Burning issues: Whiteness, rurality and the politics of difference

In the past decade geographers have critiqued the exclusivity of idyllic representations of rurality and sought to explore the diverse experiences of Other social groups in the countryside. This paper builds upon that small but significant strand of research which has highlighted the whiteness of representations of rurality and the consequences of this for racialised minorities. These debates have been crucially important in forwarding our understanding of racially-exclusive constructions of idyllic country living; however, it is important that academics neither assume that such ideas are forever fixed, nor that they affect all minority ethnic groups in the same ways. This paper takes both the potential power and frailty of these ideas seriously, as it examines how the concepts of race, racism and rurality are deployed by different commentators as they debate the place of one specific minority ethnic group in the English countryside. The route taken into this is a consideration of print-media reporting of events in Firle, Sussex, where, in 2003, some white rural residents symbolically purged their village of Gypsy-Travellers by burning a mock caravan complete with effigies at their annual bonfire celebrations. In conclusion, the paper challenges the relative lack of attention to these issues within the white-dominated discipline of geography, and argues that it is imperative to trace the dynamic ways in which the whiteness of idyllic understandings of the rural are reinforced and challenged through contemporary social practice.     

The Green Revolution re-assessed: Insider perspectives on agrarian change in Bulandshahr District, Western Uttar Pradesh, India

In spite of raising Asian per capita food production by 27% and making India food self-sufficient, the Green Revolution has received much criticism for its environmental and socio-economic impacts. Taking on board post-development critiques of ‘speaking for’ Third World ‘others’, this paper seeks to examine the Green Revolution from the points of view of people directly affected by it. Comparative, historically-informed research in three villages for which 1972 baseline data exist reveal that the Green Revolution has ensured, in the words of one marginal farmer that ‘nobody sleeps with an empty stomach nowadays’. Most villagers associate the Green Revolution with increases in living standards and weakening community-based wealth hierarchies. Nevertheless, socio-economic inequalities between certain Scheduled Castes and other villagers are still very apparent.     

Generalisation of a Nonlinear Dynamo Model

In order to gain a better understanding of the physical processes underlying fast dynamo action it is instructive to investigate the structure of both the magnetic field and the velocity field after the dynamo saturates. Previously, computational results have been presented (Cattaneo, Hughes and Kim, 1996) that indicate, in particular, that Lagrangian chaos is suppressed in the dynamical regime of the dynamo. Here we extend their model by removing the assumption of neglecting the inertial term. This allows for an investigation into the effect of this term on the evolution of the dynamo via a comparison of the two models. Our results indicate that this term plays a crucial role in the physics of the dynamo.     

Quantitative Research Performing other Worlds: lessons from sustainable agriculture in the Philippines

For those interested in ethical research, quantitative methods are often dismissed as apolitical; as unreflective exercises in ‘mere counting’. If, however, in doing research, we bring into being the very worlds we purport to describe, the question begs: what kinds of worlds might quantitative methods bring into being? Is there space for a reflexive, quantitative research agenda? In this paper, I will discuss an action-based predominantly quantitative research project that aimed to investigate the diverse impacts of sustainable agriculture on small-scale farmers in the Philippines. The study, one of the largest ever undertaken on organic rice production, was consciously designed, not merely to describe, but to perform organic agriculture differently. While most quantitative, and indeed much qualitative, research ignores its performativity, this research was intended to enact a reality of sustainable agriculture as a viable and vital alternative to mainstream, capitalist agriculture.     

