The weather services in Nicaragua and Malawi are working with IEDRO volunteer Ed Root to test a computer program he developed that will read and digitize environmental charts showing rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, sunshine, wind direction and speed, stream flow, and other parameters within seconds instead of the 15 to 20 minutes now required to digitize these charts manually.

Nicaragua

Cathedral of Granada, Nicaragua, Courtesy Alberto Ramirez

IEDRO volunteer, Ms. Monica Drazba, will be working in Managua, Nicaragua to negotiate with INETER, the Nicaraguan national meteorological service, to digitize its 16,500 precipitation strip charts using the program being developed by Ed Root.

Data rescue for Nicaragua (www.ineter.gob.ni) involves a different sort of data digitization. In this country, precipitation is measured in over 100 locations using strip charts. Our project in this situation starts in the same manner, digitally photographing all the charts at a sufficient resolution. The next step is somewhat trickier, as it is not a simple matter to read the charts for their respective information.

A sample precipitation strip chart

IEDRO volunteers are developing a computer program that will read environmental charts showing rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, sunshine, wind direction and speed, stream flow, and other parameters. The program will digitize the information within seconds instead of the 15 to 20 minutes now required to digitize these charts manually.

This will provide hundreds of millions of historical environmental observations in a format that can easily be used by researchers, educators, engineers, farmers, and the general public.

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Population: 5,785,846

Capital: Managua

Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White), White, Black, Amerindian

Language: Spanish (official), Miskito, English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast, other

Religion: Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Moravian, Jehovah’s Witness, other, none

Median age: 21.7 years

Life expectancy: 71.21 years

GDP per capita: $3,000/year

Industries: Food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood

Economy: Nicaragua has widespread under-employment and the second lowest per capita income in the Western Hemisphere. Textiles and apparel account for nearly 60% of Nicaragua’s exports; however, recent increases in the minimum wage will likely erode its comparative advantage in this industry.

Reference: CIA World Factbook: Nicaragua