Gaps,Intellectual Enthusiasms,Personal Insecurities: Response to “Stages on Journeys”

Abstract

The Department of Geography at Arizona State University implemented a field exam as part of its PhD program requirements. This field exam requires students to develop an independent field-based research project based on a general question in the student's specialty area. A survey of current and former PhD students and faculty members document how the field exam assists students in developing skills necessary for continuing graduate research and for preparing them for the rigors of academic employment. The outcomes of the exam include both long-term, process-related benefits and more immediate tangible rewards. For some students, the preliminary fieldwork and results redirect student interests and form the basis for their eventual dissertation. The field exam is adaptable to a diversity of geography research methods, subject areas, and graduate degree programs, while remaining grounded in the discipline's vibrant, widely respected fieldwork tradition.

     

Quantitative Limits to Qualitative Engagements: GIS,Its Critics,and the Philosophical Divide∗

Heated exchanges between critical theorists and GIScientists over geographic information systems (GIS) in 1990s geography gave rise to calls for increased communication between critics and practitioners of the technology and most recently for “hybrid” qualitative–quantitative GIS practices. Although GIS scholars have successfully addressed mid-1990s critiques of the technology by developing a series of critical GIS practices that involve nuanced and reflexive deployments of GIS and assessments of its visual products, theoretical critiques of GIS remain fixated on the epistemological deficiencies of the technology. Despite references to loosening metaphysical tensions across the discipline, this difference in assessments reveals the discourses of critical-theoretic geography and GIScience to remain separated by a trenchant philosophical divide, across which ontological and epistemological commitments are inviolable. The inability to fully reconcile a critical–theoretic epistemology with the explicitly ontological metaphysics of GIS further complicates qualitative engagements with the technology by addressing a series of inconsistencies into GIS praxis arising from the quantitative limits to representation encountered in the formal universe of computing. The persistence of metaphysical tensions in critical engagements with the technology questions the degree to which qualitative methods can be seamlessly hybridized with the quantitative architectures of GIS.     

Limnological responses to warming on the Xizang Plateau,Tibet, over the past 200 years

Paleolimnological analyses can be used to evaluate limnological responses to changing climate over decadal to centennial timescales, especially in regions with sparse lake monitoring data. We used a training set with 90 lakes to develop a diatom-based conductivity transfer function and address climate-driven changes in lakes on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Tibet. This new training set is an expanded version of a previous model (Yang et al. in J Paleolimnol 30:1–19, 2003) and shows improved performance statistics for the conductivity model. The expanded training set also contains diatom species not previously identified from the region, such as Stephanodiscus sp. and Cyclotella sp., which are common eutrophic indicator species in other regions, but can also be influenced by water column conductivity. The new conductivity transfer function was applied to Lakes Nam Co and Chen Co in Tibet. Recent conductivity inferences were compared with climate data from the Dangxiong weather station and water level records from Yangzhuyong Co, which show increasing temperature and lower water levels, respectively, since AD 1960. Other studies showed that the water balance for many lakes on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is complex, affected by both evaporation and glacial melting. Our paleolimnological reconstructions, which include sediment particle size data, indicate that over relatively short timescales glacial meltwater can influence lake hydrology, but over decadal timescales, increases in evaporation, driven by rising temperatures, dominate. Our findings suggest that regional warming is lowering water levels at these sites and will continue to do so given predicted future climate warming.     

Households’ Resilience to Hurricanes in Coastal Communities of Oaxaca,Mexico

Hurricanes represent a common threat to coastal communities, affecting livelihood strategies and assets. Households are resilient if they can recover from a stress or shock while maintaining and arranging assets to secure a sustainable livelihood. The objective of this research is to measure the degree of resilience in the coastal households of Oaxaca, Mexico, following a hurricane using the asset approach and describing diversity, connectivity, and slow variables. The results show different degrees of resilience among the households and that social, natural, and financial capital are relevant to resilience. The diversification of income, savings, community help, natural resource use, and government transfers is among the most important assets. In particular, social capital and natural capital determine the structure and dynamics of the system.     

