Earthlearningidea—two million and counting: bringing Earth science ideas to teachers across the world

As one door closes, another one opens—sometimes. This is certainly true in the history of the development of the Earth science education website, http://www.earthlearningidea.com . In the expectation that funding would be available to help teachers in a range of developing countries during the UN's International Year of Planet Earth in 2008, a series of overseas workshops in Earth science was proposed. Undeterred by the probable absence of funding, Chris King, of Keele University, co‐opted Elizabeth Devon and Peter Kennett to initiate a web‐based series of Earth science activities, which could be freely accessed by anyone in the world. This was, and is, run on a purely voluntary basis. Up until 2014, the website was generously hosted, free of charge, by the Applied and Environmental Geophysics Research Group at Keele University, but the site now runs on a FreeBSD server situated in the London Telehouse and managed by Martin Devon. The minimal monthly costs of this are covered by a grant from the Geologists' Association's Curry Fund.     

Herbicides implicated as the cause of severe mangrove dieback in the Mackay region, NE Australia: consequences for marine plant habitats of the GBR World Heritage Area

Herbicides, particularly diuron, were correlated with severe and widespread dieback of the dominant mangrove, Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. var. eucalyptifolia (Val.) N.C. Duke (Avicenniaceae), its reduced canopy condition, and declines in seedling health within three neighbouring estuaries in the Mackay region of NE Australia. This unusual species-specific dieback, first observed in the early 1990s, had gotten notably worse by 2002 to affect >30 km(2) of mangroves in at least five adjacent estuaries in the region. Over the past century, agricultural production has responded well to the demands of increasing population with improvements in farm efficiency assisted by significant increases in the use of agricultural chemicals. However, with regular and episodic river flow events, these chemicals have sometimes found their way into estuarine and nearshore water and sediments where their effects on marine habitats have been largely unquantified. Investigations over the last three years in the Mackay region provide compelling evidence of diuron, and possibly other agricultural herbicides, as the most likely cause of the severe and widespread mangrove dieback. The likely consequences of such dieback included declines in coastal water quality with increased turbidity, nutrients and sediment deposition, as well as further dispersal of the toxic chemicals. The implications of such findings are immense since they describe not only the serious deterioration of protected and beneficial mangrove habitat but also the potential for significant direct and indirect effects on other highly-valued estuarine and marine habitats in the region, including seagrass beds and coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. This article reviews all key findings and observations to date and describes the essential correlative and causative evidence.     

On the direction of Rossby wave breaking in blocking

The direction of Rossby wave breaking at the onset of large-scale atmospheric blocking events is shown to relate closely to its position relative to the location of the climatological storm tracks. Using ERA-Interim reanalysis data from October 1989 to March 2009 and a dynamically-based blocking index, Rossby wave breaking is shown to occur preferentially cyclonically to the north, and anticyclonically to the south of the average storm tracks location. Therefore the results support existing theory on the relation between Rossby wave breaking direction and barotropic shear of the background wind. The further away from the storm tracks the breaking occurs, the stronger this preference in breaking direction. Regional differences can also be explained. For the European region on average 70?% of the detected blocking took place after anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking event that occurred on average 6° south of the climatological storm tracks position. Over Western Pacific wave breaking prior to blocking occurs predominantly cyclonically and on average 6° north of the storm tracks. Differences in blocking duration and intensity are found to be within estimated error margins at most longitudes, except for the Atlantic-Europe sector where the blocking events following anticyclonic blocking are also the strongest.     

State versus Capital: The Regulation of the Vietnamese Foreign Sector

The debate over globalisation and the state has been sharpened by the emergence of such transitional economies as China and Vietnam. These states have become the subject of considerable attention, both in terms of the form that production is taking and the manner in which they interact with international capital. In both cases, interaction with international capital and the establishment of elements of the market economy have taken place under the auspices of highly centralised single party states. The resulting approach to the forces of economic globalisation has been both highly interventionist and, at times, extremely heavy-handed. As such, both countries may be seen as being seriously out of step with the advocates of liberalisation and economic globalisation. This paper seeks to further the understanding of the position of such states through an examination of Vietnam at two levels: first, through an overview of the distinctive and changing nature of the interaction and, second, through an examination of the nature and consequences of the differential treatment of labour and capital for foreign companies operating in Vietnam.     

