High resolution provenancing of long travelled dust deposited on the Southern Alps, New Zealand

On 7 February 2000 an atypical orange discolouration of snowfields in the central Southern Alps, New Zealand occurred following the passage of a cold front. Analysis of snow samples identified fine orangey-brown dust mixed with much coarser grey dust. Air parcel forward trajectories from dust sources in southern and central Australia, where dust storms were reported on 4 February 2000, were computed to identify the deposits source. Geochemical analyses of the dust deposit using 26 trace elements, unaffected by regional air pollution and gravitational sorting, indicate that 20% of the dust was sourced from western New South Wales, with 45% from the eastern Eyre Peninsula of South Australia and the remaining 35% was local New Zealand dust. This provenancing approach provides a spatial resolution of long travelled dust sourcing not previously achieved.     

Intercomparison of Boron Isotope and Concentration Measurements. Part II: Evaluation of Results

The Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse (IGG), on behalf and with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), prepared eight geological materials (three natural waters and five rocks and minerals), intended for a blind interlaboratory comparison of measurements of boron isotopic composition and concentration. The materials were distributed to twenty seven laboratories - virtually all those performing geochemical boron isotope analyses in the world -which agreed to participate in the intercomparison exercise. Only fifteen laboratories, however, ultimately submitted the isotopic and/or concentration results they obtained on the intercomparison materials. The results demonstrate that interlaboratory reproducibility is not well reflected by the precision values reported by the individual laboratories and this observation holds true for both boron concentration and isotopic composition. The reasons for the discrepancies include fractionations due to the chemical matrix of materials, relative shift of the zero position on the δ¹¹B scale and a lack of well characterized materials for calibrating absolute boron content measurements. The intercomparison materials are now available at the IAEA (solid materials) and IGG (waters) for future distribution.     

Quintessential Cosmology Novel Models of Cosmological Structure Formation

We examine the possibility that a substantial fraction of the total energy density in a spatially flat Universe is composed of a time-dependent and spatially inhomogeneous component whose equation-of-state differs from that of baryons, neutrinos, dark matter, or radiation. In this lecture, we report on our investigations of the case in which the additional energy component, dubbed "quintessence", is due to a dynamical scalar field evolving in a potential. We have computed the effects on the background cosmological evolution, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and mass power spectrum, finding a broad range of cosmologically viable models. We stress three important features of the quintessence or Q-component: the time evolution of the equation-of-state; the length-scale dependence of the speed of propagation of the fluctuations in the Q-component; and, the contribution of quintessence fluctuations to the CMB anisotropy spectrum. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

“Software,Jobs Go Begging,Threatening Technology Boom”: Computer Services Employment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, 1982 and 1993

The campaign to promote the networking of America underscores the importance of information infrastructures that can support regional competitiveness. One crucial element of a regional information infrastructure is a computer services (CS) industry that supports computer systems, provides backward and forward linkages among all sectors of the economy, serves as engines for economic growth, enhances production efficiency, and encourages innovation. But research on metropolitan CS has been limited, and where CS are analyzed directly, spatial units of analysis vary and CS are rarely disaggregated. This paper situates CS employment within spatial analyses of producer services, outlines infrastructural characteristics, analyzes CS distribution across metropolitan areas in 1982 and 1993, and considers the implications of the findings. The data suggest that while large metropolitan areas are most likely to have a diverse base of specializations in multiple CS types, many smaller metropolitan areas possess CS specializations. We conclude that ranking in the urban CS hierarchy is more likely to be a function of local economic structure than metropolitan population. The uneven dispersion of CS capacity across metropolitan areas potentially has negative ramifications for implementation of national policy and development of underserved regional economies.     

Vertical profiles of Volcanic Aerosol and Polar Stratospheric Clouds Above Kiruna, Sweden: Winters 1993 and 1995

Vertical profiles of aerosol were measured in February 1993, and January - March 1995 using balloon-borne particle counters released from Kiruna, Sweden. Condensation nuclei (CN) and aerosol with radii 0.15 - 10.0 µm were measured in 8-12 size classes. The three flights in 1993 were within the polar vortex. Temperatures were below polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) threshold temperatures on one flight and a thin PSC was observed. The volcanic aerosol in the 1993 vortex was similar to that in 1992. In 1993, surface areas were 10 - 20 µm2 cm-3 and volumes 1 - 3 µm3 cm-3. In 1995 three of five flights were within the polar vortex. The volcanic aerosol had decreased to 3 - 7 µm2 cm-3 and 0.1 - 0.4 µm3 cm-3. The top of the volcanic aerosol layer in both years was near 500 K potential temperature (~20 km). A thick nitric acid and water PSC was observed in January 1995. In the thickest region of this PSC nearly all CN were observed to be activated, and surface areas of 5 - 10 µm2 cm-3 were calculated. The volumes observed in this PSC were closer to what would be expected for particles composed of nitric acid trihydrate than for ternary solution droplets. In 1993 the opposite was observed, the volumes in the thin PSC were closer to what would be expected for ternary solution droplets.     

Lake victoria: The water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms), its socio-economic effects, control measures and resurgence in the Winam gulf

The aquatic weed Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.]Solms was introduced in Lake Victoria from Rwanda via the Kagera River by the activities of man. After originally infesting Lake Victoria (Uganda), it eventually spread into the Winam gulf, where its proliferation was spectacular, resulting in an enormous public outcry. The aim of this study was to find out how a beach/bay covered by a weed carpet affected the life of a lakeshore community, if there were any seasonal changes in carpet sizes and to establish if the water hyacinth is a friend or an enemy. Surveys were conducted in selected beaches between June 1995 and November 1999. When surveys were complete, it became clear that this weed is nomadic, except in lagoons and beaches that had little external interference. The open waters remained generally clear due to constant wave action. Interviews conducted on selected beaches/bays indicated that weed carpets impacted both positively and negatively, i.e. they disrupted fishing activities, transport, irrigation, water treatment, enhanced breeding grounds for vectors of human diseases, impacted on biodiversity and had become a source of raw materials for making furniture, paper and artefacts. After successful biological control by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), resurgence and succession were observed. The impact of water hyacinth on the life of the lakeshore communities in the Winam gulf is serious and needs to be quantified. Further research is necessary to establish whether this weed is an enemy or a friend of the lakeshore communities.     

Fungal weathering of basaltic rocks in a cold oceanic environment (Iceland): comparison between experimental and field observations

This paper presents evidence for strong biochemical weathering of basaltic outcrops induced by fungal communities in a cold environment. Weathering rind formation is considered to be a consequence of the biological activity. Comparisons between in vitro experiments and in situ observations allow a characterization of fungal effects on rocks and help to define the place of these micro‐organisms in the cold environment weathering chain. It is concluded that biological weathering is chronologically the first process of weathering, probably leading to the subsequent expression of cryogenic processes. Information presented here suggests the need for reconsideration of the traditional frost‐driven morphogenetic system normally considered for subpolar areas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.