Use of satellite data to estimate regional surface energy budget and analysis of lake cover impact over Northern Canada

Résumé: Les lacs occupent environ 30% du territoire dans le nord du Canada. Ils peuvent avoir d’importants impacts sur le climat qui ont un effet par la suite sur les propriétés thermiques des lacs. L’étude d’un lac doit généralement débuter avec un bilan calorifique de la surface. La différentiation précise que l’énergie disponible en flux de chaleur sensible ou latent est un élément crucial pour la compréhension des interactions entre les processus climatiques à une échelle régionale. Dans cette étude, le flux de chaleur sensible et le ratio de Bowen sont obtenus à partir des données de la télédétection. La méthodologie se base sur l’utilisation de données microondes (SMM/I) afin de calculer la température de la surface du sol avec la méthode de Fily et al. (2003) et Mialon et al. (2007). La caractérisation de la surface du sol est effectuée à partir de données satellitaires optiques (capteurs SPOT & VGT). Les paramètres météorologiques utilisés pour estimer les flux proviennent de la base de données du North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). Les résultats présentent un portrait quotidien, mensuel et saisonnier de l’énergie sensible à l’interface sol-air par rapport à la fraction de la surface de plan d’eau (FWS). Nous comparons ensuite nos résultats avec les flux du modèle NARR et quelques mesures in situ. Quatre sites couvrants différents types de surfaces à travers le Canada ont été étudiés pendant les étés 1998 et 2000 (de juin à septembre) : le nord du Québec (toundra), les Territoires du Nord-Ouest (le Grand lac des Esclaves [ou, en anglais, Great Slave Lake. GSLJ et le bassin de la rivière Mackenzie), le Manitoba (zone humide) et le Labrador (taïga). Les résultats montrent que les flux d’énergie sensible satellitaires sont semblables aux flux estimés par le NARR lorsque la FWS est petit (sans lac) ou pour des zones avec de larges surfaces d’eau (Mackenzie Great Slave Lake), mais diffèrent lorsque la FWS augmente à l’intérieur d’un pixel. Ceci signifie que les modèles climatiques régionaux devraient considérer la proposition du territoire occupée par des étendues d’eau. Nous déduisons que les effets de la taille des lacs sont reliés aux conditions environnementales du milieu. Les résultats de la comparaison avec des mesures in situ pour le GSL et la zone humide sont encourageants. Le ratio de Bowen sur le site du bassin de la rivière Mackenzie montre qu’il y a une augmentation de la chaleur sensible durant la deuxième moitié de l’été en comparaison à la première moitié. Il y a ainsi un plus grand stress hydrique pendant la deuxième moitié de l’été. Cependant, il n’y a pas de patrons clairs en comparaison avec le site GSL. La comparaison entre les différents sites indique une variation énergétique annuelle minimale pour la zone humide.Abstract: Lakes occupy roughly 30% of Canada's northern landscape. They can have important impacts on the climate, and climate modification will affect lake thermal properties. Study of a lake most generally begins with heat budget at its surface. Accurate partitioning of the available energy at the surface into sensible and latent heat flux is crucial to the understanding of interactions between climate processes on a regional scale. In this study, sensible heat flux and the Bowen ratio for the summer period are retrieved using reanalysis and remote sensing data. The methodology is based on the use of microwave data for retrieving land surface temperature (SSM/I) with the method of Fily et al. (2003) and Mialon et al. (2007). The land cover characterization is derived from remotely sensed optical data (SPOT VGT sensor). Some meteorological parameters used for retrieving flux are derived from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) database. The results from this study present a picture of the daily, monthly and seasonally sensible energy over summer period at the land-air interface versus the Fraction of Water Surface (FWS). We compare our results with the NARR model's flux in addition to few in situ measurements. Four sites covering different land cover types across Canada were investigated during the 1998 and 2000 summers (June to September): Northern Quebec (tundra), Northwest Territories (Great Slave Lake, or GSL, and Mackenzie River Basin), Manitoba (wetlands) and Labrador (taiga). The results show that the satellite-derived sensible flux is close to the NARR flux estimate when the fraction of water surface is small (no lakes) and over large open water areas (Mackenzie Great Slave Lake), but differs when the FWS increases within the pixel. This means that regional climate models should take into account lake cover fraction. We infer that effects of the lake-size are closely related to surrounding environmental conditions. The results of the comparison with in situ measurements for Great Slave Lake (1998) and the Wetland site are encouraging. For the Mackenzie River Basin site, the results of the Bowen ratio show that there is an increase of sensible heat partition during the second half of the summer in comparison with the first half, meaning that there is more water stress over the second half of the summer than the first. But for the Wetland site, there is no clear pattern, and in comparison with GSL, temporal variation is less significant. Comparisons between different sites indicate minimum year to year energy variation for the Wetland area

