Violent Winds Research Articles

Disaster Management “Mitigation of Inevitable Accident”

Learning administration can assume a fundamental part through guaranteeing the accessibility and availability of precise and solid debacle chance data when required and through viable lesson learning. Recognizable proof of key debacle information components will be an empowering influence to oversee catastrophes effectively. Each nation and group is powerless against calamities, both characteristic and artificial. Country’s geoclimatic state besides its hoisted condition of financial acknowledgement makes it by walking most extreme fiasco nation on the planet to encounter all the time from different cataclysmic events, in particular dry spell, surge, violent wind, earth tremor, avalanches, volcanic emission, and so forth. The objective behind this paper is to exhibit key learning factors identifying with debacle administration cycle, and investigates a couple of difficulties identifying with recognized catastrophe information factors. Methods/Statistical Analysis: India has 84% of its geological range under precipitous territory. The India is inclined to different catastrophic events, for example, tremor, avalanche, streak surge, and so forth. Individuals and the administration have learnt a great deal from the past encounters and in this manner a procedure of group based debacle administration is being created to deal with the calamities. The examination depends on the information &data gathered throughout the previous years (1970‐2016). A list of disaster knowledge factors was first identified through a comprehensive literature review and later semi‐structured interviews were conducted among few disaster management practitioners to explore the influence and challenges relating to identify knowledge factors. Findings: In view of the connection of one occasion each under the classification of normal and manmade fiascos (avalanches, transport mishaps’) it is presumed that these relationships set up that the toll of mischance is ordinarily more than the calamity occasions and there exists a squeezing need to give careful consideration towards overseeing mischance that take substantial toll of the worldwide assets. Among key difficulties, the absence of recognition and cautioning frameworks, the requirement for compelling instruction, preparing and mindfulness raising projects, the requirements’ for general refreshing of fiasco related laws, absence of assets for monetary arranging measures, lack of foresight, poor correspondence, poor initiative, and poor institutional game plan were featured. Improvements: Group support in a fiasco is a typical marvel in the nations like India. Considering the tremendous capability of group and putting its investment into training in various phases of debacle administration (counteractive action, readiness, relief, reaction and recovery) will surely assist the catastrophe supervisors with making a more secure society. At display there exists no formal and exhaustive database recording the toll of mishaps and the investigation depends on the database gathered from various sources. The paper builds up certain that the extent of the toll of mischances is significantly more than that of fiascos and there exists squeezing requirement for overseeing mishaps. Keywords: Antecedents of Disaster, Calamity Occasions, Disaster Management, Inevitable Accidents, Mitigation Strategy

Epic ζαχρηής: a reexamination

Abstract The article argues that the Homeric compound ζαχρηής, which is usually understood as “strong, violent” and believed to be related to the aorist ἔχραe, belonging with Lat. in-gruo and Lith. griauti, is in fact a possessive compound of the s-stem χρῆος (Hom. χρeῖος) “need, use, debt”, a derivative of χρή “necessity”. It is an Aeolic compound (ζα- < *δια-) meaning “much needed, indispensable”. The meaning “violent, strong” arose from a reinterpretation in the context of Μ 346–347 and 359–360. With this new meaning, the word was reused as an epithet of winds in E 525 (ζαχρeιῶν ἀνέμων “of violent winds”), and later on in Hellenistic poetry, thereby losing the original meaning. This has several implications: 1. the etymology of the group of ἔχραe is reexamined, and so is the derivational history of this group within Greek; 2. derivatives and compounds of χρή are reorganised; 3. the adverb ἀχρeῖον of the Homeric Vulgate is a thematicised form of the antonymic compound *ἀχρηής “needless”, and the meanin...

