Geological and palaeomagnetic significance of the Kulgera Dyke Swarm, Musgrave Block, NT, Australia

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The Kulgera Dyke Swarm consists of olivine tholeiites which have intruded late Proterozoic transitional-granulite gneisses and granites of the eastern Musgrave Block, in central Australia. Preliminary Rb/Sr results suggest that the dolerites were emplaced at 1054 ± 14 Ma. In addition, a Rb/Sr age of 1060 ± 10 Ma on a biotite from a pegmatite indicates thermal resetting of the country rock minerals during dyke emplacement. Palaeomagnetic investigations of the dykes yield a primary thermoremanent magnetization direction corresponding to a palaeomagnetic pole at 17S, 266E ( A ₉₅= 12). In addition to this primary magnetization, an overprint component was present in many of the samples, providing a palaeomagnetic pole at 30S, 138E ( A ₉₅= 24), which is similar to previous results from other central Australian rocks affected by the Alice Springs Orogeny. The results extend the area of influence of the Carboniferous Alice Springs Orogeny southward into the Musgrave Block. Further, the results provide no evidence for an earlier, Late Proterozoic, Petermann Orogeny affecting the Musgrave Block in the Kulgera region. However, the possibility that a Petermann Orogeny thermal overprint has been erased by the Alice Springs Orogeny cannot be dismissed.     

Relative size of fluvial and glaciated valleys in central Idaho

Quantitative comparisons of the morphometry of glaciated and fluvial valleys in central Idaho were used to investigate the differences in valley relief and width in otherwise similar geologic and geomorphic settings. The local relief, width, and cross-sectional area of valleys were measured using GIS software to extract information from USGS digital elevation models. Hillslope gradients were also measured using GIS software. Power-law relationships for local valley relief, width, and cross-sectional area as a function of drainage area were developed. Local valley relief in glaciated valleys relates to drainage area with a power-law exponent similar to fluvial valleys, but glaciated valleys are deeper for a given drainage area. Local valley width in glaciated valleys is greater than in fluvial valleys, but the exponent of the power-law relationship to drainage area is similar in both valley types. Local valley cross-sectional area in glaciated valleys increases with drainage area with a power-law exponent similar to fluvial valleys, however, glacial valleys have roughly 80% greater cross-sectional area. Steep valley walls in glaciated basins increase the potential for bedrock landsliding relative to fluvial basins. Both the Olympic Mountains of Washington and valleys in central Idaho show relationships in which glaciated valleys are up to 30% deeper than fluvial valleys despite differences in lithology, tectonic setting, and climate.     

The effect of rainfall and habitat on abundance and diversity of birds in a fenced protected area in the central Saudi Arabian desert

Factors influencing avian abundance and diversity in central Saudi Arabia were investigated over a 28-month period using walked belt transects in five local habitat types in a 2200 km²fenced desert protected area established in 1989. Enclosure of the protected area has resulted in the development of a mosaic of densely vegetated grassland and savanna areas amongst the sand and gravel plains which dominate the surrounding landscape. Overall bird diversity showed biannual peaks corresponding to spring and autumn passage migration, when 30–40 species were recorded; troughs occurred in summer or winter (9–12 species) following poor spring or autumn rains. Bird numbers responded dramatically to heavy rainfall (> 20 mm in a month) occurring two months earlier, with major peaks recorded in autumn 1992 and May–June 1994. Numbers of granivorous species, principally larks, fluctuated mostly in relation to rainfall, whereas largely insectivorous species tended to remain more stable. A desert locust plague in spring/summer 1993, combined with poor spring rains, resulted in the lowest numbers and species diversity recorded during the study.     

