‘Nation-states’, ‘quasi-states’, and ‘collapsed-states’ in contemporary Africa

The revival of ethnic identities and the search for historical roots have been significant factors in re-shaping the map of the world in the late twentieth century. Multi-ethnic states have come under increasing strain throughout the century and undermining the concept of the nation-state. However, the successor states to the colonial empires in Africa exhibit the same strains as the often highly fragile successors to the European continental empires earlier in the century. The survival of these quasi-states has been dependent upon the support of the international community for over thirty years as a reaction to the era of colonialism. Anti-colonialism offers little practical support for states in a post-colonial, post-Cold War era. In some cases the result has been disintegration and the emergence of the collapsed state. The revived political movements aimed at democratisation and self-determination have unleashed forces which may be incompatible with the survival of the current state system.     

Scientific drilling reveals geochemical heterogeneity within the Ko’olau shield,Hawai’i

The Koolau Scientific Drilling Project (KSDP) was initiated to determine if the distinctive geochemistry of Koolau lavas is a near-surface feature. This project successfully deepened a recent, ~351 m deep, tri-cone rotary-drilled water well by coring another ~328 m. Three Ar–Ar plateau ages of 2.8 to 2.9 Ma from the drill core section of 103 flows confirm stratigraphic interpretations that core drilling recovered the deepest and oldest subaerially erupted lavas yet sampled from this volcano. The petrography and geochemistry of the core, and cuttings from this and another new Koolau water well (~433 m deep) were determined. These analyses revealed that the geochemically distinct lavas of Koolau form a veneer only 175–250 m thick at the drill sites, covering flows with more typical Hawaiian tholeiite compositions. The compositional change occurred near the end of shield volcanism and is not abrupt. Thus, it is probably not related to a catastrophic event such as the collapse of the northeast flank of this volcano. The distinct geochemistry of surface Koolau lavas cannot be explained by melting pyroxenitic or combined pyroxenitic and peridotitic sources. Additional recycled oceanic crustal components, such as plagioclase-rich cumulates and sediment, were probably involved. As the Koolau volcano drifted off the Hawaiian hotspot and the overall degree of melting decreased, the proportion of melts from recycled oceanic crustal material increased relative to those from mantle peridotite.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

China’s container-related dynamics, 1990–2005

This study seeks to gauge how far China’s container-related dynamics between 1990 and 2005 fit into the wider perspective about transport and development within developing countries. In particular, attention is focussed on the role of specific modes to determine the extent of the penetration of containers within China. Before addressing these key issues extant models relating to an understanding of port and transport evolution in less-developed countries are recalled, synthesized and used as a base upon which an appropriate review of China’s case can be conducted. Applying them to China’s northern, central and southern port ranges not only helps assess the efficacy of these models but also highlights the contribution of individual modes.

Fourier’s heat conduction equation: History, influence, and connections

The equation describing the conduction of heat in solids has, over the past two centuries, proved to be a powerful tool for analyzing the dynamic motion of heat as well as for solving an enormous array of diffusion-type problems in physical sciences, biological sciences, earth sciences, and social sciences. This equation was formulated at the beginning of the nineteenth century by one of the most gifted scholars of modern science, Joseph Fourier of France. A study of the historical context in which Fourier made his remarkable contribution and the subsequent impact his work has had on the development of modern science is as fascinating as it is educational. This paper is an attempt to present a picture of how certain ideas initially led to Fourier’s development of the heat equation and how, subsequently, Fourier’s work directly influenced and inspired others to use the heat diffusion model to describe other dynamic physical systems. Conversely, others concerned with the study of random processes found that the equations governing such random processes reduced, in the limit, to Fourier’s equation of heat diffusion. In the process of developing the flow of ideas, the paper also presents, to the extent possible, an account of the history and personalities involved. Reprinted by permission from theAmerican Geophysical Union, @ 1999. Originally published inReviews of Geophysics as “Fourier’s Heat Conduction Equation: History, Influence and Connections,” Vol. 37, issue 1, pages 151–172, February 1999. Appended here are eight figures of historical importance.     

Shkol’noe gold deposit, the Russian Northeast

The Shkol’noe deposit is localized in a small granitoid stock, the root portion of which is traced using geophysical data to a depth of 5–8 km. The high-grade gold ore (33 gpt Au) is enriched in silver and principally differs in ore composition from the previously studied mesothermal gold-quartz and epithermal gold-silver deposits in the Russian Northeast. The main reserves of the Shkol’noe deposit concentrate in bonanzas (20% of the total volume of orebodies). The internal deformation is related to the rearrangement of matter in freibergite; exsolution structures in fahlore and native gold are related to postmineral metamorphism. It is suggested that the ore of the Shkol’noe deposit occupies a transitional position between porphyrytype and epithermal levels of ore deposition.     