The Background, Explanations and Textual Research of Wang Ao’s The Poem of Prawns

The sea is so vast, The sun and the moon rise and set on the back of a sea-turtle.BR Apodal fetus is as big as the house, Even the smallest prawns are as long as 100 inches.BR Palpi of prawns are like halberds, Striving to jump out from waves. Prawns volunteer to be pioneers for the Dragon, Ascending to win glory.BR The above poemis adapted from The Poem of Prawns written byWang Ao in the ancient Ming Dynasty. The whole poem is composed of 16 lines, 112 Chinese characters altogether. Through the description of the vast sea, fish and prawns, flying dragon and the blue sky, the poem presents us a splendid scenery of fierce waves, horrible sea monsters, violent winds, dancing fish and dragons, and the daring and braveness of prawns, which is grand and moving.BR The Poem of Prawns, a poem written in a painting by Wang Ao, is not his best. However, it clearly describes the bad political environment in his era and shows his strong will to make contributions to the country. The strength in the meaning of the two line “Palpi of the prawns are like halberds, striving to jump out from waves” unfolds us his resistance and unwillingness to the bad political atmosphere then. The prawns drawn by Wang Ao are actually fighters combating fierce storms, rather than small shrimps muddling on in the deep sea. The spirit of braving hardship and danger in the poem inspires others. The poem presents us not only the form of prawns, but also their ideal and aspiration. The prawns embody those who hope the country has a good political system, a wise emperor and loyal officials.BR The ancient Chinese politicians, thinkers and writers often strike a chord in readers’ heart by composing poetry. From The Poem of Prawns, we feel that Wang Ao was immensely complacent to contribute to the country, but had no opportunity to use his talent. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was in a state of decay. Though serving as an official after passing the imperial civil examination, Wang Ao was not assigned to a key post to give full play to his talent because wicked ministers and sycophants held away in the imperial court. Nevertheless, Wang Ao remains staunchly loyal to his faith. So people admires him. From the above, the poem exposes the corrupt officialdom then and Wang Ao’s dedication to the country. Through the background, explanations and textual research of Wang Ao’s The Poem of Prawns, the article gives a further study of the artistic conception of the poem.

Troubled Waters: Liquid Memory in the Wake of Disaster

Troubled WatersLiquid Memory in the Wake of Disaster Lauren Ravalico Artists who undertake the commemoration of a disaster are faced with a dizzying array of aesthetic choices that affect how a calamitous tragedy will be tacked to the fabric of collective memory. This essay considers the strikingly similar implications of compositional and formal choices in two visual representations of disaster which, at first glance, bear no resemblance: Théodore Géricault's 1819 tableau, The Raft of the Medusa [Le Radeau de la Méduse], and Michael Arad's Reflecting Absence, a memorial to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in Lower Manhattan. Géricault's Romantic painting (Figure 1) depicts a group of survivors of the shipwrecked Medusa, the frigate in a small fleet of warships that sailed from Rochefort, a port on France's mid-Atlantic coast, on June 17, 1816, and which ran aground on July 2 after striking a reef by a bank of shoals near the coast of Mauritania. The primary mission of the expedition was to reclaim from British occupation several territorial outposts in Senegal that French colonizers had originally established and which were returned to France as part of the 1815 treaty that restored monarchy in France. Among the nearly 400 passengers and crew on this voyage to the port city of Saint-Louis in Senegal were the French-appointed governor of the territories, Colonel Julien Schmaltz, the principal employees of the colony, several cartographers who were to map the Cape Verde peninsula for a future colonial settlement, as well as a large group of military personnel (including "an unknown number of blacks") to be stationed at the colony outposts and to form an army (Alhadeff 17).1 The Medusa's captain, Hugues Duroy de Chaumareys, chose a route too close to shore and thus separated from the expedition's other ships, the Loire, the Echo, and the Argus. Two days after running aground, Chaumareys abandoned ship along with most of the ship's officers, Colonel Schmaltz, and their families to clamor onto the Medusa's six dilapidated lifeboats. Because the lifeboats were insufficient to carry all of the shipwrecked passengers, it was decided to tow the remaining survivors on a hastily constructed raft (68 feet by 20 feet) made from the Medusa's masts and beams (Eitner 159).2 After setting sail, however, an officer aboard territorial governor Schmaltz's lifeboat used a hatchet to cut the rope that was towing the unwieldy raft. The remaining [End Page 60] lifeboats did not come to the raft's rescue and sailed on toward Senegal.3 Approximately 150 souls were left adrift upon a rickety floating platform with only a meager supply of wine and water. The paltry foodstuffs and coin-sized compass they originally brought onboard were lost at sea within the first day (Corréard and Savigny 101–102). For the next 13 days, horrors of every kind beset the raft, which was initially so overloaded that its passengers, packed together like sardines, sat in waist-high water (87). Violent winds and stormy weather tossed many survivors overboard; others were smothered or crushed in the thrashing about. In a drunken delirium, some of the soldiers initiated a series of violent mutiny attempts that wounded and killed more than half of the raft's passengers. The remaining survivors turned first to cannibalism and then to something in between murder and euthanasia of the critically wounded in order to attempt survival (140–41).4 When the Argus finally spotted the raft after two weeks at sea, 15 of the 150 passengers were still alive, and five of them soon died at a hospital in Saint-Louis, Senegal. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Théodore Géricault, The Raft of the Medusa, 1819. Copyright released September 28, 2016 for publication in The Comparatist. In its aftermath, the Medusa shipwreck became a political cause célèbre (Huet 155). The Medusa's captain, Chaumareys, was a Legitimist and formerly celebrated sailor in the King's Navy who hadn't helmed a ship in 25 years until the French Restoration of 1815...

