State in formation: the Ghetto State as typified in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

State formation is a complex process. Using the notion of the ghetto state, the case of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are analyzed. State formation processes among the Palestinians are shown to be a direct reaction to the processes of political and military control put into operation by Israel since 1967. The continued administrative and political separation of the West Bank and Gaza from the dominant Israeli territory enable the Palestinians to formulate their own independent national identity. This includes the establishment of economic, cultural and local political organizations, providing the foundations for future statehood. Such organizational capability is indicative of the wide range of non-violent forms of power which, in many cases, are more effective than direct acts of violence against Israel. The Intifada — or popular uprising — which has been in operation since 1987 has enforced these processes of statehood formation, through its combination of both violent and non-violent forms of power.     

Environmental controls of wood entrapment in upper Midwestern streams

Wood deposited in streams provides a wide variety of ecosystem functions, including enhancing habitat for key species in stream food webs, increasing geomorphic and hydraulic heterogeneity and retaining organic matter. Given the strong role that wood plays in streams, factors that influence wood inputs, retention and transport are critical to stream ecology. Wood entrapment, the process of wood coming to rest after being swept downstream at least 10 m, is poorly understood, yet important for predicting stream function and success of restoration efforts. Data on entrapment were collected for a wide range of natural wood pieces (n = 344), stream geomorphology and hydraulic conditions in nine streams along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. Locations of pieces were determined in summer 2007 and again following an overbank stormflow event in fall 2007. The ratio of piece length to effective stream width (length ratio) and the weight of the piece were important in a multiple logistic regression model that explained 25% of the variance in wood entrapment. Entrapment remains difficult to predict in natural streams, and often may simply occur wherever wood pieces are located when high water recedes. However, this study can inform stream modifications to discourage entrapment at road crossings or other infrastructure by applying the model formula to estimate the effective width required to pass particular wood pieces. Conversely, these results could also be used to determine conditions (e.g. pre‐existing large, stable pieces) that encourage entrapment where wood is valued for ecological functions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey: the red sequence AGN fraction and its environment and redshift dependence

We measure the dependence of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) fraction on local environment at   z ∼ 1  , using spectroscopic data taken from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, and Chandra X-ray data from the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). To provide a clean sample of AGN, we restrict our analysis to the red sequence population; this also reduces additional colour–environment correlations. We find evidence that high-redshift LINERs in DEEP2 tend to favour higher density environments relative to the red population from which they are drawn. In contrast, Seyferts and X-ray selected AGN at   z ∼ 1  show little (or no) environmental dependencies within the same underlying population. We compare these results with a sample of local AGN drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Contrary to the high-redshift behaviour, we find that both LINERs and Seyferts in the SDSS show a slowly declining red sequence AGN fraction towards high-density environments. Interestingly, at   z ∼ 1  red sequence Seyferts and LINERs are approximately equally abundant. By   z ∼ 0  , however, the red Seyfert population has declined relative to the LINER population by over a factor of ∼4.5. We speculate on possible interpretations of our results.     

Threshold of wave generation on Titan’s lakes and seas: Effect of viscosity and implications for Cassini observations

Motivated by radar and near-infrared data indicating that Titan’s polar lakes are extremely smooth, we consider the conditions under which a lake surface will be ruffled by wind to form capillary waves. We evaluate laboratory data on wind generation and derive, without scaling for surface tension effects, a threshold for pure methane/ethane of ∼0.5-1 m/s. However, we compute the physical properties of predicted Titan lake compositions using the National Institute for Standards Technology (NIST) code and note that dissolved amounts of C3 and C4 compounds are likely to make Titan lakes much more viscous than pure ethane or methane, even without allowing for suspended particulates which would increase the viscosity further. Wind tunnel experiments show a strong dependence of capillary wave growth on liquid viscosity, and this effect may explain the apparent absence so far of waves, contrary to prior expectations that generation of gravity waves by wind should be easy on Titan. On the other hand, we note that winds over Titan lakes predicted with the TitanWRF Global Circulation Model indicate radar observations so far have in any case been when winds have been low (∼0.5-0.7 m/s), possibly below the wave generation threshold, while peak winds during summer may reach 1-2 m/s. Thus observations of Titan’s northern lakes during the coming years by the Cassini Solstice mission offer the highest probability of observing wind-roughening of lake surfaces, while observations of Ontario Lacus in the south will likely continue to show it to be flat and smooth.     