Lightning-induced beads, ‘fulguroids’, associated with kimberlite eruptions in the Kalahari,Botswana

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Glassy beads were found in the sand cover associated with known and suspected kimberlites on the Kalahari plateau, Botswana. Morphology and chemistry were...     

Lithologic mapping of Aja granitic batholiths,Ha’il,Saudi Arabia,using remote sensing

In this study, remote sensing, field and petrographic investigation were integrated for lithological mapping of different granitic masses in Aja complex of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia. The Landsat-8 data were processed to spectrally discriminate variations within rock types using band combinations, band ratioing and principal component analysis (PCA) techniques. Results showed that band combination of the principal components could potentially distinguish the different rock units of Aja complex than any other transform. Field observations and petrographic identification were performed to validate remotely sensing data and to map different rock units. Alkali granites were accurately recorded on the peripheries of Aja Mountain. The present study demonstrates that remote sensing techniques could provide useful tools for mapping economic rock types, particularly in well-exposed arid regions.     

‘Think globally,act locally’: sustainable communities,modernity and development

This article sets out to explore the political relationship between the global and the local through the prism of the sustainable development. The ideal of sustainable communities is explored in the context of evolving political fictions that define alternative conceptions of modernity. While the article uses Ireland (reputedly the most globalised society in the world) as a microcosm of development, the context is firmly located within the wider sphere of European and planetary politics. It is argued that the ideal of sustainable communities offers the opportunity of reviving the civic republican tradition of democracy (the Ancient Greek agora) as a metaphor for the public sphere in the conditions of late modern society. The agora in Ancient Greece provided a site of political assembly, based upon participation (citizens’ engagement in decision-making) and deliberation (a process of reached argument). Today, concepts such as ‘participatory civility’ and ‘discursive democracy’ seek to revive these classical ideals, as the basis for building sustainable communities in a transforming modernity that searches for a new logic of development.     

The Ol’cha gold-silver deposit: Tectonic setting,structure, and mineralogy

New data on the Paleozoic Ol’cha gold-silver deposit are given, including interpretation of its tectonic setting and mineralogical characteristization, the most complete to date. Strike-slip deformation is crucial for the formation of the ore field structure.     

The Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky miaskite-carbonatite complex,the Urals,Russia: Origin,ore resource potential,and sources

The origin and sources of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky miaskite-carbonatite complex, one of the world’s largest alkaline complexes, with unique rare-metal and colored-stone mineralization and Nb, Zr, and REE deposits, are discussed in this paper. Geochemical and isotopic studies, including of Nd, Sr, C, and O isotopes, as well as estimation of PT formation conditions, of miaskites and carbonatites from various deposits of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex have been carried out. The Vishnevogorsky, Potaninsky, and Buldym Nb-REE deposits and the Il’mensky, Baidashevo, and Uvil’dy occurrences related to carbonatites were investigated. Their geological setting, composition, and ore resource potential are characterized. The genetic models and typical features of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex are considered. The rocks of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex were formed at T = 1000?230°C and P = 2–5 kbar. Carbonated miaskite melt was divided into immiscible silicate and carbonate liquids at T = 1000°C and P = 5 kbar. Miaskite crystallized at T = 850?700°C and P = 3.5–2.5 kbar. The formation temperature of carbonatite I of the Vishnevogorsky pluton was close to the temperature of miaskite crystallization (700–900°C). The crystallization temperature of carbonate-silicate rock and carbonatite I in the Central alkaline tract was 650–600°C. The formation temperature of carbonatite II varied from 590 to 490°C. Dolomite-calcite carbonatite III and dolomite carbonatite IV of the Buldym massif were formed at T = 575?410°C and T = 315?230°C, respectively. The geochemical features of carbonatites belonging to the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex differ from those of carbonatites related to alkaline ultramafic rocks and are close to those of carbonatites related to nepheline syenite or carbonatites localized in linear fracture zones. A high Sr content in early carbonatites along with relatively low Ba, Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, and Hf contents and a certain enrichment in HREE (a low La/Yb ratio) in comparison with carbonatites of the alkaline ultramafic association are typical. The geochemistry of carbonatites of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex corresponds to the trend of geochemical evolution of carbonatitic melts and their fluid derivatives. The Sr, Nd, C, and O isotopic compositions indicate a mantle magmatic source of the Il’mensky-Vishnevogorsky Complex and participation of moderately depleted mantle (DM) and enriched mantle EM1 in magma generation. Carbonatite and miaskite of the Vishnevogorsky pluton are related to the DM magma source, and carbonatite of the Buldym massif, to the EM1 source, probably, involved in the plume ascent.     

