Impact of Western Ghats Orography on the Weather and Climate over Southern Peninsular India-A Mesoscale Modelling Study

The thesis gives a general introduction about the topic include India, the spatial and temporal variation of the surface meteorological parameters are dealt in detail. The general pattern of the winds over the region in different seasons and the generation and movements of the thermally and dynamically originated local wind systems of Western Ghats region has been studied. The modification of the prevailing winds over region by the Palghat Gap and its effect on the mouth regions pf the gap is analysed in great depth. The thesis gives the information of climatic elements of the mountain region such as energy budgets, rainfall studies, evaporation and condensation and the variation in the heat fluxes over the region. The impact of orography is studied in a different approach. The type of hypothetical study gives more insight into the control of mountain on the distribution of meteorological parameter over the study region and helps to quantify the impact of the mountain in varying the weather climate of region. The detailed study of the hydro-meteorological aspects of the main river basins of the region also should be included to the climatic studies for the total understanding of the weather and climate over the region.

Shifting cultivation and forest resources in Nagaland, N.-E. India

Die vorliegende Studie befasst sich mit der Ressourcennachhaltigkeit der traditionellen, auf Wanderfeldbau beruhenden Subsistenzwirtschaft in zwei Dörfern (Hongphoy und Minyakshu) in Nagaland im Nordosten Indiens. Hierbei werden die Cerealien Produktion, der Feuerholz Konsum und auch die Folgen der intensivierten Bewirtschaftung (Forstdegradation und Bodenverarmung) im Hinblick auf das Bevölkerungswachstum diskutiert. Während das traditionelle System des Wanderfeldbaus (Jhum) seit Jahrzehnten die Bedürfnisse der ehemals kopfjagenden Stämme Nagalands erfüllte, ergab unsere Studie durch Interviews und Feldaufnahmen in 2004 und 2005, dass die steigende Nachfrage einer wachsenden Bevölkerung nach Cerealien und Feuerholz als wichtigste Ressourcen der Subsistenzwirtschaft zu einer verkürzten Brachezeit und letztlich der Degradation von Naturressourcen geführt hat: Pro Hektar Ernten sind reduziert und der Zuwachs der Holzvorräte auf den Feldern kann durch die verkürzten Bracheperioden nicht mehr die Feuerholz Nachfrage decken. Eine Nahrungsmittelknappheit wurde durch die Gegenüberstellung des Energiebedarfs einer Person und die jährlichen pro-Kopf Erntemengen und unter Berücksichtigung des Zukaufs von Reis reflektiert: In Hongphoy ergab dies ein Defizit auf Dorfebene von 130 Tonnen Reis, in Minyakshu von 480 Tonnen, die nicht durch Ernten gedeckt werden konnten. Diese Nahrungsmittelknappheit erweist sich vor allem vor dem Hintergrund eines Bevölkerungswachstums von 6.7% und marginalen Einkünften als problematisch. Für fünf verschiedene Waldformationen (zwei Brachewälder, zwei Dorfwälder und ein Naturwald) wurden die unterschiedliche Artenzusammensetzung (Diversität) und Bestandesvolumina durch Forstinventuren beschrieben. Der dem Bestandesvolumen der Brachewälder gegenübergestellte pro-Kopf Feuerholz Bedarf ergab ein jährliches Defizit von 1,81m³ in Hongphoy und 0.05m³ in Minyakshu. Der Unterschied dieses Defizits zwischen beiden Dörfern wurde in einer abweichenden Bestandesstruktur (Dominanz der N2 fixierenden Baumart Alnus nepalensis in den Brachewäldern Minyakshus) begründet. Über den erhobenen Feuerholzbedarf wurde ein theoretischer pro-Kopf Flächenbedarf an Brachewald errechnet, der nötig wäre um den gesamten Feuerholz Bedarf innerhalb des Wanderfeldbau Systems zu decken. Das daraus resultierende Defizit wurde mit den Feuerholzvolumina der Dorfwälder und des verbliebenen Naturwalds gegenüber gestellt. Hieraus ergibt sich die Bedeutung der Feuerholzernte und des Wanderfeldbau als Ursache für die fortschreitende Entwaldung und Forstdegradation in Nagaland. Mit Hilfe dieser Informationen und aktuellen Angaben zum Bevölkerungswachstum werden die Ergebnisse anhand einschlägiger Literatur diskutiert und letztendlich die Nachhaltigkeit und Tragfähigkeit des Wanderfeldbau Systems in dieser Region bestimmt. Mögliche Verbesserungsstrategien um der zunehmenden Ressourcendegradation zu begegnen, werden andiskutiert.

