Response of oceanic cyclogenesis metrics for NARGIS cyclone:a case study

In this study, variability of two oceanic cyclogenesis metrics, tropical cyclone heat potential (TCHP) and effective oceanic layer for cyclogenesis (EOLC) in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during NARGIS cyclone is investigated. EOLC represents the geopotential thickness of near surface stratified layer forms because of the spread of low salinity waters due to fresh water influx from rivers and precipitation. Climatological fields of TCHP and EOLC reveal that NARGIS translated towards the region of higher EOLC as seen in the observations. A maximum daily sea surface cooling of 2 °C is observed along the right and rear side of NARGIS track

[Arctic] Greenland ice sheet [in “State of the Climate in 2012”]

Melting at the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet set new records for extent and melt index (i.e., the number of days on which melting occurred multiplied by the area where melting was detected) for the period 1979–2012, according to passive microwave observations (e.g., Tedesco 2007, 2009; Mote and Anderson 1995). Melt extent reached ~97% of the ice sheet surface during a rare, ice-sheet-wide event on 11–12 July (Fig. 5.13a; Nghiem et al. 2012). This was almost four times greater than the average melt extent for 1981–2010. The 2012 standardized melting index (SMI, defined as the melting index minus its average and divided by its standard deviation) was +2.4, almost twice the previous record of about +1.3 set in 2010

Agricultural Terracing in the Fiji Islands. (Volumes I and II).

Agricultural terraces form a distinctive element in the cultural landscape of Fiji. These skillfully fashioned earthworks were developed for the irrigated cultivation of one specific cultigen--taro (Colocasia esculenta), a long domesticated edible aroid. Constructing pondfields on slopes represents an intensification of production, with taro yields responding favorably to higher levels of labor input. In Fiji, irrigated terraces on the leeward side of larger islands also served to overcome seasonal conditions of drought or soil moisture deficits. Nearly all of these intensive agrosystems have been abandoned. But the carefully sculpted hillsides endure, and serve as poignant reminders of past travail. Taro terracing in Fiji shares many design characteristics with terracing found elsewhere in the Pacific, most notably the tarodieres of New Caledonia. A case study considers the location, extent, and cultural-historical significance of the largest and most aggregated set of agricultural terraces ever constructed in Fiji. Neglected for more than a century, these gardens were built along contours on open hillsides in a dry rainshadow area of northern Viti Levu. Their location on the northern flanks of the Nakauvadra Mountains, traditionally considered the most sacred region in the entire archipelago, provides a mythico-religious dimension to the investigation. Culture change induced by European contact, imposition of colonial authority and control over land use, and the establishment of a plantation economy along with subsequent changes in diet and food preferences, have rendered these intensive agricultural landforms obsolete. A second case study examines one of the few irrigated taro terrace systems still operative in Fiji. Located on the remote southern island of Kadavu, the gardens at Ravitaki display the indigenous technology required for the delivery and control of water to hillside pondfields. Although villagers cite the advantages of overcoming drought and cyclone hazards, irrigation is not required for growing taro in this region. Hence, these terraces are more of an expression of culture than an adaptation to adverse environmental conditions. Communal labor organization and ceremonial and ritual purposes of production are also important factors contributing to the persistence of agricultural terracing in the Fiji Islands

Winter School on Recent Advances in Mussel and Edible Oyster Farming & Marine Pearl Production

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Catalogue of the public documents of the Fifty-fifth Congress and of other departments of the Government of the United States for the period from July I, 1897, to June 30, 1899.

Document Catalogue. (no date) HD 317, 55-3, v96, 1069p. [3838] For the 55th Congress

The Afterlife of the Shoah in Central and Eastern European Cultures

The Afterlife of the Shoah in Central and Eastern European Cultures is a collection of essays by literary scholars from Germany, the US, and Central Eastern Europe offering insight into the specific ways of representing the Shoah and its aftereffects as well as its entanglement with other catastrophic events in the region. Introducing the conceptual frame of postcatastrophe, the collected essays explore the discursive and artistic space the Shoah occupies in the countries between Moscow and Berlin. Postcatastrophe is informed by the knowledge of other concepts of "post" and shares their insight into forms of transmission and latency; in contrast to them, explores the after-effects of extreme events on a collective, aesthetic, and political rather than a personal level. The articles use the concept of postcatastrophe as a key to understanding the entangled and conflicted cultures of remembrance in postsocialist literatures and the arts dealing with events, phenomena, and developments that refuse to remain in the past and still continue to shape perceptions of today’s societies in Eastern Europe. As a contribution to memory studies as well as to literary criticism with a special focus on Shoah remembrance after socialism, this book is of great interest to students and scholars of European history, and those interested in historical memory more broadly