Palynological Evidence on Climate Changes in the East China Sea During Mid and Late Holocene

The pollen analysis of DGKS9617 core in the East China Sea (covering about the last 6800 years) shows five obvious pollen assemblages and seven sub-assemblages. Combined with the sediment and the result of diatom analysis, the climate changes are reconstructed during the Middle and Late Holocene. Corresponding to the pollen assemblages, the climate shifts just as follows: Assemblage Ⅰ-Warm and Dry Stage, Assemblage Ⅱ-Cool and Humid Stage, Assemblage Ⅲ-Hot and Dry Stage (the mean annual temperature is 2～3 ℃ higher than that today ), Assemblage Ⅳ-Cool and Humid Stage, Assemblage Ⅴ-Wann and Dry Stage. The third stage is divided into three substages i.e. a slight colder and dry one, a slight wanner and humid one and a slight warmer and dry one. During the fifth stage, the climate becomes similar to that today with three warm substages and two cool substages.     

A comparison of three marine ecosystems surrounding the Korean peninsula: Responses to climate change

This study uses a comparative approach to examine responses of marine ecosystems to climatic regime shifts. The three seas surrounding the Korean peninsula, the Japan/East Sea, the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea represent three contiguous but distinct ecosystems. Sampling has been carried out by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of South Korea since 1965, using the same methods in all three seas. Sampling was generally synoptic. Amplitude time series of 1st EOF modes for temperature, salinity, zooplankton biomass and concentrations of four major zooplankton taxa were used to determine whether the three marine ecosystems respond in a similar manner to climate variations. Temporal patterns of the variables were strongly similar among the three seas at decadal time scales, but very weakly similar at interannual scales. All three seas responded to a climatic regime shift that occurred in 1989. Temperature, zooplankton biomass and copepod concentrations increased in the late 1980s or early 1990s in all three seas. Concentrations of amphipods, chaetognaths and euphausiids also increased in the Japan/East Sea and the East China Sea, but not the Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea ecosystem differs strongly from the other two seas, and water exchange between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea is much weaker than that between the East China Sea and Japan/East Sea. Spatial patterns of zooplankton determined by the EOF analysis were closely related to currents and fronts in each of the three seas.     

Far beyond the Gulf: the implications of warfare for Asian labour migration

The implications of the Gulf War are assessed for the countries in Asia that send labor migrants to the Middle East. "This paper seeks to examine the effects of...the loss of remittances (and related issues, including return migration), primarily in terms of the long-term implications of the War for the future of contract labour migration in the Asian region...."     

Fracture analysis in the south-western Corinth rift (Greece) and implications on fault hydraulic behavior

This paper reviews the data concerning the fracture network and the hydraulic characteristics of faults in an active zone of the Gulf of Corinth. Pressure gap measured through fault planes shows that in this area the active normal faults (Aigion, Helike) act, at least temporarily and locally, as transversal seal. The analysis of the carbonate cements in the fractures on both the hangingwall and the footwall of the faults also suggests that they have acted as local seals during the whole fault zone evolution. However, the pressure and the characteristics of the water samples measured in the wells indicate that meteoric water circulates from the highest part of the relief to the coast, which means it goes through the fault zones. Field quantitative analysis and core studies from the AIG-10 well have been performed to define both regional and fault-related fracture networks. Then laboratory thin section observations have been done to recognize the different fault rocks characterizing the fault zone components. These two kinds of approach give information on the permeability characteristics of the fault zone. To synthesize the data, a schematic conceptual 3D fluid flow modeling has been performed taking into account fault zone permeability architecture, sedimentation, fluid flow, fault vertical offset and meteoric water influx, as well as compaction water flow. This modeling allows us to fit all the data with a model where the fault segments act as a seal whereas the relays between these segments allow for the regional flow from the Peloponnese topographic highs to the coast.     

A pronounced dry event recorded around 4.2 ka in brine sediments from the northern Red Sea

Partly laminated sediments were sampled from the brine-filled, anoxic Shaban Deep basin in the northern Red Sea. At about 4200 cal yr BP more than two millennia of anoxic sedimentation is replaced by a sub-oxic facies strongly suggesting the episodic absence of the brine. At the same time stable oxygen isotopes from surface dwelling foraminifera show a sharp increase (within less than 100 yr) pointing to a strong positive salinity anomaly at the sea surface. This major evaporation event significantly enhanced the renewal of deep water and the subsequent ventilation of the small Shaban Deep basin. The timing and strength of the reconstructed environmental changes around 4200 cal yr BP suggest that this event is the regional expression of a major drought event, which is widely observed in the neighboring regions, and which strongly affected Middle East agricultural civilizations.     

