Implications of Global Climate Change for Tourism and Recreation in Wetland Areas

Tourism and recreation are important economic activities which are major agents of change globally and, more specifically, in wetland areas. There is a regular round of activities associated with the seasons and anything which influences operating seasons is likely to have substantial consequences for tourism businesses Atmospheric conditions influence both whether or not people will participate as well as the quality of the experience. In marine coasts, wetland recreations may be threatened by rising sea levels but recreation in inland water bodies may be affected more by deficiencies rather than superabundance of water. Marinas and recreational boating are harmed by extremes of both high and low water, particularly the latter which is the most likely situation under global climate change. Two main groups can be considered with respect to the potential to adapt to climate change. These are the participants themselves and the businesses which cater to them. It is argued that the former are likely to be much more adaptable than the latter.     

Variability of annual precipitation in Sweden

Summary Different measures of variability of precipitation are discussed and it is concluded that it is preferable to apply therelative intersequential variability in cases when overall trends are feared in the records. 127 stations in Sweden have been studied for the period 1901–1950 as to the relative interannual variability of precipitation. For a selection of these stations other measures have also been calculated and a comparison has been made between the coefficient of variation and the intersequential variability. As the relation between these measures varies with the existence of serial correlations in the records the serial correlation coefficient for a lag of one element has been calculated. The value of the coefficient has indicated the existence of trends in certain areas of Sweden generally in agreement with earlier investigations byÅngström.The geographical distribution of the relative interannual variability in Sweden is discussed and also the distribution of anomalies of relative variability compared with the world's normal curve completed byConrad. It is shown that the relationship between relative variability and precipitation amount for Swedish stations can be expressed by a hyperbolic function deviating fromConrad's world normal curve only by an additive constant.

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Zusammenfassung Der Verfasser erörtert verschiedene Maße für die Variabilität des Niederschlages und kommt zu der Feststellung, daß in den Fällen, in denen eine einseitige Tendenz in den Beobachtungsreihen zu befürchten ist, die Verwendung derrelativen reiheninternen Variabilität am geeignetsten ist. 127 Stationen in Schweden sind für die Periode 1901–1950 im Hinblick auf die relative interannuelle Variabilität des Niederschlags untersucht worden. Für eine Auswahl dieser Stationen wurden auch andere Maße berechnet und der Schwankungskoeffizient mit der reiheninternen Variabilität verglichen. Da die Beziehung zwischen diesen Maßen mit dem Auftreten von Serienkorrelationen in der Beobachtungsreihe variiert, wurde der Serienkorrelationskoeffizient für eine Verschiebung eines Elements berechnet. Die erhaltenen Werte des Koeffizienten deuten auf das Vorhandensein gesetzmäßiger Tendenzen in gewissen Gebieten Schwedens hin und stehen im allgemeinen in guter Übereinstimmung mit älteren Untersuchungen vonÅngström.Die geographische Verteilung der relativen interannuellen Variabilität in Schweden sowie die Verteilung der Anomalien der relativen Variabilität, verglichen mit der vonConrad aufgestellten Weltnormalkurve, werden erörtert. Schlie\lich wird gezeigt, daß es möglich ist, den Zusammenhang zwischen relativer Variabilität und Niederschlagsmenge für schwedische Stationen durch eine hyperbolische Funktion zu beschreiben, die vonConrads Weltnormalkurve nur durch eine additive Konstante abweicht.

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Résumé L'auteur mentionne différentes mesures de la variabilité des précipitations et conclut qu'il est préférable d'appliquer la variabilité relative interséquentielle lorsqu'une tendance unilatérale des séries d'observations est à craindre. Il a étudié la variabilité relative interannuelle des précipitations pour 127 stations suédoises (1901/50) ainsi que d'autres mesures de variabilité pour un choix restreint de stations et il a comparé le coefficient de variation à la variabilité relative interséquentielle. Comme la relation entre ces mesures varie avec l'existence de corrélations de série dans les séries d'observations, le coefficient de corrélation de série a été calculé pour un déplacement d'un terme; la valeur de ce coefficient indique l'existence de tendances générales dans certaines régions de Suède, ce qui confirme les résultats anciens deÅngström.La distribution géographique de la variabilité relative interannuelle en Suède ainsi que celle des anomalies de la variation relative comparée à la courbe normale mondiale dressée parConrad fait l'objet d'un examen. Enfin on montre qu'il est possible d'exprimer la relation entre la variabilité relative et la quantité de précipitations en Suède par une fonction hyperbolique qui ne diffère de la courbe normale deConrad que par une constante additive.

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With 5 Figures

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Dedicated to Dr.Anders K. Ångström on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

3D seismic imaging of a Tertiary Dyke Swarm in the Southern North Sea,UK

We use three‐dimensional (3D) seismic reflection and magnetic data to interpret and describe the 3D geometry of igneous dykes in the southern North Sea. The dykes were emplaced into Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments and have a common upper termination in Early Tertiary sediments. We interpret the dykes to be part of the British Tertiary volcanic province and estimate the age of the dykes to be 58 Ma. The dykes are characterized by a narrow 0.5–2 km wide vertical disturbance of seismic reflections that have linear plan view geometry. Negative magnetic anomalies directly align with the vertical seismic disturbance zones and indicate the presence of igneous material. Linear coalesced collapse craters are found above the dykes. The collapse craters have been defined and visualized in 3D. Collapse craters have formed above the dyke due to the release of volatiles at the dyke tip and resulting volume loss. Larger craters have potentially formed due to explosive phreatomagmatic interaction between magma and pore water. The collapse craters are a new Earth analogue to Martian pit chain craters.     

