The PISA grammar decodes diverse human–environment approaches

Human–environment interactions are studied by several groups of scholars who have elaborated different approaches to describe, analyze, and explain these interactions, and eventually propose paths for management. The SETER project (Socio-Ecological Theories and Empirical Research) analyzed and compared how “flag-holders” of distinct school of thought in human–environment scholarship approached a number of empirical problems of environmental management. This paper presents the findings from this experiment by concentrating on how representatives of four schools of thought approached one of these case studies: the plant health crisis in greenhouse tomato production in south of France. Our analysis suggests that these approaches share a common conceptual vocabulary composed of four explanatory elements of change (Power, Incentives, System and Adaptation-PISA). We argue that what distinguishes these schools from one another is the syntax—the “rules” by which researchers in each of the sub-disciplines tend to organize the components of this shared conceptual vocabulary. In other words, the schools under scrutiny are differentiated not so much by what they speak of, but rather in what order, or hierarchy, do they tend to rank the importance and/or the sequence of each of these concepts in human–environment explanations. The results of our experiment support the view that communication and cooperation across the diverse human–environment traditions is possible and productive. At the same time, however, we argue that it is the distinctiveness of the claims yielded by these different schools of thought that augment our collective understanding of complex socio-ecological problems. Attempts to integrate these perspectives in one unitary approach would undermine the intellectual wealth necessary to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.     

Local collective action: Adaptation to coastal erosion in the Monkey River Village,Belize

Successful adaptation to environmental change and variability is closely connected with social groups’ ability to act collectively, but many social-ecological challenges exceed local adaptive capacity which necessitate assistance from governmental institutions. Few studies have investigated how local collective action can be used to enrol external support for adaptation. This paper reduces this research gap by analysing a locally driven adaptation process in response to coastal erosion in Monkey River Village, Belize. Drawing on literature on adaptation and political ecology, we examine the different strategies the local residents have used over time to influence government authorities to support them in curbing the coastal erosion. Our findings show that the local mobilisation generated government support for a temporary sea defence and that collective strategies emerge as a response to threats to a place specific way of life. Our case illustrates that it was essential that the villagers could ally with journalists, researchers and local NGOs to make their claims for protection heard by the government. The paper contributes to adaptation research by arguing that local collective action, seen as contestation over rights to protection from environmental change, can be a means for places and communities not prioritised by formal policies to enrol external support for adaptation. Our study supports and adds to the perspective that attention to formal arrangements such as adaptation policy alone has limited explanatory power to understand collective responses to change.     

Quantitative assessment of dissolved radiotracers in the English Channel: Sources, average impact of la Hague reprocessing plant and conservative behaviour (1983, 1986, 1988, 1994)

Knowledge of long-term movements of water-masses in the English Channel has been substantially improved using hydrodynamic modelling coupled with radio-tracers studies; nevertheless, the precision of results so obtained is still largely dependent on measurement precision. New tools are now available to make more accurate determinations of radio-tracer distribution: (1) Repositioning of station locations at the same tide reference-time, giving a homogeneous spatial data set, coupled with the possibility of interpolating and quantifying the amounts of dissolved radioactivity flowing through the English Channel; (2) the first measurements of tritium (³H) in seawater on a large scale in the English Channel demonstrate that this fully conservative radionuclide is a clearly identifiable marker of industrial releases; (3) recent campaigns carried out during the FLUXMANCHE II CCE (1994) programme show the general distribution of dissolved radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs, ⁶⁰Co, ¹²⁵Sb, ¹⁰⁶Ru and ³H in the English Channel and the Irish Sea; and (4) the re-utilisation of data from previous campaigns (1983, 1986, 1988) provides indications, at any given location in the English Channel, about the average dilution and distribution of releases derived from the La Hague reprocessing plant. Excesses and losses of radionuclides are now quantified with respect to known source terms; estimates of losses are provided for non-conservative radionuclides, while an excess of ¹³⁷Cs was observed in the English Channel during the period 1983–1994. This excess, which has the same order of magnitude as the quantities released from La Hague plant in the English Channel, could be explained by about 1% of the Sellafield reprocessing plant releases entering the Channel. These results confirm and give a more detailed picture of the previously known distribution of water masses in the English Channel. They lead to clear information about transit times and dilution at this scale, and provide directly comparable data for the validation of hydrodynamic models.     

