Police, politics, and the right to the city

Space and spatiality have recently been at the core of debates concerning the political possibilities of the city. The arguments advanced in this paper might be seen as an attempt to contribute to these debates through a reflection on the spatiality of (in) justice, politics, and the right to the city. The case of French urban policy, with its focus on distressed urban areas, and the `suburban problem' in France are used as examples to make arguments more concrete.     

深港西部通道填海区地下水铜、钒、铊、镉、钨迁移的实验研究

填海工程使滨海地区的地下水物理化学条件改变,导致该区域地下水中重金属浓度升高。本文以深港西部通道填海区为例,采用实验室模拟填海条件的办法,初步探讨了影响填海区地下水重金属迁移的关键因素。模拟实验结果表明,填海区地下水中钨元素含量升高与地下水淡化、淤泥氧化过程以及填料风化有关;铜元素含量升高则与淤泥氧化过程以及填料风化有关;钒元素含量升高与地下水淡化和淤泥氧化过程有关,而其他元素含量升高则主要与填料风化释放有关。     

Delivery of Trace Metals (Al,Fe, Mn,V, Co,Ni, Cu,Cd, Ag,Pb) from the Trinity River Watershed Towards the Ocean

The Trinity River (Texas, USA) contains in its watershed 23 different reservoir lakes, the largest one being Lake Livingston situated in the lower Trinity River watershed and two potentially polluting metroplexes, Dallas and Houston. In order to determine fluxes of nutrients and trace metals to Galveston Bay, a survey that included 24 discreet samples collected over a year and at various stages of discharge was carried out during 2000–2001. Geochemical (i.e., sorption by Fe oxyhydroxides), biological (i.e., seasonal uptake by sinking algae in Lake Livingston), and hydrological (i.e., dilution effects by increasing flow rates) controls were found to be mainly responsible for variations in dissolved trace metal concentrations rather than pollution sources. The Trinity River loads of suspended sediments and pollutant trace metals entering Galveston Bay at Anahuac were <20% of those reaching Lake Livingston, and only a few percent of the total upstream trace metal load is entering the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, during the transit through the 23 man-made lakes and an estuary, >96% of the pollutant trace metal load is lost to sediments.     

Superzoned garnets in the coesite-bearing Brossasco-Isasca Unit, Dora-Maira massif, Western Alps, and the origin of the whiteschists

Rare centimeter-sized superzoned garnets (SZGs) were discovered in two coesite-bearing whiteschists of the Brossasco-Isasca Unit (BIU), southern Dora-Maira massif (DMM), Western Alps. The superzoned garnet consists of a reddish-brown almandine core crowded with inclusions of staurolite, chloritoid, kyanite, chlorite and paragonite, and of a pinkish pyrope rim with sporadic inclusions of kyanite, and magnesian chlorite. The core–rim contact is relatively sharp and marks the termination of the inclusion-rich portion. The core composition of the superzoned garnet is almost identical to, or slightly richer in Mg, than that of the rim of porphyroblastic garnet in metapelites from the same unit. In the rim of the superzoned garnet, Mg–Fe ratio increases abruptly towards the outermost rim, whose composition is identical to that of the common pyrope in the whiteschist. At the core–rim boundary, there is no chemical gap. Chloritoid and staurolite are common inclusions in the core of the superzoned garnet in the whiteschist and in the porphyroblastic garnet in the metapelite. The staurolite composition (Si=2.00 and total R²⁺<2.0 for O=23 basis) and its reverse Fe–Mg distribution with respect to garnet suggest a HP origin. The Fe–Mg distribution between chloritoid and garnet is reverse in the superzoned garnet, but normal in the garnet of metapelite. Because normal Fe–Mg distribution was reported from other eclogite-facies metapelites, a model petrogenetic grid was constructed in the FMASH model system considering St, Cld, Ky, Chl, Grt, and assuming the following Fe–Mg partitioning of St>Grt>Cld>Chl. The resulting petrogenetic grid suggests that the core of the superzoned garnet contains incompatible assemblages, such as St–Cld–Chl vs. Cld–Chl–Ky. New and literature data and results of experiments in the KFASH system suggest that: (1) the superzoned garnet was formed under a single prograde high-pressure/ultra high-pressure (HP/UHP) Alpine metamorphism, (2) the almandine inclusion-rich core of the superzoned garnet crystallized at disequilibrium in a pelitic composition system at around 600°C and less than 16 kbar, probably from a former metapelite xenolith included in a Variscan granitoid, and (3) the chemical environment of the host rock suddenly changed from the normal pelite to the whiteschist composition by a metasomatic process during the rim growth, i.e., at a stage close to the UHP climax.     

