Institutional forces and retail change: a case study of Metropolitan Toronto

There is a growing interest in the development of purpose-built shopping centres, which now dominate the retail environments of many cities. Much of the past research has been directed at the impact of shopping centres on more traditional retail structures. More recently, however, there has been a recognition of the importance of those institutional forces that shape the internal character of shopping centres and ultimately determine their economic impact. This paper draws attention to these factors and discusses the control that leasing agreements and corporate policy have on shopping centre development. The whole discussion is set within the framework of metropolitan Toronto, which has for some time experienced the full impact of these institutional forces.     

Flow and deposition of pyroclastic granular flows: A type example from the 1975 Ngauruhoe eruption,New Zealand

Small-volume pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are generated frequently during explosive eruptions with little warning. Assessing their hazard requires a physical understanding of their transport and sedimentation processes which is best achieved by the testing of experimental and numerical models of geophysical mass flows against natural flows and/or deposits. To this end we report on one of the most detailed sedimentological studies ever carried out on a series of pristine small-volume PDC deposits from the 1975 eruption of Ngauruhoe volcano, whose emplacement were also witnessed during eruption. Using high-resolution GPS surveys, a series of lateral excavations across the deposits, and bulk sedimentological analysis we constrained the geomorphology, internal structure and texture of the deposits with respect to laterally varying modes of deposition.     

Geochemistry and magmatic properties of eruption episodes from Haroharo linear vent zone, Okataina Volcanic Centre, New Zealand during the last 10 kyr

Post-10 ka rhyolitic eruptions from the Haroharo linear vent zone, Okataina Volcanic Centre, have occurred from several simultaneously active vents spread over 12 km. Two of the three eruption episodes have tapped multiple compositionally distinct homogeneous magma batches. Three magmas totalling ~8 km³ were erupted during the 9.5 ka Rotoma episode. The most evolved Rotoma magma (SiO₂=76.5–77.9 wt%, Sr=96–112 ppm) erupted from a southeastern vent, and is characterised by a cummingtonite-dominant mineralogy, a temperature of 739±14°C, and fO₂ of NNO+0.52±0.11. The least evolved (SiO₂=75.0–76.4 wt%, Sr=128–138 ppm, orthopyroxene+ hornblende-dominant) Rotoma magma erupted from several vents, and was hotter (764±18°C) and more reduced (NNO+0.40±0.13). The ~11 km³ Whakatane episode occurred at 5.6 ka and also erupted three magmas, each from a separate vent. The most evolved (SiO₂=73.3–76.2 wt%, Sr=88–100 ppm) Whakatane magma erupted from the southwestern (Makatiti) vent and is cummingtonite-dominant, cool (745±11°C), and reduced (NNO+0.34±0.08). The least evolved (SiO₂=72.8–74.1 wt%, Sr=132–134 ppm) magma was erupted from the northeastern (Pararoa) vent and is characterised by an orthopyroxene+ hornblende-dominant mineralogy, temperature of 764±18°C, and fO₂ of NNO+0.40±0.13. Compositionally intermediate magmas were erupted during the Rotoma and Whakatane episodes are likely to be hybrids. A single ~13 km³ magma erupted during the intervening 8.1 ka Mamaku episode was relatively homogeneous in composition (SiO₂=76.1–76.8 wt%, Sr=104–112 ppm), temperature (736±18°C), and oxygen fugacity (NNO+0.19±0.12). Some of the vents tapped a single magma while others tapped several. Deposit stratigraphy suggests that the eruptions alternated between magmas, which were often simultaneously erupted from separate vents. Both effusive and explosive activity alternated, but was predominantly effusive (>75% erupted as lava domes and flows). The plumbing systems which fed the vents are inferred to be complex, with magma experiencing different conditions in the conduits. As the eruption of several magmas was essentially concurrent, the episodes were likely triggered by a common event such as magmatic intrusion or seismic disturbance.     

