The Spatial Dialectics of Modernity and Retail Affect at Abasto Shopping,Buenos Aires,Argentina

Abstract

The paper is about the political life of a building: the Abasto. Located in what was called the “most porteño” neighborhood in the first part of the 20th century (“porteño” is someone from central Buenos Aires) when it functioned as the city's main food market, the Abasto became a massive shopping mall in 1998 amid rapid neoliberal restructuring. This paper charts the political life of this building in two steps. First, by drawing on theories of socio-spatial dialectics, this paper charts the history of the Abasto as an urban object in a wider political landscape of porteño modernity. Second, by incorporating recent theories of affect and presenting findings from field work carried out at the mall in 2010 and 2011, this paper develops a framework for understanding the politics of consumption in a “post-neoliberal” urban landscape.     

Solute and geothermal flux monitoring using electrical conductivity in the Madison,Firehole, and Gibbon Rivers,Yellowstone National Park

The thermal output from the Yellowstone magma chamber can be estimated from the Cl flux in the major rivers in Yellowstone National Park; and by utilizing continuous discharge and electrical conductivity measurements the Cl flux can be calculated. The relationship between electrical conductivity and concentrations of Cl and other geothermal solutes (Na, SO₄, F, HCO₃, SiO₂, K, Li, B, and As) was quantified at monitoring sites along the Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole Rivers, which receive discharge from some of the largest and most active geothermal areas in Yellowstone. Except for some trace elements, most solutes behave conservatively and the ratios between geothermal solute concentrations are constant in the Madison, Gibbon, and Firehole Rivers. Hence, dissolved concentrations of Cl, Na, SO₄, F, HCO₃, SiO₂, K, Li, Ca, B and As correlate well with conductivity (R² > 0.9 for most solutes) and most exhibit linear trends. The 2011 flux for Cl, SO₄, F and HCO₃ determined using automated conductivity sensors and discharge data from nearby USGS gaging stations is in good agreement with those of previous years (1983–1994 and 1997–2008) at each of the monitoring sites. Continuous conductivity monitoring provides a cost- and labor-effective alternative to existing protocols whereby flux is estimated through manual collection of numerous water samples and subsequent chemical analysis. Electrical conductivity data also yield insights into a variety of topics of research interest at Yellowstone and elsewhere: (1) Geyser eruptions are easily identified and the solute flux quantified with conductivity data. (2) Short-term heavy rain events can produce conductivity anomalies due to dissolution of efflorescent salts that are temporarily trapped in and around geyser basins during low-flow periods. During a major rain event in October 2010, 180,000 kg of additional solute was measured in the Madison River. (3) The output of thermal water from the Gibbon River appears to have increased by about 0.2%/a in recent years, while the output of thermal water for the Firehole River shows a decrease of about 10% from 1983 to 2011. Confirmation of these trends will require continuing Cl flux monitoring over the coming decades.     

Degassing of Cl, F, Li, and Be during extrusion and crystallization of the rhyolite dome at Volcán Chaitén, Chile during 2008 and 2009

We investigated the distribution of Cl, F, Li, and Be in pumices, obsidians, and crystallized dome rocks at Chaitén volcano in 2008?C2009 in order to explore the behavior of these elements during explosive and effusive volcanic activity. Electron and ion microprobe analyses of matrix and inclusion glasses from pumice, obsidian, and microlite-rich dome rock indicate that Cl and other elements were lost primarily during crystallization of the rhyolitic dome after it had approached the surface. Glass in pumice and microlite-free obsidian has 888?±?121?ppm Cl, whereas residual glass in evolved microlite-rich dome rock generally retains less Cl (as low as <100?ppm). Estimated Cl losses were likely >0.7?Mt Cl, with a potential maximum of 1.8?Mt for the entire 0.8-km³ dome. Elemental variations reflect an integrated bulk distribution ratio for Cl?>?1.7 (1.7 times more Cl was degassed or incorporated into crystals than remained in the melt). Because Cl is lost dominantly as the very last H₂O is degassed, and Cl is minimally (if at all) partitioned into microlites, the integrated vapor/melt distribution ratio for Cl exceeds 200 (200 times more Cl in the evolved vapor than in the melt). Cl is likely lost as HCl, which is readily partitioned into magmatic vapor at low pressure. Cl loss is accelerated by the change in the composition of the residual melt due to microlite growth. Cl loss also may be affected by open-system gas fluxing. Integrated vapor-melt distribution ratios for Li, F, and Be all exceed 1,000. On degassing, an unknown fraction of these volatiles could be immediately dissolved in rainwater.     

