Improving the methodology for assessing natural hazard impacts

The impacts of natural hazards such as cyclones have been conventionally measured through changes in human, social and economic capital, typically represented by stock variables such as population, built property and public infrastructure, livestock, agricultural land, etc. This paper develops an alternative approach that seeks to detect and quantify impacts as changes in flow variables. In particular, we explore whether changes in annual agricultural output, when measured at an appropriate spatial level, could be used to measure impacts associated with tropical cyclones in coastal regions of India. We believe that such an approach may have a number of benefits from a policy perspective, particularly with regard to the debate between relief versus recovery as disaster management strategies. A focus on flow variables is also likely to be more relevant and useful in developing countries; the maintenance of economic activity directly affects livelihood and is perhaps of greater importance than loss of built property or other physical capital.     

ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGE RECREATIONAL SUBDIVISIONS

Recreational subdivisions are extensive operations that have produced tremendous change in many areas. Environmental problems are widespread and often intensified by the extreme degree of clustering. Severe environmental impacts could be reduced substantially if the projects were developed in phases, water resource use was limited to environmentally “safe'’yields, and other environmental constraints were considered by project officials.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviewed in this article: Marine Resources of Kuwait: Their Role in the Development of Non-oil Resources . Fatimah H. Y. al -Abdul -Razzak Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science . Mark Billinge , Derek Gregory and Ron Martin Entre l'Eden et l'Utopie . Luc Bureau Developments in Political Geography . M. A. Busteed The Elements of Graphing Data . William S. Cleveland Rural Resource Management . Paul J. Cloke and Chris C. Park Third World Atlas . Ben Crow and Alan Thomas Exploitation, Conservation, Preservation: A Geographic Perspective on Natural Resource Use . Susan L. Cutter , Hilary Lambert Renwick, and William H. Renwick . Wine Regions of the Southern Hemisphere . Harm Jan de Blij Regional Development: Problems and Policies in Eastern and Western Europe . George Demko The Geographer at Work . Peter R. Gould Change in the Amazon Basin . John Hemming Geography Since the Second World War . R. J. Johnston and P. Claval Urbanization in China: Town and Countryside in a Developing Economy 1949–2000 A.D. , R. J. R. Kirkby Transport and Communications for Pacific Microstates: Issues in Organisation and Management . Christopher C. Kissling Fluvial Forms and Processes . David Knighton The Urban Millennium . Josef W. Konvitz Technological Transition in Cartography . Mark Stephen Monmonier Field Guide to Soils and the Environment: Applications of Soil Surveys . Gerald W. Olson Northern Australia: The Arenas of Life and Ecosystems on Half a Continent . Don Parkes A Killing Rain: The Global Threat of Acid Rain . Thomas Pawlick From the Family Farm to Agribusiness: The Irrigation Crusade in California and the West, 1850–1931 . Donald J. Pisani Hybrid Maize Diffusion in Kenya . Franz -Michael Rundquist Warning and Response to the Mount St. Helens Eruption . Thomas F. Saarinen and James L. Sell Coastal Geomorphology in Australia . B. G. Thom Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East , 2nd ed . T. C. Whitmore The Dark Side of the Earth . Robert Muir Wood Categorical Data Analysis for Geographers and Environmental Scientists , Neil Wrigley     

ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION IN THE TAIHU LAKE SEDIMENT

The concentrations of major elements and some trace elements were determined at 8 core locations in Taihu Lake. The chemical composition of the cores was related to the sediment particle size-chronology and location of sampling site.Concentrations of Al, Mg, K, Ca and Na, the major mineral species in the sediments, were generally uniform, with only slight fluctuation influenced by water waves and current. Surface enrichment of Cu, Zn, and Ni at some locations was observed to be greater than that of the sediments accumulated 100 years ago. The enrichment of these elements is attributed to anthropogenic input in recent years. Concentration profiles for Mn and Fe are related to the migration of these elements in the pore water.     

Impact of quarrying gypsum in a semidesert karstic area (Sorbas,SE Spain)

The Messinian gypsum of Sorbas is intensively karstified, with hundreds of dolines and numerous, highly unusual exo- and endokarstic forms. Amongst these the tumuli are especially spectacular, as are the large caverns, adorned with numerous speleothems, some of which have not been described anywhere else in the World. The extraction of the gypsum has impacted practically all the elements of the environment (landscape, water, soil, subsoil, flora, fauna, etc.) and, in particular, all of the karstic forms. In addition to endangering the caves and the natural treasures that they contain, it affects the surface waters, markedly modifying the hydrographic network. Groundwaters, which now occur in the bottom of a quarry, are also affected.     

