Resident action groups in Sydney: people power or rat‐bags?

This paper presents an analysis of a neglected area of study by geographers; that of resident action groups. During the 1980s there has been a significant increase in the number of resident action groups throughout Sydney. Resident activism has influenced local planning processes, the location of noxious facilities and subsequent urban form. This has initiated important reactions by government at both the local and State levels. Urban collective activisms have been hypothesised as single‐issue, self‐serving nimby groups. However, RAGs are also empowering forces, in which women and men are introduced to the political structures and become engaged in protest and resistance that can challenge the social and spatial order. RAGs can, either singularly or cumulatively, force a re‐aligning of existing power relations, and they can necessitate changed modes of governance (or govern‐mentality).     

东澳大利亚南悉尼盆地二叠纪的地层、沉积环境与盆地演化

晚石炭世末期-三叠纪东澳大利亚的鲍恩-冈尼达-悉尼（Bowen- Gunnedah-Sydney）盆地系是位于拉克伦（Lachlan）褶皱带和新英格兰（New England）褶皱带之间的一个长条形的构造盆地。从北部的冈尼达（Gunnedah）到南部的巴特曼斯（Batemans）湾，悉尼盆地是鲍恩-冈尼达-悉尼盆地系南端的一个次级盆地。悉尼盆地的二叠系包括河流、三角洲、滨浅海沉积岩和火山岩地层。南悉尼盆地的西南部二叠系不整合覆盖于变形变质的拉克伦（Lachlan）褶皱带之上。二叠系由下部的塔拉特郎（Tallaterang）群、中部的肖尔黑文群（Shoalhaven Group）和上部的伊勒瓦拉煤系（Illawarra Coal Measures）组成。从晚石炭世末到中三叠世悉尼盆地经历了弧后扩张到典型的前陆盆地的不同阶段：弧后扩张阶段、被动热沉降阶段和挤压挠曲负载阶段。     

Discussion of “Geomechanical modeling of the nucleation process of Australia's 1989 M5.6 Newcastle earthquake” by C.D. Klose [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 256 (2007) 547–553]

On the basis of a numerical simulation, Klose [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 256: 547–553 (2007)] proposed that the M_W = 5.2–5.6 earthquake that nucleated beneath Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) at 10.30 AM December 28, 1989 (AEST), was the result of 200yr of coal mining in the region. We argue here that Klose's [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 256: 547–553 (2007)] ultimate conclusion is not supported by his own model or by available geological and seismic data. In particular, the 1989 Newcastle earthquake was not anomalous with respect to regional seismic activity.     

Seasonal distribution of chlorophyll on mudflats in New South Wales,Australia measured by field spectrometry and PAM fluorometry

Variability of chlorophyll (as an index of micro-algal abundance) between warm and cool seasons at different heights on (distances across) the shore was investigated on intertidal mudflats in warm-temperate Australia. Chlorophyll was measured using ratios of reflectances from field spectrometry and minimal fluorescence (F₀) from PAM fluorometry to compare patterns obtained using these two methods. A single sampling period comprised 2 days of sampling, one for each mudflat, with 2 sampling periods nested within each month, 2 months within each of a cool and warm season in each of 2 years. Large differences in amounts of chlorophyll were found between the two mudflats, although spatial and temporal patterns of variation were generally similar. There were greater amounts of chlorophyll in the cooler months than in the warmer months in each location in each year, which contrasts with many of the patterns reported from elsewhere. There was more chlorophyll on the upper than on the lower shore and the increases from summer to winter were generally greater at the higher levels. Large variation in chlorophyll from week to week within each month demonstrated the need for adequate replication in studies of seasonal patterns of variability. Measurements made by a field spectrometer and a PAM fluorometer were largely consistent, but, at certain times, they showed an opposite pattern. The reasons for these differences were investigated further by looking at differences in other pigments, but the different results from the two methods could not to be explained by changes in composition of the micro-algal assemblage and, as yet, remain unexplained.     

Making in the City: disjunctures between public discourse and urban policy

Creative cities contribute much to the cultural economies and identities of a nation, shaping imagination and talent, and contributing to the sense of livability and place. Artists, designers, crafters, tinkerers, and even small-scale manufacturers are at the heart of urban rejuvenation in cities such as Brooklyn in New York, and Newcastle and Melbourne in Australia. Increasingly this activity is referred to in the public realm via the media, including social media, through the all-encompassing term ‘making’. Yet in much public policy, this activity is framed through previously held notions: artists, culture, and the precincts associated with this life. I explore this disjuncture by focusing on a case study of Australia’s largest city, Sydney, to interrogate the current schism between public and policy discourse. I share findings about the role of discourse, community consultation, and timing in policy development to argue that valuing making in cities requires commitment to continual community consultation to ensure policy currency, with makers as key stakeholders in this dialogue. Furthermore, the intersection of policy domains is required to prevent isolating making into one policy area. I highlight implications for the imagining of creative cities.     

