Using geographically weighted regression to explore neighborhood‐level predictors of domestic abuse in the UK

Reducing domestic abuse has become a priority for both local and national governments in the UK, with its substantial human, social, and economic costs. It is an interdisciplinary issue, but to date there has been no research in the UK that has focused on neighborhood‐level predictors of domestic abuse and their variation across space. This article uses geographically weighted regression to model the predictors of police‐reported domestic abuse in Essex. Readily available structural and cultural variables were found to predict the domestic abuse rate and the repeat victimization rate at the lower super output area level and the model coefficients were all found to be non‐stationary, indicating varying relationships across space. This research not only has important implications for victims' well being, but also enables policy makers to gain a better understanding of the geography of victimization, allowing targeted policy interventions and efficiently allocated resources.     

桂林穿山洞穴沉积物物的古地磁解释

<正> 穿山是桂林峰林平原上一座联座石峰(图1),在其不同高度上发育着许多洞穴。本文所涉及的古地磁样品则主要采集于穿山最西部月岩附近的19、20、21和28号洞内(图2)。与漓江高河漫滩高程相当的洞穴,其中沉积物均是细颗粒的,质地较软粘土。根据未经干扰的残留沉积物来分析,洞内沉积物充填的高度高出附近高河漫滩约13—14米。其它洞穴中残留的水平顶板亦表明曾经受过一个高水位的溶蚀作用。      

New insights into asymmetric folding by means of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility,Variscan and Pyrenean folds (SW Pyrenees)

Magnetic fabric allows to unravel the petrofabrics of sedimentary rocks and to assess their deformational history. The use of this technique, in addition to classical structural field observations in the limbs of seven asymmetric folds in the Pyrenees, helps to determine the differences of internal deformation as well as the folding kinematics. Three folds developed during the Variscan Orogeny in Ordovician and Devonian rocks, and four folds developed during the Pyrenean Orogeny in Eocene rocks, are studied. Folds show a variety of structural locations, in different thrust sheets of the Southern Central Pyrenees, different cleavage development, age, geometry and lithology. Sampling follows an equivalent lithological layer in the two limbs, except for one case, of the selected folds. Results show a modified tectonic magnetic fabric in most sites with the magnetic lineation on the tectonic foliation plane. A larger scattering of the magnetic lineation (maximum magnetic anisotropy axis) and a higher intensity of the preferred orientation of minerals (eccentricity of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility - AMS ellipsoid) is better observed in the overturned (short) limb of the asymmetric Variscan folds than in the normal (long) limb. On the other hand, the shape parameter in Alpine folds is generally larger in the overturned (short) limb then in the normal (long) one. A good clustering of the minimum magnetic anisotropy axes is observed in all limbs. The combination of the AMS data with the structural data helps to understand and better constrain the deformation degree in these asymmetric folds and to unravel the deformational history.     

Controls on Methane Occurrences in Shallow Aquifers Overlying the Haynesville Shale Gas Field,East Texas

Understanding the source of dissolved methane in drinking‐water aquifers is critical for assessing potential contributions from hydraulic fracturing in shale plays. Shallow groundwater in the Texas portion of the Haynesville Shale area (13,000 km²) was sampled (70 samples) for methane and other dissolved light alkanes. Most samples were derived from the fresh water bearing Wilcox formations and show little methane except in a localized cluster of 12 water wells (17% of total) in a approximately 30 × 30 km² area in Southern Panola County with dissolved methane concentrations less than 10 mg/L. This zone of elevated methane is spatially associated with the termination of an active fault system affecting the entire sedimentary section, including the Haynesville Shale at a depth more than 3.5 km, and with shallow lignite seams of Lower Wilcox age at a depth of 100 to 230 m. The lignite spatial extension overlaps with the cluster. Gas wetness and methane isotope compositions suggest a mixed microbial and thermogenic origin with contribution from lignite beds and from deep thermogenic reservoirs that produce condensate in most of the cluster area. The pathway for methane from the lignite and deeper reservoirs is then provided by the fault system.     

Controls on Methane Occurrences in Aquifers Overlying the Eagle Ford Shale Play,South Texas

Assessing natural vs. anthropogenic sources of methane in drinking water aquifers is a critical issue in areas of shale oil and gas production. The objective of this study was to determine controls on methane occurrences in aquifers in the Eagle Ford Shale play footprint. A total of 110 water wells were tested for dissolved light alkanes, isotopes of methane, and major ions, mostly in the eastern section of the play. Multiple aquifers were sampled with approximately 47 samples from the Carrizo‐Wilcox Aquifer (250‐1200 m depth range) and Queen City‐Sparta Aquifer (150‐900 m depth range) and 63 samples from other shallow aquifers but mostly from the Catahoula Formation (depth <150 m). Besides three shallow wells with unambiguously microbial methane, only deeper wells show significant dissolved methane (22 samples >1 mg/L, 10 samples >10 mg/L). No dissolved methane samples exhibit thermogenic characteristics that would link them unequivocally to oil and gas sourced from the Eagle Ford Shale. In particular, the well water samples contain very little or no ethane and propane (C1/C2+C3 molar ratio >453), unlike what would be expected in an oil province, but they also display relatively heavier δ¹³C_methane (>?55‰) and δD_methane (>?180‰). Samples from the deeper Carrizo and Queen City aquifers are consistent with microbial methane sourced from syndepositional organic matter mixed with thermogenic methane input, most likely originating from deeper oil reservoirs and migrating through fault zones. Active oxidation of methane pushes δ¹³C_methane and δD_methane toward heavier values, whereas the thermogenic gas component is enriched with methane owing to a long migration path resulting in a higher C1/C2+C3 ratio than in the local reservoirs.     

