Academic literature on the topic 'Madagascar Short stories'

The first description of the wood of the monotypic Madagascan genus Diegodendron is provided. The xylem of D. humbertii is characterised by short , solitary vessel elements with alternate lateral wall pitting and simple perforation plates, imperforate tracheary elements of the libriform fibre type, nearly all biseriate, imperfectly storied, homogeneous rays composed of procumbent cells only, and diffuse and diffuse-in-aggregates axial parenchyma. The specialised wood anatomy of Diegodendron supports a close alliance with both Sphaerosepalaceae and Malvales.

The wave energy resources in the Indian Ocean can be considered as a potential alternative to fossil fuels. However, the wave energy resources are subject to short-term fluctuations and long-term changes due to climate change. Hence, considering sustainable development goals, it is necessary to assess both short-term (intra-annual) variation and long-term change. For this purpose, the simulated wave characteristics were utilized, and the wave power and its variation and change were analyzed in the whole domain and nearshore areas. The short-term fluctuation was investigated in terms of monthly and seasonal variations and the future change was discussed based on absolute and relative changes. Both analyses show that the Southern Indian Ocean, despite experiencing extreme events and having higher wave energy potential, is more stable in terms of both short and long-term variation and change. The assessment of the total and exploitable storages of wave energy and their future change revealed the higher potential and higher stability of the nearshores of the Southern Indian Ocean. It can be concluded that based on various factors, the south of Sri Lanka, Horn of Africa, southeast Africa, south of Madagascar and Reunion and Mauritius islands are the most suitable areas for wave energy extraction.

The marine environment represents a large and important resource for communities around the world. However, the marine environment increasingly presents hazards that can have a large negative impact. One important marine hazard results from storms and their accompanying surges. This can lead to coastal flooding, particularly when surge and astronomical high tides align, with resultant impacts such as destruction of property, saline degradation of agricultural land and coastal erosion. Where tide and storm surge information are provided and accessed in a timely, accurate and understandable way, the data can provide: 1. Evidence for planning: Statistics of past conditions such as the probability of extreme event occurrence can be used to help plan improvements to coastal infrastructure that are able to withstand and mitigate the hazard from a given extreme event. 2. Early warning systems: Short term forecasts of storm surge allow provide early warnings to coastal communities enabling them to take actions to allow them to withstand extreme events, e.g. deploy flood prevention measures or mobilise emergency response measures. Data regarding sea level height can be provided from various in-situ observations such as tide gauges and remote observations such as satellite altimetry. However, to provide a forecast at high spatial and temporal resolution a dynamic ocean model is used. Over recent decades the National Oceanography Centre has been a world leading in developing coastal ocean models. This paper will present our progress on a current project to develop an information system for the Madagascan Met Office. The project, C-RISC, being executed in partnership with Sea Level Research Ltd, is translating the current modelling capability of NOC in storm surge forecasting and tidal prediction into a system that will provide information that can be easily transferred to other regions and is scalable to include other hazard types The outcome, an operational high-resolution storm surge warning system that is easy to relocate, will directly benefit coastal communities, giving them information they need to make effective decisions before and during extreme storm surge events.