Geological Research

RESEARCH LIBRARY

  • Summary

    The Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative is a multi-billion dollar reforestation program involving several African countries (21 nations) of the sahara and sahel region. This reforestation initiative was designed to combat the land degradation, drought, and desertification in many nations on the continent like Niger, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Mali, Senegal, Djibouti, Mauritania, and Chad. The GGW program has collaborated with national governments, international organizations, businesses, and others to effectively manage its natural resources. The GGW will employ an interdisciplinary approach to include both people knowledgeable of related scientific disciplines and non-scientific fields to address to the diverse challenges in Africa. Some of the problems facing African nations of the GGW is high poverty, overpopulation, drought, decreased rainfall, anticipated increase in temperature (3-6 degrees Celsius), and inconsistent weather patterns that has compromised agricultural production and the livelihoods of the local people. The GGW is an extensive landscape structure of trees that cover over 7000 km in length and 15 km in width, stretching across the African continent horizontally. Not only will the GGW initiative plant an abundance of trees, but will plant specific types that will provide an economic or health benefit to the local people. This program is expected to prevent desertification, resolve socioeconomic issues like poverty, and address other environmental challenges over time. Overall, The Great Green Wall program is a very ambitious reforestation project that ties many stakeholders together in an effort to improve and reduce adverse environmental conditions. This initiative will certainly take time to provide the necessary benefits to the local people and its ecological setting, and it is likely that the GGW will attract new members as the project proceeds in its development.

    Reference

    Goffner, D., Sinare, H., Gordon, L. J.(2019). The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative as an Opportunity to Enhance Resilience in Sahelian Landscapes and Livelihoods. Regional Environmental Change, 19, 1417-1428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-019-01481-z

  • Summary

    Cloud physics examines the physical procedures in the creation, growth and precipitation of clouds. GPS, remote sensing, and GIS are modern techniques used in the understanding of weather modification. For cloud seeding, aircrafts and ground-based doppler and polarizerd radars have been used. China began using cloud models in the 1960s to address some of its adverse weather conditions (drought, fog, floods, and hail) that it wanted to manage. The suppression of hail in (northrern and western) China was one objective through cloud seeding because of its damage to crops and property. Such agents for cloud seeding was liquid carbon dioxide, liquid nitrogen ,and AgI. The difficulty with cloud seeding is providing the proper quantity of seeding material, at the right place, and at correct time interval. There are different types of cloud seeding. China uses glaciogenic seeding. Glaciogenic seeding involves increasing the ice content in the clouds. This as a result is suppose inhibit hail precipitation in the area. Some of the challenges in studying cloud formation is the difference in cloud forming processes and differing climate. Urban development has also influenced cloud formation and the amount of precipitation, especially in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Studies found that rainfall decreased in the urban city but has intensified in the border between urban and non-urban area. Another factor influencing cloud formation and rainfall are aerosol particles. Aerosols from industrial activities and combustion in urban areas reduce precipitation when they enter the atmosphere.

    Weather modification techniques and tools have provided new data in analyzing cloud physics and its impact on precipitation in China. China has made efforts to modify hail conditions, but none of the experimental results have been certain or conclusive to address this problem. Regardless, China still continues to investigate cloud physics and seeding methods to modify its adverse weather patterns to more optimal conditions.

    Reference

    Xueliang, G., Danhong, F., Xingyu, L., Zhaoxia, H., Henchi, L., Hui, X., Yanchao, H. (2014). Advances in Cloud Physics and Weather Modification in China. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 32, 230-249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-014-006-9