Isotopic systematics of He,Ar, S,Cu, Ni,Re, Os,Pb, U,Sm, Nd,Rb, Sr,Lu, and Hf in the rocks and ores of the Norilsk deposits

This paper reports the first results of a study of 11 isotope systems (³He/⁴He, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar, ³⁴S/³²S, ⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu, ⁶²Ni/⁶⁰Ni, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, ^206–208Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, Hf–Nd, U–Pb, and Re–Os) in the rocks and ores of the Cu–Ni–PGE deposits of the Norilsk ore district. Almost all the results were obtained at the Center of Isotopic Research of the Karpinskii All-Russia Research Institute of Geology. The use of a number of independent genetic isotopic signatures and comprehensive isotopic knowledge provided a methodic basis for the interpretation of approximately 5000 isotopic analyses of various elements. The presence of materials from two sources, crust and mantle, was detected in the composition of the rocks and ores. The contribution of the crustal source is especially significant in the paleofluids (gas–liquid microinclusions) of the ore-forming medium. Crustal solutions were probably a transport medium during ore formation. Air argon is dominant in the ores, which indicates a connection between the paleofluids and the atmosphere. This suggests intense groundwater circulation during the crystallization of ore minerals. The age of the rocks and ores of the Norilsk deposits was determined. The stage of orebody formation is restricted to a narrow age interval of 250 ± 10 Ma. An isotopic criterion was proposed for the ore-bearing potential of mafic intrusions in the Norilsk–Taimyr region. It includes several interrelated isotopic ratios of various elements: He, Ar, S, and others.     

Geology,Mineralogy, Geochronology,and Sulfur Isotope Constraints on the Genesis of the Luanling Gold Telluride Deposit,Western Henan Province,Central China

The Luanling gold telluride deposit in the Xiong'ershan region is located in the southern margin of the North China Craton. The deposit formed in four stages, that is, an early pyrite‐quartz stage (I), a pyrite‐molybdenite stage (II), a sulfide‐telluride‐gold stage (III), and a late carbonate stage (IV). Six species of telluride in stage (III) are recognized, including hessite, altaite, petzite, unidentified Au‐Ag‐Te mineral, empressite, and unidentified Ag‐Te‐S mineral. Gold occurs mostly as native gold and electrum along the microfractures of sulfides or the contact between sulfide and telluride. The mineralization temperature of stage I and stage III ranges from 296 to 377°C and 241 to 324°C, respectively. Tellurides in stage III precipitate at the log?_S2 from ?14.3 to ?7.3 and log?_Te2 from ?17.4 to ?9.4. The ores were formed in an oxidizing environment. The Re‐Os model ages of molybdenite are 162–164 Ma, which indicate that the main ore formation stage was in the Late Jurassic. The Re contents of five molybdenite samples from the Luanling deposit have a range of 36.32–81.95 ppm, except for one large value of 220 ppm, which indicates that the ore‐forming materials are mainly derived from a crustal‐dominated source. The δ³⁴S values of sulfides range from ?17.6 to ?6.2‰, whereas those of sulfates are from 6.8 to 11.5‰. The δ³⁴S_∑S value of the ore‐forming system is 0.0–3.7‰, indicating that the sulfur of the Luanling deposit derived from a deep igneous source. Mineral association and isotope data of the Luanling deposit, together with its geodynamic setting, imply that this deposit belongs to a part of the metallogenic system of the Nannihu‐Sandaozhuang, Shangfangou porphyry molybdenum deposits, and the Late Jurassic granitic intrusions.     