Human impacts on headwater fluvial systems in the northern and central Andes

South America delivers more freshwater runoff to the ocean per km² land area than any other continent, and much of that water enters the fluvial system from headwaters in the Andes Mountains. This paper reviews ways in which human occupation of high mountain landscapes in the Andes have affected the delivery of water and sediment to headwater river channels at local to regional scales for millennia, and provides special focus on the vulnerability of páramo soils to human impact. People have intentionally altered the fluvial system by damming rivers at a few strategic locations, and more widely by withdrawing surface water, primarily for irrigation. Unintended changes brought about by human activities are even more widespread and include forest clearance, agriculture, grazing, road construction, and urbanization, which increase rates of rainfall runoff and accelerate processes of water erosion. Some excavations deliver more sediment to river channels by destabilizing slopes and triggering processes of mass-movement.The northern and central Andes are more affected by human activity than most high mountain regions. The wetter northern Andes are also unusual for the very high water retention characteristics of páramo (high elevation grass and shrub) soils, which cover most of the land above 3000 m. Páramo soils are important regulators of headwater hydrology, but human activities that promote vegetation loss and drying cause them to lose water storage capacity. New data from a case study in southern Ecuador show very low bulk densities (median 0.26 g cm^− 3), high organic matter contents (median 43%), and high water-holding capacities (12% to 86% volumetrically). These data document wetter soils under grass than under tree cover. Effects of human activity on the fluvial system are evident at local scales, but difficult to discern at broader scales in the regional context of geomorphic adjustment to tectonic and volcanic processes.     

湿地水环境中生物膜吸附铅、镉能力的研究

利用向海自然保护区不同类型湿地水体培养的生物膜进行了铅、镉的吸附实验，结果表明，不同湿地水环境培养的生物膜吸附铅、镉的热力学数据可以用Langmuir等温吸附曲线来描述，各水体生物膜吸附铅、镉的能力存在很大的差异，吸附铅的能力大约比吸附镉的能力大一个数量级，且吸附铅、镉的能力与膜上锰、铁氧化物的含量有显著的相关性。     

Scale-dependent patterns of abundance and habitat use by cormorants in arid Australia and the importance of nomadism

We investigated the ways in which cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.) acquire behavioural cues from unpredictable habitats in arid Australia, using 10 years of temporal data on abundance at one wetland, fine-grained habitat and microhabitat use at two wetlands, and broad-scale spatial data from aerial surveys across north-west New South Wales. Abundances were highly variable and cormorants were aggregated at every temporal and spatial scale of observation. Cormorants were associated with short-term patches of food, and apparently travel frequently in a quest for newly formed patches. Movements and abundance of cormorants are linked to boom periods of their prey, and, like many Australian waterbirds, cormorants would benefit from improved water management practices.     

The Geography of Fish: The Use of Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Tools in Fisheries Research

Rather than seeing the oceans as an expansive void, researchers using acoustic technologies can detect the heterogeneity of biological resources and view the marine environment as a three-dimensional landscape. Underwater remote sensing, using acoustics, provides high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of organisms in aquatic ecosystems. Analyzing the spatial pattern of species distribution within the water column and the impact of that organization on ecological processes bridges the fields of fisheries and spatial analysis. Tools and concepts familiar to geographers, such as remote sensing, GIS, and landscape ecology, contribute to the investigation of large lake and marine ecosystems.     

The Geography of Fish: The Use of Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Tools in Fisheries Research

Rather than seeing the oceans as an expansive void, researchers using acoustic technologies can detect the heterogeneity of biological resources and view the marine environment as a three-dimensional landscape. Underwater remote sensing, using acoustics, provides high resolution maps of the spatial distribution of organisms in aquatic ecosystems. Analyzing the spatial pattern of species distribution within the water column and the impact of that organization on ecological processes bridges the fields of fisheries and spatial analysis. Tools and concepts familiar to geographers, such as remote sensing, GIS, and landscape ecology, contribute to the investigation of large lake and marine ecosystems.     

Environmental changes in the central Po Plain (northern Italy) due to fluvial modifications and anthropogenic activities

