An Early Cretaceous extinct spreading center in the northern Natal valley

We have identified an extinct E–W spreading center in the northern Natal valley on the basis of magnetic anomalies which was active from chron M11 (133 Ma) to 125.3 Ma, just before chron M2 (124 Ma) in the Early Cretaceous. Seafloor spreading in the northern Natal valley accounts for approximately 170 km of north–south motion between the Mozambique Ridge and Africa. This extension resolves the predicted overlap of the continental (central and southern) Mozambique Ridge and Antarctica in the chron M2 to M11 reconstructions from Mesozoic finite rotation parameters for Africa and Antarctica. In addition, the magnetic data reveal that the Mozambique Ridge was an independent microplate from at least 133 to 125 Ma. The northern Natal valley extinct spreading center connects to the spreading center separating the Mozambique Basin and the Riiser-Larsen Sea to the east. It follows that the northern Mozambique Ridge was either formed after the emplacement of the surrounding oceanic crust or it is the product of a very robust spreading center. To the west the extinct spreading center connects to the spreading center separating the southern Natal valley and Georgia Basin via a transform fault. Prior to chron M11, there is still a problem with the overlap of Mozambique Ridge if it is assumed to be fixed with respect to either the African or Antarctic plates. Some of the overlap can be accounted for by Jurassic deformation of the Mozambique Ridge, Mozambique Basin, and Dronning Maud land. It appears though that the Mozambique Ridge was an independent microplate from the breakup of Gondwana, 160 Ma, until it became part of the African plate, 125 Ma.     

Far field effects of Alpine plate tectonism in the Iberian microplate recorded by fault-related denudation in the Spanish Central System

Apatite fission track analysis was performed on 56 samples from central Spain to unravel the far field effects of the Alpine plate tectonic history of Iberia. The modelled thermal histories reveal complex cooling in the Cenozoic, indicative of intermittent denudation. Accelerated cooling events occurred across the Spanish Central System (SCS) from the Middle Eocene to Recent. These accelerated cooling events resulted in up to 2.8±0.9 km of denudation in the western Sierra de Gredos and 3.6±1.0 km in the central and eastern Gredos (assuming a paleogeothermal gradient of 28±5 °C and a surface temperature of 10 °C). The greatest amount of denudation (5.0±1.6 km) occurred in the Sierra de Guadarrama. Accompanying rock uplift was 4.7±1.0 and 5.9±1.6 km in the eastern Gredos and Guadarrama, respectively. Most denudation in the Gredos occurred from the Middle Eocene to the Early Miocene and can be related to the N–S stress field, induced by the Pyrenean compression. In the Guadarrama, the greatest denudation was Pliocene to Recent of age and seems related to the ongoing NW–SE Betic compression. The fact that the formation of the E–W trending Gredos coincides with the N–S Pyrenean compression and the creation of the present day morphology of the NE–SW trending Guadarrama with the younger NW–SE Betic compression, indicates that they record the far field effects of Alpine plate tectonics on Iberia. The trend of pre-existing lineaments was of major importance in influencing the style and magnitude of these of far field effects.     

Premier pôle paléomagnétique,d'âge Moscovien contraint par un test du pli,obtenu dans le bassin d'Illizi (Craton saharien,Algérie)First palaeomagnetic pole,of Moscovian age constrained by a fold test,in the Illizi Basin (Saharan Craton,Algeria)

Palaeomagnetic study, carried out in the Moscovian (～305 Ma) formation in the Edjeleh anticline, shows the existence of three magnetisation components. Two of them are probably Cenozoic and Permian remagnetisations. The third component determined by both well defined ChRMs and remagnetisation circles analysis passes the fold test. Because the folding started before or during the Stephano-Autunian, this third component is the primary magnetisation. Its palaeomagnetic pole (28.3°S, 58.9°E), close to other poles from the Saharan platform obtained from neighbouring periods but without palaeomagnetic tests, confirms the age of these last data. To cite this article: B. Bayou et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 81–87.     

