Looking back and moving forward: Health geography in Aotearoa and beyond

Health geography in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) has had a major impact on international sub‐disciplinary debates. It is timely to celebrate our domestic health geography achievements and alert ourselves to the challenges ahead. This reflection article provides a brief overview of Aotearoa NZ's maturing health geography community and includes the reflections of a panel discussion held during the bi‐annual NZ Geographical Society conference in 2016. We argue that the eclectism of health geography in NZ and beyond is both the sub‐discipline's major strength and challenge.     

Simulation of an underwater hexapod robot

AQUA is an underwater hexapod robot that uses its paddles to propel itself and control its orientation. To aid in the vehicle development, a simulation was needed to predict the motion of the robot based on its paddle oscillations. The most difficult aspect of this simulation was the characterization of the forces generated by the paddles oscillating in the water. In this work, a model predicting the forces produced by an oscillating rigid paddle was developed and validated experimentally. Tests were performed on an experimental setup, which was designed and built to measure the forces and torques produced by a paddle oscillating in a water tank. Also, the forces produced by a flexible fin were determined experimentally and were compared to those generated by the rigid paddle. Finally, a simulation of the AQUA robot was developed, based on the validated rigid paddle model.     

Analysis of lignin-derived phenols in standard reference materials and ocean dissolved organic matter by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A series of reference materials are proposed for intercomparison and quality control purposes during the quantification of lignin oxidation products (LOP) from diverse environmental matrices. These materials are all easily accessible and certified for diverse organic constituents (NIST and IHSS). They represent a suite of natural environmental matrices (from solids to aqueous) and are characterized by a wide range of organic carbon and lignin concentrations with abundant proportions of all major LOP. The variability of LOP concentrations and signatures for all these materials averages 3–5% and does not exceed 10%. Using these standards, a new quantification method was developed and validated for the determination of low-level CuO oxidation products using capillary gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS–MS). Tandem mass spectrometry provides both the high sensitivity and selectivity required for the identification and quantification of trace levels of dissolved lignin. The method is particularly useful for removing interference from co-eluting isotopes generated from the DOM matrix and during glucose amendment procedures of low-carbon samples. Such glucose amendment is not necessary, however, when the CuO to organic carbon weight-to-weight ratio can be kept at a value < 200–300.     

A matter of tolerance: Distribution potential of scyphozoan polyps in a changing environment

Jellyfish blooms are unpredictable, unsustainable events, frequently affecting aquatic ecosystems severely. Of particular interest are the consequences of environmental change for jellyfish populations, especially in semi‐enclosed habitats. Regional and seasonal changes in water chemistry and physics may control the distribution of sessile polyps in the Baltic Sea, hence potentially driving the population dynamics of the two abundant medusa species Aurelia aurita and Cyanea capillata (Scyphozoa, Cnidaria). In laboratory experiments, settlement, growth, survival and physiological condition of A. aurita polyps were investigated at different levels of water temperature, pH and salinity. Survival and physiological condition of C. capillata polyps were examined after exposure to low salinity levels. Increased settlement of A. aurita planula larvae was observed on substrate plates at low temperature (4°C), low pH (7.4) and low salinity (7.5 psu), whereas early polyp growth was constrained by salinity ≤10 psu. Aurelia aurita polyps were in good physiological condition over the whole temperature range, while exposure to pH <6.5 led to stepwise tissue degradation. Salinity reduction to ≤5 and ≤8 psu caused irreversible degeneration of A. aurita and C. capillata polyps, respectively. Observed physiological limits suggest distribution of polyp populations of A. aurita in central and of C. capillata in western parts of the Baltic Sea, while future climate changes may particularly restrict occurrence of the less tolerant C. capillata.     

Growth modelling indicates hurricanes and severe storms are linked to low coral recruitment in the Caribbean

This study set out to test the hypothesis that hurricanes and tropical storms limit the recruitment and subsequent survival of massive non-branching corals on the barrier reef off the coast of Belize in the Gulf of Honduras. Overall, the surface areas of 523 individual coral specimens were measured, and recruitment dates were then modelled. There was no significant difference in coral cover or coral biodiversity between any of the sites studied (p > 0.1). There were significant differences in non-branching coral recruitment in years when hurricanes impacted the area (p < 0.05) compared with years when no hurricanes impacted the area. There were significantly more non-branching massive corals recruited in non-hurricane years (mean 7.7) than in hurricane years (mean 3.8; p = 0.011). When years with tropical storms are added to the years with hurricanes, there was significantly lower coral recruitment (mean 4.7) relative to non-storm or hurricane years (mean 7.4; p = 0.019). These results show that hurricanes and severe storms limited the recruitment and survival of massive non-branching corals of the Mesoamerican barrier reef and on patch reefs near the Belize coast in the Caribbean, and suggests that marine park managers may need to assist coral recruitment in years where there are hurricanes or severe storms.     

