GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH
Year:2004 | Volume:19 | Issue:1(72)|Papers Count:10

Yazd Province with an area of more than 131,000 km2has the second largest desert region of Iran after Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Topographic and tectonic differences between the highlands and lowlands has led to diversity within natural, biological and demographical features. From a physical geographic viewpoint, one of the most significant causes of such diversity is the role of morphotectonic, which has been developed during very old to recent tectonic phases. To determine the morphotectonic conditions of Yazd Province, spatial trends and characteristics of main tectonic features are discussed in this article. Such studies can be used as a preliminary step towards better understanding of tectonic issues such as probability oflocal earthquakes.

In this paper the data relating to the precipitation as a climatic element have been studied for different seasons for east Azerbaijan province in a time period of 41 years, with the purpose of analysis of raw precipitation data and modeling, calculation and forecasting of dry and wet seasons. The main methodology used in this research is the time series analysis. In order to interpret the precipitation fluctuations, we used two fluctuation and moving mean models and for forecasting the future wet and dry seasons, one of the methods frequently used in time series analysis, namely, the decomposition method was used. With quantitative patterns, and also the differentiation of wet and dry seasons the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was used. The results of this study showed intensive precipitation fluctuations in all stations that generally include weaknesses and intensities. This indicates the climatic explanations of precipitation fluctuations in stations in East Azerbaijan province. Classifying the intensity of wet and dry winter seasons, we often see that the normal precipitation in different dry seasons and wet periods can be seen and the dry seasons have more stability and continuity compared to wet seasons. This issue affects the occurrence of drought in the region under study.

In this article the indexes of stability level in Yazd different quarters and the rate of inequalifies in different quarters have been analyzed. The method of the research is descriptive/ analytical in which the quantitative and computerized models have also been used. Results show that Safaieh and Koshtargah quarters are the most stable and unstable areas respectively. Out of 45 quarters, four are stable, 28 are under- stable, and 13 are unstable. The stable quarters on the periphery of the city have been quickly expanded and become the settlement of the rich. In these quarters, different facilities have been provided for a standard level of living and housing, while in the unstable areas which are situated in the old texture of the city, the increasing population in need of facilities and ecological services such as sub-standard houses, narrow alleys, open and green spaces have added to the level of instability. Thus for achieving a stable development in most of Yazd quarters, the only possible strategy should be considering possitive and negative aspects and reinforcing the weak points. Otherwise, the stability output does not improve and it may be worsened day by day.

Africa has experienced a lot of crises, fights and coups in the last decade, some of which left lots of destruction. In the beginning of 1990"s,Touareg tribesmen, because of political and developmental isolation, rebelled against the government in north of Mali and during five years the rebellion changed into a civil war. It was not, however, supported by foreign powers and the regional conditions finally suggested peace. Then the government and the Touareg tribesmen decided to make peace. They signed a peace treaty in 1995 and in a ceremony in 1996, thousands of rebels" guns were burned in a fire. As a result peace and calmness returned to the area. In this article, the author tried to study the political and geographical reasons of the rebellion and the causes of ending the crisis by reviewing the culture and the customs of Touareg and the role of foreign powers in this crisis and its continuation.

Drought is a normal feature of climate and it may occur in different climatic regions. One of the most important stages of drought evaluation is to identify the indices and then to analyze intensity, severity and duration of drought events. In the present study standard precipitation index (SPI) was selected and the statistical characteristics of SPI were analyzed for monthly precipitation values. Monthly drought maps were prepared using GIS softwares like llwis and Arc view. Intensity and duration of drought events were determined for each basin using data derived from zoning maps. In order to develop more suitable mathematical models for the prediction of drought intensity, time series analysis was applied and average drought intensity index for six basins was predicted.

New and renewable energies are of basic elements for the development of countries. Therefore,estimation of these energy sourcesseems indispensible.In this article,usingthree - hour data of the direction and speed of wind, wind energy potential in Ardebil province synoptic stations is examined. Based on this research, wind energy density in Ardebil, Khalkhal, Pars-Abad and Meshkinshahr synoptic stations are 362.55, 56.35, 60.24, 375.06 W/m2 respectively. Experimental probability of data using weibull distribution was calculated and according to chi-square test, this function is a suitable one to fit with wind data. Having an eye on the time during which the speed of wind is above 4 m/s in this study, Ardebil synoptic station can be considered as a suitable area for using the wind energy.

The slope, climate, lithological and hydrological as well as paleoclimatical condition in northern slopes of Gushe - Dagh have made the region vulnerable to landslides. External and internal factors contribute to the occurrence of landslides differently. In parts of the region the moisture affecting the surface material causes periodic movement in the slopes in certain seasons. In wet seasons movement occurs just in the surface thin clay layers. In great other parts of the region, however, materials in the surface layers react strongly to the moisture and cause external effects to act more vigorously than internal ones. Of ten samples collected, the plasticity limit (%PL)differs from 26 sample no five (near Kutller village) to no plasticity (N.P) in other parts of the region under study.

This survey evaluates impacts of developmental activities on the stability of rural population with 3 samples as follows: -deprived villages -previlaged villages -residents of Uromia suburbs (Rural immigrants). - In order to gather data, this survey employed both questionnaire and field study methods. Summary of research Findings: -Economic problems of villagers are among the main causes of rural people immigration. - Among the effective factors, water supply has had the most decisive effect on rural population stability in rural areas. - This survey suggests that, in order to stabilize the rural population, decision- makers should apply economic motivation theory instead of welfare - service strategy theory.

The study and analysis of the role of waqf (endowment) in the formation of urban public spaces not only clarifies the concept of this process, but also helps to create a suitable framework to investigate the role of waqf within a case study of a waqf complex which reflects the formation of the urban public spaces. Some of the waqfY (endowed) spaces are the most important and functional urban elements in cities and there is a very strong relationship between their persistance and their waqf value. Apart from the religious, social and economical values which are embeded in the waqf culture, their effect on the formation and creation of the urban public spaces is one of the important topics in urban studies. The major aim of this research is to form a theoritical framework for a suitable research method to study the role of waqf in the formation of urban spaces using theoritical studies, as well as waqf complexes to strengthen the research.

We identify the most important underlying variables of climatic classification of Iran using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Eight monthly weather parameters in 41 synoptic weather stations from 1993 to 1995 were applied. Three important components were determined. The Relative Humidity (RH) was determined over 40% of total variance (Pct of var=40.90%). Minimum and Maximum temperature were also determined 23.37% of variance. Other variables including monthly total precipitation and rainfall greater than 10 mm were loaded in the rest components. The result of this research shows that all of climatic variables, applied in climatic classification, have equal proportion in clustering stations. Some important applications of PCA and Factor Analysis in geographical and climatological research are presented and also we have tried to show the way of calculation of these techniques in a very simple method.