Application of sugar foam to red soils in a semiarid Mediterranean environment

The study described here involved evaluating the effects that the application of one by-product (sugar foam waste) has upon red soils in the region of La Mancha (Central Spain). In view of the fact that this is a location where this type of soil abounds, this technique has been a common practice for many years. The principal goal was to investigate the impact of this approach on some of the soil properties and, secondly, on its level of fertility. As a result, this represents an investigation into the effects that this type of waste has on some soil quality parameters. The results showed that, after the addition of by-products over 25 years, sugar foam waste is of agricultural interest mainly due to the increase in organic matter concentration (about 2%) and, to a lesser extent, by increases in calcium carbonate (more than 30%) and P (four times more). The soil pH was also found to increase slightly (1.4), while the electrical conductivity almost did not change. The properties associated with these pedological qualities therefore had a positive effect by improving nutrient availability. As a result, foams arising from sugar industries have a positive effect on soil quality and the application of such foams to soils is beneficial since the need to dispose this residue is also removed.     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy modeling for the swelling potential of compacted soils

This paper aims to present the usability of an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) for the prediction swelling potential of the compacted soils that are important materials for geotechnical purposes such as engineered barriers for municipal solid waste, earth dams, embankment and roads. In this study the swelling potential that is also one of significant parameters for compacted soils was modeled by ANFIS. For the training and testing of ANFIS model, data sets were collected from the tests performed on compacted soils for different geotechnical application in Nigde. Four parameters such as coarse-grained fraction ratio (CG), fine-grained fraction ratio (FG), plasticity index (PI) and maximum dry density (MDD) were presented to ANFIS model as inputs. The results obtained from the ANFIS models were validated with the data sets which are not used for the training stage. The analyses revealed that the predictions from ANFIS model are in sufficient agreement with test results.     

Hydrostratigraphic framework and hydrogeological behaviour of the Mancha Oriental System (SE Spain)

The Mancha Oriental System (MOS) has a surface area of 7,260 km², making it one of the largest carbonate aquifer systems in Spain. The system sustains about 1,000 km² of irrigated crops and supplies groundwater to 275,000 inhabitants. The economic transformation brought about by the development of extensive irrigated cropland has led to a water-balance disequilibrium of about 75 million m³/year. This input–output deficit has negative consequences in the quantity and quality of the available resources, in the river–aquifer relationship, and in the associated ecosystems as well. To understand the hydrogeological behaviour of the system, it is necessary to design a conceptual model. Further, the conceptualisation of a groundwater flow system is a requirement of the European Water Framework Directive for the characterisation of groundwater bodies. The robustness of the conceptual model depends heavily on the user capability of representing the real system. In this work, a multidisciplinary approach has been used to represent the three-dimensional geological framework and the groundwater flow conceptualisation of the MOS. Data management and three-dimensional visualisation have been carried out by means of geographical information system (GIS) tools and software for contouring and three-dimensional surface mapping.     

Magmatic history and geophysical signature of a post-collisional intrusive center emplaced near a crustal-scale shear zone: the Plechý granite pluton (Moldanubian batholith,Bohemian Massif)

The Plechy pluton, southwestern Bohemian Massif, represents a late-Variscan, complexly zoned intrusive center emplaced near the crustal-scale Pfahl shear zone; the pluton thus provides an opportunity to examine the interplay among successive emplacement of large magma batches, magmatic fabric acquisition, and the late-Variscan stress field associated with strike-slip shearing. The magmatic history of the pluton started with the emplacement of the porphyritic Plechy and Haidmühler granites. Based on gravity and structural data, we interpret that the Plechy and Haidmühler granites were emplaced as a deeply rooted, ∼NE–SW elongated body; its gross shape and internal fabric (steep ∼NE–SW magmatic foliation) may have been controlled by the late-Variscan stress field. The steep magmatic foliation changes into flat-lying foliation (particularly recorded by AMS) presumably as a result of divergent flow. Magnetic lineations correspond to a sub-horizontal ∼NE–SW finite stretch associated with the divergent flow. Subsequently, the Třístoličník granite, characterized by steep margin-parallel magmatic foliation, was emplaced as a crescent-shaped body in the central part of the pluton. The otherwise inward-younging intrusive sequence was completed by the emplacement of the outermost and the most evolved garnet-bearing granite (the Marginal granite) along the southeastern margin of the pluton. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Stratigraphic and geochemical study of the organic-rich black shales in the Tarcău Nappe of the Moldavidian Domain (Carpathian Chain,Romania)

An integrated stratigraphic analysis has been made of the Tarcău Nappe (Moldavidian Domain, Eastern Romanian Carpathians), coupled with a geochemical study of organic-rich beds. Two Main Sequence Boundaries (Early Oligocene and near to the Oligocene–Aquitanian boundary, respectively) divide the sedimentary record into three depositional sequences. The sedimentation occurred in the central area of a basin supplied by different and opposite sources. The high amount of siliciclastics at the beginning of the Miocene marks the activation of the “foredeep stage”. The successions studied are younger than previously thought and they more accurately date the deformation of the different Miocene phases affecting the Moldavidian Basin. The intervals with black shales identified are related to two main separate anoxic episodes with an age not older than Late Rupelian and not before Late Chattian. The most important organic-rich beds correspond to the Lower Menilites, Bituminous Marls and Lower Dysodilic Shales Members (Interval 2). These constitute a good potential source rock for petroleum, with homogeneous Type II oil-prone organic matter, highly lipidic and thermally immature. The deposition of black shales has been interpreted as occurring within a deep, periodically isolated and tectonically controlled basin.     

