Application of the equilibrium planform concept to natural beaches in Northern Ireland

The equilibrium planform concept (EPC) for bayed beaches has achieved wide currency in coastal morphodynamics. The north coast of Ireland comprises a series of discrete headland-embayment beaches within which waves and currents recycle a finite sediment volume. It is therefore an ideal setting in which to explore the applicability of the concept. Application of the approach to 9 embayment beaches on the north coast of Ireland provides some insights into the application of the concept. The planform of some beaches does correspond to that predicted while others do not. Those whose measured planform does not correspond to the predicted planform can be interpreted through, (a) difficulty in identifying the wave diffraction point, (b) disequilibrium on the beach (sediment scarcity or excess), (c) geological control of beach morphology. The subjectivity in selecting the diffraction point renders alternative explanations difficult and reduces the utility of the approach on natural shorelines, where significant irregularities render identification of such points difficult.     

A survey of the age relations of Shetland Rocks

The survey is based on field work by Flinn, on forty-two K-Ar age determinations by Miller, and on previously published work on Shetland. Most of the metamorphic rocks give K-Ar ages of about 420 m.y. It is clear from petrological and stratigraphical evidence that this age is not the age of the metamorphisms and migmatizations responsible for the more obvious features of the rocks, and also that the metamorphic rocks in different areas have had different histories of development. Ages up to 515 m.y. have been found in various areas, and these may be more closely related to the main metamorphisms than the more common 420 m.y. ages. In the Mainland the 420 m.y. age may be related to a late porphyroblast metamorphism: in Unst and Fetlar it seems to be the age of Read's second metamorphism which accompanied the emplacement of nappes and the formation of orogenic sediments. About 400 m.y. ago a series of postorogenic granitic and appinitic complexes were emplaced in the southern part of Shetland. By 380 m.y. ago erosion had reached migmatitic rocks and they were being buried again beneath Old Red sediments and contemporaneous volcanics. Later still, possibly 350 m.y. ago, in Upper Devonian times, granites were emplaced in the west of Shetland cutting the Old Red rocks. Finally the Walls Boundary Fault (Great Glen Fault ?) cut one of these late granites.     

Entanglements of marine mammals and seabirds in central California and the north-west coast of the United States 2001-2005

Entanglement records for seabirds and marine mammals were investigated for the period 2001-2005. The entanglement records were extracted from databases maintained by seven organizations operating along the west coast of the United States of America. Their programmes included beach monitoring surveys, rescue and rehabilitation and regional pinniped censuses. Records of 454 entanglements were documented in live animals and in carcasses for 31 bird species and nine marine mammal species. The most frequently entangled species were Common Murres, Western Gulls and California sea lions. The entanglement materials identified were primarily fishing related. Entanglements were recorded every year suggesting that although the incidence level differs annually, entanglement is a persistent problem. It is recommended that each programme records details in standardized categories to determine entanglement material sources. Numbers of entanglements observed during these surveys are likely to be a conservative view of the actual entanglement rate taking place at sea.     

Modeling urban leaf area index with AISA+ hyperspectral data

This study used simple multiple regression to model urban leaf area index (LAI) in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA as a function of AISA+ hyperspectral radiance and its derivative features. Regression R² values ranging from 0.27 to 0.73 were obtained from the various models. Features appearing most frequently in the models included radiance at 0.727, 0.753, 0.848, 0.870, 0.900 and 0.917 μm. The best single predictor of LAI was the absolute difference in radiance between 0.777 and 0.673 μm. The best models performed well at low and intermediate LAI levels, but were less accurate with LAI values between 5.0 and 8.0.     

Thinking with images in non-representational cities: vignettes from Berlin

Thinking about and with images has long been central to the practice of geographical fieldwork. This paper considers how the participation of images in urban-based fieldwork might be understood in the wake of non-representational theories. Drawing upon our experience of co-teaching an urban-based field course in Berlin, we discuss three ways in which such theories allow us to make more of the participation of images in the thinking-spaces of urban fieldwork. Specifically, we consider how images afford opportunities for attending to everyday ecologies of materials and things; for thinking through the rhythms of urban environments; and for producing affective archives. In concluding we suggest that thinking with images in urban fieldwork can be understood as part of the elaboration of ecologies of non-representational ethico-aesthetic practices.     

Characterization of a TCE DNAPL Zone in Alluvium by Partitioning Tracers

Partitioning interwell tracer tests (PITT) were used ID determine the spatial distribution and volume of residual trichloroethene (TCE) present in alluvium beneath the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plain in southern Ohio. Its first use at this site was in support of the design of a surfactant flood to remove the residual DNAPL (dense nonaqueous phase liquids) from the alluvial aquifer. The second application assessed the performance of the surfactant flood. The average DNAPL saturation in the first PITT was 0.1 to 0.2% in a swept pore volume of 4500 gallons (17.000 L). A second PITT was undertaken following the surfactant flood and yielded an average residual saturation of 0.06% in a swept pore volume of 3400 gallons (13.000 L), the reduction in pore volume being due to the confinement of the tracers to the lower sand and gravel unit of the alluvium. The design, operation, and analysis of the two PM Is provided strong evidence of a buried channel that controls the spatial distribution of the residual TCI: DNAPL in the basal sand and gravel aquifer and must be considered in the eventual full remediation of this aquifer.     

The Winchcombe fireball—That lucky survivor

On February 28, 2021, a fireball dropped ∼0.6 kg of recovered CM2 carbonaceous chondrite meteorites in South-West England near the town of Winchcombe. We reconstruct the fireball's atmospheric trajectory, light curve, fragmentation behavior, and pre-atmospheric orbit from optical records contributed by five networks. The progenitor meteoroid was three orders of magnitude less massive (∼13 kg) than any previously observed carbonaceous fall. The Winchcombe meteorite survived entry because it was exposed to a very low peak atmospheric dynamic pressure (∼0.6 MPa) due to a fortuitous combination of entry parameters, notably low velocity (13.9 km s⁻¹). A near-catastrophic fragmentation at ∼0.07 MPa points to the body's fragility. Low entry speeds which cause low peak dynamic pressures are likely necessary conditions for a small carbonaceous meteoroid to survive atmospheric entry, strongly constraining the radiant direction to the general antapex direction. Orbital integrations show that the meteoroid was injected into the near-Earth region ∼0.08 Myr ago and it never had a perihelion distance smaller than ∼0.7 AU, while other CM2 meteorites with known orbits approached the Sun closer (∼0.5 AU) and were heated to at least 100 K higher temperatures.