Quantification of Uncertainty in Ore-Reserve Estimation: Applications to Chapada Copper Deposit,State of Goiás,Brazil

Ordinary kriging (OK) has been used widely for ore-reserve estimation because of its superior characteristics in relation to other methods. One of these characteristics is related to the quantification of uncertainty by the kriging variance. However, the kriging variance does not recognize local data variability, which is an important issue in the process of ore-reserve estimation, when heterogeneous mineral deposits with richer and poorer parts are being evaluated. This paper proposes the use of interpolation variance as a reliable measure of local data variability and, therefore, adequate for ore-reserve classification. With a reliable measurement of data variability, local confidence can be calculated using the classical confidence interval around an estimate. Errors derived from local confidence then are used to assign classes according to a degree of certainty within some confidence level. Comparative tests using both OK variance and interpolation variance are carried out using exploration data from Chapada Copper Deposit, State of Goiás, Brazil. Results show that the interpolation variance provides a better way to measure uncertainty and consequently to classify reserves.     

The response of lake-glacier variations to climate change in Nam Co Catchment,central Tibetan Plateau,during 1970–2000

Based upon the 1970 aero-photo topographic map, and TM/ETM satellite images taken in 1991 and 2000, the authors artificially interpreted boundaries of lake and glaciers in Nam Co Catchment, and quantified lake-glacier area variations in different stages by ＂integrated method＂ with the support of GIS. Results show that from 1970 to 2000, lake area increased from 1942.34 km^2 to 1979.79 km^2 at a rate of 1.27 km^2/a, while glacier area decreased from 167.62 km^2 to 141.88 km^2 at a rate of 0.86 km^2/a. The increasing rate of lake in 1991-2000 was 1.76 km^2/a that was faster than 1.03 km^2/a in 1970-1991, while in the same period of time, the shrinking rates of glaciers were 0.97 km^2/a and 0.80 km^2/a respectively. Important factors, relevant to lake and glacier response to the climate, such as air temperature, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and their values in warm and cold seasons, were discussed. The result suggests that temperature increasing is the main reason for the accelerated melting of glaciers. Lake expansion is mainly induced by the increase of the glacier melting water, increase of precipitation and obvious decrease of potential evapotranspiration. Precipitation, evaporation and their linkages with lake enlargement on regional scale need to be thoroughly studied under the background of global warming and glacier retreating.     

Diatom responses to late-glacial and early-Holocene environmental changes at Kråkenes, western Norway

A stratigraphic diatom sequence is presented for the period from 13,870-9,170 cal BP from Kråkenes Lake, western Norway. Changes in species assemblages are discussed with reference to the changing environmental conditions in the Allerød, Younger Dryas, and the early Holocene and to the development of the aquatic ecosystem. The site is sensitive to acidification, and diatom-based transfer functions are applied to estimate the past pH status. The combination of rapid sediment accumulation together with an excellent calibrated radiocarbon chronology means that the rate of inferred pH change and associated increase in [H⁺] can be assessed and compared with recent, anthropogenically acidified situations.The Allerød diatom assemblages are dominated by benthic taxa particularly Fragilaria species, indicating an unproductive, alkaline, turbid, and immature system. Diatoms are absent in the early part of the Younger Dryas, but subsequently a sparse planktonic flora develops reflecting decreased turbidity and/or increased nutrient supply. A clear sequence of diatom assemblages is seen in the early Holocene. A short-lived peak of Stephanodiscus species indicating a period of increased nutrient availability occurred at ca. 11,500 cal BP. Throughout the early Holocene, acid-tolerant species increasingly replaced less acidophilous, circumneutral taxa.The lake became slightly more acid during the Allerød, but this was statistically insignificant in a trend test involving regression of pH or [H⁺] in relation to age. Diatom-inferred pH declined rapidly during the early Holocene period investigated (9,175-11,525 cal BP) with a statistically significant overall rate of 0.024 pH units per 100 yrs. This consisted of an older (ca. 11,525-10,255 cal BP) phase, where pH fell more rapidly at up to 0.095 pH units per 100 yrs; and a younger phase after ca. 10,500 cal BP where the pH fall was extremely slow (0.008 pH units per 100 yrs) and was not statistically significant.In the Allerød a combination of low catchment productivity together with disturbance, weathering, and minerogenic inwash ensured that the base-cation status remained relatively high. In the Holocene the catchment soils stabilised and base cations were sequestered by terrestrial vegetation and soil. This resulted in reduced base-cation leaching and this, together with the production of organic acids caused the lake to acidify, reaching an equilibrium by ca. 10,000 cal BP.     