‘半无岩心钻进’效率高,质量好

我队今年在坑探工程上,掀起了一个万方槽、千米井、500米硐运动,为了改变笨重体力劳动和提高劳动生产率,在全队开展了以实现三化（照明电气化、运输车子化、打眼半机械化）为中心的技术革命运动。运动起来以后,党委即派工人到江门局学习脚踏打眼机,返队后在修配间的努力下制成了第一台木我队在浙江省龙游县北区龙门桥一带铁矿打普查钻时,地质情况尚未弄清。岩心采取率要求较高,为了实现千米钻,保证地质质量,根据该区地质情况,大胆地使用了“半无岩心钻进”,先后经过五个钻孔数次试验,克服了岩心易堵现象,增长了回次进尺长度,大大地提     

Nanjinganthus is an angiosperm,isn’t it?

Nanjinganthus is an Early Jurassic angiosperm recognized based on the study of over 200 specimens. However, some other authors have misinterpreted these fossils. Here the authors try to remedy the problems, by pointing out the logical pitfalls in these publications and underscoring a long-used, workable criterion for early angiosperms. The paper explains the cons and pros of this criterion, hoping to bring palaeobotany and plant taxonomy back to a consistent and practical track. Nanjinganthus is an angiosperm.     

A Large Dinosaur Assemblage has been Discovered in Pu’an, Yunyang County, Chongqing, China

<正>In June 2017,the Chongqing Municipal Government and Chinese scientists announced the discovery of a world-class dinosaur assemblage in Pu'an,a town of Yunyang County.Chongqing.This group of skeletons was buried in the Jurassic Ziliujing Formation Da'anzhai member and the lower and upper members of the Shaximiao Formation.The Da'anzhai member of the Ziliujing Formation is mainly bioclastic shale interbedded with thin     

Place,identity and stigma: blocks and the ‘blockies’ of Tara,Queensland, Australia

This article explores the role of geographical context in generating a stigmatised identity among residents of Tara rural subdivisions in the coal seam gas fields in Queensland’s Western Downs. The research was based on qualitative interviews with Tara ‘Blockies’, as these residents are commonly referred to, that revealed how their existence in the middle of an agrarian region resulted in the assignation of a stigma that has marked them as different, and subsequently devalued their status. We explain that this distinction and category division of the normals, referring to Tara’s Agrarian residents, from the ‘stigmatised’ led to an antagonistic relationship that prevented successful socio-cultural assimilation. We demonstrate how an immoral place becomes disadvantaged, resulting in poor well-being, and how imposed labels threaten the self-esteem of its occupants.     

Geology, mineralization, and geochronology of the Qianhe gold deposit, Xiong’ershan area, southern North China Craton

The Qianhe gold deposit in the Xiong’ershan area is located along the southern margin of the Archean-Paleoproterozoic North China Craton. The deposit consists of six orebodies that are hosted in Paleoproterozoic andesites to basaltic andesites and structurally controlled by roughly EW-trending faults. Individual orebodies comprise auriferous quartz veins and disseminated Au-bearing pyrite within hydrothermally altered rocks on both sides of, or close to, the veins. Ore-related hydrothermal alteration has produced various mixtures of K-feldspar, quartz, sericite, chlorite, epidote, carbonate, and sulfides. Pyrite is the most important ore mineral, associated with minor amounts of galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. Other trace minerals include molybdenite, arsenopyrite, scheelite, rutile, xenotime, and parisite. Gold occurs mostly as native gold and electrum enclosed in pyrite or along microfractures of sulfides and quartz. Microthermometric measurements of primary inclusions in auriferous quartz suggest that gold and associated minerals were precipitated in the range of 160–305 °C from aqueous or carbonic-aqueous fluids with salinities of 6–22 wt% NaCl equiv. Samples of molybdenite coexisting with Au-bearing pyrite have Re–Os model ages of 134–135 Ma, whereas ore-related hydrothermal sericite separates yield ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages between 127 and 124 Ma. The Re–Os and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages are remarkably consistent with zircon U–Pb ages (134.5?±?1.5 and 127.2?±?1.4 Ma; 1σ) of the biotite monzogranite from the Heyu-intrusive complex and granitic dikes in and close to the Qianhe gold mine, indicating a close temporal and thus possibly genetic relationship between gold mineralization and granitic magmatism in the area. Fluid inclusion waters extracted from auriferous quartz have δD values of ?80 to ?72 ‰, whereas the calculated δ ¹⁸O_H2O values range from 3.1 to 3.8 ‰. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes from this study and previous work indicate that ore fluids were likely derived from degassing of magmas, with addition of minor amounts of meteoric water. Gold mineralization at Qianhe is temporarily coincident with pervasive bimodal magmatism, widespread fault-basin formation, and well development of metamorphic core complexes in the whole eastern North China Craton that have been interpreted as reflecting reactivation of the craton in the late Mesozoic after prolonged stabilization since its formation in the late Paleoproterozoic. It is therefore concluded that the Qianhe gold deposit formed as a result of this craton reactivation event.     

