THE CORE OF THE QUADRANTID METEOROID STREAM IS TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD

The Quadrantids are one of the most active annual meteor showers and have a number of unusual features. One is a sharp brief maximum, 12–14 h in length. A second is the Quadrantids, relatively recent appearance in our skies, the first observation having likely been made in 1835. Until recently no likely parent with a similar orbit had been observed and previous investigators concluded that the stream was quite old, with the stream’s recent appearance and sharp peak attributed to a recent fortuitous convergence of meteoroid orbits. The recent discovery of the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH1 on an orbit very similar to that of the Quadrantids has almost certainly uncovered the parent body of this stream. From the simulations of the orbit of this body and of meteoroids released at intervals from it in the past, we find that both the sharp peak and recent appearance of the Quadrantids can most easily be explained assuming meteoroids were ejected in substantial numbers near 1800 AD.     

Geografin vid universiteten och i samhället i Finland

Fogelberg, Paul: Geografin vid universiteten och i samhället i Finland. Geografisk Tidsskrift 83: 3–4. Copenhagen, June 1, 1983.

Geography as a science in Finland: Research and University training as well as the application of geography in the community. 1982.     

The anatomy of a deep water mud-mound complex to the southwest of the Dinantian platform in Derbyshire, UK

ABSTRACT An elongate Waulsortian mud-mound complex developed at Dovedale on a ramp to the southwest of a developing carbonate platform in Derbyshire during Chadian (early Viséan) times. The complex occupied an area of approximately 6 km² and grew to a maximum relief of 80 m with longitudinal and transverse valleys developed near the southern margin. Five mound associated facies have been identified: mound core, mound flank (fine), mound flank (coarse), intermound (fine) and intermound (coarse). The mound core facies is a massive skeletal wackestone with comminuted sponge debris, foraminifera, ostracodes and crinoid debris set in a matrix of clotted micrite. The mound flank sediments display moderately inclined bedding surfaces. While the mound flank (fine) contains sponge debris, the mound flank (coarse) is dominated by articulated crinoid columnals, and includes algal-encrusted micritized intraclasts and coarse peloids. The well-bedded intermound (fine) facies is bituminous and micritic while the intermound (coarse) facies is composed of skeletal-peloidal-intraclast grainstones which locally contain calcified algae. Although the fauna is diverse, the density of colonization by metazoans was low and the supply of macrofossil debris modest. The clotted micrite texture is interpreted as the product of micro-organisms which precipitated and trapped fine-grained sediment. The mud-mound complex is dominated by the bathymetric assemblages B and C proposed by Lees, Hallet & Hibo which on their model of the Belgian Waulsortian, indicate depths of between 220 and 280 m. Intercalation of assemblages B/C and C/D on the northern margin of the complex is interpreted as the result of local storm disturbance. A deep water drift is postulated to explain the NW-SE alignment of the complex which probably fitted the ‘export model’ of Bosence, Rowlands & Quine. Beneath the sediment surface, phreatic flow eroded unlithified sediments and developed interconnected cavities which were filled by cement and sediment relatively eariy. Mound instability triggered the opening of fissures which filled with crinoid debris, peloids, indurated lithoclasts and micrite.     

Realistic Sustainability? Urban Transport Planning in Wellington,New Zealand

Urban transport systems have key roles in supporting environmental sustainability. New Zealand's transport planning arrangements are promoted as a model by agencies such as the World Bank. This paper explores the New Zealand transport planning framework using a case study of the Wellington region's strategic balancing of transport modes and projects. The paper argues that despite some positive rhetoric, concerns about the sustainability of transport planning in Wellington remain. The paper concludes by discussing the need to reassess New Zealand's national framework, and identifies some directions for reform.     

ESRC/NERC joint programme on geographical information handling A progress report†

Abstract

At the Department of Geoinformation of the Technical University of Vienna, a European Community funded project to develop an International Post-Graduate Course on GIS is underway. This intensive course is intended for participants with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and experience who need a broad theoretical overview of GIS coupled with the necessary knowledge and skills to apply GIS in real situations. As curriculum design for GIS courses is normally carried out by a very small group of individuals, curricula generally reflect the specifics of the experience or disciplinary environment of these individuals. For this European project, a widely acceptable course curriculum was needed. This required the cooperation of experts from different disciplines, across many application areas and from different countries. A Delphi survey method combined with a meeting of a small number of GIS education specialists was used to achieve the necessary balance in the curriculum. The survey was used to determine the general content of the course and allowed the varied opinions of the group of European GIS experts to be merged towards a consensus. It resulted in the development of a list of important topics that need to be taught. Following completion of the survey, the GIS education experts met to review this list and discuss the concerns raised in the survey. These discussions led to the development of a Course Blueprint which describes the organisation of the course into 18 instructional units and outlines the objectives and contents that will be achieved in each of them.     

CAN IMAGE ANALYSIS PROVIDE INFORMATION USEFUL IN CTTEMISTRY?

Images can contain chemical information and many chemical methods can generate image data. For anefficient extraction of chemical data from images, data analysis techniques are necessary, It is a greatadvantage to be able to work on multivariate images. Many imaging techniques allow the extraction ofchemical information. Inorganic analytical chemistry seems to have the longest tradition here, butorganic chemistry and biochemistry may soon be catching up. Also large data arrays from non-imagingtechniques can be combined with image analysis in a useful way, provided certain conditions are fulfilled.     

Topographic solar radiation models for GIS

Abstract

Incident solar radiation at the Earth's surface is the result of a complex interaction of energy between the atmosphere and the surface. Recently much progress has been made towards the creation of accurate, physically-based solar radiation formulations that can model this interaction over topographic and other surfaces (such as plant canopies) for a large range of spatial and temporal scales. In this paper we summarize our current work on solar radiation models and their implementation within both GIS and image processing systems. An overview of the effects of topography and plant canopies on solar radiation is presented along with a discussion of various options for obtaining the data necessary to drive specific solar radiation models. Examples are given from our own work using two models, ATM (Atmospheric and Topographic Model), a model based within an image processing framework, and SOLARFLUX, a GIS-based model. We consider issues of design, including GIS implementation and interface, computational problems, and error propagation.     

Impact of Land-use Patterns on Distributed Groundwater Recharge and Discharge——A Case Study of Western Jilin,China

1 Introduction Studying the impact of land-use on groundwater is a key issue in setting up a sound land-use planning project. Many studies have shown that land-use planning is fun- damental for the reliable protection of ecologically valuable wetlands. Thus special attention should be given to the effect of land-use on the hydrologic cycle and the protection of groundwater systems, especially recharge and discharge (Boeye and Verheyen, 1992; Bernàldez et al., 1993; Pucci and Pope, 1995; Bat…