New results of OSL dating of Quaternary sediments in the Upper Katun’ valley (Gorny Altai) and adjacent area

Several sections have been studied to understand the distribution and interrelation of basic genetic types of Quaternary deposits in the Uimon basin and adjacent area. The OSL date of 101 ± 10 ka from the glaciolacustrine terrace on the northeastern rim of the basin corresponds to the cool substage of MIS 5. The glaciolacustrine sediments of the northern rim are covered with widespread diamictic flows of the outburst draining of the ice-dammed lake. The diamicts are overlain by a subaerial complex of loesses and three fossil soils. From the OSL loess dates in the range of 43 to 49 ka we infer that the complex formed from the early MIS 3 through the Holocene. This is also supported by radiocarbon dates from alluvial deposits incised into the glaciolacustrine terrace and into megaflood sediments of the final draining of the last paleolake. The OSL dates in the range of 77 to 89 ka from alluvial sediments indicate that postglacial downcutting of the present-day Katun’ valley probably started just after MIS 5. The discrepancy between the beryllium dates from dropstones and Holocene TL-dates of the Katun’ valley floods ranging from 23 to 6 ka can be explained if the younger floods are related to the draining of moraine- and rock slide dammed rather than ice-dammed lakes. The younger floods, though being less voluminous than the glacial megafloods, were capable of producing giant ripple marks.     

Enrolling a goddess for Delhi’s street vendors: The micro-politics of policy implementation shaping urban (in)formality

In a world of persistent and growing informality of working and living conditions in cities, and increasing policy efforts to formalise the informal, why are some forms of informality criminalized while others enjoy sanction of the state? This paper argues that analysis of the politics of policy implementation of formalisation efforts can provide rich insights into urban formal-informal relations in cities of the global south, to complement policymaking or policy impact analyses. We present an in-depth case study analysis of the contested implementation of a unique policy effort to formalise street vendors in Delhi, India. A public authority lens reveals the micro-political practices employed by non-state and state actors in bureaucratic, judicial, political, market and other arenas aiming to control urban space. We argue that policy implementation outcomes are significantly shaped by ‘horizontal' contestations within society and within the state, to complement and intermesh with ‘vertical' state-society struggles. Moreover, contestants for public authority exploit official rules but also informal practices by the state, to engage and advance state fragmentation, enduringly shape cityscapes and to affect which forms of informality are condoned or condemned.     

Upper Devonian depositional system of Bel’kov Island (New Siberian Islands): An intracontinental rift or a continental margin?

The archipelago of New Siberian Islands situated on the northeastern continental shelf of Eurasia is considered a part of an exotic terrane that collided with Siberia in the Early Cretaceous. Bel’kov Island is located close to the inferred western boundary of this terrane and thus should demonstrate attributes of its localization at the margin of the Paleozoic oceanic basin. The Upper Devonian section on Bel’kov Island is a continuous sequence of deepwater terrigenous rocks, which indicates a tendency toward deepening of the basin previously revealed on adjacent Kotel’ny Island. The lowermost Upper Devonian unit on Bel’kov Island is represented by thin Domanik-like strata resting on the Middle Devonian carbonate platform. The main body of the Upper Devonian sequence, more than 4 km in total thickness, is made up of gravity-flow sediments including turbidites, clay and block diamictites, and olistostromes in the upper part of the section, which accumulated at the slope of the basin or its rise. At many levels, these sediments have been redeposited by along-slope currents. The uppermost unit of organogenic limestone is evidence for compensation of the trough. According to conodont assemblages, the deepwater terrigenous rocks were deposited from the early Frasnian to the early Tournaisian. This time is known for extensive rifting in the eastern Siberian Platform. The data obtained allowed us to reconstruct a NNW-trending Late Devonian rift basin on the Laptev Sea shelf similar to other rifts at the eastern margin of the Siberian Platform.     

