The non-agricultural economy in post-socialist rural Romania: The insights and perceptions of national, regional and local institutions

This study evaluates some aspects of the socio-economic transformation of rural Romania with reference to the views of representative organisations (at national, regional and local levels) and other experts. Interviews conducted in ten communes of nine Romanian counties (‘judete’) focus attention on the advantages and disadvantages of system change experienced since 1989; the most important problems and constraints for future socio-economic change; and appropriate policies and perspectives for development in the immediate future. Wherever appropriate the claims of interviewees are substantiated through reference to statistics, drawn in many cases from Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CCI). Local level representatives presented much more negative views on recent change than their national and regional level counterparts, but all agreed on the crucial problem of capital shortage. Thus while specific programmes to assist rural areas are justified, they cannot fully succeed until the national economy is able to grow more rapidly and attract greater foreign investment. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Prograde high- to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and exhumation of oceanic sediments at Lago di Cignana, Zermatt-Saas Zone, western Alps

Pelagic metasediments and MORB-type metabasalts of the former Tethyan oceanic crust at Cignana, Valtournanche, Italy, experienced UHP metamorphism and subsequent exhumation during the Early to Late Tertiary. Maximum PT conditions attained during UHP metamorphism were 600–630 °C, 2.7–2.9 GPa, which resulted in the formation of coesite-glaucophane-eclogites in the basaltic layer and of garnet-dolomite-aragonite-lawsonite-coesite-phengite-bearing calc-schists and garnet-phengite-coesite-schists with variable amounts of epidote, talc, dolomite, Na-pyroxene and Na-amphibole in the overlying metasediments. During subduction the rocks followed a prograde HP/UHP path which in correspondance with the Jurassic age of the Tethyan crust reflects the thermal influence of relatively old and cold lithosphere and of low to moderate shear heating. Inflections on the prograde metamorphic path may correspond to thermal effects that arise from a decrease in shear heating due to brittle-plastic transition in the quartz-aragonite-dominated rocks, induced convection in the asthenospheric mantle wedge and/or heat consumption by endothermic reactions over a restricted PT segment during subduction. After detachment from the downgoing slab some 50–70 Ma before present, the Cignana crustal slice was first exhumed to ca. 60 km and concomitantly cooled to ca. 550 °C, tracing back the UHP/HP prograde path displaced by 50–80 °C to higher temperatures. Exhumation at this stage is likely to have occurred in the Benioff zone, while the subduction of cool lithosphere was going on. Subsequently, the rocks were near-isothermally exhumed to ca. 30 km, followed by concomitant decompression and cooling to surface conditions (at < 500 °C, < 1 GPa). During this last stage the UHPM slice arrived at its present tectonic position with respect to the overlying greenschist-facies Combin zone. In contrast to the well-preserved HP/UHPM record of the coesite-glaucophane eclogites, the HP/UHP assemblages of the metasediments have been largely obliterated during exhumation. Relics from which the metamorphic evolution of the rocks during prograde HP metamorphism and the UHP stage can be retrieved are restricted to rigid low-diffusion minerals like garnet, dolomite, tourmaline and apatite.     

The precautionary principle and its approach to risk analysis and quarantine related to the trade of marine ornamental fishes in Brazil

The objective of this study was to employ the precautionary principle in import risk analysis (IRA) and quarantine in the trade of marine ornamental fishes (MOF). The analysis focused on the example of Brazil, as it imports and exports these fishes, in amounts that are globally significant. These processes, since their collection in nature, may expose the fish to stress, which may lead to the development of diseases. The legislation that regulates IRA and quarantine is derived from the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply and Fisheries and Aquaculture. The quarantine of MOF in Brazil is not undertaken by government agencies, but by commercial establishments that are registered with the Ministries, and is way too short. According to the data obtained, the precautionary approach is not applied at all in this trade, as scientific information is not contemplated by the legislation, and law is not enforced.     

