Romania's Apuseni Mountains: Safeguarding a cultural heritage

The Apuseni Mountains are unusual on account of the extreme fragmentation of the settlement pattern particularly in the upper Aries valley. Not only is hamlet settlement very much the rule, but these small units of settlement may be quite widely separated from each other by distance and altitude. Such networks have evolved through clearance of the high surfaces which cannot be efficiently farmed from the valleys in which modern infrastructure has been concentrated over the last century. Important questions therefore arise with regard to the survival capacity of communities which are critical elements in a cultural landscape that constitutes a valuable resource for both Romania and Europe. In other parts of the region dispersal is not so extreme, but there are still depopulation tendencies which are potentially damaging for the cultural landscape. The paper examines the lifestyles associated with outlying settlements and the extent to which centralising tendencies have been resisted in recent times. In the context of the present transition it considers the actions being considered to safeguard fragile mountain communities in a vulnerable area exposed to growing commercial penetration associated with cross-border cooperation on the Hungarian- Romanian frontier. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The soil cultural heritage of Italy: Geodatabase, maps, and pedodiversity evaluation

Soils can possess heritage characteristics and can be classified according to their “cultural value”. “Pedosites”, likewise “geosites”, are important for science and teaching, for tourism and recreation, provide elements in the Environmental Impact Analysis, and enhance the awareness of population towards the value of the land where they live. Pedosite richness and diversity are a resource of a territory that should be evaluated and considered in land planning. The methodology used to evaluate and group pedosites of Italy, and the software developed to collect such information and create a specific geodatabase, are presented in this paper as an example for use in other countries. An Italian geodatabase storing 726 pedosites was created. Soil profiles as cultural heritage were: (i) palaeosols, (ii) soils from archaeological and palaeontological sites, (iii) soils displaying natural or anthropic processes and benchmarks of classifications. Pedosites as soilscapes were: (i) cultural landscapes; (ii) soilscapes determining the amenity of a panorama; (iii) soilscapes in fragile environmental balance; (iv) soilscapes that contribute to the outliving of particular ecosystems. The criteria for the evaluation of pedosites and the suggestions for their protection were indicated as follows: (i) area and (ii) type of scientific interest, (iii) state of conservation, (iv) type and (v) intensity of risk, (vi) level of knowledge, (vii) geological age, (viii) protection and (ix) proposed protection, (x) accessibility, (xi) visibility, (xii) exposure, (xiii) observability. The geodatabase can be used at different scales. Two maps, at national and local levels, exemplify the methodology and show how to use the geodatabase for didactic purposes or the creation of integrated Geoparks. Pedosite indices of diversity highlight the greater pedosite variety in the soil regions of Mediterranean Italy.     

Ecological function regionalization of cultural heritage sites in Turpan,China, based on GIS

The protection for historical and cultural heritage and their surrounding environments is much more important than any other preventive efforts made by humans, so how to protect them and achieve sustainable utilization should be a priority. Regionalization is an efficient and a sustainable tool to manage the protected areas. In this study, based on regionalization of natural protected areas theory, we used ecological sensitivity analysis to regionalize the heritage sites in Turpan, China. Factors for the analysis are topography, ecological environments, human activity, and landscape resources. Based on the analysis of environmental status and spatial variation of ecological sensitivity in Turpan, this paper aims at developing a regionalization scheme and provides a scientific basis for protection and restoration of vulnerable historical and cultural sites. Our study results showed that 75% of the heritage sites in Turpan have sensitivity which is under dangerous condition and requires better planning and protection. This study provided a reliable and scientific way to regionalize heritage sites in the study area and which also can be transferred to other locations with similar situation.     

