Geography Education: The Glass Is Half Full and It's Getting Fuller

This article examines the recent progress of geography education as an academic subfield of geography and as an area of activity in K–12 education. Challenges to both endeavors are described. A restructuring of geography education's research program that focuses on spatial thinking and reasoning and merges applied and theoretical research is proposed.     

REE and (э)Nd of clay fractions in sediments from the eastern Pacific Ocean: Evidence for clay sources

Clay fractions in the non-calcareous surface sediments from the eastern Pacific were analyzed for clay minerals, REE and 143Nd/144Nd. Montmorillonite/illite ratio (M/I ratio), total REE contents ((REE), LREE/HREE ratio and cerium anomaly (бCe) may effectively indicate the genesis of clay minerals. Clay fractions with M/I ratio >1, бCe (0.85, (REE (400 μg/g, LREE/HREE ratio (4, and REE patterns similar to those of pelagic sediments are terrigenous and autogenetic mixed clay fractions and contain more autogenetic montmorillonite. Clay fractions with M/I ratio <1, бCe=0.86 to 1.5, ΣREE=200 to 350 μg/g, LREE/HREE ratio (6 and REE distribution patterns similar to that of China loess are identified as terrigenous clay fraction. The 143Nd/144Nd ratios or (э)Nd values of clay fractions inherit the features of terrigenous sources of clay minerals. Clay fractions are divided into 4 types according to (э)Nd values. Terrigenous clay minerals of type I with the (э)Nd values of -8 to -6 originate mainly from North American fluvial deposits. Those of type II with the (э)Nd values of -9 to -7 are mainly from the East Asia and North American fluvial deposits. Those of type III with (э)Nd values of -6 to -3 could come from the central and eastern Pacific volcanic islands. Those of type IV with (э)Nd values of -13 to -12 may be from East Asia eolian. The terrigenous and autogenetic mixed clay fractions show patchy distributions, indicating that there are volcanic or hot-spot activities in the eastern Pacific plate, while the terrigenous clay fractions cover a large part of the study area, proving that the terrigenous clay minerals are dominant in the eastern Pacific.     

The diurnal and seasonal characteristics of urban heat island variation in Beijing city and surrounding areas and impact factors based on remote sensing satellite data

Based on the land surface temperature (LST), the land cover classification map,vegetation coverage, and surface evapotranspiration derived from EOS-MODIS satellite data, and by the use of GIS spatial analytic technique and multivariate statistical analysis method, the urban heat island (UHI) spatial distribution of the diurnal and seasonal variabilities and its driving forces are studied in Beijing city and surrounding areas in 2001. The relationships among UHI distribution and landcover categories, topographic factor, vegetation greenness, and surface evapotranspiration are analyzed. The results indicate that: (i) The significant UHI occur in Beijing city areas in the four seasons due to high heat capacity and multi-reflection of compression building, as well as with special topographic features of its three sides surrounded by mountains,especially in the summer. The UHI spatial distribution is corresponding with the urban geometry structure profile. The LST difference is approximately 4-6℃ between Beijing city and suburb areas, comparatively is 8- 10℃ between Beijing city area and outer suburb area in northwestern regions. (ii) The UHI distribution and intensity in daytime are different from nighttime in Beijing city area, the nighttime UHI is obvious. However, in the daytime, the significant UHI mainly appears in the summer, the autumn takes second place, and the UHI in the winter and the spring seem not obvious. The surface evapotranspiration in suburb areas is larger than that in urban areas in the summer, and high latent heat exchange is evident, which leads to LST difference between city area and suburb area. (iii) The reflection of surface landcover categories is sensitive to the UHI, the correlation between vegetation greenness and UHI shows obviously negative.The scatterplot shows that there is the negative correlation between NDVI and LST (R2 = 0.6481).The results demonstrate that the vegetation greenness is an important factor for reducing the UHI,and large-scale construction of greenbelts can considerably reduce the UHI effect.     

Karst database development in Minnesota: design and data assembly

The Karst Feature Database (KFD) of Minnesota is a relational GIS-based Database Management System (DBMS). Previous karst feature datasets used inconsistent attributes to describe karst features in different areas of Minnesota. Existing metadata were modified and standardized to represent a comprehensive metadata for all the karst features in Minnesota. Microsoft Access 2000 and ArcView 3.2 were used to develop this working database. Existing county and sub-county karst feature datasets have been assembled into the KFD, which is capable of visualizing and analyzing the entire data set. By November 17 2002, 11,682 karst features were stored in the KFD of Minnesota. Data tables are stored in a Microsoft Access 2000 DBMS and linked to corresponding ArcView applications. The current KFD of Minnesota has been moved from a Windows NT server to a Windows 2000 Citrix server accessible to researchers and planners through networked interfaces.     

长江漫滩区深大异形基坑施工对紧邻特大型桥梁影响及变形控制研究

随着地下空间资源的开发利用,越来越多深基坑呈现出开挖深、规模大、形状不规则等特点,其支护结构设计复杂,施工难度大,具有明显的空间效应。本文以南京地铁某基坑工程为例,分析基坑施工对邻近桥梁的影响。其场区位于长江下游漫滩相二元结构地层分布地段,上部软土层厚度大,下部承压含水层地下水位高、水量丰富,地质条件复杂,该基坑为典型的深大异形基坑,距离某大桥的双曲拱引桥仅为7. 2 m,由于之前桥梁已遭受其他地下工程施工产生的较大变形,所以后续工程对其影响变形控制要求极高。为此,该车站基坑支护结构设计基于地下空间实际功能采用设置分隔墙分区开挖及MJS超深工法墙综合变形控制方案。本文通过有限元数值模拟计算,开展复杂环境下基坑开挖引起的围护结构及桥梁桩基的变形预测分析,计算结果显示,该深大狭长异形基坑开挖对邻近桥梁沉降变形影响显著,通过设置分隔墙分区开挖及MJS工法墙进行变形控制,能够较好地控制基坑的空间效应,减少“长边效应”、“异形效应”等对桥梁沉降变形的影响。通过现场基坑开挖过程实际监测结果,验证这一综合变形控制方案的可行性。该研究成果对于类似复杂地质条件下深大狭长异形基坑的支护及施工设计具有很好的借鉴意义。     

南水北调地下水回补对潮白河冲洪积扇中上部地表形变响应及控制因素

2014年南水进京后,持续开展地下水回补对于遏制和减缓地面沉降发展起到重要作用,但地下水回升由此带来的不同区域、不同层位的地面沉降与回弹机制及其控制因素尚不明确。深入探讨和研究回补时间、回补量、回补地点与水位及地表形变之间的关系,了解地表形变发生机理和识别主控因素,为后续如何科学回补,发挥最大化水资源回补效益、对地面沉降防治和超采区治理具有极其重要意义。本文以潮白河冲洪积扇中上部区域为例,采用永久散射体差分干涉测量（PS InSAR）技术获取研究区地面沉降形变信息,并结合区域分层地下水位动态变化、分层沉降变化等多手段进行耦合,查明研究区地表形变与多因素之间的响应与控制因素。结果表明:南水持续回补导致区域地面沉降减缓,并在牛栏山地区出现地表抬升,抬升范围也随着水位上升逐渐向中下游扩展,2022年最大回弹速率达46.9 mm/a;地表形变具有明显的受断裂所控制的第四系沉积差异特性,以黄庄—高丽营断裂、顺义断裂和南口—孙河断裂所分割的后沙峪凹陷范围内变化明显大于其他地区;地下水位变幅与富水性差异决定水位上升范围与响应变化,而沉积构造作用所造成第四系沉积差异在地下水流向上具有一定控制作用。结果为地面沉降防控和机理研究提供理论和科学依据,同时也为后续开展地下水科学回补和方案优化提供指导和借鉴。