A way to synchronize models with seismic faults for earthquake forecasting: Insights from a simple stochastic model

Numerical models are starting to be used for determining the future behaviour of seismic faults and fault networks. Their final goal would be to forecast future large earthquakes. In order to use them for this task, it is necessary to synchronize each model with the current status of the actual fault or fault network it simulates (just as, for example, meteorologists synchronize their models with the atmosphere by incorporating current atmospheric data in them). However, lithospheric dynamics is largely unobservable: important parameters cannot (or can rarely) be measured in Nature. Earthquakes, though, provide indirect but measurable clues of the stress and strain status in the lithosphere, which should be helpful for the synchronization of the models.The rupture area is one of the measurable parameters of earthquakes. Here we explore how it can be used to at least synchronize fault models between themselves and forecast synthetic earthquakes. Our purpose here is to forecast synthetic earthquakes in a simple but stochastic (random) fault model. By imposing the rupture area of the synthetic earthquakes of this model on other models, the latter become partially synchronized with the first one. We use these partially synchronized models to successfully forecast most of the largest earthquakes generated by the first model. This forecasting strategy outperforms others that only take into account the earthquake series. Our results suggest that probably a good way to synchronize more detailed models with real faults is to force them to reproduce the sequence of previous earthquake ruptures on the faults. This hypothesis could be tested in the future with more detailed models and actual seismic data.     

Deep seismic reflection study over the Vindhyans of Rajasthan: Implications for geophysical setting of the basin

This paper presents results of high-resolution deep seismic reflection profiling of the Proterozoic Vindhyan basin of the Rajasthan area along the Chandli-Bundi-Kota-Kunjer profile. Seismic images have been used to estimate the thickness of Vindhyan strata as well as to understand the tectonic framework of the basin. The results are constrained by gravity, magnetic and magnetotelluric data. The study reveals gentle SE-dipping reflection bands representing the Vindhyan strata. The seismic sections depict gradual thickening of the Vindhyan succession towards southeast from Bundi. The velocities of the upper and lower Vindhyans are identified as 4.6-4.8 km/s and 5.1-5.3 km/s. The NW limit of the Vindhyan basin is demarcated by the Great Boundary Fault (GBF) that manifests as a 30 km wide NW dipping thrust fault extending to a depth of 30 km.     

Erratum “Boundary” in ancient Persian tradition of statehood: an introduction to the origins of the concept of boundary in pre-modern history

Erratum to: GeoJournal 62: 51–58 DOI 10.1007/s10708-005-8562-2 The erroneous version of this article was originally published in GeoJournal 62: 51–58. This amended version corrects the formatting errors which are evident in the original version.Abstract It is universally accepted that the need for defining precise lines of separation and points of contacts between states is the byproduct of the emergence of nation-states and ‘world economy’ in the nineteenth century Europe. Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook the fact that these modern notions are rooted in periods prior to the emergence in Europe of nation-states. There are indications that ancient civilizations were familiar with the notion of ‘state’ in connection with the concepts of territory and boundary. Ancient texts reveal that this basic principle existed in ancient Persian literature in respect of matters of state, territory, and boundary. Similarly, the likelihood exists that these Persian notions could have influenced Roman civilization. It is widely believed that a combination of ancient Greco-Roman and Persian civilizations is a major contributor to what culturally constitutes ‘West’. Later in the Sassanid period the inter-linked notions of state, territory, and boundary developed substantially, coming quite close to their contemporary forms. On the other hand, considering that ‘justice’ was the corner stone of ancient Persian Political philosophy, the idea that ancient␣Iranian spatial arrangement might have contributed to the evolution of the concept of democracy in the West may not be too difficult to contemplate.The online version of the original article can be found at     

Transparency: aid or obstacle to effective defence of vulnerable environments from reservoir construction? Dam decisions and democracy in North East England

Public participation in transparent decisionmaking has been proposed as a panacea for environmental protection. Bargaining theory suggests drawbacks to transparency such as hardening of attitudes and intransigence. Yet achievement of consensus on environmental values for integrated water resource management demands public involvement. Historical study of attempts to prevent reservoir construction in upland valleys designated for protection of nature suggests that 'closed-door' bargaining proved more effective for environmentalists than open, public debate. Records now open for analysis of disputes over Teesdale and Farndale, 1950–1970, allow comparisons to be made between behind-the-scenes deliberations and 'open-door' public discussion. The ambition of progressing from public participation to devolution of environmental decisionmaking and responsibility to the local scale demands more conceptualization of the process of decisionmaking on water resource development.     

库车坳陷侏罗系煤成气动力学模拟研究

应用黄金管—高压釜封闭体系热模拟实验与GC、GC-IRMS分析技术,结合KINETICS专用软件,对库车坳陷侏罗系煤成气进行了动力学模拟研究。库车坳陷侏罗系煤具有高的产气性,在高演化阶段主要产甲烷气;侏罗系煤热解气甲烷碳同位素为-36‰～-25‰,乙烷碳同位素为-28‰～-16‰;甲烷、C2-C5气态烃的生成活化能分别为(47～64k)calm/ol、(55～72k)calm/ol,频率因子各为5.265×1013s-1、5.388×1018s-1。在此基础上,进一步探讨了克拉2气田天然气的成因。研究认为,克拉2气田天然气属阶段捕获的煤成气,主要聚集了5～1Ma时期的天然气,其成熟度Ro分布范围为1.3%～2.5%。