Timimoun’s foggara (Algeria): an heritage in danger

Timimoun is located in the hyper-arid zone of the Sahara, with an annual rainfall not exceeding 100 mm/year. To fill the shortage of rainfall, the oasis has developed a traditional means for mobilization of the groundwater. In the foggara with this hydraulic system, oases have been developed throughout the region of Timimoun over ten centuries. Today, we witness the gradual disappearance of foggaras; we lose about one to two foggaras per year for over half a century. The discharge of the 250 functional foggaras shows a significant drop: 850 l/s in 1960 and 355 l/s in 2001, enough to irrigate 350 ha. The causes of declining foggaras are technical, social, and environmental. The surveys that we have led nearly with the population in the ksour during two missions in 2007 and 2008 in the oasis of Timimoun reveal that socio-economic problems (Heritage and depopulation) are common to both types of foggara (foggara of the Erg and foggara Albian). Environmental problems (silting and flooding of the galleries by wild plants) are the main causes of the disappearance of foggaras of Erg. Technical problems (collapse of tunnels) are mainly the causes of degradation to Albian’s foggaras. Attempts to introduce changes to foggaras are temporary solutions. The modern collection of water (pump and drilling) is gradually replacing the traditional hydraulic system.     

Pareto’s law and sample size: a case study of China’s urban system 1984–2008

While Pareto’s law has been widely supported by empirical evidence in urban studies, past studies have focused on finding best fits for city rank-size distribution. A main concern with Pareto’s law is the truncation of sample selection, for which few studies have examined it directly. This study tests three existing threshold methods (number threshold, size threshold, and urban population percentage threshold) using China’s city system as a case study. In addition, this study proposes a new method based upon the percentage threshold of the total number of cities. A systematic analysis is applied to examine the relationship between Pareto exponent and sample size using different threshold methods. The results show that Pareto exponent is sensitive to sample size and the truncation point. Including only large cities is problematic because a slight change in the truncation point will yield quite different results of Pareto exponent. In addition, the new method, the percentage threshold of the total number of cities method, presents an advantage over previous methods, in that this method yields a consistent set of results over a wide range of thresholds. Finally, when using this new method with China’s city system, the Pareto exponent presents a turning point in 1996, representing China’s transition from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy during that period.     

The Swedish Geotechnical Society’s methodology for risk management: a tool for engineers in their everyday work

The Swedish Geotechnical Society has adopted a general methodology for risk management in geotechnical engineering projects to reduce the costs related to negative outcomes of geotechnical risks. This technical note highlights the main features of the methodology and strives to inspire the international geotechnical community to apply sensible risk management methods. In the authors’ opinion, a successful geotechnical risk management needs to be structured, be tailored to the project, and permeate the engineers’ everyday work. Then, sufficient quality can be achieved in the project with larger probability.     

Discovery of Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene brown coal deposits (Kosh-Agach formation) in the Dzhazator River valley (Southeastern Russian Altai): Neotectonic and paleogeographical aspects

Results of complex paleontological and geochemical analysis are reported for a new locality of the Upper Oligocene–Lower Miocene Kosh-Agach carbonaceous formation in the Dzhazator River valley. This find specifies the scales of lacustrine–marsh sedimentation at the end of the Paleogene and beginning of the Neogene, as well as the character and amplitude of post-Neogene neotectonic movements in the southeastern highest mountain part of Russian Altai. Systematic rejuvenation of the radiocarbon age of the sequences studied, which has been established for the first time in Altai, is related to influx of young carbon during the subsequent complex geological history. This fact is of great importance for deciphering the chronology of Pleistocene glacial–dammed lakes in the intermontane basins of Altai and Tuva, the erosion zone of which spanned exhumed Tertiary deposits.     

