Risk perception and decision-making: do farmers consider risks from climate change?

This paper provides one of the first empirical studies that examine the impact of climate change adaptation practices on technical efficiency (TE) among smallholder farmers in Nepal. An adaptation index is used to explore the impact of farmers’ adaptation on TE using the stochastic frontier analysis framework. Data for six districts of Nepal representing all three agro-ecological regions (terai, hill, and mountain) were collected from a focus group discussion, a stakeholder workshop and a household survey. The survey shows that about 91% of the farming households have adopted at least one practice to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change. Empirical results reveal that adaptation is an important factor explaining efficiency differentials among farming households. Those adopting a greater number of adaptation practices on a larger scale are, on average, found to be 13% more technically efficient than those adopting fewer practices on smaller scale. The empirical results also show that average TE is only 0.72, indicating that there are opportunities for farming households in Nepal to further improve productive efficiency, on average by 28%. Other important factors that explain variations in the productive efficiency across farming households include farmer’s education level, irrigation facilities, market access, and social capital such as farmer’s participations in relevant agricultural organizations and clubs. This study provides empirical evidence to policy makers that small scale adjustments made by farmers in response to climate change impacts are effective in improving farmers’ efficiency in agriculture production. This indicates a need for farmers’ involvement in climate change adaptation planning.     

Regional search, selection and geological characterization of a large anticlinal structure, as a candidate site for CO2-storage in northern Germany

This paper reports on the regional screening, selection and geological characterisation of a potential on-shore CO₂ storage site (saline aquifer) in north-eastern Germany. The main objective of this study was to identify and investigate a candidate storage site, capable to accommodate the total amount of approximately 400 million tons of CO₂. Such a volume is produced by a modern, lignite-fired power plant within its operation lifetime of approximately 40 years. Within north-eastern Germany, several saline aquifers of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous age have been evaluated with respect to their regional occurrence, storage potential and basic reservoir properties. Subsequent to a ranking, considering different criteria, the anticlinal structure Schweinrich holding suitable saline aquifers of the uppermost Triassic and lowest Jurassic has been selected from a number of identified candidate sites. According to results of the geological site characterisation, including structural geological investigations and 3D reservoir modelling, the structure Schweinrich seems to be a suitable site for industrial large scale CO₂ storage. Further data acquisition (new wells and 3D seismics) and research (more detailed and comprehensive modelling) is needed in order to prove the structural integrity of the storage site and assure long-term safety.     

Detailed hydraulic head profiles as essential data for defining hydrogeologic units in layered fractured sedimentary rock

This paper describes a study in southern Wisconsin where vertical hydraulic head profiles measured in exceptional detail provided the key data for defining hydrogeologic units (HGUs) in a layered sequence of sandstone, siltstone, shale, and dolostone. The most important data were obtained from corehole MP-6 which was cored 131 m into bedrock and instrumented using a Westbay^® multilevel system with 36 depth discrete monitoring intervals. The resulting head profile is consistant over time and shows eight distinct inflections in hydraulic head. Several of the inflections occur between adjacent permeable units and are likely due to poor vertical connectivity of fracture sets rather than distinct lower permeability layers or aquitards in the conventional sense. No other type of data was capable of identifying the position of such distinct hydrogeologic features. These zones of abrupt head loss provide the primary dataset for delineation of eleven HGUs at MP-6 and are supported by less detailed head profiles at other locations. Although the detailed head profiles are essential, core logs and geophysical logs from other boreholes are nessessary to fully establish the lateral continuity of the HGUs.     

Hydrothermal gold mineralization at the Hira Buddini gold mine,India: constraints on fluid evolution and fluid sources from boron isotopic compositions of tourmaline

We determined the boron isotope and chemical compositions of tourmaline from the Hira Buddini gold deposit within the Archean Hutti-Maski greenstone belt in southern India to investigate the evolution of the hydrothermal system and to constrain its fluid sources. Tourmaline is a minor but widespread constituent in the inner and distal alteration zones of metabasaltic and metadacite host rocks associated with the hydrothermal gold mineralization. The Hira Buddini tourmaline belongs to the dravite–schorl series with variations in Al, Fe/(Fe+Mg), Ca, Ti, and Cr contents that can be related to their host lithology. The total range of δ¹¹B values determined is extreme, from −13.3‰ to +9.0‰, but 95% of the values are between −4 and +9‰. The boron isotope compositions of metabasalt-hosted tourmaline show a bimodal distribution with peak δ¹¹B values at about −2‰ and +6‰. The wide range and bimodal distribution of boron isotope ratios in tourmaline require an origin from at least two isotopically distinct fluid sources, which entered the hydrothermal system separately and were subsequently mixed. The estimated δ¹¹B values of the hydrothermal fluids, based on the peak tourmaline compositions and a mineralization temperature of 550°C, are around +1 and +10‰. The isotopically lighter of the two fluids is consistent with boron released by metamorphic devolatilization reactions from the greenstone lithologies, whereas the ¹¹B-rich fluid is attributed to degassing of I-type granitic magmas that intruded the greenstone sequence, providing heat and fluids to the hydrothermal system. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The geology of the Lega Dembi gold deposit, southern Ethiopia: implications for Pan-African gold exploration

