Testing of Sydney dimension sandstone for use in the conservation of heritage buildings

This paper deals with the scientific assessment of the physical properties of sandstone used in the conservation of Sydney's historic heritage sandstone buildings. The local Hawkesbury Sandstone has been widely used for all manner of constructions since the early days of the first settlement. In the nineteenth century, dimension sandstone quarries existed all over the Sydney region, and the demand for the stone was great. During this time, a true ‘freestone’ known as ‘yellow block’ sandstone, in which bedding planes were absent, was quarried extensively. This sandstone is also known as a ‘self-colouring’ sandstone, where the rock, although grey when quarried, turns a yellow–brown after a few months exposure to the atmosphere. It can be easily carved and was eminently suitable for the ornate Victorian architecture of the time. There are very few quarries within the Sydney region today capable of producing ‘yellow block’ sandstone. Whenever possible, sandstone from suitable building excavations, particularly on the Pyrmont Peninsula, is used for this work. Conservation work is extremely expensive and the building elements that most need replacement, the overhanging and decorative elements, are usually those that cost the most. It is essential that the most durable replacement stone be selected. Thus, a strict regime of scientific testing is used for any major conservation project, in order to determine the physical properties of possible replacement stone. This is the province of the geologist and involves visual observation in the quarry or excavation, which is a simple, cost-effective means of weeding out poor quality stones, followed by laboratory engineering tests to establish the physical parameters of a sandstone and finally, petrographic analysis. The results of such tests, combined with careful sampling, ensure the best possible quality of replacement material.     

Empowering farmers with remote sensing knowledge: A success story from the US Upper Midwest

Satellite imagery has proven potential in farm level applications, especially in the US Upper Midwest where the farm sizes are large enough to be studied using high and medium resolutions. In order for farmers to use this technology to improve their productivity and income, it is imperative that they be sufficiently exposed to the technology so that they are able to take full advantage of it. Training of farmers and ranchers in satellite imagery use started at the University of North Dakota in 2000 and has been refined over time. The basic ‘hands on’ training involves downloading imagery from the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC) website, downloading and use of free visualization software programs available on the web and an introduction to the various application possibilities. Advanced training, which involves more complex extraction of useful information from digital images, is also available to those who complete the basic training. Over 500 farmers, ranchers, crop consultants and other end users have been trained through this programme and the results are beginning to show through the success stories of cost savings and environmental benefits that have emerged.     

San Diego trough geotechnical test area

Abstract

The San Diego Trough Geotechnical Test Area, located about 24 km southwest of San Diego in a water depth of about 1.2 km, lies near the base of the Coronado Escarpment directly north of the Coronado Fan. A new bathymetric map delineates a shallow basin in the soft, highly plastic, clayey silts flooring the Test Area. Measurements of shear strength by vane and static cone pene‐trometer, and bulk density by nuclear densitometer, were made in place from the submersible Deep Quest. Sixteen short (< 1.6 m) gravity cores were collected from ships.

The geotechnical properties show little areal variation and generally change uniformly with depth within the 55 km² Test Area. Silt is the predominant grain size, averaging about 62%. In‐place bulk density shows little change with increasing depth, values range from 1.23 to 1.26 Mg/m³; laboratory density values increase with depth, ranging from 1.30 to 1.52 Mg/m³ between the surface and a depth of about 1.1 m. The difference between the in place and laboratory values may indicate sampling densification of the cored sediment. Water content in the cores decreases uniformly within the range of 249 to 43% dry weight. Shear strength increases linearly with depth. The laboratory shear strength values are lower than the in place values, which range from 4 kPa at the surface to about 29 kPa at a depth of 3.27 m. Predictor equations relate Atterberg limits, bulk density, water content, and laboratory and in place shear strength to depth. Sedimentation‐compression e log p curves have an equivalent compression index of 1.5 to nearly 2. Excluding rurbidite layers and sampling disturbance effects, all cores indicate a uniform depositional environment in the surface to 1.6 m of sediment sampled. The geotechnical properties indicate that the sediments in the west central and southwest parts of the Test Area exhibit vertical heterogeneity due to thin silt‐sand layers, presumably of turbidity current origin, that originated from the Coronado Canyon.     