Environmental impact of drainage of Dianzi Iron Mine on the groundwater system of the Dawu Water Supply Base

Due to growing water extraction for industry and agriculture, the Dawu Water Supply Base, in the east of Zibo, China, has been in a state of serious over-extraction. It will also be affected by the deep drainage of the Dianzi Iron Mine, which will be exploited in 2005. As to the environmental impact on the groundwater system of the Dawu Water Supply Base is concerned, this paper makes a systematic study about the influence of the mine draining on the water-supply environment of the Dawu Water Supply Base by using the numerical model of groundwater system. The result shows that the groundwater level will have an additional drawdown of 1.2–1.8 m/yr by the mine draining alone. The numerical analysis results indicate that the optimal model for determining the best extraction plan is the solution for the contradiction between water supply and water drainage.     

Geochemistry of beryllium in Bulgarian coals

The beryllium content of about 3000 samples (coal, coaly shales, partings, coal lithotypes, and isolated coalified woods) from 16 Bulgarian coal deposits was determined by atomic emission spectrography. Mean Be concentrations in coal show great variability: from 0.9 to 35 ppm for the deposits studied. There was no clear-cut relationship between Be content and rank. The following mean and confidence interval Be values were measured: lignites, 2.6 ± 0.8 ppm; sub-bituminous coals, 8.2 ± 3.3 ppm; bituminous coals, 3.0 ± 1.2 ppm; and anthracites, 19 ± 9.0 ppm. The Be contents in coal and coaly shales for all deposits correlated positively suggesting a common source of the element. Many samples of the coal lithotypes vitrain and xylain proved to be richer in Be than the hosting whole coal samples as compared on ash basis. Up to tenfold increase in Be levels was routinely recorded in fusain. The ash of all isolated coalified woods was found to contain 1.1 to 50 times higher Be content relative to its global median value for coal inclusions.Indirect evidence shows that Be occurs in both organic and inorganic forms. Beryllium is predominantly organically bound in deposits with enhanced Be content, whereas the inorganic form prevails in deposits whose Be concentration approximates Clarke values.The enrichment in Be exceeding the coal Clarke value 2.4 to 14.5 times in some of the Bulgarian deposits is attributed to subsynchronous at the time of coal deposition hydrothermal and volcanic activity.     

信息技术对海道测量发展的影响分析

介绍分析了现代信息技术——ECDIS、3S技术、Internet技术在海道测量领域的应用与发展现状,旨在对未来海道测量领域的信息化建设进行探索。     

珠海市旅游用地生态环境影响研究

从生态环境质量、结构、功能3方面构建旅游用地演变对生态环境影响的综合评价指标体系,利用多目标线性加权函数法定量评价近23a来研究区旅游用地时空演变对生态环境正面和负面的影响。计算结果显示:珠海市旅游用地变化对生态环境综合影响指数为-0.24,斗门区、金湾区和香洲区分别为-0.28、-0.13和-0.29。表明珠海市旅游用地变化对生态环境的总体影响是负面的。其深层的影响机制是:首先,旅游用地空间分布与地类结构演变的欠合理;其次,旅游用地规模在持续快速增长的同时忽视了生态内涵建设,旅游用地复合化开发层次偏低。     

Estimation of the Distribution of Global Anthropogenic Heat Flux

The radiance lights data in 2006 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) and authoritative energy data distributed by the United State Energy Information Administration were applied to estimate the global distribution of anthropogenic heat flux.A strong linear relationship was found to exist between the anthropogenic heat flux and the DMSP/OLS radiance data.On a global scale,the average value of anthropogenic heat flux is approximately 0.03 W m 2 and 0.10 W m 2 for global land area.The results indicate that global anthropogenic heat flux was geographically concentrated and distributed,fundamentally correlating to the economical activities.The anthropogenic heat flux concentrated in the economically developed areas including East Asia,Europe,and eastern North America.The anthropogenic heat flux in the concentrated regions,including the northeastern United States,Central Europe,United Kingdom,Japan,India,and East and South China is much larger than global average level,reaching a large enough value that could affect regional climate.In the center of the concentrated area,the anthropogenic heat flux density may exceed 100 W m 2,according to the results of the model.In developing areas,including South America,Central and North China,India,East Europe,and Middle East,the anthropogenic heat flux can reach a level of more than 10 W m 2 ;however,the anthropogenic heat flux in a vast area,including Africa,Central and North Asia,and South America,is low.With the development of global economy and urban agglomerations,the effect on climate of anthropogenic heat is essential for the research of climate change.