High‐Precision,High‐Accuracy Oxygen Isotope Measurements of Zircon Reference Materials with the SHRIMP‐SI

Analytical protocols for SHRIMP‐SI oxygen isotope analysis (δ¹⁸O) of a suite of zircon reference materials (RMs) are presented. Data reduction involved a robust estimate of uncertainties associated with the individual spot as well as for groups where the spot data are combined. The repeatability of δ¹⁸O measurements is dependent on both the analytical conditions and the choice of the primary reference material. Under optimised conditions, repeatability was often better than 0.4‰ (2s) allowing sample uncertainties to be obtained to better than 0.2‰ (at 95% confidence limit). Single spot uncertainty combined the within‐spot precision with the scatter associated with repeated measurements of the primary zircon reference material during a measurement session. The uncertainty for individual spots measured under optimised conditions was between 0.3 and 0.4‰ (at 95% confidence). The analytical protocols described were used to assess a variety of zircon RMs that have been used for geochronology and for which laser fluorination oxygen isotope data are available (Temora 2, FC1, R33, QGNG and Ple?ovice), as well as zircons that have been used as RMs for trace element or other types of determination (Mud Tank, Monastery, 91500, AS57, AS3, KIM‐5, OG1, SL13, CZ3 and several other Sri Lankan zircons). Repeated analyses over nine sessions and seven different mounts show agreement within analytical uncertainty for Temora 2, FC1, R33, QGNG, Ple?ovice and 91500, when normalised to Mud Tank. For existing ion microprobe mounts with these materials, an appropriate δ¹⁸O can be determined. However, care should be taken when using zircons from the Duluth Complex (i.e., FC1, AS57 and AS3) as reference materials as our data indicated an excess scatter on δ¹⁸O values associated with low‐U zircon grains.     

American pragmatism: Towards a geographical introduction

The purposes of the paper are to provide a historical and thematic review of some of the variants of American philosophical pragmatism (old and new), and to point to its potential relevance for geography. The paper is divided into three sections. The first, discusses the origins of American pragmatism focussing on four figures: John Dewey, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William James, and Charles Sanders Peirce. Following the argument of Louis Menand (2001) in The Metaphysical Club, I will suggest that pragmatism took on its peculiar American character as a response to the deep fissures and wounds caused by that country’s Civil War. That war produced a loss of faith, undermining notions of universal progress and absolute truth. Pragmatism was the reaction. The second section brings pragmatism to the present, by focussing on three connected contemporary American pragmatists: Richard Rorty, Richard Bernstein, and Richard Shusterman. The hallmark of their work, and which justifies treating them as a group, is a willingness to stretch pragmatism: first, by making linkages with other anti-foundational, practice-based philosophical traditions, especially those within Continental European philosophy, and which had been shut out of Anglo-American philosophy after the Second World War by the rise of analytic philosophy; and second, by applying pragmatist ideas to issues like the body and popular culture to which it had never been applied. Finally, in the conclusion the paper reflects on the prospects of tethering pragmatism to the work of human geographers. Given the anti-architectonic impulses of pragmatism, such a project cannot simply be one of holus-bolus transferring pragmatism to geography. A different approach is needed, and which is schematically outlined and briefly illustrated using the idea of place.     

Integrating agriculture and energy to assess GHG emissions reduction: a methodological approach

Agriculture is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This significant share highlights the fundamental importance of the agricultural sector in the global GHG emissions reduction challenge. This article develops and tests a methodology for the integration of agricultural and energy systems modelling. The goal of the research is to extend an energy systems modelling approach to agriculture in order to provide richer insights into the dynamics and interactions between the two (e.g. in competition for land-use). We build Agri-TIMES, an agricultural systems module using the TIMES energy systems modelling framework, to model the effect of livestock emissions and explore emissions reduction options. The research focuses on Ireland, which is an interesting test case for two reasons: first, agriculture currently accounts for about 30% of Ireland's GHG emissions, significantly higher than other industrialized countries yet comparable with global levels (here including emissions associated with other land-use change and forestation); second, Ireland is both a complete and reasonably sized agricultural system to act as a test case for this new approach. This article describes the methodology used, the data requirements, and technical assumptions made to facilitate the modelling. It also presents results to illustrate the approach and provide associated initial insights.

