Measurement of near surface soil water content using a capacitance probe

The portable surface capacitance insertion probe was used to measure the in situ water content of near surface soil layers. The probe readings were calibrated against gravimetric samples collected over a wide range of water contents, and were found to be very closely correlated. The capacitance probe was used repeatedly in time and space at a field site where ridges and furrows ensured a regular pattern of soil water variations. The observed spatial variations of the water content were related to topography and land mangement. The degree of variability was dependent on the average water content.     

Confirmation of an interglacial age for the Condat tufa (Dordogne,France) from biostratigraphic and isotopic data

The Condat tufa is a localised deposit, reaching 8.2m in thickness, composed of freshwater carbonates deposited in a complex series of environments which include marsh, spring and stream facies. Five radiocarbon determinations had previously been obtained from different stratigraphic levels within the tufa and had given a consistent series, ranging from 12320 ± 175 BP to 31050 ± 1500BP. Although the youngest two dates, from near the surface of the tufa, had been rejected as being anomalously young, the older dates were regarded as indicating tufa formation during the last cold stage. Biostratigraphic analyses of the molluscan and ostracod faunas, presented here, demonstrate that the tufa formed under fully temperate conditions throughout. The occurrence of certain snails that are either locally extinct (e.g. Belgrandia marginata) or unknown living in western France (e.g. Daudebardia brevipes), together with the geomorphological setting, suggest that the tufa is of interglacial age. New radiocarbon determinations of the Condat tufa all proved to be >33 Ka BP and support this conclusion.     

Starbursts and the triggering of the activity in nearby powerful radio galaxies

We present high-quality long-slit spectra for three nearby powerful radio galaxies – 3C 293, 3C 305 and PKS 1345+12. These were taken with the aim of characterizing the young stellar populations (YSP), and thereby investigating the evolution of the host galaxies, as well as the events that triggered the activity. Isochrone spectral synthesis modelling of the wide wavelength coverage spectra of nuclear and off-nuclear continuum-emitting regions have been used to estimate the ages, masses and luminosities of the YSP component, taking full account of reddening effects and potential contamination by activity-related components. We find that the YSP make a substantial contribution to the continuum flux in the off-nuclear regions on a radial scale of 1–20 kpc in all three objects. Moreover, in two objects we find evidence for reddened post-starburst stellar populations in the near-nuclear regions of the host galaxies. The YSP are relatively old (0.1–2 Gyr), massive  (10⁹ < M _YSP < 2 × 10¹⁰ M_⊙)  and make up a large proportion (∼1–50 per cent) of the total stellar mass in the regions of the galaxies sampled by the observations. Overall, these results are consistent with the idea that the nuclear activity of active galactic nuclei in some radio galaxies is triggered by major gas-rich mergers. Therefore, these radio galaxies form part of the subset of early-type galaxies that is evolving most rapidly in the local Universe. Intriguingly, the results also suggest that the radio jets are triggered relatively late in the merger sequence, and that there is an evolutionary link between radio galaxies and luminous/ultraluminous infrared galaxies.     

“Progressive port Elizabeth”: Liberal politics,local economic development and the territorial basis of racial domination, 1923–1935

The growth of state capacity with respect to African people in South Africa's cities, while an ambition of many local and central state managers, was secured only in the face of conflicts within the state and between the state and the people. This paper examines some of the specific social processes which shaped the segregated form of African settlement and administration in Port Elizabeth between 1923–35. The aim is to interpret how the unique configuration of social and economic conditions in Port Elizabeth both fed into and depended upon an as yet imperfectly implemented strategy for the government and control of the city's African populace. Issues of concern include the nature of the administration in the New Brighton Location, the influence of liberal politics on Location strategy and the impact of the local council's efforts at place entrepreneurialism on residential development and urban government.     