Cenozoic fault control on ‘deep lead’ palaeoriver systems,Central Highlands,Victoria

Basaltic eruptions across the Central Highlands of Victoria have sealed in-place Early to middle Cenozoic palaeodrainage systems (also known as deep leads). The basal gravels of the deep leads have been mined extensively in the past for their rich placer-gold deposits. Detailed mapping of the distribution of all palaeorivers has been carried out using drilling results and modern aeromagnetic/radiometric surveys. The palaeochannel isopachs (including basalt and sediment) do not thicken in a modern downvalley direction. Instead, deeper depressions alternate with shallower areas. The variations in thickness, and parts of the palaeochannel courses, are controlled by a series of east-northeast-trending basement highs. The basement highs are caused by a set of east-northeast-trending (Otway Basin-style) faults visible on radar shuttle imagery in the Central Highlands. They have not previously been recognised in regional geological mapping. Most published fault trends are north – south oriented, parallel to the strike of the Palaeozoic basement rocks. Exceptions occur at Ballarat where there is an orthogonal east-northeast set mapped in underground quartz reef workings that show right-lateral strike-slip movements. The east-northeast faults show half-graben block-style rotational movement on basement, creating north- and south-facing fault scarps along the horst ridges. Where palaeochannels overlie the grabens, valleys broadened, infill thickens, and locally drainage directions may change. When the drainage cuts through the horsts, steeper incised valleys result, and this is where, in the historical past, some gold leads were ‘lost’. The initial timing of the block movement pre-dates at least the Early Oligocene to Late Miocene ages of the basal palaeovalley sediments, as shown by revised palynological dating. In places, the modern drainage divide coincides with east-northeast-trending faults. In the Ballarat area, an earlier divide accentuated by the aeromagnetic palaeodrainage mapping occurs up to 25 km south and appears to pre-date the earliest basalt flows at around 7.0 Ma. This evidence suggests the divide can change position through time by differential movements along east-northeast faults and transferral of maximum uplift to adjacent blocks.     

Thermochronology of the Chernorud granulite zone,Ol’khon Region,Western Baikal area

Structural-petrologic and isotopic-geochronologic data on magmatic, metamorphic, and metasomatic rocks from the Chernorud zone were used to reproduce the multistage history of their exhumation to upper crustal levels. The process is subdivided into four discrete stages, which corresponded to metamorphism to the granulite facies (500–490 Ma), metamorphism to the amphibolite facies (470–460 Ma), metamorphism to at least the epidote-amphibolite facies (440–430 Ma), and postmetamorphic events (410–400 Ma). The earliest two stages likely corresponded to the tectonic stacking of the backarc basin in response to the collision of the Siberian continent with the Eravninskaya island arc or the Barguzin microcontinent, a process that ended with the extensive generation of synmetamorphic granites. During the third and fourth stages, the granulites of the Chernorud nappe were successively exposed during intense tectonic motions along large deformation zones (Primorskii fault, collision lineament, and Orso Complex). The comparison of the histories of active thermal events for Early Caledonian folded structures in the Central Asian Foldbelt indicates that active thermal events of equal duration are reconstructed for the following five widely spiced accretion-collision structures: the Chernorud granulite zone in the Ol’khon territory, the Slyudyanka crystalline complex in the southwestern Baikal area, the western Sangilen territory in southeastern Tuva, Derbinskii terrane in the Eastern Sayan, and the Bayankhongor ophiolite zone in central Mongolia. The dates obtained by various isotopic techniques are generally consistent with the four discrete stages identified in the Chernorud nappe, whereas the dates corresponding to the island-arc evolutionary stage were obtained only for the western Sangilen and Bayankhongor ophiolite zone.