Influences of the unsaturated,saturated, and riparian zones on the transport of nitrate near the Merced River,California, USA

Transport and transformation of nitrate was evaluated along a 1-km groundwater transect from an almond orchard to the Merced River, California, USA, within an irrigated agricultural setting. As indicated by measurements of pore-water nitrate and modeling using the root zone water quality model, about 63% of the applied nitrogen was transported through a 6.5-m unsaturated zone. Transport times from recharge locations to the edge of a riparian zone ranged from approximately 6 months to greater than 100 years. This allowed for partial denitrification in horizons having mildly reducing conditions, and essentially no denitrification in horizons with oxidizing conditions. Transport times across a 50–100-m-wide riparian zone of less than a year to over 6 years and more strongly reducing conditions resulted in greater rates of denitrification. Isotopic measurements and concentrations of excess N₂ in water were indicative of denitrification with the highest rates below the Merced River. Discharge of water and nitrate into the river was dependent on gradients driven by irrigation or river stage. The results suggest that the assimilative capacity for nitrate of the groundwater system, and particularly the riverbed, is limiting the nitrate load to the Merced River in the study area.     

Structures in the banded iron-formation of the southeastern Bababudan Hills, Karnataka, India

The banded iron-formation in the southeastern Bababudan Hills display a macroscopic synformal bend gently plunging towards WNW. The bedding planes in smaller individual sectors show a cylindrical or conical pattern of folding. The dominant set of minor folds has WNW-ESE trending axial planes and the axes plunge towards WNW at gentle to moderate angles, though there is considerable variation in orientation of both axes and axial planes. A later set of sporadically observed folds has N-S trending axial planes. The macroscopic synformal bend within the study area forms the southeastern corner of a horseshoe shaped regional synformal fold closure which encompasses the entire Bababudan range. The minor folds are buckle folds modified to a varying extent by flattening. In some examples the quartzose layers appear to be more competent than the ferruginous layers; in others the reverse is true. The folds are frequently noncylindrical and the axes show curvature with branching and en echelon patterns. Such patterns are interpreted to be the result of complex linking of progressively growing folds whose initiation is controlled by the presence of original perturbations in the layers. Domes and basins have at places developed as a result of shortening along two perpendicular directions in a constrictional type of strain. Development of folds at different stages of progressive deformation has given rise to nonparallelism of fold axes and axial planes. The axes and axial planes of smaller folds developed on the limbs of a larger fold are often oriented oblique to those of the latter. Progressive deformation has caused rotation and bending of axial planes of earlier formed folds by those developed at later stages of the same deformational episode. Coaxial recumbent to nearly reclined fold locally encountered on the N-S limb of the macroscopic fold may belong to an earlier episode of deformation or to the early stage of the main deformation episode. The E-W to ESE-WNW strike of axial plane of the regional fold system in the Bababudan belt contrasts with the N-S to NNW-SSE strike of axial planes of the main fold system in the Chitradurga and other schist belts of Karnataka.     

Sharp-based, tide-dominated deltas of the Sego Sandstone, Book Cliffs, Utah, USA

The lower part of the Cretaceous Sego Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale in east‐central Utah contains three 10‐ to 20‐m thick layers of tide‐deposited sandstone arranged in a forward‐ and then backward‐stepping stacking pattern. Each layer of tidal sandstone formed during an episode of shoreline regression and transgression, and offshore wave‐influenced marine deposits separating these layers formed after subsequent shoreline transgression and marine ravinement. Detailed facies architecture studies of these deposits suggest sandstone layers formed on broad tide‐influenced river deltas during a time of fluctuating relative sea‐level. Shale‐dominated offshore marine deposits gradually shoal and become more sandstone‐rich upward to the base of a tidal sandstone layer. The tidal sandstones have sharp erosional bases that formed as falling relative sea‐level allowed tides to scour offshore marine deposits. The tidal sandstones were deposited as ebb migrating tidal bars aggraded on delta fronts. Most delta top deposits were stripped during transgression. Where the distal edge of a deltaic sandstone is exposed, a sharp‐based stack of tidal bar deposits successively fines upward recording a landward shift in deposition after maximum lowstand. Where more proximal parts of a deltaic‐sandstone are exposed, a sharp‐based upward‐coarsening succession of late highstand tidal bar deposits is locally cut by fluvial valleys, or tide‐eroded estuaries, formed during relative sea‐level lowstand or early stages of a subsequent transgression. Estuary fills are highly variable, reflecting local depositional processes and variable rates of sediment supply along the coastline. Lateral juxtaposition of regressive deltaic deposits and incised transgressive estuarine fills produced marked facies changes in sandstone layers along strike. Estuarine fills cut into the forward‐stepped deltaic sandstone tend to be more deeply incised and richer in sandstone than those cut into the backward‐stepped deltaic sandstone. Tidal currents strongly influenced deposition during both forced regression and subsequent transgression of shorelines. This contrasts with sandstones in similar basinal settings elsewhere, which have been interpreted as tidally influenced only in transgressive parts of depositional successions.     

