Beyond world cities: Central America in a global space of flows

Central America is a region without a world city. Traditionally, the region's national projects have been based upon openness to the world economy: how do the region's contemporary transnational projects connect to the world economy under the new conditions of openness that is contemporary globalization? Focusing upon advanced producer services, three connections into the world city network are identified: global service firms operating directly in Central American cities, local service firms operating indirectly through extra-regional world cities and global service firms operating through Latin American regional offices. Miami is confirmed as the primary world city through which Central America connects into the world economy     

Modelling of oxygen and nitrogen cycling as a function of macrophyte community in the Thau lagoon

A three-dimensional model coupling physical and biological processes for the whole Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast of France) was developed in order to assess the relationships between macrophytes and the oxygen and nitrogen cycles. Ten species have been inserted as forcing variables in the model. Plankton dynamics, shellfish cultivation impact and mineralization of organic matter are also considered, as well as nutrient and oxygen exchanges between the sediment and the water column.Simulations with and without the macrophytes have shown that the system can be characterized as having a highly structured pattern involving lagoon nitrogen and oxygen cycles. This pattern is created by the combined influence of macrophytes, watershed and oyster farming.The model has been also used to assess the total annual macrophyte production at the whole lagoon scale. Comparisons with phytoplankton production and with results from other temperate lagoons have underlined the high productivity of the Thau lagoon supported by active nutrient regeneration.     

Racialised representations in British and American advertising

Summary This paper discusses the relationship between advertising and 'race', using as its foundation the replication of a study conducted in the US which used content analysis to examine the representation of Black characters in television advertisements. The replication facilitates a comparison of the British and American cases, revealing significant differences in the frequency and perceived importance of such representations. It can also help draw out the specificities of the UK situation. The paper attempts to convey the complexity of the interplay between advertising and racialisation, and emphasises that while such quantitative, textual studies offer a useful basis for further research, they are limited by their failure to address the motivations of producers and how advertisements are read by different groups in different places.     

Geochemical evidence for abrupt changes in relative strength of the Arabian monsoons during a stadial/interstadial climate transition

The occurrence and propagation of abrupt climate change between the high and low-latitudes has become an important focus of paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic research. The causes of abrupt change have significant implications for understanding future manifestations of similar forcings under late Holocene (‘Anthropocene’) boundary conditions. Of particular interest are signals indicative of sub-millennial scale climate change in the sub-tropics of similar magnitude and frequency to those recorded in Greenland ice cores. Earlier research in the Arabian Sea has highlighted the sensitivity of sedimentary organic carbon and nitrogen isotope measurements for recording the state of the SW monsoon and associated Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone. In this study, we exploit the unprecedented fidelity of the sedimentary δ¹⁵N record to identify a 20 cm interval at ODP Site 723 containing a stadial/inter-stadial interval between 43-42 Kyr BP. We employ sedimentary nitrogen isotopes, chlorin pigment and alkenone abundances, major and minor element analyses of highly-resolved (2 mm ≈ 10 yr) samples across this interval to compare a comprehensive, multi-proxy data set to understand (a) the processes contributing to the δ¹⁵N signal in the longer records of denitrification; and (b) the associated climatic events, especially the relative intensity of summer and winter monsoons at these times. A lack of evidence for bioturbation in excess of our 2 mm sampling resolution facilitates decadal-scale oceanographic and climatic reconstructions. Using a four-component flux-dilution model, we show that the deposition of carbonate decreased in parallel with an increase in Total Organic Matter flux from stadial to inter-stadial time. This interval is also marked by a significant drop in lithogenic (dust) accumulation, analogous to a similar decrease noted during deglaciation in the Western Arabian Sea. Combined with alkenone U₃₇^K′-derived estimates for sea surface temperature (SST), we conclude that the climatological shift from stadial to inter-stadial conditions at low latitudes was characterized by repeated switches in mean monsoon state approximately every 200 yr. The winter monsoon was the dominant mode during maximum stadial conditions; conversely the summer monsoon was dominant during maximum interstadial-like conditions. However, each interval was separated by a distinct ‘inter-monsoon’ mode, indicated by a higher continental dust flux but warmer SST. Proxy records for changing bottom-water oxygenation show near-identical results down to the mm-scale, but hint at increased export production leading the onset of anoxia during the stadial/inter-stadial transition. The coherence of all sedimentary signals depicts a wholesale reorganization of the Arabian Sea climate and marine ecosystem over approximately 200 years, a period that may be associated with monsoon modulation by small oscillations in solar irradiance.     

A macroscale analysis of coastal steepening around the coast of England and Wales

Coastal steepening potentially presents an array of management issues in the form of financial implications of sea defence degradation, increased risk posed to the hinterland as wave attenuation is reduced, 'coastal squeeze' and statutory requirements in the light of the Habitats Directive. The extent to which coastal steepening has occurred throughout England and Wales has been investigated through use of a GIS and dataset based on historical Ordnance Survey map information. Data were collected along 1084 selected profile lines, positioned so as to be geomorphologically representative of the coast. Features recorded from each map year included the positions of mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW), the relative movements of which infer changing intertidal gradients. The results presented in this paper are on a subject and scale not previously published. It is revealed that 61% of the coastline studied has experienced a tendency towards steepening. Of the remainder, 33% has flattened, and 6% has experienced no rotational movement. This tendency towards steepening has been the dominant movement on each of the west, south, and east coasts.     

