Local responses to changed circumstances: Coalmining in the market economy in Upper Silesia, Poland

It is argued that the emphasis of much recent research into coalmining has been placed on international and national scale influences which affect coalfields as a whole; change at the intra-coalfield scale has received less attention. After providing a background to events in Poland during communism, attention focuses on developments since 1989, commencing with coalfield-wide influences. There follows an examination of the work of the state body Państwowa Agencja Węgla Kamiennego, which executes government policy at the local level, and whose membership is drawn from the coalfield region. This agency recommends the closure and amalgamation of mines, but otherwise rationalisation measures are left to the seven mining companies and the colliery managers. The restructuring which has been carried out is considered under five heads: organisational change within the collieries, employment, production and technical change, and ecological adjustment. While recognising the importance of the socioeconomic and political environment and geology, there is much evidence to suggest that intra-coalfield patterns are strongly determined by local decision-makers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Are quasar redshifts randomly distributed?

A statistical analysis of possible clumping (not periodicity) of emission line redshifts of QSO's shows the available data to be compatible with random fluctuations of a smooth, nonclumped distribution. This result is demonstrated with Monte Carlo simulations as well as with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. It is in complete disagreement with the analysis by Varshni, which is shown to be incorrect.     

A Spatial Database of Cropping System and its Characteristics to Aid Climate Change Impact Assessment Studies

Cropping system study is not only useful to understand the overall sustainability of agricultural system, but also it helps in generating many important parameters which are useful in climate change impact assessment. Considering its importance, Space Applications Centre, took up a project for mapping and characterizing major cropping systems of Indo-Gangetic Plains of India. The study area included the five states of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India, i.e. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. There were two aspects of the study. The first aspect included state and district level cropping system mapping using multi-date remote sensing (IRS-AWiFS and Radarsat ScanSAR) data. The second part was to characterize the cropping system using moderate spatial resolution multi-date remote sensing data (SPOT VGT NDVI) and ground survey. The remote sensing data was used to compute three cropping system performance indices (Multiple Cropping Index, Area Diversity Index and Cultivated Land Utilization Index). Ground survey was conducted using questionnaires filled up by 1,000 farmers selected from 103 villages based on the cropping systems map. Apart from ground survey, soil and water sampling and quality analysis were carried out to understand the effect of different cropping systems and their management practices. The results showed that, rice-wheat was the major cropping system of the IGP, followed by Rice-Fallow-Fallow and Maize-Wheat. Other major cropping systems of IGP included Sugarcane based, Pearl millet-Wheat, Rice-Fallow-Rice, Cotton-Wheat. The ground survey could identify 77 cropping systems, out of which 38 are rice-based systems. Out of these 77 cropping systems, there were 5 single crop systems, occupying 6.5% coverage (of all cropping system area), 56 double crop systems with 72.7% coverage, and 16 triple crop systems with 20.8% coverage. The cropping system performance analysis showed that the crop diversity was found to be highest in Haryana, while the cropping intensity was highest in Punjab state.     

Integrated Two-Dimensional Modeling of Fluid Flow and Compaction in a Sedimentary Basin

In this paper we employ mixed finite elements and numerically study an integrated two-dimensional model of fluid flow and compaction in a sedimentary basin. This model describes a single phase incompressible flow in a two-dimensional section of a sedimentary basin with vertical compaction. At each time step, an iterative algorithm is used to solve this model. The determination of the grid movement is based on the mass conservation and movement of sediments in the basin, while the mixed method is utilized to solve the fluid flow over the moving grid. Numerical experiments are presented to verify this iterative algorithm and show representative solutions for the model under consideration.     

Mineralogy,petrology, and chemistry of a Luna 16 basaltic fragment,sample B-1

Luna 16 sample B-1 was the largest fragment (62 mg) obtained in the sample exchange with the USSR. Petrologic, mineralogic, and chemical investigations have been made on this fragment in conjunction with Rb-Sr and⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar investigations by our colleagues. Sample B-1 is a fine-grained ophitic basalt but is distinguished from the Apollo samples by containing a single pyroxene, predominantly pigeonitic, an ilmenite content (7%) intermediate to that of the Apollo 11 and 12 samples, and subequal amounts of pyroxene (50%) and plagioclase (40%). Chemically it is distinguished by a high Sr content (437 ppm) and a high K/U value (4700). The K-content (1396 ppm) is higher than that of Luna 16 soil sample A-2.     

