Very high CO2 exchange fluxes at the peak of the rainy season in a West African grazed semi-arid savanna ecosystem

Africa is a sink of carbon, but there are large gaps in our knowledge regarding the CO₂ exchange fluxes for many African ecosystems. Here, we analyse multi-annual eddy covariance data of CO₂ exchange fluxes for a grazed Sahelian semi-arid savanna ecosystem in Senegal, West Africa. The aim of the study is to investigate the high CO₂ exchange fluxes measured at the peak of the rainy season at the Dahra field site: gross primary productivity and ecosystem respiration peaked at values up to ?48 μmol CO₂ m^?2 s^?1 and 20 μmol CO₂ m^?2 s^?1, respectively. Possible explanations for such high fluxes include a combination of moderately dense herbaceous C4 ground vegetation, high soil nutrient availability and a grazing pressure increasing the fluxes. Even though the peak net CO₂ uptake was high, the annual budget of ?229 ± 7 ± 49 g C m^?2 y^?1 (±random errors ± systematic errors) is comparable to that of other semi-arid savanna sites due the short length of the rainy season. An inter-comparison between the open-path and a closed-path infrared sensor indicated no systematic errors related to the instrumentation. An uncertainty analysis of long-term NEE budgets indicated that corrections for air density fluctuations were the largest error source (11.3% out of 24.3% uncertainty). Soil organic carbon data indicated a substantial increase in the soil organic carbon pool for the uppermost .20 m. These findings have large implications for the perception of the carbon sink/source of Sahelian ecosystems and its response to climate change.     

The impact of the friction of distance on the early settlement and development of Eyre Peninsula,South Australia

The cost of overcoming distance has played and continues to play an important role in the evolution of Australia's space‐economy. This paper examines the impact of the ‘friction of distance’, as well as the quality of the resource base, on the settlement and development of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. A series of maps portraying the spread of pastoralism and then agriculture on Eyre Peninsula reveals clearly the importance of ‘accessibility’ in influencing the pattern and timing of settlement. It was not until well into this century that all the potentially agricultural land in the interior was occupied, for this required the construction of a railway and water pipeline up the centre of the peninsula.     

Climate change and mental health: an exploratory case study from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada

As the impacts from anthropogenic climate change are increasing globally, people are experiencing dramatic shifts in weather, temperature, wildlife and vegetation patterns, and water and food quality and availability. These changes impact human health and well-being, and resultantly, climate change has been identified as the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century. Recently, research is beginning to indicate that changes in climate, and the subsequent disruption to the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health, may cause increased incidences and prevalence of mental health issues, emotional responses, and large-scale sociopsychological changes. Through a multi-year, community-led, exploratory case study conducted in Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada, this research qualitatively explores the impacts of climate change on mental health and well-being in an Inuit context. Drawing from 67 in-depth interviews conducted between January 2010 and October 2010 with community members and local and regional health professionals, participants reported that changes in weather, snow and ice stability and extent, and wildlife and vegetation patterns attributed to climate change were negatively impacting mental health and well-being due to disruptions in land-based activities and a loss of place-based solace and cultural identity. Participants reported that changes in climate and environment increased family stress, enhanced the possibility of increased drug and alcohol usage, amplified previous traumas and mental health stressors, and were implicated in increased potential for suicide ideation. While a preliminary case study, these exploratory findings indicate that climate change is becoming an additional mental health stressor for resource-dependent communities and provide a baseline for further research.     

天山北部石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb岛弧玄武质岩：对中亚造山带显生宙地壳增生与铜金成矿的意义

新疆天山北部地区存在有石炭纪的埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合，并且其中许多岩石与铜（金）矿床伴生（如达巴特、阿希、土屋-延东、赤湖，等等）。埃达克岩富钠、高Sr但亏损Y与Yb，无明显Eu-正Eu异常以及正Sr异常与Nb、Ti亏损。高镁安山（闪长）岩是本次研究首次报道的，这些岩石无明显Eu-正Eu异常以及Nb、Ti亏损，普遍具有高的MgO和Cr、Ni含量，其中阿希金矿区一些样品类似于日本西南新生代Setouchi弧火山岩带中的赞岐岩类。富Nb玄武质岩富钠贫钾，具有微弱负．正Ba、Nb和Ti异常以及高的Nb／La比值，不同于大多数正常岛弧玄武岩。天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩具有高的8Nd（t）（＋3．4-＋9．0）和低的（^87Sr／^86Sr）i（0．7032—0．7043）。富Nb玄武质岩具有变化的εNd（t）（＋3．6-＋11．6）和（^87Sr／^86Sr）；（0．7007—0．7067）。我们的研究表明，天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合可能是“埃达克岩交代的岛弧岩浆岩系列”。埃达克岩最有可能由石炭纪北天山洋的年轻洋壳在俯冲过程中熔融形成。另外，俯冲板片产生的熔体以及所释放的少量流体在上升过程中可能交代地幔楔橄榄岩或与其发生反应：一方面，触发地幔楔橄榄岩发生熔融形成富Nb岛弧玄武质岩；另一方面，地幔组分迅速进入到板片熔体中，导致其地幔组分增加，乃至形成高镁安山岩。因此，天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合表明：（1）天山北部地区石炭纪可能为岛弧环境而非裂谷环境；（2）天山地区石炭纪的地壳生长可能以侧向增生为主；（3）除了亏损地幔之外，俯冲洋壳的熔融可能也在地壳的生长中发挥了重要的作用；（4）俯冲板片产生的埃达克质岩浆具有高的氧逸度，而其与地幔楔橄榄岩的强烈相互作用将导致地幔中的金属硫化物分解，成矿金属元素进入到岩浆中。这可能是新疆北部铜金矿化与一些埃达克岩、高镁安山（闪长）岩或富Nb岛弧玄武质岩密切共生的基本原因。     