Preserving our in situ archaeological heritage: a challenge to the geochemical engineer

Empirical evidence has shown that industrialization and changes in agricultural practices have caused worldwide dramatic changes in the burial conditions of the archaeological remains. The current understanding of the problem, however, is not sufficiently advanced, which hinders adequate measures to prevent a tremendous loss of archaeological information. In the beginning of the nineties, research programmes were started to gain insight into the deterioration of different kinds of organic and inorganic components, representing a great variety of archaeomaterials. Knowledge of the present-day preservation condition of the remains will create the scientific basis for an environmental risk assessment of archaeological sites. It also will be the basis for developing strategies for the monitoring of a well-defined number of endangered sites. Such a monitoring system particularly is needed at places where geotechnical measures, like the local up-levelling of the soil and the creation of an artificially high ground water table, have been carried out to protect the archaeological heritage.     

From harmony of the spheres to national anthem: Reflections on musical heritage

Western classical music was long distinctive among the arts for its universality and catholicity. From Greek antiquity on, music uniquely reflected Orphic, mystic, celestial feeling, And unlike painting, architecture, or literature, the standard musical canon came to be breathtakingly inclusive over time as well as space. Yet in recent centuries music has increasingly celebrated national patriotism and period particularism. This essay traces the histories of these antithetical expressive urges, the one universalistic, transcendental, atemporal, the other chauvinist, parochial, historicist.     

Risk assessment of cultural heritage sites clusters using satellite imagery and GIS: the case study of Paphos District,Cyprus

This paper aims to assess the risk of natural and anthropogenic hazards for cultural heritage in Cyprus by integrating multi-temporal GIS and earth observation analysis, in the area of Paphos District. The work presented here attends to re-evaluate previous results from earth observations and GIS analysis and go a step forward targeting more reliable outcomes for cultural heritage management. The scope of the paper was to develop a more accurate methodology for risk assessment against natural and anthropogenic hazards (e.g., soil erosion; urban expansion), based on homogeneous clustering of the monuments under consideration. The accomplished assessment approach, being lopsided and generic, cannot be applied across the board and undistractedly for cultural heritage management of all types of monuments of the district. Instead, the proposed clustering of monuments based on a variety of parameters is taking into consideration characteristics of their immediate environment, resulting rational local-based outcomes more useful for monuments and sites safeguarding and for prevention measurements. For each one of the five clusters of monuments located in the Paphos District, an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was followed in order to address the individual and unique characteristics of the monuments and sites within the same cluster area. Subsequently, the weight factors from these clusters were interpolated to the whole district, prior to the application of the overall AHP risk assessment. Ultimately, the results were compared with the overall AHP method applied for the entire Paphos District, indicating that the proposed methodology can be more accurate and realistic for the different groups of the monuments.     

Climate and hydrological models to assess the impact of climate change on hydrological regime: a review

Quantitative knowledge about the impacts of climate change on the hydrological regime is essential in order to achieve meaningful insights to address various adverse consequences related to water such as water scarcity, flooding, drought, etc. General circulation models (GCMs) have been developed to simulate the present climate and to predict future climatic change. But, the coarse resolution of their outputs is inefficient to resolve significant regional scale features for assessing the effects of climate change on the hydrological regimes, thus restricting their direct implementation in hydrological models. This article reviews hierarchy and development of climate models from the early times, importance and inter-comparison of downscaling techniques and development of hydrological models. Also recent research developments regarding the evaluation of climate change impact on the hydrological regime have been discussed. The article also provides some suggestions to improve the effectiveness of modelling approaches involved in the assessment of climate change impact on hydrological regime.     

Celebrating a Nation’s heritage on music stamps: Constructing an international community

Stamps convey important visible messages about a state’s heritage and worldview. They are images or official visible products seen by those living within the state’s borders and those beyond. They also can be considered as “imagined communities,” as like festivals, holidays, or WWW pages, they represent attachments to and images of place. We investigate stamps as elements of visual culture by examining salient music themes and topics from several countries and then focus on the music stamps of Brazil, Hungary, and Senegal. In each case, we examine the number and variety of issues, the importance they place on musical instruments, composers and performers, and musical events.     

