Strategic planning and the Paris agglomeration in the 1960s and 1970s: The quest for balance and structure

Strategic planning in the Paris agglomeration in the 1960s and 1970s sought to correct centre—periphery and west—east imbalances in the provision of employment and services, and to promote a nodal structure within the essentially amorphous suburbs. The suburbanization of manufacturing employment and certain higher-order services, the workings of the housing market and the centrifugal dispersal of manual workers, the construction of suburban ‘poles’ and new towns, and the programme of road and rail investment are each reviewed in the context of these objectives. Success was only partial: failure to control adequately office development in central Paris and Hauts-de-Seine, to provide the suburbs with orbital as well as tangential transport connections, and to resist the embourgeoisement of the Paris housing stock left much of the imbalance in force.     

Theory of the piezomagnetic effect in titanomagnetite-bearing rocks

Summary The stress sensitivitiesS _x andS _R of susceptibility and remanence for titanomagnetite-bearing rocks are calculated in terms of magnetostriction constants ₁₀₀ and ₁₁₁ and anisotropy constantsK ₁,K ₂ of the magnetic minerals.S _x andS _R are represented by quite different algebraic expressions but happen to have comparable numerical values over the whole range of titanomagnetite compositions. Both increase strongly with titanium content. This leads to more optimistic calculations of tectonomagnetic effects than with the previously assumed stress sensitivity for pure magnetite.     

Reconstructing riverine paleo-flow regimes using subfossil insects (Coleoptera and Trichoptera): the application of the LIFE methodology to paleochannel sediments

Sub-fossil insect remains have the potential to characterise changing environmental conditions in both lentic and lotic water systems, however, relatively few studies have been undertaken in riverine environments. This paper uses sub-fossil caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera) and aquatic beetles (Coleoptera) to reconstruct river flow conditions for a large paleochannel (from multiple monoliths) using the Lotic invertebrate Index for Flow Evaluation (LIFE). Examination of the larval Trichoptera and Coleoptera remains indicated a marked change in the community and flow environment, as suggested by paleoLIFE scores within the profile of three of the monoliths examined. At the base of the channel the community was characterised by taxa indicative of high energy lotic habitats with predominantly mineral substrates (e.g. Trichoptera: Hydropsyche contubernalis and Brachycentrus subnubilis, Coleoptera: Elmis aenea and Esolus parallelepipedus). Within three of the monoliths there was a change in community composition to one indicative of a low energy backwater/lentic environment with abundant submerged and emergent vegetation (e.g. Trichoptera: Phryganea bipunctata and Limnephilus flavicornis, Coleoptera: Colymbetes fuscus and Hydrobius fuscipes). Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and loss of mass on ignition (LOI) indicated the presence of a strong environmental gradient within the data, associated with river flow. The utilisation of two aquatic insect orders provides clear evidence of temporal changes within the instream community and when combined with knowledge of ecological and habitat associations, allows differences between the two groups to be interpreted more clearly.     

A new approach to soil characterisation for hydrology–stability analysis models

Landslide stability analysis increasingly utilises high-resolution coupled hydrology–slope stability models (CHASM) to improve stability assessments in areas subject to dynamic pore pressure regimes. In such environments, the estimation of soil hydraulic conductivity (K) is a key parameter but one which is not always readily available or determined with the required resolution. By using basic soil particle-size distribution (PSD) data, we evaluate the microscopic composition of the actual soil, and applying the analytical relations obtain by a Self-Consistent Method (SCM) approach, we determine an appropriate value of K. This is of importance in that it allows within-soil type variability to be reflected in terms of K and hence within the model structure. The SCM methodology is briefly reviewed and an illustrative application is undertaken for a slope typical of Hong Kong. The results show model output sensitivity in terms of moisture content and factor of safety (FOS) when comparing K values determined using the SCM approach and the conventional field determination. In attempting to determine slope hydrological processes and attendant stability conditions, we conclude that the application of SCM approach offers a novel methodology for potentially improving the parameterisation of hydrology–slope stability models.     

