Local level rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama,central rift valley region of Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine local level spatiotemporal rainfall and temperature variability in drought-prone districts of rural Sidama, Central Rift Valley region of Ethiopia. The study used 129 gridded monthly rainfall and temperature data of 32 years (1983–2014). The gridded rainfall and temperature records were encoded into GIS software and evaluated through different statistical and geospatial techniques. Mann-Kendal rank test and F distribution tests were used to test temporal and spatial statistical significance, respectively, of the data. The analysis revealed that Belg and Kiremt are the main rainfall seasons, constituting 81% of the annual rainfall. Although annual, Kiremt, and Belg rainfall amounts appear to have decreased over time, the decreasing trend is statistically significant only for Belg rainfall records. On the other hand, rainfall standard anomaly results indicated seven droughts of different magnitudes: one extreme, two severe, and four moderate. The study also revealed increasing temperature trends over the years under consideration that are statistically significant. The findings of this study on rainfall contradict other findings obtained around the study area. Thus, climate change adaptations need to focus on location-specific climate data analysis so that the intended adaptive interventions can be successful.     

Tephrochronology and tephrostratigraphy of two Pleistocene continental fossiliferous successions from central Italy

The stratigraphical context of two Middle Pleistocene fossiliferous palaeosols from Central Italy (Abruzzo and Tuscany) have been studied. Small mammals and molluscs occur in both palaeosols, which are covered by tephra layers that were analysed using an interdisciplinary approach. Application of fission‐track dating to apatites separated from the Case Picconetto tephra (Pescara, Abruzzo), yielded an age of 0.48 ± 0.04 Ma, indistinguishable from those previously determined for the Campani Quarry (Lower Valdarno, Tuscany) (0.46 ± 0.05 Ma and 0.48 ± 0.05 Ma). Geochemical and petrographic investigations indicate that these tephra originated from different volcanoes, the Alban Hills Volcanic Complex and the Vico Volcano (Latium) respectively. Small mammal and mollusc assemblages indicate different palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental conditions for the Case Picconetto and Campani Quarry palaeosols. Warm and humid conditions can be inferred for the Campani Quarry site, whereas open and cold conditions can be inferred for Case Picconetto. On the basis of faunal data, fission‐track dates and attribution of tephra to specific volcanic eruptions, we suggest a correlation of these faunas with marine oxygen isotope stage 14 (Case Picconetto) and with marine oxygen isotope stage 11 (Campani Quarry), respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

关于网络用户经济效益评测模型的研究

着重讨论了网络用户经济效益的内涵以及用户的投入量和产出量，并提出了评价网络用户经济效益的指标体系，包括成本降低率，成本利润增长率、产品开发时间约率、市场占有增长率等系列指标。     

THE CORPORATE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY*

The open-ended corporate interview as a qualitative research method is proposed as a valuable component of an evidentiary strategy in economic geography. It is argued to be more sensitive than other survey methods to historical, institutional, and strategic complexity. The corporate interview method is particularly appropriate in periods of economic and social change that challenge traditional analytical categories and theoretical principles. Some problems inherent to the method, and strategies for minimizing their impact on the research project, are described.     

GROWTH OF NEW ECONOMIC SECTORS IN SECOND-TIER EXTENDED CITIES IN THE CHANGJIANG RIVER DELTA——Case of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou

1INTRODUCTIONUrbanrelationshipaswellasurbansystemhas beenthemostimportantandlastingdirectioninthestudyofur-bangeographysinceCHRISTALLER(1933)putfor-wardthecentralplacetheory.Alongwiththepaceofglobalizationinthe1980s,somepioneer researchessen-sitivelyexpoundedaworldcitysystem,includingworldcity,internationalcity,nationalcity,regionalcityandlocalcity(FRIEDMAN,1986).Lotsofresearchesfo-cusedonthedevelopingmechanismofthebigcitiesandurbansystemnetwork(GU,2000;ZHOU,1997;CUI,1992;HUeta…     

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO AIR MASS CLASSIFICATION IN THE NORTH CENTRAL UNITED STATES

Both subjective and objective schemes for air mass classification offer advantages to climatological studies. An integrated approach is developed and applied to 850 mb level data in the north central United States. Each air mass type was initially delimited by a subjective analysis. Final limits were then determined with an objective technique that separates temperature curves into normal components based on interpretation from the subjective method. Continental air was most frequent in all seasons except summer. The methodology also allows estimation of classification error.     

