Modelling ice conditions in the easternmost Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea

To model ice conditions in the eastern Gulf of Finland, a high-resolution three-dimensional hydrodynamic model is coupled with the advanced sea-ice model HELMI (Haapala et al., 2005). To test the model in extreme situations, the ice pattern in the eastern Gulf of Finland was simulated for a mild ice winter (2007–2008) and for a moderate one (2003–2004). The reference runs were performed on the assumption that the ice in the model domain is fast ice if the sea depth is less than 10 m. Using this assumption, the ice thickness averaged over the Neva Bay (the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland) is overestimated by the model for almost the entire wintertime in the mild winter and during the ice formation and melting periods in the moderate winter, as compared with the thickness reported in ice charts.     

Research on the Seismotectonic Setting in Beibu Gulf Waters

In this paper we discuss the seismogenic structures of the two earthquakes occurring in the Beibu Gulf waters,based on the investigation of geological structure,faults,geophysical fields,seismicity and earthquake focal mechanism.The results show that the NEE trending faults along the boundary of the Wushi depression are the dominating seismogenic structures,and the NW trending faults are the key factors of stress concentration.The results also show that high seismicity has a significant relationship with the late Cenozoic deposition center in the Beibu Gulf,and their NE-NEE trending boundary faults are important to the identification of seismogenic structures.The special arcuate fault segment or the intersection point of the NW trending faults and NE-NEE trending boundary faults is a possible location of future earthquakes.     

A changing nutrient regime in the Gulf of Maine

Recent oceanographic observations and a retrospective analysis of nutrients and hydrography over the past five decades have revealed that the principal source of nutrients to the Gulf of Maine, the deep, nutrient-rich continental slope waters that enter at depth through the Northeast Channel, may have become less important to the Gulf's nutrient load. Since the 1970s, the deeper waters in the interior Gulf of Maine (>100 m) have become fresher and cooler, with lower nitrate (NO₃) but higher silicate (Si(OH)₄) concentrations. Prior to this decade, nitrate concentrations in the Gulf normally exceeded silicate by 4–5 μM, but now silicate and nitrate are nearly equal. These changes only partially correspond with that expected from deep slope water fluxes correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, and are opposite to patterns in freshwater discharges from the major rivers in the region. We suggest that accelerated melting in the Arctic and concomitant freshening of the Labrador Sea in recent decades have likely increased the equatorward baroclinic transport of the inner limb of the Labrador Current that flows over the broad continental shelf from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to the Gulf of Maine. That current system now brings a greater fraction of colder and fresher deep shelf waters into the Gulf than warmer and saltier offshore slope waters which were previously thought to dominate the flux of nutrients. Those deep shelf waters reflect nitrate losses from sediment denitrification and silicate accumulations from rivers and in situ regeneration, which together are altering the nutrient regime and potentially the structure of the planktonic ecosystem.     

Overpressure within upper continental slope sediments from CPTU data,Gulf of Lion,NW Mediterranean Sea

Data from in situ piezocone tests (CPTU) and laboratory analyses are utilized for the interpretation of the stress history of Quaternary sedimentary sequences in the upper continental slope of the Gulf of Lion, northwestern Mediterranean Sea. A CPTU based preconsolidation pressure profile referenced to the current effective stress indicates that the deposit is underconsolidated from 12 meters below the seafloor (mbsf) down to at least 150 mbsf. Excess pore pressure below 12 mbsf is further supported by results from oedometer and dissipation tests. Subseafloor pockmarks and indications of free gas in seismic reflection profiles reveal four main overpressure sources (SI–SIV) with overpressure ratios >0.3 at subseafloor depths coinciding with levels where the dominantly silty-clayey sediment contains increased proportions of sand. We relate the excess pore pressure related to free gas due to gas exsolution processes and sea level variations driven by Pleistocene sea level changes.     

A Review of “Hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexico”

Books reviewed:

Bassin, Mark, Imperial Visions: Nationalist Imagination and Geographical Expansion in the Russian Far East, 1840 – 1865

Shortridge, James R., Our Town on the Plains: J. J. Pennell's Photographs of Junction City, Kansas, 1893 – 1922

Jakle, John A. and Sculle, Keith A., Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age

Boeschenstein, Walter, Historic American Towns along the Atlantic Coast

McKee, Jesse O., Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal

Luciuk, Lubomyr Y., Searching for Place: Ukrainian Displaced Persons, Ottawa, and the Migration of Memory

Hausladen, Gary, Places for Dead Bodies

Phillips, Richard, Watt, Diane and Shuttleton, David, De-Centering Sexualities: Politics and Representations beyond the Metropolis

Goldin, Liliana R., Identities on the Move, Transnational Processes in North America and the Caribbean Basin

McDonald, David A., On Borders: Perspectives on International Migration in Southern Africa

Fox, Roddy and Rowntree, Kate, The Geography of South Africa in a Changing World

Takeuchi, Keiichi, Modern Japanese Geography: An Intellectual History

Amery, Hussein A., and Wolf, Aaron T., Water in the Middle East: A Geography of Peace