Addressing the Role of Sustainable Public Procurement as a Panacea for Sustainable Development in the Local Government Areas: The Episode of Nigeria

The coronavirus has displaced local communities across the nation as their livelihood is compromised. This study explores extensively the challenges confronting sustainable public procurement in the local government areas that bothers sustainable development amid COVID-19. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with eight procurement experts from eight leading local government areas with documented evidence of extensive procurement activity across four geopolitical zones of Nigeria to obtain primary data. Findings from this study suggest a tremendous decline in the livelihood of the rural communities amid the pandemic and ridicule of local government procurement practice across the region. The study also finds a significant level of interference by the state government that continually denies the local government administration from attaining sustainable development compared to their counterparts in the developed societies. Keywords: Sustainable public procurement, Sustainable development, Local government areas, COVID-19, Sub-Saharan Africa – Nigeria DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-8-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

Ethical pathways to informed consent when collecting information from children in research

Background: Informed consent is an ethical practice that should be guaranteed before a child is involved in a research. The position of the child in research has also become a subject of debate with regards to ethics. Though many countries may have unique provisions for conducting research with children, it is the goal of every regulatory mechanism to guarantee the autonomy, rights and protection of children in research.  Discussion: The form in which the information about a research is presented to a child can either weaken or strengthen the capacity of child to provide informed consent. The Medical Research Council suggests that many children would be competent to give consent if the information about the study is provided in an appropriate form and they are helped through the process of decision-making. It is ethically unacceptable to exclude children with cognitive challenges or learning disabilities from research based on their condition. Any research with children should be designed to integrate children with these forms of condition, except it is vital to exclude them. Even when the capacity of a child to provide informed consent is apparent, it is good ethical practice to involve the parents of the child in the decision making process especially for a research that carries any form of risk or discomfort. Notwithstanding this position, researchers always face challenges with obtaining active parental consent. Parental consent waiver is one of the options for dealing with the challenges associated with obtaining active parental consent. Most times parental waiver is a decision reached at recruitment points where a child with capacity to give informed consent insists that his or her parents should not be informed if he or she would participate in the research. Summary: It is now clear that researchers must seek to position a child as one who can make informed choices. These emerging perspectives should support the selection of design, methodology and intervention for children with a goal to strengthen their capacity and autonomy to give informed consent

An Impact Assessment of Agricultural Credit on Rural Farmers in Nigeria

In Nigeria, despite the fact that agriculture have significant contribution to the economy, it has not been given adequate attention as required.  Data were collected from the primary sources and a total of 500 questionnaires were administered of which 300 copies were properly completed and retrieved.  The study appraised the impact assessment of agricultural credit on rural farmers in Nigeria and generally discovered that much is yet to be done to boost agriculture by encouraging farmers via adequate agricultural credit without strings.  The results also indicate that unregulated private money lenders (53.33%) constitute the major source of credit which is not healthy for an economy that is ready to grow.  It was equally clear that the much needed banks in the rural areas are mainly found in the urban areas leaving the rural farmers without formal sources of credit. The major limitations or challenges in accessing agricultural credit as found in the report include; high interest rates, bureaucratic bottlenecks, late approval of loans, unnecessary request for guarantors and collateral. It was however recommended that the federal Government in collaboration with banks should create credit instruments and services that are tailored to the risk and cash flow patterns in the agricultural sector to avoid or reduce the level of the aforementioned challenges. Key Words: Agricultural credit, Rural farmers, Credit ris