Global warming-induced upper-ocean freshening and the intensification of super typhoons.

Super typhoons (STYs), intense tropical cyclones of the western North Pacific, rank among the most destructive natural hazards globally. The violent winds of these storms induce deep mixing of the upper ocean, resulting in strong sea surface cooling and making STYs highly sensitive to ocean density stratification. Although a few studies examined the potential impacts of changes in ocean thermal structure on future tropical cyclones, they did not take into account changes in near-surface salinity. Here, using a combination of observations and coupled climate model simulations, we show that freshening of the upper ocean, caused by greater rainfall in places where typhoons form, tends to intensify STYs by reducing their ability to cool the upper ocean. We further demonstrate that the strengthening effect of this freshening over the period 1961–2008 is ∼53% stronger than the suppressive effect of temperature, whereas under twenty-first century projections, the positive effect of salinity is about half of the negative effect of ocean temperature changes.

Estimation of near surface wind speeds in strongly rotating flows

Modeling studies consistently demonstrate that the most violent winds in tornadic vortices occur in the lowest tens of meters above the surface. These velocities are unobservable by radar platforms due to line of sight considerations. In this work, a methodology is developed which utilizes parametric tangential velocity models derived from Doppler radar measurements, together with a tangential momentum and mass continuity constraint, to estimate the radial and vertical velocities in a steady axisymmetric frame. The main result is that information from observations aloft can be extrapolated into the surface layer of the vortex. The impact of the amount of information available to the retrieval is demonstrated through some numerical tests with pseudo-data.

Tornado occurrence nearby Valjevo on 27 may 2014: Analysis of weather situation

This study shows the case of a tornado on 27 May 2014 in the vicinity of Valjevo. According to its characteristics and considering that this is a mesocyclonic severe weather event, accompanied with heavy rain, violent wind, hail and thunderstorm, it belongs to extraordinary dangerous meteorological events. The aim of this study is to determine and examine the cause of tornado occurrence in this area using the methods of synoptic and mesoscale analysis, as well as radar analysis. That could contribute to better understanding of this phenomenon in Serbia as well as to improving the forecast methods and models. Contrary to the previous researches, the capacities of the meteorological radar MRL - 5 have been presented in this study.