Heat contamination in groundwater sourced from heat pump for heating in Bratislava (Slovakia)’s historic centre

The aim of the study is to evaluate the warming effect (thermal contamination) of city centres with high building density. This phenomenon has a number of scientific and practical implications. The case study was conducted in Bratislava (Slovakia), in the geological environment of alluvial gravels of the Danube River, where a permanent warming of the subsurface in the city centre is experienced, which is mainly affected by high building density and underground utilities. Thanks to this thermal contamination, the heat pumps efficiency is greater in winter, while in summer, their effectiveness is lower. Economically, this negative phenomenon in the case of heat pumps has a positive effect, since it increases energy efficiency during the heating period. This phenomenon is not universal and depends on the specific boundary conditions of the geological settings and hydrogeological conditions.     

Maada’oonidiwag gete-dibaajimowen (“sharing old stories”): reflections on a place-based reparatory research partnership in Nbisiing Anishinaabeg Territory

In this paper, we reflect on an emerging community-based partnership rooted in place-based reparative research. Braiding knowledges (Atalay, 2012) from Nbisiing Anishinaabeg communities, northern Ontario universities, and multi-scalar museums, the partnership focuses on repatriation, reparative environmental histories, and action-based research in the context of settler colonialism and climate change. We reflect on ongoing projects that attempt to put Anishinaabe gikendaasowin (knowledge) into action alongside historical geographical research. We discuss how the partnership resonates with community geography values of relationship, collaboration, equity, and reciprocity, and urge non-Indigenous geographers to acknowledge how Indigenous knowledges and approaches have shaped these ideas long before geography became a discipline. We contend that historical geographers have a deeper role to play in community geography scholarship, citing examples of two projects related to (1) repatriation of Anishinaabeg cultural heritage and (2) storymapping through historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS). However, we argue, geographers must continue to acknowledge their own positionality in a discipline that was built through settler colonial violence and knowledge production. Finally, we reflect on the role of academic institutions in facilitating First Nation-university-museum partnerships through access to funding, space, and databases, while addressing the challenges of relying on institutional support for reparatory and decolonizing projects.

     

Gas accumulations in Oligocene–Miocene reservoirs in the Alpine Foreland Basin (Austria): evidence for gas mixing and gas degradation

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Two petroleum systems are present in the eastern (Austrian) sector of the Alpine Foreland Basin. Whereas oil and thermogenic gas in Mesozoic and Eocene...     

Designing a model for organizing volunteer personnel in disasters and emergencies in Tehran’s hospitals: an integrated approach of Fuzzy Delphi and interpretative structure modeling (ISM)

Natural Hazards - Organization of volunteer personnel and proper management of these enormous and valuable human resources to make that most of their scientific, experiential, physical, and...     

The largest karst cave discovered in a tunnel during motorway construction in Slovenia’s Classical Karst (Kras)

Karst researchers of the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU are regularly consulted during the planning of Slovenia’s motorways and invited to observe and monitor construction in the karst areas. More than 350 caves have been discovered in the course of building 60 km of new motorways over the past decade. Access to the most important caves is preserved by concrete tubes closed with metal covers at the roadside. The largest cave system in a tunnel, named LC-S647, is almost entirely preserved. The protection of this cave will serve as a good example for the preservation of natural heritage in the future. Construction work for the motorway uncovered a high degree of karstification. In particular, the discovery of this cave in the Kastelec tunnel LC-S647 showed the existence of a major cave system in the geological and speleological past. A number of unconnected passages have also been found. Caves discovered during highway construction have brought new knowledge about the cavernosity and the geological history of this part of the karst.     

A SIMS zircon age for a biostratigraphically dated Upper Viséan (Asbian) bentonite in the Central-European Variscides (Bardo Unit,Polish Sudetes)

A Lower Carboniferous platform sedimentary sequence (the Paprotnia Beds) in the Bardo Unit of the central Sudetes (NE part of the Bohemian Massif, SW Poland) is biostratigraphically well dated, based on rich macro- and micro-fossil evidence, as Late Viséan (late Asbian, crenistria, Go III α zone). The beds contain several bentonite layers, one of which was dated using the U–Pb SHRIMP method on volcanic zircons and yielded an age of 334 ± 3 Ma. This date fits well to the recently established chronostratigraphic limits of the Viséan, and is consistent with the newest isotopic age constraints of 336.5–332 Ma for the Asbian boundaries.     