The fluvial environment of the central Po Plain, the largest plain in Italy, is discussed in this paper. Bounded by the mountain chains of the Alps and the Apennines, this plain is a link between the Mediterranean environment and the cultural and continental influences of both western and eastern Europe. In the past decades, economic development has been responsible for many changes in the fluvial environment of the area.This paper discusses the changes in fluvial dynamics that started from Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene due to distinct climatic changes. The discussion is based on geomorphological, pedological, and archaeological evidences and radiocarbon dating.In the northern foothills, Late Pleistocene palaeochannels indicate several cases of underfit streams among the northern tributaries of the River Po. On the other hand, on the southern side of the Po Plain, no geomorphological evidence of similar discharge reduction has been found. Here, stratigraphic sections, together with archaeological remains buried under the fluvial deposits, show a reduction in the size of fluvial sediments after the 10th millennium BC. During the Holocene, fluvial sedimentation became finer, and was characterised by minor fluctuations in the rate of deposition, probably related to short and less intense climatic fluctuations.Given the high rate of population growth and the development of human activities since the Neolithic Age, human influence on fluvial dynamics, especially since the Roman Age, prevailed over other factors (i.e., climate, tectonics, vegetation, etc.). During the Holocene, the most important changes in the Po Plain were not modifications in water discharge but in sediment. From the 1st to 3rd Century AD, land grants to war veterans caused almost complete deforestation, generalised soil erosion, and maximum progradation of the River Po delta. At present, land abandonment in the mountainous region has led to reafforestation. Artificial channel control in the mountain sector of the basins and in-channel gravel extraction (now illegal but very intense in the 1960s and 1970s) are causing erosion along the rivers and along large sectors of the Adriatic coast. These changes are comparable with those occurring in basins of other Mediterranean rivers.     

Plant life-form and germination in a Mexican inter-tropical desert: effects of soil water potential and temperature

We investigated the effects of soil water potential (SWP) and temperature on seed germination of six coexisting species of an inter-tropical desert. These species include three life-forms; the shrubs Cercidium praecox andProsopis laevigata ; the columnar succulents Neobuxbaumia tetetzo and Pachycereus hollianus; and the arborescent semi-succulents Beaucarnea gracilis and Yucca periculosa. In the six species germinability increased and germination time and speed of germination (t⁵⁰) decreased as SWP decreased. The SWP treatments were 0 MPa, −0·12 MPa, −0·2 MPa, −0·41 MPa and −0·66 MPa. There was, however, a SWP threshold below which germination time and t⁵⁰increased and germinability decreased. The shrubs had the highest germinability whereas the columnar succulents had the lowest. The shrubs also had shorter germination time andt⁵⁰ than arborescent semi-succulents whereas seeds of the columnar succulents were indeterminate. In all species except P. laevigata germinability increased and the germination time and t⁵⁰decreased as temperature increased. The temperature treatments were 12°C, 20°C and 26°C. The shrubs had the shortest t⁵⁰and germination time and the highest germinability at all temperatures. Arborescent semi-succulents had the lowest germinability and longest germination time and t⁵⁰at the three temperatures treatments. Our results support the hypothesis that in desert environments different plant life-forms utilise different germination strategies to persist.     

Hydrological exchange and subsurface water chemistry in streams varying in salinity in south-western Australia

Many streams in Westrn Australia are naturally saline. In others, especially in the south-western corner, land-clearance and other human activities in the catchment have accelerated rates of salinisation of surface and groundwater. Trends in surface water salinity are well-documented but the extent of penetration of saline stream water into the sediments has been little studied. As many of these streams have porous sandy beds and their flows may derive from groundwater, hydrologic exchange patterns between surface water and subsurface hyporheic water were hypothesised to govern the water chemistry of such rivers. We predicted high rates of hydraulic conductivity, leading to a close relationship between surface and subsurface (to a depth of 50 cm) salinity, and to a lesser extent, pH and dissolved oxygen. Where surface and hyporheic water differed in salinity, other chemical differences were hypothesised to be similarly marked, perhaps resulting from disjunct shallow subsurface aquifers. Triplicate wells were sampled from upwelling and downwelling zones of thirteen streams ranging in salinity from ca. 0.2 to 18 g L⁻¹. Despite the seemingly-porous sandy beds at many sites, subsurface water chemistry only 20–40 cm below the bed sometimes differed markedly from surface water. For example, hyporheic water was only one-fifth the salinity of surface water at some saline sites (e.g., the Tone River) or 20 per cent more saline in streams with fresh surface water (e.g., the Weld River). At some sites of intermediate salinity (e.g., the Warren River), subsurface water was up to three times fresher than surface or downwelling water. Percentage saturation of dissolved oxygen in the hyporheic water was consistently low (<40%) whereas pH was more acidic than surface water, presumably due to microbial activity. Vertical hydraulic conductivity may be limited by layers of fine sediments and clays, implying that the meso-scale (1–100 cm) hydrological dynamics within the hyporheic zones of these rivers are more complex than their sandy beds would indicate. Assumptions of ecosystem dynamics in saline streams must be tempered by an understanding of hyporheic salinities as subsurface fresher water may support microbial and faunal assemblages excluded from the surface benthos by high salinity. In saline streams, as in fresh ones, the hyporheic zone is an important component of the stream ecosystem and equally prone to disruption by human activities.     

