Planetary urbanisation: une affaire de perception

ABSTRACT

This paper suggests that planetary urbanisation offers an antidote to the narrow-mindedness of our toxic times. It conceives planetary urbanisation as “an affair of perception,” as a vision that begins vast, at the horizon, and sees particular parts (including your own particular part) comprising an interdependent totality. To envision the world through the lens of planetary urbanisation has certain distinct advantages. After all, it’s a viewpoint expressive of commonality rather than difference, of a mutually shared planet in which people who look different, who talk different from one another, who don’t know one another, who may even hate one another, have more in common than they might think.     

Investigating snowpack across scale in the northern Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest region of Central Ontario,Canada

This study investigates scaling issues by evaluating snow processes and quantifying bias in snowpack properties across scale in a northern Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest. Snow depth and density were measured along transects stratified by land cover over the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 winters. Daily snow depth was measured using a time‐lapse (TL) camera at each transect. Semivariogram analysis of the transect data was conducted, and no autocorrelation was found, indicating little spatial structure along the transects. Pairwise differences in snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) between land covers were calculated and compared across scales. Differences in snowpack between forested sites at the TL points corresponded to differences in canopy cover, but this relationship was not evident at the transect scale, indicating a difference in observed process across scale. TL and transect estimates had substantial bias, but consistency in error was observed, which indicates that scaling coefficients may be derived to improve point scale estimates. TL and transect measurements were upscaled to estimate grid scale means. Upscaled estimates were compared and found to be consistent, indicating that appropriately stratified point scale measurements can be used to approximate a grid scale mean when transect data are not available. These findings are important in remote regions such as the study area, where frequent transect data may be difficult to obtain. TL, transect, and upscaled means were compared with modelled depth and SWE. Model comparisons with TL and transect data indicated that bias was dependent on land cover, measurement scale, and seasonality. Modelled means compared well with upscaled estimates, but model SWE was underestimated during spring melt. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the spatial representativeness of in situ measurements and the processes those measurements represent when validating gridded snow products or assimilating data into models.     

Comparison of five snow water equivalent estimation methods across categories

Snow water equivalent (SWE) is an important indicator used in hydrology, water resources, and climate change impact. There are various methods of estimating SWE (falling in 3 categories: indirect sensors, empirical models, and process‐based models), but few studies that provide comparison across these different categories to help users make decisions on monitoring site design or method selection. Five SWE estimation methods were compared against manual snow course data collected over 2 years (2015–2016) from the Dorset Environmental Science Centre, including the gamma‐radiation‐based CS725 sensor, 3 empirical estimation models (Sexstone snow density model, McCreight & Small snow density model, and a meteorology‐based model), and the University of British Columbia Watershed Model snow energy‐balance model. Snow depth, density, and SWE were measured at the Dorset Environmental Science Centre weather station in south‐central Ontario, on a daily basis over 6 winters from 2011 to 2016. The 2 snow density‐based models, requiring daily snow depth as input, gave the best performance (R² of .92 and .92 for McCreight & Small and Sexstone models, respectively). The CS725 sensor that receives radiation coming from soil penetrating the snowpack provided the same performance (R² = .92), proving that the sensor is an applicable method, although it is expensive. The meteorology‐based empirical model, requiring daily climate data including temperature, precipitation and solar radiation, gave the poorest performance (R² = .77). The energy‐balance‐based University of British Columbia Watershed Model snow module, only requiring climate data, worked better than the empirical meteorology‐based model (R² = .9) but performed worse than the density models or CS725 sensor. Given differences in application objectives, site conditions, and budget, this comparison across SWE estimation methods may help users choose a suitable method. For ongoing and new monitoring sites, installation of a CS725 sensor coupled with intermittent manual snow course measurements (e.g., weekly) is recommended for further SWE method estimation testing and development of a snow density model.     

The effect of peat structure on the spatial distribution of biogenic gases within bogs

Northern peatlands are a large source of atmospheric methane (CH₄) and both a source and a sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). The rate and temporal variability in gas exchanges with peat soils is directly related to the spatial distribution of these free‐phase gases within the peat column. In this paper, we present results from surface and borehole ground‐penetrating radar surveys – constrained with direct soil and gas sampling – that compare the spatial distribution of gas accumulations in two raised bogs: one in Wales (UK), the other in Maine (USA). Although the two peatlands have similar average thickness, physical properties of the peat matrix differ, particularly in terms of peat type and degree of humification. We hypothesize that these variations in physical properties are responsible for the differences in gas distribution between the two peatlands characterized by (1) gas content up to 10.8% associated with woody peat and presence of wood layers in Caribou Bog (Maine) and (2) a more homogenous distribution with gas content up to 5.7% at the surface (i.e. <0.5 m deep) in Cors Fochno (Wales). Our results highlight the variability in biogenic gas accumulation and distribution across peatlands and suggest that the nature of the peat matrix has a key role in defining how biogenic gas accumulates within and is released to the atmosphere from peat soils. © 2015 The Authors. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Paleohydrology of the upper Laurentian Great Lakes from the late glacial to early Holocene

