“WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY” REVISITED: PRESENT STATUS,NEW OPTIONS

The representation of women on geography faculties did not increase appreciably between 1971 and 1977, but women in other academic disciplines have fared somewhat better. The latter have improved their status primarily as a result of actions taken by professional associations representing their fields. When a professional association ignores its female constituency or refuses to commit itself to improving their circumstances, federal agencies now offer alternative channels for obtaining redress.     

Chemical characterization of fine particulate matter during peak PM10 episodes in Apulia (South Italy)

Some peak PM10 episodes, occurred during PM monitoring campaigns performed on October 2005 and February and June 2006 in Bari town, have been characterized. Moreover back trajectories of air masses and Principal Component Analyses were applied. Three of the peak PM10 episodes investigated were related to local emissions of primary pollutants during poor atmospheric dispersion conditions. The other two peak PM10 episodes considered are related with long range transport air masses toward Apulia region: in one case the chemical characterization and the back trajectories analysis indicate that high PM10 value detected is due to the Saharan dust advection in the Apulia region; in the other case air masses with different origin give rise to high PM10 value.Moreover PM10 daily mean concentrations, presented in this paper collected from January 2005 to August 2007 and obtained by automatic device in six stations of air quality monitoring networks in Bari territory, do not show a seasonal trend for PM10 concentrations, contrary to the PM10 trend shown in the towns of North Italy. This can be explained mostly considering that our region presents generally meteo-climatic conditions that favour pollutants dispersion.     

Warming the early earth—CO2 reconsidered

Despite a fainter Sun, the surface of the early Earth was mostly ice-free. Proposed solutions to this so-called “faint young Sun problem” have usually involved higher amounts of greenhouse gases than present in the modern-day atmosphere. However, geological evidence seemed to indicate that the atmospheric CO₂ concentrations during the Archaean and Proterozoic were far too low to keep the surface from freezing. With a radiative-convective model including new, updated thermal absorption coefficients, we found that the amount of CO₂ necessary to obtain 273 K at the surface is reduced up to an order of magnitude compared to previous studies. For the late Archaean and early Proterozoic period of the Earth, we calculate that CO₂ partial pressures of only about 2.9 mb are required to keep its surface from freezing which is compatible with the amount inferred from sediment studies. This conclusion was not significantly changed when we varied model parameters such as relative humidity or surface albedo, obtaining CO₂ partial pressures for the late Archaean between 1.5 and 5.5 mb. Thus, the contradiction between sediment data and model results disappears for the late Archaean and early proterozoic.     

Phase equilibrium modelling of the amphibolite to granulite facies transition in metabasic rocks (Ivrea Zone,NW Italy)

The development of thermodynamic models for tonalitic melt and the updated clinopyroxene and amphibole models now allow the use of phase equilibrium modelling to estimate P–T conditions and melt production for anatectic mafic and intermediate rock types at high‐T conditions. The Permian mid‐lower crustal section of the Ivrea Zone preserves a metamorphic field gradient from mid amphibolite facies to granulite facies, and thus records the onset of partial melting in metabasic rocks. Interlayered metabasic and metapelitic rocks allows the direct comparison of P–T estimates and partial melting between both rock types with the same metamorphic evolution. Pseudosections for metabasic compositions calculated in the Na₂O–CaO–K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O (NCKFMASHTO) system are presented and compared with those of metapelitic rocks calculated with consistent end‐member data and a–x models. The results presented in this study show that P–T conditions obtained by phase equilibria modelling of both metabasic and metapelitic rocks give consistent results within uncertainties, allowing integration of results obtained for both rock types. In combination, the calculations for both metabasic and metapelitic rocks allows an updated and more precisely constrained metamorphic field gradient for Val Strona di Omegna to be defined. The new field gradient has a slightly lower dP/dT which is in better agreement with the onset of crustal thinning of the Adriatic margin during the Permian inferred in recent studies.     

Ökologische und molekularbiologische Untersuchungen an Schilf (Phragmites australis [Cav.] Trin. ex Steudel) von norddeutschen Seen — Ein Überblick

The structure, function and dynamics of reed-belts from three ‘Bornhoeved-Lakes’ was investigated by using methods from vegetation science and molecular biology. Between 1992 and 1994 the morphometry and production of Phragmites was measured at twelve locations, differing in sedimentology and hydrochemistry. The development and production of the plants, as well as the nutrient uptake and relocation, were similar throughout the years within each of the twelve plots. Differences in stand-structure and amounts of nutrients occurred between the habitats. Nitrogen content in the plant material varied between 5 and 30 g N m⁻² and phosphorus between 0.3 and 1.2 g PO₄-P m⁻².80 natural reed habitats were measured for Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs) in order to identify the genetic diversity of Phragmites within the lakes. A cluster analysis exhibited groups with high, as well as groups with low genetic similarity. Even if genetically similar, the habitats were not necessarily directly neighboured at the shoreline. A discriminance analysis showed 40% correspondence of the genetic groups with their phenotype and habitat parameters.     

