Making a living in the cocoa frontier,Western Ghana: Diversifying incomes in a cocoa economy

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 107(2):29–44, 2007

The literature on livelihoods in rural Africa has for the past decade documented and discussed the growing importance of non-farm income for rural livelihoods and often linked this to an increasing divorce of rural livelihoods from farming and land. This paper challenges the view that the increasing importance of income earned on non-farm activities is a direct expression of processes of deagrari-anisation. Drawing on empirical evidence from recent research in the Ghanaian cocoa frontier, the paper shows that a growing importance of income from non-farm activities is evident, but that incomefrom cocoa is still the determining factor for most households' income and thereby for the demand for non-farm goods and investment in the non-farm sector. By identifying two overall factors explaining the level of income diversification, the paper questions how generally applicable processes of deagrarianisation are in the Ghanaian case. Firstly, the actual crop cultivated and its price and marketing possibilities are of great importance for a farmer's choice to engage and stay in the agricultural sector or to diversify into non-farm activities. Secondly, different dynamics are evident between settlements dominated by either migrant or indigenous households, mainly due to unequal access to land. The paper argues that what on a general scale may look like processes of deagrarianisation during the last decade to a large extent can be explained by migrants without access to land who engage full-time in the nonfarm sector and by cocoa farmers diversifying their incomes, but not leaving a deteriorated agriculture.     

Runoff modelling at two field slopes: use of in situ measurements of air permeability to characterize spatial variability of saturated hydraulic conductivity

The time required at a field site to obtain a few measurements of saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) will allow for many measurements of soil air permeability (k_a). This study investigates if k_a measured in situ (k_{a, in situ}) can be a substitute for measurement of K_s in relation to infiltration and surface runoff modelling. Measurements of k_{a, in situ} were carried out in two small agricultural catchments. A spatial correlation of the log‐transformed values existed having a range of approximately 100 m. A predictive relationship between K_s and k_a measured on 100‐cm³ soil samples in the laboratory was derived for one of the field slopes and showed good agreement with an earlier suggested predictive K_s–k_a relationship. In situ measurements of K_s and k_a suggested that the predictive relationships also could be used at larger scale. The K_s–k_a relationships together with the k_{a, in situ} data were applied in a distributed surface runoff (DSR) model, simulating a high‐intensity rainfall event. The DSR simulation results were highly dependent on whether the geometric average of k_{a, in situ} or kriged values of k_{a, in situ} was used as model input. When increasing the resolution of K_s in the DSR model, a limit of 30–40 m was found for both field slopes. Below this limit, the simulated runoff and hydrograph peaks were independent of resolution scale. If only a few randomly chosen values of K_s were used to represent the spatial variation within the field slope, very large deviations in repeated DSR simulation results were obtained, both with respect to peak height and hydrograph shape. In contrast, when using many predicted K_s values based on a K_s–k_a relationship and measured k_{a, in situ} data, the DSR model generally captured the correct hydrograph shape although simulations were sensitive to the chosen K_s–k_a relationship. As massive measurement efforts normally will be required to obtain a satisfactory representation of the spatial variability in K_s, the use of k_{a, in situ} to assess spatial variability in K_s appears a promising alternative. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stochastic Modeling of Subseismic Faults Conditioned on Displacement and Orientation Maps

Mathematical Geosciences - Subseismic faults are small faults or fractures that may be difficult to determine but can have large consequences for fluid flow and pressure communication in the...     

Palaeogeographic,climatic and tectonic change in southeastern Australia: the Late Neogene evolution of the Murray Basin

The Murray Basin is a low-lying but extensive intracratonic depocentre in southeastern Australia, preserving an extraordinary record of Late Neogene sedimentation. New stratigraphic and sedimentologic data allow the long-term evolution of the basin to be re-evaluated and suggest a significant role for: (1) tectonism in controlling basin evolution, and (2) progressive and step-wise climatic change beginning in the early Pleistocene. Tectonic change is associated with regional uplift, occurring at approximately the same rate from the early Pliocene until the present day, and possibly associated with changing mantle circulation patterns or plate boundary processes. This uplift led to the defeat and re-routing of the Murray River, Australia’s major continental drainage system. Key to our interpretation is recognition of timing relationships between four prominent palaeogeographic features – the Loxton-Parilla Sands strandplain, the Gambier coastal plain, palaeo megalake Bungunnia and the Kanawinka Escarpment. Geomorphic and stratigraphic evidence suggest that during the Early Pliocene the ancestral Murray River was located in western Victoria, flowing south along the Douglas Depression. Relatively small amounts of regional uplift (<200 m) defeated this drainage system, dramatically changing the palaeogeography of southeastern Australia and forming Plio-Pleistocene megalake Bungunnia. At its maximum extent Lake Bungunnia covered more than 50,000 km², making it one of the largest known palaeo- or modern-lakes in an intracontinental setting. Magnetostratigraphic constraints suggest lake formation c. 2.4 Ma. The formation of Lake Bungunnia influenced the Pliocene coastal dynamics, depriving the coastline of a sediment source and changing the coastal system from a prograding strandline system to an erosional one. Erosion during this period formed the Kanawinka Escarpment, a palaeo sea-cliff and one of the most prominent and laterally extensive geomorphic features in southeastern Australia. Marine sediments c. 800 ka to c. 1.16 Ma represent the time of re-establishment of depositional coastal dynamics and of a permanent outlet for the Murray River. This age range is consistent with our best estimate of the age of the youngest Lake Bungunnia sediments and points towards an early Pleistocene age for the demise of the lake system. The youngest Lake Bungunnia sediment, present on a number of distinct terraces, suggests that progressive, step-wise climatic change played a role in the demise of the lake. However, in order for the ancestral Murray River system to have been able to breach the pre-existing tectonic dam, it is likely that tectonic change and/or temporarily enhanced discharge was also significant. This scenario indicates that the modern Murray River has only been in existence for at most 700 ka.     

