Visitors Now:
Total Visits:
Total Stories:

By Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

Kumiko Tsujimoto Seminar “Land-Lake-Atmosphere Interaction And Its Associated Local Rainfalls During The Post-Monsoon Season In Cambodia”

Friday, August 31, 2012 6:30

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

Pielke Sr Research Group: News and Commentary

I have been alerted to a new colleague who is working on the land-atmosphere interaction issue with respect to land-use/land cover change. Her name is Kumiko Tsujimoto of the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Tokyo and her biographical sketch is given below. She will be visiting the USA this Fall and as I learn of the specific times and locations of her seminar, I will post.

Kumiko Tsujimoto’s Biographical Sketch

My major is hydrology, including both surface hydrology and hydrometeorology. My major study area is Cambodia and I have been working for that country for the past 9 years. Since I have a background on agriculture, global environment studies, and civil engineering, I am interested in how to use the knowledge and technology of hydrology in order to contribute to the disaster mitigation, poverty reduction, and environmental conservation in the developing countries.

Education
March 2009 Ph.D. Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo
March 2006 M.S. Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University
March 2004 B.S. Agriculture, Kyoto University

Peer-reviewed papers:
1) Takahashi J., T. Katsuyama, K. Tsujimoto, M.Yasunaka; Present State and Prospects of International Research Activities for Food and Water Issues, Journal of the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Reclamation Engineering 73(3), 189-193, 2005, in Japanese with English abstract
2) Masumoto T., K. Tsujimoto, H.Somura; Hydro-meteorological Observation and Analysis of Observed Data at Tonle Sap Lake and its Environs, Urban and Paddy Areas, Technical Report of National Institute for Rural Engineering, 206, pp.219-236, 2007, in Japanese with English abstract
3) Tsujimoto K., T. Masumoto and T. Mitsuno, Seasonal changes in radiation and evaporation implied from the diurnal distribution of rainfall in the Lower Mekong, Hydrological Processes, Vol.22, pp.1257-1266, 2008.
4) Tsujimoto K. and T. Koike: Mechanism of locally-induced convection development and its effects on vapour transportation over the Tonle Sap Lake Area, Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 52, 247-252, 2008, in Japanese with English abstract
5) Tsujimoto K., and T. Koike: Effects of the locally-induced precipitation on the stream flow during the dry-season at the vicinities of the Tonle Sap Lake, Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 53, 337-342, 2009, in Japanese with English abstract
6) Tsujimoto K. and T. Koike: Interaction of large-scale atmospheric condition and local circulation which affects Cambodian post-monsoon rainfalls, Annual Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 55, 463-468, 2011, in Japanese with English abstract
7) Tsujimoto K. and T. Koike：Two diurnal cycle systems with different spatial scales and their effects on the post-monsoon rainfall in the inland of the Indochina Peninsula, Journal of Japan Society of Civil Engineering B1 (Hydraulic Engineering) 68-4, I_451~I_456, 2012, in Japanese with English abstract
8) Tsujimoto K. and T. Koike, Requisite conditions for post-monsoon rainfall in Cambodia, Journal of Hydroscience & Hydraulic Engineering, 31-1, 1-14, 2012.

Her provisional abstract for the presentation is

Kumiko Tsujimoto
Research associate

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Presentation Title:

Land-lake-atmosphere Interaction and its associated local rainfalls during the post-monsoon season in Cambodia

Presentation Abstract

Cambodia is located in the Lower Mekong River Basin, in the Indochina Peninsula. In the center of this country, there is a lake called Tonle Sap Lake. This lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and has a very unique hydrological characteristic that its lake area changes dramatically within a year: it is about 2,500km² at the end of the dry season but it reaches to more than 10,000km² at the end of the rainy season. This seasonal expansion occurs as a result of the seasonal change of the water level of the Mekong River. Therefore, if the basin development such as dam construction changes the flow regime of the Mekong River, it will in turn change the season al change of the lake area as well.

With this background, this study aims to make an environmental assessment on what will happen by the possible/on-going basin development in the upper Mekong River Basin. The impacts on the local atmospheric water circulation brought by the change of the lake area is focused on, since there have been no studies which target the land-lake-atmosphere interaction.

By integrating numerical models, satellite data, and ground data, the unique local atmospheric water circulation was found and its mechanism was revealed. The mechanism will be highlighted in the presentation.

Although this study is a geophysical research, it was also revealed that this phenomenon brings rainfalls at western Cambodia even after the end of the summer monsoon. Since western Cambodia is the most agriculturally productive area in this country, it would be possible that the locally-driven rainfall by the lake supports the current agricultural system in this region. Therefore, again, the possible/on-going basin development in the upper Mekong River Basin might affect the agricultural production in the granary of Cambodia and thus affect the food security in this country.