The self-organising of youth volunteers during the Rena oil spill in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

This study explores the communication and organising of youth volunteers during a crisis, focusing on how they conceived, framed, and executed self-organising efforts during the 2011 Rena oil spill in New Zealand. It offers insights into the intersections of self-organising, youth volunteering and crisis events which have not been researched before. The study addresses two core research questions: 1. how was ‘volunteering’ conceptualised by youth volunteers involved in the Rena crisis; and 2. how did these volunteers communicate and self-organise during this crisis? The findings indicate that self-organising emerged out of a resistance towards structured responses and as a reaction to the inability of the official volunteer response to meet the needs of the community. Self-organised efforts were particularly attractive among youth volunteers because they offered flexibility, required minimal administrative processes, and fostered an environment of innovation and creativity. The volunteers’ youthful energy and technological aptitude additionally drove their self-organised responses. The study identifies the considerable challenges that crisis officials faced in utilising youth volunteers despite the significant advantages of self-organising.     

Hydrothermal alteration in andesitic volcanoes: Trace element redistribution in active and ancient hydrothermal systems of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles)

The mineralogy and the trace element compositions of hydrothermally-altered volcanic materials collected from ash fall deposits and in four debris-avalanche deposits (DADs) at La Soufrière volcano in Guadeloupe have been determined. Phreatic explosions of the 1976 eruption and flank collapse events have sampled various parts of the active and ancient hydrothermal systems of the volcano. Hydrothermal mineral assemblages (smectite + silica polymorphs ± pyrite/jarosite ± gypsum) are typical of rock alteration by low-temperature acid-sulphate fluids. High-temperature mineral assemblages are rare, indicating that phreatic explosions and flank collapse events have sampled mainly the upper parts of the volcanic edifice.Andesitic eruptive products affected by shallow hydrothermal alteration are complex assemblages of volcanic materials (glass, phenocrysts and xenocrysts with complex magmatic histories) of different ages and compositions. The use of incompatible element ratios and REE compositions normalised to an unaltered reference material overcomes the interpretation difficulties related to mass balance effects of alteration processes and the petrologic heterogeneity of the initial material.REE and other incompatible elements (Th, U, Hf, Zr) are mainly concentrated in the glassy matrix of unaltered andesitic rocks. Secondary S-bearing mineral phases (e.g., gypsum, jarosite) that have precipitated from acid-sulphate fluids do not contain substantial incompatible elements (REE, U, Th, Hf, Zr). Compositional variations of incompatible elements in hydrothermally-altered andesitic materials reflect mainly volcanic glass–smectite transformation, which is characterised by (i) strong depletion of alkalis and alkaline earths (Ba, Sr) and first transition series elements (Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni), (ii) immobility of highly incompatible elements (Th, Zr, Hf, LREE) and (iii) strong depletion of MREE and HREE. The sigmoid shape of normalised REE pattern is characteristic of glass–smectite transformation by low-temperature acid-sulphate fluids. This transformation also produces significant variations in U/Th values, which offer the opportunity to date the cessation of hydrothermal alteration and to reconstruct the evolution in space and time of hydrothermal activity in a volcanic edifice.     

Rural change and tourism in remote regions: Developments and Indigenous endeavour in Westland,Te Tai o Poutini,Aotearoa New Zealand

Remote rural areas have encountered significant change and the need for renegotiation of economic and social priorities in the late 20th and early 21st century. In our broader research, we ask how have such communities been responding to this change? What role have different organisations and agencies played? And, how have they acted on the aspirations of marginalised communities? In this paper we examine these issues through a case study of Westland District on the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand's South Island. We probe the general shift towards prioritising tourism in the District, and highlight particular experiences in regard to Indigenous endeavour in tourism. We find that those engaged in leading local development and tourism have not collaborated strategically across the sector and have not established meaningful partnerships with the community that recognise both economic and socio‐cultural aspirations.     

No Development,No Conservation: Elements from the Conservation of Farm Animal Genetic Resources

Using concrete examples of conservation of farm animal genetic resources, we show that conservation and development should not be considered as two opposing processes. On the contrary, their synergies can facilitate conservation dynamics. We discuss conservation and development dynamics, and provide examples of synergies between the two dynamics to underline how development dynamics can help conservation programs.     

RECENT HISTORICAL FLUCTUATIONS OF THE GLACIER DU TAILLON,PYRÉNÉES

The Taillon Glacier in the French Pyrénées offers one of the most detailed records of recent glacier fluctuations in the region. A comprehensive collection of early maps, paintings, and photographs, together with short-term measurements relating to the ice margins and glacier behavior, have made possible a full reconstruction of the glacier's history since the end of the 19th century. The general pattern of ice-front retreat has been punctuated by a series of significant local readvances, dated 1886–1890, 1906–1911, 1926–1928, 1945, and 1964. The record is compared with the more detailed histories of glaciers from the Alps, and signals a surprising degree of sensitivity for the Taillon Glacier, given its overall size and state of survival. [Key words: Taillon Glacier, Pyrénées, Little Ice Age, glaciology.]     

Evidence of Early Metalworking in Arctic Canada

This paper examines new evidence related to an early (pre‐Columbian) European presence in Arctic Canada. Artifacts from archaeological sites that had been assumed to relate to pre‐Inuit indigenous occupations of the region in the centuries around A.D. 1000 have recently been recognized as having been manufactured using European technologies. We report here on the SEM‐EDS analysis of a small stone vessel recovered from a site on Baffin Island. The interior of the vessel contains abundant traces of copper–tin alloy (bronze) as well as glass spherules similar to those associated with high‐temperature processes. These results indicate that it had been used as a crucible. This artifact may represent the earliest evidence of high‐temperature nonferrous metalworking in the New World north of Mesoamerica.     

Differential Late Paleozoic active margin evolution in South-Central Chile (37°S–40°S) – the Lanalhue Fault Zone

The N–S oriented Coastal Cordillera of South Central Chile shows marked lithological contrasts along strike at 38°S. Here, the sinistral NW–SE-striking Lanalhue Fault Zone (nomen novum) juxtaposes Permo-Carboniferous magmatic arc granitoids and associated, frontally accreted metasediments (Eastern Series) in the northeast with a Late Carboniferous to Triassic basal-accretionary forearc wedge complex (Western Series) in the southwest. The fault is interpreted as an initially ductile deformation zone with divergent character, located in the eastern flank of the basally growing, upwarping, and exhuming Western Series. It was later transformed and reactivated as a semiductile to brittle sinistral transform fault. Rb–Sr data and fluid inclusion studies of late-stage fault-related mineralizations revealed Early Permian ages between 280 and 270 Ma for fault activity, with subsequent minor erosion. Regionally, crystallization of arc intrusives and related metamorphism occurred between 306 and 286 Ma, preceded by early increments of convergence-related deformation. Basal Western Series accretion started at >290 Ma and lasted to 250 Ma. North of the Lanalhue fault, Late Paleozoic magmatic arc granitoids are nearly 100 km closer to the present day Andean trench than further south. We hypothesize that this marked difference in paleo-forearc width is due to an Early Permian period of subduction erosion north of 38°S, contrasting with ongoing accretion further south, which kinematically triggered the evolution of the Lanalhue Fault Zone. Permo-Triassic margin segmentation was due to differential forearc accretion and denudation characteristics, and is now expressed in contrasting lithologies and metamorphic signatures in todays Andean forearc region north and south of the Lanalhue Fault Zone.