Karl, Thomas R., Nicholls, Neville and Ghazi, Anver, Weather and Climate Extremes: Changes, Variations, and a Perspective from the Insurance Industry

Pittman, Blair, Texas Caves     

Securing the Neoliberal City: Discourses of Creativity and Priority Neighborhoods in Toronto,Canada

This paper examines the convergence between the discourse of the creative city and the discourse on priority neighborhoods within urban policy imaginaries in Toronto, Canada. In particular, it examines the development of a number of arts programs targeted at low-income neighborhoods in the city. The twin objectives of these programs are to (a) foster creative and entrepreneurial subjectivities among “at-risk” youth, and (b) reduce the risk of violence that is presumed to be associated with youths living in poor neighborhoods. The paper analyzes how these two discourses are intertwined in a neoliberal politics devoted to enhancing regional quality-of-life competitiveness and to branding Toronto as an attractive creative-class destination. [Key words: creative city, poverty, low-income neighborhoods, neoliberalism, Toronto.]     

北部湾沿海地区土地利用动态模拟与水源涵养服务能力估算——以广西钦州市为例

分析北部湾沿海地区广西钦州市土地利用格局及未来变化趋势,为开展该地区土地利用规划和生态服务价值中的水源涵养服务能力估算提供决策依据.以2000年、2010年的TM遥感影像以及各种驱动因子数据为基础,耦合Binary Logistic及CA-Markov模型对研究区2020年的土地利用格局进行模拟,并对研究区的水源涵养服务能力进行估算.结果表明：（1） 2000～2010年各种土地利用类型的转化强度大且比较复杂,尤以耕地、林地和水域之间的流动最为显著,建设占用耕地和林地的面积高达2 003.31 hm2;（2）由Binary Logistic逻辑斯蒂回归方程所得出的各种土地利用类型ROC拟合值中最小为0.686,最大达到0.952,模拟效果良好;（3）预测年2020年建设用地增加的区域主要集中在钦州市钦南区的市区周边,向东方向扩展,变化比较剧烈的地方主要是钦州港区和研究区域的北部;（4）单位面积水源涵养能力的排序依次为：水域＞林地＞草地＞耕地＞建设用地＞未利用地,3个年份的水源涵养服务能力在空间上均呈现出“东南部高西北部低,中心地带持续衰减”的趋势.     

Distributions,possible sources and biological risk of DDTs,HCHs and chlordanes in sediments of Beibu Gulf and its tributary rivers,China

Thirty-five surface sediment samples collected from Beibu Gulf and its tributary rivers, China were analyzed for DDTs, HCHs and chlordanes. Total concentrations of DDTs, HCHs and chlordanes in sediments ranged from 0.59 to 126 ng g⁻¹, ND to 2.65 ng g⁻¹ and 0.27 to 3.41 ng g⁻¹ based on dry weight (dw), respectively. Concentrations of DDTs were higher than those reported in the sediments from other regions of the world, while concentrations of HCHs and chlordanes were relatively low. High concentrations of DDTs were observed in the harbor region and aquaculture bases and high concentrations of HCHs were found in the Qin River Estuary. The ratios of (DDE + DDD)/DDTs reflected a mixed input of weathered and fresh DDTs. The predominant β-HCH indicated that HCHs in the study area mainly originated from the historical usage of technical HCH. The residues of DDTs would pose adverse biological effects on the study area.     

A model of secondary upwelling over the shelf break

Motivated by our puzzling high-resolution radar observations of surface vortices in the nearly rectangular Gulf of Eilat/Aqaba, northern Red Sea, we propose and explore the driven cavity approach to this geophysical phenomenon. While the lid-driven cavity has long been considered a benchmark problem in computational fluid dynamics, its oceanographic context has not been considered. Despite the additional effects of rotation and stratification, our modeling demonstrates that when the fluid within a cavity geometrically similar to the Gulf of Eilat is driven by the external current, an interior vortex can develop as in our observations. Furthermore, the Eilat vortices appear only under relatively calm conditions, adding evidence to the intriguing possibility of their simple shear-driven origin.     

“Building glass refrigerators in the desert”: discourses of urban sustainability and nation building in Qatar

Planners around the Arab Gulf states are increasingly drawing on narratives about “urban sustainability,” despite the fact that the explosive growth of urban centers in the Arabian desert largely defies the logic of sustainability. In this article, I consider how and with what effect these narratives have been deployed by various actors in Doha, Qatar. Eschewing a simple economistic reading, I highlight political geographic context and analyze how actors mobilize and rework these discourses. Drawing on mixed-methods fieldwork in Fall 2013, I illustrate how sustainability narratives are mobilized together with nationalist tropes about modernizing Qatar and building up the country’s international prestige, while preserving local traditions and culture through the built environment. With a focus on recent efforts to green Doha, this analysis sheds light on the disciplining function of nationalist discourses in the production and constitution of what it means to label development practices “green” in contemporary Qatar.