Teaching about relict, no-analog landscapes

Only a few very young landforms are the result of currently operating geomorphic processes. Because the time scale for landscape evolution is much longer than the time scale for late Cenozoic climate changes, almost all landscapes are palimpsests, written over repeatedly by various combinations of climate-determined processes. Relict glacial and periglacial landforms are widely identified in mid-latitude regions that have been traditionally described as having been shaped by the “normal” processes of fluvial erosion. Less confidently, deeply weathered regolith and associated relict landforms in the middle and high latitudes are attributed to early Tertiary warmth. However, assemblages of geomorphic processes specific to certain climatic regions, like faunal and floral assemblages, cannot be translated across latitude, so in spite of the many books about the geomorphology of specific modern climate regions, there are few sources that discuss former warm high-latitude, or cold low-latitude, low-altitude geomorphic processes that have no modern analogs. Students and teachers alike who attempt to interpret landforms by extrapolating modern climatic conditions to other latitudinal zones will find their outlook broadened, and they become better prepared to consider the geomorphic impacts of global climate change.     

Modeling Lake Ladoga Zoobenthos and Studying Its Role in Phosphorus Exchange at the Water–Bed Interface

A zoobenthos submodel is included in an ecosystem model. The new model is used to assess the role of zoobenthos in the phosphorus exchange at the water–bed interface, in particular, the phosphorus cycle in the water body ecosystem is described more accurately. The calculated zoobenthos distribution over the bed of a lake can be used in modeling the lake ichthyocenoses.     

Haze Research in Brunei Darussalam During the 1998 Episode

— Brunei Darussalam experienced a severe haze episode between the beginning of February and the end of April 1998 due mainly to local peat and forest fires in Brunei and in neighbouring Sabah and Sarawak. The extensive research studies of the haze carried out in Brunei are outlined together with selected results. Particulate matter (PM₁₀) was the only significant criteria pollutant and it exceeded WHO guidelines and accepted air quality standards on most days during the haze episode. Gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, SO₂, NO₂, O₃) were generally well below WHO guidelines and at these concentrations they are expected to have no significant health or environmental effects. Measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) revealed the presence of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), aldehydes, phenol, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Personal exposure monitoring of PM₁₀ revealed significant differences in exposure patterns between different individuals depending on the location, time and activity. Data on outpatient visits showed an increase for some illnesses (e.g., acute respiratory infection) during the months of haze. No significant impacts of haze on rainwater acidity or deposition were noted. Emission factors for some volatile compounds were determined in combustion experiments in which peat was burned at temperatures typical of smouldering.     

Mineralized Microbiota: A Possible Indicator of Hydrocarbon Flows in the Rift Zone of Iceland

Relationships of mineralized microbiota with the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in hydrothermal systems are considered. It has been established that the mineralized microbiota can serve as an indicator of hydrothermal hydrocarbon flows in present-day and ancient deposits.