An approach to quantitative analysis of regional economic links

Aimed at promoting regional coalitions and expanding the approach to economic links, this paper puts forward some new concepts such as link intensity and receiving coefficient, expounds the indexes of quantitative analysis of economic links and establishes the quantitative-analysis model of economic links. With help of the model, this paper calculates the values of the link intensities between Su-Xi-Chang (Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou) region and Shanghai, and analyzes the regional difference of the economic links.     

Lithospheric Origin of Oligocene-Miocene Magmatism in Central Chile: U-Pb Ages and Sr-Pb-Hf Isotope Composition of Minerals

Establishing the petrogenesis of volcanic and plutonic rocksis a key issue in unraveling the evolution of distinct subduction-relatedtectonic phases occurring along the South American margin. Thisis particularly true for Cenozoic times when large volumes ofmagma were produced in the Andean belt. In this study we havefocused on Oligo-Miocene magmatism in central Chile at 33°S.Our data include field and petrographic observations, whole-rockmajor and trace element analyses, U–Pb zircon dating,and Pb, Sr, and Hf isotope analyses of plagioclase, clinopyroxene,and zircon mineral separates. Combined with earlier dating resultsthe new zircon ages define a 28·8–5·2 Maperiod of plutonic and volcanic activity that ceased as a consequenceof flattening subduction of the Nazca–Farallon plate.Rare earth elements patterns are variable, with up to 92 timeschondrite concentrations for light rare earth elements yielding(La/Yb)_N between 3·6 and 7·0, and an absence ofEu anomalies. Initial Pb isotope signatures are in the rangeof 18·358–19·023 for ²⁰⁶Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb, 15·567–15·700for ²⁰⁷Pb/ ²⁰⁴Pb and 38·249–39·084 for ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr are mostly in the range of 0·70369–0·70505,with two more radiogenic values at 0·7066. Initial Hfisotopic compositions of zircons yield exclusively positiveHf_i ranging between + 6·9 and + 9·6. The newlydetermined initial isotope characteristics of the Oligo-Miocenemagmas suggest that the mantle source lithologies are differentfrom both those of Pacific mid-ocean ridge basalt and oceanisland basalt, plotting in the field of reference values forsubcontinental lithospheric mantle, characterized by moderatelarge ion lithophile element–high field strengh elementdepletion and high ²³⁸U/ ²⁰⁴Pb. A Hf model age of 2 Ga is estimatedfor the formation of the subcontinental mantle–continentalcrust assemblage in the region, suggesting that the initialSr and Pb isotope ratios inferred for the source of the Oligo-Mioceneparental magmas are the result of later Rb and U enrichmentcaused by mantle metasomatism. A time-integrated model Rb/Srof 0·039 and µ 16 are estimated for the sourceof the parental magmas, consistent with ratios measured in peridotitexenoliths from continental areas. Evolution from predominant(>90%) basaltic–gabbroic to andesitic–dioriticmagmas seems to involve a combination of (1) original traceelement differences in the metasomatized subcontinental mantle,(2) different degrees of partial melting and (3) fractionalcrystallization in the garnet- and spinel-peridotite stabilityfields. The genesis of more differentiated magmas reaching rhyolitic–graniticcompositions most probably also includes additional crystalfractionation at both shallow mantle depths and within the crust,possibly leading to some very minor assimilation of crustalmaterial. KEY WORDS: calc-alkaline magmatism; Oligo-Miocene; U–Pb dating; Sr–Pb–Hf isotopes; central Chile     

地面沉降在闸涵工程运行中引起的经济损失的探讨

通过对天津市内主要河流上的4座具有代表性的闸涵进行详细的计算分析,得出闸涵水利工程维护费用中约19%属于地面沉降引起的损失,并将此比重推广到全市的闸涵工程,最后计算得出地面沉降造成的损失约为3.45亿元。     

采用碳氮稳定同位素技术对黄海中南部鳗鱼食性的研究

根据2005年4～5月在黄海和长江口海域进行的春季底拖网调查，应用稳定同位素方法研究了黄海中南部鯷鱼（Engraulis　japonicus）及其可能摄食饵料的碳氮稳定同位素比值，结果表明：（1）黄海中南部鯷鱼的食物组成为不同粒径的浮游动物、太平洋磷虾（Euphausia pacifuca）和仔稚鱼，其中以粒径为500-900μm的浮游动物为主，贡献比例占61％～84％；仔稚鱼贡献比例占16％～21％，较传统胃含物方法分析的结果小；（2）黄海中部海域鯷鱼的碳氮稳定同位素比值平均值较南部海域高，原因可能与各海域的能量来源不同或存在微食物环有关，也可能与不同海域鯷鱼的能量转换途径不一样，即与食物链长短不一有关．