The Koloa Volcanic Suite of Kauai, Hawaii

The Koloa lavas of the post-erosional volcanic suite of Kauaivary in composition from melilitite to alkali olivine basalt.⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr varies from {small tilde}0.7030 to 0.7033, the rangebeing similar to that of other Hawaiian post-erosional suites.The chemical composition within single lava flows is variableand forms major-element trends that are different from the mainKoloa trend. The main trend can be related to increased degreesof partial melting during decreasing pressure. The combinedevidence from Sr and Nd isotopes and rare earth elements (REEs)could suggest that an ocean island basalt (OIB) plume was infiltratedby a carbonate-rich melt with a high concentration of Sr andREEs derived from the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) source.However, the Pb-isotope systematics of the Hawaiian islandsdo not suggest that a MORB source was involved during the generationof the posterosional lavas. Instead, we suggest that the Hawaiiantholeiitic and nephelinitic magma suites are derived from azoned plume with a low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr core and a high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr concentricmargin. The trends of the single flows and their variation inisotope ratios suggest that they formed from magmas accumulatedmainly from the central core of the zoned plume.     

Pliocene subaqueous fans and Gilbert-type deltas in maar crater lakes, Hopi Buttes, Navajo Nation (Arizona), USA

Maar craters of the Mio-Pliocene Hopi Buttes volcanic field of Arizona formed within a broad playa system, and accumulated a variety of lacustrine sedimentary deposits. Many craters initially held isolated, groundwater-fed lakes. Ephemeral streams crossing the playa entered some of the lake-filled craters, and built coarse grained Gilbert-type deltas and subaqueous fans along the margins of these craters. The small, coarse grained fans and deltas have many features in common with much larger coarse grained deltaic and fan deltaic deposits. However, the local production of coarse grained volcanic sediment, low gradients in the local stream catchment, steep subaqueous relief and the small size of the receiving ‘basins’resulted in a unique combination of features. Cone-shaped subaqueous fans initially formed at the mouths of incised feeder streams. The fans are small accumulations of steeply dipping gravelly tephra that consist almost entirely of overlapping lobes constructed by density-modified grain flows. Gravelly Gilbert-type tephra deltas formed in brimfull craters fed by a freely migrating feeder stream. They are concave lakeward, mimicking the underlying crater wall topography. Complex deltaic geometries are defined by topset strata that steeply onlap tall foreset beds. They suggest that feeding stream floods caused rapid and comparatively large variations in lake level within the small crater lakes. Bed-specific carbonate alteration is common, and probably resulted from both influx of detrital carbonate across the playa and alteration of tephra beds by carbonate-saturated lakewaters during between flood periods of high net evaporation.     

CROSS-BOREHOLE OBSERVATION OF MODE CONVERSION FROM BOREHOLE STONELEY WAVES TO CHANNEL WAVES AT A COAL LAYER1

Conversion of borehole Stoneley waves to channel waves was observed in data from a seismic cross-borehole experiment conducted between wellbores penetrating a thin coal layer at 2022 m depth, near Rifle, Colorado. Traveltime moveout observations show that borehole Stoneley waves underwent partial conversion to channel waves at the coal layer. The channel waves were detected directly in an adjacent borehole 35 m away at receiver positions within the coal. Stoneley waves, subsequently produced by partial conversion of channel waves, were also detected at receiver positions located up to 50 m above and below the coal layer in the adjacent borehole. We infer the channel wave to be the first-higher Rayleigh mode by comparing the observed group velocity with theoretically derived dispersion curves. Identifying the conversion between borehole and stratigraphically guided waves is significant because coal penetrated by multiple wells may be detected without placing a transmitter or receiver in the coal itself.     

STONE‐BANKED LOBES AS A PRODUCT OF MILD FREEZE–THAW ACTION: AN EXAMPLE FROM WESTERN TASMANIA,AUSTRALIA

This paper interprets a stone‐banked lobe on the upper western face of Mt Rufus, at an altitude of 1380 m in western Tasmania, Australia. The morphology of the deposit resembles that of a solifluction lobe. Field observations show vertical and downslope movement of pebbles, cobbles and small boulders over a single winter season. The movement is largely related to frost pull (10–15 cm) and shallow freeze–thaw processes promoting the downslope (up to 50 cm yr^–1) creep of material and the accumulation of coarse clasts at the lobe riser. The climate of Mt Rufus is strongly maritime and this is reflected in the limited duration and depth of penetration of frozen ground at this site during the 2013 winter. Despite the relatively mild climatic conditions, freeze–thaw processes are clearly the dominant geomorphic force operating at the site. These findings support observations of active stone‐banked lobes on sub‐Antarctic islands where intense freezing is absent. Both there and at Mt Rufus, movement is dominated by freeze–thaw processes operating in the upper c. 20 cm of the regolith. These are typical landforms of marginal freeze–thaw settings.     

Studies using an airborne laser altimeter to measure landscape properties

Abstract

Vertical surface properties of the landscape were measured using a laser altimeter mounted in a small twin-engine aeroplane. The laser altimeter makes 4000 measurements per second with a vertical recording precision of 0.05 m for a single measurement. These airborne laser measurements were analysed to provide information on topography, vegetation canopy and stream and gully cross-sections. Laser altimeter data were used to measure small (less than 0.20 m deep) and large gullies and stream cross-sections. Vegetation canopy heights, cover, structure and distribution were determined in studies in Texas and Arizona. Laser measurements of vegetation cover and height were significantly correlated with ground measurements made with line-intercept methods. While conventional ground-based techniques may be used to make all these measurements, airborne laser altimeter techniques allow the data to be collected in a quick and efficient way over large and inaccessible areas. The airborne laser altimeter data can also help quantify various land surface parameters needed for natural resource and landscape management or required by hydrological simulation models. Measurements of landscape properties over large areas provide a better understanding of landscape functions and can lead to the development of better management plans to conserve and improve the productivity of natural resources.     

ENVIRONMENTALISM AND EUROCENTRISM

ABSTRACT. Environmental determinism has served to validate a Eurocentric world history for several centuries, and it continues to do so today. This essay looks briefly at the historical marriage between environmental determinism and Eurocentric history, then develops a detailed critique of the environmental determinism put forward in two recent world-history books: Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997) and David Landes's The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (1998).