Background: Diarrhoeal diseases contribute to significant mortality among children in low- and mi... more Background: Diarrhoeal diseases contribute to significant mortality among children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and unsafe water and poor sanitation are potential risk factors. The ...
Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather condi... more Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases. According to studies by EPA, the impacts of climate change on health will depend on many factors. These factors include the effectiveness of a community's public health and safety systems to address or prepare for the risk and the behavior, age, gender, and economic status of individuals affected. Impacts will likely vary by region, the sensitivity of populations, the extent and length of exposure to climate change impacts, and society's ability to adapt to change. Transmissions of infectious disease have been associated with social, economic, ecological,...
Identification of High Erosion Potential Areas in Lake Tana Watershed, Ethiopia : Using GIS and S... more Identification of High Erosion Potential Areas in Lake Tana Watershed, Ethiopia : Using GIS and SWAT Model
ABSTRACT Alemaya lake located in Eastern highlands of Ethiopia has been severely degraded and tra... more ABSTRACT Alemaya lake located in Eastern highlands of Ethiopia has been severely degraded and transformed during the last few decades, due to agricultural activities. In this study, aerial photographs acquired during the years 1965,1996 and 2002 were interpreted to quantify and spatially characterize the spatial and thematic information concerning the major land use/cover types of the Alemaya watershed. From the spatio temporal analysis of the data, permanent decrease of the lake surface area has been observed during the period 1965 –2002. The surface area of the lake that was around 393.6 ha in the year 1965 has been reduced to 226 ha within a span of 37 years. Due to lack of directives on the use of land and water resources in the area, it is observed that the lands adjacent to the lake are constantly cultivated which aggravated the process of soil erosion and increased the sedimentation of the lake. A large quantity of water in excess of annual recovery is being withdrawn for irrigating the adjacent fields by using a number of centrifugal pumps without taking into consideration the crop water demand. This is endangering the survival of the lake itself.
Many reservoirs of Puerto Rico are rapidly losing their water storage capacity because of high ra... more Many reservoirs of Puerto Rico are rapidly losing their water storage capacity because of high rates of sediment influx from the upstream watersheds and accumulation. The main reasons for high sedimentation in the reservoirs are land use changes, steep mountainous topography, and most importantly, the humid tropical environment, magnitude and frequencies of rain fall and other climatic variables. Moreover, major
Page 27. Chapter 1 Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin Assefa... more Page 27. Chapter 1 Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin Assefa M. Melesse, Wossenu Abtew, Shimelis G. Setegn, and Tibebe Dessalegne Abstract This chapter discusses the hydrometeorology ...
The Nile River basin is home to more than 238 million people covering 11 countries. The basin is ... more The Nile River basin is home to more than 238 million people covering 11 countries. The basin is characterized by unique ecological systems with varied landscapes including high mountains, tropical forests, woodlands, lakes, savannas, wetlands, arid lands, and deserts. The basin is also characterized by poverty, rapid population growth, environmental degradation, and frequent natural disasters. While the population in the basin is projected to increase significantly over the coming decades, the water resources are projected to decline, with an increase in environmental degradation. This will be a tremendous challenge in a basin where emerging water demands by upstream countries are forcing a new formula for the use of the scarce water resources. Unless a framework of agreement for equitable water sharing is reached soon between all riparian states, the potential for acute water conflict is high. Cooperation is essential for controlling watershed degradation and water quality decline.
Generating land capability class guidelines at a watershed scale has become a priority in sustain... more Generating land capability class guidelines at a watershed scale has become a priority in sustainable agricultural land use. This study analyzed the area of cultivated land use situated on the non-arable land-capability class in the Jema watershed in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin. Soil surveys, meteorological ground observations, a digital elevation model (DEM) at 30 m, Meteosat at 10 km × 10 km and Landsat at 30 m were used to generate the sample soil texture class, average annual total rainfall (ATRF in mm), terrain, slope (%), elevation (m a.s.l) and land-use land cover (%). The land capability class was analyzed by considering raster layers of terrain, the average ATRF and soil texture. Geo-statistics was employed to fit a surface of soil texture and average ATRF estimates. An overlay technique was used to compute the proportion of cultivated land placed on non-arable land. As per the results of the terrain analysis, the elevation (m a.s.l) of the watershed is in the range of ...