Structure of Réunion Island (Indian Ocean) inferred from the interpretation of gravity anomalies

Réunion is a volcanic edifice whose origin is related to a hot spot in the Indian Ocean. Only 3% of its volume is emergent. Many geological and geophysical studies were carried out on Réunion Island during the 1980's but few of them allow study of the internal structure of the edifice. Several gravity surveys have been carried out on the island since 1976 and we have compiled the available data set. The lack of data on the western side of the island led us to conduct a regional survey in 1993 to obtain a more homogeneous distribution of the stations. Computation of Bouguer anomalies for different correction densities accounts for the variable density of the rocks constituting the edifice and provides a distribution of gravity anomalies interpreted as dense bodies of intrusive rocks inside the edifice. Two very large intrusive complexes can be unambiguously recognised: one beneath Piton des Neiges and one beneath the Grand Brûlé area. Both have been penetrated by geothermal exploration drill holes and the first is also known from outcrop observations. 2.5D simple models were constructed to reveal the geometry and extent of the buried intrusives. They are deeply rooted, extending several kilometres below sea level, and extensive (20–25 km long and 10–13 km wide for the Piton des Neiges complex, 12–15 km long and some kilometres wide for the Grand Brûlé complex). The development of such complexes implies that the activity of the two volcanic centres was long lasting and remained stable while the volcanoes were growing. The Grand Brûlé complex has been interpreted as relics of an old volcano named Alizés Volcano. The interpretation of the gravity maps suggests the presence of a ridge of dense rocks to the North of the axis joining the centres of Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise volcanoes. By analogy with the other structures, 2.5D models show that this structure would culminate between 0 and 1 km below sea level and be 15 km wide. This complex induces a maximum anomaly in Takamaka Valley and we thus propose to name it Takamaka Volcano. No geological evidence of the nature of these dense rocks is available but the ridge coincides with structures revealed by magnetic and seismic data. Interpretation of the Bouguer anomaly maps suggests that the inner gravity structure of Piton de la Fournaise is not characterised by the presence of a voluminous dense body but probably by more restricted concentrations of dense rocks. Some structures can be recognised: along the present NE and SE rift zones and in the previous central part of Piton de la Fournaise to the West of the present summit. The recent eastward migration of the centre of activity of Piton de la Fournaise accounts for the lack of a large positive anomaly beneath the active craters.     

Evidence for MTBE in Heating Oil

"Contamination of heating oil with MTBE could result in increasing the environmental impact of subsurface heating oil releases."     

Extending the known distribution of the Younger Dryas Vedde Ash into northwestern Russia

The known distribution of wind‐blown Vedde Ash (ca. 10.3 ka BP) has been extended to the Karelian Isthmus in northwestern Russia. This has been possible as the result of a density separation technique that separates the rhyolitic Vedde Ash shards from the minerogenic host sediment. The Vedde Ash occurs in the middle of a pollen zone with high percentages of, for example, Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae, suggesting that the Younger Dryas (or GS‐I in the GRIP ice‐core event stratigraphy) was cold and dry throughout its duration. This is in agreement with sites in south Sweden where the Vedde Ash also occurs in the middle of a pollen zone dominated by Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Cyperaceae. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms

This paper investigates use of inventories, or checklists of activities, as an emergency management tool to motivate preparedness action in individuals. It develops the inventory concept to provide the foundation for a more targeted approach to storm preparation communication and community engagement. It also examines the potential efficacy of alternatives to paper-based checklists, such as web or smartphone applications. Academic and grey literature was reviewed to collect activities for a storm inventory for emergency agencies to measure individual preparedness and for individuals to measure their preparation progress. The resulting master list was refined for application and tested for useability in a pilot study of semi-structured interviews in a storm-susceptible community in Queensland, Australia. Also, clustering items by type of preparedness activity reveal where strengths and weaknesses exist in individual preparedness. For instance, preparation for leaving and safety planning were shown to be the areas of weakest activity in the pilot sample, while preparation of the house for a storm was the strongest area. In addition, behaviour change literature shows potential for effective use of an inventory-based smartphone application in motivating preparation activity. Data collected by a storm preparedness smartphone application could show where a communication or engagement program for targeted communities should be focused. It is supported by health literature that identifies preferences of individuals to make progress on complex tasks in stages, the value of lists to achievement of goals and demonstrated increase in uptake of activities prompted by smartphone applications over web or paper-based diaries.