Everyday space–time geographies: using mobile phone-based sensor data to monitor urban activity in Harbin,Paris, and Tallinn

This paper proposes a methodology for using mobile telephone-based sensor data for detecting spatial and temporal differences in everyday activities in cities. Mobile telephone-based sensor data has great applicability in developing urban monitoring tools and smart city solutions. The paper outlines methods for delineating indicator points of temporal events referenced as ‘midnight’, ‘morning start’, ‘midday’, and ‘duration of day’, which represent the mobile telephone usage of residents (what we call social time) rather than solar or standard time. Density maps by time quartiles were also utilized to test the versatility of this methodology and to analyze the spatial differences in cities. The methodology was tested with data from cities of Harbin (China), Paris (France), and Tallinn (Estonia). Results show that the developed methods have potential for measuring the distribution of temporal activities in cities and monitoring urban changes with georeferenced mobile phone data.     

Holocene environmental change according to lake core in Fildes Peninsula of King George Island,Antarctica

Lake core sampled from Xihu in Fildes Peninsula of King Gorge Island, Antarctica could reveal the environmental change of the district. The lake core( GA7) , 9.28 meters long , was sectioned at an interval of 2 cm. Through measuring the organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility, granularity and organic carbon isotope of GA7, by use of 14C age it was estimated that there were four periods of high temperature in Fildes Peninsula; 4800-4400 aB. P. , 3600-3350 aB. P. ,2100 - 1800 aB. P. and 900 aB. P. - present. Meanwhile, results showed that there was a strikingly positive correlation between the content of organic carbon and that of organic carbon isotope (δC01213 ) which could be the substitute indicators of environmental temperature.     

Introduction to the JoPL special issue, “Holocene paleoenvironmental records from Arctic lake sediment”

The 18 papers in this Special Issue of the Journal of Paleolimnology report new records of Holocene environmental and climate change from Arctic lake sediment. At least 15 distinct physical, chemical, and biological properties were analyzed at lakes located across the North American Arctic and subarctic, and northwestern Europe. The studies are notable for their multi-proxy approach (eight present data for at least five different proxies), and for the high quality of their geochronological control. Three of the studies analyzed sediment from more than one lake to test the influence of contrasting physiographic settings on the response of proxies to the same climate forcing. The sedimentary sequences analyzed in seven studies extend beyond 11.5?cal?ka, providing evidence for pronounced climate shifts that took place during the late-glacial period. Two-thirds extend beyond 8?cal?ka; many of these records were interpreted in terms of the shift in temperature and moisture that occurred during the transition from the warm early to middle Holocene to the cooler late Holocene. These records contribute to the growing network of sites that is needed to reconstruct the spatial pattern of this pronounced paleoclimate transition, and to address how ocean-atmospheric circulation changed with the mean?state of climate.     

Using GIS to Model and Forecast HIV/AIDS Rates in Africa, 1986–2010

In this article we draw on the power of geographic information systems (GIS) to examine the progression of HIV/AIDS in Africa for the period from 1986 to 2003. We use GIS for two purposes: (1) to transform and interpolate a set of annual point-based HIV/AIDS rates into area data; and (2) to extract or “mine” annual HIV/AIDS prevalence rates from the interpolated area (country) level maps. Once the rates are extracted from the GIS analysis we then model and forecast them into the near future (i.e., 2004–2010) by using the UNAIDS Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) software. The article offers an alternative grounded in geospatial analysis for yielding estimates of HIV/AIDS rates in Africa. Using incomplete sets of data for the period from 1986 to 2003, mean HIV/AIDS rates are generated from spatially interpolated data and future trends are estimated. The results indicate that the HIV/AIDS epidemic for many countries in Africa has reached the saturation or maturity level as evidenced by the typical S-shaped curves in the trends over time. As a matter of fact, some countries have begun to experience a sustained decline in the rates (e.g., Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe).     

What motivates single women to migrate from northern Ghana to Accra?