Salinity in Colonial Irrigation: British India and south-eastern Australia

Salinity is an environmental phenomenon that affects the world's arid and semi-arid regions, where it causes soil degradation and problems for agriculture. Salinity began to attract serious attention in the irrigated districts of the Murray Valley in south-eastern Australia in the 1960s. However, observations that the south-eastern Australian landscape was affected by naturally occurring salts predates this period of awareness by more than half a century. Drawing on documentary history, the present paper reveals what soil chemists in New South Wales in the 1890s already understood of the potential dangers of salinity. These scientists were aware of the experience of their colonial colleagues in British India, where the seriousness of the problem had been recognised by the 1870s. Using evidence from India and south-eastern Australia in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the paper outlines the opposing worldviews of scientists and engineers in New South Wales about the potential dangers of intensive irrigation. It offers an explanation as to why that understanding was insufficient to prevent the growth of the problem.     

中国乡镇企业新产业区的发展理念与特征分析

通过对新产业区理论的介绍以及我国发展乡镇企业新产业区所具有的优劣势和特点分析 ,指出乡镇企业新产业区理念的建立与发展 ,既是当前乡镇企业发展的一种新思路与新趋势 ,同时有利于改善乡镇企业分散布局的种种弊端 ,提高乡镇企业的竞争力 ,促进乡镇企业的健康稳定发展。     

Water regime in soils and plants along an aridity gradient in central Baja California, Mexico

The Central Desert of Baja California has pronounced climatic gradients. Water storage in the upper metre of soil and leaf water potentials in Larrea tridentata, Simmondsia chinensis and Fouquieria columnaris were monitored during 28 months at six sites. Estimated annual evapotranspiration was 75-150 mm in sandy loams, and 45-60 mm in sandy soils. Cumulative recharge accounted for 80% of precipitation in loams, but only 50% in sands. During the study period, increased aridity was expressed as longer periods of drought, but there was no less recharge. Weak to moderate relationships were found between soil water content and predawn leaf water potential.     

青藏高原中东部水热条件与NDVI的空间分布格局

青藏高原受大气环流和地势格局的共同作用,水热条件及植被空间分布呈现独特的三维地带性特征。但是青藏高原范围广、地势起伏大,水热条件及植被空间分布具有明显区域差异。本文利用青藏高原中东部100个气象站1982²000年的降水、气温资料以及同期NO-AA AVHRR植被指数产品（NDVI）,分析水热条件及植被的空间分布特征。首先,设置经向、纬向海拔渐变样带,考察海拔对水热条件及NDVI空间分布的影响;然后,按500米海拔间隔进行站点分组,分析约束了海拔高差后的经纬位置对水热条件及NDVI空间分布的影响。研究表明:在青藏高原中东部由于海拔高差大,热量条件分布首先受海拔递减规律控制,其次才表现出因太阳辐射差异的纬度地带性;而降水分布则主要受水汽通道位置和方向的影响,北上水汽和东部偏南走向山脉是研究区降水经向特征的主要成因;指示植被状况的年均NDVI,则受水热组合的控制,其分布格局是二者的叠加与综合。     

