Places of the Holocaust: Towards a model of GIS of place

Progress toward developing a GIS of place can only follow from an understanding of what place is, and this understanding draws on geographical theory. Here—following Agnew, Tuan, and others—we consider place as being made up of three components—location, locale, and sense of place—which are recognizable at multiple scales and vary historically as a product of social and political processes. Using the testimonies of two survivors of the Holocaust, we sketch the components of a model for a GIS of place that allows for this theory of place to be visualized and analyzed. The model is, crucially, both multi‐scalar and sensitive to uncertainty, as a GIS of place needs to be able to zoom in and out of the different scales at which place is experienced, as well as capture both uncertain data and uncertainty as data. We see potential in the representations proposed for scaling up from the anecdotal to the general in the sense that any narrative can be grouped and classified according to places and scales as shown here. The challenge in developing a GIS of place along the lines we propose here is to design a new set of functionalities that can do so.     

Influence of giant kelp beds (Macrocystis pyrifera) on diel cycles of pCO2 and DIC in the Sub-Antarctic coastal area

The partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were monitored in shallow coastal waters located inside and outside giant kelp beds (Macrocystis pyrifera) located in the Kerguelen Archipelago (Southern Ocean). Photosynthesis and respiration by microplankton and kelp lead to marked pCO₂ and DIC diel cycles. Daily variations of pCO₂ and DIC are significant in the spring and summer, but absent in the winter, reflecting the seasonal cycle of biological activity in the kelp beds. If the kelp beds seem to favour the onset of phytoplankton blooms, most of the primary production inside the kelp beds is due to the kelp itself. The primary production of Macrocystis kelp beds in the Sub-Antarctic high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters off the Kerguelen Archipelago is elevated and closely linked to light availability. This production is significant from October to March and reaches its climax in December at the solar radiation maximum.     

HT-fabrics in a garnet-bearing quartzite from Western Portugal: geodynamic implications for the Iberian Variscan Belt

ABSTRACT The study of a garnet-bearing quartzite from a major suture zone in Iberia reports an unusual high-T fabric. Quartz c -axis patterns were plotted using shaped garnet as reference axis for the finite stretch ( X -axis). The pole figures are characterized by a dominant single maximum around X together with other point maxima along the XY plane (mylonitic foliation). These patterns suggest that dominant < c > prism slip and subordinated < a > prism slip operated during quartz plastic deformation in agreement with P–T conditions for syntectonic garnet growth (4–5 kbar and 700 ± 50 °C) and, pre-dating the well-known (late) Variscan D1 event (<6 kb and 600 ± 30 °C). The geotectonic framework suggests that the fabrics were formed along the western shear margin of the Ossa-Morena Zone during the early stages of the Variscan orogeny.     

Linking large-parallax Spitzer–CFHT–VLT astrometry of asteroids

We show that the new ephemeris-space multiple-address-comparison (eMAC) method solves asteroid linking problems despite large parallaxes by applying the method to astrometric asteroid observation sets obtained nearly simultaneously with the Spitzer space telescope, the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), and European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). For main-belt asteroids, the parallax between Spitzer and the Earth-based telescopes is approximately one degree which is large as compared to a typical parallax for solely Earth-based telescopes in the arcseconds regime. In the eMAC method, we reduce the initially huge amount of possible linkages between observation sets by comparing samples of ephemerides that have been computed separately for all sets at, say, three common dates. If the non-zero ephemeris probability densities overlap at all common dates, we try to find an orbit solution for these so-called trial linkages. If there exists an orbit which reproduces all the astrometric observations assuming predefined observational errors, we call it a linkage. Known asteroids are independently identified among Spitzer, CFHT, and VLT astrometry, and comparing the identified observations to the linkages found shows that the method found all known correct linkages present in the data. In addition, we also found five previously unpublished linkages between Spitzer astrometry and Earth-based astrometry. Based on our simulations, we found virtually all Spitzer-related linkages between two single-night observation sets, and more than 99.4% of linkages between two single-night observation sets obtained by Earth-based observatories. Virtually all correct linkages consisting of at least three single-night sets were also detected. The results show that large-parallax discovery observations made from a spacecraft can be linked to Earth-based follow-up observations to ensure that the objects are not lost. Furthermore, we compute the heliocentric and Spitzer-centric distances as well as the corresponding solar phase angles at the dates of Spitzer observations. Based on comparisons to simulated geocentric observations, we also show that, for typical nearly-simultaneous observations, the parallax reduces the distance uncertainties by several orders of magnitude.     

Notes on fossil remains from the Early Cretaceous Lohan Cura Formation, Neuquén Province, Argentina

In this contribution, we describe an association of fossil remains collected in the locality of Cerro de Los Leones, approximately 8 km southwest of the town of Picún Leufú, Neuquén Province, Argentina, from different levels of the Albian Cullín Grande Member, Lohan Cura Formation. The fossils include pelecypodan (Neocorbicula dinosauriorum, Neocorbicula pehuenchensis, and genus indet.) and gastropodan (Physa wichmanni) molluscs, a mesoeucrocodylian, possible pterosaurs, theropods, and sauropods. The sedimentary environment at Cerro de los Leones is characterized by fluvial deposits corresponding to a sandy meandering fluvial system. The most fossiliferous levels (located in the lower part of the exposed sequence) were developed in a distal flood plain and flood basin areas. Sedimentological and paleopedological features suggest semi-arid conditions during the deposition of the Cullín Grande Member. Despite the fragmentary nature of the specimens described here, the new information provided from the Albian assemblages of the Lohan Cura Formation at the Cerro de Los Leones locality provides a broader panorama of the composition of terrestrial faunas during the Early Cretaceous in Patagonia.     

Geological risk assessment of the area surrounding Altamira Cave: A proposed Natural Risk Index and Safety Factor for protection of prehistoric caves

Altamira Cave occurs in a carbonate sequence-dated as middle to upper Cenomanian, being characterized by tabular bedding. This sequence has been studied in detail and mapped in an attempt to delimit the beds in which the cave was formed. The cave forms part of a karstic complex developed in the Altamira Formation, which consists of eight stratigraphic units characterized by karstic forms and landslides as the main geomorphologic elements. The strong relationship between sinkholes and faults within the area was also revealed, with sinkholes of oval morphology aligned along the faults. Inside the cave, the subhorizontal bedding is intersected by subvertical joints, generating geometrical blocks prone to falling down. This is the main process of the present evolution of the cave in addition to the dissolution and precipitation of carbonates in local zones. We used this geological characterization as the basis for the definition of protection areas around prehistoric caves, applied in this article to the Altamira Cave. Landslides, water flow towards the cave, rock falls within cave and karstic features are the main geological risks affecting the karstic complex. Two semi-quantitative indexes were proposed, the Natural Risk Index (NRI) and Safety Factor (SF), with the main aim of determining the risk level in different zones of the study area. The information provided by geological studies as well as the results obtained using the proposed indexes allowed definition suitable protection areas around the cave.