Neoliberalisation,rural land trusts and institutional blending

In the context of rural land conservation, neoliberalisation involves an increasingly wide range of changes in formal and informal institutional arrangements. These affect the relationship between the state and the market in a variety of ways and have different implications for the governance of rural land. In the context of rural land conservation in the UK, we identify a broad range of changes to policy that promote altered ownership and market related institutional forms, all of which might be seen as forms of neoliberalisation. In some instances these promote market forces and private ownership, while in others they push back the market and support collectivisation. We argue that the complex processes of the decomposition property and reassignment of property rights and the emergence of new forms of governance and partnership are better characterised in terms of institutional blending.     

Seismic evidence of up to 200 m lake‐level change in Southern Patagonia since Marine Isotope Stage 4

Maar lake Laguna Potrok Aike is located north of the Strait of Magellan (south‐eastern Patagonia). Seismic reflection profiles revealed a highly dynamic palaeoclimate history. Dunes were identified in the eastern part of the lake at approximately 30 to 80 m below the lake floor, overlying older lacustrine strata, and suggest that the region experienced dry conditions probably combined with strong westerly winds. It is quite likely that this can be linked to a major dust event recorded in the Antarctic ice cores during Marine Isotope Stage 4. The dunes are overlain by a series of palaeo‐shorelines indicating a stepwise water‐level evolution of a new lake established after this dry period, and thus a change towards wetter conditions. After the initial, rapid and stepwise lake‐level rise, the basin became deeper and wider, and sediments deposited on the lake shoulder at approximately 33 m below present‐day lake level point towards a long period of lake‐level highstand between roughly 53·5 ka cal. bp and 30 ka cal. bp with a maximum lake level some 200 m higher than the desiccation horizon. This highstand was then followed by a regressional phase of uncertain age, although it must have happened some time between approximately 30 ka cal. bp and 6750 yrs cal. bp . Dryer conditions during the Mid‐Holocene are evidenced by a dropping lake level, resulting in a basin‐wide erosional unconformity on the lake shoulder. A second stepwise transgression between ca 5·8 to 5·4 ka cal. bp and ca 4·7 to 4 ka cal. bp with palaeo‐shorelines deposited on the lake shoulder unconformity again indicates a change towards wetter conditions.     

Assessment of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in plasma of bottlenose dolphins from two southeast US estuarine areas: relationship with age, sex and geographic locations

Plasma PFCs were measured in 157 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) sampled from two US southeast Atlantic sites (Charleston (CHS), SC and Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL) during 2003-2005. ∑PFCs, perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (∑PFCAs), perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (∑PFSAs) and individual compounds were significantly higher in CHS dolphins for all age/sex categories compared to IRL dolphins. Highest ∑PFCs concentrations occurred in CHS juvenile dolphins (2340 ng/g w.w.); significantly higher than found in adults (1570 ng/g w.w. males; 1330 ng/g w.w. females). ∑PFCAs were much greater in CHS dolphins (≈ 21%) compared to IRL dolphins (≈ 7%); ∑PFSAs were 79% in CHS dolphins versus 93% in IRL dolphins. PFOS, the dominant compound, averaged 72% and 84%, respectively, in CHS and IRL dolphins. Decreasing PFC levels occurred with age on the bioaccumulation of PFCs in both sites. These observations suggest PFC accumulation in these two dolphin populations are influenced by site-specific exposures with significantly higher levels in CHS dolphins.     

The eccentric frame decomposition of central force fields

The rosette-shaped motion of a particle in a central force field is known to be classically solvable by quadratures. We present a new approach of describing and characterizing such motion based on the eccentricity vector of the two body problem. In general, this vector is not an integral of motion. However, the orbital motion, when viewed from the nonuniformly rotating frame defined by the orientation of the eccentricity vector, can be solved analytically and will either be a closed periodic circulation or libration. The motion with respect to inertial space is then given by integrating the argument of periapsis with respect to time. Finally we will apply the decomposition to a modern central potential, the spherical Hernquist–Newton potential, which models dark matter halos of galaxies with central black holes.     

Sexual size dimorphism in calanoid copepods (Centropagidae) from Patagonia (Argentina)

Calanoid copepods of the genus Boeckella and Parabroteas (P. sarsi) are dominant in zooplankton communities of Patagonian lakes and ponds. This study addresses the occurrence of sexual size dimorphism in calanoid copepods of the genus Boeckella and in the monospecific genus Parabroteas occurring in 12 lakes and ponds of Patagonia (Argentina). The morphometric analysis performed showed that in all the species studied the female is larger than the male, although the difference in size among sexes was found to be variable between species. Interestingly, all species showed significant intraspecific stability in their sexual size dimorphism despite potential differences in their environments regarding predation pressure, environmental stability (permanent or temporary waters) and altitude distribution of populations. Finally, we discuss the potential implications of sexual dimorphism in terms of resource use and vulnerability to predation among other environmental forces which may play a role in promoting larger female to male size.     