鄱阳湖沙湖越冬白鹤的数量分布及其与食物和水深的关系

为了摸清白鹤(Grus leucogeranus)的食物刺苦草(Vallisneria spinulosa)的资源状况和水深对白鹤活动的影响,于1999～2010年期间,对在鄱阳湖国家级自然保护区沙湖越冬的白鹤数量分布及其与食物刺苦草块茎和水深的关系进行了研究.在沙湖设置固定植物样线,每隔50～l00m记录刺苦草及其块茎的数量和生物量,在视野能覆盖整个沙湖的制高点,定点观测白鹤的数量、分布和白鹤所处的水深.在这12a越冬期间,沙湖白鹤的多年总平均数量为46只,其中2002年、2006年和2009年冬季超过90只.11月至翌年1月是白鹤在沙湖比较稳定的时期,超过50只,其中12月是白鹤数量最多的月份,达到120只.白鹤在沙湖的中部偏南地带活动,北部和南端的数量很少.从栖息的植被带来看,白鹤几乎全部在以苦草(Vallisneria spp.)和眼子菜(Potamogeton spp.)为优势沉水植物的区域活动.沙湖刺苦草块茎的平均干重为5.92 g/m2,2005年、2006年和2008年的干重接近或者超过12 g/m2,2010年最少,仅为0.10 g/m2.在1999～2010年期间,沙湖白鹤数量与刺苦草块茎干重不相关,隆冬12月至翌年1月的白鹤平均数量与刺苦草块茎干重的相关系数为r=0.231.在沙湖,有58.15％的白鹤在水深为5～27 cm的环境中活动;其次,有30.63％的白鹤是在水深为40～45 cm的环境中活动.而没有白鹤在旱地和水深及至腹部(46～50 cm)的环境中活动.2010年鄱阳湖特大洪水对白鹤的影响比较大,发现有白鹤到草地上觅食的现象.     

Late Quaternary activity of faults and recurrence interval of earthquakes in the eastern Hokuriku region, northern central Japan, on the basis of precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terrace sequences

About 2000 active faults are known to exist within the land area of Japan. Most of these active faults have deformed the topographic surfaces which were formed in the late Quaternary, including fluvial terraces; and the formative ages of these terraces are estimated mainly by tephrochronology. Fluvial terraces in the eastern Hokuriku region, comprising the Toyama, Tonami, and Kanazawa Plains, northern central Japan, are widely distributed and have been deformed by reverse active faults. The formative age of terraces in this area has not been reported, as volcanic ash deposits are rarely visible within terrace deposits and the overlying loamy soil, and outcrops of fluvial terraces are quite scarce in this area. In the present study, we carried out a drilling survey on these terraces to obtain samples of the overlying loamy soil and upper part of terrace deposits. From these samples, we extracted some well-known widespread volcanic ash, from which we were able to estimate the approximate age of the terraces and the vertical slip rate of the active faults. Late Quaternary fluvial terraces in eastern Hokuriku are divided into 12 levels: Terraces 1 to 12 in descending order. Widespread tephras such as the Kikai-Tozurahara Tephra (K-Tz: 95 ka) are contained in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 4 and the Daisen-Kurayoshi Pumice (DKP: 55 ka) is present in the lowest part of the loamy soil in Terrace 6. From the ages and the vertical displacements of the fluvial terraces, the late Quaternary average vertical slip rates of active faults in eastern Hokuriku are estimated to be 0.2–0.9 mm/year (Uozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Kurehayama fault), 0.1–0.3 mm/year (Takashozu fault), 0.1–0.4 mm/year (Hohrinji fault), and 0.5–0.8 mm/year (Morimoto-Togashi fault). We also estimated the recurrence interval of earthquakes related to active faults from displacement per event and ages of terraces and no significant difference in vertical displacement per single earthquake for different active faults, and recurrence intervals tend to be inversely proportional to vertical displacement rates. This study demonstrates that a combination of drilling of loamy soil and precise cryptotephra analysis of fluvial terraces can be used to estimate the formative age of the terraces and the average slip rate of active faults in areas where volcanic ash deposits are rare.     

Geographies of energy transition: the case of high-performing commercial office space in the central business districts of Sydney and Melbourne,Australia

As a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, Australia committed to reduce emissions significantly by 2030. In a country highly urbanised and dependent on fossil fuels as its primary energy source, one key avenue for meeting these commitments is energy transition in the built environment. Australia has emerged as a leader in the design and construction of high-performance buildings in the premium commercial office sector. In this paper, we address a significant gap in understanding the diverse mechanisms through which building energy transition is being constituted in this sector, focusing on Sydney and Melbourne. In the absence of substantive publicly available data, we draw on mixed methods comprising a database developed around high-performing CBD office buildings and qualitative interviews with a range of sectoral stakeholders. We characterise the building stock in each city, and document five trends constituting energy transitions. We demonstrate that building energy transitions are not only shaped purposefully by dominant governance regimes but also by opportunistic responses to specific material and commercial conditions and legacies in each city. Thus the urban built environment affords significant opportunity for energy transitions, but pathways towards such transitions are necessarily multiple and ultimately shaped by material as well as institutional geographies.