Review of “Groundwater modeling in semiarid Central Sudan: adequacy and long-term abstraction” (Abdalla 2009a)

The groundwater resources of the confined aquifers north of El Obeid town in Central Sudan are inadequate and limited due to absence of recent recharge and alternative sources of induced recharge contrary to the findings of Abdalla (Abdalla 2009a, Arab J Geosci, DOI 10.1007/s12517-009-0042-4), who claimed that 35 million cubic meters/year can be continually extracted from the deep aquifers of Bara Basin to supply El Obeid city without endangering the groundwater resources in the region.     

A new U–Pb LA-ICP-MS age of the Rumburk granite (Lausitz Block,Saxo-Thuringian Zone): constraints for a magmatic event in the Upper Cambrian

International Journal of Earth Sciences - The basement of the Saxo-Thuringian Zone consists of Upper Neoproterozoic (c. 650-570 Ma) Cadomian arc sediments (Lusatian greywackes) and...     

Public perceptions on coastal erosion in the Maltese Islands: a case study of St George’s Bay (St Julians) and Pretty Bay (Birżebbuġa)

With 60% of the world’s population living within the coastal zone, coastal erosion is considered as a global problem. The coasts of the Maltese Islands hold a variety of formations resulting from coastal erosion. Beach nourishment is one of the protective measures taken against coastal erosion. This paper focuses on two of the nourished beaches within the Maltese Islands, St George’s Bay (St Julians) and Pretty Bay (Birżebbuġa), that have undergone extensive sand augmentation during the past decades and looks at the extent of how coastal erosion and beach replenishment may have influenced public perception. Through a triangulation of interviews, it seeks to understand the views of beach users, researchers, representatives, and beach managers. It presents divergences in interviewee opinions and ideas on St George’s Bay and Pretty Bay and illustrates that public perception tends to reflect the type of urban area surrounding each replenished beach. Recommendations and suggestions are also presented to promote awareness towards coastal processes and their impacts.

     

Evaluation of TRIGRS (transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope-stability analysis)’s predictive skill for hurricane-triggered landslides: a case study in Macon County,North Carolina

The key to advancing the predictability of rainfall-triggered landslides is to use physically based slope-stability models that simulate the transient dynamical response of the subsurface moisture to spatiotemporal variability of rainfall in complex terrains. TRIGRS (transient rainfall infiltration and grid-based regional slope-stability analysis) is a USGS landslide prediction model, coded in Fortran, that accounts for the influences of hydrology, topography, and soil physics on slope stability. In this study, we quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal predictability of a Matlab version of TRIGRS (MaTRIGRS) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Macon County, North Carolina where Hurricanes Ivan triggered widespread landslides in the 2004 hurricane season. High resolution digital elevation model (DEM) data (6-m LiDAR), USGS STATSGO soil database, and NOAA/NWS combined radar and gauge precipitation are used as inputs to the model. A local landslide inventory database from North Carolina Geological Survey is used to evaluate the MaTRIGRS’ predictive skill for the landslide locations and timing, identifying predictions within a 120-m radius of observed landslides over the 30-h period of Hurricane Ivan’s passage in September 2004. Results show that within a radius of 24 m from the landslide location about 67% of the landslide, observations could be successfully predicted but with a high false alarm ratio (90%). If the radius of observation is extended to 120 m, 98% of the landslides are detected with an 18% false alarm ratio. This study shows that MaTRIGRS demonstrates acceptable spatiotemporal predictive skill for landslide occurrences within a 120-m radius in space and a hurricane-event-duration (h) in time, offering the potential to serve as a landslide warning system in areas where accurate rainfall forecasts and detailed field data are available. The validation can be further improved with additional landslide information including the exact time of failure for each landslide and the landslide’s extent and run out length.