An international conference in honour of the centennial of the birth of Ya.B. Zeldovich, “Subatomic Particles,Nucleons, Atoms,the Universe: Processes and Structure”

An international conference in honour of the centennial of the birth of Ya.B. Zeldovich, “Subatomic Particles, Nucleons, Atoms, the Universe: Processes and Structure” was held in Minsk, Belarus on March 10–14, 2014. Scientific papers based on plenary presentations made at this conference are being published in Volumes 6 and 7, 2015 of “Astronomy Reports.”     

Geographies of identity theft in the U.S.: understanding spatial and demographic patterns, 2002–2006

Identity theft is among the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the United States, although official recognition of it as a criminal act is a relatively recent development. Utilizing theoretical framework established in crime geography, GIS mapping and spatial statistics are employed to conduct a spatial analysis of identity theft in the U.S. from 2002 to 2006. Distinct regional variations, such as high rates in the western and southwestern states, and low rates in New England and the central plains states, are identified for identity theft. Significant spatial patterns of identity theft victims alongside social demographic variables are also revealed in order to better understand the regional patterns that may suggest underlying social causes contributing to identity theft. Potential social variables, such as race/ethnicity and urban–rural populations, are shown to have similar patterns that may be directly associated with U.S. identity theft victims.     

Postglacial Deposits of the Dal’nyaya Taiga Group: Early Vendian in the Ura Uplift,Siberia. Communication 1. Barakun Formation

Analysis of modern paleontological, isotope-geochemical, and paleotectonic data on Vendian rocks in the Patom Basin (Siberia) is presented. The paper discusses depositional settings and features of the specifics of sedimentogenesis of the Barakun carbonate–terrigenous formation, which matches the lower strata of postglacial deposits of the Dal’nyaya Taiga Group. It is shown that formation of the transgressive Barakun Formation was governed by relatively deep-water (below the storm wave base) distal settings of a low-angle (about 1°) homoclinal ramp. Its formation was related to a more intense sagging of the northeastern part of the Ura Uplift. The formation of breccias and intrusions was fostered by high seismic activity of the paleobasin recorded in plastic deformations along with liquefaction and fluidization of sedimentary beds. The constant seismic destabilization of bottom beds provoked small but frequent landslides without the formation of turbidite flows. The continuous dislocation of sediments toward the depocenter actively governed specifics of the ramp architecture. The unusual behavior of sediments during their long-term thixotropic residence could be related to a high content of organic matter, processes of methanogenesis and, probably, dissemination of gas hydrate compounds.     

The irrigation technozone: State power,expertise, and agrarian development in the U.S. West and British Punjab, 1880–1920

Many of the world’s deserts were transformed by irrigation expertise at the beginning of the 20th century. An irrigation “technological zone” emerged to facilitate the circulation of engineering expertise and the territorial expansion of the U.S. and British imperial states. Hydraulic engineers considered themselves globally connected technicians providing practical solutions to the political problems of poverty and famine. Although premised on the neutrality and universal applicability of scientific principles, the practices and environmental expertise of irrigation engineers were firmly rooted in regional state/society formations, which sought to increase agricultural production and induce settlement with irrigation. This paper analyzes the globalization of irrigation expertise through a relational comparison of the irrigation narratives of the British Punjab and the Western U.S., 1880–1920. The analysis demonstrates that the irrigation technological zone was significantly formed by place-based dynamics that, in turn, shaped irrigation as a mode of environmental expertise.     

A comment on: ‘TitaniQ under pressure: the effect of pressure and temperature on the solubility of Ti in quartz’, by Jay B. Thomas,E. Bruce Watson,Frank S. Spear,Philip T. Shemella,Saroj K. Nayak and Antonio Lanzirotti

Trace concentrations of Ti in quartz are used to indicate the pressure and temperature conditions of crystallization in the ‘TitaniQ’ geothermobarometer of Thomas et al. (Contrib Miner Petrol 160:743–759, 2010). It utilises the partitioning of Ti into quartz as an indicator of the pressures and/or temperatures of crystal growth. For a given value of TiO₂ activity in the system, if temperatures are inferred to ±20 °C, pressure is constrained to ±1 kbar and vice versa. There are significant contrasts, however, between the conclusions from TitaniQ and those for natural quartz (as well as other mineral phases) in volcanic rocks. Application of the TitaniQ model to quartz from the 27 ka Oruanui and 760 ka Bishop high-silica rhyolites, where the values of T, P and TiO₂ activity are constrained by other means (Fe–Ti oxide equilibria, melt inclusion entrapment pressures in gas-saturated melts, melt and amphibole compositions), yields inconsistent results. If realistic values are given to any two of these three parameters, then the value of the third is wholly unrealistic. The model yields growth temperatures at or below the granite solidus, pressures in the lower crust or upper mantle, or TiO₂ activities inconsistent with the mineralogical and chemical compositions of the magmas. CL imagery and measurements of Ti (and other elements) in quartz are of great value in showing the growth histories and changes in conditions experienced by crystals, but direct linkages to P, T conditions during crystal growth cannot be achieved.     

Long-term tendencies in the electoral behavior and the geography of voting in St. Petersburg: 1989–1995

This paper studies the basis and nature of the long-term factors that may have influenced the electoral behavior of St. Petersburgers between 1989 and 1995 from the perspective of geography. Our analysis shows two distinct periods in St. Petersburgs recent electoral history marked by differing behavioral motivations of voters in the city. The first period was marked by only one ideological cleavage between marketers and hard-liners. In 1993 protest motivation managed to erode the predominance of ideology as the determining variable in voting behavior, and began to act as a new independent variable. This marked the beginning of the second period. Four major groupings of St. Petersburg electorate are described in terms of the basic ideological cleavages, party affiliations and geographical gravity centers.