“What Country, Friends, Is This?”: Touring Shakespeares, Agency, and Efficacy in Theatre Historiography

The curtain rose at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, on 14 August 2011 to reveal a richly textured production ofThe Tempeston a bare stage with minimal props. As the lights came up, a group of white-robed sailors were caught in a meticulously choreographed storm, dancing to the mesmerizing beats of the master drummer upstage. The performers’ costumes echoed traditional Koreanhanbokattire and their acting style incorporatedt'alch'ummask-dance drama techniques. Their long white sleeves flapped and swayed in sync with their movements. Engulfed in stagewide sapphire and then crimson lighting, their sleeves were transformed from symbols of violent wind and waves to raging fire on board a ship approaching a world where, as Gonzalo aptly summarized, “no man was his own” (5.1.211). With Prospero (King Zilzi) as the drummer upstage and Ariel dancing in the midst of the unfortunate sailors, the storm scene—one of the longest renditions of the “direful spectacle” (1.2.26) in the performance history ofThe Tempest—served as an anchor to the tragicomic narrative about the self and the other. For a fleeting moment, Prospero gave the impression of being a drillmaster at the helm.

Design defect of wind turbine operating in typhoon activity zone

Large numbers of wind farms have been and will be built in tropical cyclone zones. However historical events of wind turbine failures in typhoon or hurricane activities have illuminated that there is some defect in wind turbine design, due to not giving enough consideration on the effects of cyclone activity on wind turbine operating. Using observation data of meteorological wind towers, this study analyzes the variations of wind speed, turbulence and wind direction of super typhoon Saomai, when it was passing through Hedingshan wind farm of Zhejiang province in 2006. The reasons for wind turbine failures in the typhoon activity are clarified. The violent wind, drastic turbulence and sudden change of wind direction are major factors of wind turbine failures, in which exposes the design defects of wind turbine operating. Viewing from the effects of typhoon activity on wind turbine operating, this study puts forward some advice for designing an economical and anti-typhoon wind turbine which would have wide market prospects in many countries where tropical cyclone often occurs.

Dependence of surface pressures on a cubic building in tornado like flow on building location and ground roughness

Violent wind vortices and their influence on structures have been an area of research during the past few decades. Effects of these vortices on building structures depend on vortex size relative to building size, relative distance between vortex center and building location, terrain condition and swirl ratio. The present investigation takes into account factors such as building model location with respect to vortex center and terrain condition that influence the surface pressures on a building model cube exposed to a swirl flow by performing a systematic set of laboratory experiments using a Ward-type tornado-like-flow simulator developed at Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan. The developed vortex was stationary and the effect of translation was not taken into account. The scalar component of velocity was determined at different heights and radii across the simulator floor. Mean and peak pressures acting on the building model cube considering the effect of the above factors is discussed. Salient features of peak pressure coefficients on a building surface occurring under a tornado-like flow regime are also discussed.

Appraisal of the prevalence of severe tropical storms over Indian Ocean by screening the features of tropical depressions

Tropical cyclones are one of the nature’s most violent manifestations and potentially the deadliest of all meteorological phenomena. It is a unique combination of violent wind, heavy rainfall, and mountainous waves in sea. The maximum sustained wind speed, minimum sea level pressure, and the radius of maximum winds are important parameters for understanding a particular tropical cyclone and to differentiate it from a depression to tropical storms. The objective of this particular paper is to identify a possible range of maximum sustained wind speed, minimum sea level pressure, and radius of maximum winds which facilitates tropical depressions to lead to tropical storms over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea of Indian Ocean basin. The method of rough set theory which is based on condition—decision support system is implemented for the purpose. The result reveals that the threshold ranges of the maximum sustained wind speed, minimum sea level pressure and radius of maximum winds associated with tropical depression are possible that can aid in the predictability of tropical storm over Indian Ocean. The results are validated with significant tropical storms of 2009 and 2010 observations through Doppler and satellite imageries.

