New methods and selection methods

As the topics of study of Lyα emitters evolve, new selection methods are being developed to find these high redshift galaxies. In this proceedings, three new methods are presented, based on large integral field unit spectrographs, ultradeep slit spectroscopy and serendipitous discoveries.     

HF radar observations of equatorial spread-F over West Africa

New experimental data depicting equatorial spread-F were taken during an HF radar sounding campaign in Korhogo (Ivory Coast, 9°24N, 5°37W, dip 4°S). Range-time-intensity maps of the radar echoes have been analyzed to identify the signatures of density depletions and bottomside spread-F. Density depletions are well known features of equatorial spread-F, and are believed to emerge after the development of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability on the bottomside F-layer. A simple model is developed and used to simulate the flow of density depletions over the radar field of view. The simulation permits an interpretation of the data that yields the zonal flow velocity as a function of local time. Comparisons with previous measurements are undertaken to assess the consistency of the computational results, and qualitative arguments are presented to identify bottomside spread-F. Using the computational results as reference, a morphological study of ionograms showing spread-F is undertaken which reveals the specific signature of bottomside spread-F on ionograms recorded just after sunset.     

A Compilation of Silicon and Thirty One Trace Elements Measured in the Natural River Water Reference Material SLRS-4 (NRC-CNRC)

The natural river water certified reference material SLRS-4 (NRC-CNRC, National Research Council-Conseil National de Recherches Canada) has been routinely analysed for major and trace elements by six French laboratories. Most measurements were made using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. For silicon and thirty one trace elements (rare earth elements, Ag, B, Br, Cs, Ga, Ge, Li, P, Pd, Rb, Se, Th, Ti, Tl, W, Y and Zr), no certified values are assigned by NRC-CNRC. We propose some compilation values and related uncertainties according to the results obtained by the different laboratories.     

Parameters of “Macromaturity” (PMM): novel rank and type related indices from chemical degradation of macromolecular network of coals

Benzene polycarboxylic acids formed upon oxidative degradation of the macromolecular network of a set of French coals with ruthenium tetroxide are proposed as the basis of new coal rank indices. Their distribution probably reflects the degree of condensation of the polyaromatic subunits occurring in the network of the coals. This feature is illustrated in the case of the benzene tetracarboxylic acids. Application of these molecular indices to Gondwana coals, as well as to maceral concentrates indicates that they are also type related. They could prove particularly useful in the case of coals or kerogens having undergone secondary alteration processes.     

Early maturation processes in coal. Part 2: Reactive dynamics simulations using the ReaxFF reactive force field on Morwell Brown coal structures

This paper reports reactive dynamics (RD) simulations of a macro-model of Morwell Brown coal using the ReaxFF reactive force field. We find that these reactive MD simulations successfully reproduce thermal decomposition processes of defunctionalization, depolymerization and rearrangement of the residual structure observed in various experimental studies. For example, our simulations indicate that the decarboxylation and dehydroxylation of the lignin side chain of the Morwell model involves the formation of double bonds conjugated with the aromatic rings. The process of defunctionalization of the methoxy functions involving the formation of phenolic structures in the residue has been confirmed. We also observe that gaseous hydrocarbons are generated by cleavage of C–C bonds of the lignin side chain.The success in using ReaxFF RD to describe the molecular processes underlying the kinetics in pyrolysis of this model of coal plus the success of a similar previous study on the algaenan of Botryococcus braunii race L biopolymer model of kerogens suggests that such computation can be useful in providing molecular based kinetic models for other pyrolysis processes underlying the organic transformations in sedimentary materials.     

A new deal for lone parents? Training lone parents for work in West London

In this paper we explore the impacts of the training programmes offered to lone mothers with young children on the Government's 'New Deal for Lone Parents' in one local labour market: West London. Our research suggests that regulatory workfare policies are (re)producing and reinforcing gendered inequalities in the labour market by encouraging lone mothers to undertake training in feminised occupational areas such as childcare. We will argue that in a local economy such as West London where more childcare workers are desperately needed to enable other more highly skilled workers to take up employment opportunities, such training programmes may be doing little more than exacerbating the already gendered and class-based polarisation of the labour market – embedding low-skilled, poorly qualified lone mothers into low-paid jobs.     

Responses and adaptation strategies of commercial and charter fishers to zoning changes in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Fishers' responses to changes in resource access through the imposition of marine protected areas can be a critical factor influencing the likelihood of achieving management objectives.Face-to-face interviews with 114 commercial and charter fishers were conducted to investigate their responses and adaptation strategies to the increase in the size and number of no-take zones imposed by the 2004 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning plan. Despite holding positive attitudes towards marine biodiversity protection, fishers were generally unsupportive of the new zoning plan 5 years after its implementation. Fishers' lack of support was related to the perception that they had not been adequately engaged in the rezoning process and the perception of significant impacts of the zoning plan on fishing businesses. Fishers generally believed that the new zoning plan had a negative impact on their access to productive fishing areas, the numbers of fish they catch, the profitability of their fishing business, and their personal income. In response to the new no-take zones, fishers tended to redistribute their fishing activity to locations closer to their home port, and to locations already known to them through their previous fishing, resulting in an increase in high density fishing locations within the park. Despite the impacts that fishers experienced, most reported that they have adapted their fishing activity and fishing business at least moderately well to the new zoning plan, suggesting that many of the impacts experienced by fishers might be short-term and may decline over time as fishers learn to adapt to the new zoning system. The information provided should prove valuable as a baseline for continued monitoring of the costs and benefits of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park rezoning into the future.     

The liminality of training spaces: Places of private/public transitions

This paper draws upon research, conducted for the London West Learning and Skills Council, on the training experiences of women with dependent children. One of the striking revelations of the research, we suggest, is the way in which training spaces are used and perceived by women, which are often at odds with government intentions. To help make sense of women’s use of, and motivation for, training we utilise the concept of ‘liminality’ and the private/public imbrication to explain the ways in which women use, or are discouraged from using, training spaces. Further, how the varied and multiple uses women in our research have put training to in their own lives has encouraged us to rethink the relationship between the private and the public more generally. In the light of this, we suggest that training and the places in which training take place, have been neglected processes and spaces within feminist geography and might usefully be explored further to add to an extensive literature on women’s caring and domestic roles and their role in the paid workplace.     

Typical influences of moisture on profile measurements in the marine atmospheric surface layer

Under a wide variety of meteorological conditions in a coastal environment, 250 cases were studied to determine the typical influences of moisture in calculating the gradient Richardson number stability and the fluxes of heat, humidity, and momentum with the profile method. Although the stability calculation was altered in some cases up to 95% by the moisture correction, the typical influence in computing the fluxes was found to be less than 10% when the humidity flux was upward and less then 25% when the humidity flux was downward.