Across the pond: container shipping on the North Atlantic in the era of globalisation

This paper describes the development of containerisation in one of the most important theatres of maritime trade, the North Atlantic. As the original hearth of containerisation, it has been an area of experimentation and evolution for a technology that has burst around the world. Although over the last decade the Atlantic has been superceded by the Pacific Ocean as the major market focus for containers, it still is an important market arena. The emergence of global shipping networks is tending to favour the Atlantic once again. The paper provides an analysis of these recent developments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Wisconsinan Late-glacial environmental change in Nova Scotia: A regional synthesis

A synthesis of the interpreted vegetational and climatic history of Nova Scotia during the Wisconsinan Late-glacial period (14-9 ka BP) is presented and described in 500-year intervals. The concomitant regional deglaciation history of the region is also described. A synthesis chart is provided which includes a qualitative curve of temperature reconstructions for the Lateglacial period.     

Peripherality in the global container shipping network: the case of the Southern African container port system

Regional trade co-operation, economic growth and greater political stability have enabled increased container throughput and container port capacity development. Earlier academic work has indicated that the functional position of this port region in the global maritime network might be shifting from a remote region in the periphery of the network to a more intermediate position. This paper aims to analyze the changing level of peripherality and remoteness of the Southern African container port system as part of the global container shipping network. The central hypothesis is that Southern Africa has moved from a remote shipping region to a more central shipping region in the global network. The methodology consists of the calculation of network measures for Southern African ports. The changing geographical distribution of flows among the main container ports in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar will also be explored in terms of their respective shipping services, port calling patterns, market structure (in terms of the number of active carriers) and the up-scaling of vessel and port capacity. The overall result is a mapped port hierarchical structure with a clear indication of the shifted maritime centrality of Southern African ports from 1996 to the present decade.     

Power and influence tactics in the promotion of regional development: An empirical analysis of the work of Finnish regional development officers

Increased complexity and rapid pace of change demand more from people responsible for regional development at various levels of activity. This paper has its roots in a belief that the more complex situations are, the more regional development is dependent on the leadership and network management capacity of key individuals. Studying more deeply the roles that various individuals, and the coalitions formed by them, have in institutionalisation, deinstitutionalisation and reinstitutionalisation processes might provide us with additional analytical leverage in regional development studies. This paper focuses on diffuse networks of dispersed powers from a Finnish regional development officer’s point of view. Regional development officers are those people whose job it is to boost the economic development of their respective regions in Finland.The research questions discussed here are: (a) What kind of power is exercised by Finnish regional development officers; and (b) how do regional development officers aim to gain influence for their efforts to promote regional development? The empirical research is based on data gathered (a) through 41 interviews with Finnish actors responsible for the promotion of economic development in city governments, technology centres, regional development agencies, and ministries and other national bodies, and (b) through internet survey of development officers at local, regional and national levels (531 respondents, response rate 51.8%). The survey was designed to solicit information about power and influence tactics in the context of regional development. The empirical analysis shows, for example, how interpretive power and network power are more important for regional development officers than institutional and resource power, and how indirect influence tactics surpass direct tactics.     

Multi-level governance of climate change adaptation through regional partnerships in Canada and England

Adaptation to climate change is widely recognized as a multi-level governance challenge because expected impacts and respective measures cut across governmental levels, sectors and societal domains. The present paper analyses the role of regional adaptation partnerships in Canada and England in the multi-level governance of climate change adaptation. We describe and compare three partnerships per country with regard to their evolution, membership and governing structures, coordination across levels and societal domains, and their adaptation activities and outputs. Although both partnership schemes represent new collaborative approaches, their genesis and governance differ. While the Canadian collaboratives are a government-centred approach that originated and partly operated top-down through a national programme for the period 2009–2012, the English partnerships follow a more pluralistic stakeholder-centred approach that evolved bottom-up already in the early 2000s. Both schemes have in common that they mediate between governmental levels, foster networking between public and private actors, and eventually build adaptive capacities and inform adaptation policies. We conclude that regional adaptation partnerships represent a new governance approach that facilitates climate change adaptation, albeit with limits. Since state actors play(ed) key roles in both partnership schemes, they do not represent a new sphere of authority outside the state. Instead of blurring or destabilizing governmental levels they complement (and perhaps even stabilise) them with multi-level interactions.     