Policy relevance

Most of the policy focus with regard to climate mitigation targets has been on reducing energy-related CO₂ emissions, which is understandable as they represent by far the largest source of emissions. Non-energy-related GHG emissions – largely from agriculture, industrial processes, and waste – have received significantly less attention in policy discourse. Going forward, however, if significant cuts are made in energy-related CO₂ emissions, the role of non-energy-related GHG emissions will grow in importance. It is therefore crucial that climate mitigation analyses and strategies are not limited to the energy system. This article shows the value of using integrated energy and agriculture techno-economic modelling techniques to draw evidence for new comprehensive climate policy strategies able to discern between the full range of technical solutions available. It enables the production of economy-wide least-cost climate mitigation pathways.     

Trouble in paradise: resilience and Vancouver’s second life in the “new economy”

Resilience is an increasingly important concept within urban studies, economic geography, and evolutionary economics for measuring the capacity of city-regions to respond to economic shocks. In this article, we provide a sympathetic critique of the resilience metaphor in urban studies, which we explicate through an analysis of the recent history of the Vancouver economy. On the surface, Vancouver seemingly showed resilience when it overcame the abrupt decline of its resource-based economy in the 1980s, and established an alternative flourishing “new economy” by the 1990s. But over the last five years, the key local “creative” industries such as video game development and film production have suffered, with a number of large firms leaving Vancouver, and industry employment declining sharply. Drawing on more than 40 interviews conducted over a five-year period with members of the local video game community, our paper documents the rise and more recent decline of Vancouver’s “new economy” sector. Our research raises questions about the value of the resilience metaphor in urban studies and highlights the difficulties facing city-regions reliant on highly mobile “new economy” industries.     

Double-diffusive convection with a nonlinear equation of state: Part II. Laboratory experiments and their interpretation

The term cabbeling describes the convection that can occur when a mixture of two oceanic water masses is more dense than both of the parent water masses. When the two water masses are situated one above the other, the temperature and salinity distributions are in the correct senses for double-diffusive convection to occur and it is found that the prime effects of the nonlinearity of the equation of state are firstly to drive a greater level of double-diffusive convective activity in the lower layer than in the upper layer, and secondly, to make the lower edge of the interfacial region less gravitationally stable. Both of these effects cause the interface to migrate upwards as the lower layer grows at the expense of the upper layer. We introduce a nondimensional parameter $\text{δ}$ (called the cabbeling parameter) which represents the importance of the nonlinearity of the equation of state:—$\text{δ}$ is zero when the equation of state is linear and when cabbeling is normally thought to be possible, $\text{δ}$ is greater than unity. Experiments set up in both the finger and diffuse sense show how the nondimensional measure of the upward interface migration (called the “entrainment” parameter $\text{E}$) varies with the density anomaly ration R_? for various values of $\text{δ}$ between zero and 2.0 and that no abrupt change in this behaviour occurs at $\text{δ}\text{= 1.0}$. It is impossible to explain these observation by neglecting double-diffusive convection and considering only the convection driven by the conventional cabbeling instability. The successful interpretation of the laboratory results relies on considering the effects of a non-linear equation of state on the double-diffusive convection process.     

Classic localities explained 6: Tobago

The island of Tobago is only about 40 km in length and to the geologist is a demonstration of the old saying that good things come in small packages. Situated in the southeast corner of the Caribbean Plate, it is the eastern extremity of the Caribbean Mountain System of northern South America, and is divided into three geologic provinces, one metamorphic, one igneous and one sedimentary.     

Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype Section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core,and selected auxiliary records

The Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP (NGRIP) contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision. This climatic event is most clearly reflected in an abrupt shift in deuterium excess values, accompanied by more gradual changes in δ¹⁸O, dust concentration, a range of chemical species, and annual layer thickness. A timescale based on multi‐parameter annual layer counting provides an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2 k (before AD 2000) for the base of the Holocene, with a maximum counting error of 99 yr. A proposal that an archived core from this unique sequence should constitute the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) has been ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences. Five auxiliary stratotypes for the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary have also been recognised. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Not all fisheries will be collapsed in 2048

In a recently published paper, Worm et al. [Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services. Science 2006;314:787–90.] project “the global collapse of all taxa currently fished” by 2048. Using their criteria and data, this paper shows that the number of not-collapsed fisheries actually increased over time to a plateau of about 5600 in 1985–2003. Furthermore, if trends are projected into the future, more than half of the world's fisheries would always be in a recovered state.