Improving the methodology for assessing natural hazard impacts

The impacts of natural hazards such as cyclones have been conventionally measured through changes in human, social and economic capital, typically represented by stock variables such as population, built property and public infrastructure, livestock, agricultural land, etc. This paper develops an alternative approach that seeks to detect and quantify impacts as changes in flow variables. In particular, we explore whether changes in annual agricultural output, when measured at an appropriate spatial level, could be used to measure impacts associated with tropical cyclones in coastal regions of India. We believe that such an approach may have a number of benefits from a policy perspective, particularly with regard to the debate between relief versus recovery as disaster management strategies. A focus on flow variables is also likely to be more relevant and useful in developing countries; the maintenance of economic activity directly affects livelihood and is perhaps of greater importance than loss of built property or other physical capital.     

CLINICALLY APPLIED MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY: ITS ROLE IN TRAVEL MEDICINE

Medical geography frequently contributes to public health, but rarely are medical geographic concepts applied in clinical settings. This article describes the application of medical geographic concepts to an academic travel and tropical medicine clinical service at University Hospital in Seattle, and reviews the role of a medical geographer in this particular clinical setting. Applied concepts of medical geography improve the quality of patient care for overseas travellers and recent immigrants to the United States.     

Causes of Forest Encroachment: An Analysis of Bangladesh

Deforestation is a major cause of environmental degradation. Tropical countries with huge population pressure and widespread poverty are main frontier of deforestation. Bangladesh, being one the most densely populated country with diminishing tropical forestland, supports lowest per capita forestland. The forests are depleting mainly due to illegal logging and conversion to non-forestry uses. In this paper encroachment of forestland by individuals has been dealt with. The socioeconomic causes and pattern of encroachment have been analyzed. Limited land availability and unemployment have been identified as the major proximate causes of encroachment and, if no measures are adopted within next three decades the existing natural forests might be encroached.Part of thesis of the first author submitted for the partial fulfillment of the Master of Science in Forestry in the Khulna University, Bangladesh in 2001 (Iftekhar, 2001). Some of the findings have been presented in the World Forestry Congress XIII, Canada, held from 21 to 28 September 2003 (Iftekhar et al., 2003).     

An integrated decision method for prediction of tropical cyclone movement by using genetic algorithm

Typhoon disaster is one of the most influentialnatural disasters. The strong storm surge of Bangla-desh cyclone, which happened in November 1970,resulted in 300000 deaths. Asia and the western Pa-cific can be regarded as an area where is affected mostseverely by the disasters of tropical storms[1]. Themost important thing is to improve the accuracy oftyphoon tracks prediction internationally. Lande-sea,C.[2] pointed out that for a successful forecast oftropic cyclone (TC) tracks, it is not …     

Characteristics of the Asymmetric Flow of Tropical Cyclone Shanshan (2006) During Its Turning and Intensification Period

In this paper,characteristics of the asymmetric flow of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Shanshan (2006) during its turning and intensification period over the oceanic area east of Taiwan are investigated,based o...     

Modulation of Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Genesis by Intraseasonal Oscillation of the ITCZ: A Statistical Analysis

The present study investigates modulation of western North Pacific(WNP) tropical cyclone(TC) genesis in relation to different phases of the intraseasonal oscillation(ISO) of ITCZ convection during May to October in the period 1979-2008.The phases of the ITCZ ISO were determined based on 30-80-day filtered OLR anomalies averaged over the region(5-20 N,120-150 E).The number of TCs during the active phases was nearly three times more than during the inactive phases.The active(inactive) phases of ISO were characterized by low-level cyclonic(anticyclonic) circulation anomalies,higher(lower) midlevel relative humidity anomalies,and larger(smaller) vertical gradient anomalies of relative vorticity associated with enhanced(weakened) ITCZ convection anomalies.During the active phases,TCs tended to form in the center of the ITCZ region.Barotropic conversion from the low-level mean flow is suggested to be the major energy source for TC formation.The energy conversion mainly depended on the zonal and meridional gradients of the zonal flow during the active phases.However,barotropic conversion weakened greatly during the inactive phases.The relationship between the meridional gradient of absolute vorticity and low-level zonal flow indicates that the sign of the absolute vorticity gradient tends to be reversed during the two phases,whereas the same sign between zonal flow and the absolute vorticity gradient is more easily satisfied in the active phases.Thus,the barotropic instability of low-level zonal flow might be an important mechanism for TC formation over the WNP during the active phases of ISO.     