三维数字城市管理平台的系统设计与实现

随着“数字城市”建设的推进,地理信息系统建设进入全面发展阶段,加快基础空间数据更新频率的需求日趋强烈。如何有效的使用基础空间数据,为城市建设增砖加瓦成为政府部门关注的问题。该文主要阐述某个城市的系统方案设计、体系架构、网络架构与实现功能,为其他三维数字城市管理平台的建设提供一定的参考依据。     

Excess of bottom-released methane in an Arctic shelf sea polynya in winter

Latent heat polynyas are regions generating strong ice formation, convection and extensive water mass formation. Here we report on the effects of these processes on resuspension of sediments and subsequent methane release from the seafloor and on the resulting excess methane concentration in surface water on a polar shelf during winter. The study is based on measurements of concentration and δ¹³C values of methane, water temperature, salinity, light transmission and sea ice data collected in March 2003 in Storfjorden, southern Svalbard. In winter, strong and persistent northeasterly winds create polynyas in eastern Storfjorden and cause ice formation. The resulting brine-enriched water cascades from the Storfjordbanken into the central depression thereby enhancing the turbulence near the seafloor. A distinct benthic nepheloid layer was observed reflecting the resuspension of sediments by the cascading dense bottom water. High concentrations of ¹³C-depleted methane suggest submarine discharge of methane with the resuspended sediments. As the source of the submarine methane, we propose recent bacterial methanogenesis near the sediment surface because of extremely high accumulation rates of organic carbon in Storfjorden. Convective mixing transports newly released methane from the bottom to the sea surface. This eventually results in an excess concentration in surface water with respect to the atmospheric equilibrium, and a sea-air flux of methane during periods of open water. When a new ice cover is formed, methane becomes trapped in the water column and subsequently oxidized. Thus, the residual methane is strongly enriched in ¹³C in relation to the δ¹³_CCH4${\delta }^{13}{\mathrm{C}}_{{\mathrm{CH}}_4}$ signature of atmospheric methane. Our results show that latent heat polynyas may induce a direct pathway for biogases like methane from sediments to the atmosphere through coupling of biogeochemical and oceanographic processes. Extrapolating these processes to all Arctic ocean polynyas, we estimate a transfer of CH₄ between 0.005 and 0.02 Tg yr⁻¹. This is not a large contribution but the fluxes from the polynyas are 20–200 times larger than the ocean average and the methane evasion process in polynyas is certainly one that can be altered under climate change.     

枣庄市国土资源局山亭分局扎实开展民主评议政风行风工作

民主评议政风行风是促进单位部门转变职能、提高效率、优化服务的重要举措。山亭国土资源分局以民主评议政风行风为契机,通过＂五个结合＂,实现了服务质量和工作效率的＂三个转变＂,得到了社会各界的好评。     

Empirical Analysis of City Contact in Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta,China

In traditional urban geography, city contact research is a classic study element in city research. In general, researchers use the traditional gravity model to characterize the contacts that exist between two cities. The traditional gravity model assumes ideal condi- tions, but these preconditions and their results often do not exist in realistic conditions. Thus, we used a modified gravity model to char- acterize the city contacts within a specific region. This model considers factors such as intercity complementarities, government inter- vention, and the diversity of the transportation infrastructure which is characterized as the transportation distance instead of the tradi- tional Euclidean distance. We applied this model to an empirical study of city contact in the Zhujiang （Pearl） River Delta （PRD） of China. The regression results indicated that the modified gravity model could measure city contact more accurately and comprehen- sively than the traditional gravity model, i.e., it yielded a higher adjusted R2 value （0.379） than the traditional gravity model result （0.259）. Our study also suggests that, in addition to urban-regional and metropolitan development, the complementarities of the basic functions of cities at the administrative and market levels, as well as the corporeal and immaterial levels, play very significant roles in the characterization of city contact. Given the complexity of city contact, it will be necessary to consider more relevant influential fac- tors in the modified gravity model to characterize the features of city contact in the future.     

