scholarly journals Regional Effects of the Mount Pinatubo Eruption on the Middle East and the Red Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 8894-8912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Osipov ◽  
Georgiy Stenchikov
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Mount Pinatubo ◽  
Regional Effects ◽  
Pinatubo Eruption

A pre-Islamic rite in South Arabia

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Werner Daum
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Mountain Ridge ◽  
South Arabia

The two Yemens are still that part of the Middle East which most vividly retains the manners and customs of ancient Arabia. The majestic mountain ridges, the barrenness of the desert, the torrid shores of the Red Sea, the proud Yemeni tribesmen with their traditional janbīya, the picturesque palaces and houses pitched on towering peaks, the lone columns of the temples of Saba' (Sheba) in forgotten sands, all this cannot fail to convey the image of timelessness, and, indeed, of Arabia's yesterworld. It does seem to many that the highlands (the central mountain ridge stretching from about 50 miles north of Aden far into Saudi Arabia) are the most stubbornly traditional part of Yemen.

Long-term observations of the midlatitude stratospheric aerosol from the Mount Pinatubo eruption

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Woods ◽  
David M. Winker ◽  
Otto Youngbluth, Jr. ◽  
Mary T. Osborn ◽  
Robert J. DeCoursey
Keyword(s):  
Stratospheric Aerosol ◽  
Mount Pinatubo ◽  
Pinatubo Eruption

scholarly journals NATO’s Missile Defense Shield: Turkey’s Western Preferences

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (13) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Burak KÜNTAY
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Missile Defense ◽  
Nuclear Program ◽  
Regional Effects ◽  
The North ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Policy Shift

As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO , Turkey agreed to deploy a missile defense radar system in its southern region of Malatya in 2011. In the context of geopolitical developments before and after this pivotal year -namely, Turkey’s reorientation towards the Middle East, the Arab Awakening, and most recently, the Iranian nuclear deal of 2013- Turkey’s decision had far-reaching regional effects. To offer policy implications surrounding this decision, this paper analyzes the interaction between such political developments and the existence of this shield system within Turkey’s borders. Turkey’s decision to allow installation of the NATO defense shield came amid Western suspicions of Iran’s growing military might, nuclear program, and missile technology. Since Turkish foreign policy ever since the turn of the 21st century has shifted increasingly towards its neighbors in the Middle East, the installation and its hostile reception in Iran seemed out of sync with its foreign policy shift. Subsequently, examining the Turkish decision in light of recent regional developments provides insight about Turkey’s increasingly proactive role as not only a regional, but a global actor. Such examination includes an analysis of Turkey’s global environment through a foreign policy lens both before and after its decision to host the NATO defense shield. Paired with the technical reasons why Iran feels threatened by the missile deployment, such analysis shows that despite the growing polarity in Turkey’s neighborhood, Turkey’s NATO membership and nuanced view of international affairs makes it an important mediator moving forward in Iranian rapprochement with the West.

scholarly journals Can we explain the observed methane variability after the Mount Pinatubo eruption?

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (13) ◽  
pp. 19111-19160
Author(s):  
N. Bândă ◽  
M. Krol ◽  
M. van Weele ◽  
T. van Noije ◽  
P. Le Sager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Partial Recovery ◽  
Mount Pinatubo ◽  
Sources And Sinks ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Pinatubo Eruption ◽  
Emission Changes