Bathymetric segregation of sea urchins on reefs of the Canarian Archipelago: Role of flow-induced forces

We examined whether adults of three species of sea urchins species (Diadema antillarum, Arbacia lixula, and Paracentrotus lividus) exhibit a consistent depth-dependent partitioning pattern on rocky reefs of the Canarian Archipelago (eastern Atlantic). Hydrodynamic experiments were carried out to quantify the resistance to flow-induced dislodgement in these three species. We tested the model that different morphology can result in habitat partitioning among these sea urchins. Abundances of D. antillarum increased with depth. In contrast, A. lixula and P. lividus showed the opposite zonation pattern, coexisting in high abundances in the shallowest depths (<5 m), and occurring in low densities in the deepest part of reefs (>7 m). Both A. lixula and P. lividus had greater adhesion-surface to body-height ratios than D. antillarum. Similarly, A. lixula and P. lividus showed a greater ability to resist flow-induced dislodgement compared with D. antillarum. The mean “velocity of dislodgement” was 300% and 50% greater for A. lixula and P. lividus, respectively, relative to D. antillarum, for any particular size. As a result, A. lixula and P. lividus are better fitted to life in high-flow environments than D. antillarum. We conclude that the risk of dislodgement by water motion likely play a relevant role in the vertical distribution patterns of these sea urchins in the eastern Atlantic.     

Extrinsic and intrinsic forcing of fluvial development: understanding natural and anthropogenic influences

This paper introduces a special issue arising from the biennial meeting of the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG) that took place in September 2008 in Budapest, Hungary. Combining a two-day conference and three-day field excursion, this meeting provided an excellent opportunity for presentation and discussion of recent advances in research on fluvial evolution from the Plio-Pleistocene to the historical period. This editorial seeks to place these advances within the contexts both of long-term geomorphological research and the achievements of FLAG. It thus highlights progress towards a better understanding of fluvial responses to internal and external (including anthropogenic) forcing. It also points out some of the main obstacles, which can be targeted as goals for further research. Typically these relate to observed discrepancies in fluvial system responses, such as in patterns of lateral erosion and the timing of terrace incision, despite apparently similar fluvial parameters. Possible explanations for these discrepancies are mentioned, and the potential of new methods (especially in geochronology and modelling) to clarify such discrepancies is underlined. Finally the editorial provides brief reviews of the ten papers in this special issue (many of them developed from presentations in Budapest), which cover various areas in Europe (Hungary, England, Germany, Portugal, Russia), Asia (India) and South America (Bolivian Andes), placing them, in turn, within the context of this wider review of fluvial research.     

非开挖HDD地表变形数值模拟及DCRP识别技术研究

采用非开挖水平定向钻进技术近地表施工时,由于地层及钻井液压力等原因易产生地表变形。结合美国梅萨市一处通信管道施工实例,对0-0.9 MPa钻井液压力作用下的地表变形程度进行了数值分析,得到地表最大隆起量为26 mm。采用DCRP技术及水准仪方法对该变形区域钻井液压力作用前后的地表进行位移检测,得到地表最大隆起量分别为28 mm和30 mm,表明数值模拟分析结果同现场检测结果比较吻合。同时,在现场所布置的26个检测点中,两种方法检测到的隆起量最大相差2.7 mm,表明其精度比较接近。此外,由于DCRP技术属于非接触式三维检测,受施工现场条件及人员操作限制少,故具有较为理想的应用前景。     

大南盘江地区构造对油气藏破坏作用研究

大南盘江地区发育多套成熟烃源岩,具有良好的油气成藏条件。但由于烃源岩埋藏深、成熟早,成藏之后经历多期强烈的后期构造运动改造,先前形成的油气藏大都被破坏,导致目前地表出露多处古油藏和油气苗。多年的油气勘探证实,后期的构造运动对油气藏的破坏作用是制约该区油气勘探的关键问题。研究表明,大南盘江地区不同构造单元,油气藏的破坏因素不同。南盘江坳陷古油藏沿深大断裂分布,其破坏的主控因素是断裂活动;桂中坳陷古油藏和油气显示出露区缺失区域盖层,其破坏的主控因素是构造抬升剥蚀;十万大山盆地古油藏目前残留的烃类主要是固体沥青,镜质体反射率(Rb)大都落在2.0以上,推算经历的最高热解温度均大于200℃,而且古油藏的分布区也是印支期岩浆岩集中分布区,因此推断该区油气藏破坏的主控因素是岩浆活动。     

