Saturday 30 November 2013

Indian Ocean linked to bushfires and drought in Australia

By Wenju Cai, CSIRO

In a study released today in Nature Geoscience, we show that extreme weather events in Australia such as drought and bushfire are linked to temperature changes in the Indian Ocean. Much like El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean Dipole has far-reaching consequences, and these effects are likely to strengthen under climate change.

What is the Indian Ocean Dipole?

Like El Niño, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is an interaction between the ocean and atmosphere.

The IOD appears and develops in the Southern Hemisphere winter and matures in spring. In its positive phase, which is the one that interests us most, sea temperatures off the cost of Sumatra and Java are lower than normal. Meanwhile in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, off the coast of Kenya, sea temperatures are warmer.

(The IOD also has a negative phase, but this is much rarer, and its effects much more benign.)

These seemingly small changes in sea temperature have profound effects on the atmosphere. Convection — rising warm, moist air — and rainfall tend to follow the warmest sea temperatures. So changes in sea temperature dramatically alter atmospheric circulation and rainfall distribution.

The result, in the case of the IOD, is extreme weather in many parts of the world, including severe droughts in Indonesia and devastating floods in East African countries.

For Australia, our research confirmed links between this Indian Ocean phenomenon and extreme weather events in southeast Australia, for example, bushfires such as those that occurred on Black Saturday.

During a positive IOD event, south east Australia sees decreased rainfall and increased temperatures. This is because much of the moisture supplying rainfall over south east Australia in winter and spring come from the tropical eastern Indian Ocean. Less rain and clear skies lead to higher temperatures than normal.

Cool waters over the western Indian Ocean cause drought and extreme fire conditions in Australia. CSIRO

More than a statistical fluke

In earlier studies, scientists showed that there are statistical links between the IOD and extreme weather in Australia.

In this new research we’re able to show that these linkages are not statistical flukes, and can in fact be predicted by climate models.

And because these events can be simulated by models, we can use these models to find out whether positive IOD events will become more common in a warming world.

We examined 54 climate models and experiments that participated in the International Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report. These model experiments include the historical period up to 2005, and a future period under a high emissions scenario. These experiments provide a large number of samples with thousands of years of virtual climate, which allows us to distill climate change signals.

How might the IOD change in the future?

Over the past 50 years, the IOD index (how we measure the difference in sea temperatures between the western and eastern Indian Ocean) has been trending upwards. Climate models suggest it will continue to do so over the next 100 years.

This predicts a drying trend over south east Australia, and more IOD events compared to the present climate.

In a warming world, the eastern Indian Ocean warms less than the west, and tropical rainfall and moisture move away from the eastern Indian Ocean, resembling a positive IOD event.

This slow warming pattern will lead to more frequent IOD events, and the associated dry conditions will be more intense, compared with the present-day climate. The bottom line is that the rain is moving away from Australia.

What does this mean for Australia?

Our major bushfires in summer have been linked with a positive IOD in winter and spring, and therefore the IOD offers a way of predicting summer bushfire conditions. This research enables us to better anticipate drought and increased bushfire risk.

This is because we have some four to six months of lead time before the fire season. An IOD in winter and spring is a warning sign of higher than normal fire risks in the upcoming summer.

In future climate, a decline in spring rainfall and a rise in temperature induced by an IOD event, exacerbated by a long-term drying trend in a warming climate, will greatly increase the risk of major bushfires.

The implications are of course far broader than Australia. The IOD has, to date, preconditioned wildfires in Indonesia, caused coral reef death across western Sumatra, and exacerbated malaria outbreaks in East Africa. We expect these extreme events to become more intense in the future.

Wenju Cai received funding from Australian Climate Change Science Programme and the Goyder Research Institute.

The Conversation

This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.


 

Being a coach is an extremely important position in sports

Author: Richard Kaiser

Being a coach is an extremely important position in sports. There are many different styles and methods of coaching. While it is important to set a style and method that is comfortable for you, it is equally important to consider the comfort level of your team. This is imperative if you coach children. Children must be encouraged to win, but there are many more important aspects of the soccer game that should be considered with this particular age group. This includes working together as a team, and having fun while participating in sporting events. Here, you will learn how to coach a fun soccer training session.