Análisis de los problemas de gobernabilidad en la consolidación de la Ciudad-Región de Bogotá-Cundinamarca. Periodo 2000-2007

El objetivo de la presente monografía es identificar los problemas que se presentan en términos de gobernabilidad en la consolidación de la Ciudad-región Bogotá-Cundinamarca en el periodo de 2000-2007. La importancia de este tema radica en la necesidad de crear una agenda conjunta de Bogotá-Cundinamarca y de consolidar un modelo integrado de desarrollo basado en la concertación y la cooperación entre distintos actores nacionales, departamentales, distritales y municipales. Para ello, se requiere una concepción dinámica del territorio que vaya más allá de los límites político-jurídicos establecidos y mediante la cual se logre enfrentar los problemas que surgen de la integración desordenada, descontrolada y antiecológica del Distrito Capital con los municipios circunvecinos.

Impacto del fortalecimiento militar de China en la política de seguridad de Japón (2001-2011)

En una región cuyo Balance de Seguridad y Equilibrio han estado garantizados por los Estados Unidos, el creciente militarismo chino pone grandes desafíos e impacto a las políticas y reacciones de sus vecinos, afectando relaciones marcadas por el peso de la historia, y que parece llevar a una carrera armamentista regional.

Conèixer el Sahara. 'Conocer el Sahara'.

Se pretende dar a conocer, a los alumnos del segundo ciclo de educación primaria, el pueblo saharaui mediante la realización de diversas actividades en torno al Sahara; sus características, sus costumbres y su forma de vida. Se enumeran una serie de pautas dirigidas al profesorado para realizar las actividades en clase.

Del Río Grande de la Magdalena y la ‘producción’ del territorio caribeño: análisis de las tensiones políticas, económicas y sociales entre Cartagena de Indias, Barranquilla y Santafé de Bogotá durante la primera mitad del siglo XX

En el intento de aproximación a la comprensión de las especificidades del personaje que ocupa la presente investigación –Cecilia Porras–, tropezamos con algunos vacíos dentro del estudio del contexto regional. Porras nace en Cartagena, en una de las familias de élite de la región, pero opta por aproximarse a la ciudad de Barranquilla –e incluso colateralmente a Bogotá–, espacios que le brindaban condiciones de posibilidad sociales, económicas y políticas, muy distintas a las que ofrecía la Heroica. Pese a que en la bibliografía disponible es posible encontrar una gran variedad de análisis referentes a los espacios y momentos en los que Porras se desempeñó –la Cartagena y la Barranquilla de mediados del siglo XX–, notamos dificultades a la hora de visualizar el modo en que estos referentes espaciales y temporales determinaron los procesos de configuración del orden socio-político en el caso concreto de cada ciudad, así como en la manera en que estas interactuaron entre sí con el centro político del país –la ciudad andina de Santafé de Bogotá– y con el resto del mundo.

Cecilia Porras, contra corriente: análisis del proceso de aproximación a nuevas territorialidades femeninas

El río Grande de la Magdalena marcó la historia del Caribe colombiano. Las grandes ciudades de la región nacieron y crecieron a sus orillas y vivieron a merced de sus caprichos. En un país enmarcado por cordilleras intransitables, la única vía de penetración y el camino más seguro para cualquier proceso de intercambio político o comercial era el cauce del río. Salir hacia las costas implicaba ciertas dificultades, pero remontar para llevar el comercio, la información o para el tránsito humano resultaba un proceso mucho más largo, costoso y complicado. Era necesario acudir a los bogas y subir el cauce con tracción humana, en contra de la corriente (Posada Carbó, 1989; Nichols, 1973).

Determinantes internos y externos en el proceso de aprendizaje : una aproximación al caso español a partir de la ECV-2005.

Resumen tomado de la publicación

El mundo científico al alcance de toda la sociedad.