Measurements of Reaction Coefficients of NO2 and HONO on Aerosol Particles

The reaction coefficients of nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid with monodisperse sodium chloride and ammonium sulphate aerosols have been measured in a flow reactor at atmospheric pressure. These experiments were performed at relative humidities above and below the deliquescence points of both aerosols (r.h. 50 and 85%) at 279 K. The results for NO₂ afford a reaction coefficient in the range (2.8–10) × 10^-4 and for HONO, (2.8–4.6) × 10^-3. For both species, there appears to be an enhancement of the reaction coefficient on sodium chloride aerosol at 50% r.h. The results are compared with reaction coefficients determined by other experimental methods. A good agreement is found for both gases between this method and the coated denuder method previously developed in our research laboratories (Msibi et al., 1993) and with the majority of other published data for NO₂. In the case of HONO, our estimate of reaction coefficient is smaller than, or at the lower limits of the ranges reported by other published studies.     

Rapid change in early Holocene environments inferred from Lake Pupuke,Auckland City,New Zealand

Sediment cores from Lake Pupuke in Auckland City, New Zealand, contain a high‐resolution millennial to centennial‐scale record of changing climate and catchment hydrology spanning the past ca. 10 000 years. Here, we focus on the period between 9500 ± 25 and 7000 ± 155 cal. yr BP during which grain size, diatom palaeoecology, biogenic silica concentrations, sediment elemental and carbon isotope geochemistry reflect changes in sediment sources and lake conditions, with a significant event commencing at ca. 8240 cal. yr BP, commensurate with a lowering of lake level, faster erosion rates and increased sediment influx with a duration of ca. 360 yrs. However, the changes in the lake are not reflected in the terrestrial vegetation, where the pollen record indicates that podocarp forest dominated the Auckland region, with apparent environmental stability during this part of the early Holocene. The synchronous change in most of the proxies between ca. 8240 and 7880 cal. yr BP at Lake Pupuke indicates the presence of a sustained episode of relatively low lake level and concomitant increased rate of erosion in the early Holocene that appears to be at least partly coeval with the 8200 cal. yr BP meltwater event proposed for the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Jet Deflection by a Quasi-Steady-State Side Wind in the Laboratory

We present experimental data on the steady state deflection of a highly supersonic jet by a side-wind in the laboratory. The use of a long interaction region enables internal shocks to fully cross the jet, leading to the development of significantly more structure in the jet than in previous work with a similar setup (Lebedev et al., 2004). The ability to control the length of the interaction region in the laboratory allows the switch between a regime representing a clumpy jet or wind and a regime similar to a slowly varying mass loss rate. The results indicate that multiple internal oblique shocks develop in the jet and the possible formation of a second working surface as the jet attempts to tunnel through the ambient medium.     

Meteorites at Meridiani Planum provide evidence for significant amounts of surface and near‐surface water on early Mars

Abstract– Six large iron meteorites have been discovered in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in a nearly 25 km‐long traverse. Herein, we review and synthesize the available data to propose that the discovery and characteristics of the six meteorites could be explained as the result of their impact into a soft and wet surface, sometime during the Noachian or the Hesperian, subsequently to be exposed at the Martian surface through differential erosion. As recorded by its sediments and chemical deposits, Meridiani has been interpreted to have undergone a watery past, including a shallow sea, a playa, an environment of fluctuating ground water, and/or an icy landscape. Meteorites could have been encased upon impact and/or subsequently buried, and kept underground for a long time, shielded from the atmosphere. The meteorites apparently underwent significant chemical weathering due to aqueous alteration, as indicated by cavernous features that suggest differential acidic corrosion removing less resistant material and softer inclusions. During the Amazonian, the almost complete disappearance of surface water and desiccation of the landscape, followed by induration of the sediments and subsequent differential erosion and degradation of Meridiani sediments, including at least 10–80 m of deflation in the last 3–3.5 Gy, would have exposed the buried meteorites. We conclude that the iron meteorites support the hypothesis that Mars once had a denser atmosphere and considerable amounts of water and/or water ice at and/or near the surface.