River Plate 1993

[Esam Rosado]

ClubAtltico River Plate, known also as River Plate or simply River, is an Argentine sports club best known for its football team, established in 1901. The club is based in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Nez, and play at the Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti. River is the ninth football club in the All-Time Club World Ranking and the first in America, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) The club is currently ranked as the 11th best in the world and has been ranked as the best football club in the world six times in the monthly IFHS club world ranking, the last time being in October 1993.

"River Plate" is sometimes used as the English name for the Ro de la Plata, the river on which Buenos Aires sits. It is believed that, in the club's early days, one of the founders (Martnez) observed sailors playing impromptu football games in the port of Buenos Aires next to crates marked "The River Plate", hence the club name.

River has always been one of the most important teams of South America. They have combined to win 38 official tournaments which includes 33 Argentine League titles, 2 Copa Libertadores, a Supercopa in 1997 and an Intercontinental title in 1986. In 1986 River Plate fans had the distinction of watching River win the league title, Copa Libertadores, Interamerican Cup, Intercontinental Cup, as well as Argentina's triumph in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

There is ample evidence of climate variability at a wide range of time scalesall over Latin America, from intraseasonal to long term. In many subregionsof Latin America, this variability in climate normally is associated with phenomenathat already produce impacts with important socioeconomic and environmentalconsequences that could be exacerbated by global warming and associated climatechange. Signals that can be related to variability and/or change in climateconditions for Latin America have been identified in some of the analyses performedby researchers in the region, particularly for streamflow, precipitation, temperature,glacier oscillations, general circulation, and extreme events. Estimations ofpotential future climate conditions are based on climate change scenarios studiesdeveloped for some subregions of Latin America.

Glaciers in Latin America have receded dramatically in the past decades, andmany of them have disappeared completely (Williams and Ferrigno, 1998). In 18glaciers in the Peruvian Andes, mass balances since 1968 and satellite imagesshow a reduction of more than 20% of the glacial surface, corresponding to 11,300million m3 of ice (Morales-Arnao, 1969a,b; INAGGA-CONAM, 1999). Significantreductions also have occurred in southern Chile and Argentina (e.g., glacierSarmiento) (Basso, 1997). Deglaciation may have contributed to observed negativetrends in streamflows in that region (Morales-Arnao, 1999). For rivers in aridlands in northwest Peru and northeast and southeastern Brazil, significant negativetrends also have been detected, but these variations seem to be related to humanwater management for irrigation purposes and increases in agricultural areas,rather than climate-induced changes (INRENA, 1994; Marengo, 1995; Marengo etal., 1998).

Between 20S and 40S, precipitation around the Andes occurs mainlyduring the winter. Snow accumulates in the high parts of the cordillera andmelts during the summer, becoming the main source of water for rivers in theregion. Agricultural activities in central Chile and the Argentinean centralwestern plains are maintained through irrigation. Therefore, it may be saidwith high confidence that fluctuations in winter precipitation have a strongsocioeconomic impact in the region.

In northwestern Mexico, there is a tendency for more winter precipitation,which has resulted in positive trends in river water levels. However, alongwith more intense winter precipitation, interannual climate variability hasincreased (Magaa and Conde, 2000). On the other hand, some parts ofsouthern Mexico and Central America exhibit positive or negative rainfall trends,depending on the orientation of the catchment (Aparicio, 1993; IPCC, 1996; Juregui,1997; TAR WGI Chapter 3).

For Nicaragua, rainfall analysis for 1961-1995 showed negative trendsin the north and northwest parts of the country. A systematic increment wasdetected on the Caribbean coast, and almost no variation was found along thecentral and the Pacific coastal regions (MARENA, 2000).

In Colombia, weak rainfall trends have been observed for the period 1955-1995,with no preferred sign at a regional level. For central Colombia, rainy seasonshave been occurring earlier in recent years than 25 years ago (Mesa et al.,1997). Trends in Colombian river streamflow are mixed, but the main river catchmentssuch as the Cauca and Magdalena Rivers exhibit decreasing trends. Deforestationcould account for such decreasing trends in river discharges (Poveda and Mesa,1997).

For the Amazon region, Marengo et al. (2000) have identified multidecadalvariations in rainfall in northern and southern portions of the basin, withopposite tendencies. Perhaps the most important finding is the presence of periodswith relatively wetter or drier conditions that are more relevant than any unidirectionaltrends themselves. For instance, the period 1950-1976 was regionally wetin northern Amazonia, but since 1977 the region has been drier. This drynessdoes not seem to be related to regional deforestation (see Marengo et al.,1998; Marengo and Nobre, 2000; TAR WGI Chapter3). Similarly, streamflow series in Amazonian rivers also exhibit multidecadalvariations; they do not display significant unidirectional trends (Richey etal., 1989; Marengo, 1995).

In northeast Brazil, multidecadal variations in atmospheric circulation overthe tropical Atlantic have been linked to similar time-scale variations in rainfallover the region (Hastenrath and Greischar, 1993; Nobre and Shukla, 1996; Wagner,1996). On longer time scales, rainfall in northern northeast Brazil exhibitsweak positive trends that are consistent with changes in decadal changes incirculation described in Wagner (1996).

In subtropical Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, precipitation exhibits a long-termchange, with a sharp increase in the period 1956-1990 after a dry periodalong 1921-1955 (Castaeda and Barros, 1996). In the Pampa region,there is a positive trend in precipitation during the period 1890-1984.This increase in annual rainfalls was accompanied by a relative increase inprecipitation during the spring and summer (Penalba and Vargas, 1996; Hoffmanet al., 1997; Krepper and Sequeira, 1998). At high elevations in northwestArgentina, paleoclimatic records suggest an increase in precipitation in thepast 200 years (Villalba et al., 1997). In the same region, as well asin Bolivia and southeast Peru, records show that the 17th-century climate waswetter and less variable (fewer floods and droughts ), whereas the 18th centurywas highly unstable, with a large amplitude in the annual cycle and recurrentwet and dry periods (Prieto and Herrera, 1992).

Variations in precipitation in Latin America have a strong effect on runoffand streamflow, which also are affected by melting of glaciers and snow. Basedon available information, there is evidence that these variations and theirsign depend on the geographical subregion under consideration.

3a8082e126