• Title/Summary/Keyword: Southern Africa

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Storm-Time Behaviour of Meso-Scale Field-Aligned Currents: Case Study with Three Geomagnetic Storm Events

  • Awuor, Adero Ochieng;Baki, Paul;Olwendo, Joseph;Kotze, Pieter
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.133-147
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    • 2019
  • Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) satellite magnetic data are used to investigate the latitudinal variation of the storm-time meso-scale field-aligned currents by defining a new metric called the FAC range. Three major geomagnetic storm events are considered. Alongside SymH, the possible contributions from solar wind dynamic pressure and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) $B_Z$ are also investigated. The results show that the new metric predicts the latitudinal variation of FACs better than previous studies. As expected, the equatorward expansion and poleward retreat are observed during the storm main phase and recovery phase respectively. The equatorward shift is prominent on the northern duskside, at ${\sim}58^{\circ}$ coinciding with the minimum SymH and dayside at ${\sim}59^{\circ}$ compared to dawnside and nightside respectively. The latitudinal shift of FAC range is better correlated to IMF $B_Z$ in northern hemisphere dusk-dawn magnetic local time (MLT) sectors than in southern hemisphere. The FAC range latitudinal shifts responds better to dynamic pressure in the duskside northern hemisphere and dawnside southern hemisphere than in southern hemisphere dusk sector and northern hemisphere dawn sector respectively. FAC range exhibits a good correlation with dynamic pressure in the dayside (nightside) southern (northern) hemispheres depicting possible electrodynamic similarity at day-night MLT sectors in the opposite hemispheres.

The Species of Penguins and Penguins Occurring in the Vicinity of King Sejong Station (남극 세종기지 부근에 출현하는 펭귄)

  • Chang, Soon-Keun
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.137-147
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    • 1999
  • Penguins are one of the key constituent organisms in the Antarctic ecosystem. A total of 18 species of penguins occur only in the southern hemisphere from the Galapagos Archipelago to southern area off Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, South America, and the islands scattered in the Southern Ocean to the coast along the Antarctic Continent. In the Antarctic Treaty area, there are only 5 species of penguins such as Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), Gentoo (Pygoscelis papua ellsworthi), Adelie (P. adeliae), Chinstrap (p. antarctica), and Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) penguins. Two additional species, the King (Aptenodytes patagonicus patagonicus) and Rockhopper (Eudyptes chrysocome) penguins, however, are distributed within the Antarctic Convergence. In the vicinity of king Sejong Station located in King George Island, the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula, 5 species are observed, among which 2 Pygoscelis species such as the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks at the rookery 2km south offing Sejong Station in summer. Adelie penguins hatch their chicks in other place in King George Island. One Emperor penguin roamed on the frozen Maxwell Bay which has been frozen every two or three years with the approximate thickness of 60cm. And one Macaroni penguin also visited the rookery in summer. We should carry out researches on the penguins occurring in the vicinity of King Sejong Station to monitor the environmental changes around King Sejong Station and the South Shetland Islands.

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Global Distribution of Surface Layer Wind Speed for the years 2000-2009 Based on the NCEP Reanalysis (NCEP 재분석 자료를 이용한 전지구 지표층의 2000-2009년 풍속 분포)

  • Byon, Jae-Young;Choi, Young-Jean;Lee, Jae-Won
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.439-446
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    • 2011
  • NCEP reanalysis data were analyzed in order to provide distribution of global wind resource and wind speed in the surface layer for the years 2000-2009. Wind speed at 10 m above ground level (AGL) was converted to wind speed at 80 m above the ground level using the power law. The global average 80 m wind speed shows a maximum value of $13ms^{-1}$ at the storm track region. High wind speed over the land exists in Tibet, Mongolia, Central North America, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina. Wind speed over the ocean increased with a large value in the South China Sea, Southeast Asia, East Sea of the Korea. Sea surface wind in Western Europe and Scandinavia are suitable for wind farm with a value of $7-8ms^{-1}$. Areas with great potential for wind farm are also found in Eastern and Western coastal region of North America. Sea surface wind in Southern Hemisphere shows larger values in the high latitude of South America, South Africa and Australia. The distribution of low-resolution reanalysis data represents general potential areas for wind power and can be used to provide information for high-resolution wind resource mapping.

