Floodplain–river ecosystems: lateral connections and the implications of human interference

Floodplains are ecotones that form a transition between aquatic and terrestrial environments. These important ecosystems can be described as dynamic spatial mosaics in which water plays an important role in connecting various patches on the floodplain surface. Hydrological connections facilitate the exchange of carbon and nutrients between the river channel and the floodplain and therefore influence the productivity of the entire river system. This paper examines the influence of hydrological connections on the potential exchange of dissolved organic carbon between a large Australian floodplain to a river channel, and the effects of land and water developments on these exchanges. The paper proposes that an understanding of floodplain ecosystems requires an interdisciplinary approach—a recognition of the importance of the three disciplines hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. Large-scale water-resources and floodplain development has significantly altered the spatial and temporal patterns of hydrological characteristics in the Lower Balonne floodplain, Australia. The magnitude, frequency and duration of flooding events have all been reduced. The construction of levees and water storages has also reduced the reactive floodplain surface area. The presented data show the impacts of these changes on the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain surface during periods of inundation. Annual reductions of up to 1293 tonnes of dissolved organic carbon supply were noted and reductions were especially significant for floods with an average recurrence interval of 2 years or less. Some small flood events no longer facilitate the potential supply of dissolved organic carbon from the floodplain to the river channel because of water-resources and floodplain developments.     

Deep-water sediment transport patterns and basin floor topography in early rift basins: Plio-Pleistocene syn-rift of the Corinth Rift,Greece

Our current understanding on sedimentary deep-water environments is mainly built of information obtained from tectonic settings such as passive margins and foreland basins. More observations from extensional settings are particularly needed in order to better constrain the role of active tectonics in controlling sediment pathways, depositional style and stratigraphic stacking patterns. This study focuses on the evolution of a Plio-Pleistocene deep-water sedimentary system (Rethi-Dendro Formation) and its relation to structural activity in the Amphithea fault block in the Corinth Rift, Greece. The Corinth Rift is an active extensional basin in the early stages of rift evolution, providing perfect opportunities for the study of early deep-water syn-rift deposits that are usually eroded from the rift shoulders due to erosion in mature basins like the Red Sea, North Sea and the Atlantic rifted margin. The depocentre is located at the exit of a structurally controlled sediment fairway, approximately 15 km from its main sediment source and 12 km basinwards from the basin margin coastline. Fieldwork, augmented by digital outcrop techniques (LiDAR and photogrammetry) and clast-count compositional analysis allowed identification of 16 stratigraphic units that are grouped into six types of depositional elements: A—mudstone-dominated sheets, B—conglomerate-dominated lobes, C—conglomerate channel belts and sandstone sheets, D—sandstone channel belts, E—sandstone-dominated broad shallow lobes, F—sandstone-dominated sheets with broad shallow channels. The formation represents an axial system sourced by a hinterland-fed Mavro delta, with minor contributions from a transverse system of conglomerate-dominated lobes sourced from intrabasinal highs. The results of clast compositional analysis enable precise attribution for the different sediment sources to the deep-water system and their link to other stratigraphic units in the area. Structures in the Amphithea fault block played a major role in controlling the location and orientation of sedimentary systems by modifying basin-floor gradients due to a combination of hangingwall tilt, displacement of faults internal to the depocentre and folding on top of blind growing faults. Fault activity also promoted large-scale subaqueous landslides and eventual uplift of the whole fault block.     

‘I want to take risks,like my mother’: Memory,affect, and Vietnamese masculinities – the legacy of gendered variations in socio-economic mobility during Ðổi mới

Young Vietnamese men who witnessed their mother's changing economic and labour market situations through the early years of Ð?i m?i (the policy of economic liberalization in Vietnam after 1986) have developed conceptions of masculinity that are ambivalent to notions of male power and authority within what is often termed the ‘traditional’ neo-Confucian family. On the basis of the life narratives of a small group of men in their early twenties, the author suggests that the value young men place on their mother's work and familial influence during Ð?i m?i contrasts with the findings of much gender scholarship on women's social and economic (im) mobility in the 1990s in Vietnam and on young men's own masculinist narratives. Most gender-sensitive research in this area has suggested that Vietnamese women remained curtailed in the early 1990s by a resurgence of male-oriented kinship systems and patriarchal structures at household level. However, the author discusses the young men as being equivocal. While invoking broad Confucian tropes, these men remember their mothers as economically dynamic relative to their fathers. This led to the informants citing their mother's histories of economic risk-taking as exemplifying free-market capability. Further, the finding suggests that Vietnamese women's social and economic mobility in the 1990s strongly affected young men's contemporary ideas and practices related to masculinity.     

Estimating gambling venue catchments for impact assessment using a calibrated gravity model

Gambling using electronic gaming machines (EGMs) has emerged as a significant public health issue. While social impact assessments are required prior to the granting of new gaming machine licenses in Australia, there are a few established techniques for estimating the spatial distribution of a venue’s clientele. To this end, we calibrated a Huff model of gambling venue catchments based on a geocoded postal survey (n = 7040). We investigated the impact of different venue attractiveness measures, distance measures, distance decay functions, levels of spatial aggregation and venue types on model fit and results. We then compared model estimates for different behavioural subgroups. Our calibrated spatial model is a significant improvement on previously published models, increasing R² from 0.23 to 0.64. Venue catchments differ radically in size and intensity. As different population subgroups are attracted to different venues, there is no single best index of venue attractiveness applicable to all subpopulations. The calibrated Huff model represents a useful regulatory tool for predicting the extent and composition of gambling venue catchments. It may assist in decision-making with regard to new license applications and evaluating the impact of health interventions such as mandated reductions in EGM numbers. Our calibrated parameters may be used to improve model accuracy in other jurisdictions.