Youth empowerment and information and communication technologies: a case study of a remote Australian Aboriginal community

In spite of a ‘digital divide’, Aboriginal groups in Australia, as internationally, are increasingly using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to maintain their cultures, communicate, archive knowledge, empower their communities, develop skills and generate income. Each community uses the technologies differently in accordance with their particular needs and the opportunities available. The use of ICTs in Aboriginal youth empowerment is illustrated through a case study of an initiative undertaken by the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in Leonora, remote Western Australia. A participatory process was used to engage the Centre’s young people and they were given individual assistance to develop their ICT related capacity. The community conceives this youth empowerment to be part of a broader youth participation process that will contribute to the Centre’s overall objectives.     

Paleoclimatic changes in southern Africa during the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation: evidence from ODP Leg 175 Site 1085

Pliocene age sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 175, Site 1085-A and B in the Cape Basin were analyzed to investigate the impact of the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (INHG) on the South Atlantic Benguela Current system from 4 to 2 Ma. Proxies for productivity (concentrations and mass accumulation rates of total organic carbon, carbon to nitrogen ratios, percent calcium carbonate, and percent biogenic silica) as well as weight percent sand (a proxy for preservation or winnowing) peak at 3.2, 3.0, 2.4, and 2.25 Ma. Normative calculations of allied trace and major elemental determinations indicate synchronous increases in productivity peaks, as well as high concentrations and accumulations of terrigenous sediments. Coeval increases in hemipelagic sedimentation and productivity indicators could be the result of enhanced eolian sedimentation resulting from strengthened winds, leading to elevated rates of upwelling and enhanced productivity. However, rapid burial, as indicated by high sedimentation rates, could also enhance preservation. The very high concentrations (>30%) and accumulations (up to 60 g/cm²/kyr) limit the likelihood that eolian sedimentation was the only transport mechanism, invoking an additional fluvial source. Rapid burial by either eolian or fluvial transport links these intervals of enhanced preservation and productivity with continental climate changes resulting from (1) increased winds and/or dust availability due to higher aridity in the Namibia/northern South Africa region; (2) lowered sea-level related to increased ice volume; (3) increased sediment load due to wetter conditions in the continental interior; or (4) some combination. Peaks at 3.2, 2.4 and 2.25 Ma are coincident with maximum precession, suggesting a link between hemipelagic sedimentation and enhanced monsoonal circulation over southern Africa. The Site 1085 sedimentary record during the INHG seems to be controlled by low-latitude processes linked to precession rather than hig-latitude processes.     

The Evolution of Sunspot Magnetic Fields Associated with a Solar Flare

Solar flares occur due to the sudden release of energy stored in active-region magnetic fields. To date, the precursors to flaring are still not fully understood, although there is evidence that flaring is related to changes in the topology or complexity of an active-region’s magnetic field. Here, the evolution of the magnetic field in active region NOAA 10953 was examined using Hinode/SOT-SP data over a period of 12 hours leading up to and after a GOES B1.0 flare. A number of magnetic-field properties and low-order aspects of magnetic-field topology were extracted from two flux regions that exhibited increased Ca ii H emission during the flare. Pre-flare increases in vertical field strength, vertical current density, and inclination angle of ≈ 8° toward the vertical were observed in flux elements surrounding the primary sunspot. The vertical field strength and current density subsequently decreased in the post-flare state, with the inclination becoming more horizontal by ≈ 7°. This behavior of the field vector may provide a physical basis for future flare-forecasting efforts.     

AWAPer: An R package for area weighted catchment daily meteorological data anywhere within Australia

Meteorological time-series data are a fundamental input to hydrological investigations. But sourcing data is often laborious and plagued with difficulties. In an effort to improve efficiency and rigor we present an R-package, named AWAPer ( https://github.com/peterson-tim-j/AWAPer ), for the efficient estimation of daily area weighted catchment average and spatial variance of meteorological variables, including evapotranspiration. The package allows creation and updating of a data-cube of gridded daily data from 1900 onwards. Once created, point and area weighted estimates can be extracted at user-defined locations and time periods for anywhere within Australia. Examples of point and catchment average extraction are presented.     

Late Pleistocene stratigraphy and sedimentary environments of the Severnaya Dvina‐Vychegda region in northwestern Russia

The Late Pleistocene stratigraphy from the Severnaya Dvina‐Vychegda region of northwestern Russia is revised based on investigations of new localities, revisiting earlier localities, introduction of about 110 new OSL dates and burial depth corrections of earlier published OSL dates, in addition to six new radiocarbon dates. Most of the OSL samples studied here are from fluvial and subaquaeous sediments, which we found to be well bleached. Six chronostratigraphical units and their sedimentary environment are described, with the oldest unit consisting of pre‐Eemian glacial beds. For the first time, Early Weichselian sediments are documented from the region and a fluvial environment with some vegetation and permafrost conditions is suggested to have persisted from the end of the Eemian until at least about 92 ka ago. The period in which a Middle Weichselian White Sea Lake could have existed is constrained to 67?62 ka, but as the lake level never reached the thresholds of the drainage basin, the lake probably existed only for a short interval within this time‐span. Blocking and reversal of fluvial drainage started again around 21?20 ka ago when the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet advanced into the area, reaching its maximum 17?15 ka ago. At that time, an ice‐dammed lake reached its maximum water level, which was around 135 m above present sea level. Drainage of the lake started shortly after 15 ka ago, and the lake was emptied within 700 years. Severe periglacial conditions, with permafrost and aeolian activity, prevailed in the area until about 10.7 ka.     