The iron-nickel-phosphorus system: Effects on the distribution of trace elements during the evolution of iron meteorites

To better understand the partitioning behavior of elements during the formation and evolution of iron meteorites, two sets of experiments were conducted at 1 atm in the Fe-Ni-P system. The first set examined the effect of P on solid metal/liquid metal partitioning behavior of 22 elements, while the other set explored the effect of the crystal structures of body-centered cubic (α)- and face-centered cubic (γ)-solid Fe alloys on partitioning behavior. Overall, the effect of P on the partition coefficients for the majority of the elements was minimal. As, Au, Ga, Ge, Ir, Os, Pt, Re, and Sb showed slightly increasing partition coefficients with increasing P-content of the metallic liquid. Co, Cu, Pd, and Sn showed constant partition coefficients. Rh, Ru, W, and Mo showed phosphorophile (P-loving) tendencies. Parameterization models were applied to solid metal/liquid metal results for 12 elements. As, Au, Pt, and Re failed to match previous parameterization models, requiring the determination of separate parameters for the Fe-Ni-S and Fe-Ni-P systems.Experiments with coexisting α and γ Fe alloy solids produced partitioning ratios close to unity, indicating that an α versus γ Fe alloy crystal structure has only a minor influence on the partitioning behaviors of the trace element studied. A simple relationship between an element’s natural crystal structure and its α/γ partitioning ratio was not observed. If an iron meteorite crystallizes from a single metallic liquid that contains both S and P, the effect of P on the distribution of elements between the crystallizing solids and the residual liquid will be minor in comparison to the effect of S. This indicates that to a first order, fractional crystallization models of the Fe-Ni-S-P system that do not take into account P are appropriate for interpreting the evolution of iron meteorites if the effects of S are appropriately included in the effort.     

Elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to climate warming

Warming will affect snowline elevation, potentially altering the timing and magnitude of streamflow from mountain landscapes. Presently, the assessment of potential elevation‐dependent responses is difficult because many gauged watersheds integrate drainage areas that are both snow and rain dominated. To predict the impact of snowline rise on streamflow, we mapped the current snowline (1980 m) for the Salmon River watershed (Idaho, USA) and projected its elevation after 3 °C warming (2440 m). This increase results in a 40% reduction in snow‐covered area during winter months. We expand this analysis by collecting streamflow records from a new, elevation‐stratified gauging network of watersheds contained within high (2250–3800 m), mid (1500–2250 m) and low (300–1500 m) elevations that isolate snow, mixed and rain‐dominated precipitation regimes. Results indicate that lags between percentiles of precipitation and streamflow are much shorter in low elevations than in mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds. Low elevation annual percentiles (Q₂₅ and Q₇₅) of streamflow occur 30–50 days earlier than in higher elevation watersheds. Extreme events in low elevations are dominated by low‐ and no‐flow events whereas mid‐ and high‐elevation extreme events are primarily large magnitude floods. Only mid‐ and high‐elevation watersheds are strongly cross correlated with catchment‐wide flow of the Salmon River, suggesting that changes in contributions from low‐elevation catchments may be poorly represented using mainstem gauges. As snowline rises, mid‐elevation watersheds will likely exhibit behaviours currently observed only at lower elevations. Streamflow monitoring networks designed for operational decision making or change detection may require modification to capture elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to warming. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Comparative Study of Five Reference Materials and the Lombard Meteorite for the Determination of the Platinum‐Group Elements and Gold by LA‐ICP‐MS

A range of independently characterised reference materials (RMs) for LA‐ICP‐MS, used for the determination of the platinum‐group elements (PGE) and Au in a sulfide matrix, were analysed and compared: 8b, PGE‐A, NiS‐3, Po727‐T1, Po724‐T and the Lombard meteorite. The newly developed RM NiS‐3 was used as the RM for the calibration of all LA‐ICP‐MS analyses and the measured concentrations of the other RMs compared against their published concentrations. This data were also used to assess the consistency of concentrations calibrated against the different RMs. It was found that Po727‐T1 and 8b produced results that were comparable, within uncertainty, for all elements. Po727‐T1 also produced consistent results with NiS‐3 for all elements. All other RMs showed differences for some elements, especially Ru in Po724‐T, and Os, Ir and Au in PGE‐A. The homogeneity of the PGE and Au in each RM was assessed, by comparing the precision of multiple LA‐ICP‐MS spot analyses with the average uncertainty of the signal. Po724‐T, Po727‐T1 and the Lombard meteorite were found to be homogeneous for all elements, but 8b, PGE‐A and NiS‐3 were heterogeneous for some elements. This is the first direct comparison between a range of independently characterised PGE and Au LA‐ICP‐MS RMs.     

