Pressures on an intensive irrigated cash-crop system in coastal Ghana

This paper outlines the results of recent interdisciplinary fieldwork in Anloga on Keta Lagoon, Ghana. Vegetable production has been undertaken at Anloga since the nineteenth century and is now highly intensive and carefully regulated. Farmers produce shallots and other crops utilising irrigation water, mostly from wells which tap a shallow fresh-water perched aquifer. However, farmers have been expanding their cultivation activities from the lagoon-side, encouraged by a World Bank supported programme which provides for well-sinking and some electric pumps. The project has environmental and socio-economic implications which give cause for concern. The research employs field investigation to explore both the physical and political economy context and implications of recent change and considers the opportunities for community-based water and crop regulation.     

Hawaiian glacial ages

Four glacial drifts that are interstratified with lava flows and tephra layers on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea demonstrate that an ice cap formed repeatedly at the summit of the volcano during the middle and late Pleistocene. The oldest drift (Pohakuloa Formation) probably was deposited shortly after eruption of a lava flow having a $\text{K}\text{Ar}$ age of 278,500 ± 68,500 yr. Drift of the Waihu Formation, marked by a belt of subdued end moraines, is correlated with hyaloclastite cones and associated lava flows that were erupted beneath an ice cap about 170,000–175,000 yr ago. One of four younger subglacially erupted lavas at the crest of the volcano has a $\text{K}\text{Ar}$ age of 41,300 ± 8300 yr. Tephra layers that antedate the last glaciation are about 29,700 to 37,200 ¹⁴C yr old and underlie dune sand that is believed to correlate with drift of the Makanaka Formation deposited during the last ice advance. The late Makanaka ice cap, which covered an area of about 70 km² and was as much as 100 m thick, is reconstructed from end moraines and limits of erratic stones that encircle the summit region. The ice cap disappeared from the summit before about 9080 yr ago. Postglacial lavas and tephra overlie the youngest drift on the upper south flank of the mountain and buried a widespread post-Makanaka soil on the lower south rift zone about 4500 ¹⁴C yr ago. The island of Hawaii is subsiding isostatically due to crustal loading by Quaternary volcanic rocks, with subsidence near the midpoint of Mauna Kea estimated as about 2.5 ± 0.5 mm/yr. A curve depicting an inferred long-term subsidence rate has been used to adjust equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) of former ice caps that are calculated on the basis of reconstructed glacier topography and an assumed accumulation-area ratio of 0.6 ± 0.05. The results indicate that ELA depression was greatest during Waihu glaciation, least during Pohakuloa glaciation, and that the ELA during late Makanaka glaciation was somewhat lower than that of the early Makanaka advance. Available radiometric dates show that late Makanaka glaciation correlates with stage 2 of the marine oxygen-isotope record, and suggest that early Makanaka, Waihu, and Pohakuloa glaciations correlate, respectively, with isotope stages 4, 6, and 8. Because ice caps could have formed on Mauna Kea only after the snowline was lowered many hundreds of meters below its inferred present level, episodes of Hawaiian glaciation probably were restricted to times of maximum ice volume on the continents. The asymmetry of the late Makanaka ice cap and the southeast-descending gradient of its equilibrium line are consistent with a southeast (tradewinds) source of precipitation during the last glaciation. Although departures of glacial-age temperature and precipitation from present values are difficult to assess quantitatively, growth of former ice caps on Mauna Kea most likely was due to enhanced winter snowfall and to reduced ablation rates brought about by lower air temperature and increased cloudiness.     