Using computational intelligence techniques to model subglacial water systems

Measurements of water pressure beneath Trapridge Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada show that the basal water system is highly heterogeneous. Three types of behaviour were recorded: pressure records which are strongly correlated, records which are strongly anticorrelated, and records which alternate between strong correlation and strong anticorrelation. We take the pressure in bore-holes that are connected to the evacuation route for basal water as the forcing, and the other pressures as the response to this forcing. Previous work (Murray and Clarke 1995) has shown that these relationships can be modelled using low-order nonlinear differential equations optimized by inversion. However, despite optimizing the model parameters we cannot be sure that the final model forms are themselves optimal. Computational intelligence techniques provide alternative methods for fitting models and are robust to missing or noisy data, applicable to non-smooth models, and attempt to derive optimal model forms as well as optimal model parameters. Four computational intelligence techniques have been used and the results compared with the more conventional mathematical model. These methods were genetic programming, artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic and self-organizing maps. We compare each technique and offer an evaluation of their suitability for modelling the pressure data. The evaluation criteria are threefold: (1) goodness of fit and an ability to predict subsequent data under different surface weather conditions; (2) interpretability, and the extent and significance of any new insights offered into the physics of the glacier; (3) computation time. The results suggest that the suitability of the computational intelligence techniques to model these data increases with the complexity of the system to be modelled.     

Pre‐drill Groundwater Geochemistry in the Karoo Basin,South Africa

Enhanced production of unconventional hydrocarbons in the United States has driven interest in natural gas development globally, but simultaneously raised concerns regarding water quantity and quality impacts associated with hydrocarbon extraction. We conducted a pre‐development assessment of groundwater geochemistry in the critically water‐restricted Karoo Basin, South Africa. Twenty‐two springs and groundwater samples were analyzed for major dissolved ions, trace elements, water stable isotopes, strontium and boron isotopes, hydrocarbons and helium composition. The data revealed three end‐members: a deep, saline groundwater with a sodium‐chloride composition, an old, deep freshwater with a sodium‐bicarbonate‐chloride composition and a shallow, calcium‐bicarbonate freshwater. In a few cases, we identified direct mixing of the deep saline water and shallow groundwater. Stable water isotopes indicate that the shallow groundwater was controlled by evaporation in arid conditions, while the saline waters were diluted by apparently fossil meteoric water originated under wetter climatic conditions. These geochemical and isotopic data, in combination with elevated helium levels, suggest that exogenous fluids are the source of the saline groundwater and originated from remnant seawater prior to dilution by old meteoric water combined with further modification by water‐rock interactions. Samples with elevated methane concentrations (>14 ccSTP/kg) were strongly associated with the sodium‐chloride water located near dolerite intrusions, which likely provide a preferential pathway for vertical migration of deeply sourced hydrocarbon‐rich saline waters to the surface. This pre‐drill evaluation indicates that the natural migration of methane‐ and salt‐rich waters provides a source of geogenic contamination to shallow aquifers prior to shale gas development in the Karoo Basin.     

Advances in location modeling: GIS linkages and contributions

Geographic information systems (GIS) have matured and proven to be an enabling technology, one that is important to many disciplines. Location analysis is also a field that has matured and continues to evolve. In fact, the combination of GIS and location science is at the forefront of advances in spatial analysis capabilities, offering substantial potential for continued and sustained theoretical and empirical evolution. This paper provides an overview of location analysis and discusses GIS. The paper highlights how GIS has contributed to location science in terms of data input, visualization, problem solution and theoretical advances. The significance of GIS in this context is that it is far more than a mere spatial data input mechanism, which is a commonly held misconception within geography, operations research and other allied disciplines. In contrast to other reviews, the focus in this paper is to highlight the theoretical foundations of location analysis and modeling and how GIS is contributing to important advancements in this field. An overall contribution of the paper is providing a perspective on spatial analysis and how associated specialty areas are evolving and thriving, particularly as a component of GIScience.     

Use of Sonication for Enhanced Sampling of Attached Microbes from Groundwater Systems

The vast majority of microorganisms in aquifers live as biofilms on sediment surfaces, which presents significant challenges for sampling as only the suspended microbes will be sampled through normal pumping. The use of a down-well low frequency sonicator has been suggested as a method of detaching microbes from the biofilm and allowing rapid sampling of this community. We developed a portable, easy to use, low-frequency electric sonicator and evaluated its performance for a range of well depths (tested up to 42 m below ground level) and casing types. Three sonicators were characterized in laboratory experiments using a 1 m long tank filled with pea gravel. These included a commercially available pneumatic sonicator, a rotating flexible shaft sonicator, and the prototype electric sonicator. The electric sonicator detached between 56 and 74% of microbes grown on gravel-containing biobags at distances ranging between 2 and 50 cm from the sonicator. The field testing comprises of a total of 55 sampling events from 48 wells located in 4 regions throughout New Zealand. Pre- and post-sonication samples showed an average 33 times increase in bacterial counts. Microbial sequence data showed that the same classes are present in pre- and post-sonicated samples and only slight differences were seen in the proportions present. The sampling process was rapid and the significant increases in bacterial counts mean that microbial samples can be quickly obtained from wells, which permits more detailed analysis than previously possible.