The association between elevation (agro-climatic zones, ACZs) and the mean annual total rainfall ... more The association between elevation (agro-climatic zones, ACZs) and the mean annual total rainfall (MATRF) is not straightforward in different parts of the world. This study sought to estimate the amount of MATRF across four elevation zones of Jema watershed, which is situated in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia, by employing an appropriate interpolation method. The elevation of the watershed ranges from 1895 to 3518 m a.s.l. For the sake of this study, 34 sample MATRF data were extracted from satellite and nearby gauge stations that were recorded from 1983 to 2010. These data sources were reconstructed by International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University, USA, at a scale of 10 km by 10 km. An elevation data set generated from a digital elevation model with 30-m resolution (DEM 30 m) was considered as a covariable to estimate the MATRF. To identify the optimal interpolation model, mean errors were computed using cross-validation statistics. The root...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018
This study sought to analyze the degree of spatial association of soil texture with agro-climatic... more This study sought to analyze the degree of spatial association of soil texture with agro-climatic zones and slope classes on the farmlands of the Jema watershed, in the Northwestern Highlands of Ethiopia. The agro-climatic zones (elevation zones) determine the micro-climate and biota of the study area. Thirty six soil composite samples for texture (the proportion of clay, silt and sand) analysis from four agro-climatic (elevation) zones and seven slope classes were collected. One-Way-ANOVA was employed to compute the mean variability of texture among the identified terrain classes, and linear regression was used to analyze the degree of association between texture and the terrain attributes. The measured values of sand, silt and clay in the watershed ranged from 11.4 to 43.4, 6.0 to 34.8, and 21.8 to 77.8, respectively. The One-Way-ANOVA indicated a significant (p < 0.05) soil texture variation in both slope and agro-climatic zone classes. Heavy clay, clay and clay loam were iden...
Background: Diarrhoeal diseases contribute to significant mortality among children in low- and mi... more Background: Diarrhoeal diseases contribute to significant mortality among children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and unsafe water and poor sanitation are potential risk factors. The ...
Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather condi... more Climate Change plays a significant role in public health. Changes in climate affect weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases. According to studies by EPA, the impacts of climate change on health will depend on many factors. These factors include the effectiveness of a community's public health and safety systems to address or prepare for the risk and the behavior, age, gender, and economic status of individuals affected. Impacts will likely vary by region, the sensitivity of populations, the extent and length of exposure to climate change impacts, and society's ability to adapt to change. Transmissions of infectious disease have been associated with social, economic, ecological,...
Identification of High Erosion Potential Areas in Lake Tana Watershed, Ethiopia : Using GIS and S... more Identification of High Erosion Potential Areas in Lake Tana Watershed, Ethiopia : Using GIS and SWAT Model
ABSTRACT Alemaya lake located in Eastern highlands of Ethiopia has been severely degraded and tra... more ABSTRACT Alemaya lake located in Eastern highlands of Ethiopia has been severely degraded and transformed during the last few decades, due to agricultural activities. In this study, aerial photographs acquired during the years 1965,1996 and 2002 were interpreted to quantify and spatially characterize the spatial and thematic information concerning the major land use/cover types of the Alemaya watershed. From the spatio temporal analysis of the data, permanent decrease of the lake surface area has been observed during the period 1965 –2002. The surface area of the lake that was around 393.6 ha in the year 1965 has been reduced to 226 ha within a span of 37 years. Due to lack of directives on the use of land and water resources in the area, it is observed that the lands adjacent to the lake are constantly cultivated which aggravated the process of soil erosion and increased the sedimentation of the lake. A large quantity of water in excess of annual recovery is being withdrawn for irrigating the adjacent fields by using a number of centrifugal pumps without taking into consideration the crop water demand. This is endangering the survival of the lake itself.