Comparison of methods for quantifying consumer spending on retail using publicly available data

Data and estimates on the spatial distribution of consumer spending form the foundation of retail location analysis and location-allocation spatial interaction models. The presented research presents and compares four methods to estimate consumer spending that combine different levels of detail in household spending data across multiple levels of household aggregation (i.e. census units). Results demonstrate that these methods, which use publicly available census data, can capture a substantial amount of reported sales. Furthermore, comparison of the best method with the de facto industry standard for business data in Canada shows a strong correlation (R2 > 0.85) across space and is within 10% of aggregate industry-derived spending estimate. Analysis of the spending data across space finds that the majority of spending occurs in census metropolitan areas with high spending clusters that offer unique opportunities for retail location. We interrogate the socio-demographic characteristics of the population in these high spending clusters and find that only a few variables are required to explain a large proportion of the variance in consumer spending. The overarching outcome of the presented research is that small-to-medium businesses, planners, and municipalities do not need expensive proprietary data to estimate and predict consumer spending and market demand.     

Microtextural constraints on the interplay between fluid–rock reactions and deformation

Schists from two mylonitic localities in the footwall of a low-angle normal fault in the eastern Alps record different degrees of embrittlement during exhumation, depending on the extent to which fluid–rock reactions proceeded. At one site, graphitic schists preserve textural evidence for two metamorphic reactions that modified and/or fluid volume: (1) reaction between graphite and aqueous fluid that increased without changing the molar amount of fluid, and (2) replacement of titanite by rutile, calcite, and quartz. The latter reaction involved net consumption of increasingly CO₂-rich fluid. Areas where the first reaction proceeded are associated with abundant Mode I microcracks. Fluid inclusion arrays within the microcracks show that increased from ∼0.1 to 0.6 during decompression from 4.75 to 2 kbar at a reference temperature of 500°C. Titanite consumption is most pronounced within transgranular Mode I microcracks, but microcracks do not crosscut products of this reaction; fluid consumption during reaction was coeval with the end of microcracking, at least on a local scale. At the other site, graphitic schists lack small-scale Mode I cracks as well as evidence for graphite consumption during decompression. SEM imaging shows that graphite is anhedral and pitted at the first site, but occurs in clusters of euhedral grains at the second site. Mass balance calculations demonstrate that rocks with partially consumed graphite were infiltrated by an externally derived, H₂O-rich fluid that drove subsequent graphite-fluid reaction. Evidence for similar fluid infiltration is absent at the second site. Variations in the degree of reaction progress indicate that fluid pathways and deformation style were heterogeneous on the scale of millimeters to kilometers during exhumation from mid-crustal depths.     

Metal extractability in acidic and neutral mine tailings from the Cartagena-La Unión Mining District (SE Spain)

Mine tailings are ubiquitous in the landscapes of mined areas. Metal solubilities were compared in two chemically distinct mine tailings from the old Mining District of Cartagena-La Unión (SE Spain). One of the tailings was acidic (pH 3.0) with 5400 mg/kg Zn, 1900 mg/kg As and 7000 mg/kg Pb. The other was neutral (pH 7.4) with 9100 mg/kg Zn, 5200 mg/kg Pb and 350 mg/kg As. In samples from the acidic tailings, more than 15% of the Zn and 55% of the Cd were extractable with 0.1 M NaNO₃, and distilled water. In the neutral tailings, using the same reagents, less than 1% of the metals were extractable. A sequential extraction procedure revealed that the sum of the residual and the Fe oxide fractions of Cu, Zn and Pb comprised 80–95% in the acidic tailings and 70–90% in the neutral tailings. The acidic mine tailings had a higher metal solubility, resulting in more metal leaching in the short-term, but also a higher fraction of inert metal. In contrast, in the neutral tailings, the metals were evenly distributed between, oxides and the residual fraction. This implies lower metal mobility in the short-term, but that metal mobility may increase in the long-term. When applied to mine tailings, sequential extractions may provide misleading results because the strong cation exchange capacity of some extractants may induce pH changes and thereby significantly change metal solubility.