Problems associated with luminescence dating of Late Quaternary glacial sediments in the NW Scottish Highlands

Linking the timing of glacial episodes and behaviour to climatic shifts that are documented in ice and marine sedimentary archives is key to understanding ocean-land interactions. In the NW Scottish Highlands a large number of closely spaced (‘hummocky’) moraines formed at retreating glacier margins. Independent age control on one palaeo-glacier limit is consistent with the timing of Younger Dryas (YD) glaciation in the area, but adjacent glacier lobes have remained undated due to the lack of sites and material for ¹⁴C dating. Direct dating of ice-marginal moraines using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques has never been attempted before in Scotland, but if successful, they may be the most appropriate methods for constraining the age of sediment deposition in the absence of organic material. Coarse-grained quartz and K-feldspar minerals from supraglacial sheet flow deposits and glacilacustrine sediments within ice-marginal moraines were analysed using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. Independent age control and clear geomorphological relationships indicate that all samples should yield YD or post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ages. Quartz OSL shine down curves showed low luminescence sensitivity, significant medium-to-slow components, a weak fast component, and scattered SAR data; Linearly Modulated-OSL (LM-OSL) measurements confirmed that the fast component was weak or absent. In contrast, feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) was highly sensitive with excellent SAR data. However, SAR data from 3 mm diameter aliquots of feldspar (200 grains) give higher than expected equivalent doses (D_e) by an order of magnitude. SAR measurements of small clusters of feldspar grains (ranging from 1–8) considerably broaden the apparent D_e distribution, but even the lowest value is about 2–3 times the expected D_e. Two possibilities arise to explain the quartz and feldspar data: (1) that glacial sequences in the NW Highlands re-work inherited (older) glacial deposits and that some of the pre-Devensian existing glacial landforms have only been modified during Devensian glaciation; or (2) that the sedimentary processes operating in these ice-marginal environments are not conducive to adequate bleaching of quartz and feldspar grains. Our study implies that ice-proximal supraglacial sediments from this region in NW Scotland reflect older ages of deposition, but dating YD sediments has not been possible.     

A sequential extraction to determine the distribution of apatite in granitoid soil mineral pools with application to weathering at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest,NH, USA

Mineral weathering in soils is an important source of many nutrients to forest ecosystems. Apatite, a Ca phosphate mineral, occurs in trace amounts in virtually all igneous and metamorphic rocks and is often found as small mineral inclusions in more weathering-resistant silicate minerals. To better understand the distribution of apatite in soils and its exposure to soil solutions, a sequential extraction method was developed to selectively dissolve minerals from soils so that the amount of apatite in contact with soil solutions versus that armored by silicate minerals could be quantified. The use of three molarities of HNO₃ (0.01, 0.1 and 1 M) at three temperatures (0, 10, or 20 °C) was explored and it was found that apatite congruently dissolved in 1 M HNO₃ at all three temperatures, but did not completely dissolve in weaker HNO₃ solutions. Soil horizons, glacial till (i.e., soil parent material), and individual minerals separated from till collected from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), NH, were subjected to a 4-step sequential extraction. Chemical analyses of the extracts indicate that 1 M NH₄Cl (pH 7; 20 °C) removes exchangeable ions, 1 M HNO₃ at 20 °C primarily dissolves apatite in contact with solutions, 1 M HNO₃ at 200 °C primarily dissolves biotite and chlorite (and apatite armored by them), and a mixture of concentrated HNO₃, HCl, and HF at 200 °C dissolves the more refractory minerals including muscovite, alkali feldspar, plagioclase feldspar and quartz (and apatite armored by these minerals). This extraction method was applied to soil profiles from HBEF to demonstrate that it could be used to interpret the abundance of apatite and other minerals as a function of depth. Approximately 70% of the apatite in the HBEF soil parent material is exposed to soil solutions; the remaining 30% is armored in more weathering-resistant micas and feldspars. In the upper soil horizons, the only apatite that has not been weathered from the soil occurs as inclusions in micas and feldspars and thus the rate of dissolution of apatite in weathered soil horizons is controlled by silicate mineral dissolution.     

Catchment contrasts: Comparing young people’s experiences and knowledge of a river environment

Early geographies focussed on children have recorded their environmental and spatial perceptions. Contemporary theoretical and methodological advances in, and beyond, children’s geographies have supported a more complex engagement with environmental topics. Complementing this work, a study of young people’s experience and knowledge of a river in southern New Zealand is presented. Data were gathered from four contrasting locations within one, 5650 sq. km, catchment, employing child-oriented, multi-method approaches. Data analysis confirms existing literature highlighting how young people are competent knowledge producers with varying experiences and understandings. Some of this variation can be appreciated by focussing on factors of age, gender and catchment location. Together these findings are relevant to both academic and planning circles and implications for young people’s participation in catchment management are noted as a key area for further development of work of this kind.