Palaeoseismic records in lacustrine sediments—A case study of the Daqingshan piedmont fault and Hasuhai Lake in Inner Mongolia,China

As a traditional method for palaeoseismic studies, trenching can be combined with dating techniques to identify palaeoseismic events and the earthquake recurrence interval. However, when using trenches to study palaeoearthquakes, factors such as the active tectonic background of the earthquake‐caused structure, the lithology on both sides of the fault, the geomorphology location and type and the samples and methods for dating will affect the location of the trench. Thus, trenches should be carefully selected and used to identify the impact of ancient earthquakes. The results have substantial uncertainties and limitations. In recent years, scholars have made considerable progress in using other methods to reveal the palaeoseismic information of faults. Moreover, the history of fault activity may have been recorded in the lacustrine sediment adjacent to the fault. Hasuhai Lake is adjacent to the middle segment of the Daqingshan piedmont fault in Inner Mongolia. Since the Holocene, the region has experienced a temperate continental semi‐arid climate with little interference, and Hasuhai Lake and peripheral waters present weak hydrodynamic conditions that provide an ideal location for the study of palaeoseismic records in lacustrine sediments. Sediment samples and samples for dating were collected from three trenches excavated on the periphery of the Hasuhai Lake. Their variations in grain size and magnetic susceptibility revealed that wind and flowing water jointly produced the sedimentary conditions of Hasuhai sediments. The ¹⁴C dating results and variations in the grain size distribution, grain size components and magnetic susceptibility of sediments caused by seismic events obtained in this study were compared with those caused by a series of palaeoseismic events at the middle segment of the Daqingshan piedmont fault reported by previous studies using trenches, knickpoints and palaeosol records. The results identified seven palaeoseismic events recorded near Hasuhai Lake since 12,000 years. The combined use of lacustrine sediment variation characteristics and dating techniques is an effective method for studying palaeoseismic events.     

Multi‐scale approach to mining significant spatial co‐location patterns

Spatial co‐location pattern mining aims to discover a collection of Boolean spatial features, which are frequently located in close geographic proximity to each other. Existing methods for identifying spatial co‐location patterns usually require users to specify two thresholds, i.e. the prevalence threshold for measuring the prevalence of candidate co‐location patterns and distance threshold to search the spatial co‐location patterns. However, these two thresholds are difficult to determine in practice, and improper thresholds may lead to the misidentification of useful patterns and the incorrect reporting of meaningless patterns. The multi‐scale approach proposed in this study overcomes this limitation. Initially, the prevalence of candidate co‐location patterns is measured statistically by using a significance test, and a non‐parametric model is developed to construct the null distribution of features with the consideration of spatial auto‐correlation. Next, the spatial co‐location patterns are explored at multi‐scales instead of single scale (or distance threshold) discovery. The validity of the co‐location patterns is evaluated based on the concept of lifetime. Experiments on both synthetic and ecological datasets show that spatial co‐location patterns are discovered correctly and completely by using the proposed method; on the other hand, the subjectivity in discovery of spatial co‐location patterns is reduced significantly.     

Delineating Hierarchical Hospital Service Areas in Florida

Hospital service area (HSA) and hospital referral region (HRR), known as a hierarchical HSA system, have been used as analysis units in a growing body of large‐scale studies of healthcare spending, utilization, and outcome in the United States. However, the popular Dartmouth HSAs and HRRs were produced more than two decades ago and are unable to represent contemporary healthcare markets. This research uses a revised Huff Model to delineate two levels of hospital service areas in Florida, resulting in sixty‐four HSAs nested in twenty‐one HRRs. Three elements distinguish our method from existing work. First, a best‐fitting distance‐decay function derived from the actual travel pattern of hospitalization is embedded in the Huff Model to strengthen the model's theoretical foundation in individual spatial behavior. Secondly, the hierarchal central place structure is supported by the differing travel‐friction coefficients for general versus specialized patients; general patients experience a steeper gradient and thus a shorter average travel range that supports delineating more HSAs of smaller area size, and specialized patients exhibit a flatter gradient and thus a longer average travel range that leads to fewer HRRs of large‐sized areas. Finally, the delineation method automated in geographic information systems (GIS) can be easily replicated in other regions to define large‐scale and consistent hierarchical HSA systems.     