Street petrol station shops as an alternative to missing local food suppliers – Contribution to the German discourse on ‘Daseinsvorsorge’: A German view

Services of general interest fulfill people's daily needs and are important for their well-being. In Germany, interacting socioeconomic and demographic processes currently lead to a spatial concentration of such services. Rural areas are particularly affected, resulting in a deterioration of living conditions. Nevertheless, although in the media and in policy these processes are intensely discussed against the background of the German political and scientific discourse on ‘Daseinsvorsorge’, little is known about their dimensions. However, such knowledge is important for both policy and scientific policy advice, as ‘Daseinsvorsorge’ is a key concept in German spatial planning discourse, rooted in the normative political goal of guaranteeing comparable living conditions throughout Germany. This goal includes the aim of ensuring a sufficient offering of services indispensable for life throughout the country. One subject area where a spatial concentration can be observed is retail food sales. As a consequence, especially in rural areas, the network of food shopping locations becomes more wide meshed. Against this background, the German petrol-sector claims that in rural regions, petrol station shops (PSS) might replace a missing local food retailer. Based on the data from an accessibility analysis of petrol stations, supermarkets and discounters, together with considerations on the assortment of PSS, the article analyses the potential of such shops to fulfill this function in rural Germany through the lens of ‘Daseinsvorsorge’. The analysis reveals the following: (1) PSS still mainly serve impulse shopping needs, offering only a very limited assortment of staple foods; (2) in the majority of regions with no supermarket or discounter accessible by foot, PSS are also not accessible by foot; and (3) by car, the picture is very similar. Considering these points, it can be concluded that in Germany, PSS cannot at this time fully replace a missing local retail trade, especially in rural areas.     

The evolving agricultural landscape of post-plantation Hawai‘i

Hawai‘i's agricultural landscape was previously dominated by large monocrop plantations of sugar cane and pineapple, but following a sweeping series of plantation closures beginning at the end of the twentieth century, that era has concluded. The last spatial assessment of Hawai‘i's agricultural footprint was completed in 1980, during the active plantation period. Here we present the results of a 2015 statewide assessment of the commercial crop footprint for Hawai‘i, based on World-View 2 satellite imagery and supporting datasets. We analyzed changes relative to the 1980 baseline on both a statewide and regional basis, to better understand how Hawai‘i's agricultural system has evolved in the post-plantation era. Sugar cane and pineapple saw dramatic reductions during this period, collectively losing more acres (257,000) than were planted for all crops combined (152,000) in 2015. Idle plantation lands and past plantation-era investments in irrigation and other infrastructure have created opportunities for other types of agriculture, despite rising land values, new and existing tropical diseases, and other challenges. Seed crops, primarily for genetically modified corn trials, were the second largest crop in 2015 (24,000 acres) despite having no mapped footprint in 1980. Commercial forestry, also absent in 1980, covered 23,000 acres in 2015. Macadamia nut, coffee, and diversified agriculture also all saw significant gains in their footprints, with coffee plantings increasing >250% during this period. Despite these gains, the Hawaiian Islands continue to have an extremely low degree of self-reliance for food production. The Oahu plain, adjacent to the major population center of Honolulu, has the most potential for considerably increasing the production of local produce, but without changes in consumption patterns and significant efforts to protect agricultural land from development, any increases in local food production will continue to be incremental. The post-plantation agricultural landscape in Hawaii is smaller, more diversified, and more nimble than it was in 1980, reflecting inter-island geographic differences in land use, history, and ownership. Mapping and assessing spatial changes in agricultural activity over time can provide valuable insights for decision-makers and communities as they continue to define what agriculture should look like in the post-plantation era. Our results suggest that Hawai‘i's agricultural landscape and overall production capability will continue to contract without substantial changes in policy and practice.     

外商直接投资对空气污染影响的空间异质性分析——以中国150个城市空气质量指数（AQI）为例

空气污染问题引起了人们极大的关注。以中国2014年150个地级市作为样本数据,采用空气质量指数（AQI）作为全面衡量空气污染的指标,运用地理加权回归模型从空间异质性视角出发,分析了不同城市外商直接投资与空气污染之间的关系。研究结果表明：总体上,外商直接投资由于带来了先进的技术,有利于空气质量的改善。此外,人均地区生产总值的增加、二氧化硫和PM_2.5浓度的提高均是导致空气污染加剧的重要因素;而环保意识的提升则有利于空气质量的改善。民用汽车保有量变量在统计上不显著。从地理加权回归模型估计结果来看,不同城市的外商直接投资对环境的改善作用存在显著的空间异质性。其中,东北城市群、关中城市群和长江中游城市群外商直接投资对空气质量的改善作用最大,山东半岛城市群和川渝城市群外商直接投资对空气质量的改善作用不明显。     