Targeting seasonal climate forecasts for integration into household level decisions: the case of smallholder farmers in Lesotho

Seasonal climate forecasts have been promoted as a means to increase the resilience of marginal groups in Africa. The manifestations of this are still to be seen. This paper argues that successful dissemination and adoption of the forecast requires an in-depth profile of the characteristics and needs of user groups. The case study of a mountainous village in southern Lesotho is used to highlight the decisions which one group of marginal users – smallholder farmers – might make in response to the forecast. A participatory role-play exercise explores what information households presently receive and how new climate forecast information could be integrated into seasonal decision making. Results show that there are a number of low-input options available to these farmers for responding to the forecast. Adoption, however, is going to require repeated exposure to the forecast in conjunction with forecast development that is suited to users' needs. The case study is linked back to the larger scale by suggesting paths that seasonal climate forecast development could take if it is to contribute to improving livelihood sustainability among marginal groups.     

Synchronism of Holocene East Asian monsoon variations and North Atlantic drift-ice tracers

Eighteen radiocarbon-dated eolian and paleosol profiles within a 1500-km-long belt along the arid to semi-arid transition zone of north-central China record variations in the extent and strength of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. Dated paleosols and peat layers represent intervals when the zone was dominated by a mild, moist summer monsoon climate that favored pedogenesis and peat accumulation. Brief intervals of enhanced eolian activity that resulted in the deposition of loess and eolian sand were times when strengthened winter monsoon conditions produced a colder, drier climate. The monsoon variations correlate closely with variations in North Atlantic drift-ice tracers that represent episodic advection of drift ice and cold polar surface water southward and eastward into warmer subpolar water. The correspondence of these records over the full span of Holocene time implies a close relationship between North Atlantic climate and the monsoon climate of central China.     

On the binarity of Herbig Ae/Be stars

We present high-resolution spectro-astrometry of a sample of 28 Herbig Ae/Be and three F-type pre-main-sequence stars. The spectro-astrometry, which is essentially the study of unresolved features in long-slit spectra, is shown from both empirical and simulated data to be capable of detecting binary companions that are fainter by up to 6 mag at separations larger than ∼0.1 arcsec. The nine targets that were previously known to be binary are all detected. In addition, we report the discovery of six new binaries and present five further possible binaries. The resulting binary fraction is 68 ± 11 per cent. This overall binary fraction is the largest reported for any observed sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars, presumably because of the exquisite sensitivity of spectro-astrometry for detecting binary systems. The data hint that the binary frequency of the Herbig Be stars is larger than that of the Herbig Ae stars. The Appendix presents model simulations to assess the capabilities of spectro-astrometry and reinforces the empirical findings. Most spectro-astrometric signatures in this sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars can be explained by the presence of a binary system. Two objects, HD 87643 and Z CMa, display evidence for asymmetric outflows. Finally, the position angles of the binary systems have been compared with available orientations of the circumprimary disc and these appear to be coplanar. The alignment between the circumprimary discs and the binary systems strongly suggests that the formation of binaries with intermediate-mass primaries is due to fragmentation as the alternative, stellar capture, does not naturally predict aligned discs. The alignment extends to the most massive B-type stars in our sample. This leads us to conclude that formation mechanisms that do result in massive stars, but predict random angles between the binaries and the circumprimary discs, such as stellar collisions, are also ruled out for the same reason.     

Markets, ethnicity and environment in a vulnerable landscape: the case of small-scale vegetable production on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria, 1991–2001

This paper explores changing socio-environmental interactions in the vegetable producing areas of the Jos Plateau over the decade 1991–2001. It considers the pressures of market forces and ethnic competition and the tensions which arise as interactions between the two are played out in a fragile physical, social and institutional environment. The region has seen a remarkable expansion in irrigated vegetable production, as dry season surveys in 1991 and 2001 attest. Local farmers appear extremely positive in their perceptions of change, pointing not only to expanded production, but also to other improvements, like growing percentages of children in school and improved transport. But behind this rosy view of change there are tensions and a series of unresolved questions which may soon have to be addressed. We examine the changing nature of socio-environmental interactions over the decade and ask whether and how current levels of production can be sustained in the context of a currently largely unregulated production system and growing competition for land. Given the important role of the Plateau as a source of temperate fruit and vegetables in West Africa, these questions have significance far beyond the Plateau region itself.     