The first thing that you can do to coach a fun soccer training session is to ensure that you make it fun. With children as your team, it is important to create games and activities that all the team members can participate in. Try to avoid engaging in drills and similar things that mean that the children must stand in line and wait their turn. This is a great time waster when it comes to the development of your players, and can make the soccer training session extremely boring for the children.

The second thing that you should do in order to coach a fun soccer training session is to be completely prepared. Come up with a list of exciting games and drills that the children can participate in. Make sure that these activities develop the overall skill and technique of each player. It is important for the soccer training session to be interactive and challenging for the child. If you are prepared, and know exactly what you want to focus on, the team is sure to have a wonderful time and learn many new things.

The third thing that you should do in order to ensure that you are making your soccer training fun and exciting for your players is to arrive before everyone else and set up the training area. This will allow you and your team to immediately start training once everyone has arrived. This avoids having to get the children to help set up activities and become bored before they even start. You may wish to encourage early arrival by explaining to members that the last two people to arrive will need to pick up the cones and the balls used during the training session. This makes prompt arrival a fun and challenging game, and will encourage those that arrive last to get there a little earlier next time. Furthermore, this will be a great help to you after an exhausting training session!

While many coaches may not consider "having fun" a key component of a soccer training session with children, it is important to understand that this IS the most important component. If you have a team full of happy players, their performance will be better. The team will be more successful as a whole if they are having fun and are not overwhelmed with negativity during soccer training sessions.

www.soccer.hottestbuys4you.com

coach,position,training,soccer,session

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/soccer-articles/being-a-coach-is-an-extremely-important-position-in-sports-6825324.html

About the Author

To read more go to

www.soccer.hottestbuys4you.com

Monday 25 November 2013

India Squad for South Africa Tour...Still no place for Gambhir

Test squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha
ODI squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra

Sunday 24 November 2013

Vettel wins Brazilian GP

Sebastian Vettel wins Brazilian Grand Prix & equals Michael Schumacher's record of 13 victories in a season

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Likely pots in the final draw for world cup 2014

Likely pots in the final draw for world cup 2014 grouping :

1 Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland, Uruguay*.
2 Holland, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia, Croatia, Russia.
3 France, Chile, Ecuador, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana.
4 Japan, Australia, Iran, S Korea, Costa Rica, United States, Mexico, Honduras.

*Considering Uruguay going to beat Jordan.

Draw will be held in Bahia, Brazil from 9-30 pm IST on Dec 6, 2013.

Courtesy : The Telegraph, UK

Monday 11 November 2013

Formula 1: Massa will play in Williams

Williams announced Felipe Massa as new teammate of Valtteri Bottas for the 2014 season. 

Formula 1: Kimi Räikkönen is out for the rest of the season.

Lotus confirms: Kimi Räikkönen is out for the rest of the season. He has to miss the US and Brazil GPs for a back operation

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will go head-to-head once again in the ATP World Tour Finals

Nadal beat Roger Federer in  7-5 6-3 where Djokovic beat Stanislas Wawrinka in 6-3 6-3 in semifinals. 
Nadal currently World No 1 will face Djokovic, current World no 2 in London.

Sachin Tendulkar's 200th Test: Ticket sales delayed as website crashes

The Kyazoonga website which was supposed to sell the tickets for Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th and final Test crashed on Monday morning. The ticket sales were scheduled to start at 11am.
Tickets will be available for Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500. Only 2 tickets per person can be booked online. 
3500 tickets will be available in the Kyazoonga website

Keeper Matt Prior England's final Ashes warm-up match

Wicketkeeper Matt Prior was on Monday ruled out of England's final Ashes warm-up match in Sydney with a calf muscle injury, opening the door for Jonny Bairstow.

