Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Agricultural Development in Al-Hassa Oasis,Saudi Arabia

The developmental schemes implemented by the Government in the Al-Hassa Oasis have influenced the social and economic behavior of Al-Hassa farming community. The impact of these socio-economic changes on agricultural practices and water use have been evaluated in this study.A detailed questionnaire was prepared considering social attitude, standard of living, family structure, and occupation, and was distributed among the farmers of the Al-Omran area. Data thus collected were statistically evaluated. The study showed that literacy and social exposure were the major factors for the acceptability of modern agricultural practices in the oasis.     

Searching for core area growth

Until recently the world economy was focused on four core areas: in western Europe, North America, the Soviet Union, and Japan. Beyond them was the periphery. The economic growth of the periphery depended on core-periphery trade. Since the existing core areas were too few to absorb the periphery's potential production, much of the periphery was producing below capacity. Currently more core areas are coming into existence in Brazil, South Korea, and India. They promote economic development by enlarging the market for peripheral products, drawing resources from the remaining periphery, and providing competition to existing core areas. Latent potentials for core area growth exist in the Near East and southern Africa, but their realization presumes political settlements. The west European core area has expanded onto the Iberian Peninsula and may expand soon beyond the erstwhile Iron Curtain.     

Dankadresse zum Abschluß des Festkolloquiums

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Yucatan after the wind: Human and environmental impact of hurricane Gilbert in the central and Eastern Yucatan Peninsula

Hurricane Gilbert made its landfall on the Yucatan peninsula on September 14, 1988, destroying valuable resort property in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel. Salt flats (salinas) in northern Quintana Roo and Yucatan were flooded by the storm surge and coastal marine ecosystem were devastated. Inland, the hurricane caused damages to houses, power lines, and farming land, but increased opportunities for garden hunting on destroyed fields. Twenty percent of tropical rain forest suffered losses of canopy and in the deciduous forests of north-central Yucatan noxiuous insects populations increased. Although damaging in its ultimate effects, hurricane Gilbert tested the resilience of Maya Indians and their readiness for post-disaster accommodation.     

Chemical mineralogy and illite crystallinity in low grade metasediments,Zarouchla Group,northern Peloponnesus,Greece

Summary Low grade metasediments from the Zarouchla Group of the Phyllite-Quartzite series in northern Peloponnesus have been investigated. Mineralogically, there is a clear distinction between the lowermost and the overlying formations. Rocks of the former contain characteristic minerals such as chloritoid or garnet whereas the other formations contain the assemblage muscovite + chlorite + qz ± paragonite ± paragonite/muscovite. Illite crystallinity values are low to middle anchizone in the uppermost formation and increase progressively through upper anchizone values in the intermediate formations, reaching low epizone values in the lowermost formation. Pumpellyite-actinolite facies metabasic rocks are sandwiched between metaclastites with upper anchizone or anchizone-epizone illite crystallinity values; and chloritoid bearing quartzites with low epizone illite crystallinity values. Although geothermometric data obtained from metasediments of the lowermost formation do not support a simple burial-related pattern of metamorphism, illite crystallinity data point to a progressive increase in metamorphic grade with stratigraphic depth.

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Chemische Mineralogie und Illitkristallinität in niedriggradigen Metasedimenten, Zarouchla, Gruppe, nördlicher Peleponnes, Griechenland

Zusammenfassung In Metasedimenten niedrigen Metamorphosegrades aus der Zarouchla Gruppe der Phyllit-Quarzit-Serien im nördlichen Peleponnes bestehen klare mineralogische Unterschiede zwischen der tiefsten und den darüber-liegenden Formationen. Gesteine der ersteren enthalten als charakteristische Minerale Chloritoid oder Granat, während die darüberliegenden Formationen weithin durch die Paragenese Muskovit + Chlorit + Quarz + Paragonit + Paragonit/Muskovit gekennzeichnet werden. Die Werte der Illit-Kristallinität entsprechen in der obersten Formation der unteren bis mittleren Anchizone und nehmen graduell zu: Werte der oberen Anchizone wurden in den dazwischenliegenden Formationen registriert um schließlich Werte der unteren Epizone zu erreichen. Metabasite in Pumpellyit-Aktinolith-Fazies treten zwischen Metaklastiten mit Illit-Kristallinitätwerten der oberen Anchizone oder des Bereiches Anchizone-Epizone und chloritoid-führenden Quarziten mit Illit-Kristallinität der niedrigen Epizone auf. Obwohl geothermometrische Daten, die von Metasedimenten der untersten Formation gewonnen wurden nicht ein einfaches Schema der Überlagerungs-Metamorphose unterstützen, weist die Illit-Kristallinität doch auf eine progressive Zunahme des metamorphen Grades mit stratigraphischer Tiefe hin.

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With 6 Figures     

Sediment yield in South Africa — A preliminary geographical analysis

The study examines the spatial relationships between sediment yield and 15 independent environmental variables in 54 catchments in South Africa. Rooseboom's (1978) data on the sediment yield from the catchments were standardized for a single time period. Bivariate regression analyses reveal no simple relationships. Multivariate regression analyses conducted for the whole and various sub-areas of South Africa indicate that latitude and longitude are the primary variables affecting spatial variations in sediment yield. This may be as a result of latitude and longitude being surrogate variables reflecting variation in other environmental variables (e. g. geology, vegetation). Within the sub-areas, 43.4% to 97.8% of the variation in sediment yield is explained by the combined variation in a number of different environmental variables. This study highlights a need for the collection and analysis of more sediment yield data, which would allow the analyses to be refined, to predict sediment yields from ungauged catchments in South Africa.