Stochastic Modeling in Multibody Dynamics: Aerodynamic Loads on Ground Vehicles

The influence of wind loads on the driving behavior of ground vehicles is an important economical, safety, and comfort issue. The crosswind performance is of great interest, as violent lateral winds can cause major accidents or will at least make the driver and the passengers feel very uncomfortable and insecure. In this paper, a sampling based methodology for the analysis of stochastic ground vehicle systems is presented. Starting from the well known Monte Carlo method more sophisticated reliability methods with higher efficiency are introduced and their advantages and drawbacks are critically reviewed. Furthermore, probabilistic sensitivity analyses are presented, which can be used to quantify the importance of the random variables on the response of the vehicle system. The influence of the parameters of the probability density functions is investigated by means of a novel response surface method. The mentioned approach is applied to a nonlinear road vehicle model under strong crosswind excitation for which the failure probabilities and the sensitivities are computed.

Typhoon Locating and Reconstruction from the Infrared Satellite Cloud Image

Typhoon inflicts terrible damage due to thunderstorms, violent winds, torrential rain, flooding and extreme high tides. Improving the early typhoon forecast capability is important for the disaster prevention. In recent years, many scholars have made efforts in typhoon center location, typhoon intensity estimation and moving path prediction from the satellite images. Moreover, it may be useful to transfer the useful information of typhoon to the audience in a low bandwidth environment. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach that partitions the satellite cloud image into slices to extract typhoon features. Then we used morphology operations and statistical image classification methods to locate the center and the contour of the typhoon. In addition, we applied the vector quantization method to encode typhoon satellite images owing to its fast image reconstruction capability in different resolutions and regions of interest. The infrared satellite images of 71 typhoons from mature period to decaying period occurred between 1995 and 2006 are tested in this paper. We used the proposed method to recognize, locate and reconstruct typhoon images from these collected satellite cloud images. Experimental results show that the main body of a typhoon image can be segmented effectively from the infrared satellite cloud image with complex background and reconstructed in regions of interest and resolution required.

New observations on the resistance of coconut cultivars to tropical cyclones in Vanuatu

The resistance of coconut palms to violent winds was observed at the Saraoutou research station as cyclone Dani passed over the island of Santo in Vanuatu in January 1999. Mortality caused by felling or uprooting was recorded on 13 Dwarf varieties, 10 Tall varieties and 28 Dwarf x Tall hybrids. The Dwarf palms were generally more susceptible than the Tall palms and hybrids, but substantial differences were also found between varieties in the same group. At 15 years old, the Tacunan Green Dwarf originating from the Philippines proved to be the most resistant Dwarf with 0% of felled palms compared to 100% of felled palms for the most susceptible, the Malayan Yellow Dwarf. Of the Tall palms, the Vanuatu Tall proved to be the most resistant with 2% of felled palms. The varieties originating from the South Pacific or the Philippines also displayed good resistance compared to varieties from Papua New Guinea. Of the hybrids, the Malayan Red Dwarf x Rennell Tall displayed the least resistance. The effect of different factors (morphological characteristics, age) on susceptibility to violent winds is discussed.

New images of turbulent Venusian atmosphere

The European Space Agency's Venus Express has sent back new images of atmospheric turbulence and cloud features that may help explain what causes the planet's violent winds. Using infrared wavelengths, the spacecraft's Ultraviolet, Visible, and Near‐Infrared Mapping Spectrometer can see through the thick layer of clouds covering the planet's atmosphere and take images at various depths. The new images show that clouds are irregular and bubble‐shaped at the equator, become more regular and streaky at mid‐latitudes, and enter a vortex shape at the poles. In addition, images over clouds over a region called Alpha Regio—characterized by troughs and ridges that can b e up to 4 kilometers high—indicate that surface topography may influence local atmospheric turbulence. The images are available at http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM9N77DWZE_index_0.html

Kings and Gods as Ecological Agents: From Reciprocity to Unilateralism in the Management of Natural Resources