Geology and Metal Contents of the Ruttan volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, northern Manitoba, Canada

The Paleoproterozoic Ruttan Cu–Zn volcanogenic massive-sulfide (VMS) deposit is a large, relatively low grade, bimodal-siliciclastic type deposit in the Rusty Lake volcanic belt of northern Manitoba. The deposit contained over 82.8 million tonnes of massive sulfide, of which 55.7 million tonnes were mined from 1973 to 2002. The deposit consists of a series of moderately to steeply dipping, south-facing lenses that extend along strike at the surface for 1.1 km and to a depth of 1.0 km. These lenses occur within a steeply dipping, bimodal volcanic, volcaniclastic and siliciclastic sequence. In the immediate mine area, transitional calc-alkalic to high-silica (tholeiitic), felsic, and intermediate volcanic/volcaniclastic rocks of the Mine Sequence are host to, and intercalated with, the massive-sulfide lenses. Transitional tholeiitic to calc-alkalic basalt and andesite are present in the footwall sequence, approximately 500 m down-section from the ore horizon. The overlying rocks are predominantly fine-grained volcaniclastics and siliciclastics, but include polyfragmental agglomerate that contains mafic bombs and scoriaceous felsic fragments. Syn-depositional felsic and mafic dikes, sills, and apophyses are ubiquitous throughout the Mine Sequence, including the ore lenses, indicating continued, near-vent magmatism, and volcanism during ore formation. Fabrics in altered hostrocks have consistent, down-plunge stretching lineations to the SSE that suggest the deposit has been elongated by a factor of ~1.2–1.5; otherwise, the deposit is remarkably undeformed. Syn- and post-depositional faults in the mine area have relatively minor displacements up to tens of meters. Proximal (within 200 m) footwall rocks exhibit moderate to strong chloritization, characterized by the upper greenschist to lower amphibolite facies assemblages that include cordierite–almandine–andalusite–sillimanite–biotite ± staurolite ± anthophyllite ± talc, and local silicification. The proximal hanging wall rocks are characterized by sericite ± gahnite alteration, which is restricted to within approximately 75 m of the uppermost lenses. Additional gangue minerals are anhydrite and carbonate minerals (siderite, dolomite, ankerite, and calcite), as well as chlorite, sericite, biotite, talc, and quartz. Carbonate (excluding siderite), potassium feldspar, silicification and epidotization are common distal alteration zones in the footwall to the Mine Sequence several kilometers to the northeast. There are three principal groups of massive sulfide lenses; the East lenses, the West lenses, and the Western Anomaly lenses to the far west. In general, Cu is relatively enriched at the stratigraphic base and in the center of the deposit, whereas Zn is enriched upsection and at the outer margins. Some of the Zn-rich ore exhibits primary mineralogical layering. Parts of the West and Western Anomaly lenses show two layers with Cu-rich bases and Zn-rich tops. The massive sulfide is typically 10–40-m thick; one area along the margin of the main lenses is over 130-m thick and may represent deposition adjacent to a syn-depositional fault. The main sulfide phases are pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with tetrahedrite as the most abundant trace phase. Gahnite is ubiquitous in the chlorite-rich assemblages adjacent to the ore lenses. The average base, precious and trace metal contents estimated from Cu and Zn concentrates, and from millhead grades and recoveries. Metals easily transported as chloride and bisulfide complexes in hydrothermal fluids including: Pb, Ag, In, Cu, Cd, Au, and Zn are enriched by 1.5–2.5 orders of magnitude in comparison to the bulk continental crust. Other elements such as Sn, Mo, and As are at near-crustal concentrations, whereas Mn, Ga, and Co are significantly depleted in comparison to the crust. Calculated metal concentrations in the average hydrothermal fluid based on the average metal contents are comparable to, or higher than those measured at sediment covered ridge hydrothermal systems, which precipitate much of their metal budget in the subsurface. Average rare earth element contents for the sulfide are light rare earth element enriched (La_N/Yb_N=22) and range from 0.45 to 0.02x chondritic values, with a moderate negative Eu anomaly (Eu*=0.51). Metal and trace element contents in the Ruttan exhalite horizon, and in proximal (within 1–2 km) exhalites along strike from the 0.6 million tonne Dar-2 Cu–Zn deposit 12 km south of Ruttan, have positive Eu anomalies, whereas negative Eu anomalies are present at distance. The positive Eu anomalies reflect high temperature paleoseafloor hydrothermal venting and precipitation of Eu²⁺-enriched clays and possibly carbonates, and indicate proximity to base-metal deposits. Silver and lead are also enriched in the exhalites near the deposits, whereas Mn is enriched at ~1–3 km along strike, but not consistently. Editorial handling: B. Gemmel An erratum to this article is available at .