METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS

It

is extremely difficult to make any simple general state- ments regarding

the

meteorological conditions of central Anatolia as a whole, since they vary greatly from district to district. T o give some idea of the meteorological conditions of the plateau, w e m a y summarize the results of observations carried out

in

Konya

by

the Turkish Meteorological Service from 1930 to 1943.

T E M P E R A T U R E

The

temperature at Konya rises as high as

37.70 C

and falls as low as -28.20

C. The

m e a n annual temperature is 11.40 and varies between 10.90 and 12.60

C.

There is a minimum of 97 and a m a x i m u m of 159 summer days

in the

year. T h e average number of summer days is 112. T h e number of days of frost varies from 118 to 150. T h e average number of winter days

in

a year is 14, though

the

figure m a y

he

as high as

35

or as low as

2.

192

Stands of date-palms at Wadi Feiranin Sinai.

Le fond de l'ouadi El-Arish est recreusé de minuscules jardins s'étendant de place en place. L'eau sous-jacente visible dans le trou sert à l'irrigation.

The base of Wadi El-Arish is excavated to form small gardens. The sub-suriace water visible in the hole is used for irrigation.

.

Voir/see article Hassan Awad.)

e .::_.

I.

~ x I /I C I - - I

- ---

C h a m p s en contrebas plantés dans le fond de l’ouadi El-&ish (au nord du Sinai). Les alluvions enlevées sont rejetées d e chaque côté.

i

i

Low-level cultivation in the W a d i El-Arish, north of Sinai.

T h e excavated material is heaped at the sides.

Les dunes ont été creusées et des jeunes palmiers y trouvent en profondeur l’eau nécessaire à leur croissance.

After the dunes have been excavated young date-palms find water.

(Voir

/see article Hassan Awad.)

Fig.

1 a. Hydrogeological research

in

central Anatolia.

Fig. 1 b.

Geological section of

No.

1 bore

at Polatli farm.

Fig.

1 c. Geological section of

No.

1 bore at Altinova farm.

A T M O S P H E R I C PRECIPITATION

T h e average annual precipitation is 303.5 mm.

The

minimum

precipitation, recorded

in

1932, was 143.7 m. while

the

m a x i m u m , in 1942, was 500.9 mm.

August heads

the

list of months

in

which there is scarcely any precipitation. In some years, however, no precipitation is recorded

in

May,

July,

September and October.

T h e figure was as low as 62

in

1941 and as

high

as 90

in

1940.

T h e ground is covered

by

snow for an average of 19 days a year.

In

1935-36, snow lay on the ground for only 2 days.

On

the other hand,

during

the winter of 1941-42 the Konya district was under snow for

80

days.

Precipitation m a y be accompanied

by

hail

in the

spring, especially during M a y and June. Hail also

The wettest month is May.

, T h e average number of wet days a year is 76.

sometimes falls

in

October. S o m e years there are no hailstorms, but

in

others hail has fallen on as m a n y as 14 days.

There is generally an average of 59 frosty days a season.

The m a x i m u m number of frosty days was 76,

in

1938-39, and the

minimum 22, in

1933-34. Frosts begin in October and go on until April.

T h e average annual figure for relative

humidity

is 60 per cent. It m a y vary from 54 to 63 per cent.

In June 1930 and October 1931, it dropped to 4 per cent, a figure which seems almost incredible.

With regard to cloud conditions, the sky

is

wholly covered, on

the

average, 72 days

in

the year. T h e minimum figure recorded was

41

days,

in 1932,

and

the

m a x i m u m 107,

in

1942. T h e sky is almost always clear

in

June and

July

and,

in

some years,

in

September.

The average number of cloudy days a year is 182.

The minimum number

in

any one year, recorded over 193 Hoar-frost also forms

in

the K o n y a region.

Prospection for underground water, and adaptation of drilling methods of comparison, a few figures obtained

in

various dis- tricts of central Anatolia.

Other regions comparable

with

the Konya district from the standpoint of climate are Tekke koy on the Sakarya River and Y a m u l a on the Kizilirmak,

in

the Vilayet of Kayseri. Evaporation has been measured at Tekke koy since 1937.

The

average evaporation figure for 14 years is 1,399 mm. It m a y fall as low as

On the other hand, the monthly evaporation at Tekke k o y and Yamula m a y rise as

high

as 265-270

mm. in

June and

July,

a figure corresponding roughly to the annual precipitation.

G E O L O G I C A L S T U D I E S

Systematic hydrogeological research in central Anatolia is still only beginning. Started

in

1950

by

the Institute for Mining

Study

and Research (MTA),

in

agreement with the Ministry of Public Works and the IMinistry of Agriculture, the research work was intended to achieve more than one aim.

The

main object was to determine the geological structure and

find

a means of solving the problem of underground water

in

central Anatolia; but practical, short-term results were also expected.

The

Ministry of Agriculture was interested

in

securing potable water, at least for its large farms.

These farms, as w e shall see on the excursions organized

in

connexion

with

this conference, each cover some 200 to 300 sq.

km. The

water-shortage makes it necessary for the farm managers to carry water through the sprinkler system to distances of from 10 to 20

km.

(see

Fig.

la).

Another and still more urgent object

in

view was to find places in the most fertile areas of the region

in

which to settle the refugees from Bulgaria,

if

water could be found.

It

was therefore necessary to discover the most

likely

sites

with

the least possible delay, and to undertake investigations

by

means of boring.

It was in order to m e e t these various requirements that work was begun in the area. W e first carried out an exploratory survey,

with

the co-operation of four geologists, over an area of

6,000

sq.

km. in

the south- west of central Anatolia. This region,

lying

to

the

west of the Salt Lake, contains all the State farms; it is one of the most interesting portions of central

Turkey

from the point of view of

the fertility

of the soil (see using geophysical methods and boring. Dr. Mehmet Dizioglu will be delivering a paper on the results so far achieved

by

electrical methods. T h e results of our geological research m a y be summarized

T O P O G R A P H Y

T h e lowest region lies on

the

banks of the Sakarya river, whose altitude

in

this region is approximately 720 m. The plateau, consisting of wbitish-grey Neogene formations, rises to a height of 900 m. above sea level and stretches

in

four directions. T h e surrounding mountains are considerably higher, and consist of Palaeozoic formations or volcanic matter. There is thus conformity between the surface relief and

the

geological formations.

A l l the

depressions are formed of Neogene lacustrine calcareous clay-marl deposits;

and all the outcrops that catch the eye

in

the flat and monotonous countryside, and which generally rise to a height of over 1,000 m. above sea level, are formed of old limestone formations or marbles probably dating back to the Palaeozoic period. Here and there one also sees small blocks of old formations generally running in chains

in

a n east-west direction, or, less often, north-south. T h e later volcanic outcrops are easily distinguishable

in

the landscape, either because of their shape or because

of

their colour, which

is

darker than that of the surrounding formatiom.

194

Dans le document HYDROLOGY SYMPOSIUM (Page 191-195)