Israel’s Eastern border: Ask not ‘Where is the Green Line?’ Ask ‘What is the Green Line?’

The Green Line constituted the armistice line between Israel and Jordan during the period 1949-1967. This paper discusses the familiarity of Israeli students with the nature and geographical location of the Green Line by restructuring and analyzing their mental maps. The findings of this study show that students who are men, long-term residents, identify themselves on the left end of the political spectrum, and professional geographers, show better knowledge concerning the issue of borders. However, most students revealed a certain vagueness and even ignorance concerning both spatial perception of the Green Line and its essence. The reasons for the revealed phenomenon are also discussed in this paper, as well as the behavioral implications of the familiarity with the Green Line, both in spatial and political contexts.     

Conspicuous redemption? Reflections on the promises and perils of the ‘Celebritization’ of climate change

With rising public awareness of climate change, celebrities have become an increasingly important community of non nation-state ‘actors’ influencing discourse and action, thereby comprising an emergent climate science-policy-celebrity complex. Some feel that these amplified and prominent voices contribute to greater public understanding of climate change science, as well as potentially catalyze climate policy cooperation. However, critics posit that increased involvement from the entertainment industry has not served to influence substantive long-term advancements in these arenas; rather, it has instead reduced the politics of climate change to the domain of fashion and fad, devoid of political and public saliency. Through tracking media coverage in Australia, Canada, the United States, and United Kingdom, we map out the terrain of a ‘Politicized Celebrity System’ in attempts to cut through dualistic characterizations of celebrity involvement in politics. We develop a classification system of the various types of climate change celebrity activities, and situate movements in contemporary consumer- and spectacle-driven carbon-based society. Through these analyses, we place dynamic and contested interactions in a spatially and temporally-sensitive ‘Cultural Circuits of Climate Change Celebrities’ model. In so doing, first we explore how these newly ‘authorized’ speakers and ‘experts’ might open up spaces in the public sphere and the science/policy nexus through ‘celebritization’ effects. Second, we examine how the celebrity as the ‘heroic individual’ seeking ‘conspicuous redemption’ may focus climate change actions through individualist frames. Overall, this paper explores potential promises, pitfalls and contradictions of this increasingly entrenched set of ‘agents’ in the cultural politics of climate change. Thus, as a form of climate change action, we consider whether it is more effective to ‘plant’ celebrities instead of trees.     

Erosion rates evaluated by the <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs technique in the high altitude area of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau of China

Studying spatial and temporal variation of soil loss is of great importance because of global environmental concerns. Understanding the spatial distribution of soil erosion and deposition in the high-cold steppe is important for designing soil and water conservation measures. Measured ¹³⁷Cs losses (Bq m⁻²) from long-term high altitude (4,000 m above sea level) watershed plots on the Qinghai–Tibet plateau and derived soil erosion estimates (Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) were significantly correlated to directly measured soil losses from the same plots, over the same period (1963–2005). The local reference inventory was estimated to be 2,468 Bq m⁻². The result of analyzing ¹³⁷Cs distribution and its intensity in the soil profiles in this area shows similarities to ¹³⁷Cs distribution in other areas. ¹³⁷Cs is basically distributed in the topsoil layer of 0–0.3 m. Soil erosions vary greatly in the entire sampled area, ranging from 5.5 to 23 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, with an average of 16.5 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ which is a moderate rate of erosion.     

Phase equilibria in the MgO–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> system

The results of study of phase equilibria in the MgO–SiO₂–ZrO₂ system at 1450–1550°C are reported. The studied system contains two eutectic points and six fields: (I) MgSiO₃ + SiO₂; (II) MgSiO₃ + ZrO₂; (III) ZrSiO₄ + SiO₂; (IV) MgSiO₃ + Mg₂SiO₄; (V) ZrO₂ + MgO; (VI) ZrSiO₄ + ZrO₂. The presence of fields (II) and (III) on the diagram shows that zircon in equilibrium with olivine and pyroxene crystallizes at very low concentrations of ZrO₂ in the system. This provides a solution for one of the most important problems in zirconology of dunites: the probability of the formation and preservation of zircon in the course of the formation and evolution of dunite.     

Dynamicity of the Himalayan landslide — A tectono-geotechnical appraisal of the 13<Superscript>th</Superscript> mile landslide,Sikkim

Understanding the causes of slope development with movement initiation of land sliding requires knowledge on dynamicity, displacement, strain concentration and factor of safety. The 13^th mile landslide on Gangtok-Nathula road of the Sikkim Himalaya has seriously affected the Indo-China trade route. To quantify the spatial movement pattern, strain analysis and identification of zones of safety were attempted which indicates that differential movement activity of the landslide zone is co-relatable with differential strain pattern with an overall imprint of the Himalaya collision tectonics.     