Life in the sublittoral zone of long-lived Lake Pannon: paleontological analysis of the Upper Miocene Szák Formation,Hungary

Life and depositional environments in the sublittoral zone of Lake Pannon, a large, brackish Paratethyan lake from the Late Miocene, were reconstructed from fossils and facies of the Szák Formation. This formation is exposed in several, roughly coeval (9.4–8.9 Ma) outcrops, located along strike of the paleo-shelf-break in northwestern Hungary. The silty argillaceous marl of the formation was deposited below storm wave base, at 20–30 to 80–90 m water depth. The abundance of benthic organisms indicates that the bottom water was usually well oxygenated. Interstitial dysoxia, however, may have occurred immediately below the sediment–water interface, as evidenced by occasional preservation of trace fossils such as Diplocraterion. The fauna comprised endemic mollusks, including brackish cockles of the subfamily Lymnocardiinae, dreissenid mussels (Congeria), and highly adapted, uniquely large-sized deep-water pulmonate snails (planorbids and lymnaeids). Ostracods were dominated by endemic species and, in some cases, endemic genera of candonids, leptocytherids, cypridids, and loxoconchids. Fish remnants include a sciaenid otolith and the oldest skeletal occurrence of Perca in Europe. The phytoplankton comprised exclusively endemic coccolithophorids, mostly endemic dinoflagellates (prevailingly Spiniferites), and cosmopolitan green algae. The Late Miocene fauna and flora of Lake Pannon were in many ways similar to the modern Caspian biota, and in particular cases can be regarded as its precursor.     

The dynamics of tourist excursion ratios in Slovakia show caves from 2000 to 2014

Show caves are one of the most important targets in developing local ecotourism strategies. This work focuses on a tourism visit rate incidence through an Attractiveness Index concerning 12 selected show caves in Slovakia. Our study focuses on visitor counts published from 2000 to 2014. A set of eight criteria were selected in order to analyse and determine the appeal that each cave may have for visitors. Establishing the “degree” of appeal as an indicator of the tourism and geographic absolute attractiveness value is based on a principal components factor analysis; the resultant single factor was correlated with our selected criteria. We find a strong correlation between touristic cave attractiveness and cave locations, ease of cave passage access (vehicle and trail) infrastructures, cave location in main tourism regions, and the growth of urban areas as they encroach on show cave locations. Similar studies in valorization of show caves tourism have not been attempted in Slovakia or Eastern Europe. The data and result from this study are also clearly important from a managerial perspective. This general framework could be easily expanded to include additional attributes that might be relevant for other market segments or other vacation experiences.     

The Landscape of Diversity in U.S. Higher Education Geography

Palynological analyses were completed for the A and B horizons of a forested Mollic Hapludalf to determine type, amount, and distribution of pollen and spores within the soil solum. Hypotheses regarding the origin of pollen and the mechanisms of its movement within soil bodies are also advanced. Pollen downwash within the mineral soil seems to be very slow and confined to the uppermost porous and most homogenized part of the solum. The predominance of non-arboreal pollen at depth was believed to be a result of deposition with the loess parent material. High arboreal pollen frequencies in the upper horizons coupled with increases in non-arboreal types at depth indicate gradual ongoing mixing from the present vegetation into the soil.     

Exploring the Impact of Contextual Information on Student Performance and Interest in Open Humanitarian Mapping

The opportunity to engage university students in authentic, open humanitarian mapping raises important questions about how to guide the quality and productivity of volunteer spatial contributions while providing a valuable learning experience. It presents the unique chance to pique new mappers’ interest, satisfaction, and confidence in spatial technologies in particular, and technology in general, as well as pique their interest in the people and places that are served by the humanitarian mapping projects. This article shares the findings of a study that explores the importance of sharing authentic contextual information about the purpose of the humanitarian mapping task. Two groups of beginner mappers were given mapping tasks, with only one group being provided details on the purpose. Comparisons were made on their respective performance and changes in affective response to a series of questions about technology, education, good citizenship, and empathy. Measures of the quantity and quality of spatial data produced; their respective levels of interest, satisfaction, and confidence in technology; and affective responses before and after mapping show the relative effects of contextual information. Results provide insights about the potential effectiveness of authentic instruction on the performance of mapping as well as the potential effect on mappers themselves. Key Words: citizenship, data quality, empathy, humanitarian mapping, volunteered geographic information.     

Ornamental plants and the production of nature(s) in the Spanish real estate boom and bust: the case of Alicante

The Spanish real estate boom and bust of the 2000s caused immense economic, social, and environmental changes across the country. Massive urbanization, however, does not necessarily entail the end of nature and natural processes, instead marking a radical transformation of environments and societies. Through a political ecology approach, we analyze how ornamental species have become a fundamental part of new natures induced by urbanization in the Spanish province of Alicante. We connect the economic and ecological characteristics of ornamental plants like the palm tree to urbanization and real estate trends in Alicante. Our evidence indicates that, in Alicante, economic recession and environmental crises (manifested in the pests affecting palm trees) have mutually reinforced one other, creating a new geography of ecological desolation in many areas.