Middle Holocene Bison diet and mobility in the eastern Great Plains (USA) based on δC, δO, and Sr/Sr analyses of tooth enamel carbonate

During the Holocene, bison (Bison bison) were key components of the Great Plains landscape. This study utilizes serial stable isotope analyses (tooth enamel carbonate) of 29 individuals from five middle Holocene (∼ 7–8.5 ka) archaeological sites to address seasonal variability in movement patterns and grazing behavior of bison populations in the eastern Great Plains. Stable carbon isotopes (δ¹³C) indicate a bison diet that is similar to the C3/C4 composition of modern tallgrass prairies, while ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values generally indicate very little seasonal movement (< 50 km) and relatively limited inter-annual movement (< 500 km) over the course of 4–5 yr. Analyses of variability in serial stable oxygen isotope samples (δ¹⁸O) further substantiate a model of localized bison herds that adhered to upland areas of the eastern Plains and prairie–forest border.     

Transient currents in the global electric circuit due to cloud-to-ground and intracloud lightning

Intracloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes produce transient changes in the electric field (E) above a thundercloud which drive transient currents in the global electric circuit (GEC). Using in-cloud and above-cloud E data from balloons, ground-based E data, and Lightning Mapping Array data, the above-cloud charge transfers due to lightning transients are estimated for five IC and five CG flashes from four thunderstorms that occurred above the mountains in New Mexico, USA, in 1999. For the five CG flashes (which transferred − 4 to − 13 C to the ground), the transient currents moved + 1 to + 5 C of charge upward from cloudtop toward the ionosphere, with an average transient charge transfer of about 35% of the charge transferred to ground. For the five IC flashes (which neutralized 6 to 21 C inside the cloud), the transient currents moved − 0.7 to − 3 C upward, with an average transient charge transfer of about 12% of the lightning charge. Estimates for three thunderstorms indicate that the transient currents made only a small GEC contribution compared to the quasi-stationary Wilson currents because of the offsetting effects of IC and CG flashes in these storms. However, storms with extreme characteristics, such as high flash rates or predominance of one flash type, may make a significant GEC contribution via lightning transients.     

Geotechnical engineering practice for collapsible soils

Conditions in arid and semi-arid climates favor the formation of the most problematic collapsible soils. The mechanisms that account for almost all naturally occurring collapsible soil deposits are debris flows, rapid alluvial depositions, and wind-blown deposits (loess). Collapsible soils are moisture sensitive in that increase in moisture content is the primary triggering mechanism for the volume reduction of these soils. One result of urbanization in arid regions is an increase in soil moisture content. Therefore, the impact of development-induced changes in surface and groundwater regimes on the engineering performance of moisture sensitive arid soils, including collapsible soils, becomes a critical issue for continued sustainable population expansion into arid regions.In practicing collapsible soils engineering, geotechnical engineers are faced with (1) identification and characterization of collapsible soil sites, (2) estimation of the extent and degree of wetting, (3) estimation of collapse strains and collapse settlements, and (4) selection of design/mitigation alternatives. Estimation of the extent and degree of wetting is the most difficult of these tasks, followed by selection of the best mitigation alternative.     

Application of the concentration hypothesis to English sole in nursery estuaries and potential contribution to coastal fisheries

Resources in nursery areas can be important determinants of recruitment for juvenile fishes. Most young-of-the-year English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) appear to rely on estuaries on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast as nursery areas. Trawl surveys were conducted in four nursery estuaries, and the results show consistent densities were found across all estuaries in August. In June densities were higher and more variable. Application of the average August density to estuaries along the entire Oregon and Washington coasts resulted in an estimated total estuarine abundance of 45.8 million age 0+ English sole. Estimated coast-wide recruitment of age 4+ female English sole based on age 0+ abundance ranged from 3.7 to 4.9 million individuals from 1998–2000, with an average value of 4.3 million. A simple population model was constructed to determine if production from the combined Oregon and Washington estuaries was consistent with the estimates of the adult stock, and the observed catch from 1956–1997. The observed commercial catch has declined over this time period, and the trend could be fit using an availability-gear efficiency of 21% and an exploitation rate of 0.094. The results suggest that the English sole population on the Oregon-Washington shelf could potentially be supported solely by estuarine production, and this production appears to be stabilized by the size of available nursery areas.