Metamorphic <Emphasis Type="Italic">P</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis> paths of the Zanhuang amphibolites and metapelites: constraints on the tectonic evolution of the Paleoproterozoic Trans-North China Orogen

Garnet-bearing metapelites and amphibolites are exposed in the south and middle parts of the Zanhuang complex, which is located in the central segment of the nearly NS-striking Trans-North China Orogen. These rocks preserve three metamorphic mineral assemblages forming at the prograde, peak and post-peak decompression stages. The prograde metamorphic stage (M₁) is represented by mineral inclusions within garnet porphyroblasts, the peak metamorphic stage (M₂) is represented by garnet rims and matrix minerals, whereas the retrograde stage (M₃) is represented by amphibole + plagioclase symplectite rimming garnet porphyroblasts in the amphibolites and biotite + plagioclase symplectite rimming garnet porphyroblasts in the metapelites. All garnet porphyroblasts in the metapelites preserve prograde chemical zoning except for the ubiquitous, quite narrow zones from the underwent post-peak decompression. It has been determined through thermobarometric computation that the metamorphic conditions are 650–710°C at 8.2−9.2 kbar for the M₁ (inclusion) assemblages, >810°C at >12.5 kbar for the metamorphic peak M₂ (matrix) assemblages, and 660–680°C at 4.4–4.5 kbar for the retrograde M₃ (symplectite) assemblages. These rocks are thus determined to have undergone metamorphism with clockwise P–T paths involving nearly isothermal decompression (ITD) segments, which is inferred to be related to the amalgamation of the Eastern and Western Blocks to form the coherent basement of the North China Craton along the Trans-North China Orogen in the late Paleoproterozoic (1.88–1.85 Ga).     

Study on the CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emissions embodied in the trade of China’s steel industry: based on the input–output model

The impact of trade on the environment and the climate has become a focus of attention. Tending to develop industries with higher added values, developed countries rely on importing high energy consumption goods from developing countries, and however, some CO₂ emissions are embodied in the process of import. Currently, the accounting method of the territorial responsibility used to get the international data of greenhouse gas inventories ignores the difference between domestic consumption and export demands. Thus, developing countries bear the responsibility of pollution emissions from the export. The steel industry is an important basic industry of China’s national economy as well as a vital part in the industrial system. With the expansion of trade scale, the impact of the export and import of China’s steel on CO₂ emissions is growing. This paper studied the embodied CO₂ emissions in the trade of China’s steel from 2005 to 2014, using the input–output model and the trade data of the China’s steel imports and exports. The results indicate that (1) the complete CO₂ emissions of China’s steel industry are high. (2) The increase in the export scale makes the embodied CO₂ emissions in the trade of China’s steel export increase, and (3) China is a net exporter of CO₂ emissions in the steel trade. Especially after 2007, the value of China’s steel exports has been larger than that of China’s steel imports, so China had borne much CO₂ emissions responsibility in the trade of China’s steel. Therefore, this paper puts forward that, in the future, the export structure of goods should be optimized into the high-tech products with the high added value, low energy consumption and low carbon emissions, and meanwhile, service industry is promoted to improve technical support to reduce CO₂ emissions in the steel industry.     

<Superscript>40</Superscript>Ar/<Superscript>39</Superscript>Ar age of gold mineralization of the Malomyr deposit (eastern part of the Mongolian–Okhotsk foldbelt)

Reliable age estimation was obtained originally in this study for gold mineralization of the Malomyr deposit (the eastern part of the Mongolian–Okhotsk foldbelt), which is one of the most well-known deposits in the Russian Far East. The data obtained show that the age of hydrothermal process that resulted in the formation of the Malomyr deposit may be estimated as ～133–132 Ma. Data on magmatism of the same age within the considered region are absent. In the opinion of the authors, mobilization, redistribution of the ore material, and the formation of the Malomyr deposit were mostly controlled by dislocation processes accompanied by hydrothermal activity, which is supported by the results of structural studies.     