Análisis de la VI edición de la Semana de la Ciencia de Castilla-La Mancha, celebrada del 6 al 10 de noviembre de 2006. Se destaca una de sus exposiciones, la dedicada al químico Ángel del Campo Cerdán. Se pretende acercar a los ciudadanos el valor de la ciencia y la tecnología y concienciarles de su importancia en el desarrollo y bienestar de nuestras sociedades.

Flux comparison of Eulerian and Lagrangian estimates of Agulhas leakage: A case study using a numerical model

Estimating the magnitude of Agulhas leakage, the volume flux of water from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean, is difficult because of the presence of other circulation systems in the Agulhas region. Indian Ocean water in the Atlantic Ocean is vigorously mixed and diluted in the Cape Basin. Eulerian integration methods, where the velocity field perpendicular to a section is integrated to yield a flux, have to be calibrated so that only the flux by Agulhas leakage is sampled. Two Eulerian methods for estimating the magnitude of Agulhas leakage are tested within a high-resolution two-way nested model with the goal to devise a mooring-based measurement strategy. At the GoodHope line, a section halfway through the Cape Basin, the integrated velocity perpendicular to that line is compared to the magnitude of Agulhas leakage as determined from the transport carried by numerical Lagrangian floats. In the first method, integration is limited to the flux of water warmer and more saline than specific threshold values. These threshold values are determined by maximizing the correlation with the float-determined time series. By using the threshold values, approximately half of the leakage can directly be measured. The total amount of Agulhas leakage can be estimated using a linear regression, within a 90% confidence band of 12 Sv. In the second method, a subregion of the GoodHope line is sought so that integration over that subregion yields an Eulerian flux as close to the float-determined leakage as possible. It appears that when integration is limited within the model to the upper 300 m of the water column within 900 km of the African coast the time series have the smallest root-mean-square difference. This method yields a root-mean-square error of only 5.2 Sv but the 90% confidence band of the estimate is 20 Sv. It is concluded that the optimum thermohaline threshold method leads to more accurate estimates even though the directly measured transport is a factor of two lower than the actual magnitude of Agulhas leakage in this model.

Towards global drought early warning capability: expanding international cooperation for the development of a framework for global drought monitoring and forecasting

Drought is a global problem that has far-reaching impacts and especially 47 on vulnerable populations in developing regions. This paper highlights the need for a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS), the elements that constitute its underlying framework (GDEWF) and the recent progress made towards its development. Many countries lack drought monitoring systems, as well as the capacity to respond via appropriate political, institutional and technological frameworks, and these have inhibited the development of integrated drought management plans or early warning systems. The GDEWS will provide a source of drought tools and products via the GDEWF for countries and regions to develop tailored drought early warning systems for their own users. A key goal of a GDEWS is to maximize the lead time for early warning, allowing drought managers and disaster coordinators more time to put mitigation measures in place to reduce the vulnerability to drought. To address this, the GDEWF will take both a top-down approach to provide global real-time drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting, and a bottom-up approach that builds upon existing national and regional systems to provide continental to global coverage. A number of challenges must be overcome, however, before a GDEWS can become a reality, including the lack of in-situ measurement networks and modest seasonal forecast skill in many regions, and the lack of infrastructure to translate data into useable information. A set of international partners, through a series of recent workshops and evolving collaborations, has made progress towards meeting these challenges and developing a global system.

The land-atmosphere water flux in the tropics

Tropical vegetation is a major source of global land surface evapotranspiration, and can thus play a major role in global hydrological cycles and global atmospheric circulation. Accurate prediction of tropical evapotranspiration is critical to our understanding of these processes under changing climate. We examined the controls on evapotranspiration in tropical vegetation at 21 pan-tropical eddy covariance sites, conducted a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of 13 evapotranspiration models at these sites, and assessed the ability to scale up model estimates of evapotranspiration for the test region of Amazonia. Net radiation was the strongest determinant of evapotranspiration (mean evaporative fraction was 0.72) and explained 87% of the variance in monthly evapotranspiration across the sites. Vapor pressure deficit was the strongest residual predictor (14%), followed by normalized difference vegetation index (9%), precipitation (6%) and wind speed (4%). The radiation-based evapotranspiration models performed best overall for three reasons: (1) the vegetation was largely decoupled from atmospheric turbulent transfer (calculated from X decoupling factor), especially at the wetter sites; (2) the resistance-based models were hindered by difficulty in consistently characterizing canopy (and stomatal) resistance in the highly diverse vegetation; (3) the temperature-based models inadequately captured the variability in tropical evapotranspiration. We evaluated the potential to predict regional evapotranspiration for one test region: Amazonia. We estimated an Amazonia-wide evapotranspiration of 1370 mm yr(-1), but this value is dependent on assumptions about energy balance closure for the tropical eddy covariance sites; a lower value (1096 mm yr(-1)) is considered in discussion on the use of flux data to validate and interpolate models.