Dragons,brimstone and the geology of a volcanic arc on the island of the last Samurai,Kyushu, Japan

Not even Hollywood could dream of a place so magical as Kyushu. The southern‐most of the four major islands of the Japanese archipelago, this is a land of volcanoes, dinosaurs, and the last stand of the Samurai. And for good measure, James Bond visited here too, in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice. The final explosive scenes of that film featured the destruction of megalomaniac Ernst Stavro Blofeld's headquarters hidden inside the crater of one of Kyushu's most emblematic volcanoes, Shinmoedake. Kyushu also straddles the largest geological structure in Japan, the Median Tectonic Line (MTL) that runs from the western approaches of the island to the central part of Honshu. The MTL has been active since the Cretaceous, and the sedimentary basins formed along its line in Kyushu contain some of Japan's most famous dinosaur finds. The MTL also defines a fundamental divide between the geological histories of the terranes north and south of its line, a history that takes us back to the origins of the Japanese archipelago half a billion years ago.     

Text, talk, things, and the subpolitics of performing place

This article tells the story of how a group of Dutch and Belgian citizens organized themselves to promote an area that they valued, to put it on the map, to raise awareness about its qualities, and to protect it from urban and industrial development. Our theoretical perspective focuses on the performative and political aspects of this place-making process and the discursive and material practices involved. We connect this to Beck’s concept of subpolitics.Our findings show how the group performed this place not only through text and talk - giving the area a name, using their knowledge and expertise to raise awareness about its values, lobbying and cooperating with decision-makers -, but also through things - installing art objects and information signs that articulate certain characteristics and values of the area. Our findings demonstrate the struggles involved in these performances. The group involved multiple perspectives on what the important values and characteristics of the area are and on what strategies would work best in trying to influence decision-making and protect the area. However, the use of expertise as the main strategy to gain influence excluded the more critical and activist strategies and privileging archaeological and historical values and characteristics came at the expense of attention on agricultural and natural values.Our findings make clear that performing place cannot be taken to be homogeneous and that it inevitably involves multiple perspectives and demands. The struggles, power relations and dynamics of inclusion and exclusion that this multiplicity implicates reveal a form of sub-politics that involves both politicization and depoliticization. Also, it is a form of subpolitics that is more diverse and ambiguous than Beck’s conceptualization presupposes by its emphasis on the role of outsiders as a homogeneous group.     

Segmented, curved faults: the example of the Balduini Thrust Zone, Northern Apennines, Italy

Meso- and micro-structural studies of the well-exposed Balduini Thrust (Northern Apennines, Italy) indicate that the structure formed during a single folding event, contemporaneous with diagenesis, and is a zone comprising curved, en-échelon fault segments. The geometry of each segment is arcuate with pure compression at one end and right-lateral displacement along the other. The thrust developed during the Tortonian within a single mud-rich formation, the Upper Eocene–Upper Oligocene Scaglia Cinerea, but rheological variations within the unit led to differences in deformation style; zones of scaly fabric are discontinuous and calcite veins vary in abundance. The mesoscopic morphology of the veins and the distribution of calcium carbonate along the formation indicate variations in the distribution of fluids at the time of deformation, which affected both diagenesis and the structural response of the material. Systematic variations of mechanical properties within the thickness of the Scaglia Cinerea Formation account for the curvature of the propagating thrust. Together with the heterogeneity of the stress field, the confinement of the arcing thrust to this single, weak unit lead to repeated initiation of new fractures and hence segmentation of the propagating thrust. Geometric analysis of the calcite veins and their microscopic characters suggests that hydrofracturing was involved, with the Scaglia Cinerea Formation experiencing high fluid pressure followed by rapid water expulsion. The Balduini Thrust is therefore an example of a fluid-driven, refracted compound shear zone. The analysis presented here provides insights into the three-dimensional arrangement of fault zones and fluid-migration patterns during regional faulting.     