The multifunctionality of heritage food: The example of pinole,a Mexican sweet

Pinole is a heritage foodstuff whose analysis provides the lens to understand the plight of Mexican farmers and the role translocal actors play in the articulation of global food heritage. To preserve and sell pinole, the pinole project was created from two groups of Mexicans born in Ozolco - a small rural village - and who now reside on either side of the Mexican and US border. By analysing members’ discourses, this article demonstrates how pinole is essentialised or commodified, and how it provides the platform for actors to formulate a variety of identities according to their socio-economic and geographical contexts. Bridging the literatures on food-studies and place-making, the multifunctionality of pinole transpires as inherently linked to the emergence of differing notions of place embedded in Ozolco. Exploring members’ varying priorities, from perpetuating rural lifestyles to preserving their hometown and its native blue corn, the project epitomises the struggle of farmers with Mexico’s migration drain and their efforts to economically engage with global markets of corn by circulating an added-value corn product within translocal networks as well as re-appropriate corn’s socio-cultural meaning.     

Life inhabits rocks: clues to rock erosion from electron microscopy of pisolite at a UNESCO heritage site in Brazil

Rock erosion is attracting increasing attention from scientists worldwide. The area encompassing the Saint John Baptist Church, Saint John Village, XVII century ruins in Rio Grande do Sul at the UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered a Brazilian treasure. However, the risk of damage to this site from rock erosion has recently increased tremendously. Generally, the rocky construction such as fence, wall and tomb stone, seems strong but is actually extremely sensitive to erosion caused by lichens, fungi, molds and bacteria. Because of biological erosion and massive exposure, the fresh rock is dominated by clays and microorganisms. Water-adsorbing clays and microorganisms influence the mechanisms of the rock erosion. In this study, the formation of bio-clay-minerals in porous structure of pisolite was demonstrated using electron microscopy. Bacterial clay mineralization can deform the rock structure and even produce organic materials. Biological activity could easily corrode rocky constructions around the Saint John Baptist Church site. The rocks are pisolitic laterites possibly formed in Tertiary over the Kretaceous Parana flood Basalts. Samples inhabited by lichens and fungi were collected from a collapsed wall in the ancient church. The zonal reddish-brown pisolites are 4 mm in diameter in a matrix of clays associated with porous and empty spaces. Elemental distribution maps from X-ray fluorescence microscopy show iron-rich spherules of pisolite, whereas the matrix is composed of Al, Si, Mn, and Sr; thus producing goethite and kaolinite. Transmission electron microscopic observation showed that various types of bacteria inhabit the spherule and are associated with clay minerals and graphite. STEM elemental analysis confirmed the bio-clay-mineralization with Al, Si, S, and Fe, around bacterial cells. The results presented here will improve our understanding of nm-scale bio-mineralization and bio-erosion in lateritic rocks. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Influence of a sunspot penumbra on the oscillatory regime of neighboring regions

The spectra of radial-velocity oscillations in the immediate vicinity of a sunspot beyond the observable boundary of the penumbra have been analyzed. The radial velocities were derived using a differential method. The oscillation spectra at two heights (lower photosphere and chromosphere) were compared with reference spectra for the middle penumbra and an unperturbed region obtained using the same method. The oscillatory regime characteristic of the sunspot penumbra extends more than 15″ beyond its observable boundary. It is proposed that deep photospheric layers in the region surrounding the penumbra have physical conditions similar to those observed inside its outer boundary.     

中蒙边界亚干变质核杂岩糜棱状钾质花岗岩—早中生代收缩与伸展构造体制的转换标志

中、晚中生代大型推覆和伸展构造的发育是华北地块及北缘构造的一大特色。本文在典型伸展构造亚干变质核杂岩中识别出早期具拉张环境的糜棱状花岗岩,岩石类型为钾质花岗岩及钾玄岩系列,具造山后及板内拉张构造环境特点,锆石U-Pb定年为228±7Ma,这些岩石强烈变形,并发育同侵位岩浆流动和高温固态流动变形。这些特征表明在晚中生代该核杂岩成型之前即早中生代中下地壳层就已经历调整、减薄和伸展变形。它们的组合揭示了一种特有的构造动力学机制和背景。