Amélioration de la capabilité de modélisation et de mitigation du gel radiatif au milieu agricole

Le gel radiatif est une des conditions météorologiques sévère affect la production agricole dans de nombreuses région du monde. Les objectives de cette étude inclut deux innovations scientifiques liées aux dégâts causés par le gel radiatif : (1) l'amélioration de la capacité de prédiction du gel local (température nocturne minimale à une résolution de 30 mètres) grâce à un modèle d’échange énergétique entre la végétation et l’atmosphère, et (2) une nouvelle méthode de diminution des risques et de protection des cultures agricoles pendant les périodes de gel. La première innovation a été réalisée en suivant plusieurs objectifs spécifiques visant à améliorer les capacités d'un modèle de répartition spatiale météorologique (Micro-Met) via quatre sous-modèles : (i) estimation journalière du gradient thermique adiabatique de l'air, (ii) modification de l’équation de rayonnement des grandes longueurs d'onde en l’absence de nuage dans l’atmosphère, (iii) quantification des effets de l’écoulement de l’air froid sur la température de l’air, et (iv) quantifier l’effet de haies brise–vent sur la vitesse du vent. La deuxième innovation a été réalisée en mettant en œuvre et en testant une nouvelle méthode active basée sur le cycle thermodynamique. Le site d'étude se localise dans la région de Vallée de Coaticook de l’Estrie (Québec) subit les conséquences désastreuses du gel. Le premier sous-modèle utilise une combinaison de profils de température provenant du satellite AIRS et de stations météorologiques afin d’estimer quotidiennement et régionalement le gradient thermique de l’air. L'utilisation de valeurs journalières, au lieu de valeurs fixes, permet d’estimer plus précisément les conditions atmosphériques. Les résultats ont démontré l’utilité de l’utilisation de la température de l'air obtenue par AIRS (850 hPa et 700 hPa) pour l’estimation du gradient thermique. Le second sous-modèle utilise les données associées aux conditions synoptiques du gel radiatif pour obtenir une équation du rayonnement descendant localement ajustée. Alors que l’erreur aux moindres carrés (RMSE) de Micro-Met était de 176.95 Wm-2 avec une erreur absolue (MAE) moyenne de 176.40 Wm-2, la nouvelle équation génère une RMSE de 4.90 Wm-2 et une MAE de 4.00 Wm-2. Le troisième sous-modèle contient trois parties :la détection des vallées fermées, l’estimation de la rapidité de drainage de l’air, et l’intégration de la perte de chaleur sensible ainsi que le refroidissement radiatif en vallée durant la nuit. La comparaison entre les simulations Micro-Met et les mesures de la température de l’air montrent une MAE de 1.11 (°C) et une RMSE de 1.66 (°C). La comparaison avec le modèle amélioré indique un gain avec une MAE de 0.68 (°C) et une RMSE de 1.08 (°C). Le quatrième sous-modèle était construit sur des résultats expérimentaux de vitesse du vent générés en laboratoire par des simulations. Trois équations ont été proposées pour estimer la vitesse du vent. Les résultats indiquent un coefficient de corrélation (R2) de 71% pour une vitesse de vent en dessous de 6 ms-1. La version améliorée de Micro-Net fournit une nouvelle plateforme pour des modèles d’énergie végétation-atmosphère et permet de prévoir la température minimale nocturne. Les résultats des tests de prédiction de cette température minimum concordent avec les mesures in-situ. Ces mesures ont été prises dans 5 secteurs topographiques différents afin d’améliorer les modèles de prédiction et engendrent des erreurs pour des vallées fermées (RMSE = 1.34, MAE = 1.03), pour différentes pentes (RMAE = 0.93, MAE = 0.73), crêtes (RMSE = 1.02, MAE = 0.88), plaines (RMSE = 0.44, MAE = 0.40), et aux orées des forêts (RMSE = 0.58, MAE = 0.53). En plus des objectifs spécifiques précédents, cette étude a proposé une nouvelle méthode d'atténuation du gel basée sur la thermodynamique du transport de la vapeur d'eau d'une source humide à un puits sec. Nous avons ajouté au Selective Inverse System (SIS) déjà utilisé dans le milieu, un contenant d'eau chaude à sa base pour diffuser la vapeur d'eau dans l'air ambiant. Cette opération a augmenté l’humidité de l'air ambiant et augmenté l'entropie humide. Cet essai a été réalisé dans un verger. La méthode d'atténuation la plus courante se concentre sur la température de l'air. La méthode proposée repose plutôt sur les principes physiques de l'entropie humide, qui combinait à la fois la température et l'humidité de l'air et le contenu thermique représenté. Dans l'ensemble, pour ce projet de recherche, un modèle couplé a été conçu pour prévision la température minimale nocturne de l'air dans des terrains agricoles vallonnés. En particulier, en améliorant la précision des prévisions, nous avons élaboré et ajouté des sous-modèles pour estimer les baisses de température dues à la stagnation du drainage de