Relationship between stratigraphical variation in the morphology of Gabonella elongata and geochemical composition of the host sediments

One hundred and sixty-two microspheric and 110 megalospheric specimens of the Late Cretaceous benthic foraminifer Gabonella elongata de Klasz and Meijer were picked from 13 borehole samples and analyzed for stratigraphical variation in four variables. Principal component and canonical variate analyses indicate a larger inter-level variation in the relative size of the final chamber in the microspheric generation than in the megalospheric. The morphometrical measurements were weighed against the concentration of 13 chemical elements determined at each level. The analyses indicate that G. elongata developed large tests in arenaceous sediments, whereas carbonaceous, argillaceous sediments seem to have resulted in small tests. Especially the microspheric generation tends to show greater reduction in growth in the ultimate chamber in carbonaceous, argillaceous sediments than in more arenaceous. This indicates that the genetically controlled growth pattern of the last chamber may be influenced by environmental factors such as agitation and clearness of the water.     

Temporal variations in bedload transport rates: The effect of progressive bed armouring

The quantitative bedload transport data that are presently available confirm that the generalized bedload transport rate-stream power relationship is applicable to natural streams. However, the bedload transport rate is not solely dependent upon hydraulic parameters, but also upon the inter-relationship between bed material characteristics and flow properties. Segregation of the surficial bed material, as expressed through the development of an armour coat, limits the availability of transportable material. Under such circumstances observed bedload transport rates are less than the predicted values. The effect which the development of an armoured surface has upon the bedload transport rate is described with reference to bedload and bed material sampling in the Borgne d'Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. The data refer to two periods when the resumption of baseflow conditions following flood events which were of a sufficient magnitude to transport all but the coarsest (0·3–0·5 m) particles on the streambed, provided the opportunity for the bed to adjust to a comparatively stable flow regime. Observed and predicted bedload transport rate-stream power relationships are compared. The theoretical relationship does not adequately describe conditions in some gravel-bed channels, since it fails to take into account the effect which armouring may have upon the supply of transportable material.     

A general framework for error analysis in measurement-based GIS Part 2: The algebra-based probability model for point-in-polygon analysis

This is the second paper of a four-part series of papers on the development of a general framework for error analysis in measurement-based geographic information systems (MBGIS). In this paper, we discuss the problem of point-in-polygon analysis under randomness, i.e., with random measurement error (ME). It is well known that overlay is one of the most important operations in GIS, and point-in-polygon analysis is a basic class of overlay and query problems. Though it is a classic problem, it has, however, not been addressed appropriately. With ME in the location of the vertices of a polygon, the resulting random polygons may undergo complex changes, so that the point-in-polygon problem may become theoretically and practically ill-defined. That is, there is a possibility that we cannot answer whether a random point is inside a random polygon if the polygon is not simple and cannot form a region. For the point-in-triangle problem, however, such a case need not be considered since any triangle always forms an interior or region. To formulate the general point-in-polygon problem in a suitable way, a conditional probability mechanism is first introduced in order to accurately characterize the nature of the problem and establish the basis for further analysis. For the point-in-triangle problem, four quadratic forms in the joint coordinate vectors of a point and the vertices of the triangle are constructed. The probability model for the point-in-triangle problem is then established by the identification of signs of these quadratic form variables. Our basic idea for solving a general point-in-polygon (concave or convex) problem is to convert it into several point-in-triangle problems under a certain condition. By solving each point-in-triangle problem and summing the solutions, the probability model for a general point-in-polygon analysis is constructed. The simplicity of the algebra-based approach is that from using these quadratic forms, we can circumvent the complex geometrical relations between a random point and a random polygon (convex or concave) that one has to deal with in any geometric method when probability is computed. The theoretical arguments are substantiated by simulation experiments.This project was supported by the earmarked grant CUHK 4362/00H of the Hong Kong Research grants Council.     