Isotopic Composition (δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C, δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O) and the Origin of Carbonates from Manganese Deposits of the Southern Urals

Isotopic compositions of carbon (δ¹³C from −51.4 to −10.8 PDB) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O from 14.4 to 21.4 SMOW) were studied in rhodochrosite and calcite from manganese ores in the South Faizuly and Kyzyltash deposits of the southern Urals. The geological, petrographic, and isotopic data indicate that the studied carbonates are diagenetic formations. It is suggested that the main ore element (Mn) was delivered to the marine basin with hydrothermal solutions percolating in the oceanic crust. Manganese precipitated on the oceanic bottom as oxides near solution discharge zones. Manganese carbonates formed in sediments as a result of the oxidation of organic matter by manganese oxides. High biological productivity of the environment was caused by proximity to the hydrothermal vent that provided favorable biogeochemical conditions for the development of biocoenosis. Anomalously low ¹³C values in the South Faizuly deposit testify to the large-scale oxidation of methane in the course of manganese carbonate formation.__________Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 4, 2005, pp. 416–429.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Kuleshov, Brusnitsyn.     

Solubility of niobium in the system CaCO<Subscript>3</Subscript>–CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript>–NaNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> at 0.1 GPa pressure: implications for the crystallization of pyrochlore from carbonatite magma

Experimental data are presented for the solubility of NaNbO₃ in the ternary system CaCO₃–CaF₂–NaNbO₃ (or calcite–fluorite–lueshite) over the temperature range 500–1,000°C at 0.1 GPa pressure. Liquidus to solidus phase relationships are given for the pseudo-binary join ([CaCO₃]₆₀[CaF₂]₄₀)_100-x–(NaNbO₃)_x (0<x<60 wt%). These data show that the maximum solubility of NaNbO₃ in these liquids is about 17 wt% (or 13.8 wt% Nb₂O₅) at approximately 930°C, and is represented by the appearance of pyrochlore as the primary liquidus phase. The sub-liquidus assemblages with decreasing temperature for NaNbO₃ contents of 20–50 wt% are: pyrochlore + liquid; pyrochlore + CaF₂ + liquid; pyrochlore + CaF₂ + CaCO₃ + liquid. The solidus assemblage is pyrochlore + CaF₂ + CaCO₃ at temperatures of approximately 700°C (20 wt% NaNbO₃) and 600°C (40 wt% NaNbO₃). NaNbO₃ is present only in sub-solidus assemblages. These data show that in this fluorine-bearing anhydrous system pyrochlore is the principal Nb-hosting supra-solidus phase, in contrast to fluorine-free hydrous melts from which perovskite-structured compounds crystallize. The crystallization of pyrochlore and/or perovskite-structured compounds from haplocarbonatite liquids is thus considered to be dependent upon the F/OH ratio of the melt.     

Behavior of isotope (<Superscript>18</Superscript>O/<Superscript>16</Superscript>O, <Superscript>234</Superscript>U/<Superscript>238</Superscript>U) systems during the formation of uranium deposits of the “sandstone” type

The uneven character of the distribution of ¹⁸O/¹⁶O and ²³⁴U/²³⁸U values was established in the vertical cross section of the productive sequence of the Dybryn uranium deposit (Vitim uranium-ore region, Buryatia). Both a deficiency and an excess of ²³⁴U in relation to the equilibrium ²³⁴U/²³⁸U ratio in the vertical sequence may provide evidence for the extremely low rate of the infiltration water flow. The behavior of oxygen isotope characteristics for different size fractions of terrigenous rocks provides evidence for active uranium redistribution and openness of the isotope system of this element during interaction of terrigenous–sedimentary rocks with infiltration waters.     

Numerical evidence of site effects contributing to triggering the Las Colinas landslide during the 2001 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>w</Subscript> = 7.7 El Salvador earthquake

The Las Colinas landslide, which was triggered by the 13 January 2001, M_w?=?7.7 El Salvador earthquake, was highly destructive. The local site is composed of pyroclastic flows, brown cinders, soft pyroclastic fall deposits and a thin palaeosol and is characterised by steep slopes. The extremely high ground motions recorded near the landslide location are assumed to be both produced by site effects and responsible for the landslide. To characterise the ground motion amplifications due to site effects in terms of the variation in geometrical and geological settings, parametric studies were conducted with a linear elastic slope model, which was vertically subjected to the scattering SV wave of the Gabor wavelet. The results show that a maximum amplification is obtained when the model slope angle is approximately 30° (similar to the actual slope angle), and the maximum amplification is located approximately 20 m behind the crest, where the actual movement was initiated. Additionally, a slope with a height of approximately 160 m enhances ground motion amplification. The subsurface geology is found to induce a greater effect on amplification than that of the slope topography. In particular, a soft pyroclastic fall deposit is observed to contribute most of the ground motion amplification. According to the numerical results, it can be concluded that the local site conditions induced extremely high ground motions that then contributed to the slope movement. Although the thin, buried layer of palaeosol did not cause any significant amplification, its weak cohesion enhanced movement.     

