A decade of council tax inequities? Geographical perspectives and a research agenda

Local taxation reform is back on the agenda in the light of the recent Local Government Bill. In reviewing the literature on the council tax, it is noted that researchers tend to view this from one of two perspectives: either as a fiscal policy, focusing on the tax burden, or as a housing policy, focusing on the property price valuations. Recent debate on council tax reform has gone as far as suggesting that there are regional inequities in the council tax, but what tends to be neglected remains the council tax incidence at the local scale. A research agenda is proposed here as a means of promoting geographically conscious inter-disciplinary research on local taxation.     

“青藏高原南部空白区基础地质调查与研究”计划项目新成果、新进展

通过2 0 0 4年度各相关图幅的大力工作,在基础地质、矿产和资源等方面取得了大量实际材料,综合研究区域构造地层格架、青藏高原地质图和青藏高原南部火山岩及其地球动力学意义等,取得重要进展和新认识,在矿产资源、旅游和人文景观等方面也取得重要阶段性成果。     

北黄海盆地构造几何学研究新进展

北黄海盆地是发育于隆起背景之上的中、新生代沉积盆地。新一轮资源调查研究表明，北黄海中、新生代沉积盆地的基底由古生界沉积岩层和前寒武纪变质岩系等组成，盆地不同程度地发育下构造层（J3-K1）、中构造层（E2-E3）和上构造层（N）；从油气资源和中、新生代地层发育情况出发，将北黄海海域划分为辽东-海洋岛隆起区、北黄海盆地和胶北．刘公岛隆起区等3个一级构造单元，其中北黄海盆地包括6个二级构造单元和24个三级构造单元；盆地褶皱、断裂构造十分发育，褶皱构造可划分为区域挤压型、局部伴生型和披盖型等三类，断裂构造主要可见近EW—NE向、NW向和NNE向三组，其中近EW—NE向和NNE向断裂比较发育，控制着盆地隆、坳分布格局和沉积特征。     

Significance of post‐peak metamorphic reaction microstructures in the ultrahigh temperature Eastern Ghats Province,India

Ultrahigh temperature (UHT) granulites in the Eastern Ghats Province (EGP) have a complex P–T–t history. We review the P–T histories of UHT metamorphism in the EGP and use that as a framework for investigating the P–T–t history of Mg–Al‐rich granulites from Anakapalle, with the express purpose of trying to reconcile the down‐pressure‐dominated P–T path with other UHT localities in the EGP. Mafic granulite that is host to Mg–Al‐rich metasedimentary granulites at Anakapalle has a protolith age of c. 1,580 Ma. Mg–Al‐rich metasedimentary granulites within the mafic granulite at Anakapalle were metamorphosed at UHT conditions during tectonism at 960–875 Ma, meaning that the UHT metamorphism was not the result of contact metamorphism from emplacement of the host mafic rock. Reworking occurred during the Pan‐African (c. 600–500 Ma) event, and is interpreted to have produced hydrous assemblages that overprint the post‐peak high‐T retrograde assemblages. In contrast to rocks elsewhere in the EGP that developed post‐peak cordierite, the metasedimentary granulites at Anakapalle developed post‐peak, generation ‘2’ reaction products that are cordierite‐absent and nominally anhydrous. Therefore, rocks at Anakapalle offer the unique opportunity to quantify the pressure drop that occurred during so‐called M2 that affected the EGP. We argue that M2 is either a continuation of M1 and that the overall P–T path shape is a complex counter‐clockwise loop, or that M1 is an up‐temperature counter‐clockwise deviation superimposed on the M2 path. Therefore, rather than the rocks at Anakapalle having a metamorphic history that is apparently anomalous from the rest of the EGP, we interpret that other previously studied localities in the EGP record a different part of the same P–T path history as Anakapalle, but do not preserve a significant record of pressure decrease. This is due either to the inability of refractory rocks to extensively react to produce a rich mineralogical record of pressure decrease, or because the earlier high‐P part of the rocks history was erased by the M1 loop. Irrespective of the specific scenario, models for the tectonic evolution of the EGP must take the substantial pressure decrease during M2 into account, as it is probable the P–T record at Anakapalle is a reflection of tectonics affecting the entire province.     

内蒙古二连—东乌旗铜钼多金属成矿带中西段 找矿进展

二连—东乌旗成矿带位于西伯利亚板块和华北板块之间的兴蒙造山带东段,属西伯利亚板块东南南大陆边缘早古生代火山岛弧带、晚古生代二连－贺根山板块对接带。自中生代开始,区内逐渐向滨太平洋构造域发展过渡,并在中生代晚期经历了明显的由挤压构造体系向伸展构造体系的转换过程,在一系列构造演化及其相应的岩浆作用、火山作用和变质作用过程中,分别伴随着金、钼、铜、铅、锌等多金属富集和矿化,该地区具有优越的成矿条件。     

农业遥感研究应用进展与展望

得益于中国自主遥感卫星、无人机遥感和物联网等技术的发展,中国农业遥感研究与应用在过去20年取得了显著进步,中国农业遥感信息获取呈现出天地网一体化的趋势;农业定量遥感在关键参数遥感反演技术方法与应用方面取得进展;作物面积、长势、产量、灾害遥感监测的理论与技术方法取得突破,农业遥感技术应用领域不断拓展。本文从农业遥感信息获取、农业定量遥感、农业灾害遥感、作物遥感识别与制图、作物长势遥感监测与产量预测、农业土地资源遥感等方面对中国农业遥感科研与应用进行了总结综述。     