l'air froid et à l'effet des brise-vent forestiers sur la vitesse du vent. Pour réduire l'effet de gel, une nouvelle méthode de mitigation active respectueuse de l'environnement a été présentée. Cette étude a le potentiel d’aider les agriculteurs à réduire les dommages causés par le gel. De plus, elle peut être utile pour les services agricoles en termes de prise de décision, réduisant ainsi les dommages économiques.Abstract: The main objective of this study was related to radiation frost damage: (1) improving the forecasting capability of local frost, which was adapted to forecast nocturnal minimum temperature at a 30-meter resolution, using a vegetation atmosphere energy exchange framework, and (2) proposing a new mitigation approach to protect agricultural crops during frost periods. The first advance was achieved through several specific objectives to enhance the capabilities of a meteorological spatial distribution model (Micro-Met) on four sub-models: (i) estimating local air temperature lapse rate on a daily basis (ii) modifying downward longwave equation under clear sky condition, (iii) quantifying the effects of cold air drainage on air temperature, and (iv) quantifying the forest shelter effect on wind speed. The second advance advancement was accomplished by implementing and testing a new active method based on steam cycle thermodynamic. The first sub-model used AIRS (Atmosphere infrared sounder) air temperature profile and surface station data to estimate air temperature lapse rate on the daily and regional scale. The use of daily basis lapse rate, instead of the fixed value, allowed to present more accurate atmospheric condition. The results showed the potential of the AIRS air temperature profiles (850 hPa and 700 hPa) to estimate the temperature lapse rate. The second sub-model used observational data associated with synoptic conditions of radiation frost to present a locally adjusted downward longwave equation. The reported root means square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) for the current version of Micro-Met were 176.95 (Wm-2) and 176.40 (Wm-2) respectively, while the results of the new equation led to an RMSE and MAE of 4.90 (Wm-2) and 4.00 (Wm-2) respectively. The third sub–model constituted three components: detected closed valley, estimated cold air drainage velocity, and integrated sensible heat loss and radiative cooling during the night on detected valleys. Comparison between the current Micro-Met simulation and the measured air temperature shows MAE of 1.11°C and RMSE of 1.66°C, while the comparison with the enhanced Micro-Met simulation indicated an improvement with MAE of 0.68 °C and RMSE of 1.08 °C. The fourth sub-model was based on experimental results of wind velocity produced in a laboratory with wind-tunnel models. Three separate equations were formulated for wind velocity estimation over the windward, through the shelterbelt, and leeward areas. The results indicated a coefficient of determination (R2) of 71% under the wind's velocity lower than 6ms-1. The Enhanced Micro-Met version provided a new platform to power vegetation-atmosphere energy model to forecast minimum nocturnal temperature. The performance test for forecasting minimum air temperatures indicated agreement with in-situ measurements. Measurements were taken on five topographic sectors in order to assess the improved modeled prediction and led to error assessment on closed valleys (RMSE=1.34, MAE = 1.03), different parts of slopes (RMAE = 0.93, MAE = 0.73), ridges (RMSE = 1.02, MAE = 0.88), flat areas (RMSE = 0.44, MAE = 0.40), and areas close to the forest (RMSE = 0.58, MAE = 0.53). In addition to previous specific objectives, this study proposed a new frost mitigation method based on the thermodynamics of water vapor transport from a moist source to dry sink. A vessel of warm water equipped with a Selective Inverted Sink (SIS) system was used to transport water vapor into the air, which ended up decreasing the air dryness and increasing moist entropy. This test was carried out in an orchard. The most common mitigation method focuses on air temperature. Instead, the proposed method was based on the physical principles of moist entropy, which combined both air temperature and humidity and depicted heat content. Overall, for this research project, a coupled model was designed to predict nocturnal minimum air temperature over hilly agricultural terrain. In particular, through improving prediction accuracy, we developed and added sub-models to estimate drops in temperature due to pooling and stagnation of cold air drainage and the effect of forest shelterbelt on wind velocity. To reduce frost effect, a new environmentally friendly active method was presented. This study served to help farmers reduce frost damages. Moreover, it can be useful for agricultural services in terms of decision-making, thereby, reducing economic damages