Thermophysical properties of the α–β–γ polymorphs of Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>4</Subscript>: a computational study

Thermophysical properties of the various polymorphs (i.e. α-, β- and γ) of Mg₂SiO₄ were computed with the CRYSTAL06 code within the framework of CO-LCAO-GTF approach by using the hybrid B3LYP density functional method. Potential wells were calculated through a symmetry preserving, variable cell-shape structure relaxation procedure. Vibrational frequencies were computed at the long-wavelength limit corresponding to the center of the Brillouin zone (k → 0). Thermodynamic properties were estimated through a semiclassical approach that combines B3LYP vibrational frequencies for optic modes and the Kieffer’s model for the dispersion relation of acoustic modes. All computed values except volume (i.e. electronic energy, zero point energy, optical vibrational modes, thermal corrections to internal energy, standard state enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of reaction, bulk modulus and its P and T derivatives, entropy, C _V, C _P) are consistent with available experimental data and/or reasonable estimates. Volumes are slightly overestimated relative to those determined directly by X-ray diffraction. A set of optimized volumetric properties that are consistent with the other semiclassical properties of the phases α, β and γ have been derived by optimization procedure such that the calculated boundaries for the α/β and β/γ equilibria have the best overall agreement with the experimental data for these transitions. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Geochemistry of isotopes (δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C and δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O) and depositional environment of the upper Kazanian carbonate sediments in the Volga-Vyatka interfluve

This work reports the results of lithological and isotopic study of carbonate rocks from the Pechishchi stratotype section (Kazan) and three adjacent sections of Kazanian rocks of the Volga-Vyatka region at the eastern Russian Platform. These sections were recovered by the Kremeshki, Popovtsevo, and Chimbulat quarries (near the town of Sovetsk, southeastern Kirov district). Lithological features and wide variations of δ¹³C (from −6.0 to 6.8‰) and δ¹⁸ O (from 22.9 to 33.4 ‰) indicate that the rocks were formed in a shallow-marine basin with rapidly varying conditions of sedimentation which characterize different facies (and/or paleoecological) zones: lagoonal, supralittoral, littoral, shoal. They also suggest processes of postsedimentary alteration (mainly, under supergene conditions). Numerous short-term hiatuses are also recorded.     

Keeping the stress off the sheep? Agricultural intensification, neoliberalism, and ‘good’ farming in New Zealand

Under neoliberal schemes like audit systems, consumer demands born of concerns about food safety, the environment and animal welfare are theoretically poised to influence agricultural production systems (Campbell and Le Heron, 2007). Whether such influences might reverse or redirect the trend toward environmentally-damaging rampant productivism of the 20th century hinges in part on the subjective positions of farmers and the ways in which they inform how farmers respond to policy and market signals.In this paper we argue the need for a genuine engagement with both the complexities of farmer subjectivity and the interactions amongst farmer subjectivity and agro-ecologies, and animal bodies in particular. This paper presents a case study of sheep farmers on the South Island that reveals contestation and transitions in traditional markers of “good farming”, particularly animal health. We observe how such transitions arise from reconfigurations of the relationships between agro-ecological, political and social histories. In this paper’s formulation, neither state subsidies nor neoliberalism in agriculture is primary cause or ultimate effect of the transformation of agricultural practice. Rather, changes in the political economy expose contradictions in farmer subjectivities, the resolution of which may block or reinforce trends suggested by the political economy. We suggest that contested ideas about animal health within the social field of pastoral farming in New Zealand makes it possible that New Zealand’s sheep growers may take the high road of best environmental practice via highly audited environmental standards of production demanded by elite consumer markets, or that they may remain in the intensifying trajectory of continuing to drive the sheep’s body to its maximum possible intensity of production. The mixed legacy of neoliberal reform is that it has simultaneously enabled both of these contradictory trajectories in New Zealand pastoralism.     

