Guidelines for international data collection and resource assessments and analyses

The ever-increasing world interdependency required to provide the basic energy and mineral commodities needed by society, has created a need to assess, on a common basis, the location, number, and quality of deposits of natural resources. In order to evaluate and compare the resource potential of any area, two major factors must be considered: (1) the type of commodity being evaluated and (2) the specific parameter (reserves or resources) which is being defined. Each commodity or parameter being studied requires a separate methodology for analysis and different basic data. Porphyry copper deposits must be treated differently from stratabound copper deposits or massive sulfide deposits of copper. Similarly, oil and gas deposits associated with stratigraphic traps must be treated differently from those associated with salt domes. Resource assessments attempt to estimate the aggregate resource potential of an area whereas resource analyses attempt to define the specific characteristics of the individual occurrences which comprise the aggregate resource potential. Assessment programs may range from a national inventory of known deposits and occurrences to detailed studies which require an extensive integration of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data. Examples of national inventories are the small mine inventory of Bolivia and presently operating resource programs in Turkey and Argentina. Detailed programs of assessment include the AMRAP (Alaska Mineral Resource Appraisal Program) program and studies in the Coeur d'Alene district and Ely, Nevada. Worldwide resource analysis is a rapidly expanding field of endeavor necessitated by the need to more clearly define the characteristics of known deposits and to provide quantitative estimates of hypothetical and speculative resources. Studies presently underway deal with the development of search and occurrence models, field size distributions of energy resources, tonnage and grade relationships of mineral deposits, the zone of influence of exploratory drill holes, and models of the exploration process.This paper was presented at the International Geological Correlation Program (IGCP) Project 98 entitled Standards for Computer Applications in Resource Studies held at Loen, Norway, September 27–October 1, 1976.     

Accessibility for High Asia： Comparative Perspectives on Northern Pakistan＇s Traffic Infrastructure and Linkages with Its Neighbours in the Hindukush-Karakoram- Himalaya

Starting with a discussion of development concepts which were applied in practice and which followed the developmentalist paradigm the expansion of traffic infrastructure in colonial and post-colonial periods is presented for the High Asian mountain rim. Selective railways and roads are the major feature of this development, which aimed first on serving the convenience of hill station visitors and followed strategic considerations later on. This bias between regional planning and implementation remains a characteristic feature. At the same time traffic infrastructure without asphalt roads is important for the mountain areas, thus breaking up the strong correlation between development and asphalt roads.     

Ultrahigh temperature deformation microstructures in felsic granulites of the Napier Complex, Antarctica

Detailed electron microscope and microstructural analysis of two ultrahigh temperature felsic granulites from Tonagh Island, Napier Complex, Antarctica show deformation microstructures produced at  1000 °C at 8–10 kbar. High temperature orthopyroxene (Al 7 wt.% and  11 wt.%), exhibits crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) and frequent subgrain boundaries which point to dislocation creep as the dominating deformation mechanism within opx. Two different main slip systems are observed: in opx bands with exclusively opx grains containing subgrain boundaries with traces parallel to [010] and a strong coupling of low angle misorientations (2.5°–5°) with rotation axes parallel to [010] the dominating slip system is (100)[001]. Isolated opx grains and grain clusters of 2–5 grains embedded in a qtz–fsp matrix show an additional slip system of (010)[001]. The latter slip system is harder to activate. We suggest that differences in the activation of these slip systems is a result of higher differential stresses imposed onto the isolated opx grains and grain clusters. In contrast to opx, large qtz grains (up to 200 μm) show random crystallographic orientation. This together with their elongate and cuspate shape and the lack of systematic in the rotation axes associated with the subgrain boundaries is consistent with diffusion creep as the primary deformation mechanism in quartz.Our first time detailed microstructural observations of ultrahigh temperature and medium to high pressure granulites and their interpretation in terms of active deformation mechanisms give some insight into the type of rheology that can be expect at lower crustal conditions. If qtz is the mineral phase governing the rock rheology, Newtonian flow behaviour is expected and only low differential stress can be supported. However, if the stress supporting mineral phase is opx, the flow law resulting from dislocation creep will govern the rheology of the rock unit; hence, an exponential relationship between stress and strain rate is to be expected.     

Lesson Plans in Geography

Abstract

This article advocates that geography teachers undertake field studies of human systems with their students. A field trip process is described that helps teachers to guide students to explore and analyze a real human system with the expressed goal of building skills that can transfer to and complement a wide range of geographic learning tasks identified in Geography for Life: National Geography Standards 1994. Students are taken to a human system, such as a supermarket or a hotel. In groups, students interview as well as tour with a representative of a key department of the human system. Using teacher-supplied materials, groups create models or visual schematics of the whole human system they studied. The model must show the complex as a collection of interdependent elements with distinct functions. The learning outcomes achieved by students are a collection of geographic skills ideal for transfer to subsequent geographic investigations of urban places and or regions.     

