The Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, short: Gobabeb, is a centre for dry land training and research in Namibia. It is located in the Namib Desert, 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-east of Walvis Bay. Gobabeb was founded by the Austrian entomologist Charles Koch in 1962. Since 1998 Gobabeb has been a joint venture between the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the Desert Research Foundation Namibia (DRFN). Gobabeb conducts research in the fields of climate, ecology and geomorphology. It also tests, demonstrates and promotes appropriate technologies. By conducting training courses, Gobabeb aims to improve the public awareness and knowledge of dry land ecology and environmental issues. The station consists of permanent researchers, students, and interns, as well as short time visitors such as school and university groups, and tourists. Gobabeb also hosts film crews, journalists and artists.
Station
The Station is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-east of Walvis Bay in Namibia's largest nature reserve, the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Gobabeb lies at the meeting point of three different ecosystems: the ephemeral Kuiseb River, the Sand Dunes Sea to the south and the gravel plains to the north. This offers an excellent diversity of environments in which to conduct research. The station consists of the community research center, a library, laboratories, an office block, a meeting hall, the iconic water tower, staff houses and accommodations for visitors.
Climate As the station is located in the Namib desert, the climate is hyperarid with an average annual precipitation of 23.8 mm, about 65% during the summer months (December to May). In 2010/2011 an extreme rainfall of about 165 millimetres was measured during rainy season. With each average monthly temperature above 18 °C, in Köppen climate classification, the climate is considered as tropical. With an average annual temperature of 21.4 °C, the climate is nearly 6 °C warmer than at the temperate coast (15.5 °C at Walvis Bay). At about 400 m above sea level - given that Gobabeb is about 60 km from the coast - it is much less under the influence of the cold coastal ocean Benguela current than coastal areas such as Walvis Bay. A cold coastal ocean current cools the oceanic air. The latter being cooled, water vapour in that air may become liquid water. Therefore, clouds and particularly fogs may appear, hugely diminishing insolation and thus temperature. Thus cold ocean currents along western coasts of continents doubly cool these coasts : by their own cold and by the nebulosity (due to clouds including fogs and mists) they bring. For instance Walvis Bay has 140 days of fog per year while Gobabeb has "only" 94 days. Gobabeb's remoteness from the Atlantic explains why it is significantly warmer than the Namibian coast (Walvis Bay average temperature is only 15.4 °C) despite being at a greater altitude.
Appropriate technology
The Gobabeb Namib Research Institute has been built as an example of appropriate technology, which shows how sustainable development can be achieved in daily life. It demonstrates techniques that are applicable at community and commercial/industrial levels. The following systems at Gobabeb are installed under the heading of appropriate technology:
A solar-diesel hybrid energy system, consisting of 370 solar panels, 60 lead acid batteries and two diesel generators. Through this system, more than 90% of all energy used at Gobabeb, mainly for electricity and water heating, is provided by the sun. A water recycling system. All sewage water from the station goes into a trickling filter system and gets used again. Fog harvesting. With the help of different kinds of nets, fog water is harvested at Gobabeb. One net can gather up to 3.3 litres of water per square meter on a foggy night. This method might have practical application in the Topnaar settlements along the Kuiseb River. Appropriate buildings. New buildings are made of clay bricks which are made from silt of the Kuiseb River. The thick walls of these bricks are thermally ideal for the desert, being warm in winter and cool in summer. Waste management. All organic waste is fed to goats belonging to the Topnaar community. Recyclable waste like glass, metals, plastics and paper are taken to Walvis Bay where they are handed to recycling agencies linked to the Walvis Bay Municipality. Solar cooking. Gobabeb uses two different types of solar cookers, box cookers and a parabolic cooker, all of which do not require any electricity.
Library
The Gobabeb Centre Library is built for researchers, students and staff, working in and around Gobabeb, as well being open to interested visitors. It provides access to information and works done in and around Gobabeb and in the Namib Desert. The library started in 1963 with its first in-house publications Scientific Papers of the Namib Desert Research Station by Gobabeb's first director Charles Koch. Since then the library has grown to house the most extensive collection on arid zone research in ecology and biology in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the leading information centre on the Namib Desert and also includes information on other deserts of the world. It houses 1780 books, 18,790 journal offprint publications, and 30 journal holdings. To offer easier access to the library for our users, Gobabeb is in the process of digitising information stored in the library.
Research The overall goal of research at Gobabeb is to improve the understanding of arid land ecosystems, particularly their variability, with the focus on supporting well-trained specialists and decision-makers in southern Africa and the world. Gobabeb has been the locus of much of the basic research on Namib desert organisms and, more broadly, into the ecology of southern African deserts and arid land. Every year over 100 scientists visit Gobabeb to undertake research and in the past 50 years, over 1,900 publications have been produced at Gobabeb. As a result of such research, the worldwide knowledge about animals and plants coping with the extreme conditions of the desert has vastly improved.
The fields of research at Gobabeb include:
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