THE CLASSROOM AS THE FIELD FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION

ABSTRACT. Recent attempts by U.S. politicians to reform the nation'sschools have shifted the goal of education to school accountability as assessed in standardized testing. Such an emphasis undermines geographical education in schools because of geography'ssuperficial representation in tests and in the social studies curriculum. Fieldwork done in the classroom can point to means of circumventing this dilemma. Collaborative fieldwork between college faculty members and public‐school teachers has the potential for adding geography to the social studies curriculum in a substantive way. Work conducted jointly by Hartwick College and the Oneonta (New York) Middle School exemplifies such a partnership.     

The Crust–Mantle Carbon Cycle and Origin of Abiogenic Hydrocarbons

Oceanology - Abstract—The paper studies carbon transformation and transfer processes in the crust and mantle. Sediments dragged into subduction zones are dewatered, broken down, and altered...     

Largest Phanerozoic provinces of silicic volcanism: Tectonic position and genetic prerequisities

This paper presents a brief overview of largest Phanerozoic volcanic provinces of the Earth, which comprise the substantial volumes (over 10⁵ km³) of silicic extrusive rocks. The provinces of this kind may re- present a separate geodynamic class, having the volume comparable to that of intraplate Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs), and being formed in convergent margin settings. The thermal energy preserved in the crust after a previous major magmatic event is considered to be an important factor affecting the volume of crust-derived magmas and playing a significant role in the formation of large provinces of silicic volcanism.     

Different styles of metasomatic veining in ultramafic xenoliths from the TUBAF Seamount (Bismarck Microplate,Papua New Guinea)

Petrologic, geochemical and isotopic investigations on two ultramafic xenoliths with metasomatic veins from the TUBAF Seamount in the Bismarck Archipelago NE of Papua New Guinea reveal different styles of metasomatic overprinting. The first xenolith, a clinopyroxene–poor spinel lherzolite, was part of the depleted upper mantle. It contains an orthopyroxene-rich vein that formed by hydrous metasomatism at ~ 980 °C and ~ 1.5 GPa. The second xenolith is a clinopyroxene-dominated spinel olivine websterite that formed as a magmatic cumulate at the transition of the upper mantle to the oceanic crust. The websterite contains a vein with orthopyroxenes and clinopyroxenes, which give evidence for high-temperature crystallization at ~ 1300 °C and < 0.36 GPa. Both xenoliths were transported to the seafloor by a Quaternary trachybasalt in a fore-arc position. The vein minerals show a strong affinity to a supra-subduction zone or island arc setting. The REE pattern of the vein in the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite strongly resembles the one from the host trachybasalt, with a high enrichment of the LREE and a strong to moderate enrichment of the MREE and HREE. Although broadly similar in shape, the REE pattern of the vein in the websterite shows a much weaker enrichment. The same applies to the trace-element patterns, although there are significant differences in the Eu, Zr, Hf and Nb concentrations. The isotope signatures of both veins suggest a derivation from a subducted slab that had been hydrothermally altered by seawater (high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values).The contrasting crystallization temperatures of the vein minerals as well as their overall geochemical differences indicate that the metasomatic agents responsible for the vein in the websterite were mobilized from a previously depleted source at a much deeper mantle level than those forming the vein of the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite. The metasomatic agents may also have been mobilized at different times and from different plates, i.e., the deeply subducted Solomon Sea Microplate (for the veins in the websterite) and the shallow dehydrating Pacific Plate (for the veins in the clinopyroxene–poor lherzolite).Metasomatic agents responsible for similar petrologic phenomena, i.e., modal or cryptic metasomatism, may have distinctly different origins and show contrasting histories. A strongly depleted lherzolite may totally lose its initial geochemical signature by the influence of an enriched metasomatic agent, whereas a primarily enriched ultramafic rock, e.g., a websterite, may strongly obscure the trace-element pattern of a less enriched metasomatic vein. Furthermore, the geochemistry of the ultramafic xenoliths may reflect polyphase cryptic and modal metasomatism related to veining and later transport by the hosting melt to the seafloor.     

Current Vertical Motion Analysis of Northwestern Margin of Ordos Based on Precise Leveling

Ordos block was squeezed by the Qinghai-Tibetan block and North China block, and the tectonic activity was intense. In the periphery of Ordos block, there was a series of folds zones and compressed faults with complicate structures. This paper used three-phase data of 1980,1990 and 2014 to calculate vertical velocity of Northwestern margin of Ordos and the analytical results indicated that ① the Hetao basin between the rise of Yinshan fault block and Ordos fault block showed relatively subsidence, in which Linhe basin was the most evident and the subsidence rate was about 2-4mm/a. The subsidence rate of Jartai -Yinchuan rift zone on the western margin of Ordos block was about 2mm/a; ② the whole testing zone exhibited the evident inherited movement characterized by mountain rise and basin subsidence; ③the two leveling section through the northern margin fault and Dengkou-Benjing fault showed that the difference between vertical velocities on two sides of the fault was less than 0.5mm/a.     

面向汉语的自然语言路径描述方法

自然语言路径描述是运用日常生活中人们习惯的语言方式和思维方式来表达路径信息的。而可视化描述和自然语言描述相结合,可以使电子地图向用户提供图文并茂的路径查询服务。目前,电子地图在移动设备和Internet日益普及,自然语言路径描述成为电子地图大众化和人性化服务的重要标志之一。因此,路径描述中需要重点解决空间关系的自然语言描述问题。自然语言中空间关系描述的语言特征与心理学和认知语言学有着非常密切的关系。本文描述了针对汉语的路径描述词汇库的结构与内容,并根据汉语特点设计了路径描述的单元和复合句法模式,以解决词汇受限和句法模式单一的问题,提出了道路名称、沿途标志性地物和方向判断等路径描述补充信息的获取方法,以增加路径描述的可理解性。并以南京市电子地图为例,开发了电子地图查询原型系统。该系统能够在地图上可视化显示最短路径的同时,自动生成该路径的自然语言描述。     

Mathematical modeling of marine environment pollution processes by petroleum hydrocarbons and their degradation in Caspian Sea ecosystem

The available observational data on the pollution of tributaries and areas of the Caspian Sea by petroleum hydrocarbons and products are examined. The possible petroleum input from sources in the sea is assessed using up-to-date data of satellite observations of sea surface pollution by oil films. The hydroecological CNPSi-model is applied to studying water pollution processes by petroleum hydrocarbons in ten areas chosen in the Caspian Sea and the subsequent biodegradation of those pollutants. The model calculations of the within-year dynamics of petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations use mean annual observational data on within-year variations in water mediium characteristics (water temperature, light intensity, and transparency), as well as the morphometric parameters of sea areas (the area, mean depth, and water volumes). The characteristics of water exchange between the areas were evaluated using a hydrodynamic model. The model calculations were used to characterize the within-year variations in petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations, the biomasses of petroleum-oxidizing bacteria, the characteristics of their oxidation activity and bioproduction, and the internal fluxes of petroleum hydrocarbons (their input from various sources, horizontal and vertical transport, and biotransformation) in different sea areas. Calculation results were used to compile annual balances for the processes of input and consumption of petroleum hydrocarbons in the chosen and aggregated sea areas.