2011年全球重大天气气候事件及其成因

2011年,全球气温偏高,为有观测记录以来的第十个暖年,是近60年来出现拉尼娜事件的年份中全球气温最高的一年。2011年,全球热带气旋活动较常年偏少。4月,一次拉尼娜事件结束,9月又一次拉尼娜事件生成。年初,低温、寒流席卷亚洲大部,暴风雪频繁袭击北美地区。西欧和中国东部出现严重春旱。夏季,非洲东部经历了20世纪80年代以来最严重的干旱,而东南亚、巴基斯坦和中南美洲洪涝灾害严重。全球极端偏暖事件主要出现在欧洲西部和西北部、南亚南部、东亚中西部、北美东南部等地;极端偏冷事件主要出现在东亚、澳大利亚、非洲南部和美国东北部和西部等地。而南美中东部、东南亚及中国东南部、日本、澳大利亚北部、非洲西部等地出现了极端强降水事件。研究发现,2010／2011年拉尼娜事件和台风活动是导致东南亚洪涝出现的重要原因,而巴基斯坦洪涝主要与印度洋正位相偶极型海温分布有关。     

热带气旋莫兰蒂(1010)强度的观测研究和增强条件的诊断分析

热带气旋莫兰蒂(1010)进入台湾海峡后显著加强。本文普查了历史上在台湾海峡与"莫兰蒂"有相似路径的热带气旋,其中几乎没有增强的热带气旋个例;总结了"莫兰蒂"在台湾海峡活动时的强度变化,指出在实时业务中国内外台风预报中心对于"莫兰蒂"强度的判定存在明显偏弱的现象。运用天气学和动力诊断方法,分析了"莫兰蒂"在台湾海峡活动时热带气旋发展的基本条件,结果发现:台湾海峡区域有较高的海表温度、丰富的中低层水汽净流入、强烈的低层辐合和高层辐散、低层涡度净流入,为"莫兰蒂"的发展提供了有利的动力和热力条件,弱的环境风垂直切变又使其强度增长没有受到大的抑制作用。研究结果可为热带气旋强度或强度变化预报提供有意义的参考。     

一种对资源不稳定性敏感的EASY-backfill算法

利用合成技术对1995—2006年冬季（11月—次年2月）生成在西北太平洋上的34个热带气旋（tropicalcyclone,TC）个例进行分析,研究冬季西北太平洋TC生成的大尺度环流特征及其生成机制,结果表明：冬季TC生成的大尺度环流特征型为东风波西传型;北半球冬季对流层低层出现的跨赤道气旋对是冬季北半球TC形成的重要特征;太平洋中部赤道混合Rossby重力波西北传,与强对流中心重合,性质转为＂热带低压型扰动＂,为冬季热带气旋生成提供扰动源。对合成TC初始场的涡动扰动动能的收支分析表明,涡动有效位能和正压不稳定转换为TC形成提供了能量,这两种能量分别与积云对流加热和水平不均匀气流有关。正压不稳定能量转换为动能主要位于对流层中下层,而扰动有效位能的转换主要位于对流层中上层。低层热带东风波动从平均气流中获得正压不稳定能量,并与强积云对流耦合,热力和动力共同作用下形成TC。     

登陆热带气旋与夏季风相互作用对暴雨的影响

利用《热带气旋年鉴》资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料采用动态合成分析方法,研究了登陆热带气旋降水与夏季风急流之间的关系,同时对登陆热带气旋与夏季风急流发生相互作用的典型个例强热带风暴Bilis (0604) 利用数值模拟方法研究了二者之间的相互作用对暴雨的影响。结果表明:登陆后造成大范围强降水的热带气旋往往与低层急流长时间相连,其水汽通量和潜热能显著大于弱降水热带气旋。数值试验结果表明:夏季风低空急流向热带气旋输送水汽对热带气旋结构维持有利,当水汽输送被截断后,热带气旋气旋性结构被破坏,强降水减弱、范围明显缩小;季风急流风速增强时可增加水汽通量输送,使得强降水范围增加、强度增强;在夏季风影响背景下,热带气旋在陆上的移动改变水汽和不稳定能量的分布,而热带气旋本身独特的动力结构使得强降水强度增加。