Numerical modelling of coastal inundation from Cascadia Subduction Zone tsunamis and implications for coastal communities on western Vancouver Island,Canada

Natural Hazards - In the present study, numerical simulations were conducted to estimate the spatio-temporal characteristics of tsunami inundation for municipalities on Vancouver Island, Canada, as...     

Integrated climate model-oxygen isotope evidence for a North American monsoon during the Late Cretaceous

During the Late Cretaceous, western North America was characterized by a close geographic association between the Sevier highlands and the Western Interior Seaway. In this paper, an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) is used to simulate the impact of this geographic association on surface pressure, wind direction, and precipitation, and it is predicted that seasonal changes in these variables resulted in a strong monsoon along the eastern flank of the Sevier Highlands. Confirmation that these model simulations are accurate is provided by isotopic data from foreland basin sediments. In particular oxygen isotope records from different environments (large rivers, small streams and ponds) and proxies (unionid bivalve shells and paleosol carbonates) indicate that foreland basin streams were recharged by local precipitation with high oxygen isotope ratios while large trunk rivers were recharged by high-elevation precipitation. This hydrologic pattern is observed from Alberta to Utah and is consistent with east to west monsoonal air mass movements and associated seasonal rainfall. Recognition of a highland-driven monsoon has implication in regard to studies of fossil taphonomy, of water vapor transport, and of links between climate and mountain uplift and exhumation in this region.     

The Role of Groundwater for Lake‐Water Quality and Quantification of N Seepage

The heterogeneous nature of both groundwater discharge to a lake (inflow) and nitrate concentrations in groundwater can lead to significant errors in calculations of nutrient loading. Therefore, an integrated approach, combining groundwater flow and transport modelling with observed nitrate and ammonium groundwater concentrations, was used to estimate nitrate loading from a catchment via groundwater to an oligotrophic flow‐through lake (Lake Hampen, Denmark). The transport model was calibrated against three vertical nitrate profiles from multi‐level wells and 17 shallow wells bordering a crop field near the lake. Nitrate concentrations in groundwater discharging to the lake from the crop field were on average 70 times higher than in groundwater from forested areas. The crop field was responsible for 96% of the total nitrate loading (16.2 t NO₃/year) to the lake even though the field only covered 4.5% of the catchment area. Consequently, a small change in land use in the catchment will have a large effect on the lake nutrient balance and possible lake restoration. The study is the first known attempt to estimate the decrease of nitrate loading via groundwater to a seepage lake when an identified catchment source (a crop field) is removed.     

Quantitative phosphorus measurement: A field test procedure for archaeological site analysis at Piedras Negras,Guatemala

Currently there is a wide interest in the use of chemical analyses for the evaluation of anthropogenically altered soils and other archaeological deposits. Because soil phosphorus levels increase in areas of human habitation, and leave a permanent signature that can only be removed by erosion of the soil itself, phosphorus mapping has become a popular field procedure to indicate areas of habitation where overt evidence of ancient occupance is absent. We have developed a methodology to obtain accurate acid‐extractable phosphorus concentrations (mg/kg) in calcareous soils under the primitive field conditions of Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Predicated on Mehlich‐II acid extractant and colorimetric methods, this procedure processed 36 samples per hour at very low cost per sample. Based on eight replicate measurements of a group of samples, the coefficient of variation of the procedure was 8.3%. Subsequent analysis of 35 soil samples in a controlled laboratory revealed a moderate correlation of 0.44 between the Mehlich‐extractable phosphorus and total phosphorus. The correlation was 0.91 between the Mehlich procedure and Olsen bicarbonate extractable phosphorus, indicating that Mehlich‐based results are similar to those obtainable using a traditional extractable phosphorus method on soils of neutral to alkaline pH. There was a moderate correlation between Mehlich P and ring‐test rating (r = 0.42). The wider dynamic range of the Mehlich extraction, coupled with the use of a battery‐operated colorimeter, facilitated the finding of a refuse midden within an area of phosphate enriched soils. Further tests indicated that phosphorus concentrations measured in the field deviated by only 7% from those made under controlled laboratory conditions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Pervasive shock melting at >65 GPa in a Martian basalt,the shergottite Northwest Africa 14672