Mobility of trace elements between the river water,the sediments,and the pore water of Las Catonas Stream,Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

The composition of river water, sediments, and pore waters (down to 30 cm below the bed) of Las Catonas Stream was studied to analyze the distribution of trace elements in a peri-urban site. The Las Catonas Stream is one of the main tributaries of Reconquista River, a highly polluted water course in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The semi-consolidated Quaternary sediments of the Luján Formation are the main source of sediments for Las Catonas Stream. The coarse-grained fraction in the sediments is mainly composed of tosca (calcretes), intraclasts, bone fragments, glass shards, quartz, and aggregates of fine-grained sediments together with considerably amounts of vegetal remains. The clay minerals are illite, illite–smectite, smectite, and kaolinite. For the clay-sized fraction, the external surface area values are mostly between 70 and 110 m²g^?1, although the fraction at 15 cm below the bottom of the river shows a lower surface area of 12 m²g^?1. The N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K for this sample display a behavior indicative of non-porous or macroporous material, whereas the samples above and below present a typical behavior of mesoporous materials with pores between parallel plates (slit-shaped). As, Cr, Cu, and Cd concentrations increase down to 15 cm depth in the sediments, where the highest trace element and total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations were found, and then decrease toward the bottom of the core. Except for As, the levels of the other heavy metals show higher concentration in surficial waters than in pore waters. Distribution coefficients between the sediments, pore water, and surficial water phases indicate that As is released from the sediments to the pore and surficial waters. Cu content strongly correlates with TOC (mainly from vegetal remains), suggesting that this element is mainly bound to the organic phase.     

Aspects of the mineralogy and hydrometallurgy of chrysocolla,with special reference to the Cuajone,Peru, ores

Chrysocolla in the Cuajone ores appears to be microcrystalline and to exhibit a fibrous structure.Sulphuric acid leaching of the chrysocolla is facilitated by a microcracked surface structure. A marked surface structural change is evidenced as hydrogen ions replace the copper. The end result is a noncontinuous surface layer of silica from which the copper has been essentially completely removed.The results of this study provide confirmatory evidence for the structure and hydrometallurgy of chrysocolla.     

Geochronology of the Dovyren intrusive complex, northwestern Baikal area, Russia, in the Neoproterozoic

The paper reports newly obtained data on the geochronology of the Dovyren intrusive complex and associated metarhyolites of the Inyaptuk Formation in the Synnyr Range. The data were obtained by local LA-ICPMS analysis of zircons in samples. The U-Pb age of olivine-free gabbronorite from near the roof of the Yoko-Dovyren Massif is 730 ± 6 Ma (MSWD = 1.7, n = 33, three samples) is close to the estimated age of 731 ± 4 Ma (MSWD = 1.3, n = 56, five samples) of a 200-m-thick sill beneath the pluton. These data overlap the age of recrystallized hornfels found within the massif (“charnockitoid”, 723 ± 7 Ma, MSWD = 0.12, n = 10) and a dike of sulfidated gabbronorite below the bottom of the massif (725 ± 8 Ma, MSWD = 2.0, n = 15). The estimates are also consistent with the age of albite hornfels (721 ± 6 Ma, MSWD = 0.78, n = 12), which was produced in a low-temperature contact metamorphic facies of the host rocks. The average age of the Dovyren Complex is 728.4 ± 3.4 Ma (MSWD = 1.8, n = 99) based on data on the sill, near-roof gabbronorite, and “charnockitoid”) and is roughly 55 Ma older than the estimate of 673 ± 22 Ma (Sm-Nd; [13]). The U-Pb system of zircon in two quartz metaporphyre samples from the bottom portion of the Inyaptuk volcanic formation in the northeastern part of the Yoko-Dovyren Massif turns out to be disturbed. The scatter of the data points can be explained by the effect of two discrete events. The age of the first zircon population is then 729 ± 14 Ma (MSWD = 0.74, n = 8), and that of the second population is 667 ± 14 Ma (MSWD = 1.9, n = 13). The older value pertains to intrusive rocks of Dovyren, and the age of the “rejuvenated” zircon grains corresponds to the hydrothermal-metasomatic processes, which affected the whole volcano-plutonic sequence and involved the serpentinization of the hyperbasites. This is validated by the results of Rb-Sr isotopic studies with the partial acid leaching of two serpentinized peridotite samples from the Verblyud Sill. These studies date the overprinted processes at 659 ± 5 Ma (MSWD = 1.3, n = 3).     

