates with the migmatite-gneiss, biotite-granites, granites and basalts which are associated with high magnetic contrasts. Also, the high magnetization contrast in the NW part of the area correlates with basalt and the biotite-granite. However, the predominant low magnetization contrast observed in the western half does not correlate with the basic igneous rock

Communication and Empire

The Roman world in the second century was remarkably homogeneous, and the ties that bound it together remarkably thick and apparently strong. But what happened when the western half went its own way, when imperial territories were limited to bits of Asia Minor and the Balkans, when the construction of new monumental buildings had slowed to a trickle or stopped entirely, when the epigraphic habit had died? How did political communication work in the Roman empire of the Middle Ages that we know as Byzantium? The answer requires conjuring up a picture of people on the move; of soldiers, priests, students, pilgrims, appellants, merchants, tax collectors, administrators, painters, and builders. And it requires thinking about the messages they received and passed on. Placing the Byzantine experience in comparative perspective to Song China, this chapter surveys the evidence of Byzantine political communication to investigate both the means of transmitting news and orders as well as the underlying networks of shared discourse and identity. It shows that the survival of the Byzantine state depended largely on its ability to create an imagined community as the nation-state of the Romans. The decline of Byzantium and the rise of Muslim identities in its former territories can thus be linked to a failure to maintain effective long-distance communication networks that projected a ‘Roman’ narrative across the entirety of the empire.

Juglet Pendants from Pannonia

Most juglet pendants are of 4th century from Pannonia, the glass is frequently dark, appearing black. Although juglet pendants have a greater concentration in the eastern Mediterranean, they are also widely attested in the empire’s western half. The following paper1 presents nine specimens from Hungary, eight from Pannonia Province. Three exemplars were parts of grave inventories, whose other items are also known (Bogád, Csongrád and Ságvár). All three burials can be securely dated to the fourth century. Despite the attractiveness of M. Stern’s suggestion, there is no good reason to associate the Pannonian juglet pendants recovered from mortuary contexts with Christianity. The pieces from Pannonia would rather suggest that juglet pendants cannot be associated with Christian beliefs because the other grave goods in the burials from which they were recovered belie this association.

The Death of the Figurine: Reflections on an Abrahamic Abstention

This chapter explores an evidential absence, arising from a striking archaeological fact. In all the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean, including Egypt and north Africa, of the near East at least as far as India, both prehistoric and historic, from the earliest Palaeolithic to the end of pre-Abrahamic pagan polytheism in the western half of this vast geography spanning the Mediterranean and Asia, the figurine is a prime and ubiquitous product of material culture, with huge attestation in the archaeological record; with the rise to hegemony of Christianity and then Islam, this phenomenon ends and we witness the near-universal death of the figurine in the archaeological archive across the vast geography that came to be dominated by the Abrahamic religions. Why? The chapter examines the ideological transformations that came to effect such fundamental change on the archaeological archive.

Effects of Stormwater Management and an Extended Culvert on Stream Health in Dug Run, Allen County, Ohio, USA

Changes in stream hydrology and habitat—associated with urbanization—have impacted diversity, abundance, and movement of both macroinvertebrates and fish. In 2008 the University of Northwestern Ohio began developing the western half of the campus, incorporating stormwater management practices. This provided an opportunity to examine 3 sections of the Dug Run stream that flows through campus: 1 section on the western half of campus that filters stormwater through the soil, and 2 sections on the eastern half of campus which are affected by both urbanization and a culvert that extends under a building and a road. Significant differences in macroinvertebrate Stream Quality Monitoring (SQM) index scores ( p < 0.001), fish diversity ( p < 0.010), and abundance of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma spectabile) ( p < 0.001) were observed between the western and the 2 eastern sections of Dug Run. Lower SQM index scores and lower Orangethroat Darter abundances were found in the urbanized sections of the stream, while lower fish diversity numbers were found upstream of the culvert. The western portion of campus, designed to filter stormwater runoff through the soil, was the only section studied with sensitive macroinvertebrates, a higher SQM index score, and a greater abundance of Orangethroat Darters.

Contrasting volcano spacing along SW Japan arc caused by difference in age of subducting lithosphere

The SW Japan arc built by subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate exhibits uneven distribution of volcanoes: thirteen Quaternary composite volcanoes form in the western half of this arc, Kyushu Island, while only two in the eastern half, Chugoku district. Reconstruction of the PHS plate back to 14 Ma, together with examinations based on thermal structure models constrained by high-density heat flow data and a petrological model for dehydration reactions suggest that fluids are discharged actively at depths of 90–100 km in the hydrous layer at the top of the old (> 50 Ma), hence, cold lithosphere sinking beneath Kyushu Island. In contrast, the young (15–25 Ma) oceanic crust downgoing beneath Chugoku district releases fluids largely at shallower depths, i.e. beneath the non-volcanic forearc, to cause characteristic tectonic tremors and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and be the source of specific brine springs. Much larger amounts of fluids supplied to the magma source region in the western SW Japan arc could build more densely-distributed volcanoes.