The geography of regional websites: Regional representation and regional structure

Regional administrations present themselves in many different ways on the internet. A content analysis of regional websites in the Netherlands and Northwest Germany revealed this diversity. Geographical factors can partly explain these differences. Mapping the five principal aspects of the geographical representations of regional administrations revealed some spatial clusters. These regional representations are also linked to the geographical characteristics of regions. Competitive mid-sized regions focus more on economic items. Different types of peripheries vary much more in how they present themselves on the internet. The way regions present themselves is linked to the polarising influence of regional competition, but there is still considerable freedom for regions to present a distinct region image.     

The Basin of Mexico aquifer system: regional groundwater level dynamics and database development

The aquifer system of the Basin of Mexico is the main source of water supply to the Mexico City Metropolitan Zone. Management of the Basin’s water resources requires improved understanding of regional groundwater flow patterns, for which large amounts of data are required. The current study analyses the regional dynamics of the potentiometric groundwater level using a new database called the Basin of Mexico Hydrogeological Database (BMHDB). To foster the development of a regional view of the aquifer system, data on climatological, borehole and runoff variables are part of the BMHDB. The structure and development of the BMHDB are briefly explained and then the database is used to analyze the consequences of groundwater extraction on the aquifer’s confinement conditions using lithology data. The regional analysis shows that the largest drawdown rates are located north of Mexico City, in Ecatepec (a region that has not yet received attention in hydrogeological studies), due to wells that were drilled as a temporary solution to Mexico City’s water-supply problem. It is evident that the aquifer has changed from a confined to an unconfined condition in some areas, a factor that is responsible for the large subsidence rates (40 cm/year) in some regions.     

Characterization of regional land subsidence in Yangtze Delta, China: the example of Su-Xi-Chang area and the city of Shanghai

Su-Xi-Chang area and the city of Shanghai, located in the south of Yangtze Delta, China, has subsided due to groundwater overpumping. Because of the regional scale of the groundwater exploitation, cone of depression and land subsidence at present, Su-Xi-Chang area and Shanghai are treated as a single area for a land subsidence study, which could more clearly elaborate the relationships between the deformation features of hydrostratigraphic units and the different sites of the cone of depression. All hydrostratigraphic units in the study area were discussed throughout. Based on the field data, including data on compression of individual strata from groups of extensometers and groundwater levels from observation wells, the relationship between the deformation and the groundwater level was analyzed. The results indicate that the deformation features of the hydrogeologic units are greatly related to hydrogeologic properties and groundwater-level variations. An identical hydrogeologic unit may exhibit different deformation features in different locations such as along the periphery and in the center of the cone of depression. In addition, in the same location, a hydrogeologic unit also exhibits different features in different periods because of different groundwater level variations. The delay phenomenon of the sandy aquifer is not specific but occurs widely.     

Freezing rain events: a major weather hazard in the conterminous US

Freezing rain (FZRA) is well documented as a major weather hazard, producing damage to structures, the environment, and humans, and delaying various operations such as transportation. Assessing the risk of freezing rain events requires information for various areas of the nation about the frequency, duration, and intensity of these events along with the associated weather conditions that affect the damage caused by freezing rain. This includes temperatures (dry and wet bulb), the amount of precipitation, and winds during freezing rain. The purpose of this work was to develop a national and regional climatology of freezing rain events in the US for the period of 1928–2001 to addresses these conditions.     

History and regional development. A controversy over the ‘right’ interpretation of the role of history in the development of the Polish regions

There is currently a lively discussion on the role of historic memories and the re-visiting of historic legacies in post-communist countries. Using the example of Poland and its legacy of the tripartite division of the 19th century, this paper aims to illustrate how symbolic conflicts over identity politics and the interpretation of history may critically influence discourses on the debates on, and portrayals of, variations in regional development. The paper thus discusses the post-war history of Poland in the context of the so-called left-right political cleavage, and the varying related debates on the ‘quality’ of regional development as part of Poland’s post-communist restructuring. These discussions include varying projections of the nature and role of social capital and its relative ‘usefulness’ for a successful development Poland’s after communism. And there are clear political overtones to these contrasting portrayals of Poland’s history and its regionally varying legacy. Drawing on different definitions of the notion of social capital, the paper then discusses how different legacies, such as an introspective and extrovert outlook of population and institutions, and the degree of cohesion among them, circumscribes a region’s economic development prospects.     