Between 10,500 and 9000 cal yr BP, δ¹⁸O values of benthic ostracodes within glaciolacustrine varves from Lake Superior range from − 18 to − 22‰ PDB. In contrast, coeval ostracode and bivalve records from the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan basins are characterized by extreme δ¹⁸O variations, ranging from values that reflect a source that is primarily glacial ( − 20‰ PDB) to much higher values characteristic of a regional meteoric source ( − 5‰ PDB). Re-evaluated age models for the Huron and Michigan records yield a more consistent δ¹⁸O stratigraphy. The striking feature of these records is a sharp drop in δ¹⁸O values between 9400 and 9000 cal yr BP. In the Huron basin, this low δ¹⁸O excursion was ascribed to the late Stanley lowstand, and in the Lake Michigan basin to Lake Agassiz flooding. Catastrophic flooding from Lake Agassiz is likely, but a second possibility is that the low δ¹⁸O excursion records the switching of overflow from the Lake Superior basin from an undocumented northern outlet back into the Great Lakes basin. Quantifying freshwater fluxes for this system remains difficult because the benthic ostracodes in the glaciolacustrine varves of Lake Superior and Lake Agassiz may not record the average δ¹⁸O value of surface water.     

Petrogenesis of massif-type anorthosite complex, Gruber, Central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica： Implications for magma source and evolution

The origin of anorthosite and associated igneous gabbronorite and ferrodiorite was investigated through detailed study of a typical massif-type anorthosite complex from Gruber, Central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Field observations showed that the Gruber Complex is made up of gabbronorite-anorthosite pluton which was intruded by ferrodiorite dykes. Systematic samples collected from the Gruber Complex revealed significant geochemical variations within the region. Four rock types have been identified, based on modal proportions of mineral phases and their geochemistry data. Clinopyroxene-gabbronorite and plagioclase-gabbronorite are the two types of gabbronorite with the dominance of clinopyroxene and plagioclase, respectively. Anorthosite is represented by rocks having predominance of plagioclase with minor clinopyroxene. Ferrodiorite is characterized by modal abundance of orthopyroxene and Fe-Ti oxide. Major and trace element systematics showed that all the four rock types are co-magmatic and are related through fractional crystallization. Based on this study, it is reported that clinopyroxene was the first phase to crystallize followed by plagioclase and then Fe-Ti oxides. Furthermore, trace element composition of the parental melt was calculated using LA-ICPMS analysis of the most primitive, pure clinopyroxene found in the clinopyroxene gabbronorite. Our analyses suggested that the parental melt was similar to that of continental arc basalt and showed signatures of subduction-related metasomatism. Based on mineral chemical and geochemical data, it is interpreted that the parent melt went through changing sequence of crystallization which led to the formation of massive anorthosite.     

A granite–gabbro complex from Madagascar: constraints on melting of the lower crust

The Ranomandry Complex is a Neoproterozoic, nested intrusion from central Madagascar composed of a gabbroic core within a coeval peraluminous granite ring intruding pelitic metasediments. Although xenocryst entrainment and magma mixing have both contributed to marginal phases of the granite, the primary melt is characterised by steep LREE/HREE ratios and negligible, or slightly positive, Eu anomalies. Both isotopic and trace element systematics preclude an origin from either partial melting of the metapelitic country rock or from fractional crystallisation of the gabbroic magma. However, trace-element modelling suggests an origin from the dehydration melting of a plagioclase-poor, garnet-bearing metagreywacke at temperatures of 850–900 °C and at lower crustal pressures (>10 kbar). Melting of an enriched subcontinental mantle generated gabbroic magmas that caused advective heating and anatexis at the base of thickened continental crust during their ascent. Transport of the resulting granite magma was facilitated by the pre-existing plumbing system that overcame thermal and mechanical problems associated with both diapirism and self-propagating dykes as mechanisms for long-distance transport of granite magmas. The nested geometry of the intrusions is an indication of a structurally homogeneous lower crust that contains no pre-existing shear zones or fault systems.     

Monitoring vegetation dynamics in East Rennell Island World Heritage Site using multi-sensor and multi-temporal remote sensing data

ABSTRACT

East Rennell of Solomon Island is the first natural site under customary law to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Potential threats due to logging, mining and agriculture led to the site being declared a World Heritage in Danger in 2013. For East Rennell World Heritage Site (ERWHS) to ‘shed’ its ‘Danger’ status the management must monitor forest cover both within and outside of ERWHS. We used satellite data from multiple sources to track forest cover changes for the entire East Rennell island since 1998. 95% of the island is still covered by undisturbed forests; annual average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for the whole island was above 0.91 in 2015. However, vegetation cover in the island has been slowly decreasing, at a rate of –0.0011 NDVI per year between 2000 and 2015. This decrease less pronounced inside ERWHS compared to areas outside. While potential threats due to forest clearing outside ERWHS remain the forest cover change from 2000 to 2015 has been below 15%. We suggest ways in which the Government of Solomon Islands could use our data as well as unmanned air vehicles and field surveys to monitor forest cover change and ensure the future conservation of ERWHS.