Kings and Gods as Ecological Agents:From Reciprocity to Unilateralism in the Management of Natural Resources Simon Simonse (bio) 1. Introduction The questions this article addresses are as follows: do non-Western societies have a qualitatively better, more balanced relationship with nature than modern Western societies? Can the difference between the two be described in terms of an opposition between a reciprocal and an exploitative relationship? What difference does the Judeo-Christian tradition make in shaping the modern relationship with nature? To answer these questions I will give brief descriptions of the way in which three cultural traditions have structured the relationship between man and nature: societies that are ruled by sacred kings, societies where power over nature is attributed to divinities, and the Old Testament tradition. As cases of sacred kinship, I present ethnographic material taken from my anthropological fieldwork among the Lulubo, Lokoya, and Lotuho peoples from the East Bank of the Nile in Southern Sudan. I will use the term "Eastern Nilotic" as shorthand for this complex of peoples. For the societies where divinities play the central role, I take the Western Nilotic Dinka, Nuer, and Atuot living in the flood plains of the Nile north of the kingship societies. In comparing these three traditions my point of departure is René Girard's analysis of culture as a mechanism to resolve conflict by directing the aggression of the members of society onto a victim and so achieving a new consensus. We shall see that in the kingship societies what we call natural phenomena play an integral part in culturally staging the scapegoat mechanism. They are the stage of human rivalries and their resolution. Among the polytheistic Western Nilotes they are the instrument through which the gods make their power felt and demand attention from humans. In the Old Testament, natural phenomena remain the domain of God's power. Humans should not try to interfere. Their mission is to combat human evil as defined in Mosaic law. [End Page 31] 2. Kings as Ecological Agents The survival of the communities of the Lokoya and Lulubo on the East Bank of the Nile who traditionally live in well-fortified village-polities, counting in the precolonial period between 1500 and 2500 inhabitants, is dependent on forces that are unpredictable (Simonse 1992). As agriculturists they are dependent on regular rains. However, the rains in their area are erratic and localized. As a result there is always a risk that the harvest may fail. The soil is of varying quality, giving varying yields in different places. The birth rate is another major concern. It determines the security of the community in its relationship to neighboring, frequently hostile, communities. There is the concern for epidemics, crop-eating insects and birds, and root-eating worms. Violent winds may destroy the crop, and lions and leopards may kill humans and cattle. A concern of a different order is the extent of the effectiveness of weapons, spears, and bows and arrows, in assuring security. When adversity affects the community, the first question asked by those affected is that regarding its cause. Frequently the cause is a breach of the social rules: an act of violence and a failure to perform or properly perform a ritual of purification necessitated by the violence. It may also be unconscious resentment on the part of a person or group that feels excluded from benefits enjoyed by others. It may be the cry of a neglected relative. It may be incest. It may be an attack by outsiders. Among the Lulubo and Lokoya, responsibility for the various aspects of the natural environment that can be critical for community survival is allocated to the different clans. In the case of a crisis (drought, infertility) the clan associated with the problem is the target of investigations. The main investigation strategy is to check, one by one, the quarrels in which members of that clan have been involved. When a conflict has been identified, a solution is suggested by way of reconciliation or restitution. Of particular interest are attempts to provoke the responsible clan official. If a settlement of the dispute fails to bring the required result, there will be more rounds of investigation...

