A 2000‐year lipid biomarker record preserved in a stalagmite from north‐west Scotland

Previous studies on lipid biomarkers preserved in Chinese stalagmites have indicated that ratios of low‐molecular‐weight (LMW) to high‐molecular‐weight (HMW) n‐alkanes, n‐alkan‐2‐ones, n‐alkanols and n‐alkanoic acids can be used as an index of vegetation versus microbial organic matter input to the system and, by extension, a marker of climatic changes, with increases in the proportion of LMW compounds coinciding with colder periods. Here we test whether this hypothesis is equally applicable to a different geographical region (north‐west Scotland), by examining a stalagmite record of the past 200 years, and a wider range of lipid markers. We also test the applicability of other lipid proxies in this context, including the use of n‐alkane ratios, to interpret vegetation changes, and unsaturated alkanoic acid ratios as climatic indicators. The results show that lipid proxies preserved in stalagmites, and especially those related to vegetation, are potentially extremely useful in palaeoenvironmental research. Of particular value is the use of C₂₇/C₃₁ n‐alkane ratios as a proxy for vegetation change, clearly indicating variations between herbaceous and arboreal cover. This proxy has now been successfully applied to samples from diverse environments, and can be considered sufficiently robust to be of use in analysing future stalagmite records. It will be of particular value in areas where reliable pollen records are not available, as is often the case with deeper cave deposits. However, the division between LMW and HMW aliphatic compounds is not a clear‐cut case of microbial versus plant activity, with the changes in LMW compounds relating more closely to those in their HMW analogues than in specific bacterial biomarkers. The use of unsaturated alkanoic acid ratios here gives conflicting results, with the observed variation through time depending on the isomer measured. The discrepancies between the findings of this study and previous work are likely to be due to the varying controls on the lipids (original organic matter input, and compound degradation), which in turn will be affected by whether the main climatic limiting factor on the soil is temperature or precipitation. This suggests that lipid proxies preserved in stalagmites must be interpreted with care, particularly in the case of bacterial compounds which may be derived from within the cave or from the soil. However, many of these issues can be resolved by the use of multi‐proxy studies. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stately home geology: Kelmscott Manor,Oxfordshire, UK

Kelmscott Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames in Oxfordshire is a place of pilgrimage for social historians and conversationalists as well as those who simply want to turn the clock back to a rural England long departed. The manor was leased to William Morris in 1871 to be his family home until long after his death in 1896—their escape from the hectic daily life in London. At that point, Morris spent the previous 10 years building up the crafts business for which he is best known, the patterned textiles and wallpaper designs and the basic wooden furniture we associate with the Arts and Crafts Movement. It can be difficult to remember that much of the respected craftwork was generated in the East End of London by gifted craftsmen.     

Oblique oceanic opening and passive margin irregularity,as inherited in the Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt

The Zagros fold‐and‐thrust belt of SW Iran represents deformation of the former Arabian passive margin since Permian–Triassic opening of the Neo‐Tethys ocean. The Zagros belt is characterized by a present‐day structural salient‐recess setting inherited from past marginal embayment‐promontory geometry, which was involved in discontinuous ophiolite obduction and diachronous continental collision. We examine outcrop‐scale Mesozoic extensional brittle tectonics, preserved as syn‐depositional normal faults within the folded strata, in terms of stress tensor inversion. The result is then integrated with belt‐scale isopach, seismic and topographical data to delineate the geometry of a major irregularity along the passive margin originating from oblique oceanic opening. The implication of this configuration within the tectonic framework of oceanic closure is discussed.     

Erodibility of low‐compaction steep‐sloped reclaimed surface mine lands in the southern Appalachian region,USA

