Resource concerns for territorial conflict

The objective of this paper is to engage constructively with literature on armed conflict and resources in order to draw attention both to assumptions that hinder a more accurate or useful understanding of natural resources and their role in territorial conflict as well as to aspects of this field of research that merit further work. In much of the literature on resource conflict, territorial aspects are either implicitly or explicitly tied to resource conflict largely through the assumption that the value of territory is intrinsic. Little of the literature attempts to advance theory, specifically, either on the particular role of resources or on the meaning and objectives of conflict beyond a one-dimensional objective of maintaining or securing control of territory. The paper considers themes of resource scarcity and resource abundance in conflict. A third section focuses on an analysis both of natural resource databases and of conflict databases (both international and civil) which emphasizes problematic results of blending these databases to demonstrate correlations. UIUC territorial conflict management workshop     

A wide-angle seismic traverse through the Variscan of southwest Ireland

A wide-angle seismic profile across the western peninsulas of SW Ireland was performed. This region corresponds to the northernmost Variscan thrust and fold deformation. The dense set of 13 shots and 109 stations along the 120  km long profile provides a detailed velocity model of the crust.
  The seismic velocity model, obtained by forward and inverse modelling, defines a five-layer crust. A sedimentary layer, 5–8  km thick, is underlain by an upper-crustal layer of variable thickness, with a base generally at a depth of 10–12  km. Two mid-crustal layers are defined, and a lower-crustal layer below 22  km. The Moho lies at a depth of 30–32  km. A low-velocity zone, which coincides with a well-defined gravity low, is observed in the central part of the region and is modelled as a Caledonian granite which intruded upper-crustal basement. The granite may have acted as a buffer to northward-directed Variscan thrusting. The Dingle–Dungarvan Line (DDL) marks a major change in sedimentary and crustal velocity and structure. It lies immediately to the north of the velocity and gravity low, and shows thickness and velocity differences in many of the underlying crustal layers and even in the Moho. This suggests a deep, pre-Variscan control of the structural development of this area. The model is compatible with thin-skinned tectonics, which terminated at the DDL and which incorporated thrusts involving the sedimentary and upper-crustal layers.     

Using Electronic Mail (E-mail) Surveys for Geographic Research: Lessons from a Survey of Russian Environmentalists*

The expansion of the Internet and e-mail access around the globe, especially into less-developed areas, raises the question of how geographers might use this technology for research purposes and the development of appropriate methodologies. This paper identifies three ways in which the use of e-mail surveys for geographic research differs from traditional mail surveys. First, there are substantial differences in selecting an appropriate sample population. Second, electronic medium considerations such as alphabet character translation, survey format, and receiving end conditions pose unique data collection challenges. Third, ascertaining that e-mail addresses to be included in a survey are operative is discussed as a useful means of maximizing the potential of an e-mail survey. Examples from an e-mail survey of environmentalists in Russia illustrate these points.     

Measurements Of Thermal Updraft Intensity Over Complex Terrain Using American White Pelicans And A Simple Boundary-Layer Forecast Model

An examination of boundary-layer meteorological and avian aerodynamic theories suggests that soaring birds can be used to measure the magnitude of vertical air motions within the boundary layer. These theories are applied to obtain mixed-layer normalized thermal updraft intensity over both flat and complex terrain from the climb rates of soaring American white pelicans and from diagnostic boundary-layer model-produced estimates of the boundary-layer depth z_i and the convective velocity scale w_*. Comparison of the flatland data with the profiles of normalized updraft velocity obtained from previous studies reveals that the pelican-derived measurements of thermal updraft intensity are in close agreement with those obtained using traditional research aircraft and large eddy simulation (LES) in the height range of 0.2 to 0.8 z_i. Given the success of this method, the profiles of thermal vertical velocity over the flatland and the nearby mountains are compared. This comparison shows that these profiles are statistically indistinguishable over this height range, indicating that the profile for thermal updraft intensity varies little over this sample of complex terrain. These observations support the findings of a recent LES study that explored the turbulent structure of the boundary layer using a range of terrain specifications. For terrain similar in scale to that encountered in this study, results of the LES suggest that the terrain caused less than an 11% variation in the standard deviation of vertical velocity.     

