Droughts and famines: The underlying factors and the causal links among agro-pastoral households in semi-arid Makueni district, Kenya

Famines are often linked to drought in semi-arid areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where not only pastoralists, but also increasingly agro-pastoralists are affected. This study addresses the interplay between drought and famine in the rural semi-arid areas of Makueni district, Kenya, by examining whether, and how crop production conditions and agro-pastoral strategies predispose smallholder households to drought-triggered food insecurity. If this hypothesis holds, then approaches to deal with drought and famine have to target factors causing household food insecurity during non-drought periods. Data from a longitudinal survey of 127 households, interviews, workshops, and daily rainfall records (1961–2003) were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. This integrated approach confirms the above hypothesis and reveals that factors other than rainfall, like asset and labour constraints, inadequate policy enforcement, as well as the poverty-driven inability to adopt risk-averse production systems play a key role. When linking these factors to the high rainfall variability, farmer-relevant definitions and forecasts of drought have to be applied.     

东亚大气环流由冬向夏的转变时间及其特征

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析数据集及CMAP降水资料分析了东亚大气环流由冬转夏的可能时间及其特征。结果表明,3月底4月初,东亚与西太平洋对流层纬向热力差异由东暖西冷转为东冷西暖,对流层低层大陆高压东移,使得纬向气压梯度发生逆转。与此同时,对流层低层偏南风建立,经向垂直环流也发生季节逆转。同时,3月底4月初华南已出现持续性降水雨带。所有这些特征都表明东亚大气环流可能在3月底4月初已经由冬季型开始转为夏季型。     

近46年西藏高原昼夜降水变化趋势

选取西藏地区18个气象站1961～2006年逐时降水资料,分析近46年昼夜降水的变化趋势。结果显示:近46年,西藏大部分地区各时段夜雨率均呈减少趋势,昼雨率呈增多趋势;夜雨天数冬半年各区域都呈增多趋势,年和夏半年东北部和藏西北地区呈增多趋势,其他区域呈减少趋势,而昼雨天数大部分地区年、季都呈增多趋势。昼、夜雨率和雨次的年代际变率较大,各区域年代际变化不一致,无明显的增减趋势;夜雨率冬半年出现异常最多,各区域年、季多为异常偏少。昼雨率冬、夏半年出现异常较多,年和夏半年多异常偏少,冬半年基本上为异常偏多;夜雨天数夏半年出现异常的最多,东部地区以异常偏少居多,中西部地区以异常偏多为主。昼雨天数夏半年出现异常最多,南部边缘地区均为异常偏多,藏北地区也以偏多为主,其他区域多异常偏少。西藏大部分地区年、季昼夜雨率的大小更多依赖于降水强度,而非雨次的多少。     

A Re-examination of Density Effects in Eddy Covariance Measurements of CO2 Fluxes

Corrections of density effects resulting from air-parcel expansion/compression are important in interpreting eddy covariance fluxes of water vapor and CO2 when open-path systems are used. To account for these effects, mean vertical velocity and perturbation of the density of dry air are two critical parameters in treating those physical processes responsible for density variations. Based on various underlying assumptions, different studies have obtained different formulas for the mean vertical velocity and perturbation of the density of dry air, leading to a number of approaches to correct density effects. In this study, we re-examine physical processes related to different assumptions that are made to formulate the density effects. Specifically, we re-examine the assumptions of a zero dry air flux and a zero moist air flux in the surface layer, used for treating density variations, and their implications for correcting density effects. It is found that physical processes in relation to the assumption of a zero dry air flux account for the influence of dry air expansion/compression on density variations. Meanwhile, physical processes in relation to the assumption of a zero moist air flux account for the influence of moist air expansion/compression on density variations. In this study, we also re-examine mixing ratio issues. Our results indicate that the assumption of a zero dry air flux favors the use of the mixing ratio relative to dry air, while the assumption of a zero moist air flux favors the use of the mixing ratio relative to the total moist air. Additionally, we compare different formula for the mean vertical velocity, generated by air-parcel expansion/compression, and for density effect corrections using eddy covariance data measured over three boreal ecosystems.     

两种反演地表净太阳辐射的参数化模式在北京地区的比较

地表净太阳辐射(NSSR)在地表辐射平衡、地-气能量交换、天气预报、气候变化和太阳能利用等研究方面具有重要的作用.利用卫星遥感技术能在广大的空间区域内快速地获取地表净太阳辐射的分布情况,特别是在无人观测的极地和海洋区域.本文基于CERES/SSF卫星数据,分别采用两种地表净太阳辐射(NSSR)的卫星反演参数化模式--Li模式与Masuda模式计算了北京市上甸子地区2005年1、4、7和10月的NSSR,并将反演结果与上甸子大气本底站的实测结果进行了对比分析,并对两种模式进行了修正以更好地反演北京地区的地表净太阳辐射.结果显示:Li模式和Masuda模式反演结果与实测结果间的平均绝对误差在晴空条件下分别为62.2和50.8W/m2,在云天条件下分别为82.1和71.8 W/m2;Li模式相对于Masuda模式具有偏大的趋势,在晴天和云天条件下两者的平均绝对偏差分别为11.5和10.2 W/m2;对Li模式和Masuda模式进行线性拟合回归后能有效减小反演过程中的系统性偏差,修改后的Li模式和Masuda模式在所有天空状况下反演的月平均NSSR值与观测值问的平均绝对误差分别为-1.8和-3.4 W/m2,均方根误差分别为19.6和26.0 W/m2.     