The Lega Dembi deposit is the largest gold producer in Ethiopia. It is situated in late-Precambrian metamorphosed sediments of the N-S trending, volcano-sedimentary Megado belt, which forms part of the late-Proterozoic Adola granite-greenstone terrane in southern Ethiopia. The lode-gold mineralization occurs in a N-S trending, steep westerly dipping quartz-vein system that follows the structural contact between underlying feldspathic gneisses and the volcanosedimentary sequence of the Megado belt. This contact also marks the northernmost extension of the regional-scale, sinistral strike-slip Lega Dembi-Aflata shear zone. Mineralization and intense quartz-veining is best developed in graphite-rich sediments within an area not more than 80 m away from this tectonic contact. Hydrothermal wall-rock alteration includes actinolite/tremolite-biotite-calcite-sericite and chlorite-calcite-epidote assemblages. Gold occurs preferentially in the sericite alteration zone, where it is closely associated and intergrown with galena. The variable deformation of the gold-quartz veins suggests a syn-kinematic timing for the gold mineralization during transcurrent shearing in a dilational segment of the shear zone. In addition to the structural control, lithological control on gold deposition is indicated by the almost exclusive occurrence of the gold mineralization in graphite-rich metasediments. This close relationship suggests that gold precipitation was the result of chemical reduction of regional ore-bearing fluids. Temperature conditions of mineralization are constrained by the actinolite-biotite alteration assemblage and by arsenopyrite chemistry, which indicate that ore deposition occurred at or close to peak metamorphic conditions at upper-greenschist to lower-amphibolite metamorphic grades. Rb-Sr dating of sericite indicates an age of about 545 Ma. for hydrothermal alteration and, thus, for gold mineralization. The style of gold mineralization, structural pattern and lithological assemblages at Lega Dembi are very similar to lode-gold deposits most commonly reported from Archaean granite-greenstone terranes. These similarities may open new perspectives for the exploration of lode-gold deposits, which has previously primarily focused on Archaean greenstone belts rather than Proterozoic or even Phanerozoic meta-volcanosedimentary belts. Received: 26 July 1996 / Accepted: 8 January 1997     

A comparison of the climatology of a tropospherestratosphere-mesosphere model with observations

Mean fields from a perpetual January simulation of a GCM extending from the surface to 0.01 hPa (near 80 km) are compared to observations. The zonal mean temperature and wind fields correspond quite well with reality; the low stratosphere, especially in the polar night, is too cold, but warmer than in the original version of the model, with an upper boundary at 25 hPa. Mean fields at standard levels show that the major features of the troposphere are represented by the model, but rather over emphasised; the stratospheric winter polar vortex is too strong, too cold, and too barotropic; it resembles an `undisturbed' January rather than the climatology. Differences in the stationary eddy activity between the extended and orginal versions of the model are noted, and used to explain some differences between the two simulations.This paper was presented at the International Conference on Modelling of Global Climate Change and Variability, held in Hamburg 11–15 September 1989 under the auspices of the Meteorological Institute of the University of Hamburg and the Max Planck Institute für Meteorology. Guest Editor for these papers is Dr. L. Dümenil     

Ground Water Monitoring at Wellhead Protection Areas

Wellhead protection programs implemented to this date have not, in general, included a comprehensive ground water monitoring strategy. This is due both to the relatively recent introduction of the wellhead protection concept into the ground water field and also to the complexity of the monitoring problem. A well-planned monitoring program, however, can contribute significantly to the success of a wellhead protection program. The elements of wellhead protection, important from a monitoring perspective, are the management objectives, the types of potential contaminant sources, and the locations of those sources with respect to the wellhead protection area boundary. General monitoring strategies applicable to wellhead protection are derived from the relationships between these elements.     

An application of Iatroscan thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection—lipid classes of microorganisms as biomarkers in the marine environment

Iatroscan TLC-FID combines the separatory capabilities of thin-layer chromatography (TLC) (on silica coated chromarods) with the possibility of quantitation by flame ionization detection (FID). It can be used to separate lipid extracts into classes of compounds ranging from neutral to polar products. The rapidity with which this system provides lipid class profiles from small samples makes it particularly useful in oceanographic studies where routine analyses of large numbers of samples are required. Lipid classes were analysed in 4 marine bacterial strains grown on various substrates and 10 microalgae isolated from the marine environment and grown in batch cultures. Data on lipid composition of these microorganisms were obtained and compared to literature data. Results show that ratios between classes of compounds within the different groups of microorganisms were characteristic enough to constitute a good print of bacterial or phytoplankton sources in organic matter in sea water. In a preliminary study, phospholipid classes from a bacterial strain and a microalga were separated. Results show that the determination of ratios between phospholipid classes in organic matter could represent an improvement in the utilization of lipid classes as biomarkers.     

Correlations among the reflectances of vitrinite, chitinozoans, graptolites and scolecodonts

Paleozoic marine sequences sampled in outcrops and wells of northeastern Gaspe Peninsula (Quebec Appalachians) yield kerogen composed in part of vitrinite and zooclasts (chitinozoans, scolecodonts and graptolites) on which reflectance measurements were made.The comparison between means of random measurements show that reflectance of chitinozoans is similar to that of telinite (vitrinite with a cellular texture) and that the reflectance of scolecodonts is significantly lower than that of telinite in the lower range of studied values. At higher reflectivities differences decrease but, at the end of the condensate gas zone reflectancea are not yet identical. As shown by previous studies, reflectance of graptolites is slightly less than that of telinite.Pyrobitumen reflectance is related to the lithology of the host-rock and no generalized correlation can be established between the reflectance of pyrobitumen and that of vitrinite.