THE ENVIRONMENT
December 28 and this was the first time in December since 1955. The monthly rainfall of 66.4 millimetres was nearly two and a half times the December normal of 27.3 millimetres, with most of the rain falling during an unseasonal spell of damp and wet weather after Christmas.
Climate, Oceanographic and Geophysical Services
The Royal Observatory carries out climate, oceanographic and geophysical studies. Its professional advice is often sought by consultants working on government or private projects. When an engineering project demands substantial data collection and analysis over a prolonged period, special studies are conducted.
A climatological information service is provided to meet the needs of the general public and to cater for the specialised interests of shipping, aviation, agriculture, fishery, engineer- ing, industries, judicial proceedings, and recreational planning. In particular, analyses on the probabilities of high winds, heavy rain, waves and surges are undertaken using mathematical models as well as statistics of extremes. Spectral analysis is applied to wave data to derive information useful to engineering design work. Other potential applications include hydrological forecasting, water resources planning, drainage design, water quality control, reservoir design and operation, irrigation and other infra-structural projects.
Climate change is another subject of interest and concern. The Royal Observatory participates actively in international climate programmes and, through the World Meteo- rological Organisation, liaises with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to keep abreast of scientific developments in the field.
In line with its responsibilities for emergency response services relating to inclement weather and other natural disasters, the Royal Observatory is to co-ordinate and formulate technical emergency advice should an unlikely accidental release of radioactivity occur at the Guangdong Nuclear Power Station at Daya Bay. In order to fulfil this responsibility, the Royal Observatory has established an Environmental Radiation Monitoring and Assessment Programme to monitor the radiation levels in Hong Kong in the atmospheric, terrestrial, food and aquatic pathways. The programme, which began in 1987, entails the collection and measurement of samples of air, water, soil and food regularly, at a number of locations in the territory. An Early Alerting Network has also been established to continuously monitor the ambient gamma dose rate in the territory and to provide an alert of any deviation of dose rate from the background level. In the event of an emergency, a Monitoring and Assessment Centre at the Observatory Headquarters will be activated to monitor and assess the radiological and meteorological information collected, co-ordinate a multi-departmental food and water monitoring programme to estimate the transport, dispersion and deposition of any radioactivity over the territory, and to provide technical advice to government on any necessary countermeasures.
As a component of the Airport Core Programme, the Royal Observatory has already started work in planning and designing the meteorological facilities required to support the future operation of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. In addition to the basic aeronautical meteorological observation equipment, state-of-art systems will be acquired and installed for data processing, information distribution and wind shear detection and warning.
To monitor earthquakes and seismicity, three short-period seismometers are operated at Cheung Chau, High Island and Tsim Bei Tsui. Long-period seismographs at the Obser- vatory Headquarters record tremors from all over the world. Strong-motion accelero-
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