‘Development’, resistance and the geographies of affect in Oecussi: Timor‐Leste's Special Economic Zone (ZEESM)

In 2013, it was announced that Timor‐Leste's Oecussi enclave would become the site of a special economic zone. Arid, and inhabited mostly by semi‐subsistence farmers from West Timor's Meto ethno‐linguistic group, the plan entails remaking the enclave as an industrial, transport and tourism hub. To facilitate this, in mid‐2015 the authorities began the process of clearing hundreds of indigenous gardens and homes from land slated for mega‐projects intended to make the region attractive to foreign investors. In this paper, I describe how, for many Meto, land tends to be experienced as a spiritually mediated ‘geography of affect’ (Lea & Woodward, 2010) in which questions of place, belonging, spirituality and personal fortune cannot easily be divided, a reality that raises questions about the suitability of the plan's vision of globalized and investment driven ‘development’. Drawing on Scott, I argue that in Oecussi, spirits associated with the land are not apolitical, but are sometimes perceived as acting to protect locals against powerful outsiders – a characteristically Meto ‘weapon of the weak’ that is in keeping with their previous encounters with colonial regimes.     

察布查尔县土壤碳氮磷钾垂直分布规律研究

以察布查尔县1 191~2 656 m不同海拔草原土壤为研究对象,研究有机质（外加热法,10.18~74.3 3 mg·kg^-1）、全氮（自动凯氏定氮仪,0.17~2.6 g·kg^-1）、碱解氮（扩散法,14.9 7~198.72mg·kg^-1）、磷元素（钼锑抗比色法,全磷：0.12~0.76 g·kg^-1、速效磷：20.7 4~153.64 mg·kg^-1）,钾元素（火焰光度计法,全钾：9.81~18.64 g·kg^-1、速效钾：659.05~1 001.45 mg·kg^-1）含量垂直分布特征。结果表明碳、氮、磷、钾均随土层深度的增加而降低;除钾元素外碳、氮、磷随海拔高度的增加而上升;相关性分析结果显示,0~20 cm土层中,海拔高度与碱解氮呈正极显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.838^**）,与土壤有机、全氮呈正显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.831^*、R=0.751^*）;有机质与碱解氮呈正极显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.988^**）,与全磷呈正显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.726^*）,20~40 cm土层中,海拔高度与有机质、碱解氮、全氮、全磷呈正相关,与速效磷、速效钾、全钾呈负相关;有机质与碱解氮、全氮成正极显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.867^**、R=0.970^**）,碱解氮与全氮呈正极显著相关（p < 0.05,R=0.914^**）,40~60 cm土层中,海拔高度与有机质、碱解氮、全磷呈正相关,与速效磷、全磷、速效钾、全钾呈负相关;有机质与碱解氮、全氮呈正极显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.884^**、R=0.966^**）,与速效磷、全钾呈正相关,与全磷、速效钾呈负相关;碱解氮与全氮呈正极显著性相关（p < 0.05,R=0.952^**）。     

Geographic Patterns of Craft Breweries at the Intraurban Scale

This article examines the intraurban geography of craft breweries in ten cities across the United States. First, through an exhaustive literature review, we outline both supply- and demand-side factors that might cause craft breweries to cluster. Second, we empirically test whether these establishments tend to cluster within cities using spatial statistical techniques. Many communities are attempting to support the establishment of more craft breweries as a way to boost tourism and economic development. The findings from this article aid in this discussion by providing insights into how craft brewers locate and the factors that could influence their location decision behavior. Our findings suggest that craft brewers do in fact cluster. There are both supply and demand factors responsible. On the supply side, the collaborative environment within the industry and the artisan nature of the industry's products allows for benefits of clustering to outweigh the costs associated with this behavior. On the demand side, the emergence of “brewery districts” allows individual brewers to enjoy the reputation benefits associated with the district in terms of increased foot traffic from locals and visitors looking to sample a variety of beers.     

Episodic fluid flow as a trigger for Miocene‐Pliocene slope instability on the Utgard High,Norwegian Sea

Mass wasting is triggered on many continental slopes by a number of mechanisms, including seismic shaking, high sedimentation rates, the presence of weak geological units and gas hydrate dissociation. In this study, the morphology of a Late Miocene–Early Pliocene mass‐transport complex (MTC) on the Utgard High is unravelled and discussed in relation to possible trigger mechanisms. The approach used here includes 3D seismic interpretation and the analysis of variance attribute maps. The interpreted MTC is located on the crest and flanks of the Utgard High and is composed of three mass‐transport deposits with seismic characters varying from transparent and chaotic seismic facies at the base to slightly deformed layers composed of mounds and rafted blocks in the middle and chaotic to transparent reflections at the top. Lithologically, the MTC consists predominantly of claystone with high gamma ray and low density and resistivity values, demonstrating that the associated mounds represent remobilized ooze sediments. A vertical stack of six magmatic sills emplaced from 55.6 to 56.3 Ma into the Upper Cretaceous shales is interpreted at depths of 3,000–5,500 ms two‐way travel time (TWTT). In association with these magmatic sills are several hydrothermal vent complexes that interacted with the top MTC horizon, signifying that episodic and secondary fluid‐venting events might be the principal mechanism facilitating mass wasting in the study area. In addition, the remobilization of ooze sediments into mounds is hypothesized to be dependent on fluids and clayey layers. As a corollary of this work, the importance of relict and recurrent episodes of fluid flow in the Vøring Basin and their influence on the geotechnical integrity of the overburden and later mass wasting is established.     

