Ecological impacts of air pollution from road transport on local vegetation

Motor vehicles emit a cocktail of pollutants and are a major contributor to ground-level air pollution, but little is known regarding the ecological impacts of air pollution from roads on the surrounding vegetation. Data are presented on vegetation at three sites adjacent to two major motorways in the UK, comprising two woodland sites and one blanket bog site. Surveys of oak and beech tree health (at the woodland sites) and species composition (at the blanket bog site) were undertaken along transects away from the motorway.     

The prelude of the end-Permian mass extinction predates a postulated bolide impact

The mass extinction at the Permian–Triassic Boundary (PTB) is said to have been abrupt and probably caused by an extraterrestrial impact. However, evidence from the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the base of the Induan at Meishan, China, shows that the biotic crisis began prior to the level, in beds 25 and 26 at which the postulated impact event occurred. Evidence of such an earlier biotic crisis occurs in other sections in South China, and in central and western Tethyan regions. This event is characterized by the extinction of a range of faunas, including corals, deep-water radiolarians, most fusulinids and pseudotirolitid ammonoids, and many Permian brachiopods. In all sections, this extinction level is usually a few decimeters to meters below that of the main mass extinction in the event beds (25 and 26) at Meishan, and their correlatives elsewhere. This earlier extinction event happened before the postulated bolide impact at the level of beds 25 and 26, and constrains interpretation of the mechanisms that brought about this greatest mass extinction. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Gully systems under undisturbed indigenous forest, East Coast Region, New Zealand

Gully erosion is commonly associated with agricultural landscapes where vegetation clearance and farming practices increase runoff, leading to fluvial incision. However, gully erosion can also occur in forests that have undergone some form of disturbance, either natural or resulting from human impacts. This paper reports on recent gully development within areas of undisturbed indigenous forest as a result of a high magnitude rainfall event on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. This region, through a combination of crushed and sheared rock types, steep topography, and tectonic and climatic setting, has high natural rates of erosion, exacerbated by European deforestation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Sequential air photographs, spanning a 58 year period between 1939 and 1997 were used to classify and document the growth and recovery of gully systems in the 14.1 km² headwaters of the Mangaoporo catchment. Following a severe cyclone in 1988, with a rainfall of 535 mm, there were 21 active gully systems within the indigenous forest. On photography prior to 1988 only four gully systems were present. During this period there were 8 major rainfall events (150–250 mm). Despite further 5 rainfall events of 150–250 mm between 1988 and 1997 all gully systems showed signs of recovery, with a combined reduction in active area of 37%. The nature and location of these features is strongly influenced by lithology (orientation of jointing and bedding), and to a topographic threshold defined by catchment slope and catchment area.     

RAS helps to reconnect scientists

Mervyn Freeman, Gareth Chisham, Iain Coleman and Mike Pinnock report on the November discussion meeting "Temporal and spatial structure of magnetic reconnection on the Earth's magnetopause", the only natural environment in which this universal astrophysical phenomenon can be observed locally and globally.     

Driving environmental certification: its impact on the furniture and timber products value chain in South Africa

In this new globalised era there is an increasing demand in the developed world for environmental certification (Forestry Stewardship Council) of furniture and timber products. The imposition of this requirement has major implications for producers in developing countries. This paper examines this issue from a value chain perspective, exploring how certification requirements are driven through the links of the global furniture value chain. It does so by focusing on the dynamic underlying the spread of FSC certification through the furniture and timber industry in South Africa, and investigates the role of the various organisational ‘drivers’ of the system. In doing so it explores how developing country firms relate to these opportunities and pressures, drawing out the logistical implications, the costs and benefits, as well as the future for FSC certification. It concludes with a discussion of the role of buyers, agents, certification agencies and manufacturers in driving FSC certification through the wood products value chain in South Africa.     

Compositional classification of “kimberlitic” and “non-kimberlitic” ilmenite

Ilmenite is one of the common kimberlitic indicator minerals recovered during diamond exploration, and its distinction from non-kimberlitic rock types is important. This is particularly true for regions where these minerals are present in relatively low abundance, and they are the dominant kimberlitic indicator mineral recovered. Difficulty in visually differentiating kimberlitic from non-kimberlitic ilmenite in exploration concentrates is also an issue, and distinguishing kimberlitic ilmenite from those derive from other similar rocks, such as ultramafic lamprophyres, is practically impossible. Ilmenite is also the indicator mineral whose compositional variety has the most potential to resolve provenance issues related to mineral dispersions with contributions from multiple kimberlite sources.

Various published data sets from selected kimberlitic (including kimberlites, lamproites, and various ultramafic lamprophyres) and non-kimberlitic rock types have been compiled and evaluated in terms of their major element compositions. Compositional fields and bounding reference lines for ilmenites derived from kimberlites (sensu stricto), ultramafic lamprophyres, and other non-kimberlitic rock types have been defined primarily on MgO–TiO₂ graphs as well as MgO–Cr₂O₃ relationships.     

Provenance patterns in a neotectonic basin: Pliocene and Quaternary sediment supply to the South Caspian

The South Caspian Basin has accumulated a sedimentary succession ～20 km thick. Roughly half of this was deposited in the last 5.5 Ma, mainly in the largely lower Pliocene, fluvio‐lacustrine Productive Series, which is also the principal hydrocarbon reservoir succession in the basin. Heavy mineral data identify different sediment sources for both Productive Series sandstones and modern river sands. Lesser Caucasus sediment was supplied by the Palaeo‐Kura into the western part of the South Caspian Basin. Productive Series strata in the north of the basin were supplied by the Palaeo‐Volga, and represent a mixture of sediment from the Greater Caucasus and Russian Platform/Urals. Greater Caucasus sand input to the Palaeo‐Volga increased at the start of deposition of the Pereriva Suite, which is an important reservoir subunit of the Productive Series. We interpret this provenance shift as indicating enhanced uplift and exhumation of the Greater Caucasus within the Pliocene, during regional re‐organization of the Arabia–Eurasia collision, although late Cenozoic climate changes may have played a role.     

High resolution images of Cygnus X-1

The classic black hole candidate Cygnus X-1 exhibits many similarities to Galactic jet sources (micro-quasars) in soft gamma and hard X-ray rays. This has fuelled suspicions that radio jets also may be present in Cygnus X-1. The lack of radio flaring in Cygnus X-1 has been associated with the presence of continuous jets rather than multiple plasmon ejection however no evidence for this has been observed with the VLA, or with MERLIN. Recent VLBA observations at 15 GHz have detected extended emission and further multi frequency observations are required to confirm the presence of jets on a milliarcsecond level.