Diamonds: geology, gemmology, technology

Diamonds – rough stones, cut stones, host rocks, historical jewellery, contemporary jewellery, and hi-tech materials – were the stars of an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London in 2005, the biggest of its kind the Museum had ever staged. Why diamonds are so rare, how they have been valued through history, and the links between the unique properties of diamond and its use were the key themes of the exhibition.     

Testate amoeba analysis of lake sediments: impact of filter size and total count on estimates of density,species richness and assemblage structure

Testate amoebae are informative about palaeoecological conditions, but the methods generally used for their analyses in lake sediments differ from those used for their analyses in peats, making comparisons difficult. This study examines how filter mesh size and total number of individuals counted affect species richness, Shannon diversity, equitability, density and assemblage structure. We analysed the complete testate amoeba contents of six sediment samples from Lake Lautrey, France. The abundance of testate amoebae was high (1,403–10,870 shells cm⁻³), and species smaller than 63 μm in both length and width represented up to 89% of total abundance and 43% of species richness. A simulation showed that using 47- or 63-μm mesh-size filters reduced inter-sample differences and changed the patterns of abundance, species richness and assemblage structure, causing loss of information and leading to potential erroneous palaeoecological interpretation. Rarefaction analyses suggest that although 170 shells are sufficient to assess the general structure of assemblages, such small sample sizes can underestimate species richness by overlooking taxa with relative abundances <4%. Total counts of 400 shells yield better estimates of assemblage structure and recover at least 50% of total species richness, although species with absolute frequencies below 2% may still be missed. Higher counts are required to obtain reliable estimates of species richness and assemblage structure in samples that have high testate amoeba densities but are dominated by a few small taxa. Further studies should determine the bioindicator value and functional roles of small and/or rare species in lakes and thus to what extent overlooking them affects palaeoecological interpretations.     

Paleosol at the Archean—Proterozoic contact in NW India revisited: Evidence for oxidizing conditions during paleo-weathering?

A number of fine-grained sericite bearing pelitic, schistose lithologies occur along the Archean (Banded Gneiss Complex)-Proterozoic (Aravalli Supergroup) contact (APC) in the Udaipur valley in NW Indian craton. These Al-rich lithologies (subsequently metamorphosed) have been described as ‘paleosols’, developed over a 3.3 Ga old Archean gneissic basement and are overlain by Paleoproterozoic Aravalli quartzite. The paleosol was developed between 2.5 and 2.1, coincident with the globally recognized Great Oxidation Event (GOE). In previous studies these paleosol sections were interpreted to have developed under reducing environment, however, the finding of a ‘ferricrete’ zone in the upper part of Tulsi Namla section (east of Udaipur) during the present study (in addition to earlier reported lithologies) has led to an alternative suggestion of oxygen-rich conditions during paleosol development. The Tulsi Namla paleosol section shows all the features characteristic of a complete paleosol section described from other Archean cratons. The paleosol includes sericite schist with kyanite as the prevalent Al-silicate in the lower part of profile while chloritoid and Fe-oxides typify the Fe-rich upper part. Alumina has remained immobile during the weathering process while Fe and Mn show a decrease in the lower part of the section and an abrupt rise in the upper part, in the ferricrete zone. The field and geochemical data indicate that the Tulsi Namla section is an in situ weathering profile and at least the upper part shows evidence of oxidizing conditions.     

Titan's surface at 2.2-cm wavelength imaged by the Cassini RADAR radiometer: Calibration and first results

The first comprehensive calibration and mapping of the thermal microwave emission from Titan's surface is reported based on radiometric data obtained at 2.2-cm wavelength by the passive radiometer included in the Cassini Radar instrument. The data reported were accumulated from 69 separate observational segments in Titan passes from Ta (October 2004) through T30 (May 2007) and include emission from 94% of Titan's surface. They are diverse in the key observing parameters of emission angle, polarization, and spatial resolution, and their reduction into calibrated global mosaic maps involved several steps. Analysis of the polarimetry obtained at low to moderate resolution (50+ km) enabled integration of the radiometry into a single mosaic of the equivalent brightness temperature at normal incidence with a relative precision of about 1 K. The Huygens probe measurement of Titan's surface temperature and radiometry obtained on Titan's dune fields allowed us to infer an absolute calibration estimated to be accurate to a level approaching 1 K. The results provide evidence for a surface that is complex and varied on large scales. The radiometry primarily constrains physical properties of the surface, where we see strong evidence for subsurface (volume) scattering as a dominant mechanism that determines the emissivity, with the possibility of a fluffy or graded-density surface layer in many regions. The results are consistent with, but not necessarily definitive of a surface composition resulting from the slow deposition and processing of organic compounds from the atmosphere.     

Evolution of chemical composition of pyrochlore group minerals from phoscorites and carbonatites of the Khibina alkaline massif

Phoscorites and carbonatites of the Khibina alkaline massif, Russia contain three minerals of the pyrochlore group. They are, in order of crystallization: uranpyrochlore and pyrochlore in the phoscorites, and pyrochlore and bariopyrochlore in late calcite carbonatites. Early calcite carbonatites also contain uranpyrochlore and pyrochlore, but they are xenocrysts derived from the phoscorites. Alteration of the pyrochlore group minerals led to increasing U, Ti and water contents and decreasing Na, Ca, Nb and F contents. Crystallization of zoned uranpyrochlore to pyrochlore crystals in the phoscorites is explained by the experiments of Ryabchikov and Hamilton (1993, 1994) on the interaction of carbonate-phosphate melts with mantle peridotites.