Irish on the move

Trends in emigration from Ireland over time are reviewed. "During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries overseas migration to the United States and seasonal harvest migration to Britain were the main types of movement, but over the past 100 years the Irish have developed a special affinity for settling in British towns. Although the outflow was halted for a time during the 1970s, when return migration took over, the 1980s have seen a renewal of the exodus. This time, however, the character of the flow has changed from predominantly low-skill construction and factory workers to embrace better-educated emigrants, including many graduates. This shift reflects Ireland's changing position in the international market for labour."     

Magnetic disturbance effects in the E region of the ionosphere

Detailed studies of the daytime E-region critical frequency at Aberystwyth (geomagnetic latitude +56°) show clear evidence for changes associated with both the axially-symmetric (Dst) and asymmetric (DS) components of the disturbance magnetic field. Comparison of the sensitivity of the E-region peak density to these two influences shows that the changes cannot entirely (if at all) be ascribed to the influence of electric currents in the region. It is suggested that a major role is played by dynamical influences associated with the neutral air “storm circulation” which distributes the energy fed into the auroral region to lower latitudes.     

The political economy of urbanization in Melanesia

The authors attempt to provide a comprehensive review of urbanization in three Melanesian countries (Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu) and in Fiji. The focus of the paper is on the development and perpetuation of various forms of inequality exemplified by Melanesian urbanization and its colonial origins.     

Diffusion-deposition patterns in Martian streaks

The spreading angle of a number of light and dark Martian streaks is determined from selected Mariner 9 images. The resulting frequency distributions of spreading half-angles have maxima at ～5° for light, and ～7° for dark streaks; however the dark streaks have a secondary maximum spreading angle at ～14°. The smaller values, which include most streaks, are interpreted as crater-wake spreading phenomena. The larger value, found in only a few dark streaks or “tails,” may result from atmospheric diffusion and subsequent deposition of material from isolated sources such as vents or blowouts. An atmospheric diffusion-deposition analysis is presented, assuming this streak origin, from which it is possible to deduce the eddy diffusivity, K, in Mars' boudary layer. Calculated K values are found to agree with various theoretical estimates. They lie in the range 10⁷ and 10⁹ cm² sec^?1 and exhibit the proper scale dependence. Thus it appears that, in addition to streak-derived wind direction patterns and speed information, it is possible in a few cases to derive information on Mars' boundary-layer turbulence from streak-spreading measurements.