Biography:

Seyda Tilev  is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, Meteorology Department. She has completed her MSc in Satellite Communication and Remote Sensing (2009) and PhD degree in Atmospheric Sciences (2016) from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey. She received the scholarship from University of Manchester, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. She has published many papers in reputed journals. Her research interests include renewable energies, climate change, air pollution, severe convective storms, atmospheric modeling and NWP and data assimilation. She is also a Member of American Meteorological Society

Abstract:

Assessing the statistics and trends of atmospheric variables is the very basic step for the climate change risk management. The numerical weather prediction models have displayed an increasing credibility for achieving sound simulations of the interactions between the atmosphere and the earth surface. Those models have been used together with the assimilation procedure which combines the model forecasts with all available observations including conventional and satellite information to generate gridded reanalysis datasets. Atmospheric reanalysis datasets are commonly used and are reliable sources for analyzing the long-term variations of atmospheric variables because of their uniform global coverage and long-term availabilities. This study is also developed by using one of those widely referred atmospheric reanalysis datasets, i.e. European Center for MediumRange Weather Forecast ERA-interim. Era-Interim data has 0.75° horizontal grid spacing, 28 vertical levels, consisting of 1 surface level and 27 pressure levels from 1000 hPa to 100 hPa and available with 6 hours interval (00 UTC, 06 UTC, 12 UTC, 18 UTC). Parameters such as 2-meter temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, sea surface temperature, total column water vapor and total precipitation are analyzed for the 38-year period of 1979-2017. 

Biography:

Sivakumaran Sivaramanan is currently working as an Environmental Officer since 2014 in Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka

Abstract:

Sri Lanka has been ranked at the 5th place in the list of world’s most sea waste producing Countries. Sea waste comprises the slow decaying or accumulated manmade products at the seashore and deep-sea waters. It has been observed that sources of the waste depend on the type of coastal location of the beach. According to weekly beach survey conducted for two months and data analysis done by Clean Coast Index (CCI) method, some beaches in the Colombo district are rarely visited by public and they are at the backyard of rural population and become the dumping sites for them (domestic dumping sites) such as Moratuwa and Ratmalana. Beaches in Wellawatte, Dehiwala, Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya hold wastes from mixed sources such as domestic dumping, wastes from commercial activities such as hotels, from running trains and from beach visitors and beaches in Mt. Lavania, Galleface and Mattakuliya hold similar kind of wastes that are mostly from beach visitors including tourists. Furthermore, wastes from fishing related activities are abundant in Dehiwala, they are nylon fishing nets, ropes and polystyrene floats. In addition, PET bottle usage by the fisherman also significantly high. In urban areas such as Kollupitiya, Bamblapitiya, Wellawatte and Dehiwala most of the wastes are carried by the drainage canals. Mechanized beach grooming is not possible in most of the locations due to the presence of Southern railway track and stone fences thus source level mitigation plans have to be implemented such as penalties and banning of certain types of plastics

Biography:

Sivakumaran Sivaramanan is currently working as an Environmental Officer since 2014 in Central Environmental Authority, Sri Lanka

Abstract:

Sri Lanka has been ranked at the 5th place in the list of world’s most sea waste producing Countries. Sea waste comprises the slow decaying or accumulated manmade products at the seashore and deep-sea waters. It has been observed that sources of the waste depend on the type of coastal location of the beach. According to weekly beach survey conducted for two months and data analysis done by Clean Coast Index (CCI) method, some beaches in the Colombo district are rarely visited by public and they are at the backyard of rural population and become the dumping sites for them (domestic dumping sites) such as Moratuwa and Ratmalana. Beaches in Wellawatte, Dehiwala, Bambalapitiya and Kollupitiya hold wastes from mixed sources such as domestic dumping, wastes from commercial activities such as hotels, from running trains and from beach visitors and beaches in Mt. Lavania, Galleface and Mattakuliya hold similar kind of wastes that are mostly from beach visitors including tourists. Furthermore, wastes from fishing related activities are abundant in Dehiwala, they are nylon fishing nets, ropes and polystyrene floats. In addition, PET bottle usage by the fisherman also significantly high. In urban areas such as Kollupitiya, Bamblapitiya, Wellawatte and Dehiwala most of the wastes are carried by the drainage canals. Mechanized beach grooming is not possible in most of the locations due to the presence of Southern railway track and stone fences thus source level mitigation plans have to be implemented such as penalties and banning of certain types of plastics

Biography:

Abstract:

In 2016, the water crisis was determined as the global risk of highest concern for people and economies for the next 10 years (WEF, 2016). Our ability to cope with current and future stresses on freshwater resources is a core challenge of the 21st century (CDP Global Water Report, 2017). Ensuring adequate water quality and quantity are of increasing importance in recent times owing to climate change related uncertainties and pollution related activities. The immediate source of water pollution is waste water discharge from various sources. Ocean acidification, plastic contamination, creation of dead zones is some of the visible effects of anthropogenic intervention. Companies and industrial sectors across the world are recognizing the crucial role water plays in the sustainability of their operations. Water related risks and opportunities are being accounted for and organizations are working together to alleviate the pollution causing effects of their operations. Measures include finding alternate modes of fuel, researching alternative modes of packaging, coming up with newer ways to have circular resource management, forward and backward integration, committing to reduce their water consumption per unit of production, among others. These measures may be small but contribute towards responsible resource consumption and showcase an organizations commitment towards contributing their bit. Actions taken today will determine if we have the possibility of water secure tomorrow.

Biography:

Abstract: