The future of industrial cities and regions in central and eastern Europe

Economic transition in central and eastern Europe (CEE) has had a particularly strong impact on industrial cities and regions. Following their economic collapse, most of them are now confronted with serious problems such as high unemployment and vast ecological damage. The paper presents findings from a pan European research project that investigated the problems of these cities and regions as well as the strategies being adopted to cope with structural change. It examines the differences in approaches and addresses the question whether existing EU policy is suitable for supporting the redevelopment of old industrial cities and regions in CEE countries. The paper concludes with recommendations for future directions in policy making.     

Two bioerosion ichnofacies produced by early and late burial associated with sea-level change

In bioerosion, as in trace fossils as a whole, deeply emplaced structures have greater survival value than shallow structures. That is to say, tiering (the relative depth to which rasping, etching and boring organisms penetrate their substrate) is of paramount importance for the preservation potential of individual trace fossils. An Entobia ichnofacies is established for trace fossil assemblages dominated by deep tier borings and arising from long-term bioerosion, such as occurs on sediment-free submarine cliffs or hardgrounds. A Gnathichnus ichnofacies comprises assemblages containing all tiers, including superficial sculptures produced by radulation that have very little preservation potential. Such assemblages occur in short-term bioerosion situations as on shell surfaces and hardgrounds buried early by sedimentation. Correspondence to: R. G. Bromley     

Natural disasters as the end of the insurance industry? Scalar competitive strategies, Alternative Risk Transfers, and the economic crisis

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has piqued interest in the insurance industry, and this scrutiny has led to assumptions that the industry has become unstable and unprofitable with the increased incidence of disasters in highly-insured regions of the world. This paper challenges that assumption by arguing that the insurance industry has responded by spreading risk through scaled and networked recovery schemes. We found that because of competitive strategies of risk-spreading and displacement arrangements, the industry has actually profited as a whole. Regional insurance companies have always relied on the higher financial scales of the reinsurance industry in Munich, Zurich, and London. But with claims reaching into the billions of dollars, the reinsurance industry itself has raised premiums, spread risk farther afield, and jumped scale by spreading risk to futures markets called Alternative Risk Transfers (ARTs). However, the recession beginning in 2008 has called into question the viability of using futures markets as insurance. It is shown through a media analysis of four major business publications (The Economist, The New York Times, The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal) how the industry responded to the costs of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 hurricane seasons. Because geography is rather new to this literature, this paper also offers a broad review of the insurance industry.     

Late second-early first millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean

The alluvial deposits near Gibala-Tell Tweini provide a unique record of environmental history and food availability estimates covering the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The refined pollen-derived climatic proxy suggests that drier climatic conditions occurred in the Mediterranean belt of Syria from the late 13th/early 12th centuries BC to the 9th century BC. This period corresponds with the time frame of the Late Bronze Age collapse and the subsequent Dark Age. The abrupt climate change at the end of the Late Bronze Age caused region-wide crop failures, leading towards socio-economic crises and unsustainability, forcing regional habitat-tracking. Archaeological data show that the first conflagration of Gibala occurred simultaneously with the destruction of the capital city Ugarit currently dated between 1194 and 1175 BC. Gibala redeveloped shortly after this destruction, with large-scale urbanization visible in two main architectural phases during the Early Iron Age I. The later Iron Age I city was destroyed during a second conflagration, which is radiocarbon-dated at circa 2950 cal yr BP. The data from Gibala-Tell Tweini provide evidence in support of the drought hypothesis as a triggering factor behind the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean.     

长江口深水航道治理工程综述

文章概要地介绍长江口深水航道治理工程的规划、勘察、设计和施工情况，对整治方案及主要岩土工程问题略作讨论。     

基于均匀混合假设的天然河道水质模拟方法

扩散质进入窄浅型河道后,通常采用有限差分法求解一维对流分散方程进行水质模拟,计算相对复杂。为简化计算,提出了根据河道断面特征等水力特性,将河道划分为若干单元,忽略不灵敏因子分散项对单元间扩散质交换的影响,并引入单元均匀混合假定,提出了基于均匀混合假设的天然河道水质模拟方法,建立相应的水质数学模型。算例表明,该模型运算稳定,与有限差分法模拟精度相当,但可大大简化并节省计算工作量。     

北半球冰川物质平衡的突变

据世界冰川监测处（ＷＧＭＳ）收集,编辑和出版的全球冰川物质平衡序列资料,用序列平均滑动ｔ检验,探测了北半球２０ａ以上长序列３３条冰川的１０ａ尺度突变。结果表明,突变发生年代的区域特征与气候环流背景突变很相近。证实冰川年物质平衡序列反映气候背景突出的能力与灵敏性。     

Late Quaternary environmental changes on Pacific islands: controversy,certainty and conjecture

The late Quaternary history of the Pacific islands is poorly known. Most details about Pleistocene history come from studies of ocean-floor sediments, although a few insular pollen records extend back into the last glacial stage. There is limited evidence for Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) aridity and a rise in LGM–early Holocene precipitation associated with strengthening of the Southern Oscillation. The middle Holocene warming is best represented by sea-level records, which, from all parts of the Pacific, now show a contemporary maximum ca. 5000–3000 yr BP. Late Holocene cooling and precipitation increase were probably more widespread than available data suggest. The advent of humans into Pacific island environments, mostly during the late Holocene, is critically reviewed. Vegetation change may have, at least in part, been the result of climate change. Many Pacific island grasslands may be climatogenic rather than anthropogenic. Fires may have occurred naturally long before people arrived on Pacific islands. Ideas about early human impacts on Pacific island enviroments need to be critically reviewed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

古气候变化与地下热水中氢氧稳定同位的关系

关中盆地地下热水中氢氧稳定同位素的研究表明：研究区地下热水中氢氧稳定同位素组成变化与当地古气候变化具有良好的对应关系,古气候变化直接影响了地下热水接受补给时的氢氧稳定同位素组成。研究区地下热水的补给为更新世前古代大气降水。大约在8.2～10.2 kaB.P.和18.1～19.2 kaB.P.这两个时间段,可能是由于当时温度较低导致关中盆地地下热水补给偏少;关中盆地地下热水的补给过程受古气候的变化影响呈现非等速补给特征,可能存在一定的古地下水形成期。