A New Progress of the Proterozoic Chronostratigraphical Division

The Precambrian, an informal chronostratigraphical unit, represents the period of Earth history from the start of the Cambrian at ca. 541 Ma back to the formation of the planet at 4567 Ma. It was originally conceptualized as a "Cryptozoic Eon" that was contrasted with the Phanerozoic Eon from the Cambrian to the Quaternary, which is now known as the Precambrian and can be subdivided into three eons, i.e., the Hadean, the Archean and the Proterozoic. The Precambrian is currently divided chronometrically into convenient boundaries, including for the establishment of the Proterozoic periods that were chosen to reflect large-scale tectonic or sedimentary features(except for the Ediacaran Period). This chronometric arrangement might represent the second progress on the study of chronostratigraphy of the Precambrian after its separation from the Phanerozoic. Upon further study of the evolutionary history of the Precambrian Earth, applying new geodynamic and geobiological knowledge and information, a revised division of Precambrian time has led to the third conceptual progress on the study of Precambrian chronostratigraphy. In the current scheme, the Proterozoic Eon began at 2500 Ma, which is the approximate time by which most granite-greenstone crust had formed, and can be subdivided into ten periods of typically 200 Ma duration grouped into three eras(except for the Ediacaran Period). Within this current scheme, the Ediacaran Period was ratified in 2004, the first period-level addition to the geologic time scale in more than a century, an important advancement in stratigraphy. There are two main problems in the current scheme of Proterozoic chronostratigraphical division:(1) the definition of the Archean–Proterozoic boundary at 2500 Ma, which does not reflect a unique time of synchronous global change in tectonic style and does not correspond with a major change in lithology;(2) the round number subdivision of the Proterozoic into several periods based on broad orogenic characteristics, which has not met with requests on the concept of modern stratigraphy, except for the Ediacaran Period. In the revised chronostratigraphic scheme for the Proterozoic, the Archean–Proterozoic boundary is placed at the major change from a reducing early Earth to a cooler, more modern Earth characterized by the supercontinent cycle, a major change that occurred at ca. 2420 Ma. Thus, a revised Proterozoic Eon(2420–542 Ma) is envisaged to extend from the Archean–Proterozoic boundary at ca. 2420 Ma to the end of the Ediacaran Period, i.e., a period marked by the progressive rise in atmospheric oxygen, supercontinent cyclicity, and the evolution of more complex(eukaryotic) life. As with the current Proterozoic Eon, a revised Proterozoic Eon based on chronostratigraphy is envisaged to consist of three eras(Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic), but the boundary ages for these divisions differ from their current ages and their subdivisions into periods would also differ from current practice. A scheme is proposed for the chronostratigraphic division of the Proterozoic, based principally on geodynamic and geobiological events and their expressions in the stratigraphic record. Importantly, this revision of the Proterozoic time scale will be of significant benefit to the community as a whole and will help to drive new research that will unveil new information about the history of our planet, since the Proterozoic is a significant connecting link between the preceding Precambrian and the following Phanerozoic.     

南岭钨矿床研究进展

南岭钨矿床研究一直是重要的前沿课题,近十余年来测试方法和技术的革新为南岭钨矿床研究注入了新活力,也取得了众多新进展.本文在系统查阅前人研究基础上对其进行总结,概括如下:①该区的岩浆-钨成矿活动不仅有燕山期,也有加里东期和印支期,但以燕山期最为强烈;②花岗岩浆是南岭钨矿床主要的直接物质来源,即使有少部分成矿物质是热液直接对含矿地层淋滤、萃取而来,但却被认为是次要的;③与花岗岩有关钨矿床的成矿流体主要来自花岗岩浆,在成矿作用晚期有不同程度的大气降水混入;④与钨有关的花岗岩主要由下地壳的早—中元古代岩石重熔形成,但地幔岩浆一定程度上参与了花岗岩的形成作用;⑤碱质交代在花岗岩浆演化形成钨矿床的过程中发挥了关键性作用;⑥不同学者对燕山期钨成矿作用动力学背景尚有不同看法,但该时期确定为板内伸展和裂谷环境已达成共识.     

珊瑚礁连通性研究进展

综述了国外近20 a珊瑚礁连通性的研究简史,总结了珊瑚礁连通性研究的方法,阐述了"珊瑚礁连通性"的研究对珊瑚礁生态系统管理的重要意义。中国的珊瑚礁连通性研究刚起步,离国外还有很大差距,今后应加强珊瑚幼虫扩散路径、珊瑚群体内(群体间)遗传分化、遗传距离、基因流的研究,对我国海域珊瑚幼虫扩散的走廊加以保护。     

Back to the future: reflections and directions of South African marine bioinvasion research

Biological invasions continue to increase around the world, with impacts on many coastal marine systems. Here we review the South African marine invasion literature which, despite the field being relatively new, has grown to have significant presence in both the local and international arenas. Of the 79 papers reviewed, 70% focused on the establishment and spread of alien species, with modes of transport and introduction largely overlooked. An emphasis was also apparent towards field studies, in particular survey work, with few experimental studies. The overwhelming majority of papers focused on a single species, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, reflecting the scale of this invasion and the tractable nature of rocky shores as study systems. With the exception of this one species, the impacts of marine alien species have rarely been quantified. We suggest that future research extends the taxonomic coverage of present work and develops a better understanding of the mechanisms of introduction, establishment and spread of marine alien species. Through an experimental approach, the drivers of altered ecological patterns and processes resulting from invasions should be addressed, providing insight into associated impacts. This approach will maintain the local applicability and international relevance of South African marine invasion research.