Shergottites have provided abundant information on the volcanic and impact history of Mars. Northwest Africa (NWA) 14672 contributes to both of these aspects. It is a vesicular ophitic depleted olivine–phyric shergottite, with average plagioclase An₆₁Ab₃₉Or_0.2. It is highly ferroan, with pigeonite compositions En_49-25Fs_41-61Wo_10-14 like those of basaltic shergottites, for example, NWA 12335. Olivine (Fo_53-15) has discrete ferroan overgrowths, more ferroan when in contact with plagioclase than when enclosed by pyroxene. The pyroxene (a continuum of augite, subcalcic augite, and pigeonite) is patchy, with ragged “cores” enveloped or invaded by ferroan pyroxene. Magma mixing may be responsible for capture of olivine and formation of pyroxene mantles. The plagioclase is maskelynite-like in appearance, but the original laths were (congruently) melted and the melt partly crystallized as fine dendrites. Most of the 14% vesicles occur within plagioclase. Olivine, pyroxene, and ilmenite occur in part as fine aggregates crystallized after congruent melting with limited subsequent liquid mixing. There are two fine-grained melt components, barred plagioclase with interstitial Fe-bearing phases, and glass with olivine dendrites, derived by melting of mainly plagioclase and mainly pyroxene, respectively. Rare silica particles contain coesite and/or quartz, and silica glass. The rock has experienced >50% melting, compatible with peak pressure >~65 GPa. It is the most highly shocked shergottite so far, at shock stage S6/7. It may belong to the group of depleted shergottites ejected at ~1 Myr from Tooting Crater.     

Shear stress results from a mixed spectral finite-difference model: Application to the Askervein Hill project data

Beljaars et al. (1987) developed a model for neutrally stratified boundary-layer flow over roughness changes and topography. It has been discovered that a constant parameter, , was missing in the algebraic-stress closure equations of their paper. This omission also occurred in the MSFD model code but only affects the Askervein Hill shear-stress results for the E-- turbulence closure in Beljaars et al. It also changes the stress results of Karpik (1988), but not his conclusions regarding the robustness of his improved numerical scheme. The present paper demonstrates the effect of the omission of the parameter, , and tests the sensitivity of the model to variations in its value. The new results are compared with the data and model results of Zeman and Jensen (1987).     

Hydrologic variability in black ash wetlands: Implications for vulnerability to emerald ash borer

Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) wetlands are widespread, forested landscape features in the western Great Lakes region. However, the future of these ecosystems is threatened due to impending spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), which results in tree mortality, decreased transpiration, and potential shifts to wetter, non-forested conditions. The vulnerability to such ecohydrologic shifts likely varies according to local hydrologic regimes controlled by landscape settings, but this site-dependent vulnerability and our ability to predict it is unknown. Here, we assessed vulnerability potential as a function of site hydrology in 15 undisturbed black ash wetlands from their three most common hydrogeomorphic settings in northern Minnesota: lowland, depression, and transition. Further, we used high-resolution (1-cm) surface elevation models to assess spatial variability of water levels at a subset of 10 sites. Although we observed similar ET and groundwater exchange rates among settings, lowland sites were generally drier because of elevated landscape position and greater water level drawdowns (via lower specific yield). We predict that such drier sites will exhibit greater water level increases following EAB-induced ash mortality, compared to wetter sites where open water evaporation and shallow-rooted understory transpiration will offset losses in tree transpiration. Moreover, compared to wetter sites, drier sites exhibited minimal microtopographic variation, limiting the number of elevated microsites for tree establishment and eventual canopy recovery after ash loss. These results suggest that site wetness is a simple and effective predictor of black ash wetland vulnerability to hydrologic regime change. To that end, we assessed the ability of common terrain metrics to predict site wetness, providing a potential tool to target vulnerable areas for active management efforts.