Gatekeepers,Shareholders, and Evangelists: Expanding Communication Networks of African American Forest Landowners in North Carolina

The Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program (SFLR) was launched in 2012 to increase adoption of sustainable forestry practices among African American landowners in the southeastern United States to prevent land loss, increase forest health, and build economic assets. One of its main goals was to build communication networks through which African American landowners could obtain and share information about forestry practices and landowner assistance programs independent of public agencies. To measure and examine the growth of these communication networks over a three-year period (2014-2017), we conducted 87 interviews with landowners (24 of whom were interviewed multiple times), SFLR personnel, and Federal and State staff members in North Carolina. We used complementary methods of data gathering and analysis, including social network analysis and qualitative analysis. Our results showed expanding communication networks will be sustained independently of the program over time, although there is still a heavy reliance on program personnel.     

Ion microprobe measurements of O/O ratios of phosphate minerals in the Martian meteorites ALH84001 and Los Angeles

Oxygen isotope ratios of merrillite and chlorapatite in the Martian meteorites ALH84001 and Los Angeles have been measured by ion microprobe in multicollector mode. δ¹⁸O values of phosphate minerals measured in situ range from ∼3 to 6‰, and are similar to Martian meteorite whole-rock values, as well as the δ¹⁸O of igneous phosphate on Earth. These results suggest that the primary, abiotic, igneous phosphate reservoir on Mars is similar in oxygen isotopic composition to the basaltic phosphate reservoir on Earth. This is an important first step in the characterization of Martian phosphate reservoirs for the use of δ¹⁸O of phosphate minerals as a biomarker for life on Mars. Cumulative textural, major-element, and isotopic evidence presented here suggest a primary, igneous origin for the phosphates in Los Angeles and ALH84001; textural and chemical evidence suggests that phosphates in ALH84001 were subsequently shock-melted in a later event.     

Modelling particle residence times in agricultural river basins using a sediment budget model and fallout radionuclide tracers

Contemporary patterns in river basin sediment dynamics have been widely investigated but the timescales associated with current sediment delivery processes have received much less attention. Furthermore, no studies have quantified the effect of recent land use change on the residence or travel times of sediment transported through river basins. Such information is crucial for understanding contemporary river basin function and responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances or management interventions. To address this need, we adopt a process‐based modelling approach to quantify changes in spatial patterns and residence times of suspended sediment in response to recent agricultural land cover change. The sediment budget model SedNet was coupled with a mass balance model of particle residence times based on atmospheric and fluvial fluxes of three fallout radionuclide tracers (⁷Be, excess ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs). Mean annual fluxes of suspended sediment were simulated in seven river basins (38–920 km²) in south‐west England for three land cover surveys (1990, 2000 and 2007). Suspended sediment flux increased across the basins from 0.5–15 to 1.4–37 kt y^‐1 in response to increasing arable land area between consecutive surveys. The residence time model divided basins into slow (upper surface soil) and rapid (river channel and connected hillslope sediment source area) transport compartments. Estimated theoretical residence times in the slow compartment decreased from 13–48 to 5.6–14 ky with the increase in basin sediment exports. In contrast, the short residence times for the rapid compartment increased from 185–256 to 260–368 d as the modelled connected source area expanded with increasing sediment supply from more arable land. The increase in sediment residence time was considered to correspond to longer sediment travel distances linked to larger connected source areas. This novel coupled modelling approach provides unique insight into river basin responses to recent environmental change not otherwise available from conventional measurement techniques. © 2014 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.