Seasonality of oceanic primary production and its interannual variability from 1998 to 2007

The seasonality of primary productivity plays an important role in nutrient and carbon cycling. We quantify the seasonality of satellite-derived, oceanic net primary production (NPP) and its interannual variability during the first decade of the SeaWiFS mission (1998 to 2007) using a normalized seasonality index (NSI). The NSI, which is based upon production half-time, t(1/2), generally becomes progressively more episodic with increasing latitude in open ocean waters, spanning from a relatively constant rate of primary productivity throughout the year (mean t(1/2) ~5 months) in subtropical waters to more pulsed events (mean t(1/2) ~3 months) in subpolar waters. This relatively gradual, poleward pattern in NSI differs from recent estimates of phytoplankton bloom duration, another measure of seasonality, at lower latitudes (~40°S–40°N). These differences likely reflect the temporal component of production assessed by each metric, with NSI able to more fully capture the irregular nature of production characteristic of waters in this zonal band. The interannual variability in NSI was generally low, with higher variability observed primarily in frontal and seasonal upwelling zones. The influence of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on this variability was clearly evident, particularly in the equatorial Pacific, where primary productivity was anomalously episodic from the date line east to the coast of South America in 1998. Yearly seasonality and the magnitude of annual production were generally positively correlated at mid-latitudes and negatively correlated at tropical latitudes, particularly in a region bordering the Pacific equatorial divergence. This implies that increases of annual production in the former region are attained over the course of a year by shorter duration but higher magnitude NPP events, while in the latter areas it results from an increased frequency or duration of similar magnitude events. Statistically significant trends in the seasonality, both positive and negative, were detected in various patches. We suggest that NSI be used together with other phenomenological characteristics of phytoplankton biomass and productivity, such as the timing of bloom initiation and duration, as a means to remotely quantify phytoplankton seasonality and monitor the response of the oceanic ecosystem to environmental variability and climate change.     

The impact of anoxia on pelagic macrofauna during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (Early Jurassic)

Extreme environmental change during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event had widespread impacts on marine biota. This study provides new evidence, from the Yorkshire coast sections, UK, that the event was associated with periods of elevated fish and ammonite mortality. Using a synthesis of pelagic macrofaunal changes, benthic macrofaunal data and geochemical proxies we show that there are stratigraphical correlations between: (1) pelagic macrofaunal ranges and abundance, (2) benthic macrofaunal abundance, and (3) geochemical proxies that indicate deoxygenation. We identify eight stratigraphical intervals of differing character. Results suggest two major phases of relatively persistent deoxygenation with photic zone euxinia. The cyclostratigraphic timescale indicates that each phase lasted at least tens of thousands of years. Belemnite migration during the event probably resulted from increased seawater temperatures and low food supply similar to that observed for many marine taxa, including squid, within the present-day oceans.     

从洋壳俯冲到陆壳俯冲和碰撞：来自羌塘中西部地区榴辉岩和蓝片岩地球化学的证据

羌塘中部晚三叠世低温/高压变质带是目前青藏高原内部延伸规模最大的高压变质带,但大量关键高压变质岩石出露地区地球化学资料匮乏,严重制约了对高压变质带原岩建造以及构造演化的全面认识。本文以羌塘中西部地区尚无地球化学资料的果干加年山榴辉岩和红脊山蓝片岩为研究对象,进行了系统的地球化学以及原岩恢复工作。研究表明,果干加年山榴辉岩呈透镜状产于围岩石榴石多硅白云母片岩和少量大理岩中,其原岩为亚碱性玄武岩,具有较低的稀土总量(∑REE=51.19×10-6~59.43×10-6)和轻稀土亏损的特征[(La/Yb)N=0.59~0.70],不具有Nb、Ta、Ti的亏损,与典型的N-MORB特征一致,暗示其原岩可能来源于亏损的地幔源区,形成于洋中脊环境。红脊山地区基性蓝片岩的原岩为碱性玄武岩-亚碱性玄武岩,具有高的TiO2(2.97%~4.14%)和P2O5(0.29%~0.48%)含量,富集轻稀土元素[(La/Yb)N=6.10~11.6]和高场强元素,地球化学特征类似于OIB。但是这些基性蓝片岩与大量的陆源碎屑岩伴生产出,且具有明显的硅铝质上地壳物质混染的特征,与南羌塘地区二叠纪大陆板内基性岩墙的产出特征以及地壳混染特征一致,可能是其俯冲消减的产物。通过本文研究结果并结合区域内已识别出的E-MORB型洋壳和洋岛/海山物质深俯冲的证据,我们认为羌塘中部晚三叠世高压变质带以洋壳物质深俯冲为主,同时亦保留了部分陆壳物质俯冲的证据,暗示大洋向北俯冲消减结束之后,又牵引至少一部分南羌塘北缘陆壳物质经历了随后的俯冲过程。