Sea state description of Asabo offshore in Nigeria

  • Jasper, Agbakwuru A.;Bernard, Akaawase T.;Gudmestad, Ove T.
    • Ocean Systems Engineering
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.25-47
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    • 2020
  • A study of the wave conditions for the Asabo offshore location at the Qua Iboe oil field in Eastern Nigeria has been carried out. Statistical analysis was applied to three (3) years of data comprising spectral periods, Tp and significant wave heights, Hs. The data was divided into two (2); data from October to April represents one set of data and data from May to September represents another set of data. The results were compared with similar studies at other locations offshore of West Africa. It was found that there is an absence of direct swellwaves from the Southern Ocean reaching the location under study (the Asabo site). This work suggests that the wave system is largely emanating from the North Atlantic storms. The presence of numerous islands near the Asabo location shields the site from effects of storms from south west and therefore swells from the Southern Ocean. It is noted that the local wind has little or no contribution. An Hs maximum of 2 m is noted at the Asabo offshore location. It is found that the Weibull distribution best describes the wave distribution at Asabo. Thus, the Weibull distribution is suggested to be adequate for long term prediction of extreme waves needed for offshore design and operations at this location.

An Outbreak of Gregarious Nymphs of Locusta migratoria (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in Korea and Their Genetic Lineage Based on mtDNA COI Sequences (한국에서 군집형 풀무치의 대발생과 그 집단의 유전적 계통)

  • Lee, Gwan Seok;Kim, Kwang Ho;Kim, Chang Seok;Lee, Wonhoon
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.55 no.4
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    • pp.523-528
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    • 2016
  • The migratory locust Locusta migratoria, one of the world's most notorious insect pests, has polyphenic (gregarious or solitarious) characteristics. Although this species is known to have several morphological variants, it is genetically divided into two different lineages using mitochondrial genome analysis: Southern (Africa, Southern Europe, Southern Asia, and Australia) and Northern (East Asia and the Eurasian continent). In 2014, a large number of orange black-colored gregarious L. migratoria nymphs suddenly appeared at Haenamgun, Jeollanamdo in the south of Korea. This is the first report of gregarious phase locusts occurring in Korea. In this study, mitochondrial COI sequences of one nymph and 11 adults of L. migratoria were analyzed to examine the genetic lineage of the gregarious nymphs of L. migratoria. Our results showed that all 12 individuals belong to the Northern linage and have low intraspecific genetic divergences (0.0% - 0.9%).

Genetic Diversity of Plasmodium vivax in Clinical Isolates from Southern Thailand using PvMSP1, PvMSP3 (PvMSP3α, PvMSP3β) Genes and Eight Microsatellite Markers

  • Thanapongpichat, Supinya;Khammanee, Thunchanok;Sawangjaroen, Nongyao;Buncherd, Hansuk;Tun, Aung Win
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.57 no.5
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    • pp.469-479
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    • 2019
  • Plasmodium vivax is usually considered morbidity in endemic areas of Asia, Central and South America, and some part of Africa. In Thailand, previous studies indicated the genetic diversity of P. vivax in malaria-endemic regions such as the western part of Thailand bordering with Myanmar. The objective of the study is to investigate the genetic diversity of P. vivax circulating in Southern Thailand by using 3 antigenic markers and 8 microsatellite markers. Dried blood spots were collected from Chumphon, Phang Nga, Ranong and, Surat Thani provinces of Thailand. By PCR, 3 distinct sizes of $PvMSP3{\alpha}$, 2 sizes of $PvMSP3{\beta}$ and 2 sizes of PvMSP1 F2 were detected based on the length of PCR products, respectively. PCR/RFLP analyses of these antigen genes revealed high levels of genetic diversity. The genotyping of 8 microsatellite loci showed high genetic diversity as indicated by high alleles per locus and high expected heterozygosity ($H_E$). The genotyping markers also showed multiple-clones of infection. Mixed genotypes were detected in 4.8% of $PvMSP3{\alpha}$, 29.1% in $PvMSP3{\beta}$ and 55.3% of microsatellite markers. These results showed that there was high genetic diversity of P. vivax isolated from Southern Thailand, indicating that the genetic diversity of P. vivax in this region was comparable to those observed other areas of Thailand.

An Overview of the Development of Botswana's Renewable Energy Policy Framework

  • Maswabi, Mareledi G.;Kim, Kyung Nam
    • Bulletin of the Korea Photovoltaic Society
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.28-34
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    • 2018
  • Botswana is a middle-income developing country in Southern Africa with an economy mainly reliant on mineral resources, particularly diamonds. Other sectors of the economy like energy are trailing behind in this country's development. For a long time, Botswana has been relying on imported energy from her neighboring countries. Due to this great dependence, the country has had little control over sufficiency of energy supply, especially during times of shortages in the neighboring countries. As a result, Botswana came up with a number of initiatives over the years to ensure security of supply and self-sufficiency in the energy sector. However, even with the efforts made, currently Botswana is still not self-sufficient and is facing challenges of energy shortages mainly in the power sector. This paper therefore, seeks to review the various policy instruments that have been adopted in Botswana from 1996 to date, identify challenges that come with them and make recommendations on the identified challenges.

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Development of SSR Markers and Their Use in Studying Genetic Diversity and Population of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.)

