World Cities in the Pacific Rim: A New Global Test of Regional Coherence

A new evaluation of the Pacific Rim concept is presented. The originality of this test for regional coherence is to be found in the basic units being analysed: cities instead of states. Based on a theoretical framework that identifies world city and world city network formation in terms of the office networks of advanced producer service firms, we use a principal components analysis to analyse a data set of 28 Pacific Rim cities and 46 global service firms. This identifies five main groupings of cities in terms of similar mixes of corporate service firms: a western Rim group; a group of ‘old Commonwealth’ cities; a market communist group of cities; Tokyo as a global city; and US cities as a specific separate group. These results confirm numerous earlier studies that were sceptical of the existence of a coherent Pacific Rim region. However, the particular approach adopted here allows us to identify the Pacific Rim generically as a particularly pernicious construct. We conclude that the Pacific Rim is a geographical chaotic conception.     

Hydrodynamical simulations of Galactic fountains – I. Evolution of single fountains

The ejection of the gas out of the disc in late-type galaxies is related to star formation and is due mainly to Type II supernovae. In this paper, we studied in detail the development of the Galactic fountains in order to understand their dynamical evolution and their influence on the redistribution of the freshly delivered metals over the disc. To this aim, we performed a number of 3D hydrodynamical radiative cooling simulations of the gas in the Milky Way where the whole Galaxy structure, the Galactic differential rotation and the supernova explosions generated by a single OB association are considered. A typical fountain powered by 100 Type II supernovae may eject material up to ∼2 kpc which than collapses back mostly in the form of dense, cold clouds and filaments. The majority of the gas lifted up by the fountains falls back on the disc remaining within a radial distance  Δ R = 0.5 kpc  from the place where the fountain originated. This localized circulation of disc gas does not influence the radial chemical gradients on large scale, as required by the chemical models of the Milky Way which reproduce the metallicity distribution without invoking large fluxes of metals. Simulations of multiple fountains fuelled by Type II supernovae of different OB associations will be presented in a companion paper.     

Preliminary report on radionuclide concentrations in the bottom waters at the entrance of Wakasa Bay with special reference to the Japan Sea Proper Water

Marked fluctuation of concentrations of⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs was observed in the bottom waters at the entrance of Wakasa Bay during 1987–1992, and the cause was investigated. The concentrations of⁹⁰Sr and¹³⁷Cs in the bottom waters were significantly low when the upper level of the Japan Sea Proper Water (JSPW) was high and covered the sampling depth, but high when the upper level of the JSPW was low. The cause of the fluctuation observed in the bottom waters is, therefore, suggested to be the vertical fluctuation of the upper level of the JSPW on the shelf slope, which has been little described before.     

Readout Techniques for Drift and Low Frequency Noise Rejection in Infrared Arrays

Three different methods are presented to subtract thermal drifts and low-frequency noise from the signal of infrared array. The first is dead pixels with open Indium bumps, the second is reference output as implemented on the Hawaii2 multiplexer, and the third is dark pixels to emulate reference cells having a capacity connected to the gate of the unit cell field-effect transistor (FET). The third method is the most effective and yields a reduction in readout noise from15.4–9.4 erms. A novel method will be described to extend this readout technique to the Aladdin 1 K × 1 K InSb array. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The multiple chronological techniques applied to the Lake Suigetsu SG06 sediment core,central Japan

The varved sediment of Lake Suigetsu (central Japan) provides a valuable opportunity to obtain high‐resolution, multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental data across the last glacial/interglacial cycle. In order to maximize the potential of this archive, a well‐constrained chronology is required. This paper outlines the multiple geochronological techniques being applied – namely varve counting, radiocarbon dating, tephrochronology (including argon–argon dating) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) – and the approaches by which these techniques are being integrated to form a single, coherent, robust chronology. Importantly, we also describe here the linkage of the floating Lake Suigetsu (SG06) varve chronology and the absolute (IntCal09 tree‐ring) time scale, as derived using radiocarbon data from the uppermost (non‐varved) portion of the core. This tie‐point, defined as a distinct (flood) marker horizon in SG06 (event layer B‐07–08 at 1397.4 cm composite depth), is thus derived to be 11 255 to 11 222 IntCal09 cal. years BP (68.2% probability range).     

Magnetic susceptibility anisotropy of deformed rocks

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Mountain Protection Forests against Natural Hazards and Risks: New French Developments by Integrating Forests in Risk Zoning

Forests can play a very significant role in protection against natural hazards and risks in mountain lands, especially against erosion and rockfalls. This paper first assesses knowledge concerning the capacity of forests to control natural hazards, with emphasis placed on forest location in catchments or slopes. Zoning aspects are then presented; based on the use of GIS, they allow determining priorities for forestry operations (cuts and biological engineering), in view to setting up an 'optimal management' of mountain forest ecosystems. Finally, an explanation is given of how the results of research are used for the management and planning of mountain ecosystems, illustrated by an example of researcher-practitioner transfer in France. Zoning, prevention, display and regular aspects are developed. On the basis of the experience and knowledge presented here, recommendations are proposed to better take into account the role of mountain forests in the control of natural hazards and risks. It is necessary to have an adapted legislative and economic framework, define priority forest intervention zones and determine an adapted sylviculture.