藏北地区近地层大气和土壤特征量分析

利用"全球协调加强观测期亚澳季风青藏高原试验研究(CAMP/Tibet)"4个台站2003年大气和土壤的观测资料,详细分析了藏北高原不同下垫面上的气温、相对湿度、土壤温度、土壤湿度等的季节变化及年变化特征。近地层大气各气象要素变化剧烈;4个站气温高低的差异显示了纬度和高度的明显影响;各站冻土冻融过程存在地域差别,尤其是春季冻结消融阶段的持续时间相差可达1个月;土壤质地的差别对土壤湿度影响也较大,黏土土壤含水量要高些,粉土和砂土要低些。     

江苏夏季旱涝环流演变特征分析

利用NCEP/NCAR OLR月资料和北半球500 hPa逐月高度场距平格点资料,讨论江苏夏季旱涝天气气候的环流特征.研究表明:菲律宾以西太平洋暖池区OLR低值区值强弱直接影响江苏夏季降水,OLR值越低,该区辐合越强,则其北部副热带高压偏强,有利于副高的北抬和西伸,使副高北侧的雨带偏东偏北,江苏易偏旱;反之江苏易偏涝.500 hPa在东亚地区南北呈" 、-、 "的纬向分布,中高纬度乌拉尔山和鄂霍茨克海地区夏季500 hPa高度距平场为明显的正距平区,在该地区形成双阻或单阻有利于形势的稳定,使降水持续,江苏夏季降水偏多.     

Follow‐up observations of Comet 17P/Holmes after its extreme outburst in brightness end of October 2007

We present follow‐up observations of comet 17/P Holmes after its extreme outburst in brightness, which occurred end of October 2007. We obtained 58 V‐band images of the comet between October 2007 and February 2008, using the Cassegrain‐Teleskop‐Kamera (CTK) at the University Observatory Jena. We present precise astrometry of the comet, which yields its most recent Keplerian orbital elements. Furthermore, we show that the comet's coma expands quite linearly with a velocity of about 1650 km/s between October and December 2007. The photometric monitoring of comet 17/P Holmes shows that its photometric activity level decreased by about 5.9 mag within 105 days after its outburst (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Short-period Jupiter family comets after Stardust

The NASA Stardust mission has provided for laboratory study an extensive data set of cometary dust of known provenance (from comet 81P/Wild 2) yielding detailed insights into the composition of the comet. Combined with the results of data from other missions to short-period Jupiter family comets (JFC), this has greatly deepened the understanding of such objects. If depressions on the surface of comet 81P/Wild 2 are all taken as evidence of impact cratering, their number suggests a long occupancy in the outer region of the Solar System. The dust from comet 81P/Wild 2 has been shown to be heavily deficient in pre-Solar grains and rich in materials formed at high temperatures in the inner Solar System. Although it is too early to know if this is typical of JFC, it does argue for rapid and thorough mixing of materials in the disk on timescales related to comet formation, and may also suggest outward migration of small icy bodies after their formation. Thus, instead of providing mainly new knowledge of the pre-Solar materials expected to be rich in comets, Stardust and comet 81P/Wild 2 have instead focussed attention on large-scale transport processes during the critical period when cometary parent bodies were forming in the early Solar System.     

Pliocene–Quaternary fluvial and aeolian records in the Souss Basin, southwest Morocco: A geomorphological model

The Souss Basin in SW Morocco is filled by Pliocene–Quaternary fluvial, fluvio-lacustrine and aeolian sediments, representing an excellent archive of palaeohydrology, palaeoclimate and the effects of crustal deformation. In general these sediments indicate stream-dominated alluvial systems, influenced by fluctuations in climate (humidity/aridity). Lakes developed within the basin around the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition and persisted into the Early Pleistocene. During this early period, relatively humid conditions are indicated by the dominance of coarse-grained sedimentation in the upper reaches of fluvial systems, the existence of large lakes and the considerable sediment thicknesses in the centre of the basin. Uplift of the surrounding mountain ranges contributed to piedmont formation by providing large amounts of coarse-grained material that accumulated at the lowland margin. Climatic deterioration in the Middle Pleistocene was accompanied by progressively more irregular and disrupted fluvial regimes. These trends were evident in the Late Pleistocene and became clearer after the mid-Holocene, with aeolian activity becoming the dominant sedimentary agent. Differences between upstream and downstream depositional regimes became marked: while coarse-grained sedimentation has characterized the upper reaches of wadi catchments, fine-grained sedimentation has prevailed downstream. Hiatuses in sedimentation throughout the Pliocene and Quaternary are marked by palaeosol horizons interbedded within the sedimentary sequences, indicating alternate vegetated (stable) and unvegetated (unstable/active) phases (biostasy and ‘rhexistasy’).