  • Lee, Kyung Jun;Yoon, Mun-Sup;Shin, Myoung-Jae;Lee, Jung-Ro;Cho, Yang-Hee;Lee, Ho-Sun;Ma, Kyung-Ho;Lee, Gi-An
    • Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
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    • v.5 no.3
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    • pp.183-191
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    • 2017
  • Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) is an important cereal crop in eastern Africa and southern India with excellent grain storage capacity and the unique ability to thrive in extreme environmental conditions. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and population structure of finger millet using 12 developed microsatellites. By sequencing 815 clones from an SSR-enriched genomic DNA library, we obtained 12 polymorphic SSR markers, which also revealed successful amplicons in finger millet accessions. Using the developed SSR markers, we estimated genetic diversity and population structure among 76 finger millet accessions in Asia, Africa, and unknown origins. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 9, with an average of 3.3 alleles. The mean values of observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity were 0.27 and 0.35, respectively. The average polymorphism information content was 0.301 in all 76 finger millet accessions. AMOVA analysis showed that the percentage of molecular variance among the populations was 1%, that among individuals was 5%, and that within individuals was 94%. In STRUCTURE analysis, the 76 finger millet accessions were divided into two subpopulations which had an admixture of alleles. There was a correspondence among PCoA, AMOVA, and population structure. This study may form the basis for a finger millet breeding and improvement program.

Three Reanalysis Data Comparison and Monsoon Regional Analysis of Apparent Heat Source and Moisture Sink (겉보기 열원 및 습기 흡원의 세 재분석 자료 비교와 몬순 지역별 분석)

  • Ha, Kyung-Ja;Kim, Seogyeong;Oh, Hyoeun;Moon, Suyeon
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.415-425
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    • 2018
  • The roles of atmospheric heating formation and distribution on the global circulation are of utmost importance, and those are directly related to not only spatial but also temporal characteristics of monsoon system. In this study, before we clarify the characteristics of apparent heat source <$Q_1$> and moisture sink <$Q_2$>, comparisons of three reanalysis datasets (NCEP2, ERA-Interim, and JRA-55) in its global or regional patterns are performed to clearly evaluate differences among datasets. Considering inter-hemispheric difference of global monsoon regions, seasonal means of June-July-August and December-January-February, which is summer (winter) and winter (summer) in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere are employed respectively. Here we show the characteristics of eight different regional monsoon regions and find contributions of <$Q_2$> to <$Q_1$> for the regional monsoon regions. Each term in apparent heat source and moisture sink is shown to come from the ERA-Interim dataset, since the ERA-Interim could be representative of three datasets. The NCEP2 data has a different characteristic in the ratio of <$Q_2$> and <$Q_1$> because it overestimates <$Q_1$> compared to the other two different datasets. The Australia monsoon has been performing better over time, while some regional monsoons (South America, North America, and North Africa) have been showing increasing data inconsistency. In addition, the three reanalysis datasets are getting different marching with time, in particular since the early 2000s over South America, North America, and North Africa monsoon regions. The recent inconsistency among the three datasets that may be associated with the global warming hiatus remains unexplored.

KMTNET: A NETWORK OF 1.6 M WIDE-FIELD OPTICAL TELESCOPES INSTALLED AT THREE SOUTHERN OBSERVATORIES

  • KIM, SEUNG-LEE;LEE, CHUNG-UK;PARK, BYEONG-GON;KIM, DONG-JIN;CHA, SANG-MOK;LEE, YONGSEOK;HAN, CHEONGHO;CHUN, MOO-YOUNG;YUK, INSOO
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.49 no.1
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    • pp.37-44
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    • 2016
  • The Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) is a wide-field photometric system installed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). Here, we present the overall technical specifications of the KMTNet observation system, test observation results, data transfer and image processing procedure, and finally, the KMTNet science programs. The system consists of three 1.6 m wide-field optical telescopes equipped with mosaic CCD cameras of 18k by 18k pixels. Each telescope provides a 2.0 by 2.0 square degree field of view. We have finished installing all three telescopes and cameras sequentially at the Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in South Africa, and the Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in Australia. This network of telescopes, which is spread over three different continents at a similar latitude of about -30 degrees, enables 24-hour continuous monitoring of targets observable in the Southern Hemisphere. The test observations showed good image quality that meets the seeing requirement of less than 1.0 arcsec in I-band. All of the observation data are transferred to the KMTNet data center at KASI via the international network communication and are processed with the KMTNet data pipeline. The primary scientific goal of the KMTNet is to discover numerous extrasolar planets toward the Galactic bulge by using the gravitational microlensing technique, especially earth-mass planets in the habitable zone. During the non-bulge season, the system is used for wide-field photometric survey science on supernovae, asteroids, and external galaxies.