BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Marine Resources of Kuwait: Their Role in the Development of Non-oil Resources . Fatimah H. Y. al -Abdul -Razzak Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science . Mark Billinge , Derek Gregory and Ron Martin Entre l'Eden et l'Utopie . Luc Bureau Developments in Political Geography . M. A. Busteed The Elements of Graphing Data . William S. Cleveland Rural Resource Management . Paul J. Cloke and Chris C. Park Third World Atlas . Ben Crow and Alan Thomas Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use . Susan L. Cutter , Hilary Lambert Renwick, and William H. Renwick . Wine Regions of the Southern Hemisphere . Harm Jan de Blij Regional Development: Problems and Policies in Eastern and Western Europe . George Demko The Geographer at Work . Peter R. Gould Change in the Amazon Basin . John Hemming Geography Since the Second World War . R. J. Johnston and P. Claval Urbanization in China: Town and Countryside in a Developing Economy 1949–2000 A.D. , R. J. R. Kirkby Transport and Communications for Pacific Microstates: Issues in Organisation and Management . Christopher C. Kissling Fluvial Forms and Processes . David Knighton The Urban Millennium . Josef W. Konvitz Technological Transition in Cartography . Mark Stephen Monmonier Field Guide to Soils and the Environment: Applications of Soil Surveys . Gerald W. Olson Northern Australia: The Arenas of Life and Ecosystems on Half a Continent . Don Parkes A Killing Rain: The Global Threat of Acid Rain . Thomas Pawlick From the Family Farm to Agribusiness: The Irrigation Crusade in California and the West, 1850–1931 . Donald J. Pisani Hybrid Maize Diffusion in Kenya . Franz -Michael Rundquist Warning and Response to the Mount St. Helens Eruption . Thomas F. Saarinen and James L. Sell Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East , 2nd ed . T. C. Whitmore The Dark Side of the Earth . Robert Muir Wood Categorical Data Analysis for Geographers and Environmental Scientists , Neil Wrigley     

Lesson Plans in Geography

Abstract

This article advocates that geography teachers undertake field studies of human systems with their students. A field trip process is described that helps teachers to guide students to explore and analyze a real human system with the expressed goal of building skills that can transfer to and complement a wide range of geographic learning tasks identified in Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994. Students are taken to a human system, such as a supermarket or a hotel. In groups, students interview as well as tour with a representative of a key department of the human system. Using teacher-supplied materials, groups create models or visual schematics of the whole human system they studied. The model must show the complex as a collection of interdependent elements with distinct functions. The learning outcomes achieved by students are a collection of geographic skills ideal for transfer to subsequent geographic investigations of urban places and or regions.     

THE LEGENDARY “REDISCOVERY” OF GEORGE PERKINS MARSH

The conventional narrative regarding the American reception of George Perkins Marsh, author of Man and Nature (1864), is that his work and ideas were “lost,”“forgotten,” or “neglected” until Lewis Mumford “rediscovered” him and introduced him to geographers at the University of California‐Berkeley through The Brown Decades (Mumford [1931] 1955) and until Carl Sauer made him known to the profession at large beginning in 1938. This article upends the conventional narrative by looking at earlier references to Marsh's later versions of Man and Nature, which were published as The Earth as Modified by Human Action from 1874 to 1907. Analysis reveals that a number of geographers and historians cited these editions between 1875 and the early 1950s. Examining the legend of loss and rediscovery suggests the value of methods utilized in reception studies for research on the history of geography.     

Trees, lateral shrinkage and building damage

This article presents the study conducted and the actions taken to stabilise the foundations of 25 low-rise (two/three-storey) buildings in Alcázar de San Juan (Ciudad Real, central Spain). Owing to the immediate attention required, it was decided that the study would focus on procuring a synthetic model that would be able to provide a satisfactory explanation for the tendency of the movements, overlooking the detailed model of each building. This analysis pointed out that the mobilisation was probably due to both the shrinkage caused by the existing trees during the dry-growing seasons, and to the loss of lateral confinement caused by the excavation of a service trench adjacent to the footings of the buildings. In keeping with this mechanism, stabilization was carried out by transplanting the trees growing near the damaged buildings and installing a line of piles to provide lateral support to the footings. The evolution of the damage was therefore stopped.     

Simulation of the progressive failure of an embankment on soft soil

A pragmatic strain-softening constitutive model, which is based on Modified Cam Clay, was applied to the simulation of the progressive failure of an embankment constructed on a deposit of sensitive (strain-softening) clay in Saga, Japan. A comparison of the predictions for this case indicates that if softening is ignored, only relatively small deflections and consolidation settlements are predicted, especially after construction. In contrast, for the case where softening is included in the analysis, progressive failure within the clay induces large shear deformations and finally failure of the embankment is predicted. This comparison suggests that softening-induced progressive failure should be considered in the design of embankments on such soils, and the residual strength of the deposit may have an important influence on the overall factor of safety of the construction. Detailed analyses of predicted excess pore water pressures, shear strains and shear stress levels in the ground indicate that considering the strain-softening process: (a) is associated with the buildup of excess pore water pressure; (b) promotes strain localization; and (c) results generally in a larger zone of soil involved in the failure.     