南北带北段磁性构造特征和地震活动的关系

利用航磁资料研究了南北带北段的磁属性构造，反演了该区居里等温面的埋藏深度，推断了不同深度断裂的分布情况，进南昌讨论了地震与深部背景的关系。     

辽南滨海黄土粒度环境信息高分辨率研究

对辽南滨海黄土粒度研究证明 ,滨海黄土是在第四纪冰期寒冷气候下的产物 ,但是 ,由于滨海黄土所处靠近沿海的地理位置使得这种黄土的形成机制具有独特性。冰期时渤海湾西岸海面下降出露的冲洪积物和海底砂是滨海黄土除西北内陆地区以外的另一重要物源 ,搬运以风砂跃移方式进行。滨海黄土的粒度中包涵了丰富的有关渤海湾海面变化的信息。辽南滨海黄土剖面中的粒度拟合值、 2 - 3Ф粒级百分含量反映了渤海的海退、海侵过程和末次冰期蒙古高压的强弱 ,这种变化与滨海黄土 3个孢粉组合带所反映的古气候环境相吻合 ,同邻近地区的海面升降变化和深海岩芯氧同位素阶段也存在良好的对应关系 ,滨海黄土粒度的拟合度是本区古环境变化的重要的替代指标。     

华南地区凉果加工业与凉果资源的匹配关系分析——以广东省新兴县为例

文章以广东省新兴县为例，从凉果资源分布与加工能力的匹配关系角度对华南地区凉果资源的分布，凉果加工业的分布与布局，凉果市场分布与竞争力，凉果加工业与资源的匹配关系等进行了分析，并针对华南地区凉果加工业面临的主要问题提供了一些建议。     

南水北调中线工程建设与河南水资源可持续利用

文章通过对河南省水资源开发利用现状，存在的主要问题，水资源供需平衡以及南水北调工程对河南省水资源利用的影响论述，提出了在拟定南水北调工程供水方案中，应通过强化节水，加强水资源保护，严格控制地下水开采，将水资源作为商品等措施，促进河南省水资源的可持续开发利用。     

The Mobile Street Food Service Practice in the Urban Economy of Kumba, Cameroon

The mobile food service practice is one of multiple survival strategies adopted by poor urban households in Cameroon to maintain and expand the base of subsistence incomes, especially in the current surge of economic crisis. Though a fast-growing informal sector enterprise, it is still at an artisanal stage in urban Cameroon, creating an urgent need for a supportive policy environment that could have measurable positive impacts on improving the productivity, welfare and income levels of the micro-entrepreneurs. This study looks at the mobile food service practice in Kumba, Cameroon, in terms of its basic characteristics, the locational factors influencing its socio-spatial distribution, the critical success factors (CSFs) determining customer choices, and its impacts on the local environmental resources and quality of urban life. The mobile food service practice creates employment, generates income, and acts as a food energy-support instrument to the urban poor and local economic activities operating in Kumba. The vendors, who are mostly women, can make incomes that are 405 per cent of the national minimum wage and, thus, contribute financially towards the education, health and survival of their families. The paper provides some recommendations on ways to improve the efficiency of this sector so as to achieve sustainable economic and social development and to enhance empowerment thereof.     

The geography of water conflict and cooperation: internal pressures and international manifestations

Studies on transboundary water conflict and cooperation generally consider interstate relations over shared water resources as distinct from intrastate relations. While connections have been made between international water relations and regional relationships in general, it is conceivable that international water conflict and cooperation may also be influenced by domestic water events and vice versa. This paper seeks to investigate the dynamics of water interactions across geographic scale and their relationship to broader international affairs. The research approach involves the creation of an analytical framework for assessing possible linkages between external and internal interactions over freshwater resources. The framework is applied to three case studies – the Middle East, South Asia and Southern Africa – utilizing 'event data'. To validate the findings from the quantitative analyses, the results are compared with conventional qualitative understandings of water and overall relations in the three regions. The comparison demonstrates not only the efficacy of the analytical framework in general, but also highlights, at least in terms of the specific case studies selected, the disparate water dynamics across geographic regions and the importance of considering water events, both national and international, within larger political and historical contexts.