PAGES Turkey

Welcome to PAGES Turkey

Turkey is living the results of global climate change like a number of countries. With the rise in the earth’s temperature due to the greenhouse effect, the rate of evaporation from the oceans, rivers, lakes and plants has also increased. Because of the balance of nature, greater evaporation leads to more clouds and an increase in rainfall. However, as observed in many countries, wind patterns are also changing, resulting in changes in precipitation patterns. This is causing drought in places where historically there has been normal precipitation. For instance, many experts believe that the drought in Turkey in 2000 (like the one in the USA in 1988) was a direct (or indirect) result of the greenhouse effect (for example, the summer precipitation anomalies since the middle of the 1990s).

The NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) is one of the major atmospheric sources for the spatial and temporal variability of the precipitation conditions in Turkey. The importance of and the scientific interest in the NAO has increased, and so many studies have been performed since the early 1990s, especially for the North Atlantic, Europe and Mediterranean Basin because the NAO indices were mostly characterized by a persistent positive anomaly episode in the 1980s and 1990s. For instance, Hurrell and Van Loon (1997) revealed that precipitation anomalies, including dry winter conditions over southern Europe and Mediterranean regions, and the wetter than normal conditions over northern Europe and Scandinavia since 1980, were linked to the behavior of the NAO. A number of studies also looked at the influence of the NAO, as well as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), on the climatic variability and anomalies over the Mediterranean Basin and the surrounding countries and/or regions.

The NAO can probably be affected by global climate changes and therefore it can be said that there is a relationship between the variability of the NAO indices and precipitation conditions. This situation has encouraged concerned scientists to study past and present global climate change. For example, see the Quaternary studies being carried out by Prof. Dr. Ilhan Kayan, Head of the *** Department at Aegean University, at: http://edebiyat.ege.edu.tr/bolumler/cografya/bolum.html


Bibliography

- Hurrell, J.V. & van Loon, H., (1997) – Decadal variations in climate associated with the North Atlantic oscillation. Climate Change 36: 301-326.
- Türkes, M. & Erlat, E., (2003) – Precipitation changes and variability in Turkey linked to the North Atlantic oscillation during the period 1930-2000. Int. J. Climatol. 23: 1771-1796.


Latitudes: 36° 06' N, 42° 06' N
Longitudes: 25° 40' E, 44° 48' E
Territory: 780 576 km2
Capital: Ankara
Population: ~ 70 million

Fig1: Travertines of Pamukkale (Western Turkey)
Fig2: Marmaris