Land, ethnic, and gender change: Transnational migration and its effects on Guatemalan lives and landscapes

Migration to the United States of America from Guatemala effects many aspects of Guatemalan life. We document, through extensive ethnographic fieldwork, how migrants and their remittances effect gender relations, ethnicity, land use, and land distribution. Our evidence is drawn from research in four communities. San Pedro Pinula and Gualán represent communities of eastern Guatemala. San Cristóbal Totonicapán is an Indigenous town in Guatemala’s western highlands, and San Lucas is a lowland frontier community in the Guatemalan department of Ixcán, which borders Chiapas, Mexico. Our results reveal that migrants and their remittances, both social and tangible, result in significant changes in land use and land distribution in Ixcán. Migrant money permits the conversion of rainforest into cattle pasture and also results in the accumulation of land in the hands of migrants. In terms of land use, we see in San Pedro Pinula that migrant money also allows the Pokoman Maya to make small entries into the Ladino (non-indigenous) dominated cattle business. In San Pedro Pinula, the migration and return of Maya residents also permits them to slowly challenge ethnic roles that have developed over the last five centuries. When we look at how migration effects gender roles in Gualán and San Cristóbal we also note that migration and social remittances permit a gradual challenge and erosion of traditional gender roles in Guatemala. We point out, however, that migration-related changes to traditional gender and ethnic roles is gradual because migrants, despite their increased earnings and awareness, run into a social structure that resists rapid change. This is not the case when we examine land transformations in Ixcán. Here, migrants encounter few barriers when they attempt to put their new money and ideas to work. Despite the advantages that migration brings to many families, especially in the face of a faltering national economy and state inactivity regarding national development, we conclude that migration and remittances do not result in community or nation-wide development. At this stage migrant remittances are used for personal advancement and very little money and effort is invested in works that benefit communities or neighborhoods. We call for continued studies of the effects of international migration on Guatemalan hometowns that build on our initial studies to better understand the longer-term ramifications of migration in a country where no community is without migrants.     

Nitrogen microanalysis of glass inclusions in chondritic olivines by nuclear reaction

Measured were the abundance and distribution of nitrogen in glasses of glass inclusions in olivines of CV3, CO3, CR, C4, CH3, and LL chondritic meteorites by means of the ¹⁴N(d, p)¹⁵N nuclear reaction. Similar to what was observed with carbon, nitrogen is present in low concentrations (<20 ppm) in the structure of olivines but can by stored in variable amounts in glasses of glass inclusions. These primitive glasses, characterized by a Si-Al-Ca-rich composition, have highly variable nitrogen contents (30 to 1500 ppm) and highly inhomogeneous nitrogen distribution. Nitrogen contents are independent of the chemical composition of the glasses. The heterogeneous distribution is a common feature of all studied inclusions, as is evidenced by the variable contents of nitrogen in glass inclusions occurring in the same olivine grain. Nitrogen heterogeneity is suggestive of trapping of solid nitrogen carrier phases during formation of the constituents of chondrules. However, part of the originally trapped nitrogen appears to have been lost, possibly, by ulterior oxidation and subsequent transformation into volatile species.     

Splintered networks: The colonial and contemporary waters of Jakarta

This paper queries the relevance of the ‘splintering urbanism’ thesis to postcolonial cities of the South, and responds to calls for the production of a decentered theory of urbanization through a case study of Jakarta. Drawing on archival and interview data, the paper demonstrates that Jakarta has, since its inception, been characterized by a high degree of differentiation of access to water supply, and of fragmentation of water supply networks. We document the origins of this fragmentation in the colonial era, and trace the legacy of the colonial constructions within the postcolonial city. Moreover, we demonstrate that the introduction of private sector management (in 1988) has not significantly disrupted, and certainly not caused, this pattern. In short, we provide evidence to support our claim that Jakarta’s water supply system is ‘splintered’ rather than ‘splintering’, and demonstrate that this phenomenon was not caused by the rise (or fall) of the ‘modern infrastructural ideal’. In order to explain this sustained fragmentation of infrastructure and access, the paper develops a conceptual framework of postcolonial governmentality that emphasizes the interrelationship between materiality, governmentality, identity, and urbanization, in particular through demonstrating how contested and evolving process of social differentiation are linked to the differentiation of water supply infrastructures and of urban spaces. Although we are wary of any simplistic comparisons between the colonial past and present, we argue that the optic of postcolonial governmentality provides a powerful lens for dissecting the power relations that continue to structure access to water supply and urban space in cities in the South.     

Geochemical effects on metals following permanganate oxidation of DNAPLs

The application of in situ chemical oxidation for dense, nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) remediation requires delivery of substantial levels of oxidant chemicals into the subsurface to degrade target DNAPLs and to satisfy natural oxidant demand. This practice can raise questions regarding changes in subsurface conditions, yet information regarding potential effects, especially at the field scale, has been lacking. This paper describes an evaluation of the effects on metals associated with in situ chemical oxidation using potassium permanganate at Launch Complex 34 (LC34), Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. At LC34, high concentrations of permanganate (1 to 2 wt%) were injected into the subsurface as part of a demonstration of DNAPL remediation technologies. In a companion experimental effort at the Colorado School of Mines, field samples were characterized and laboratory batch and mini-column studies were completed to assess effects of permanganate oxidation on metals in the subsurface one year after completion of the field demonstration. Results indicated there was potential for long-term immobilization of a portion of introduced manganese and no treatment-induced loss in subsurface permeability due to deposition of manganese oxides particles, which are a product of the oxidation reactions. Permanganate treatment did cause elevated manganese, chromium, and nickel concentrations in site ground water within the treated region. Some of these metals effects can be attenuated during downgradient flow through uncontaminated and untreated aquifer sediments.     

