The evolution of the electronics industry on Batam Island (Riau Islands Province,Indonesia): an evolutionary trajectory contributing to regional resilience?

While extensively studied in the 1990s, research on the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry in Singapore and the proximate areas of Indonesia has dwindled. Focusing on the E&E sector in the island of Batam (Riau Islands Province, Indonesia), we examine the industry’s recent evolution, in particular its ‘robustness’—its durability and capacity to adapt to adverse events. As to the explanatory factors accounting for its robustness, we evaluate the role of agency as opposed to conventional approaches that focus on structure. Our findings show that, in Batam, the E&E industry’s robustness has started to suffer. While there is evidence that structural factors are at work, we argue that agency in the form of institutionally-embedded perspectives and behaviour of actors at the sub-national level also plays a role. Because the promotion of economic diversification through investment in new sectors is easier and more lucrative than upgrading and deepening of firm capabilities in existing sectors, agents privilege the former at the cost of the latter. At the end of the day, regional resilience is undermined, rather than reinforced as evinced by the recent atrophy of Batam’s E&E industry.     

Estimation of groundwater storage from seismic data using deep learning

Convolutional neural networks can provide a potential framework to characterize groundwater storage from seismic data. Estimation of key components, such as the amount of groundwater stored in an aquifer and delineate water table level, from active-source seismic data are performed in this study. The data to train, validate and test the neural networks are obtained by solving wave propagation in a coupled poroviscoelastic–elastic media. A discontinuous Galerkin method is applied to model wave propagation, whereas a deep convolutional neural network is used for the parameter estimation problem. In the numerical experiment, the primary unknowns estimated are the amount of stored groundwater and water table level, while the remaining parameters, assumed to be of less of interest, are marginalized in the convolutional neural network-based solution. Results, obtained through synthetic data, illustrate the potential of deep learning methods to extract additional aquifer information from seismic data, which otherwise would be impossible based on a set of reflection seismic sections or velocity tomograms.     

Present climate and climate change over North America as simulated by the fifth-generation Canadian regional climate model

The fifth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5) was used to dynamically downscale two Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM) simulations of the transient climate change for the period 1950–2100, over North America, following the CORDEX protocol. The CRCM5 was driven by data from the CanESM2 and MPI-ESM-LR CGCM simulations, based on the historical (1850–2005) and future (2006–2100) RCP4.5 radiative forcing scenario. The results show that the CRCM5 simulations reproduce relatively well the current-climate North American regional climatic features, such as the temperature and precipitation multiannual means, annual cycles and temporal variability at daily scale. A cold bias was noted during the winter season over western and southern portions of the continent. CRCM5-simulated precipitation accumulations at daily temporal scale are much more realistic when compared with its driving CGCM simulations, especially in summer when small-scale driven convective precipitation has a large contribution over land. The CRCM5 climate projections imply a general warming over the continent in the 21st century, especially over the northern regions in winter. The winter warming is mostly contributed by the lower percentiles of daily temperatures, implying a reduction in the frequency and intensity of cold waves. A precipitation decrease is projected over Central America and an increase over the rest of the continent. For the average precipitation change in summer however there is little consensus between the simulations. Some of these differences can be attributed to the uncertainties in CGCM-projected changes in the position and strength of the Pacific Ocean subtropical high pressure.     

Heavy metals in marine sediments of Taranto Gulf (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy)

Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti and Zn concentrations have been determined in surface sediment samples collected in the Taranto Gulf (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy) in order to evaluate their levels and spatial distribution in this important area of the Mediterranean Sea. For various metals, the geoaccumulation index has been calculated as a criterion to assess if their concentrations represent contamination levels or can be considered as background levels. The results show that metals concentrations in sediments can be considered near the background levels found in the Mediterranean Sea.Analytical results have been elaborated by using a Geographical Information System (GIS) software to show metals accumulation areas. Using multivariate statistical analysis, we evaluate the possibility to distinguish the sampling stations, in relation to their geographical position. Results have showed metals distribution in the Taranto Gulf is principally influenced by industrial and urban wastes, located mostly in the northern coastal area of the Ionian Sea. Rivers in the Basilicata region and prevailing anticlockwise marine currents are further factors influencing metal accumulation in sediments.     