Pleistocene, multiple-growth, lacustrine oncoids from the Poacher's Point Formation, Etosha Pan, northern Namibia

The Poacher's Point Formation is located within the Etosha Pan, northern Namibia. It contains Pleistocene stromatolites, ooids and silica nodules. The stromatolites were constructed by cyanobacteria in very lowenergy lacustrine conditions. The internal structure of the oncoids is complex and subdivided into shells by unconformities. Each unconformity-bounded shell probably represents stromatolite growth during a distinct lacustrine event. Shallower conditions are represented by colloform growth and deeper water by smooth oncoid mat morphology. The unconformities represent hiatuses of unknown duration. At least six stromatolite growth shells are recognized. Silica concretions which may have developed during shallowing lake stages are also present. The lack of clastic material in the carbonate lithologies suggests that the lake waters may have accumulated from collecting rainwater or have been spring fed. The lowest bed of the succession is a saline clay which represents a seasonally flooded salt pan deposited in an arid to semi-arid climate similar to that of today. The overlying carbonates represent sedimentation during a series of transient lacustrine events, representing intermittent wetter periods. Finally, due to progressive aridity, the lacustrine succession was terminated by calcrete development.     

The good,the bad,and the ugly facts of tornado survival

Anytime that tornadoes interface with people, the results are often grim. The varied characteristics of tornado windfields and the diverse techniques of home construction complicate the expected outcomes of such interactions. Since it is now known that tornadoes do not produce unfathomable winds, engineers have developed techniques for increasing a home’s tornado resistance; thus, increasing the odds of survival of the inhabitants. Even considering these advances, tornadoes still wreak havoc and cause much causality every year. The story of tornado survival is partly chance, partly knowledge, and partly science. This essay utilizes analogies between a popular motion picture and the state of the art of tornado-resistant construction to illustrate the good, the bad, and the ugly facts of tornado survival. First examined are the positive aspects of tornado probability. The odds of experiencing a tornado are so low that massive expenditures are not necessarily cost effective. Next, various techniques of tornado-resistant construction practices are included for new and existing structures. Introduction of equations for predicting debris penetration are compared with various building techniques to describe the viability of tornado protection. The negative aspect of tornado/structure interfaces describes the fact that despite contemporary construction and prevention exercise, the unpredictability of the tornado windfield causes tremendous damage and loss of life. The final section examines the interface between tornadoes and mobile homes. This proves very ugly in every aspect of the word. Statistics and equations confirm the inherent dangers of such an interaction. Also, described is a novel approach to the design of a portable tornado shelter.     

Seasonal variation of the salinity in the Zuari estuary,Goa, India

The annual salt budget of the Zuari is examined. The characteristics of the estuary differ markedly from the low run off season during November–May to the heavy run off period of the southwest monsoon from June to October. During November–May the estuary is vertically mixed and the two processes controlling the transport of salt are run off induced advective transport out of the estuary, and tidally induced diffusive transport into the estuary. The magnitude of the latter is about 20% larger, leading to a salinity rise in the estuary. The diffusion coefficient has been estimated to be 233 ± 101 m²/sec. With the onset of the southwest monsoon, the run off increases dramatically, and the estuary loses about 75% of its salt during the first two months of the season. About 2/3 of this loss is recovered in the next two months when the run off decreases. Because the estuary is partially stratified during June–October, gravitational circulation is expected to play a role in addition to tidal diffusion and run off. The magnitude of its contribution has, however, not yet been determined.     