Learning the Right Lessons for the Next Pandemic:How to Design Public Inquiries into the UK Government’s Handling of COVID-19

It is imperative that the UK, along with the international community, learns lessons to better prepare for the significant likelihood of future pandemics. Public inquiries in the area of public health can be highly effective tools for fact and cause-finding, lesson-learning, building support for institutional change, and helping the public to make sense of a crisis. The objectives of lesson-learning and holding individuals and organisations to account are often in tension. Our key recommendation is to prioritise lesson-learning over political accountability for a public health-focused inquiry. We argue for two separate inquiries: a. First and foremost, we call for an inquiry focused primarily on lesson-learning for the UK. Ideally this inquiry should be initiated, coordinated and funded by reputable organisations in the field of public health who could act as credible knowledge-brokers, such as the Wellcome Trust, Nuffield Foundation, or Scientific Academies. b. Secondly, if there are sufficiently serious and well-evidenced allegations of government negligence, a fact-finding, accountability-focused, and public trust-restoring inquiry should be instituted under the 2005 Inquiries Act

SOCIO-PERSONAL FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF EXCEPTIONAL STUDENTS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

This study is an investigation into the influence of some social and personal factors on psychological adjustment of high ability students in Ibadan, Nigeria. Expo-facto design of correlation type was used for the study. A sample of 160 high ability students in selected schools in Ibadan participated in the study. Four research questions guided the study. Five instruments were used for this study namely Peer Pressure and Popularity Scale, Parenting Style Inventory, and Self-Esteem Scale, Psychological Adjustment Scale, and Self-Concept Scale. There were correlations between parenting styles, peer acceptance, self-concept, and psychological adjustment. The four independent variables made significant contributions to psychological adjustment of the participants with parenting styles (b= 1.45, 7.356; p<0.05), peer acceptance (b= -1.67, 6.451, p<0.05) and self-concept (b= 1.23, 6.872, p<0.05) while parenting styles was found to be the most potent predictor of psychological adjustment of the participants (b= 1.45, 7.356; p<0.05). When the four variables combined they yielded very strong effect on psychological adjustment i.e. an F-ratio value of 12.207 at 0.05 level i.e. (F (4, 155) = 12.207; p<0.05). Recommendations made include the need for parents to imbibe parenting styles which will encourage their children to adjust well to emotional and psychological issues