The Suburbanization of Food Insecurity: An Analysis of Projected Trends in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area

Although general patterns of food insecurity in the United States are known, few studies have attempted to estimate small area food security or account for ongoing socioeconomic changes. Here we address these issues by producing small area estimates of food insecurity in the Atlanta metropolitan area using two methodologies: fixed effects modeling and demographic metabolism. In both cases, we use county-level data from the Current Population Survey to determine the association between food insecurity and demographic predictors. These associations are then applied to tract-level data from the 2009 to 2013 American Community Survey and projected data for 2020 to create small area estimates of food insecurity. We find broad consensus between our two methods. For both time periods, food insecurity is highest in southern sections of the city of Atlanta and its neighboring suburbs. Projections to 2020, however, show that food insecurity rates are projected to increase in outer-ring suburbs east and west of the city while decreasing in the urban core. These results highlight the need to further adapt antihunger efforts for often sprawling suburban communities, where poverty rates are increasing but spatial mismatch combined with poor transit access might hinder access to food assistance.     

Surficial properties in Gale Crater, Mars, from Mars Odyssey THEMIS data

We examine the nature of the surface layer in Gale Crater as determined from high-resolution thermal and visible Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) data as well as how our conclusions compare to past analyses. At THEMIS resolution, the thermal surface structure is dominated by local control, thus providing us with detailed images that contain thermophysical information as well. Using these data sets we have created a map of the area, defining units based primarily on their geomorphology as determined from the daytime thermal and visible images and then using the nighttime thermal data to interpret the nature of the surface layer within each unit. Seven units have been defined: (i) partially blanketed knobby plateaus, (ii) crater walls with terrain similar to that on the plateaus on the upper half and exposed, rocky surfaces on the lower half, (iii)-(v) three floor units with varying combinations of bedrock and indurated and/or particulate deposits, (vi) sand sheets, and (vii) a central mound, consisting of indurated and/or rocky material forming layers, terraces, and slides, covered by particulate material that tapers in thickness downslope. Additionally, dozens of channels have been observed on the crater walls and central mound. The results indicate that aeolian processes have played a major role in shaping much of the present surface layer within Gale and may still be active today. Because of the dramatic size and structure of Gale, the winds are most likely controlled by the local topography. Additionally, the presence and frequency of channels within Gale bolster hypotheses involving aqueous episodes in the history of the crater.     

The evolution of the Porcupine and Rockall basins,offshore Ireland: the geological template for carbonate mound development

The margins of the deep-water sedimentary basins west of Ireland contain a number of large clusters (provinces) of spectacular carbonate mounds and build-ups. These basins have a complex development history involving the interplay of rift tectonics, thermal subsidence, igneous activity and oceanographic variations. The Porcupine and Rockall basins both rest upon thin continental crust, the consequence of major rift episodes in Permo-Triassic, Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. Phases of volcanism occurred in the Early Cretaceous and especially in the Early Cenozoic. Fluid flow within the basins is likely to have been controlled by the overall basin geometry and by the distribution and linkage of permeable strata with fault systems, stratal surfaces and unconformities. A number of regional unconformities, controlled by both basin tectonic and regional oceanographic effects, can be mapped and correlated throughout the Porcupine and Rockall basins. The youngest of these unconformities (C10: Early Pliocene) can be traced throughout much of the NW European Atlantic margin. It forms the horizon on which virtually all the carbonate mounds in the basins develop, suggesting a geologically instantaneous mound nucleation and growth event. Although the control on their development is uncertain, the mound clusters show a spatial association with lithified strata, buried contourite and deltaic deposits, slope failure features and with the basin margins. Analysis of these relationships points to a combination of geological and oceanographic processes controlling mound initiation and growth.     

The Magellan mound province in the Porcupine Basin

The Magellan mound province is one of the three known provinces of carbonate mounds or cold-water coral banks in the Porcupine Seabight, west of Ireland. It has been studied in detail using a large and varied data set: 2D and 3D seismic data, sidescan sonar imagery and video data collected during ROV deployment have been used to describe the mounds in terms of origin, growth processes and burial. The aim of this paper is to present the Magellan mounds and their setting in an integrated, holistic way. More than 1,000 densely spaced and mainly buried mounds have been identified in the area. They all seem to be rooted on one seismic reflection, suggesting a sudden mound start-up. Their size and spatial distribution characteristics are presented, together with the present-day appearance of the few mounds that reach the seabed. The underlying geology has been studied by means of fault analysis and numerical basin modelling in an attempt to identify possible hydrocarbon migration pathways below or in the surroundings of the Magellan mounds. Although conclusive evidence concerning the processes of mound initiation proves to be elusive, the results of both fault analysis and 2D numerical modelling failed to identify, with confidence, any direct pathways for focused hydrocarbon flow to the Magellan province. Diffuse seepage however may have taken place, as drainage area modelling suggests a possible link between mound position and structural features in the Hovland-Magellan area. During mound development and growth, the interplay of currents and sedimentation seems to have been the most important control. Mounds which could not keep pace with the sedimentation rates were buried, and on the few mounds which maintained growth, only a few corals survive at present.