Seasonal Forecasting for Climate Hazards: Prospects and Responses

One of the most promising developments for early warning of climate hazards is seasonal climate forecasting. Already forecasts are operational in many parts of the tropics and sub-tropics, particularly for droughts and floods associated with ENSO events. Prospects for further development of seasonal forecasting for a range of climatichazards are reviewed, illustrated with case studies in Africa, Australia, the U.S.A. and Europe. A critical evaluation of the utility of seasonal forecasts centres on vulnerability, communicationchannels, and effective responses. In contrast to short-term prediction, seasonal forecasts raise new issues of preparedness and the use of information.     

Dissociative recombination contributions to I(5577) and I(6300) [OI] and NmF2 enhancements resulting from moderate proton PCA events

We investigate the dissociative recombination contribution to I(5577) and I(6300) of [OI] as a function of low energy cutoff for two measured solar proton spectra. The volume ionization rate profiles used in the calculation are obtained using a detailed atomic cross section approach in the continuous slowing down approximation. The ratio of the dissociative recombination contribution to the direct impact contribution for both the 5577 Å and 6300 Å [OI] emissions is found to be dependent upon the low energy cutoff. This ratio has a nominal value of ～2.0 for the 5577 Å [OI] emission and ～0.25 for the 6300 Å [OI] emission. The I(5577)/I(3914) and I(6300)/I(3914) ratios including the direct and dissociative recombination contributions are strongly dependent upon the low energy cutoff of the spectrum. We have also investigated F-layer enhancements resulting from the low energy spectrum component. For the Mizera et al. (1972) spectrum with a low energy cutoff of 12.4 keV, we find an N_mF2 of ～4.5 × 10³ electrons/cm³ or about 10 per cent of the ionization required to maintain the dip pole at a value of 5 × 10⁴ electrons/cm³. Extension of the cutoff to 1 keV results in ～1 × 10⁴ electrons/cm³, or about 20 per cent of the required maintenance ionization.     

Some geological implications of average Quaternary glacial conditions

Analyses of Quaternary landscape evolution tend to focus on events associated with culminations of glacial and interglacial ages, but for most of Quaternary time, environments were intermediate in character. Average Quaternary glacial conditions, based on assessment of the marine isotope record, approximated those near the stage 2/stage 1 transition and during substages 5b and 5d; isotope stages 3 and 4 and substages 5a-d lie within one standard deviation of the mean value. Under average glacial conditions, ice sheets lying over northern North America and Europe were much more contracted than their full-glacial counterparts, and the distribution of mountain glaciers reflected a snowline depression of some 500 m. Geomorphic processes operating under average Quaternary conditions contributed importantly to landscape evolution. Examples of landscapes that may represent such average conditions include cirques and fluvial deposits of the Pacific Northwest, the fjords and strandflat of western Norway, and atolls of the tropical oceans. By examining the geologic record from the perspective of average conditions, rather than those of climatic extremes, added insight can be gained regarding the evolution of Quaternary landscapes.     

A rain on snow climatology and temporal analysis for the eastern United States

ABSTRACT

Rain-on-snow (ROS) has the potential to produce devastating floods by enhancing runoff from snowmelt. Although a common phenomenon across the eastern United States, little research has focused on ROS in this region. This study used a gridded observational snow dataset from 1960–2009 to establish a comprehensive seasonal climatology of ROS for this region. Additionally, different rain and snow thresholds were compared while considering temporal trends in ROS occurrence at four grid cells representing individual locations. Results show most ROS events occur in MAM (March-April-May). ROS events identified with rainfall >1 cm are more frequent near the east coast and events identified with >1 cm snow loss are more common in higher latitudes and/or elevations. Decreasing trends in DJF (December-January-February) ROS events were identified near the coastal areas, with increasing trends in the northern portion of the domain. Significant decreasing trends in MAM ROS are likewise present on a regional scale. Factors playing a role in snowpack depth and rainfall, such as movement of storm tracks in this region, should be considered with future work to discern mechanisms causing the changes in ROS frequency.