Climate,hydrology, land use,and environmental degradation in the lower Rhone Valley during the Roman period

This paper's aims are three: firstly, to demonstrate the importance of a long-term perspective on socio-environmental dynamics; secondly, to show the relevance of archaeological data in constructing such a long-term history of such dynamics; thirdly, to illustrate with a case study how one may identify the component processes of environmental change from archaeological materials. Taking the Roman occupation of the middle and lower Rhone Valley as a point of departure, the paper identifies some of the processes of regional environmental change. Firstly, it demonstrates the existence of a regional phase of climate degradation during the 2nd century ad. It is in all probability of anthropogenic origin. This degradation seems to have been caused by widespread deforestation in preparation for intensive cultivation of cereals, wine and olives for export to other parts of the Roman Empire. Next, it isolates the principal interactions occurring between relief, soils, and water on the one hand, and the societal dynamics on the other. The location of each settlement is considered representative of an environmental choice, made by its founders at the time the settlement is initiated. These environmental choices, in turn, reflect the perception of the landscape and its resources by the settlers. The principal indicators at our disposal for this study are the relief, soil, and hydrological maps. They are used as a basis for the calculation of the altitude, slope, orientation, annual solar radiation, exposure to the prevailing winds, and fertility of the soil of all sites and their environment. Subsequently, preferences are calculated statistically based on the 1000-odd settlements concerned. The third part of the paper concerns the evolution of the sites. It turns out that the earlier ones are the most successful, in part because they occupied the best locations, but also because they structured the landscape and the territory to their advantage, determined the road network, and were the first to lay hands on localized resources. Eighty percent of the total number of sites is abandoned in less than 200 years. The reasons for that abandonment are not to be sought in any kind of environmental degradation, as the proportion of abandoned sites is about the same in all landscapes. Rather, they seem to have to do with a reorganization of the settlement pattern after some 100 years of increasingly intensive agro-industry. This reorganization is triggered by a combination of economic and political events that come close to destabilizing the Empire. Settlement size and accessibility are the main determinants of survival. The exact nature of the events leading up to this re-structuration differs from region to region. In the case of the Tricastin, the Emperor undertook a vast land reclamation project in the first century bc. He used it to retire soldiers from the many legions that were active around the time of the birth of Christ. However, the peace of the early decades of the first century ad abruptly reduced the number of soldiers to be retired. Hence, the orthogonal, Roman drainage system could no longer be maintained sufficiently well, to ensure that it functioned correctly. As a result, the surface available for cultivation, and the yield per hectare, fell drastically, and many farms were deserted. To cite this article: S.E. van der Leeuw, The ARCHAEOMEDES research team, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Lithofacies,depositional environments,regional biostratigraphy and age of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti Hills,Balochistan, Pakistan

The Oligocene-early Miocene Chitarwata Formation records a critical interval of terrestrial sedimentation that predates the Siwalik deposits on the Potwar Plateau of north-central Pakistan. This Oligocene-early Miocene time interval has long been considered as lacking in the entire Indo-Pakistan region. The Chitarwata Formation is widely exposed in the Sulaiman Range, but has never been described in detail in the Sulaiman Lobe, where the famous fossiliferous strata called ‘Bugti Bone Beds’ have been known for over a century and half. The Chitarwata Formation represents coastal-delta at the base, and plain and fluvial environments at the top. Lithofacies and sedimentary structures of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti area are described in detail, and show a clearly distinct lithologic pattern, different from that reported from the Zinda Pir area. The Chitarwata Formation also records an important transition in the evolution of the drainage systems in the area during the late Paleogene and early Neogene. This transition from the west-flowing paleo-Indus fluvial system to the development of the ancestral Indus drainage system may explain the numerous hiatuses that characterize the Chitarwata Formation. The abundance of fossil mammals from the Chitarwata and overlying Vihowa formation in the Bugti Hills provides critical biochronologic information that sheds new light on biostratigraphic correlation with the Zinda Pir area and for the entire Sulaiman Range.