The consistency between Na content distribution at the subsurface and the lake body's movement in Lop Nur

Historically, Lop Nur was a large and famous salt lake that acted as an important geographic position along the ancient ‘Silk Road’, and was associated with the surrounding old civilizations, such as Loulan and Haitou. However, it dried up before 1972. It shows a clear ‘Ear’ feature on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. The objective of this paper is to interpret Lop Nur's environmental evolution during its drying-up process based on an analysis of its sodium sedimentary feature. The genetic algorithm-partial least squares approach is introduced as a modeling method to retrieve the subsurface sodium content from polarimetric parameters obtained by Cloude decomposition. As a result, the R² and root-mean-square error can reach 0.7 and 9.1?g/kg. It is suggested that the subsurface salt content was the primary reason for the bright-grey strips textures on SAR images. Furthermore, our results show that the sodium content along the same strip changed, with its distribution exhibiting consistency with the lake body's movement driven by the strong wind. In future, high-precision topographical data will be considered, and should be helpful in the analysis of lake body movement. The method of this paper can also be applied in other similar dried salt lakes.     

Zincian dolomite from broken hill,New South Wales

Many Broken Hill (New South Wales) specimens labelled ‘zinco‐calcite’ in museum and private collections are snow‐white, globular forms with a sparkling appearance, on a coronadite or limonite matrix. X‐ray diffraction and microprobe analyses show the globules have a core of nearly pure calcite, overlain by colourless, drusy zincian dolomite with up to 4 mol % ZnCO₃ and up to 7 mol % excess CaCO₃. Although Zn is abundant in the Broken Hill orebody, it apparently entered carbonate, mainly as smithsonite, only during formation of the oxidised zone.     

Interspecies care and aging in a gorilla 2.0 world

Two key figures analyzed in Donna Haraway’s monograph, Primate Visions: Gender Race and Nature in The World of Modern Science (1989) warrant further analysis in the emerging cyber politics of environmental conservation. These figures are Koko, a female lowland gorilla born in the San Francisco Zoo and her companion Dr. Francine (Penny) Patterson, a developmental psychologist who taught Koko how to communicate with a modified form of American Sign Language (ASL). Nine years after Haraway’s initial analysis, Koko and Patterson became early examples of conservation-related Web 2.0 engagement with their unprecedented inter-species America Online chat room encounter with 7811 member participants. Today, Koko has a Twitter account (@kokotweets), a Facebook page, a YouTube channel and a website where users watch videos of Koko celebrating birthdays and donate to ‘distant’ conservation projects. One project site is a gorilla reserve in Cameroon and another is a former pineapple plantation turned private nature preserve in Maui, Hawai’i. Inspired by recent analytical work in animal geographies and feminist political ecology, this article explores complex landscapes of caring, aging and conservation in a time of proliferating social media engagement from colonized sites of enduring privilege. The article argues that new media adds layers of violence, disciplinary techniques and co-dependence to the aging bodies, caring practices and landscapes that Koko, Patterson and others inhabit in California and in the proposed physical spaces of a repurposed pineapple field in Maui.     

Organic geochemical investigation of far-field tsunami deposits of the Kahana Valley,O‘ahu,Hawai‘i

Far-field tsunami deposits observed in the Kahana Valley, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i (USA), were investigated for their organic-geochemical content. During short high-energy events, (tsunamis and storms) organic and chemical components are transported with sediment from marine to terrestrial areas. This study investigates the use of anthropogenic based organic geochemical compounds (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides and organochlorides) as a means to identify tsunami deposits. Samples were processed by solid–liquid extraction and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A total of 21 anthropogenic marker compounds were identified, of which 11 compounds were selected for detailed analysis. Although the tsunami deposits pre-date industrial activity in Hawai‘i by several hundred years, distinct changes were found in the concentrations of anthropogenic marker compounds between sandy tsunami deposits and the surrounding mud/peat layers, which may help in identifying tsunami deposits within cores. As expected, low overall concentrations of anthropogenic markers and pollutants were observed due to the lack of industrial input-sources and little anthropogenic environmental impact at the study site. This geochemical characterization of tsunami deposits shows that anthropogenic markers have significant potential as another high-resolution, multi-proxy method for identifying tsunamis in the sedimentary record.