Embodiment and sexuality in cross-cultural research

In this paper, I reflect on the impact that my embodiment and the sexed subject positions that I took up at various moments in the field had on my research on cross-cultural sexual encounters between Thai men and tourist women. I explore the negotiation of sexed subjectivity and positionality and the implications that these negotiations had for research ethics in the project. The issue of research ethics is bound up in the conceptualisation of power relationships between researcher and researched. Here I argue that power is not necessarily already distributed between researcher and researched; rather, that power can shift in different contexts.     

山西北部沙棘群落优势种种间关系

用X2检验、Jaccard关联指数及Pearson相关和Spearman秩相关系数对山西北部地区沙棘群落20个优势种群进行种间关系研究。结果表明:1)X2检验共有8个种对为显著正关联,2个种对为显著负关联;Pearson相关系数有10个种对为显著正相关,3个种对为显著负相关;Spearman秩相关系数有14个种对为显著正相关,7个种对为显著负相关。Spearman秩相关检验用于表征种间关联具有较高的灵敏度;2)草本层呈显著和极显著相关的种对最多,灌木与草本间呈显著和极显著相关的种对次之;3)灌木种群间均呈现负相关,表明沙棘群落尚处于动态演替之中。根据Spearman秩相关星座图,将20个优势种划分为4个生态种组,各生态种组内的种具有相似的生态适应性,而组间则表现出明显的差异性;灰栒子、小叶鼠李、灌木铁线莲对特殊生境有较强适应性,呈现独立分布格局。     

边坡变形分析与预报的模糊人工神经网络方法

边坡变形受地质、水文、气候、突发因素（如暴雨、地震）、人工活动（如开挖或防护）等各种因素的影响,这些因素与变形之间一般不是确定的定量关系。本文介绍了不同影响因素与位移量的模糊关系及位移量的模糊近似推论,在此基础上应用模糊人工神经网络进行位移量预报,并以一个边坡监测资料为例说明了具体的应用方法。     

A uniform catalog of earthquakes for seismic hazard asesment in Iran

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Regional variation of mechanical and chemical denudation,upper Colorado River Basin,U.S.A.

The variation of mechanical and chemical denudation is investigated using discharge and sediment yield data from the Upper Colorado River System. Annual precipitation ranges from approximately 150 mm to 1500 mm. Mean specific yield ranges from 0-2 1/s km² ( = 6 mm p a) to 151/s km² ( = 475 mm p a). The hydrological-geomorphological system adjusts itself to these varying climatic conditions; in some areas, however, the effects of lithology or land use seem to override the climatic controls. It is demonstrated that the increase in the absolute and particularly the relative amount of suspended sediment is closely related to a decrease in annual runoff and to an increase in the importance of high magnitude/low frequency events. This indicates that in areas of low annual runoff and high runoff variability, soluble rocks are more resistant than in more humid areas. During high magnitude/low frequency events, suspended sediment concentrations and loads are very high in semiarid areas due to sparse vegetation cover and dominance of direct runoff. Events of moderate magnitude and frequency, which in more humid areas transport most of the dissolved load, seldom occur. The trend towards increasing mechanical denudation is even observed in areas of very low runoff (0-221/s km² = 7 mm p a). The peak of sediment yield in dry areas seems to approximate the point of no runoff very closely. Mechanical and chemical denudation are of equal importance at a runoff of about 300 mm per year.     

Response to Thrift's “The future of geography”

Reviews and observations about the status of the discipline of geography, no matter how positive, invariably raise programmatic concerns. These concerns have a long history that arise from geography's struggles to find an identity that embraces its many parts and yet are consistent with the logic by which the academy partitions knowledge. Pedagogy and research historically claimed by geography is currently being reinvented and relabeled under such headings as “integrated environmental science” and “spatial science”, and these developments have the potential to change the breadth of the “geographic imagination”. Several observations about dominant explanatory perspectives and substantive domains of geographic enquiry are also provided.