Imaging of long‐range reverberation from ocean basin topography

A technique is currently under development a the Naval Research Laboratory for imaging of backscatterec acoustic returns from ocean basin topography. The method is straightforward. An explosive sound source is detonated near the center of an ocean basin and the round‐trip travel time from source to reflectors and return is measured. Distance to back‐scattering topography is assumed to be proportional to round‐trip time, with a proportionality constant equal to half the sound speed. A multielement receiving array is used to determine the azimuthal directions to topographic features. Reverberation data are output to an imaging system to study the spatial distribution of sea bottom reverberation. The images are in the form of two‐dimensional maps of backscattered acoustic energy. Typical maps are larger than 2,000 km x 2,000 km (or area coverage greater than 4 x 10⁶ km²). After correction of maps from individual shot detonations for range‐dependent propagation losses, we average ("integrate") maps together on a pixel by pixel basis for a clear picture of major basin reverberators.     

Nitrogen mineralization potential in rewetted soils from a semi-arid stream landscape,north-west Australia

Drying-rewetting pulses stimulate nitrogen (N) mineralization in semi-arid systems and enhance N availability. Intermittent stream landscapes encompass a mosaic of soils of different textures and composition, and may support intense N transformation after rainfall. We modelled N mineralization potential by measuring accumulation of inorganic N (KCl extractable NO₃^? and NH₄⁺) in response to sustained flooding in soils from a small intermittent stream in semi-arid, north-west Australia. To test the relative importance of landscape position compared to flood pulse size, we incubated soils and sediments from six landscape positions, including three riparian vegetation types, rewetted to four different water potentials. Selected water potentials represented a light rain, heavy rain, single flood and successive flood event for the study site. The total amount of N mineralized was significantly affected by landscape position but not by saturation level. Riparian soils produced the greatest mineralization flush – over 70% of the total amount of N mineralized accumulated within 48 h of rewetting – however there was no difference among riparian vegetation types in N mineralization potential. N mineralized was a half to two-thirds lower in channel, floodplain and bank soils in comparison with riparian soils. We conclude that in systems subject to prolonged drought, N mineralization is predominantly determined by soil characteristics rather than the size of the rewetting pulse.     

Morphological signatures of normal faulting in low‐gradient alluvial rivers in south‐eastern Louisiana,USA

We explore the fluvial response to faulting in three low‐gradient, sand‐bed rivers in south‐eastern Louisiana, USA, that flow across active normal faults from footwall (upstream) to hangingwall (downstream). We calculate sinuosity, migration rate and migration direction in order to identify anomalies spatially associated with fault scarps. In two of the rivers we model one‐dimensional steady water flow to identify anomalies in surface water slope, width‐to‐depth ratio, and shear stress. In each of these rivers there is one location where flow modeling suggests potential channel incision through the footwall, as indicated by relatively high surface water slopes and shear stress values. In one of these footwall locations, the river straightens and width‐to‐depth ratios decrease, likely contributing to higher surface water slopes and shear stress. This is in contrast to previous studies that have proposed increased sinuosity across fault footwalls and decreased sinuosity across hangingwalls. However, in two hangingwall locations we also observe relatively less sinuous channels. Other planform changes on the hangingwall include topographic steering of channels along and towards the fault and one example of an avulsion. The most notable anomaly in migration rate occurs on the hangingwall of a fault where a river has cut off a meander loop. Although fluvial response to faulting varies here, comparatively large and small channels exhibit similar responses. Further, Pleistocene fault slip rates are orders of magnitude lower than the channel migration rates, suggesting that faulting should not be a major influence on the fluvial evolution. Nonetheless, notable channel anomalies exist near faults, suggesting that recent fault slip rates are higher than Pleistocene rates, and/or that low‐gradient alluvial channels are more sensitive to faulting than previous studies have suggested. Rivers appear to be influenced by faulting in this setting, however background rates of meander loop cutoff may be just as influential as faulting. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beach Morphodynamics influenced by an ebb‐tidal delta on the north Florida Atlantic coast

Tidal inlets interrupt longshore sediment transport, thereby exerting an influence on adjacent beach morphology. To investigate the details and spatial extent of an inlet's influence, we examine beach topographic change along a 1.5 km coastal reach adjacent to Matanzas Inlet, on the Florida Atlantic coast. Analyses of beach morphology reveal a behavioral change between 0.64 and 0.86 km from the inlet channel centerline, interpreted to represent the spatial extent of inlet influence. Beyond this boundary, the beach is narrow, exhibits a statistically significant inverse correlation of shoreline position with offshore wave conditions, and has a uniform alongshore pattern in temporal behavior, as determined from empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. On the inlet side of the boundary, the beach experiences monotonic widening (with proximity to the inlet), lacks spatial consistency in correlation between shoreline position and wave conditions, and exhibits an irregular pattern in spatial EOF modes. We augment the field observations with numerical modeling that provides calculations of wave setup and nearshore current patterns near the inlet, highlighting the effects of the ebb‐tidal delta on the assailing waves. The modeling results are verified by a natural experiment that occurred during May 2009, when a storm‐produced sedimentary mass accreted to the lower beach, then subsequently split into two oppositely directed waves of sediment that migrated away from the initial accretion site in the subsequent months. Our results suggest that the ebb‐tidal delta produces a pattern of wave setup that creates a pressure gradient driving an alongshore flow that opposes the longshore currents derived from breaking of obliquely oriented incident waves. The resulting recirculation pattern on the margin of the ebb‐tidal delta provides a mechanism through which the inlet influences adjacent barrier island beach morphology. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.