Dublin days: the 2003 NAM

Mark E Bailey and Tom Ray give an overview of the National Astronomy Meeting in Dublin, where record numbers of astronomers went to talk, listen and network.     

First-order regional seismotectonic model for South Africa

A first-order seismotectonic model was created for South Africa. This was done using four logical steps: geoscientific data collection, characterisation, assimilation and zonation. Through the definition of subunits of concentrations of earthquake foci and large neotectonic and structural domains, seismotectonic structures, systems and domains were created. Relatively larger controls of seismicity exist between the Great Escarpment and the coast. In the south, this region is characterised by large aeromagnetic anomalies and large EW trending faults. In the west, it is characterised by the NW–SE trending Wegener stress anomaly, radial-trending dykes and earthquake clusters. In the east, it is characterised by a large neotectonic domain where several large historical earthquakes occurred. In the centre of South Africa, several clusters of earthquake activity are found, often related to mining activity. Further north, seismicity is related to both mining activity and neotectonic deformation. This work contributes to the development of a seismotectonic model for South Africa by (1) bringing together, digitally, several data sets in a common GIS platform (geology, geophysics, stress, seismicity, neotectonics, topography, crustal and mantle structure and anisotropy), (2) understanding the significance of data sets for seismotectonic zonation and limitations thereof and (3) obtaining a reasonable regional model for use in seismic hazard assessments.     

Bottom pressure tides along a line in the southeast Atlantic Ocean and comparisons with satellite altimetry

Seafloor pressure records, collected at 11 stations aligned along a single ground track of the Topex/Poseidon and Jason satellites, are analyzed for their tidal content. With very low background noise levels and approximately 27 months of high-quality records, tidal constituents can be estimated with unusually high precision. This includes many high-frequency lines up through the seventh-diurnal band. The station deployment provides a unique opportunity to compare with tides estimated from satellite altimetry, point by point along the satellite track, in a region of moderately high mesoscale variability. That variability can significantly corrupt altimeter-based tide estimates, even with 17 years of data. A method to improve the along-track altimeter estimates by correcting the data for non-tidal variability is found to yield much better agreement with the bottom-pressure data. The technique should prove useful in certain demanding applications, such as altimetric studies of internal tides.     

Vertisols (cracking clay soils) in a climosequence of Peninsular India: Evidence for Holocene climate changes

Smectitic parent material from the weathering Deccan basalt has been deposited in the lower piedmont plains, valleys and microdepressions during a previous wetter climate. The cracking clay soils (Vertisols) were developed in such alluvium during drier climate of the Holocene period. In India they occur in humid tropical (HT), sub-humid moist (SHM), sub-humid dry (SHD), semi-arid moist (SAM), semi-arid dry (SAD) and arid dry (AD) climatic environments and thus indicate an array of soils in a climosequence.The soils show a change in their morphological, physical, chemical and micromorphological properties in the climosequence. Soils of HT climate are dominated by Ca⁺⁺ ions in their exchange complex throughout depth. However, in the sub-humid climates Mg⁺⁺ ions tend to dominate in the lower horizons. The sub-humid moist to aridic climatic environments caused a progressive formation of pedogenic calcium carbonates (PC) with the concomitant increase in Na⁺ ions in soil solution. This facilitated the translocation of Na-clay in the soil profile. This is responsible for the increase in pH, decrease in Ca/Mg ratio of exchange sites with depth and finally in the development of subsoil sodicity. The reduction in mean annual rainfall (MAR) from sub-humid moist to arid climates accelerated the formation of PC and thus the soils of semi-arid and arid climates (SAM, SAD and AD) are more calcareous and sodic than soils of other climates (SHM and SHD).Formation of PC, illuviation of clay and the development of subsoil sodicity are concurrent, contemporary and active pedogenetic processes operating during the climate change of the Holocene period. These processes impaired the hydraulic properties of soils in general, and in soils of drier climates in particular. As a result, cracking pattern, chemical composition and plasmic fabric were more modified in soils of the drier climates. Such modifications in soil properties have a place in the rationale of Vertisol order of the US Soil Taxonomy. The soils of wetter climates (HT, SHM and SHD) are grouped in Typic Haplusterts whereas the soils of drier climates (SAM, SAD and AD) are classified as Aridic Haplusterts, Sodic Haplusterts and Sodic Calciusterts. The present study demonstrates how the intrinsic soil properties of the cracking clay soils in a climosequence may help in inferring the change in climate in a geologic period.