Transformation of a border region: dispersed agricultural communities in Brasov County, Romania

A most distinctive feature of the settlement pattern of the Brasov area is the extreme dispersal of mixed farming encountered in the western extreme of the county to the north and south of Zarnesti: the Bran and Poiana Marului areas. Here a system of peasant subsistence farming developed in a political borderland between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires. Despite feudal pressures, the peasantry took all available opportunities to extend their independence including elaborate transhumance systems. And after seeing transfrontier commerce as a source of plunder, in the tradition of Balkan highway robbery within relatively unregulated spaces, the peasantry has profited through employment in factories, particularly during the communist period. However, the current recession in manufacturing is throwing the rural population back on limited land resources. Although farming assumes an important subsistence role which contributes to stability, the long-term survival of these communities will depend on new sources of income. Rural tourism has considerable potential and a promising start has been made in Bran. There are, however, constraints on the further development of the business and great attention will have to be given to the conservation of the environment in both the Bucegi Mountains and the Piatra Craiului where national park status is proposed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Strontium in coral aragonite: 1. Characterization of Sr coordination by extended absorption X-ray fine structure

Aragonite was analyzed from Porites lobata, Pavona gigantea, Pavona clavus, and Montastrea annularis corals by Sr K-edge extended absorption X-ray fine structure (EXAFS) and compared with aragonite, strontianite, and mechanically mixed standards. Bulk analyses were performed and data compared with equivalent micro-EXAFS analyses on small (∼400 μm³) analytical volumes with a microfocused X-ray beam. As a result of the architecture of the coral skeleton, the crystals within the microanalytical volume are not randomly oriented, and the microanalytical X-ray absorption spectra show orientational dependence. However, refinement of bulk and microanalytical data provided indistinguishable interatomic distances and thermal vibration parameters in the third shell (indicative of Sr speciation). The Sr K-edge EXAFS of all the coral samples refine, within error, to an ideally substituted Sr in aragonite, in contrast to previous studies, in which significant strontianite was reported. Some samples from that study were also analyzed here. Strontianite may be less widely distributed in corals than previously thought.     

东南极冰盖Lambert冰川流域的物质平衡研究

Lambert冰川流域是南极冰盖最大的冰流系统, 因而在整个南极冰盖的物质平衡中占有非常重要的地位. 近年来穿越该冰川流域的路线考察所获得的现场观测资料和浅冰芯研究结果显示, 该冰川东、西两侧的积累速率分布和近期变化有明显差异: 东侧积累速率较高且近几十年来呈增加趋势, 西侧积累速率较低且过去几十年为明显减小. 冰体运动速度测量和冰流通量计算表明, 该冰川东侧运动速度较快, 冰流量也较大, 说明该冰川冰量补给主要来源于东侧区域. 计算出的考察断面上游物质积累总量大于流出的冰通量约13%, 意味着该流域目前处于物质正平衡状态, 如果保持目前气候状态, 冰盖将会增厚.     

The effects of fire on rock weathering: some further considerations of laboratory experimental simulation

Fire in the natural environment is a widespread agent of geomorphological and biological change. Temperatures can exceed 1000°C. There is often a rapid rise from ambient conditions through a steep thermal gradient, promoting rock disintegration. Laboratory simulation studies have established that temperature changes which are representative of natural fires affect rock material properties, which can then be related to weathering susceptibility. This study extends previous work by more closely replicating the natural environment, (a) through the simulation of rainfall and (b) by encasing samples to reflect the exposure of a single rock face to a passing fire event. Rock samples collected on Cyprus were prepared and tested following previously reported procedures. Change in modulus of elasticity was monitored using a non-destructive ultrasonic method. The data corroborate previous work but with somewhat different degrees of change. The new results are more likely to be representative of natural conditions and real-world change. The rate of rock disintegration and effects such as case-hardening appear to be a function of rock thermal characteristics, material properties and environmental constraints such as diurnal temperature range. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoenvironmental records from fossil corals: The effects of submarine diagenesis on temperature and climate estimates

The geochemistry of coral skeletons may reflect seawater conditions at the time of deposition and the analysis of fossil skeletons offers a method to reconstruct past climate. However the precipitation of cements in the primary coral skeleton during diagenesis may significantly affect bulk skeletal geochemistry. We used secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to measure Sr, Mg, B, U and Ba concentrations in primary coral aragonite and aragonite and calcite cements in fossil Porites corals from submerged reefs around the Hawaiian Islands. Cement and primary coral geochemistry were significantly different in all corals. We estimate the effects of cement inclusion on climate estimates from drilled coral samples, which combine cements and primary coral aragonite. Secondary 1% calcite or ∼2% aragonite cement contamination significantly affects Sr/Ca SST estimates by +1 °C and −0.4 to −0.9 °C, respectively. Cement inclusion also significantly affects Mg/Ca, B/Ca and U/Ca SST estimates in some corals. X-ray diffraction (XRD) will not detect secondary aragonite cements and significant calcite contamination may be below the limit of detection (∼1%) of the technique. Thorough petrographic examination of fossils is therefore essential to confirm that they are pristine before bulk drilled samples are analysed. To confirm that the geochemistry of the original coral structures is not affected by the precipitation of cements in adjacent pore spaces we analysed the primary coral aragonite in cemented and uncemented areas of the skeleton. Sr/Ca, B/Ca and U/Ca of primary coral aragonite is not affected by the presence of cements in adjacent interskeletal pore spaces i.e. the coral structures maintain their original composition and selective SIMS analysis of these structures offers a route to the reconstruction of accurate SSTs from altered coral skeletons. However, Mg/Ca and Ba/Ca of primary coral aragonite are significantly higher in parts of skeletons infilled with high Mg calcite cement. We hypothesise this reflects cement infilling of intraskeletal pore spaces in the primary coral structure.