The use of loose spoils on steep slopes for surface coal mining reclamation sites has been promoted by the US Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining for the establishment of native forest, as prescribed by the Forest Reclamation Approach (FRA). Although low‐compaction spoils improve tree survival and growth, erodibility on steep slopes was suspected to increase. This study quantified a combined K_C factor (combining the effects of the soil erodibility K factor and cover management C) for low compaction, steep‐sloped (>20°) reclaimed mine lands in the Appalachian region, USA. The combined K_C factor was used because standard Unit Plot conditions required to separate these factors, per Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) experimental protocols, were not followed explicitly. Three active coal mining sites in the Appalachian region of East Tennessee, each containing four replicate field plots, were monitored for rainfall and sediment yields during a 14‐month period beginning June 2009. Average cumulative erosivity for the study sites during the monitoring period was measured as 5248.9 MJ·mm·ha^?1·h^?1. The K_C ranged between 0.001 and 0.05 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1, with the highest values occurring immediately following reclamation site construction as rills developed (June – August 2009). The K_C for two study sites with about an 18–20 mm spoil D₈₄ were above 0.01 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 during rill development, and below 0.003 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 after August 2009 for the post‐rill development period. The K_C values for one site with a 40 mm spoil D₈₄ were never above 0.008 t·ha·h·ha^?1·MJ^?1·mm^?1 and also on average were lower, being more similar to the other two sites after the rill development period. Based on an initial K_C factor (K_e) measured during the first few storm events, the average C factor (C_e) was estimated as 0.58 for the rill development period and 0.13 for the post‐rill development period. It appears that larger size fractions of spoils influence K_C and C_e factors on low‐compaction steep slopes reclamation sites. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A laboratory study of the turbulent ekman layer

Abstract

Comparing characteristics of a turbulent Ekman boundary layer in a rotating apparatus with atmospheric observations and theories, we find that the similarity relations derived by Kazanski and Monin, and others, scale both laboratory and field data quite well, especially considering that the Coriolis parameter is larger by a factor of 10⁵ in the experiment than it is in the atmosphere. Eddy viscosity models and Deardorff's numerical model predict the properties of both with varying degrees of success. High frequency spectra of velocity fluctuations scale with the Kolmogoroff length and time scales. Both magnitude and direction of the surface shear stress were measured directly, with a heated film stress gauge.     

Integrating Indoor and Outdoor Spaces for Pedestrian Navigation Guidance: A Review

In light of the many improvements within 3D urban modeling and Location‐Based Services, this article provides a timely review of the state‐of‐the‐art on integrating indoor and outdoor spaces in pedestrian navigation guidance aids. With people moving seamlessly between buildings and surrounding areas, navigation guidance tools should extend from merely outdoor or indoor guidance, to provide support in the combined indoor‐outdoor context. This article first examines the challenges and complexities of integrating indoor and outdoor spaces into a single navigation system. Next, by using objective selection criteria, 36 relevant studies were withheld and further reviewed on their specific developments in data model requirements, and algorithmic and context support for integrated IO navigation systems. This review shows that the challenges of dealing with both indoor and outdoor space structures, while taking into account pedestrian's freer use of space, currently complicate the proposition of a unified IO space concept for navigation. However, there are some ongoing developments (e.g. context definitions, algorithmic extensions, increased data availability, growing awareness of pedestrians’ perception during wayfinding) that will help to bring outdoor and indoor spaces closer together in the realm of combined geospatial analysis.     

Estimating Pile Set-up Using 24-h Restrike Resistance and Computed Static Capacity for PPC Piles Driven in Soft Lousiana Coastal Deposits

In this paper, the CPT-based predicted ultimate pile resistances (R_p) were compared with the measured pile resistances (R_m) at different elapsed time for the piles driven into saturated soft clays where piles displayed significant set-up effect. The measured pile resistances were based on 115 restrike records collected from 95 production piles, and 74 records of 9 tested piles. The predicted ultimate pile resistances were calculated from the LCPC, the Schmertmann, and the de Ruiter–Beringen methods, respectively. With the significant pile set-up effect taken into account, the relationship between measured resistances and predicted capacities at different times after pile installation were investigated. The ratios of the measured pile resistances to the predicted capacities scattered in a large spectrum. The ratios fluctuated and stayed within a range of 0.6–1.6 for different CPT methods since end of initial driving until more than 2 months after pile installation. Plots of the ratios versus the predicted pile capacities using different CPT methods have revealed that the ratio (R_m/R_p) presented a strong dependence on the predicted capacities. Great research efforts have been devoted to the analyses of the ratios of the 24-h measured resistance to the predicted capacity based on different CPT methods, in an attempt to find a feasible empirical correlation. It is found that a simple linear relationship exists between the quad root of the ratio and the predicted capacity. The developed empirical equations will give pile foundation engineers an insight into the ultimate resistances of driven piles demonstrating significant pile set-up effects. Pile set-up makes pile resistances grow with time, and it might be one of the reasons that cause the frequently reported large discrepancy between calculated static capacity and measured resistance at a certain time after pile installation.