Estimation of source water to cedar elm in a central Texas riparian ecosystem

A riparian ecosystem downstream of a small dam in central Texas was instrumented for sap flow, soil moisture content, and stream level from 2001. Stable isotopes in water (D and ¹⁸O) were analysed from rainfall, stream, lake, and cored sapwood cellulose from cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia). The isotope signature of water source to cedar elm was identified by back calculation starting with the water isotopes in cellulose, and accounting for leaf‐water evaporation and biological fractionation during cellulose synthesis. The estimated mean isotope of the source water to cedar elm was enriched above rainfall in similarity to stream water during 2002. Flow paths that may have contributed to estimated variability from regional base flow and recharge water were identified using the variably saturated HYDRUS‐2D model. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Women at work—experiences and identity in rural East Germany

The economic restructuring since German unification has produced gender-differentiated patterns in the rural workplace. Most studies of East German labour market changes have illustrated the nature of such patterns in quantitative terms whilst neglecting their impact on everyday life. The relationship between the significance of work for women's quality of life and self-identification, and women's withdrawal from the public has, however, remained under-explored. Based on data obtained through correspondence and in-depth interviews in Mecklenburg-Westpommerania, this paper aims to address this relationship by discussing women's work-related experiences before and since unification.     

ENDOLITHIC LICHENS,RAPID BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING AND SCHMIDT HAMMER R‐VALUES ON RECENTLY EXPOSED ROCK SURFACES: STORBREEN GLACIER FORELAND,JOTUNHEIMEN, NORWAY

The endolithic lichen Lecidea auriculata is known to enhance rock surface weathering on the Little Ice Age moraines of the glacier Storbreen in Jotunheimen, central southern Norway. This study demonstrates the reduction in Schmidt hammer Rvalues that followed the rapid colonization by this lichen of pyroxene‐granulite boulders on terrain deglaciated over the last 88 years. In the absence of this lichen, the characteristic mean R‐value of boulder surfaces is 61.0 ± 0.3; where this lichen is present, R‐values are lower by at least 20 units on surfaces exposed for 30–40 years. A similar reduction in rock hardness on rock surfaces without a lichen cover requires about 10 ka. The rapid initial weakening of the rock surfaces is indicative of rates of biological weathering by endolithic lichens that may be two orders of magnitude (200–300 times) faster than rates of physico‐chemical weathering alone. If not avoided, the effects of this type of lichen are likely to negate the effectiveness of the Schmidt hammer and other methods for exposure‐age dating, including cosmogenic‐nuclide dating, in severe alpine and polar periglacial environments. The results also suggest a new method for dating rock surfaces exposed for <50 years.     

Identifying components for interoperable process models using concept lattice and semantic reference system

The development of interoperable environmental process models is widely supported by both the research community and government agencies. This paper discusses a conceptual framework to guide the delineation of process components, the basic unit of interoperable models. The concepts of semantic reference system and dual hierarchy are explored to establish the conceptual framework. Based on this discussion, the Formal Concept Analysis is used as an analytical approach to decompose and fuse existing environmental process models in order to identify environmental process components. For purposes of discussion, a hydrological process, surface runoff, is used throughout the paper as an example of an environmental process to support the conceptual discussion and to illustrate the application of the conceptual framework and analytical approach.     

四川地震工作三十年的进展与新世纪的展望

回顾了四川省过去30年的地震工作，包括地震观测技术、地震预报、地震地质、工程地震、地震灾害预测和防震减灾系统。指出存在的问题并提出建议。     

A Comparative Study of Five Reference Materials and the Lombard Meteorite for the Determination of the Platinum‐Group Elements and Gold by LA‐ICP‐MS

A range of independently characterised reference materials (RMs) for LA‐ICP‐MS, used for the determination of the platinum‐group elements (PGE) and Au in a sulfide matrix, were analysed and compared: 8b, PGE‐A, NiS‐3, Po727‐T1, Po724‐T and the Lombard meteorite. The newly developed RM NiS‐3 was used as the RM for the calibration of all LA‐ICP‐MS analyses and the measured concentrations of the other RMs compared against their published concentrations. This data were also used to assess the consistency of concentrations calibrated against the different RMs. It was found that Po727‐T1 and 8b produced results that were comparable, within uncertainty, for all elements. Po727‐T1 also produced consistent results with NiS‐3 for all elements. All other RMs showed differences for some elements, especially Ru in Po724‐T, and Os, Ir and Au in PGE‐A. The homogeneity of the PGE and Au in each RM was assessed, by comparing the precision of multiple LA‐ICP‐MS spot analyses with the average uncertainty of the signal. Po724‐T, Po727‐T1 and the Lombard meteorite were found to be homogeneous for all elements, but 8b, PGE‐A and NiS‐3 were heterogeneous for some elements. This is the first direct comparison between a range of independently characterised PGE and Au LA‐ICP‐MS RMs.     

Global city and precarious work of migrants in China: a survey of seven cities

Drawing on data from a sample of 2,518 migrant workers from seven cities in China, this paper examines how precarious work of migrants varies across different types of cities. The research finds that compared with their counterparts in the non-global cities, migrant workers in Shanghai experience lower levels of precarity in their jobs. Additionally, with regards to different aspects of precariousness of work, Shanghai performs particularly better on providing labor contracts and social insurances. Contrary to the standard “Global City” hypothesis, it seems that in a developing country such as China, globalization is more likely to improve the institutionalization and standardization of industrial relationships rather than decay them.     

Assessment of micro‐aggregation using laser diffractometry

In order to evaluate the influence of the measuring technique on the determination of (micro‐)aggregation in soil and sediment samples, results of grain size distributions of undispersed silty soil samples obtained by the sieve‐pipette method are compared with those obtained using a laser diffraction grain size analyser, the Coulter LS‐100. Reduced major axis relationships are calculated which may be used to convert Coulter LS‐100 results to those obtained by the sieve‐pipette method. The relationships obtained are very similar to the reduced major axis relationships established for dispersed silty soil samples. The results also show that the Coulter LS measurements have a systematic bias compared to the sieve‐pipette data. This implies that, if the percentage of (micro‐)aggregation is determined, the (interpretation of the) results will be strongly dependent on the measurement technique used. Using the calibration relationships that were established, nomographs can be developed to predict the level of sieve‐pipette (micro‐) aggregation from Coulter LS‐100 data. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.