The monitoring programme of the ecological and ecotoxicological consequences of the “Erika” oil spill

On December 11, 1999, Erika, an oil tanker flying the Maltese flag and loaded with 31 000 t of heavy fuel oil, was making its way from Dunkirk to Livorno when it encountered difficult weather conditions Southwest of the Brittany coast gale force winds 8 to 9 and 6 mwaves). On the morning of 12th December, the captain broadcast an SOS; his vessel was breaking in two, approximately 30 nautical miles to south of Penmarc'h Point (Fig. 1; Finistere, France). The fore section of the vessel sank during the night of the 12-13 December and the aft section was taken in tow on the morning December 13, but subsequently sank in the early afternoon. Both parts lay in 120 m of water and were located 10 km apart. Approximately, 19 000 t of heavy fuel oil were spilled into the sea. The first of the fuel oil came ashore on December 23 and major strandings took place between December 24 and 27. The Loire Atlantique and Vendee coasts were severely contaminated and the departements of Finistere, Morbihan, and Charente Maritime in the South, were in no way spared. Violent winds blowing at right angles to the coast accompanied extremely high tides washed the pollution high up the beach strand, reaching the tops of cliffs more than 10 m high. The struggle at sea against the pollution began on December 15 and 1200 t of fuel were recovered within the next fortnight. Between mid May and late summer 2000, a little more than 10 000 t of heavy fuel oil were fluidised by adding colza methyl ester and pumped from the tanks of the sunken vessel, while an additional 1200 t were pumped out during final cleaning. A total of 12 400 t of the originally transported 31 000 t were retrieved from both the sea and the wreck and a little less than 19 000 t were released into the environment...

Characterization of branching in two Hevea brasiliensis clones

Rubber has been grown for several decades in Africa, notably in Ivory Coast. Although the yields obtained with selected clones are good, some problems with adaptation to edaphic and climatic conditions have yet to be solved. Of these problems, tree breakage due to violent winds during frequent storms is a major handicap. Some clones are more resistant to wind damage. However, this resistance trait remains difficult to measure, and detecting it at an early stage appeared important. As no differences have been found in the physical properties of the wood of different clones, the search for differences between clones displaying resistance and susceptibility to wind damage was switched to architectural structures. Architectural traits were thus studied on two rubber clones with very different resistances to wind. Observations were focused both on young trees and adult trees. Of all the architectural traits observed, a description of branching provided information likely to explain differences in the way the clones being studied developed over time. The clone GT1 which is resistant to wind, developed more lateral branches but they did not grow much in length. On the other hand, fewer axillary branches appeared on the susceptible clone PB235 but they grew longer. Moreover, as some of these traits proved to be similar in both young and adult trees, they could be detected at a sufficiently early stage for use as early prediction traits, if their involvement in susceptibility to wind damage is confirmed.

Forecasting for a Remote Island: A Class Exercise

Students enrolled in a satellite meteorology course at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, recently had an unusual opportunity to apply their forecast skills to predict wind and weather conditions for a remote site in the Southern Hemisphere. For about 40 days starting in early February 2001, students used satellite and model guidance to develop forecasts to support a research team stationed on Bouvet Island (54°26′S, 3°24′E). Internet products together with current output from NCEP's Aviation (AVN) model supported the activity. Wind forecasts were of particular interest to the Bouvet team because violent winds often developed unexpectedly and posed a safety hazard. Results were encouraging in that 24-h wind speed forecasts showed reasonable reliability over a wide range of wind speeds. Forecasts for 48 h showed only marginal skill, however. Two critical events were well forecasted—the major February storm with wind speeds of over 120 kt and a brief calm period following several days of strong winds in early March. The latter forecast proved instrumental in recovering the research team.

OPTICAL FIBER NETWORK ESTABLISHMENT IN NAGOYA

OPTICAL FIBER NETWORK ESTABLISHMENT IN NAGOYAFiber-optic cables installed in sewers are well protected from damage caused by earthquakes, fires, lightning, violent winds and flooding. They can therefore ensure stable and accurate communication of information even at the time of such disastrous events. In addition, since already existing sewers are used, it is possible to construct communication networks in a short period of time. Recognizing...Author(s)Hideki MatsubaSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 46 Collection Systems: Contact Instruments: Communicating with the UnknownDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2003ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20030101)2003:8L.655;1-DOI10.2175/193864703784640307Volume / Issue2003 / 8Content sourceWEFTECFirst / last page(s)655 - 661Copyright2003Word count283