Peatlands of the Western Siberian lowlands: current knowledge on zonation,carbon content and Late Quaternary history

The Western Siberian lowlands (WSL) are the world's largest high-latitude wetland, and possess over 900,000 km² of peatlands. The peatlands of the WSL are of major importance to high-latitude hydrology, carbon storage and environmental history. Analysis of the existing Russian data suggests that the mean depth of peat accumulation in the WSL is 256 cm and the total amount of carbon stored there may exceed 53,836 million metric tons. A synthesis of published and unpublished radiocarbon dates indicates that the peatlands first developed at the end of the Last Glacial, with a rapid phase of initiation between 11,000 and 10,000 cal yr BP. Initiation slowed after 8000 cal yr BP and reached a nadir at 4000 cal yr BP. There has been renewed initiation, particularly south of 62°N, following 4000 cal yr BP. The initial development of peatlands in the WSL corresponds with the warming at the close of the Pleistocene. Cooling after 4000 Cal yr BP has likely led to increased permafrost and increased peatland development particularly in central and southern regions. Cold and dry conditions in the far north may have inhibited peatland formation in the late Holocene.     

In defence of the meltwater (megaflood) hypothesis for the formation of subglacial bedform fields

Characteristics of large‐scale fluting and hummocky terrain on the Canadian Prairies test glacial and meltwater hypotheses for landform genesis. These tests defend the meltwater model. Neither sedimentary nor glaciotectonic processes can fully explain such erosional landforms. Province‐scale flow paths, which mark palaeo‐ice streams and subglacial flood routes, contain large‐scale fluting with flanking hummock terrain. Antecedent relief causes these paths to differ from other flood landscapes such as the Scablands. Proponents of the glacial hypothesis use an invalid analogy between Icelandic and Prairie landsystems. They suggest that groove‐ploughing formed large‐scale fluting, and that ice pushing created hummocky terrain. However, landform location, form, and extent, surface lags, truncated architecture, and landform associations favour the meltwater hypothesis. A simple thought experiment and clear understanding of the principle of least number of assumptions answer the criticisms that meltwater forms cannot cross‐cut and that the meltwater hypothesis disregards proper hypothesis testing. An example of cross‐cutting erosional marks supports this theory. No narrow tract of smoothed terrain with fluting terminates at the glacially thrust Neutral Hills, negating an important point in the glacial hypothesis. While neither the glacial hypothesis nor postglacial winnowing explain boulder and cobble lags with percussion marks, meltwater processes explain them well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Indigenous soil knowledge among the Fulani of northern Burkina Faso: linking soil science and anthropology in analysis of natural resource management

The indigenous soil knowledge among the Fulani subsistence farmers in two villages of northern Burkina Faso is examined, analysed and assessed with the aim of evaluating its adequacy for sustaining soil fertility and for the appropriateness of tapping indigenous knowledge in development programmes. The analytical framework is a multidisciplinary approach combining soil science and anthropology. The results show a high degree of consistency between the science-based western soil classification and the Fulani soil classification although the routes of generation are different. The farmers are aware of and active in management of soil fertility based on their experience, but express no thorough understanding of the mechanisms of plant growth. The soil knowledge is applied in the farming strategies which, as a primary aim, seek to minimize the risk of harvest failure. However, the analysis also suggests that the knowledge is no part of a free-standing knowledge body which can be separated from the actual agricultural performance. The farmers express a general concern about the present state of the environment and degradation processes; however, there is no motivation to take active control of and manage the bush area. This is in contrast with the way millet cultivators actively manage their fields. An explanation of this is suggested by the division between the two Fulani ethnic subgroups, the FulBe who are the former masters and the RimayBe, the former slaves.     

An Inconvenient Truth: blurring the lines between science and science fiction

Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth gives a variety of unusually biased interpretations of the state of climate science and global warming theory. These cover a wide range of natural events and processes which could potentially be impacted by global warming, but which the movie misrepresents as clear examples of the human influence on climate. A few examples include the mixing up of cause and effect in his graphical portrayal of temperature and carbon dioxide variations over hundreds of thousands of years; the repeated depiction of ice calving from glaciers as a sign of global warming; the implication that Hurricane Katrina was the fault of humans; and the particularly extreme view that the Greenland ice sheet will melt, flooding coastal cities worldwide. Ultimately, all of these are related to the widespread perception that scientists have uniquely tied global warming to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The real inconvenient truth is that science has no idea how much of recent warming is natural versus the result of human activities.     

