(Re)surveying the uses of Geographical Information Systems in Health Authorities 1991–2001

This paper provides a comparative analysis of two separate national surveys of the uptake and use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) by Health Authorities (HAs) in England and Wales. The surveys were undertaken at two different time points (1991 and 2001), and the intervening period has been characterized by major (and continuing) health sector restructuring. The substantial number of HA mergers between 1991 and 2001 provide a methodological challenge in attempting to make comparisons. A pragmatic approach is adopted and the presentation of results has to be restricted solely to English and Welsh HA data. Our findings show that there has been a considerable increase in the use of GIS since the early 1990s, and there is some evidence of more sophisticated uses for a wider range of policy-related and application tasks. However, we conclude that there is still considerable scope for the wider uptake and use of GIS within the NHS. In addition, our findings provide a baseline with which to monitor the impacts of future organizational restructuring on the uses of GIS within the NHS. We suggest that this is important given the replacement of 95 English HAs with 28 new Strategic HAs (StHAs) from April 2002, and the repercussions of the anticipated shift in GIS responsibility to Primary Care Trusts.     

Stratified unbounded flow past of obstacles

We studied the surface perturbations of a two-layer ideal fluid induced by a flow past a submerged obstacle (simulated by a point dipole) in the vicinity of the density-jump layer. It is shown that the formation of two different types of surface waves is possible behind the flowed past obstacle in the real conditions of the open sea. The comparison of the amplitudes of the surface perturbations induced by the obstacle located above and below the density jump revealed their significant differences, which seems to be important for the use of this effect in practical problems.     

Unstable plasma irregular structures in the topside ionosphere and spread-<Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis>

The results of the Cosmos-900 satellite observ ations of plasma density inhomogeneities in the geomagnetic equator region and the longitudinal distributions of the equatorial spread-F, according to the Intercosmos-19 satellite data are presented. It is show n that the dependence of radiosignal propagation in the ionosphere on geophysical parameters is related to development of the electrostatic instability of the inhomo-geneous ionospheric plasma. The longitudinal dependence of the spread-F, can reflect the influence of the energetic sources, located outside the ionospheric layer that scatters a radio pulse, on the ionosphere. The manifestation of the longitudinal effect in the equatorial spread-F, in the Atlantic region can be explained by the influence of the cone instability on the plasma electrodynamics in the South Atlantic geomagnetic anomaly.     

Spectral characteristics of magnetogravity waves generated by high-energy mass source in the equatorial region of the atmosphere,Part I

The possibility of magnetogravity wave (MGW) propagation in the equatorial ionosphere taking into account the finite conductivity is analyzed. The dispersion relation shows the existence of two propagating MGW modes in ionospheric layer F2: high-frequency (HF MGW) and low frequency (LF MGW). The dispersion relations for them are executed and the characteristic frequencies and propagation velocities are determined. In this part of research the spectral features of disturbances in components of environment displacement for HF MGW, generated by a mass source, is carried out. The results are applied to estimate the values of density, pressure and magnetic field spectral components of magnetogravity disturbances caused by horizontal meteor sweep. They may be useful in the analysis of ionospheric disturbances excited by high energy geophysical sources.     

Anthropogenic transformations of the Arctic ecosystem of Lake Imandra: Tendencies for recovery after long period of pollution

Transformation of an Arctic aquatic ecosystem (a case study of Lake Imandra) under the impact of a mining industrial complex is considered. Water chemical composition and the ecosystem’s structural components (phyto- and zooplankton, zoobenthos, and ichthiofauna) are analyzed for the following periods: the preindustrial background (reference) conditions, industrial development of mineral resources and strong anthropogenic impact, industrial recession and decreased anthropogenic impact, and stabilization. The main regularities of the aquatic ecosystem successions under the conditions of anthropogenic loads and their decrease are established.     

Weak Contrast PP Wave Displacement R/T Coefficients in Weakly Anisotropic Elastic Media

—Approximate PP plane wave displacement coefficients of reflection and transmission for weak contrast interfaces separating weakly but arbitrarily anisotropic elastic media are presented. The PP reflection coefficient for such an interface has been derived recently by Vavry?uk and P?en?ík (1997). The PP transmission coefficient presented in this paper was derived by the same approach. The coefficients are given as a sum of the coefficient for the weak contrast interface separating two nearby isotropic media and a term depending linearly on contrasts of the so-called weak anisotropy (WA) parameters (parameters specifying deviation of properties of the medium from isotropy), across the interface. While the reflection coefficient depends only on 8 of the complete set of the WA parameters describing P-wave phase velocity in weakly anisotropic media, the transmission coefficient depends on their complete set. The PP reflection coefficient depends on "shear-wave splitting parameter" γ. Tests of accuracy of the approximate formulae are presented on several models.     

Ge-bearing coals of the Luzanovka Graben, Pavlovka brown coal deposit, southern Primorye

Results of the study of a new Ge-bearing area of the Pavlovka brown coal deposit are presented. Ge is accumulated in bed III₂ lying at the bottom of the Late Paleogene-Early Neogene coal-bearing sequence adjacent to the Middle Paleozoic granite basement. The Ge content in coals and coal-bearing rocks varies in different sections from 10 to 200–250 ppm, reaching up to 500–600 ppm in the highest-grade lower part of the bed. The metalliferous area reveals a geochemical zoning: complex Ge-Mo-W anomalies subsequently grades along the depth and strike into Mo-W and W anomalies. Orebodies, like those at many Ge-bearing coal deposits, are concentric in plan and dome-shaped in cross-section. Coals in their central parts, in addition to Ge, W, and Mo, are enriched in U, As, Be, Ag, and Au. Distribution of Ge and other trace elements in the metalliferous sequence and products of gravity separation of Ge-bearing coals is studied. These data indicate that most elements (W, Mo, U, As, Be) concentrated like Ge in the Ge-bearing bed relative to background values are restricted to the organic matter of coals. The electron microscopic study shows that Ge-bearing coals contain native metals and intermetallic compounds in association with carbonates, sulfides, and halogenides. Coal inclusions in the metalliferous and barren areas of the molasse section strongly differ in contents of Ge and associated trace elements. Ge was accumulated in the coals in the course of the interaction of ascending metalliferous solutions with organic matter of the buried peat bogs in Late Miocene. The solutions were presumably represented by N₂-bearing thermal waters (contaminated by volcanogenic CO₂) that are typical of granite terranes.     

Estimating the predictability of the seismicity rate: The 1964 eruption of Shiveluch Volcano

This paper describes a method for estimating the predictability of the seismicity rate for volcanic edifices. The mathematical model is a nonlinear second-order differential equation, with our own algorithms for optimization and for estimating predictability. The method is illustrated by the 1964 eruption on Shiveluch Volcano. Calculations showed that the seismicity rate can be predicted with success for a time interval ranging between a few days and a few tens of days during the active phase and between a few tens of days and a few hundreds of days during the decay phase. The level of predictability is rather high, with the prediction distance exceeding the mean error by two to four orders of magnitude. The nonlinear character of both the active phase of the process and of its decay phase is close to the law of an equilateral hyperbola. The method, as developed in this paper, allows a realistic approach to the prediction of that part of the volcanic process which involves brittle deformation and/or rapid displacements of material along the newly arisen cracks.     

A method for localizing seismic sources whose signals are separated by an order of difference from the background noise

Doklady Earth Sciences -