基于新监测指标的江南入梅早晚的气候特征及影响系统分析

利用中国气象局2014年发布的《梅雨监测业务规定》中的入梅日期资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料及NOAA海温资料等,重点研究了1951—2015年江南入梅早、晚的气候特征,及其与同期(5—6月)大气环流及前期海表温度变化的关系。结果表明,近65年来江南入梅日具有显著的年际变化特征,入梅平均日期为6月8日,最早和最晚相差47 d。入梅日主要出现在6月,占80.0%。江南入梅偏早和偏晚年,对流层高层至低层的同期大尺度环流存在明显的差异。入梅偏早年,高层南亚高压和东亚副热带西风急流(西风急流)的建立较早,强度较强,南亚高压北移到青藏高原上空亦偏早,西风急流北跳偏早; 中层中高纬度经向环流较强,而西北太平洋副热带高压(副高)第1次北跳偏早; 低层索马里越赤道气流建立较早,强度较强,西太平洋为反气旋式距平环流; 入梅偏晚年上述环流系统演变特征则基本相反。冬、春季海表温度的异常是影响入梅早、晚的重要的外部强迫因子,也是重要的前期预测信号:当冬季东太平洋海表温度为负距平、澳大利亚东部海表温度偶极子为正位相及春季北大西洋三极子处于正位相时,江南入梅偏早; 上一年12月澳大利亚东侧海表温度偶极子和当年3月北大西洋三极子与江南入梅早、晚关系最为密切,当12月澳大利亚东部海表温度偶极子为正位相时,副高第1次北跳偏早,当3月北大西洋三极子为正位相时,6月西风急流偏强、偏北,有利于江南入梅偏早。      

贵阳木本植物始花期对温度变化的敏感度

植物物候期的温度敏感度反映了植物是怎样及在何种程度上响应气候变化,研究不同物种物候期的温度敏感度有利于鉴别易受气候变化影响的物种。现有关于始花期的温度敏感度研究主要集中在温带地区,在亚热带地区研究仍较少。本文以位于亚热带的贵阳为研究区,利用1980-2014年60种典型木本植物的始花期观测资料,分析了该地区植物始花期变化趋势及对气温变化的敏感度,评估了样本量大小对敏感度估计稳定性的影响。结果表明：①研究时段内贵阳发生了明显的气候变化,年平均气温显著升高,其中春、秋季的增温比夏、冬季显著。②绝大多数植物(88.3%)的始花期在研究时段内呈提前趋势,其中显著提前的占物种总数的21.7%(P<0.05);60种植物始花期总体的提前趋势为2.89 d/10 a。③绝大多数(88.3%)植物始花期的年际变化与最优时段内平均气温呈显著负相关(P<0.05),所有植物始花期的总体敏感度为-5.75 d/℃。④样本量大小对温度敏感度估计的稳定性有显著影响,15年长序列能将敏感度估计结果的波动范围以99%的概率控制在2 d/℃之内。     

High stress late Maastrichtian – early Danian palaeoenvironment in the Neuquén Basin, Argentina

During the late Maastrichtian to early Danian the Neuquén Basin of Argentina was adjacent to an active volcanic arc to the west and an extensive land area to the northeast. Mineralogical and geochemical studies of the Bajada del Jagüel in the Neuquén Basin indicate a generally warm climate with seasonal changes in humidity and an open seaway to the South Atlantic that maintained marine conditions. Biostratigraphic and quantitative foraminiferal and nannofossil analyses indicate that sediment deposition during the late Maastrichtian (zones CF4-CF2, N. frequens) occurred in relatively shallow middle neritic (100 m) depths with largely dysaerobic bottom waters (abundant low O₂ tolerant benthics) and fluctuating sea level. Calcareous nannofossils indicate a high stress marine environment dominated by Micula decussata. Planktic foraminifera mimic the post-K/T high stress environment with alternating blooms of the disaster opportunists Guembelitria and low oxygen tolerant Heterohelix groups, indicating nutrient-rich surface waters and an oxygen depleted water column. The high stress conditions were probably driven by high nutrient influx due to upwelling and terrestrial and volcanic influx. The K/T boundary is marked by an erosional surface that marks a hiatus at the base of a 15-25 cm thick volcaniclastic sandstone, which contains diverse planktic foraminiferal zone P1c assemblages and nannofossils of zone NP1b immediately above it. This indicates deposition of the sandstone occurred 500 ky after the K/T hiatus. No evidence of the Chicxulub impact or related tsunami deposition was detected.