Flexural uplift of a lithospheric slab near the Vema transform (Central Atlantic): Timing and mechanisms

The Vema Transverse Ridge (VTR) is a prominent, long and narrow topographic anomaly that runs for over 300 km along a sea floor spreading flow line south of the Vema transform at 11° N in the Atlantic. It rises abruptly about 140 km from the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) in 10 Myr old crust and runs continuously up to 25 Myr old crust. It reaches over 3 km above the predicted lithospheric thermal contraction level. It is absent in crust younger than 10 Myr; thus, the uplift of the VTR must have ended roughly 10 Ma. The VTR is interpreted as the exposed edge of a flexured and uplifted slab of oceanic lithosphere that was generated at an 80 km long MAR segment. Based on satellite gravimetry imagery this MAR segment was born roughly 50 Ma and increased its length at an average rate of 1.6 mm/yr. Multibeam data show that the MAR-parallel sea floor fabric south of the VTR shifts its orientation by 5° to 10° clockwise in 11–12 Myr old crust, indicating a change at that time of the orientation of the MAR axis and of the position of the Euler rotation pole. This change caused extension normal to the transform, followed between 12 and 10 Ma by flexure of the edge of the lithospheric slab, uplift of the VTR at a rate of 2 to 4 mm/yr, and exposure of a lithospheric section (Vema Lithospheric Section or VLS) at the northern edge of the slab, parallel to the Vema transform. Ages of pelagic carbonates encrusting ultramafic rocks sampled at the base of the VLS at different distances from the MAR axis suggest that the entire VTR rose vertically as a single block within the active transform offset. A 50 km long portion of the crest of the VTR rose above sea level, subsided, was truncated at sea level and covered by a carbonate platform. Subaerial and submarine erosion has gradually removed material from the top of the VTR and has modified its slopes. Spreading half rate of the crust south of the transform decreased from 17.2 mm/yr between 26 and 19 Ma to 16.9 mm/yr between 19 and 10 Ma, to 13.6 mm/yr from 10 Ma to present. The slowing down of spreading occurred close in time to the change in ridge/transform geometry, suggesting that the two events are related. A numerical model relates lithospheric flexure to extension normal to the transform, suggesting that the extent of the uplift depends on the thickness of the brittle layer, consistent with the observed greater uplift of the older lithosphere along the VTR.     

High Resolution Deterministic Prediction System (HRDPS) Simulations of Manitoba Lake Breezes

The Effects of Lake Breezes On Weather–Manitoba (ELBOW-MB) field project, conducted around Lakes Manitoba and Winnipeg in July 2013, was the first in-depth field study of lake breezes in Manitoba, Canada. Using observational data collected during ELBOW-MB and output from the 2.5?km Canadian High Resolution Deterministic Prediction System (HRDPS), comparisons were made between HRDPS output and observational data to determine whether the HRDPS can simulate Manitoba lake breezes. The model comparisons considered various lake-breeze characteristics, such as depth, inland penetration distance, and initiation and dissipation time. In addition, cross-sections of lake-breeze circulations were analyzed. The results show that the HRDPS was able to correctly simulate lake breezes, or lack thereof, in 78% of cases on Lake Winnipeg and 68% of cases on Lake Manitoba. Modelled lake-breeze initiation and dissipation times were found to be too early in some cases and too late in others when compared with observations. Overall, it was found that the HRDPS was able to simulate most aspects of lake breezes, although inland penetration distance was one characteristic that the HRDPS was not able to simulate realistically.     

Modern Sphagnumδ13C signatures follow a surface moisture gradient in two boreal peat bogs,James Bay lowlands,Québec

Carbon isotopic composition of Sphagnum macrofossils can potentially be used as a palaeohydrological tool for peat‐based climatic studies since a relationship between Sphagnum δ¹³C values and peatland surface moisture has been presented in previous studies. In order to verify this hypothesis, modern Sphagnum δ¹³C values were measured along a moisture (microtopographic) gradient in two boreal peat bogs. Isotopic measurements were performed on bulk material of S. fuscum, S. magellanicum, S. capillifolium and S. pulchrum. Isotopic variations found within and between Sphagnum species along the microtopographic gradient were compared using analysis of variance. A significant positive correlation (P < 0.0001) was found between Sphagnum δ¹³C values and their position along the surface moisture gradient. Results show that ¹³C‐depleted values are related to low water table depths (WTD), while ¹³C‐enriched values correspond to a water table that is close to the peat surface. Although the mechanisms underlying carbon fractionation processes in mosses are not well understood, we demonstrate that water resistance to CO₂ diffusion is an important fractionation process that is observed in bulk Sphagnum δ¹³C measurements, since drier and wetter samples exhibit consistent and very different isotopic signatures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Planetary perturbations of the Moon in ELP 2000

A new solution for the planetary perturbations of the Moon is being built in the frame of ELP 2000, using Bretagnon's planetary theories, and achieved at the first order. It contains the two actions commonly distinguished: direct and indirect. The internal precision of computation is 2×10^–6 arcsec. First-order planetary perturbations, in the direct case (Venus & Mars), have been compared to Standaert's solution. The major discrepancy reaches 70 cm in the longitude of Venus. Perturbations of the second order with respect to planetary masses, have been undertaken and illustrations are given. Finally, new values for the perigee and node motions are proposed.Proceedings of the Conference on Analytical Methods and Ephemerides: Theory and Observations of the Moon and Planets. Facultés universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix, Namur, Belgium, 28–31 July, 1980.