Regional disparity in the changes of agricultura land use intensity in China during 1980-2002

Based on the cost-benefit data （1980-2002） of farm products and China Agriculture Yearbooks, this paper studies the regional disparity in the changes of the agricultural land use in China during the period 1980-2002 from three aspects such as the degree of intensity, the sown area and the abandoned farmland. The results show that： （1） The degree of intensity of land use in the westena region during 1980-2000 has a strong uptrend, but in the eastern and central regions the degree of intensity descends obviously and has shown a continuous downtrend since 1997. （2） The total sown area shrinks notably in the eastern region, while it enlarges constantly in the western region. （3） The sown area in the eastern, central and western regions has gone through a similar cyclic process： down （1980-1985）-up （1985-1991）-down （1991-1994）-up （1994-1999）-down （1999-2002）. However, there are obvious differences in amplitude variation and tendency among them. The sown area has shrunk in the eastern region and expanded in the central and western regions especially before 1999. （4） The most cases of abandoned farmland are reported in the central region, the second in the eastern region and the least in the western region. The abandonment phenomena chiefly occurred during 1992-1995 in the eastern region, and during 1998-2002 in the central region.     

Research progress on international rivers in Asia

With the regional population growth, socioeconomic development, more and more attention has been paid to issues on the shared water allocation and the transboundary eco-security conservation during the development of water resources in the international rivers. In this paper, the existing major problems on transboundary waters in different sub-regions of Asia, such as water shortage, transboundary waters pollution, fragile eco-environment are discussed. Then, the key scientific issues to be concerned in the next study progress on the basis of the analyses of the new research directions and focus fields are raised: (1) unpredicted changes of the hydrologic and water system, and their impacts on the allocation of the sharing waters by global changes; (2) models of the international cooperation on the international rivers on the studies of international and national water laws or regulations, policies, the relative experiences and the case studies; (3) quantificational assessment on environmental flow, available water, and the comprehensive functions and values of the international watercourse system; (4) studies on transboundary aquatic bio-diversity maintenance, transboundary pollution supervision and treatment under the rules and principles accepted by the riparian states; (5) issues on transboundary compensation at the rules of “payments for using”, “payments for harm” and “compensation for benefit”; (6) using advanced 3S techniques to promote the integrated watershed development and management; and so on.     

The effects of hazard zone information on judgements about earthquake damage

This study investigates the extent to which people's views on the causes and preventability of earthquake damage might be influenced by their degree of exposure to hazard as well as what information they have been given about the hazard. The results show that the provision of hazard zoning information influences judgements on preventability and causes of damage, but this effect depends on the degree of hazard faced by residents. In low hazard zones, information leads to the view that causes are manageable, whereas in high hazard zones information may induce a degree of fatalism. The use of public information in risk management needs to take into account the degree of risk faced by the recipients.     

New data on Upper Kimmeridgian-Tithonian biostratigraphy and ammonites of the eastern Crimea

Based on ammonites, Upper Kimmeridgian sediments are first established in the Crimean Mountains. The Kimmeridgian-Tithonian boundary recognizable in a continuous section is placed inside the Dvuyakomaya Formation of uniform largely clayey sediments. Assemblages of Kimmeridgian ammonites Lingulaticeras cf. procurvum (Ziegler), Pseudowaagenia gemmellariana Oloriz, Euvirgalithacoceras cf. tantalus (Herbich), Subplanites sp.) and Tithonian forms (?Lingulaticeras efimovi (Rogov), Phylloceras consaguineum Gemmellaro, Oloriziceras cf. schneidi Tavera, and Paraulacosphinctes cf. transitorius (Oppel) are described. A new biostratigraphic scheme proposed for the upper Tithonian-Berriasian of the Crimean Mountains includes the following new biostratigraphic units: the Euvirgalithacoceras cf. tantalus Beds of the upper Kimmeridgian, ?Lingulaticeras efimovi Beds of the lower Tithonian, and Oloriziceras cf. schneidi and Paraulacosphinctes cf. transitorius beds of the upper Tithonian. The middle Tithonian is proposed to consist of the fallauxi and semiforme (presumably) zones. The ammonities found determine the early Kimmeridgian-Berriasian age of the Dvuyakornaya Formation that is most likely in tectonic contact with the underlying Khutoran Formation.     

The Earthquake Readiness Scale: The Development of a Valid and Reliable Unifactorial Measure

Preparedness is a key dependent variable in many studies examining people’s response to disasters such as earthquakes. A feature of many studies on this issue, however, is the lack of attention given to psychometric issues when constructing measures of preparedness. With regard to earthquake preparation, for example, many studies could be greatly improved by the use of a valid and reliable measure of preparedness. This research developed such a measure that assessed both low-level preparedness, such as having an emergency kit, and high-level preparedness, such as altering home structures to mitigate damage. Studies of Wellington (New Zealand) residents using two samples totalling n=652 showed that 23 items measuring these different aspects of earthquake preparation could be combined into a reliable, valid, unifactorial scale. This brief scale should have utility in multivariate studies of earthquake preparation, either as a dependent variable, where preparation is the outcome variable of primary interest, or as one of several independent variables, where preparation and other measures predict another outcome variable.     

The Alcamayo and Cedrobamba catastrophic debris flow (January, March and April 2004) in Machupicchu area—Peru

A debris flow originating from the Alcamayo River on 10th April 2004 destroyed a part of the town of Aguas Calientes, resulting in 11 victims, and with serious affects to the tourist flow to the Machupicchu inka citadel. On the same day, as well as in January and March 2004, other similar phenomena occurred on the Cedrobamba and Leonchayoq Rivers, affecting the railway and an electrical tower, and disrupting the train service.     

Seismic Hazards Assessment for Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites in Regions of Low Seismic Activity

A comparative tectonic quiescence and lack of earthquakes make the stable centres of continents attractive for siting long-term radioactive waste storage facilities. The low rates of deformation in such regions, however, make it difficult to characterize their long-term seismotectonic behaviour, leading to uncertain estimates for the very low probability hazard estimates required by society. In an attempt to overcome the deficiency of both contemporary seismicity and paleoseismic data in central Canada, we have used earthquake histories from regions with similar seismotectonic characteristics from around the world. Substituting space for time, we estimate a long-term rate per 10⁶ km² of 0.004 magnitude ≥6 earthquakes per annum, of which 33–100% might rupture to the surface.