Using GIS to Model and Forecast HIV/AIDS Rates in Africa, 1986–2010

In this article we draw on the power of geographic information systems (GIS) to examine the progression of HIV/AIDS in Africa for the period from 1986 to 2003. We use GIS for two purposes: (1) to transform and interpolate a set of annual point-based HIV/AIDS rates into area data; and (2) to extract or “mine” annual HIV/AIDS prevalence rates from the interpolated area (country) level maps. Once the rates are extracted from the GIS analysis we then model and forecast them into the near future (i.e., 2004–2010) by using the UNAIDS Estimation and Projection Package (EPP) software. The article offers an alternative grounded in geospatial analysis for yielding estimates of HIV/AIDS rates in Africa. Using incomplete sets of data for the period from 1986 to 2003, mean HIV/AIDS rates are generated from spatially interpolated data and future trends are estimated. The results indicate that the HIV/AIDS epidemic for many countries in Africa has reached the saturation or maturity level as evidenced by the typical S-shaped curves in the trends over time. As a matter of fact, some countries have begun to experience a sustained decline in the rates (e.g., Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe).     

Prediction of magnitude of the largest potentially induced seismic event

We propose a method for determining the possible magnitude of a potentially largest induced seismic event derived from the Gutenberg–Richter law and an estimate of total released seismic moment. We emphasize that the presented relationship is valid for induced (not triggered) seismicity, as the total seismic moment of triggered seismicity is not bound by the injection. The ratio of the moment released by the largest event and weaker events is determined by the constants a and b of the Gutenberg–Richter law. We show that for a total released seismic moment, it is possible to estimate number of events greater than a given magnitude. We determine the formula for the moment magnitude of a probable largest seismic event with one occurrence within the recurrence interval (given by one volumetric change caused by mining or injecting). Finally, we compare theoretical and measured values of the moment magnitudes of the largest induced seismic events for selected geothermal and hydraulic fracturing projects.     

Distinct metamorphic evolution of alternating silica-saturated and silica-deficient microdomains within garnet in ultrahigh-temperature granulites: An example from Sri Lanka

Here we report the occurrence of garnet porphyroblasts that have overgrown alternating silica-saturated and silica deficient microdomains via different mineral reactions. The samples were collected from ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metapelites in the Highland Complex, Sri Lanka. In some of the metapelites, garnet crystals have cores formed via a dehydration reaction, which had taken place at silica-saturated microdomains and mantle to rim areas formed via a dehydration reaction at silica-deficient microdomains. In contrast, some other garnets in the same rock cores had formed via a dehydration reaction which occurred at silica-deficient microdomains while mantle to rim areas formed via a dehydration reaction at silica-saturated microdomains. Based on the textural observations, we conclude that the studied garnets have grown across different effective bulk compositional microdomains during the prograde evolution. These microdomains could represent heterogeneous compositional layers (paleobedding/laminations) in the precursor sediments or differentiated crenulation cleavages that existed during prograde metamorphism. UHT metamorphism associated with strong ductile deformation, metamorphic differentiation and crystallization of locally produced melt may have obliterated the evidence for such microdomains in the matrix. The lack of significant compositional zoning in garnet probably due to self-diffusion during UHT metamorphism had left mineral inclusions as the sole evidence for earlier microdomains with contrasting chemistry.     

Tissue distribution of metals in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Apulian coasts, southern Italy.

Tissue distributions of metals (mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc, copper, iron, manganese) were determined in six specimens of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba, Meyen) stranded on the Apulian coasts (Southern Italy) between February and June 1987. Methyl mercury and selenium were also determined in the liver samples. The liver accumulated the highest concentrations of metals, except for cadmium and chromium. Metal levels were higher than those found in dolphins living in the Atlantic, but lower than those recorded in the same species from the French Mediterranean coasts. Necroscopic surveys found that all specimens were affected by haemorrhagic gastritis, but the cause was not clear. While it was not possible to related the death of dolphins to a specific cause, or to contaminants, the accumulation of metals is likely to contribute to the health of the organism and represents a risk factor for dolphins.