AVI 080 Project "ACROSS"

Short summary extracted from Research Report

1st YEAR REPORT

ICARDA officially joined the project on June 17th, 1996. Following the completion of the official arrangements of the associate contract with the University of Genova, the ICARDA project team made an effort to obtain preliminary information on the Syrian rainfall gauges and their characteristics. Within the limitations of the project time left and the budget available, ICARDA will work closely with other partners to fulfil the requirements defined in the associate contract and better detailed during the ACROSS meeting in Bristol (June 1996).

Rainfall data needed will be provided from about 170 stations over the Syrian territory and the required analysis will be conducted in the due course of the project development. Special attention was given to providing sufficient representation for the coastal areas. The total rain gauges now operating is over 500, but many of them have incomplete records, serious discontinuities or inconsistencies.

General characteristics of Syrian climate

The climatic atlas of Syria classifies its climate as a modified Mediterranean with four distinct seasons where:

• Winter is generally cool and rainy as a result of westerly winds and depressions carried by the westerlies stream or formed over Genwa and Cyprus. Cloudiness, rain and sometimes snow are associate with the passage of these depressions, followed by cold wind and considerable drop in temperature. Occasionally Syria is effected by the extension of the Siberian high pressure and migratory anticyclones over Europe which are associated with clear skies, bright sunshine and low temperatures.
• Summer is normally hot and dry: it is characterized by clear sky, no precipitation and high temperatures
• Spring and autumn are relatively shorter in duration: they are preceded by hot wind with dust from the desert and sometimes followed by rain.

Distribution of precipitation over Syria

Precipitation in Syria is effected by general weather situation and topography: precipitation increases with the frequencies of depression passages and with elevation. Except for the windward side of mountainous areas, precipitation generally decreases from over 100 mm annual in the west and north to less than 100 mm annual in the east and south east. Breaks in mountain chains allow for the penetration of relatively higher quantities of precipitation inland.

The rainy seasons begins in September over the coastal and north eastern areas, and spread all over the country in October, reaching its maximum in December and January. The season ends in May, except in the coastal areas where it extends until June.

ACROSS Welcome Page

MI - December 1996