Developing ecotourism in First World, resource-dependent areas

Ecotourism, an economic diversification tool most commonly applied in the Third World as a means to protect ecosystems, preserve local cultures, and spur economic development, has recently been applied in First World resource-dependent areas. While ecotourism has traditionally focused on Third World ‘undisturbed’ protected lands, it has also been developed in their First World equivalents (i.e., old-growth forests) as well as in First World sites of past resource extraction and in places where current agricultural practices maintain cherished cultural landscapes. Forest County, Pennsylvania, a timber-dependent area, sought to diversify its economy by developing ecotourism based on its unique Allegheny hardwood forests, which are produced by timber harvesting. This ecotourism would encourage amenity-based, locally-driven economic development and maintain timber harvesting. While government and foundation supported ecotourism development efforts in areas dependent on resource extraction have incorporated some of ecotourism’s ideals, these operations have had mixed success. Such isolated areas, which have traditionally drawn visitors independently engaging in traditional outdoor recreation activities, have not been able to draw enough customers willing to pay for natural and cultural history tours. If ecotourism is to be successful, such areas may need further government support and destination branding to increase name recognition in order to counter the global orientation of the nature tour industry. For true community development, local collaborative efforts including resource and environmental interests are also required in which primary production is connected to processing and consumers through value-added and service sector activities such as tourism.     

大别造山带上部地壳结构的有限差分层析成像

将有限差分层析反演方法用于大别造山带人工地震测深剖面上部地壳初至波的走时层析成像，得到这一剖面上部地壳横向不均匀结构图像表明，在南大别地区的超高压变质带发现榴辉岩相岩石，其下方3km深度以内的基底仍具有大陆地壳构造中正常的结晶基底速度（6．00km／s左右）；北大别地区在整个上地壳保持正常的速度，而在超高压带下方3km深度以下为6．20-630km／s的相对高速异常区，这一现象可能与超高压变质岩的含量增大有关．同时还表明，南大别和北大别之间至少在上地壳已有明显差异，它们之间的水吼一五河断裂可能是大别造山带内部的主要构造分界线．     

对近年来地震危险区预测效果的评估

采用R值评分方法，对中国地震局地球物理研究所2001—2004年度划定的全国地震危险区进行了评估，2001—2004年度的R值分别为0．265、0．182、0．293、0．404。近两年的R值相对高些，为了排除随机成分，做了相应的随机预报试验检验，并对地震落入危险区的随机概率作了估计。结果表明，4个年度的R值明显高于随机预报，除2002年度外，地震随机落入危险区的概率很低，不到2％。这说明中国地震局地球物理研究所实际地震危险区划分取得了一定的效果，且逐年提高。     

Annihilation of both place and sense of place: the experience of the Cheslatta T'En Canadian First Nation within the context of large-scale environmental projects

The water resources of Canada are today, and have always been, of major importance to the welfare of Canadians. Throughout most of Canada's history, these resources have been viewed within a supply–management framework and, frequently, exploited through the construction of 'megaprojects', often with little or no concern for issues such as environmental harm and social and community disruption. As in many parts of the world, those most affected by such large-scale water resource developments have been aboriginals (in Canada, 'First Nations' peoples). Although the issues of environmental, social and economic damage to First Nations as a result of water megaprojects have been investigated, little has been written about the impact of such projects – especially dam construction – on the loss of sense of place of deracinated peoples. This paper investigates one example of such loss of sense of place, that of the Cheslatta T'En forcibly removed from their ancestral lands in the 1950s so as to allow for the construction of a private hydroelectric dam by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan).     

Profondeur d'extraction racinaire et signature isotopique de l'eau prélevée par les racines des couverts végétaux

We seek to identify the depth to which water is extracted by the roots in the soil. Indeed, in an isotopic steady-state condition of leaf water, transpiration introduces into the atmosphere a vapour whose isotopic signature is identical to that of root water. In the isotopic models of atmospheric general circulation, it is classically allowed that the signature of transpiration belongs to the meteoric water line. This supposes that the water taken by the roots has escaped with the evaporation of the soil and comes thus from the deep layers of the soil. At the time of experimentation carried out on maize plants (Nemours, Seine-et-Marne, France), this extraction depth was inferred from the comparison between the signature of the water measured on the level of the first internode of the stems of the plants and the isotopic profile of water in the soil. When the flow of transpiration reaches a maximum value, the plant uptakes water resulting from precipitations and which preserves its non-evaporating character after having quickly infiltrated in the deep layers of the soil. This relates to only 55% of the flux transpired by the canopy, the remainder presenting an evaporating character more or less marked according to ambient conditions. This experiment invalidates the classical hypothesis used in isotopic models of general atmospheric circulation in temperate regions. In fact, only half the amount of water vapour transpired by the canopy during the day presents a signature similar to that of the rainwater sampled in deep soil layers. To cite this article: Z. Boujamlaoui et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Revisiting the death of geography in the era of Big Data: the friction of distance in cyberspace and real space

Many scholars have argued that the importance of geographic proximity in human interactions has been diminished by the use of the Internet, while others disagree with this argument. Studies have noted the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, showing that interactions occur with an inverse relationship between the number of interactions and the distance between the locations of the interactors. However, these studies rarely provide strong evidence to show the influence of distance on interactions in cyberspace, nor do they quantify the differences in the amount of friction of distance between cyberspace and real space. To fill this gap, this study used massive amounts of social media data (Twitter) to compare the influence of distance decay on human interactions between cyberspace and real space in a quantitative manner. To estimate the distance decay effect in both cyberspace and real space, the distance decay function of interactions in each space was modeled. Estimating the distance decay in cyberspace in this study can help predict the degree of information flow across space through social media. Measuring how far ideas can be diffused through social media is useful for users of location-based services, policy advocates, public health officials, and political campaigners.     

广州前汛期暴雨各层天气系统特征分析

本文对广州前汛期暴雨的地面、850hPa、500hPa、200hPa系统特征进行了分析，给出了各层系统配置图，为日常预报业务提供分析依据。     

第一类算子方程的吉洪诺夫正则解的收敛性和渐近阶估计

本文对于第一类算子方程当右端近似给定和当算子与右端皆近似分别给定时,讨论如何确定正则参数。并给出吉洪诺夫正则解的收敛性和渐近阶估计。     

初动在核爆监测中的应用及分析

核爆炸与地震相比,围绕爆炸源的初动具有更多的向上记录和更高的振幅周期比,初动可以作为核爆与地震的一个识别标志。某些核爆炸的向下记录。或许是由于低信噪比的原因,记录到的是初至波的第二个半周;其余的也许是由于近P波走时曲线的反射波造成。