The Soviet settlement system--current issues and future prospects

"A survey of current urban issues and trends in the Soviet Union sets the stage for an analysis of the problems of the urban system of the USSR and discussion of recent efforts at planning and policy development for a national settlement system. The General Scheme of Settlement, issued in 1975 and revised in 1982 to guide the development of such a national system, is examined as is the ensuing debate between two opposing schools of thought as to the best approach for restructuring the urban system."     

Mobility and settlement system integration in the USSR

Recent Soviet research on commuting in the USSR is reviewed in the light of the General Strategy for a System of Settlement in the USSR, adopted in 1976. It is noted that rural-urban commuting to work has grown rapidly since 1975, particularly in the European parts of the USSR, and that most commuters prefer to live in rural or suburban areas within easy access of an urban center rather than in the central city itself.     

Radiometry of near-earth asteroids

We report 10 micrometers infrared photometry for 22 Aten, Apollo, and Amor asteroids. Thermal models are used to derive the corresponding radiometric albedos and diameters. Several of these asteroids appear to have surfaces of relatively high thermal inertia due to the exposure of bare rock or a coarse regolith. The Apollo asteroid 3103, 1982 BB, is recognized as class E. The Jupiter-crossing Amor asteroid 3552, 1983 SA, is confirmed as class D, but low albedos remain rare for near-Earth asteroids.     

东西风廓线特征与大气运动平衡态定常波的相关关系及共振条件的研究

本文采用简化数学模型探讨了东、西风廓线特征与外源强迫下大气环流平衡态定常波结构的相关关系。文中采用实际观测资料研究了西风廓线特征与大气环流型季节特征之间的联系。研究表明,西风廓线冬、夏季节差异与中、高纬度西风槽“冬三夏四”波数差气候特征有关,且低纬强东风切变可作为赤道东风波周期振荡成因之一。冬夏西风廓线季节特征可导致大地形强迫效应、海陆加热因子影响作用的显著季节差异。研究还揭示了大气环流型优势波转换的基流特征影响效应,并导出了流场与纬向加热强迫源共振状态的西风廓线特征函数与临界曲线。     

Biofouling confounds the uptake of trace organic contaminants by semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs)

The outer layers of layflat, low density polyethylene plastic tubing (the principal component of semi-permeable membrane devices, SPMDs) were biofouled at a clean site in Hong Kong coastal waters for periods of 1–4 weeks. Following pre-fouling, triolein was added to the SPMDs and, along with control (unfouled) devices, they were exposed to a range of organochlorine pesticides (-HCH, aldrin, p,p^′-DDT) and PAHs (anthracene, fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene) under laboratory conditions. Results showed that the uptake of contaminants by SPMDs was severely reduced by as much as 50% under fouling conditions in comparison to unfouled controls. The ultimate utility of SPMDs as passive monitors is thus reduced, although alternative measures, such as the use of permeability reference compounds may compensate, and allow for realistic evaluations of dissolved environmental concentrations in aquatic environments. However, due to the complexities involved in such procedures––especially as they need to be conducted on a case-by-case basis––the utility of SPMDs appears to be limited for estimates of bioavailability unless necessary calibrations are undertaken within each environment that the sampler is used.     

Irrigation effects in the northern lake states: Wisconsin central sands revisited

Irrigated agriculture has expanded greatly in the water-rich U.S. northern lake states during the past half century. Source water there is usually obtained from glacial aquifers strongly connected to surface waters, so irrigation has a potential to locally decrease base flows in streams and water levels in aquifers, lakes, and wetlands. During the nascent phase of the irrigation expansion, water availability was explored in works of some fame in the Wisconsin central sands by Weeks et al. (1965) on the Little Plover River and Weeks and Stangland (1971) on "headwater area" streams and lakes. Four decades later, and after irrigation has grown to a dominant landscape presence, we revisited irrigation effects on central sands hydrology. Irrigation effects have been substantial, on average decreasing base flows by a third or more in many stream headwaters and diminishing water levels by more than a meter in places. This explains why some surface waters have become flow and stage impaired, sometimes to the point of drying, with attendant losses of aquatic ecosystems. Irrigation exerts its effects by increasing evapotranspiration by an estimated 45 to 142 mm/year compared with pre-irrigated land cover. We conclude that irrigation water availability in the northern lake states and other regions with strong groundwater-surface water connections is tied to concerns for surface water health, requiring a focus on managing the upper few meters of aquifers on which surface waters depend rather than the depletability of an aquifer.     

Proximate environmental drivers of coral communities at Palmyra Atoll: establishing baselines prior to removing a WWII military causeway

A management proposal aims to partly remove a WWII military causeway at Palmyra Atoll to improve lagoon water circulation and alleviate sedimentation stress on the southeast backreef, an area of high coral cover and diversity. This action could result in a shift in sedimentation across reef sites. To provide management advice, we quantified the proximate environmental factors driving scleractinian coral cover and community patterns at Palmyra. The proportion of fine sedimentation was the optimal predictor of coral cover and changes in community structure, explaining 23.7% and 24.7% of the variation between sites, respectively. Scleractinian coral cover was negatively correlated with increases in fine sedimentation. Removing the causeway could negatively affect the Montipora corals that dominate the western reef terrace, as this genus was negatively correlated with levels of fine sedimentation. The tolerance limits of corals, and sediment re-distribution patterns, should be determined prior to complete removal of the causeway.     

The effect of low temperature on Antarctic endolithic green algae

Laboratory experiments show that undercooling to about -5 degrees C occurs in colonized Beacon sandstones of the Ross Desert, Antarctica. High-frequency temperature oscillations between 5 degrees C and -5 degrees C or -10 degrees C (which occur in nature on the rock surface) did not damage Hemichloris antarctica. In a cryomicroscope, H. antarctica appeared to be undamaged after slow or rapid cooling to -50 degrees C. 14CO2 incorporation after freezing to -20 degrees C was unaffected in H. antarctica or in Trebouxia sp. but slightly depressed in Stichococcus sp. (isolated from a less extreme Antarctic habitat). These results suggest that the freezing regime in the Antarctic desert is not injurious to endolithic algae. It is likely that the freezing-point depression inside the rock makes available liquid water for metabolic activity at subzero temperatures. Freezing may occur more frequently on the rock surface and contribute to the abiotic nature of the surface.