Many reservoirs of Puerto Rico are rapidly losing their water storage capacity because of high ra... more Many reservoirs of Puerto Rico are rapidly losing their water storage capacity because of high rates of sediment influx from the upstream watersheds and accumulation. The main reasons for high sedimentation in the reservoirs are land use changes, steep mountainous topography, and most importantly, the humid tropical environment, magnitude and frequencies of rain fall and other climatic variables. Moreover, major
Page 27. Chapter 1 Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin Assefa... more Page 27. Chapter 1 Hydrological Variability and Climate of the Upper Blue Nile River Basin Assefa M. Melesse, Wossenu Abtew, Shimelis G. Setegn, and Tibebe Dessalegne Abstract This chapter discusses the hydrometeorology ...
The Nile River basin is home to more than 238 million people covering 11 countries. The basin is ... more The Nile River basin is home to more than 238 million people covering 11 countries. The basin is characterized by unique ecological systems with varied landscapes including high mountains, tropical forests, woodlands, lakes, savannas, wetlands, arid lands, and deserts. The basin is also characterized by poverty, rapid population growth, environmental degradation, and frequent natural disasters. While the population in the basin is projected to increase significantly over the coming decades, the water resources are projected to decline, with an increase in environmental degradation. This will be a tremendous challenge in a basin where emerging water demands by upstream countries are forcing a new formula for the use of the scarce water resources. Unless a framework of agreement for equitable water sharing is reached soon between all riparian states, the potential for acute water conflict is high. Cooperation is essential for controlling watershed degradation and water quality decline.
Generating land capability class guidelines at a watershed scale has become a priority in sustain... more Generating land capability class guidelines at a watershed scale has become a priority in sustainable agricultural land use. This study analyzed the area of cultivated land use situated on the non-arable land-capability class in the Jema watershed in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin. Soil surveys, meteorological ground observations, a digital elevation model (DEM) at 30 m, Meteosat at 10 km × 10 km and Landsat at 30 m were used to generate the sample soil texture class, average annual total rainfall (ATRF in mm), terrain, slope (%), elevation (m a.s.l) and land-use land cover (%). The land capability class was analyzed by considering raster layers of terrain, the average ATRF and soil texture. Geo-statistics was employed to fit a surface of soil texture and average ATRF estimates. An overlay technique was used to compute the proportion of cultivated land placed on non-arable land. As per the results of the terrain analysis, the elevation (m a.s.l) of the watershed is in the range of ...
The association between elevation (agro-climatic zones, ACZs) and the mean annual total rainfall ... more The association between elevation (agro-climatic zones, ACZs) and the mean annual total rainfall (MATRF) is not straightforward in different parts of the world. This study sought to estimate the amount of MATRF across four elevation zones of Jema watershed, which is situated in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia, by employing an appropriate interpolation method. The elevation of the watershed ranges from 1895 to 3518 m a.s.l. For the sake of this study, 34 sample MATRF data were extracted from satellite and nearby gauge stations that were recorded from 1983 to 2010. These data sources were reconstructed by International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University, USA, at a scale of 10 km by 10 km. An elevation data set generated from a digital elevation model with 30-m resolution (DEM 30 m) was considered as a covariable to estimate the MATRF. To identify the optimal interpolation model, mean errors were computed using cross-validation statistics. The root...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018
This study sought to analyze the degree of spatial association of soil texture with agro-climatic... more This study sought to analyze the degree of spatial association of soil texture with agro-climatic zones and slope classes on the farmlands of the Jema watershed, in the Northwestern Highlands of Ethiopia. The agro-climatic zones (elevation zones) determine the micro-climate and biota of the study area. Thirty six soil composite samples for texture (the proportion of clay, silt and sand) analysis from four agro-climatic (elevation) zones and seven slope classes were collected. One-Way-ANOVA was employed to compute the mean variability of texture among the identified terrain classes, and linear regression was used to analyze the degree of association between texture and the terrain attributes. The measured values of sand, silt and clay in the watershed ranged from 11.4 to 43.4, 6.0 to 34.8, and 21.8 to 77.8, respectively. The One-Way-ANOVA indicated a significant (p < 0.05) soil texture variation in both slope and agro-climatic zone classes. Heavy clay, clay and clay loam were iden...
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