Heterogeneity in ground water–surface water interactions in the hyporheic zone of a salmonid spawning stream

Spatial and temporal variability in ground water–surface water interactions in the hyporheic zone of a salmonid spawning stream was investigated. Four locations in a 150‐m reach of the stream were studied using hydrometric and hydrochemical tracing techniques. A high degree of hydrological connectivity between the riparian hillslope and the stream channel was indicated at two locations, where hydrochemical changes and hydraulic gradients indicated that the hyporheic zone was dominated by upwelling ground water. The chemistry of ground water reflected relatively long residence times and reducing conditions with high levels of alkalinity and conductivity, low dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate. At the other locations, connectivity was less evident and, at most times, the hyporheic zone was dominated by downwelling stream water characterized by high DO, low alkalinity and conductivity. Substantial variability in hyporheic chemistry was evident at fine (<10 m) spatial scales and changed rapidly over the course of hydrological events. The nature of the hydrochemical response varied among locations depending on the strength of local ground water influence. It is suggested that greater emphasis on spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ground water–surface water interactions in the hyporheic zone is necessary for a consideration of hydrochemical effects on many aspects of stream ecology. For example, the survival of salmonid eggs in hyporheic gravels varied considerably among the locations studied and was shown to be associated with variation in interstitial chemistry. River restoration schemes and watershed management strategies based only on the surface expression of catchment characteristics risk excluding consideration of potentially critical subsurface processes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An assessment of the Sr/Ca ratio in shallow water hermatypic corals as a proxy for sea surface temperature

The high precision measurement of the Sr/Ca ratio in corals has the potential for measuring past sea surface temperatures at very high accuracy. However, the veracity of the technique has been questioned on the basis that there is both a spatial and temporal variation in the Sr/Ca ratio of seawater, and that kinetic effects, such as the calcification rate, can affect the Sr/Ca ratio of corals, and produce inaccuracies of the order of 2-4 °C. In the present study, a number of cores of the massive hermatypic scleractinian coral Porites, from the central Great Barrier Reef, have been analyzed for Sr/Ca at weekly to monthly resolution. Results from a 24 year record from Myrmidon Reef show an overall variation from 22.7 °C to 30.4 °C. The record shows a warming/cooling trend with maximum warming centred on the 1986-1987 summer. While some bleaching was reported to have occurred at Myrmidon Reef in 1982, the Sr/Ca record indicates that subsequent summer temperatures were much higher. The 4.5 year record from Stanley Reef shows a maximum SST of 30 °C during the 1997-1998 El Niño event. The calibrations from Myrmidon and Stanley Reefs are in excellent agreement with previously published calibrations from nearby reefs. While corals do not calcify in equilibrium with seawater due to physiological control on the uptake of Sr and Ca into the lattice of coralline aragonite, it can be argued that, provided only a single genus such as Porites sp. is used, and that the coral is sampled along a major vertical growth axis, then the Sr/Ca ratio should vary uniformly with temperature. Similarly, objections based on the spatial and temporal variability of the Sr/Ca activity ratio of seawater can be countered on the basis that in most areas where coral reefs grow there is a uniformity in the Sr/Ca activity ratio, and there does not appear to be a change in this ratio over the growth period of the coral. Evidence from several corals in this study suggest that stress can be a major cause of the breakdown in the Sr/Ca-SST relationship. Thermal stress, resulting from either extremely warm or cool temperatures, can produce anomalously low Sr/Ca derived SSTs as a result of the breakdown of the biological control on Sr/Ca fractionation. It is considered that other stresses, such as increased nutrients and changes in light intensity, can also lead to a breakdown in the Sr/Ca-SST relationship. Two of the main issues affecting the reliability of the Sr/Ca method are the calibration of the Sr/Ca ratio with measured SST and the estimation of tropical last glacial maximum (LGM) palaeotemperatures. Instead of producing a constant calibration, just about every one published so far is different from the others. What is obvious is that for most calibrations while the slope of the calibration equation is similar, the intercepts are not. While the cause for this variation is still unknown, it would appear that corals from different localities around the world are responding to their own particular environment or that certain types of environments exert a control on the corals’ physiology. Sr/Ca derived SST estimates for the LGM and deglaciation of 5 °C-6 °C cooler than present are at odds with estimates of 2 °C-3 °C cooling by other climate proxies. The apparent lack of reef growth during the LGM suggests that SSTs were too cold in many parts of the tropics for reefs to develop. This would lend support to the idea that tropical SSTs were much cooler than what the CLIMAP data suggests.