Japan squad for Netherlands

Squad:
Goalkeepers—KAWASHIMA Eiji (Standard Liege), NISHIKAWA Shusaku (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), GONDA Shuichi (FC Tokyo)
Defenders—KONNO Yasuyuki (Gamba Osaka), INOHA Masahiko (Jubilo Iwata), NAGATOMO Yuto (Inter Milan), MORISHIGE Masato (FC Tokyo), UCHIDA Atsuto (Shalke 04), YOSHIDA Maya (Southampton), SAKAI Hiroki (Hanover 96), SAKAI Gotoku (VfB Stuttgart)
Midfielders—ENDO Yasuhito (Gamba Osaka), HASEBE Makoto (1.FC Nurnberg), HOSOGAI Hajime (Hertha Berlin), HONDA Keisuke (CSKA Moscow), TAKAHASHI Hideto (FC Tokyo), YAMAGUCHI Hotaru (Cerezo Osaka)
Forwards—OKAZAKI Shinji (1.FSV Mainz 05), KAGAWA Shinji (Manchester United), HIROSHI Kiyotake (1.FC Nurnberg), KAKITANI Yoichiro (Cerezo Osaka), SAITO Manabu (Yokohama F. Marinos), OSAKO Yuya (Kashima Antlers)
Coach—Alberto ZACCHERONI (Italy)

Germany Squad against Italy

Germany Squad:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neur (Bayern Munich), Rene Adler (), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich),  (Bayern Munich),  (Hamburg),  (Borussia Dortmund), (Hamburg), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), (Schalke 04)
Midfielders: Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich),  (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Andre Schurrle (), Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Sidney Sam (Bayer Leverkusen), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards: Miroslav Klose (Lazio), )

Bafana Bafana Squad against Spain in Nov 19


Goalkeepers:
Senzo Meyiwa, Ronwen Williams
Defenders:
Thabo Nthethe, Tshepo Gumede, Tefu Mashamaite, Buhle Mkhwanazi, Rooi Mahamutsa, Tsepo Masilela, Thabo Matlaba, Happy Jele
Midfielders:
Andile Jali, Hlompho Kekana, Oupa Manyisa, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Bongani Zungu, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Lerato Chabangu, Daine Klate, Thuso Phala, Siphiwe Tshabalala
Strikers:
Lennox Bacela, Bernard Parker, Kermit Erasmus, Edward Manqele

Thursday 7 November 2013

Rohit Sharma becomes the 14th Indian to score a Century on Test debut

Indian List

1)      Lala Amarnath 118 Against England
2)      Deepak Shodhan 110 Against Pakistan
3)      Kripal Singh 100 against New Zealand
4)      Abbas Ali Baig 112 against England
5)      Hanumant Singh 105 against England
6)      Gundappa Vishwanath 137 Against Australia.
7)      Surinder Amarnath 124 against New Zealand
8)      Mohammad Azharuddin 110 against England
9)      Pravin Amre 103 Against South Africa
10)    Sourav ganguly 131 Against England
11)    Virendra Sehwag 105 against South Africa
12)   Suresh Raina 120 against Sri Lanka
13)   Shikhar Dhawan 187 against Australia
14)   Rohit Sharma agaisnt West Indies 

Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet

Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3 at the ATP World Tour Finals
Roger Federer: "I am happy to be back and clearly love playing here in London. I have so many good memories from Wimbledon and at the O2. Richard has incredible playing style and beautiful shot-making and losing the first match put more pressure on us.
"It is a big win for me and hopefully I can keep it up in the next match against Juan Martin Del Potro. There is a lot to play for. There are a lot of calculations going on in a three-way race, so hopefully it won't be that close this time."

24-man France squad for this month`s two-legged World Cup qualifying play-off against Ukraine.

France squad

Goalkeepers: Mickael Landreau (Bastia), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Eric Abidal (Monaco), Gael Clichy (Manchester City/ENG), Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United/ENG), Patrice Evra (Manchester United/ENG), Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna (both Arsenal/ENG), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool/ENG), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP)

Midfielders: Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United/ENG), Clement Grenier (Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris Saint-Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Samir Nasri (Manchester City/ENG), Paul Pogba (Juventus/ITA), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United/ENG)

Forwards: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/ESP), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal/ENG), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Loic Remy (Newcastle United/ENG), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/GER), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

England Squad

England play Chile on 15 November and Germany four days later. Both opponents have qualified for Brazil 2014.
Goalkeepers Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy. Defenders Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Kieran Gibbs, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker. Midfielders Ross Barkley, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Andros Townsend, Jack Wilshere. Forwards Jermain Defoe, Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Daniel Welbeck.