The influence of the Jahn–Teller effect at Fe<Superscript>2+</Superscript> on the structure of chromite at high pressure

The crystal structure of chromite FeCr₂O₄ was investigated to 13.7 GPa and ambient temperature with single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The unit-cell parameter decreases continuously from 8.3832 (5) to 8.2398 (11) Å up to 11.8 GPa. A fit to the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state (EoS) based on the P–V data gives: K ₀ = 209 (13) GPa, K′ = 4.0 (fixed), and V ₀ = 588 (1) ų. The FeO₄ tetrahedra and CrO₆ octahedra are compressed isotropically with pressure with their Fe–O and Cr–O bond distances decreasing from 1.996 (6) to 1.949 (7) Å and from 1.997 (3) to 1.969 (7) Å, respectively. The tetrahedral site occupied by the Fe²⁺ cation is more compressible than the octahedral site occupied by the Cr³⁺ cation. The resulting EoS parameters for the tetrahedral and the octahedral sites are K ₀ = 147 (9) GPa, K′ = 4.0 (fixed), V ₀ = 4.07 (1) ų and K ₀ = 275 (24) GPa, K′ = 4.0 (fixed), V ₀ = 10.42 (2) ų, respectively. A discontinuous volume change is observed between 11.8 and 12.6 GPa. This change indicates a phase transition from a cubic (space group Fd-[`3]{\overline{3}} m) to a tetragonal structure (space group I4₁ /amd). At the phase transition boundary, the two Cr–O bonds parallel to the c-axis shorten from 1.969 (7) to 1.922 (17) Å and the other four Cr–O bonds parallel to the ab plane elongate from 1.969 (7) to 1.987 (9) Å. This anisotropic deformation of the octahedra leads to tetragonal compression of the unit cell along the c-axis. The angular distortion in the octahedron decreases continuously up to 13.7 GPa, whereas the distortion in the tetrahedron rises dramatically after the phase transition. At the pressure of the phase transition, the tetrahedral bond angles along the c-axis direction of the unit cell begin decreasing from 109.5° to 106.6 (7)°, which generates a “stretched” tetrahedral geometry. It is proposed that the Jahn–Teller effect at the tetrahedrally coordinated Fe²⁺ cation becomes active with compression and gives rise to the tetrahedral angular distortion, which in turn induces the cubic-to-tetragonal transition. A qualitative molecular orbital model is proposed to explain the origin and nature of the Jahn–Teller effect observed in this structure and its role in the pressure-induced phase transition.     

Earthquakes and strength in the laminated lower crust —Can they be explained by the “corset model”?

We present a model that may explain deep crustal earthquakes observed, in particular, in several areas of highly reflective (laminated) lower continental crust. We combine observations from earthquake seismology, crustal reflection seismics and tectonic-rheological concepts. The study concentrates on parts of the northern Alpine foreland where many earthquakes occur inside the laminated lower crust, which is generally considered to be warm and weak. Thin mafic/ultramafic, sill-like intrusions and invisible dykes are assumed to form a corset-like network with high strength. This model can explain the observed strong and multiple reflections and the occurrence of rupture inside a stable structure within a weak lower crust. Tectonic stress transfer (from the Alpine collision zone or/and the Upper Rhine Graben) and its release may follow classical friction concepts. In addition, the heterogeneity of the laminated lower crust may also favour various viscous instabilities.     

Structural changes and valence states in the MgCr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>–FeCr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> solid solution series

The influence on the structure of Fe²⁺ Mg substitution was studied in synthetic single crystals belonging to the MgCr₂O₄–FeCr₂O₄ series produced by flux growth at 900–1200 °C in controlled atmosphere. Samples were analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe analyses, optical absorption-, infrared- and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Mössbauer data show that iron occurs almost exclusively as ^IVFe²⁺. Only minor Fe³⁺ (<0.005 apfu) was observed in samples with very low total Fe. Optical absorption spectra show that chromium with few exceptions is present as a trivalent cation at the octahedral site. Additional absorption bands attributable to Cr²⁺ and Cr³⁺ at the tetrahedral site are evident in spectra of end-member magnesiochromite and solid-solution crystals with low ferrous contents. Structural parameters a₀, u and T–O increase with chromite content, while the M–O bond distance remains nearly constant, with an average value equal to 1.995(1) Å corresponding to the Cr³⁺ octahedral bond distance. The ideal trend between cell parameter, T–O bond length and Fe²⁺ content (apfu) is described by the following linear relations: a₀=8.3325(5) + 0.0443(8)Fe²⁺ (Å) and T–O=1.9645(6) + 0.033(1)Fe²⁺ (Å) Consequently, Fe²⁺ and Mg tetrahedral bond lengths are equal to 1.998(1) Å and 1.965(1) Å, respectively.