近1000年来西格陵兰荷尔斯泰因斯堡港生物硅指示的海洋生产力变化

We analyzed the biogenic silica(BSi) content and produced a diatom-based summer sea-surface temperature(SST) reconstruction for sediment core GC4 from the Holsteinsborg Dyb, West Greenland. Our aim was to reconstruct marine productivity and climatic fluctuations during the last millennium. Increased BSi content and diatom abundance suggest relatively high marine productively during the interval of AD 1000–1400, corresponding in time to the Medieval Warm Period(MWP). The summer SST reconstruction indicates relatively warm conditions during AD 900–1100, followed by cooling after AD 1100. An extended cooling period during AD 1400–1900 is characterized by prolonged low in reconstructed SST and high sea-ice concentration. The BSi values fluctuated during this period, suggesting varying marine productivity during the Little Ice Age(LIA).There is no significant correlation between the BSi content and SST during the last millennium, suggesting that the summer SST has little influence on marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb. A good correspondence between the BSi content and the element Ti counts in core GC4 suggests that silicate-rich meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet was likely responsible for changes in marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb.     

Kinetic processes and stable isotopes in cave dripwaters as indicators of winter severity

We examine how the stable isotope composition of meteoric water is transmitted through soil and epikarst to dripwaters in a cave in western Romania. δ²H and δ¹⁸O in precipitation at this site are influenced by temperature and moisture sources (Atlantic and Mediterranean), with lower δ¹⁸O in winter and higher in summer. The stable isotope composition of cave dripwaters mimics this seasonal pattern of low and high δ¹⁸O, but the onset and end of freezing conditions in the winter season are marked by sharp transitions in the isotopic signature of cave dripwaters of approximately 1 ‰. We interpret these shifts as the result of kinetic isotopic fractionation during the transition phase from water to ice at the onset of freezing conditions and the input of meltwater to the cave at the beginning of the spring season. This process is captured in dripwaters and therefore speleothems from Ur?ilor Cave, which grew under such dripping points, may have the potential to record past changes in the severity of winters. Similar isotopic changes in dripwaters driven by freeze–thaw processes can affect other caves in areas with winter snow cover, and cave monitoring during such changes is essential in linking the isotopic variability in dripwaters and speleothems to surface climate.     

Rock physics modelling based on depositional and burial history of Barents Sea sandstones

Understanding how physical properties and seismic signatures of present day rocks are related to ancient geological processes is important for enhanced reservoir characterization. In this paper, we have studied this relationship for the Kobbe Formation sandstone in the Barents Sea. These rocks show anomalous low shear velocities and high V_P/V_S ratios, which does not agree well with conventional rock physics models for moderately to well consolidated sandstones. These sandstones have been buried relatively deeply and subsequently uplifted 1–2 km. We compared well log data of the Kobbe sandstone with velocity–depth trends modelled by integrating basin modelling principles and rock physics. We found that more accurate velocity predictions were obtained when first honouring mechanical and chemical compaction during burial, followed by generation of micro-cracks during uplift. We suspect that these micro-cracks are formed as overburden is eroded, leading to changes in the subsurface stress-field. Moreover, the Kobbe Formation is typically heterogeneous and characterized by structural clays and mica that can reduce the rigidity of grain contacts. By accounting for depositional and burial history, our velocity predictions become more consistent with geophysical observables. Our approach yields more robust velocity predictions, which are important in prospect risking and net erosion estimates.     

Automated rainfall simulator for variable rainfall on urban green areas

Rainfall simulators can enhance our understanding of the hydrologic processes affecting the total runoff to urban drainage systems. This knowledge can be used to improve urban drainage designs. In this study, a rainfall simulator is developed to simulate rainfall on urban green surfaces. The rainfall simulator is controlled by a microcomputer programmed to replicate the temporal variations in rainfall intensity of both historical and synthetic rainfall events with constant rainfall intensity on an area of 1 m². The performance of the rainfall simulator is tested under laboratory conditions with regard to spatial uniformity of the rainfall, the kinetic energy of the raindrops, and the ability to replicate historical and synthetic rainfall events with temporally varying intensity. The rainfall simulator is applied in the field to evaluate its functionality under field conditions and the influence of wind on simulated rainfall. Finally, a field study is carried out on the relationship between runoff, soil volumetric water content, and surface slope. Performance and field tests show that the simulated rainfall has a uniform spatial distribution, whereas the kinetic energy of the raindrops is slightly higher than that of other comparable rainfall simulators. The rainfall simulator performs best in low wind speed conditions. The simulator performs well in replicating historical and synthetic rainfall events by matching both intensity variations and accumulated rainfall depth. The field study shows good correlation between rainfall, runoff, infiltration, soil water content, and surface slope.