近40年来的中国人口地理学——一个跨学科研究领域的进展①

本文对20世纪80年代以来中国人口地理学的发展进行了全面综述。尽管近年来中国人口地理学在地理学科领域给人留下的是萧条、甚至被边缘化的印象,但从跨学科的角度看,该学科还是取得了巨大进展。人口地理学者在复兴中国的人口学研究中发挥了不可或缺的作用,并在这一跨学科研究领域中占据了重要地位。人口地理学者从地理学的视角出发,在人口迁移流动、城镇化、人口分布、人口与资源和环境之间的关系、老龄化、婚姻模式和移民犯罪等众多人口问题的研究上作出了重要贡献,尤其是在人口迁移流动研究和人口城镇化若干问题的研究中占据着领先地位。中国人口地理学者自20世纪80年代以来与社会科学领域学者间的交流互动不断增加,在促进学科发展的同时,也出现了一种逐渐偏离主流人文地理学的倾向;今后,中国人口地理学应更多地回归地理学领域,在人口学和人文地理学两个领域间寻求健康、平衡的定位,以促进其在跨学科领域中获得进一步发展。     

For your eyes only? Evaluating a coordinated and multiple views tool with a map,a parallel coordinated plot and a table using an eye-tracking approach

Geographic visualization tools with coordinated and multiple views (CMV) typically provide sets of visualization methods. Such configuration gives users the possibility of investigating data in various visual contexts; however, it can be confusing due to the multiplicity of visual components and interactive functions. We addressed this challenge and conducted an empirical study on how a CMV tool, consisting of a map, a parallel coordinate plot (PCP), and a table, is used to acquire information. We combined a task-based approach with eye-tracking and usability metrics since these methods provide comprehensive insights into users’ behaviour. Our empirical study revealed that the freedom to choose visualization components is appreciated by users. The individuals worked with all the available visualization methods and they often used more than one visualization method when executing tasks. Different views were used in different ways by various individuals, but in a similarly effective way. Even PCP, which is claimed to be problematic, was found to be a handy way of exploring data when accompanied by interactive functions.     

Bubble growth in highly viscous melts: theory, experiments, and autoexplosivity of dome lavas

We examine the physics of growth of water bubbles in highly viscous melts. During the initial stages, diffusive mass transfer of water into the bubble keeps the internal pressure in the bubbles close to the initial pressure at nucleation. Growth is controlled by melt viscosity and supersaturation pressure and radial growth under constant pressure is approximately exponential. At later stages, internal pressure falls, radial growth decelerates and follows the square-root of time. At this stage it is controlled by diffusion. The time of transition between the two stages is controlled by the decompression, melt viscosity and the Peclet number of the system. The model closely fit experimental data of bubble growth in viscous melts with low water content. Close fit is also obtained for new experiments at high supersaturation, high Peclet numbers, and high, variable viscosity. Near surface, degassed, silicic melts are viscous enough, so that viscosity-controlled growth may last for very long times. Using the model, we demonstrate that bubbles which nucleate shortly before fragmentation cannot grow fast enough to be important during fragmentation. We suggest that tiny bubbles observed in melt pockets between large bubbles in pumice represent a second nucleation event shortly before or after fragmentation. The presence of such bubbles is an indicator of the conditions at fragmentation. The water content of lavas extruded at lava domes is a key factor in their evolution. Melts of low water content (<0.2 wt%) are too viscid and bubbles nucleated in them will not grow to an appreciable size. Bubbles may grow in melts with 0.4 wt% water. The internal pressure in such bubbles may be preserved for days and the energy stored in the bubbles may be important during the disintegration of dome rocks and the formation of pyroclastic flows.     

青藏高原隆升作用于大气临界高度的数值研究

利用Ｐ－σ混合坐标系全球大气环流模式研究了青藏高原隆升作用于大气临界高度问题,通过对数值试验结果的分析进一步证实了在高原隆升的过程中存在着一个临界高度,这个高度在夏季约为１５００～２０００ｍ。当高原总体平均高度超过临界高度后,高原周围地区的气流主要以绕流为主,爬坡气流的速度较小,稳定的高原季风开始形成,高原地区范围内为强大的上升运动区,高原南侧和中国东部地区出现一条明显的雨带,随着高原隆升高度的增高,雨带内的降水量逐渐增加,同时高原西侧附近地区形成一个稳定的感热通量大值带     

二类水体表观光学特性的测量与分析--水面之上法方法研究

水体光谱特性的测量与分析是海洋水色遥感的基础工作之一。水体光谱特性包括两个方面：表观光学特性和固有光学特性。现场直接获取表观光学特性有剖面法和水面之上法。在多次现场试验的基础上,主要针对二类水体从误差来源的角度来对水面之上法进行方法研究。同时,借鉴一类水体水面之上法的多种数据处理方法,对二类水体水面之上法的数据处理方法进行探讨。