Search results for "Easter"

Mid-century effects of Climate Change on African monsoon dynamics using the A1B emission scenario

2012

Future climate changes in African regions are model-dependent and there is no consensus regarding Sahelian rainfall by the end of this century. Using 12 atmosphere-ocean global climate models of the third Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) we propose a multi-model (MM) analysis contrasting the 1960–1999 period (20c3m integration) and the 2031–2070 period (A1B emission scenario). The analyses are based on MM response but also on the ‘one model-one vote’ concept to give the same weight to each model. The results show robust signals in the rainfall response, i.e., increasing (decreasing) amounts in central (western) Sahel associated with specific changes in atmospheric dynamics. The…

Time evolution of observed July–September sea surface temperature-Sahel climate teleconnection with removed quasi-global effect (1900–2008)

2011

[1] Using sea surface temperature (SST), precipitation, and atmospheric information, this statistical study revisits the questions of the July–September SST-Sahel teleconnection variability after removing impact of quasi-global SSTs over the period 1900–2008. The eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean dominate the relationship, both in terms of intensity and time stability, with significant values in 52% and 47% of years, respectively. More than two thirds of the rainy seasons classified as dry (wet) and 16 out of 18 (12 out of 15) of those classified as very dry (very wet) are concomitant of negative (positive) differences between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Correlations wi…

Recent changes in precipitation, ITCZ convection and northern tropical circulation over North Africa (1979-2007)

2011

This article focuses on some recent changes observed in the Tropics with special emphasis on the African monsoon region using high-resolution gridded precipitation from the Climatic Research Unit (period 1979–2002), outgoing longwave radiation at the top of the atmosphere from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and atmospheric reanalyses from the Climate Prediction Center (NCEP-DOE2, period 1979–2007). The results show a rainfall increase in North Africa since the mid-90s with significant northward migrations of rainfall amounts, i.e. + 1.5° for the 400 mm July to September isohyets, whereas deep convection has significantly increased and shifted northward. The subsidence b…

Active faulting and continental slope instability in the Gulf of Patti (Tyrrhenian side of NE Sicily, Italy): a field, marine and seismological joint…

2016

The Gulf of Patti and its onshore sector represent one of the most seismically active regions of the Italian Peninsula. Over the period 1984–2014, about 1800 earthquakes with small-to-moderate magnitude and a maximum hypocentral depth of 40 km occurred in this area. Historical catalogues reveal that the same area was affected by several strong earthquakes such as the Mw = 6.1 event in April 1978 and the Mw = 6.2 one in March 1786 which have caused severe damages in the surrounding localities. The main seismotectonic feature affecting this area is represented by a NNW–SSE trending right-lateral strike-slip fault system called ‘‘Aeolian–Tindari–Letojanni’’ (ATLFS) which has been interpreted a…

Seasonality and atmospheric dynamics of the teleconnection between African rainfall and tropical sea-surface temperature: Atlantic vs. ENSO

2001

A 47-year record (1951-1997) of gridded data covering Africa south of the Sahara was used to document the spatial and seasonal patterns of the correlation between precipitation and sea-surface temperatures (SST) in key tropical areas, as depicted by the NIN O3, South Atlantic and North Atlantic indices. El Nino -Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is confirmed as playing a dominant part in northeastern, eastern and southern Africa. However, its impact is also found over the Sahel during the northern summer, and other parts of the Gulf of Guinea region outside this season, a hitherto poorly documented feature. Over these two areas, ENSO and Atlantic SST (predominantly South Atlantic) contribute to d…

Performance of DEMETER calibration for rainfall forecasting purposes: Application to the July–August Sahelian rainfall

2008

International audience; This work assesses and compares the skill of direct and model-output-statistics (MOS) calibrated hindcasts of the July–August rainfall amounts for the dry period 1980–2000 over the Sahel issued from the Development of a European Multimodel Ensemble System for Seasonal to Interannual Prediction (DEMETER) experiment, with the aim to highlight among the simulated parameters, i.e., those potentially relevant for rainfall forecasts purposes. Three approaches were used: the DEMETER (1) direct rainfall, (2) MOS-calibrated rainfall, and (3) MOS-calibrated atmospheric dynamics and energy. Canonical correlation analyses (CCA) were employed in the two latter approaches to calib…

Late Holocene precipitation and temperature changes in Northern Europe linked with North Atlantic forcing

2015

Cotoneaster Majoricensis L. Sáez & Rosselló (Rosaceae), a New Species from Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

2012

Abstract Saez, L. & J. A. Rossello (2012). Cotoneaster majoricensis L. Saez & Rossello (Rosaceae), a new species from Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Candollea 67: 243–253. In English, English and French abstracts. A new species from the northern mountains of Mallorca (Balearic Islands), Cotoneaster majoricensis L. Saez & Rossello (Rosaceae), is described and illustrated. It belongs to section Cotoneaster Medik. and is morphologically close to Cotoneaster tomentosus (Aiton) Lindl. and Cotoneaster raboutensis K. E. Flink & al., differing however by various morphological characters. Data on taxonomic relationships, ecology, and conservation status of this new apparently narrow-ranged endem…

The White Stone of South-Eastern Sicily: Urban and Territorial Identity

2017

La Sicilia è un territorio fortemente "segnato" dall'impiego massiccio della ricca varietà di materiali lapidei che la natura ha messo a disposizione: materia prima dalle differenti qualità petrografiche, colore, caratteristiche tecniche e con una vasta possibilità di impiego, sia come elemento costruttivo sia come pietra ornamentale. La "pietra bianca" di Siracusa, il basalto dell'Etna, la "pietra forte" del ragusano, la pietra di Sabucina di Caltanissetta e Niscemi, le calcareniti e le rocce tufacee delle cave di Carini e Aspra, il calcare grigio di billiemi nel palermitano e il tufo calcareo di Agrigento, caratterizzano gran parte degli insediamenti antropici dell'isola, espressione di u…

Association of Birth Weight With Type 2 Diabetes and Glycemic Traits: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

2019

Key Points Question Is birth weight associated with type 2 diabetes and glycemic traits? Findings This mendelian randomization study found that a 1-SD decrease in birth weight due to the genetic risk score was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes among European and East Asian populations. In addition, a 1-SD decrease in birth weight was associated with a 0.189-SD increase in fasting glucose concentration, but not with fasting insulin, 2-hour glucose, or hemoglobin A1c level. Meaning A genetic predisposition to lower birth weight was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and increased fasting glucose, suggesting potential mechanisms through which perturbation of th…