Relationships between marginal thrusting and movement on major,internal shear zones in the Northern Highland Caledonides,Scotland

The development of the syn-metamorphic Sgurr Beag slide zone, a major ductile shear zone of initially low dip, caused at least 50 km north-western thrust displacement of part of the internal metamorphic complex of the Northern Highland Caledonides of Scotland. Initiation of the zone, and movements upon it, were earlier than formation of the marginal Moine Thrust zone. Movement on the zone followed but overlapped the peak Caledonian metamorphism and the mid to high amphibolite facies mineral assemblages, fabrics and structures produced during the development of the slide zone and those surviving from earlier events, were reworked under greenschist facies conditions during mylonitization associated with initiation of the Moine Thrust zone. Displacements on the slide zone and thrust movements were separated by emplacement of a regional suite of pegmatites and a considerable change of metamorphic grade. Thus, they may not constitute members of a progressive sequence of Caledonian thrusts formed over a short time interval. Rather, preliminary isotopic data may imply an interval of c. 25 Ma between movement on the slide zone and final, ductile translation along the Moine Thrust zone.     

The evolution of the terrestrial-terminating Irish Sea glacier during the last glaciation

Here we reconstruct the last advance to maximum limits and retreat of the Irish Sea Glacier (ISG), the only land-terminating ice lobe of the western British Irish Ice Sheet. A series of reverse bedrock slopes rendered proglacial lakes endemic, forming time-transgressive moraine- and bedrock-dammed basins that evolved with ice marginal retreat. Combining, for the first time on glacial sediments, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) bleaching profiles for cobbles with single grain and small aliquot OSL measurements on sands, has produced a coherent chronology from these heterogeneously bleached samples. This chronology constrains what is globally an early build-up of ice during late Marine Isotope Stage 3 and Greenland Stadial (GS) 5, with ice margins reaching south Lancashire by 30 ± 1.2 ka, followed by a 120-km advance at 28.3 ± 1.4 ka reaching its 26.5 ± 1.1 ka maximum extent during GS-3. Early retreat during GS-3 reflects piracy of ice sources shared with the Irish-Sea Ice Stream (ISIS), starving the ISG. With ISG retreat, an opportunistic readvance of Welsh ice during GS-2 rode over the ISG moraines occupying the space vacated, with ice margins oscillating within a substantial glacial over-deepening. Our geomorphological chronosequence shows a glacial system forced by climate but mediated by piracy of ice sources shared with the ISIS, changing flow regimes and fronting environments.     

Spectral Filtering and Classification of Terrestrial Laser Scanner Point Clouds

A method is presented for filtering and classification of terrestrial laser scanner point clouds. The algorithm exploits the four-channel (blue, green, red and near infrared) multispectral imaging capability of some terrestrial scanners using supervised, parametric classification to assign thematic class labels to all scan cloud points. Its principal advantage is that it is a completely data-driven algorithm and is independent of spatial sampling resolution since the processing is performed in four-dimensional spectral feature space. Its application to two data-sets of different spatial extent and spatial and spectral complexity is reported, for which respective overall classification accuracies of 87·0% and 82·0% were achieved. Analysis of the input data with emphasis on the characteristics pertinent to the anticipated outcomes precedes detailed analysis of the classification results and error sources and their causes. Erroneously classified points are attributed to radiometric errors stemming from both detector hardware and physical effects.     

Food with a visible face: Traceability and the public promotion of private governance in the Japanese food system

The years since 2000 have seen a constant stream of high-profile scandals relating to food safety and food labeling in Japan. One response of Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has been to promote food traceability as a mechanism to improve food safety and to provide reliable information to consumers about their food. MAFF’s main approach to traceability promotion, however, has not involved making traceability mandatory (as has been done in the EU) but encouraging private companies to adopt it. These actions constitute, I argue, an example of the public promotion of private governance. When viewed against the literature on the private governance of food safety and quality, MAFF’s traceability activities are surprising for three reasons: their forms and extent, the relative lack of interest the Ministry has shown in third-party certification, and the way MAFF has responded to concerns about the safety of imported food by focusing almost entirely on domestic traceability. I also argue, however, that looking at the literature from a Japanese perspective suggests that public encouragement is more central to the rise of private governance in the global agri-food system than is usually appreciated.