Essays on the general equilibrium effects of barriers to trade on economic growth, foreign trade and the location of economic activity in Brazil

This work presents a fully operational interstate CGE model implemented for the Brazilian economy that tries to quantify both the role of barriers to trade on economic growth and foreign trade performance and how the distribution of the economic activity may change as the country opens up to foreign trade. Among the distinctive features embedded in the model, modeling of external scale economies, port efficiency and land-maritime transport costs provides an innovative way of dealing explicitly with theoretical issues related to integrated regional systems. In order to illustrate the role played by the quality of infrastructure and geography on the country‟s foreign and interregional trade performance, a set of simulations is presented where barriers to trade are significantly reduced. The relative importance of trade policy, port efficiency and land-maritime transport costs for the country trade relations and regional growth is then detailed and quantified, considering both short run as well as long run scenarios. A final set of simulations shed some light on the effects of liberal trade policies on regional inequality, where the manufacturing sector in the state of São Paulo, taken as the core of industrial activity in the country, is subjected to different levels of external economies of scale. Short-run core-periphery effects are then traced out suggesting the prevalence of agglomeration forces over diversion forces could rather exacerbate regional inequality as import barriers are removed up to a certain level. Further removals can reverse this balance in favor of diversion forces, implying de-concentration of economic activity. In the long run, factor mobility allows a better characterization of the balance between agglomeration and diversion forces among regions. Regional dispersion effects are then clearly traced-out, suggesting horizontal liberal trade policies to benefit both the poorest regions in the country as well as the state of São Paulo. This long run dispersion pattern, on one hand seems to unravel the fragility of simple theoretical results from recent New Economic Geography models, once they get confronted with more complex spatially heterogeneous (real) systems. On the other hand, it seems to capture the literature‟s main insight: the possible role of horizontal liberal trade policies as diversion forces leading to a more homogeneous pattern of interregional economic growth.

A tradução da tradição : gaúchos, guaxos e sombras : o regionalismo revisitado de Luiz Carlos Barbosa Lessa e de Ricardo Güiraldes

Este estudo propõe a análise da permanência do gaúcho como portador de uma identidade regional e cultural em nossos dias. O estereótipo, que teve origem nas fronteiras da história do Rio da Prata, segue um desenvolvimento muito peculiar no Rio Grande do Sul. Como no caso argentino, com Ricardo Güiraldes e seu Don Segundo Sombra, a literatura dos escritores regionais e tradicionalistas do sul do Brasil, entre eles, Barbosa Lessa, perpetuou o gênero que se iniciara com a gauchesca do século XIX.O tipo muito particular de tradução cultural – a “transcriação” – que os escritores fizeram sobre a figura do gaúcho em suas obras auxiliou toda uma geração a significar sua identidade. Assim, a literatura, longe de manter símbolos de uma velha tradição, desenvolveu-a como uma nova forma de resistência de uma cultura regional no mundo globalizado.

Conhecimento científico e inovação: um binômio para o desenvolvimento econômico

A importância da inovação vem sendo afirmada como central para a garantia de produtividade e competitividade dos setores produtivos, garantindo a dinamização do desenvolvimento econômico de diversas regiões globais. Estudos apontam que a busca por inovação exige não apenas a aproximação mas o constante fortalecimento das relações entre instituições de pesquisa e conhecimento e os setores produtivos – através de plataformas de cooperação que envolvem desde incubadoras e parques tecnológicos até diálogos e ações conjuntas que reverberem em políticas públicas sistêmicas, voltadas para o desenvolvimento econômico sustentável. Com base nestas premissas, o presente artigo lança um breve olhar sobre materiais de referência internacional acerca do tema, aproximando-se de experiências em curso no cenário nacional – apontando as potencialidades e fragilidades das políticas de inovação desenvolvidas atualmente no território nacional.