洞庭盆地两护村孔重矿物特征及其对第四纪构造活动与环境演变的响应

第四纪洞庭盆地主体自西向东分为安乡凹陷、赤山隆起和沅江凹陷等3个次级构造单元。在安乡凹陷东南部两护村新施工揭穿第四系的ZKC1孔,其地层组成自下而上依次为早更新世华田组、汨罗组,中更新世早期—中期洞庭湖组,晚更新世坡头组以及全新统等。对钻孔岩芯进行了系统的重矿物分析,进而根据特征重矿物来源和含量变化,结合钻孔岩性和岩相变化以及区域地质和地理背景,探讨洞庭盆地南部早—中更新世沉积环境暨河湖变迁以及构造沉降过程。研究表明,洞庭盆地存在幕式断陷活动,早更新世早期、早更新世末期和中更新世中—后期等3个时期强烈断陷沉降,相对湖平面上升,来源于盆地南缘中段的资江河水部分向西注入安乡凹陷,导致ZKC1孔华田组下段下部、汨罗组顶部、洞庭湖组上段等相应层位中的锆石、金红石、锐钛矿和菱铁矿等(主要来源于资江流域)含量显著增高。其它时期断陷作用较弱,河湖水位低,沅水和资江分别沿其主水道于赤山隆起西侧和东侧向北汇入长江,导致ZKC1孔相应沉积层位中锆石、金红石、锐钛矿和菱铁矿的含量明显偏低。对重矿物特征指数变化与孢粉和化学蚀变指数所反映的气候变化的相关性研究,暗示上述3次相对湖平面上升的主要原因不是降水增加,而是构造沉降增强。     

老鹰岩滑坡成因机制与运动特征研究

老鹰岩滑坡是汶川地震触发的大型岩质滑坡,滑坡纵长450 m,最大展宽430 m,体积约1 500×104m3。滑坡掩埋了一座中型水电站,造成20余人死亡,巨大的滑体堆积厚达100余米的滑坡坝,形成了汶川震区库容量仅次于唐家山的第二大堰塞湖。强震触发形成老鹰岩滑坡分为三个阶段,即:①后缘震动拉裂阶段。老鹰岩滑坡后缘为一突兀山脊,地形对地震动力放大效应明显,震动拉裂沿长大结构面形成了一个陡峭、粗糙,与重力作用下呈光滑、有一定弧形的后缘拉裂面迥异的边界。②摩擦阻力降低、滑体溃滑阶段。地震动力的持续作用,地震波不断在滑面处发生反射和折射,使得滑面处摩擦阻力迅速降低,进而岩体内"锁固段"剪断,滑体顺层面高速下滑。③滑体高速流动堆积阶段。规模巨大的滑体,冲入姜巴沟,并对沟两侧的山体产生强烈的铲刮,高速碎屑流受到黄洞子沟左侧山体强力阻挡后折返,并震动堆积形成堰塞湖。     

Shaking and splashing—A case study of far-field effects of the Mjølnir asteroid impact on depositional environments in the Barents Sea

The Mjølnir impact crater in the Norwegian Barents Sea features among the 20 largest impact craters listed in the Earth Impact Database. The impact is dated to 142 ± 2.6 Ma, corresponding closely to the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in the Boreal stratigraphy. Multidisciplinary studies carried out over the last three decades have suggested that the up to 40 km wide crater was created by a 1–3 km diameter impactor colliding with a shallow epicontinental sea, causing regional havoc and a regional ecological crisis that followed in its wake. Only minor evidence for the consequences of the impact for the surrounding depositional basins has been documented so far. This study describes a large submarine slump penetrated by hydrocarbon exploration well 7121/9-1, located in the southern Hammerfest Basin and approximately 350 km away from the impact site. The slump is dated by a black shale drape, which contains characteristic impact-related biotic assemblages and potential ejecta material. This precise dating enables us to associate the slump with large-scale fault movements and footwall collapse along the basin-bounding Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex, which we conclude were caused by shock waves from the Mjølnir impact and the passage of associated tsunami trains. The draping black shale is interpreted to represent significant reworking of material from the contemporary seabed by tsunamis and currents set up by the impact.