Yucatan after the wind: Human and environmental impact of hurricane Gilbert in the central and Eastern Yucatan Peninsula

Hurricane Gilbert made its landfall on the Yucatan peninsula on September 14, 1988, destroying valuable resort property in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel. Salt flats (salinas) in northern Quintana Roo and Yucatan were flooded by the storm surge and coastal marine ecosystem were devastated. Inland, the hurricane caused damages to houses, power lines, and farming land, but increased opportunities for garden hunting on destroyed fields. Twenty percent of tropical rain forest suffered losses of canopy and in the deciduous forests of north-central Yucatan noxiuous insects populations increased. Although damaging in its ultimate effects, hurricane Gilbert tested the resilience of Maya Indians and their readiness for post-disaster accommodation.     

Chemical mineralogy and illite crystallinity in low grade metasediments,Zarouchla Group,northern Peloponnesus,Greece

Summary Low grade metasediments from the Zarouchla Group of the Phyllite-Quartzite series in northern Peloponnesus have been investigated. Mineralogically, there is a clear distinction between the lowermost and the overlying formations. Rocks of the former contain characteristic minerals such as chloritoid or garnet whereas the other formations contain the assemblage muscovite + chlorite + qz ± paragonite ± paragonite/muscovite. Illite crystallinity values are low to middle anchizone in the uppermost formation and increase progressively through upper anchizone values in the intermediate formations, reaching low epizone values in the lowermost formation. Pumpellyite-actinolite facies metabasic rocks are sandwiched between metaclastites with upper anchizone or anchizone-epizone illite crystallinity values; and chloritoid bearing quartzites with low epizone illite crystallinity values. Although geothermometric data obtained from metasediments of the lowermost formation do not support a simple burial-related pattern of metamorphism, illite crystallinity data point to a progressive increase in metamorphic grade with stratigraphic depth.

---

Chemische Mineralogie und Illitkristallinität in niedriggradigen Metasedimenten, Zarouchla, Gruppe, nördlicher Peleponnes, Griechenland

Zusammenfassung In Metasedimenten niedrigen Metamorphosegrades aus der Zarouchla Gruppe der Phyllit-Quarzit-Serien im nördlichen Peleponnes bestehen klare mineralogische Unterschiede zwischen der tiefsten und den darüber-liegenden Formationen. Gesteine der ersteren enthalten als charakteristische Minerale Chloritoid oder Granat, während die darüberliegenden Formationen weithin durch die Paragenese Muskovit + Chlorit + Quarz + Paragonit + Paragonit/Muskovit gekennzeichnet werden. Die Werte der Illit-Kristallinität entsprechen in der obersten Formation der unteren bis mittleren Anchizone und nehmen graduell zu: Werte der oberen Anchizone wurden in den dazwischenliegenden Formationen registriert um schließlich Werte der unteren Epizone zu erreichen. Metabasite in Pumpellyit-Aktinolith-Fazies treten zwischen Metaklastiten mit Illit-Kristallinitätwerten der oberen Anchizone oder des Bereiches Anchizone-Epizone und chloritoid-führenden Quarziten mit Illit-Kristallinität der niedrigen Epizone auf. Obwohl geothermometrische Daten, die von Metasedimenten der untersten Formation gewonnen wurden nicht ein einfaches Schema der Überlagerungs-Metamorphose unterstützen, weist die Illit-Kristallinität doch auf eine progressive Zunahme des metamorphen Grades mit stratigraphischer Tiefe hin.

---

---

With 6 Figures     

Sediment yield in South Africa — A preliminary geographical analysis

The study examines the spatial relationships between sediment yield and 15 independent environmental variables in 54 catchments in South Africa. Rooseboom's (1978) data on the sediment yield from the catchments were standardized for a single time period. Bivariate regression analyses reveal no simple relationships. Multivariate regression analyses conducted for the whole and various sub-areas of South Africa indicate that latitude and longitude are the primary variables affecting spatial variations in sediment yield. This may be as a result of latitude and longitude being surrogate variables reflecting variation in other environmental variables (e. g. geology, vegetation). Within the sub-areas, 43.4% to 97.8% of the variation in sediment yield is explained by the combined variation in a number of different environmental variables. This study highlights a need for the collection and analysis of more sediment yield data, which would allow the analyses to be refined, to predict sediment yields from ungauged catchments in South Africa.     

A concept for global access to information on geographical databases

Monitoring of the ecological as well as economical aspects of the planet Earth will in future require more sophisticated data obtaining systems (e. g. satellites) and data processing devices (e. g. GIS). In order to process the great amount of data, detailed information on geographical databases has to be provided in an easy way. In this paper a concept of an information system on geographical databases is presented which encompasses a centrally managed international directory with summary information as well as local information interfaces geographical databases. An information interface provides detailed information on the extent, structure and geographical meaning of the data stored in the geographical database belonging to it. To describe this information a conceptual scheme, based on an object oriented approach, is developed.     

Remote sensing of substances in water

Remote sensing of water colour and its application to the mapping of pigments, suspended matter and other substances by means of airborne and spaceborne sensors is discussed. After an introduction to the physical process involved, the methods for a quantitative interpretation especially of CZCS data are indicated. Applications towards the monitoring of coastal pollution, of algae blooms and of dynamic processes are shown by means of selected examples. Multispectral scanner and imaging spectrometer technologies are discussed with special reference to NASA's Earth Observation System and ESA's Earth Observation Programme.     

The role of rural-rural migration as a survival strategy in the Sahelian zone of the Sudan —

Taking the example of Burush, N Darfur, Sudan, the authors analyse the role of migration as a survival strategy in the desertification-stricken Sahelian zone. It is being argued that the rual-rual migration plays a greater role than the rual-urban migration among the Berti ethnic group of northern Darfur. Their high mobility within their own area is part of their traditional economic pattern for coping with aridity and high rainfall variability     

Chronostratigraphy and paleoclimatic meaning of cryogenic deformations in the Central European loess

Cryoturbations in loess reflect cold and wet environments but not necessarily permafrost. Only flat bottomed cryoturbations are indicative of it. Outside the permafrost zone they occur during the wet period of the last glaciation: during the early Weichselian, the lower pleniglacial, the end of the middle pleniglacial and the late glacial. Their morphology ist related to the frost susceptibility of the superimposed layers, expressed in form of differential frost heaving, ruled by the drainage quality and the frost susceptibility gradient. Their diagenesis is discussed.