Water in coesite: Incorporation mechanism and operation condition,solubility and P-T dependence,and contribution to water transport and coesite preservation

A series of coesite,coexisting with or without a liquid phase,was synthesized in the nominal system SiO2-H2O at800-1450℃and 5 GPa.Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to identity the crystalline phase,electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS were employed to quantity some major and trace elements,and unpolarized FTIR spectroscopy was applied to probe the different types of hydrogen defects,explore water-incorporation mechanisms and quantify water contents.Trace amounts of A1 and B were detected in the coesite.Combining our results with the results in the literatures,we have found no positive correlation between the Al contents and the"Al"-based hydrogen concentrations,suggesting that previously proposed hydrogen-incorporation mechanism H^++Al^3+■Si^4+does not function in coesite.In contrast,we have confirmed the positive correlation between the B contents and the B-based hydrogen concentrations.The hydrogen-incorporation mechanism H^++B3^+■Si^4+readily takes place in coesite at different P-T conditions,and significantly increases the water content at both liquid-saturated and liquid-undersaturated conditions.For the SiO2-H2O system,we have found that type-Ⅰhydrogarnet substitution plays a dictating role in incorporating water into coesite at liquid-saturated condition,type-II hydrogarnet substitution contributes significantly at nearly dry condition,and both operate at conditions in between.The water solubility of coesite,as dictated by the type-Ⅰhydrogarnet substitution,positively correlates with both P and T,cH2O=-105(30)+5.2(32)×P+0.112(26)×T,with cH2O in wt ppm,P in GPa and T in℃.Due to its low water solubility and small fraction in subducted slabs,coesite may contribute insignificantly to the vertical water transport in subduction zones.Furthermore,the water solubility of any coesite in exhuming ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks should be virtually zero as coesite becomes metastable.With an adequately fast waterdiffusion rate,this metastable coesite should be completely dry,which may have been the key factor to the partial preservation of most natural Coe.As a byproduct,a new IR experimental protocol for accurate water determination in optically anisotropic nominally anhydrous minerals has been found.Aided with the empirical method of Paterson(1982)it employs multiple unpolarized IR spectra,collected from randomly-orientated mineral grains,to approximate both total integrated absorbance and total integrated molar absorption coefficient.Its success relies on a high-level orientation randomness in the IR analyses.     

Investigation of ionospheric TEC precursors related to the M7.8 Nepal and M8.3 Chile earthquakes in 2015 based on spectral and statistical analysis

The assessment of social vulnerability is a requirement for understanding the risk of natural hazards. This paper calculates the social vulnerability index of geological disasters in China with the super-efficiency DEA (data envelopment analysis) model, carries out global and local autocorrelation tests for social vulnerability to geological disasters in each province in China and identifies the characteristics of its spatial distribution pattern. The results show the following. (1) China’s social vulnerability to geological disasters is relatively high and has obvious differences. It represents the pattern of a significant increase by degrees in social vulnerability to geological disasters from east to west and a significantly negative correlation relationship between the vulnerability level and the economic level. (2) Based on the comparative analysis of the mean values of the indexes and the social vulnerability index of geological disasters, it is found that the social vulnerability index of geological disasters in China is directly related to the regional exposure degree and reaction and recovery ability, among which the reaction and recovery ability has great effects on the social vulnerability index. (3) Most of the regions in China are in a high–high clustering area or a low–low clustering area; that is to say, the regions with similar social vulnerability to geological disasters represent the pattern of clustering.     

Genesis of the Permian Baimazhai magmatic Ni–Cu–(PGE) sulfide deposit, Yunnan, SW China

The ~260 Ma-old Baimazhai Ni–Cu–(PGE) sulfide deposit in the Jinping region, Yunnan, SW China, is hosted in a small mafic–ultramafic intrusion, which intruded Ordovician sandstone and slate. The intrusion is concentric with lens shape, about 530 m long, 190 m wide and 24 to 64 m thick, trends 296°, and dips 22°NE. The massive sulfide ore body forms the core of the intrusion and is surrounded by variably mineralized orthopyroxenite, websterite and barren gabbro. The proportion of gabbro, websterite, orthopyroxenite and massive ore is approximately 30, 30, 20 and 20 vol.%, respectively. Magmatic pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite make up more than 90% of the massive ores. The massive ores contain high Ni (1.6 to 4.2 wt%) and Cu (0.4 to 6.5 wt%) and low ∑PGE contents (85 to 524 ppb). They have Pd/Ir ratios ranging from 6.7 to 530, Pd/Pt ratios from 0.7 to 2.6 and Cu/(Pd×1,000) ratios from 31 to 400, which are comparable with those of the silicate rocks [Pd/Ir = 4 to 183, Pd/Pt = 0.7 to 3.5, and Cu/(Pd×1,000) = 100 to 400]. Similar Pd/Pt and Cu/Pd ratios of the silicate rocks and massive ores throughout the intrusion indicate a single sulfide segregation event. Excess sulfide melt segregation resulted from intensive crustal contamination that formed Si-rich and Mg-rich basaltic magmas in a deep-seated staging chamber before magma emplacement. The immiscible sulfide melts and the silicate melts were eventually evacuated from the staging magma chamber by compressive forces. Flow differentiation under high velocity concentrated the sulfide melts toward the middle of the magma flow, and consequently, formed a massive sulfide ore body in the central part of the intrusion. Low concentrations of PGEs and general absence of platinum-group minerals in the massive ores may have resulted from a relatively large mass fraction of the sulfide melts (e.g. R-factor = ~70) in Baimazhai compared with other intrusions elsewhere, such as Noril’sk-Talnakh with a R-factor of >10,000.