Rainfall Data Analysis in the Sultanate of Oman
by Dr. Andy Kwarteng, Director of Remote Sensing and GIS Center at the Sultan Qaboos University
(SQU).
Venue: PDO Oil and Gas Exhibition Centre
Date: 13th February 2010
Time: 7:30-9:00pm (Doors open at 7:00)
Dr. Kwarteng started his career in 1979 as an Assistant Geologist at the Ghana Geological Survey
Department, Ghana. After he earned his PhD in Remote Sensing and Economic Geology in 1988, he
worked as Associate Geologist in Texasgulf Inc., Midland, Texas, USA. One year later, he worked as
Research Scientist at the Research Institute of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals,
Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia. From 1993 to 2000, he worked as Research Scientist at the Environmental
and Urban Development Division in the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research as well as Manager of
the Remote Sensing Lab there. Since 2002, Dr. Kwarteng has been the Director of Remote Sensing and
GIS Center at SQU. His research interest is "Remote sensing applications to the marine and desert
environments, geology, image processing and GIS" and he has over 150 scientific, technical and
company reports.
Abstract:
Rainfall is a scarce and an important hydrological variable in dryland areas. The need for water in these
areas increases daily due to population growth, economic developments, urbanization, and
consequently, water management using all the available resources is becoming increasingly crucial. In
order to develop an effective management strategy, it is paramount to understand and assess the impact
of this resource on the ecosystem. Analysis of variation of rainfall in space, time and amounts, and its
attendant effect on the ecosystem is vital in arid and semi-arid environments where the resource is
scare, highly variable and unpredictable. In his talk, Dr. Kwarteng will talk about the characteristics of
rainfall in the Sultanate of Oman using data recorded between 1977 and 2003. The average yearly
rainfall varies from a low of 76.9 mm in the interior region to a high 181.9 mm in the Dhofar mountains
with an average of 117.4 mm for the whole country. Mann-Kendall statistics show a negative but
insignificant rainfall trends for the datasets.
Address to PDO oil and gas exhibition centre: Coming from Qurm Heights road, you get to Qurm R/A,
take the 3rd exit on the R/A (going towards Fahood R/A) take the first right on the 3rd exit of Qurm R/A.
Keep going straight (2 traffic lights) and past Shell Petrol Station (to your right) until youreach a closed
gate at the end of the road. Take the last right turning before that gate- this is the Planetarium or Oil and
Gas Exhibition Centre.