Urban and regional restructuring in Eastern Europe: the role of foreign investment

The annual conference of the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers, held in Exeter in January 1997, offered wide coverage of issues relating to urban and regional restructuring in Eastern Europe. This paper attempts to summarise the main arguments to emerge from the seminars and to provide a coherent view of the discussions. In the urban context, there was consideration of ownership change and the growth of the tertiary sector, but with significant tension between planners and local residents. Enterprise in cities showed wide spatial variations according to the quality of the infrastructure and status in the urban hierarchy. Regional restructuring was also shown to be uneven, given the global scale of the competition for investment. But substantial progress was reported in some regions, despite a tendency to exaggerate the impact of foreign investment in the early years of the transition.     

Devolution, the governance of regional development and the Trade Union Congress in the North East region of England

The devolution and regionalisation of political and administrative structures following the election of New Labour in 1997 have changed the nature of the state and territorial development and governance in the UK. A regional and sub-national tier has opened up within the existing multi-layered governance system operating at the supra-national, national and local scales. This ‘new institutional space’ is increasingly open to the participation of social institutions--including trade unions--in economic and social governance. Drawing upon empirical analysis of the experience of the Northern Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in the North East region of England, the paper argues that the NTUC--in contrast to its national organisation--is beginning to engage with the emergent institutional structures but its role is inhibited by the centralised strategy and structure of the TUC nationally, its own need for upgrading, capacity building and greater financial resources and the interaction between the North East’s particular legacy of tripartite corporatism and the more pluralist modes of regional development governance emerging in the English regions. Unless such issues are addressed regional trade union centres--such as the NTUC--risk remaining relatively junior partners in the emergent regional governance structures.     

Influencing factors and evaluation application of regional crustal stability in the Bohai Strait

Due to the extremely complex geological conditions in the Bohai Strait, active faults is very developed and earthquake activity occurs frequently. It is of great importance to evaluate the regional crustal stability for the planning and construction of the Trans-straits Passage. In this study, the authors carry out the evaluation by means of buffer analysis, topology analysis and overlay analysis based on ArcGIS software. The evaluation mainly analyzed six assessment factors of Bohai Strait including neotectonic activity, active faults distribution, seismicity, tectonic stress fields, Bouguer gravity anomaly and geological disasters. In brief, the crustal stability of the eastern North Yellow Sea Basin is best, while that of the Bohai Basin and southwest Bohai Strait is poor. Meanwhile, small and frequent earthquakes in the southern Strait and geological disasters developed in the northern and central Strait such as tidal ridge and shallow gas which may adversely impact on the Trans-straits Passage construction.     

Continuity and change in commuter partnerships: avoiding or postponing family migration

While most people in post-industrial societies, such as The Netherlands, continue to live as nuclear families, new household arrangements have emerged in which couples no longer commit to living in one shared residence. One such household arrangement is the commuter partnership, in which one partner lives near work part of the time. The objective in this article was to gain a better understanding of the sustainability of commuter partnerships and to contribute to uncovering the function that this household arrangement can have in the coordination of parallel careers of different household members over time. The study draws on in-depth interviews with both individual partners in 30 commuter partnerships with at least one residence located in The Netherlands, and a follow-up survey of the same commuter couples several years later. Our findings indicate that, for most couples, the commuter partnership should not be regarded as a prelude to family migration, but rather as a household arrangement by which family migration is avoided altogether, either for a limited period, or as a long-term alternative to the nuclear family. The findings further indicate that, when couples look on their commuter partnership as the result of their individual choice, they generally envision the future duration of their commuter partnership quite accurately. When their choice is guided by the external circumstances of job contracts, couples appear to be less accurate in predicting the future duration of their commuter partnerships.

Experiencing agricultural failure: Internal migration, tourism and local perceptions of regional change in the Yucatan

In response to a growing body of literature encouraging geographers to present textured, regional case studies that demonstrate how neoliberalism functions at diverse scales, this article presents a nuanced account of neoliberalism in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The study seeks to illustrate how neoliberal reforms to agriculture and ongoing neoliberal tourism development in the Yucatecan state of Quintana Roo intersect to create a unique regional context for migration between the state’s rural areas and Mexico’s largest planned tourism development zone in Cancun. The research presented is based on a series of in-depth qualitative interviews that took place in 2003 with rural residents and regional migrants working in Cancun. Through the employment of an experiential definition of neoliberalism, grounded in the lived experiences and perceptions of study participants, the article suggests that rural-urban tourist pole migration is the result of a complex negotiation of the region’s neoliberal landscape. The article argues that rural residents’ and migrants’ perceptions of the failure of agriculture as a livelihood is shaped relative to the perceived success of the tourism industry and better livelihood opportunities in Cancun. These widespread perceptions of agricultural failure in the Yucatan peninsula are constructed not solely in response to local conditions but rather in response to the overall regional outcome of neoliberal economic restructuring initiatives which have negatively affected traditional agriculture in the rural sphere while privileging tourism development in the urban sphere centered in Cancun.     