章鸿钊在中国地质学史上的贡献及其科学史意义

中国地质学会第一任会长章鸿钊先生早年留学日本攻读地质学期间,萌生了创立中国地质事业和地质调查机构的设想,并将世界发达国家地质科研机构的情况介绍到中国。回国后,章鸿钊先生着手中国地质事业起步的规划和地质调查机构的设计,并在规划实施阶段做出卓越的贡献。按照章鸿钊的思路创建的中国地质调查所是中国现代科学起步阶段的里程碑。章鸿钊先生自幼国学功底深厚,在身体状况限制了野外地质调查的中年和晚年时期,他专注地质与矿产方面的古籍考证和整理,并将考证结果与地质科学知识相结合,撰写了《石雅》、《古矿录》、《三灵解》等一批论著。章鸿钊先生晚年提出了与燕山运动有别的自中生代晚期至始新世后的震旦运动。     

Indigenous knowledge and the desertification debate: problematising expert knowledge in North Africa

In Morocco the crisis narrative of desertification has been invoked for decades to facilitate and justify policy and legal changes that have systematically disadvantaged pastoralists and damaged the environment. The existing data from southern Morocco, however, do not support the claims of widespread desertification due to overgrazing or other pastoral activities. Furthermore, many anti-desertification and range improvement projects in southern Morocco have not succeeded. In an effort to rethink desertification and range ecology in Morocco, this paper presents an overview of the indigenous knowledge of range ecology among the Aarib, a group of camel pastoralists in southern Morocco, and compares it to the “expert” knowledge of Moroccan range managers. It suggests that this expert knowledge is based on questionable evidence and that it has been privileged over local knowledge primarily for political, economic and administrative reasons. The discrepancies between expert and indigenous knowledges of range ecology presented here underscore the need to reconsider range ecology in Morocco, taking indigenous ecological knowledge into account. Doing so may point the way to more successful development and conservation projects which are more environmentally appropriate and socially just. Not doing so will likely exacerbate environmental degradation in the region.     

沉醉于科学与音乐一生的普通人——纪念国际第四纪科学大师Nicholas John Shackleton教授

2005年12月,我到英国进行短期学术交流。象往常一样,我下飞机后打电话联系的第一位英国朋友就是Nicholas（Nick）John Shackleton教授。虽然Nick身体很弱,他仍然和我聊了很久。他说,他的病情波动很大,他特别提到,几天前在和汪品先教授通电话时,他实在支持不住,未能和汪老师谈完明年古海洋学会议的事情,对此深表歉意。     

Desert knowledge: integrating knowledge and development in arid and semi-arid drylands

Globalisation presents particular challenges for deserts given that their sparse populations, which are amongst the world’s poorest in an absolute economic sense, tend to be remote from major markets and have only a distant, marginal voice in political and policy decision making. Here we are defining deserts as the arid and semi-arid drylands that encompass 70% of Australia and 25% of the world’s land surfaces. The value of the knowledge that local traditions and science have generated about living sustainably in deserts is being promoted and extended through the ‘desert knowledge’ movement in Australia. The Australian research reported here, together with a contribution from Niger that offers a contrast and some lessons for Australia, is largely underpinned by a neopopulist paradigm of development stressing respect for local knowledge, participatory practice and empowerment. Research in partnership with desert Aboriginal groups is contributing to their engagement with new livelihood opportunities. The local knowledge of livestock graziers is also being engaged to support sustainable management of desert water sources and landscapes for multiple values. The research reported here also addresses opportunities and challenges for local norms, identities, knowledge systems, governance and livelihoods from broader scale processes and institutions. In doing so it contributes to a ‘neo-ideographic approach’ wherein desert people might better harness their locality, knowledge and diversity in adaptations that shape their encounters with globalisation. It also points to considerable scope to mature such an approach.     

The Danube Delta: Geographical characteristics and ecological recovery

The Danube Delta is very large with diverse resources which have been intensively exploited during the modern period. It is now of great interest to conservationists with 280 species of birds (177 of which hatch in the delta). The origin of the delta is considered and its development is traced from the initial offshore bar, referring to the writings of the classical scholars and other sources. Modern developments involve the navigational work of the European Commission of the Danube (set up in 1856) and the more intensive exploitation of the reed beds, fisheries, agricultural lands and forests since 1950. Since the revolution of 1989 this programme has stopped and the delta (including the Razim-Sinoie lake complex) is now a Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is described and the principles for management are discussed.     

Technology and Its Application： MIS with Geographical Information

Despite the constant expansion of the application of GIS, in recent years, the data process-ing ability of the application system developed with GIS_Tool is quite limited. Management information system with the geographical information can not only be used to deal with data commonly, but also deal with digitized maps as GIS_Tool does. Thus it can help the user develop an application system high-qual-ified both in maps and traditional data. This paper, by taking the method of integrated MapInfo in the application of Visual Basic as an example, mainly illustrates two technological problenm-integrated map technology and the multiuserization of Maplnfo geographical information. And also the concrete solu-tions to the problems are provided.     

Ottawa: the knowledge city and a labyrinth of obstacles

This research provides a comparative examination of Ottawa as an archetype of a knowledge city. Among Canada’s four largest cities, Ottawa is unique in terms of the characteristics of its labor force, the nature of its employment mix, and its infrastructure. Since the high-tech downturn of 2001, some of Ottawa’s options as a knowledge city seem to be contracting, despite some simultaneously encouraging signs (like recovering employment levels in the high-tech sector). This raises a question about Ottawa’s potential longevity as a knowledge center. The challenge is to understand the inventory of obstacles faced by the city, and address the sort of alchemy required to maintain and improve its competitiveness as a knowledge city.