Saturn's icy satellites investigated by Cassini-VIMS: I. Full-disk properties: 350-5100 nm reflectance spectra and phase curves

Saturn's icy satellites are among the main scientific objectives of the Cassini-VIMS (Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) experiment. This paper contains a first systematic and comparative analysis of the full-disk spectral properties of Dione, Enceladus, Epimetheus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mimas, Phoebe, Rhea and Tethys as observed by VIMS from July 2004 to June 2005. The disk integrated properties (350-5100 nm reflectance spectra and phase curves at 550-2232 nm) and images of satellites are reported and discussed in detail together with the observed geometry. In general, the spectra in the visible spectral range are almost featureless and can be classified according to the spectral slopes: from the bluish Enceladus and Phoebe to the redder Iapetus, Hyperion and Epimetheus. In the 1000-1300 nm range the spectra of Enceladus, Tethys, Mimas and Rhea are characterized by a negative slope, consistent with a surface largely dominated by water ice, while the spectra of Iapetus, Hyperion and Phoebe show a considerable reddening pointing out the relevant role played by darkening materials present on the surface. In between these two classes are Dione and Epimetheus, which have a flat spectrum in this range. The main absorption bands identified in the infrared are the 1520, 2020, 3000 nm H₂O/OH bands (for all satellites), although Iapetus dark terrains show mostly a deep 3000 nm band while the 1520 and 2020 nm bands are very faint. In this spectral range, the Iapetus spectrum is characterized by a strong reddening. The CO₂ band at 4260 nm and the Fresnel ice peak around 3100 nm are evident only on Hyperion, Phoebe and Iapetus. The phase curves at 550 and at 2232 nm are reported for all the available observations in the 0°-144° range; Rhea shows an opposition surge at visible wavelengths in the 0.5°-1.17° interval. The improvement on the retrieval of the full-disk reflectance spectra can be appreciated by a direct comparison with ground-based telescopic data available from literature. Finally, data processing strategies and recent upgrades introduced in the VIMS-V calibration pipeline (flat-field and destriping-despiking algorithm) are discussed in appendices.     

Uk perspectives of the environmental impact of water resource developments

Differing arrangements exist for water resources regulation in the four nations of the UK. This account is largely concerned with England and Wales where a unitary regulation of water resources permits a coherent view of developments, although some reference is made to Scotland and Northern Ireland.Following a review in 1987 of compensation flows from UK reservoirs attention has more recently been focused on a broader range of water resource developments. The more obscured impacts of groundwater developments is now attracting the greater attention. Measures of environmental impact are confused by a wide number of environmental variables and the lack of consistent observation of these through the period of disturbance. Uncertainties have been compounded during studies by the coincidence of a major drought period with consequent accentuation of seasons with prolonged river lowflows.Historically water resource developments have been aimed by Engineers to maximise the production of usable water. The value of the resource in situ to the natural or previous managed environment will have had its defenders but that value could be degraded in pursuit of the primary goal. Recent convention and now statutory requirement for environmental impact assessment demands the involvement of inter-disciplinary study teams. This welcome practice remains bedeviled by the lack of sound quantitative criteria for water resource engineering design.There is no absence of general scientific understanding of environmental impacts but the need remains for the establishment of criteria and regular analytical procedures with which to link hydrological regimes with ecological success. Much work is being done in the UK to address this matter and there is increasing collaboration between Hydrologists and Biologists to seek constructive remedies.     

Environmental predictions for the Beagle 2 lander, based on GCM climate simulations

The Mars climate database (MCD) is a database of statistics based on output from physically consistent numerical model simulations which describe the climate and surface environment of Mars. It is used here to predict the meteorological environment of the Beagle 2 lander site. The database was constructed directly on the basis of output from multiannual integrations of two general circulation models, developed jointly at Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France, and the University of Oxford, UK. In an atmosphere with dust opacities similar to that observed by Mars Global Surveyor, the predicted surface temperature at the time of landing (L_s=322°, 13:00 local time), is , and varying between ∼186 and over the Martian day. The predicted air temperature at above the surface, the height of the fully extended Beagle 2 robot arm, is at the time of landing. The expected mean wind near the surface on landing is north-westerly in direction, becoming more southerly over the mission. An increase in mean surface pressure is expected during the mission. Heavy global dust storm predictions are discussed; conditions which may only occur in the extreme as the expected time of landing is around the end of the main dust storm period. Past observations show approximately a one in five chance of a large-scale dust storm in a whole Mars year over the landing region, Isidis Planitia. This statistic results from observations of global, encircling, regional and local dust storms but does not include any small-scale dust “events” such as dust devils.