Rehabilitation of Saline Wetland, Olympics 2000 Site, Sydney (Australia)—II: Saltmarsh Transplantation Trials and Application

The New South Wales Olympic Co-ordination Authority, which is responsible for the redevelopment of the site for the Olympic Games 2000, Sydney, is committed to the rehabilitation of the remnant ecosystems remaining on the site. This paper describes a 3-year saltmarsh transplantation project, and resulting management approaches for the rehabilitation of other saline wetland areas on the site. Two series of cuttings (spring and autumn) were made, including three dominant species and three species rare in Sydney. It was found that all the species could be propagated without difficulty, but field survival and growth were much higher for the spring series than the autumn one. Measurement was also made of the colonisation of mangrove and saltmarsh species that occurred at the site over the course of the trials. New understandings of estuarine wetland colonisation have emerged, and the information has been used to develop methods of transplantation for other parts of the Olympic site, and to define management needs for monitoring success.     

Perfluorinated alkyl acids in water, sediment and wildlife from Sydney Harbour and surroundings

Perfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFCs) including perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) were measured in environmental samples collected from around Homebush Bay, an urban/industrial area in the upper reaches of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River estuary. Water, surface sediment, Sea Mullet (Mugil cephalus), Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea commercialis) and eggs of two bird species; White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca), and Silver Gull (Larus novaehollandiae) were analysed. In most samples PFOS was the dominant PFC. Geometric mean PFOS concentrations were 33 ng/g ww (wet weight) in gull eggs, 34 ng/g ww in ibis eggs, and 1.8 ng/g ww and 66 ng/g ww in Sea Mullet muscle and liver, respectively. In sediment the PFOS geometric mean was 1.5 ng/g, in water average PFOS and PFOA concentrations ranged from 7.5 to 21 ng/L and 4.2 to 6.4 ng/L, respectively. In oysters perfluorododecanoic acid was most abundant, with a geometric mean of 2.5 ng/g ww.     

Extraction of heavy metals in Sydney Harbour sediments using 1M HCl and 0.05M EDTA and implications for sediment‐quality guidelines

Sixty sediment samples with a wide range of heavy‐metal concentrations and sediment textures were collected from Sydney Harbour. The samples were extracted with 1M HCl, 0.05M EDTA and HClO₄/HNO₃ and analysed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry for Zn, Pb, Cu and Cd. 1M HCl extracted a large proportion of heavy metals in oxic sediments (60–100%), whereas the extractability of metals with 0.05M EDTA was generally lower (by ～20%). Extractability was unrelated to the level of contamination or to sediment texture. The extractability of Cu in anoxic sediments was substantially lower with 1M HCl (～20%) and 0.05M EDTA (～10%) than with HClO₄/HNO₃. The extractability of Pb with 0.05M EDTA was also reduced in anoxic sediments (to ～70%). The use of weak extractants, in particular 1M HCl, is recommended by the recently introduced ANZECC and ARMCANZ interim sediment‐quality guidelines. These extractants are believed to provide a better measure of the bioavailable metal content than strong acid extractants. In this study, anoxic, sulfidic environments had a major influence on metal extractability with weak extractants. The implication of this is that the number of samples requiring further testing, as stipulated by the guidelines, would be significantly reduced in anoxic sediments.     

兰州沙尘暴样品磁学性质与粒度分析及其与悉尼样品的对比

对2009年9月23日悉尼特强沙尘暴和2010年4月兰州沙尘暴样品进行了磁学参数和粒度测量.结果表明:悉尼尘暴样品中磁性矿物含量远远低于兰州样品.磁性矿物种类略有不同,兰州样品主要含有磁铁矿、磁赤铁矿,可能含有赤铁矿;悉尼样品除了上述矿物外,还含有针铁矿.悉尼样品比兰州样品的磁性矿物颗粒要细.悉尼样品的粒度分布曲线呈现四峰态,粒度曲线呈现宽扁形态;兰州样品呈现三峰态,粒度曲线则呈窄高的形态.沙尘暴样品与源区样品磁学性质的大相径庭及粒度曲线的多峰态分布都说明了沙尘暴物源的非惟一性.此外,将兰州沙尘暴样品与九州台黄土-古土壤样品的粒度进行了比较,结果显示,1～10 μm组分含量的增加及10～20 μm组分含量的减少主要与不稳定矿物的物理化学风化过程有关,0.02～1μm组分含量增加的主要原因是新矿物的生成及不稳定矿物的风化.沙尘暴样品与黄土-古土壤样品的粒度分布曲线具有一定的相似性,说明现代沙尘暴事件是地质时期风尘活动的持续,现代风积作用仍在继续.     

The scale of segregation: ancestral groups in Sydney, 2011

Most studies of urban residential segregation analyse it at a single-scale only, usually the smallest for which relevant census data are available. Following a recent argument that such segregation is multiscalar, this paper reports on multilevel modelling of the segregation of 42 ancestral groups in Sydney, Australia, looking at its intensity at four separate scales in which segregation at each scale is presented nett of its intensity at all higher-level scales. Most groups are more segregated at the macro- and micro-scales than at two intermediate meso-scales, with variations across them reflecting their size, recency of arrival in Australia and cultural differences from the host society. The findings are used as the basis for developing a multiscale appreciation of residential patterning.