Abstract. The CH4 growth rate in the atmosphere showed large variations after the Pinatubo eruption in June 1991. A decrease of more than 10 ppb yr-1 in the growth rate over the course of 1992 was reported and a partial recovery in the following year. Although several reasons have been proposed to explain the evolution of CH4 after the eruption, their contributions to the observed variations are not yet resolved. CH4 is removed from the atmosphere by the reaction with tropospheric OH, which in turn is produced by O3 photolysis under UV radiation. The CH4 removal after the Pinatubo eruption might have been affected by changes in tropospheric UV levels due to the presence of stratospheric SO2 and sulfate aerosols, and due to enhanced ozone depletion on Pinatubo aerosols. The perturbed climate after the eruption also altered both sources and sinks of atmospheric CH4. Furthermore, CH4 concentrations were influenced by other factors of natural variability in that period, such as ENSO and biomass burning events. Emissions of CO, NOX and NMVOCs also affected CH4 concentrations indirectly by influencing tropospheric OH levels. Potential drivers of CH4 variability are investigated using the TM5 global chemistry model. The contribution that each driver had to the global CH4 variability during the period 1990 to 1995 is quantified. We find that a decrease of 8–10 ppb yr-1 CH4 is explained by a combination of the above processes. However, the timing of the minimum growth rate is found 6–9 months later than observed. The long-term decrease in CH4 growth rate over the period 1990 to 1995 is well captured and can be attributed to an increase in OH concentrations over this time period. Potential uncertainties in our modelled CH4 growth rate include emissions of CH4 from wetlands, biomass burning emissions of CH4 and other compounds, biogenic NMVOC and the sensitivity of OH to NMVOC emission changes. Two inventories are used for CH4 emissions from wetlands, ORCHIDEE and LPJ, to investigate the role of uncertainties in these emissions. Although the higher climate sensitivity of ORCHIDEE improves the simulated CH4 growth rate change after Pinatubo, none of the two inventories properly captures the observed CH4 variability in this period.

scholarly journals Influences of Egyptian Lotus Symbolism and Ritualistic Practices on Sacral Tree Worship in the Fertile Crescent from 1500 BCE to 200 CE

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 256 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Water Lily ◽  
Eternal Recurrence ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Cultural Diffusion ◽  
Fertile Crescent

Many conventional features of world tree motifs in the ancient Near East—including stalked palmettes, aureoles of water lily palmettes connected by pliant stems, floral rosettes, winged disks and bud-and-blossom motifs—trace largely from Egyptian practices in lotus symbolism around 2500 BCE, more than a millennium before they appear, migrate and dominate plant symbolism across the Fertile Crescent from 1500 BCE to 200 CE. Several of these motifs were associated singularly or collectively with the Egyptian sema-taui and ankh signs to symbolize the eternal recurrence and everlasting lives of Nilotic lotus deities and deceased pharaohs. The widespread use of lotus imagery in iconographic records on both sides of the Red Sea indicates strong currents of cultural diffusion between Nilotic and Mesopotamian civilizations, as does the use of lotus flowers in religious rituals and the practice of kingship, evidence for which is supported by iconographic, cuneiform and biblical records. This perspective provides new insights into sacral tree symbolism and its role in mythic legacies of Egypt and the Middle East before and during the advent of Christianity. Closer scholarly scrutiny is still needed to fully comprehend the underlying meaning of immortalizing plants in the mythic traditions of Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia.

New evidence for the emergence of the human-pet relation in early Roman Berenike (1st–2nd century AD)

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Osypińska ◽  
Piotr Osypiński
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Small Animals ◽  
Pathological Changes ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Insight Into

Animals were as inextricable a part as they were indicative of the system of common ancient Egyptian beliefs. Their special role was manifested in a rich iconography and in multitudes of animal mummies deposited in the major sacral complexes. Seen in this light, the cemetery of small animals of 1st–2nd century AD date, excavated since 2011 in the Red Sea port town of Berenike, comes across as entirely unique, notwithstanding the spiritual aspects of cats, dogs and monkeys. Contrary to Egyptian animal burials of all periods associated with human ones, the Berenike inhumations were not intended as afterlife companions of their last owners; neither were they ever mummified. Recent results of research present the variety of species kept in the households and insight into their behaviour. Pathological changes on one of the dog skeletons suggest a deadly condition, that is, osteosarcoma. The Berenike data also shed new light on the distribution of the cat beyond Egypt and a rising preference for keeping the animal as a pet in Europe and the Middle East.

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