In recent decades there has been a large migration stream of single women from the north to Accra in Ghana. Existing studies have focused on young migrant women’s livelihood strategies in their place of destination. However, once-married women – divorced and widowed women and neglected wives – also migrate, and their motivations for migration are less known. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative methods, the authors investigate the effects of gender norms, age, marital status, socio-economic status, and position in households on women’s decisions to migrate. The results revealed that migrant women from resource-poor households, regardless of age, marital status and position in households, commonly cited a gain in autonomy as an important motivation for their migration. From a differentiated perspective, young unmarried women aspired to prepare themselves for often expensive religious marriage ceremonies, whereas once-married women invest in their children’s education and build their own housing. By paying attention to the effects of gender norms, age, marital status, socio-economic status, and position in households on women’s decisions to migrate, the study illuminates the contradictory ways in which their migration practices are both shaped by and shape gender ideologies in parts of contemporary northern Ghana.     

Part of the action, or 'going native'? Learning to cope with the 'politics of integration'

Summary Despite continuing work within feminist research on issues of political commitment and critical forms of engagement, and an increasing desire within geography to effect social change through our privileged positions as academics, active collaboration with groups involved in social action continues to be fraught with ambiguity and anxiety. In this paper, I consider the potential role of the 'researcher as activist' through documentation of my interaction and repositioning of identities while becoming involved in credit union development in Kingston upon Hull. I hope to illustrate how the maintenance of a critical, multi-positioned (and repositioned) identity can be seen as a beneficial, reflexive learning experience for researchers operating within ethnography, and for the research itself.     

Using multiple archives to understand past and present climate–human–environment interactions: the lake Erhai catchment,Yunnan Province,China

A 6.48 m sediment core sequence from Erhai lake, Yunnan Province, provides a multi-proxy record of Holocene environmental evolution and human activity in southwest China. These sedimentary records provide proxy time series for catchment vegetation, flooding, soil erosion, sediment sources and metal workings. They are complemented by independent regional climate time-series from speleothems, archaeological records of human habitation, and a detailed documented environmental history. The article attempts to integrate these data sources to provide a Holocene scale record of environmental change and human–environment interactions. These interactions are analysed in order to identify the roles of climate and social drivers on environmental change, and the lessons that may be learned about the future sustainability of the landscape. The main conclusions are: lake sediment evidence for human impacts from at least 7,500 cal year BP is supported by a terrestrial record of cultural horizons that may extend back to ∼9,000 cal year BP. A major shift in the pollen assemblage, defined by detrended correspondence analysis, at ∼4,800 cal year BP marks the transition from a ‘nature-dominated’ to a ‘human-dominated’ landscape. From 4,300 cal year BP, a change in river discharge responses may signal the beginning of hydraulic modification through drainage and irrigation. Major increases in disturbed land taxa and loss of forest taxa from 2,200 cal year BP onward, also associated with the start of significant topsoil erosion, register the expansion of agriculture by Han peoples. It is also the start of silver smelting linked to trade along the SW Silk Road with Dali becoming a regional centre. Peak levels of disturbed land taxa, topsoil and gully erosion are associated with the rise and fall of the Nanzhao (CE 738–902) and Dali (CE 937–1253) Kingdoms, and the documented environmental crisis that occurred in the late Ming and Qing dynasties (CE 1644–1911). The crisis coincides with a stronger summer monsoon, but exploitation of marginal agricultural land is the main driver. These historical perspectives provide insight into the resilience and sustainability of the modern agricultural system. The largest threat comes from high magnitude-low frequency flooding of lower dry farmed terraces and irrigated valley plains. A sustainable future depends on reducing the use of high altitude and steep slopes for grazing and cultivation, maintaining engineered flood defences and terraces, and anticipating the behaviour of the summer monsoon. This article is based on a keynote address delivered by John Dearing at the 10th International Paleolimnology Symposium, June 2006, Duluth, Minnesota, USA.     

Residents’ perspectives and responses to environmental degradation in the upper Dadu River, eastern Tibetan Plateau

1 Introduction Driven by interactions of climate change, policy introduction, population pressure and overstocking, many fragile ecotones on the Tibetan Plateau have undergone fast land cover changes, such as deforestation, meadow degeneration or even des…