PRB数据模型技术在吉林省1:25万区域地质调查中的应用

本文结合吉林省1∶25万区域地质调查实际工作,介绍了PRB数据模型技术在区域地质调查中,从野外到室内,直至最终成果阶段的应用过程。充分体现了该项技术是集G IS、GPS、RS和计算机技术为一体的现代地质工作重要方法和技术手段。     

Impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle over France and associated uncertainties

This study deals with the evolution of the hydrological cycle over France during the 21st century. A large multi-member, multi-scenario, and multi-model ensemble of climate projections is downscaled with a new statistical method to drive a physically-based hydrological model with recent improvements. For a business-as-usual scenario, annual precipitation changes generally remain small, except over southern France, where decreases close to 20% are projected. Annual streamflows roughly decrease by 10% (±20%) on the Seine, by 20% (±20%) on the Loire, by 20% (±15%) on the Rhone and by 40% (±15%) on the Garonne. Attenuation measures, as implied by the other scenarios analyzed, lead to less severe changes. However, even with a scenario generally compatible with a limitation of global warming to two degrees, some notable impacts may still occur, with for example a decrease in summer river flows close to 25% for the Garonne.     

华北南缘中元古界高山河群碎屑沉积岩物质源区多元性及其对区域地层对比和构造演化的指示

高山河群是熊耳群之上最古老的沉积盖层和中元古代早期沉积作用记录最丰富的层位之一。本次研究在洛南-卢氏地区由下至上依次选择沉凝灰岩和石英砂岩进行碎屑锆石年代学、岩石地球化学和Nd同位素组成分析。研究发现,沉凝灰岩中碎屑锆石显示2309±3Ma(MSWD=3. 2,N=63)的特殊年龄峰值,与"静寂期"岩浆作用密切相关,全岩Nd同位素组成与熊耳群火山岩特征一致,εNd(t=1700Ma)=-13. 2～-3. 8,对应t2DM为2. 51～3. 26Ga,暗示太古宙地壳物质对岩浆源区有很大贡献。层位由底界上移,石英砂岩的成熟度逐渐降低,表明来自沉积再循环的物质减少;εNd(t)由-11. 9～-8. 3变化至-0. 8～+0. 5又至-8. 2～-2. 4,显示源区分别来自富集地幔-弱亏损地幔-富集地幔的"多元性"特征;相应地,碎屑锆石年龄主峰值从1850～2100Ma逐渐变化为2200～2300Ma和～2500Ma,表明沉积物源的多元性还与物质组分差异有关。高山河群沉积碎屑岩中最年轻的谐和锆石年龄集中于1760～1770Ma,限定了其最早沉积时限。结合上覆地层官道口群底界1600～1610Ma,确定高山河群是华北南缘"长城系"的重要组成部分。碎屑物质主要来自古元古代中-晚期1800～1900Ma、1950～2100Ma、2200～2350Ma和新太古代～2500Ma、2600～2700Ma,与燕辽地区长城系记录的华北克拉通前寒武纪基底构造热事件基本一致,二者在区域上具有可对比性。     

Paleowetlands and regional climate change in the central Atacama Desert, northern Chile

Widespread, organic-rich diatomaceous deposits are evidence for formerly wetter times along the margins of the central Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth today. We mapped and dated these paleowetland deposits at three presently waterless locations near Salar de Punta Negra (24.5°S) on the western slope of the Andes. Elevated groundwater levels supported phreatic discharge into wetlands during two periods: 15,900 to ~ 13,800 and 12,700 to ~ 9700 cal yr BP. Dense concentrations of lithic artifacts testify to the presence of paleoindians around the wetlands late in the second wet phase (11,000?-9700 cal yr BP). Water tables dropped below the surface before 15,900 and since 8100 cal yr BP, and briefly between ~ 13,800 and 12,700 cal yr BP. This temporal pattern is repeated, with some slight differences, in rodent middens from the study area, in both paleowetland and rodent midden deposits north and south of the study area, and in lake level fluctuations on the adjacent Bolivian Altiplano. The regional synchroneity of these changes points to a strengthening of the South American Monsoon — which we term the “Central Andean Pluvial Event” — in two distinct intervals (15,900-13,800 and 12,700-9700 cal yr BP), probably induced by steepened SST gradients across the tropical Pacific (i.e., La Niña-like conditions).