Wireless Mapping,GIS, and Learning about the Digital Divide: A Classroom Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a capstone course in undergraduate student geographical research in which GIS and other geospatial tools were used to teach undergraduate students basic geographical principles. The course uses the “cooperative learning” pedagogical approach to address one of a number of client-supplied research projects, chosen on the basis of logistical difficulty, time, student ability, and project importance. In the connection of primary data with existing data, students confronted a number of important research issues such as mapping ethics, database design and management, time management, group dynamics, and research limitations.     

Field Work in the Classroom

To make sense of spatial data, information and concepts strong geographic literacy skills are a prerequisite, yet existing studies suggest a global decline in these skills. Current geographic tools predominantly focus on mapping tasks that do not necessarily lead to an understanding of the broader geographic relevance of location. This article argues that in order to improve geographic literacy exercises should test an understanding of location and employ techniques to correct deficiencies. To support this argument this study offers evidence on the effectiveness of online quizzes in improving geographic literacy skills of first-year undergraduate geography students.     

A Systems Perspective on World-Systems Theory

Abstract

This article presents a conceptual framework that embeds ideas from world-systems theory within the larger systemic context known as the theory of dissipative structures. This article creates a theoretical perspective on global capitalism, both geographic and historical, that offers a sufficiently general and flexible model for this particular complex system in human geography. The goal is to provide a perspective that reflects the interconnectedness of individual and separate places into a larger global system that is a single functioning spatial entity. In this view, the modern world-system becomes a culmination of its past and a prologue to its future.     

Critical distances: Comparing measures of spatial accessibility in the riverine landscapes of Peruvian Amazonia

Quantitative measures of accessibility are increasingly used in land cover change modeling and in assessing human pressure on the environment. In riverine Amazonia the significance of physical accessibility for biodiversity, land use patterns and economic livelihoods is widely acknowledged, but attempts to quantify accessibility in practice have been few in number. In this study we compare different distance- and frequency-based measures of spatial accessibility and develop a quantitative model of accessibility patterns for the north-eastern Peruvian Amazonia where rivers form the core of the transportation network. We model accessibility between the rural areas of the Loreto region and the capital city of Iquitos, using different distance algorithms in a geographic information system, and complement the distance model with information on river boat frequencies and transport capacities. Patterns of accessibility are visualized in terms of potential production zones for different types of agricultural and non-timber forest products.This study demonstrates how results from different accessibility measures vary considerably. The mean Euclidean distance to Iquitos is almost 270 km, the mean network distance nearly 760 km and the mean travel time 70 h. Observed network distances from validation points to Iquitos are on average 1.6 times longer than Euclidean distances, and for the whole study area, the average ratio between modeled network distances and Euclidean distances is 3.1. The correlation between network distances and time distances is very strong, but time distances are relatively shorter along the major channels where boat traffic is considerably faster than along narrow, tightly meandering rivers. Measures of boat frequency and transport capacity show that availability of transport possibilities is highly varying across the region. These measures provide insights into the ’thickness’ of trade, indicating the level of market integration for riverine settlements. We conclude that quantifying accessibility in an environment like Peruvian Amazonia requires measures that take into account the spatial structure and dynamic nature of the riverine transportation network. Time as a unit of distance provides the most relevant measure of accessibility in the Amazonian context, where many human actions and traditional livelihoods are controlled by travel times between the regional core and the hinterland.     

Constructing regional advantage in non-metropolitan regions: A comparison between La Pocatière (Canada) and Tromsø (Norway)

The construction of regional advantage has recently been emphasized by scholars as a new way of increasing firms’ competitiveness in a globalizing and learning economy. This article compares the construction of regional advantage and the development paths of specific industries in two different types of non-metropolitan regions, La Pocatière in Canada and Tromsø in Norway. The authors observe a higher level of industrial dynamism in La Pocatière than in Tromsø. They find four explanations for this variation: (1) a narrower regional innovation system (RIS) in Tromsø; (2) the fact that the target industry in Tromsø (marine biotechnology) is, in general, more difficult to develop outside metropolitan regions than the diverse mechanical engineering industry found in La Pocatière; (3) a biased focus on the development of research-based knowledge and academic spin-offs in Tromsø compared with a more varied set of strategies used in La Pocatière; and (4) La Pocatière's location in proximity to the Quebec metropolitan region.     

合浦县暴雨气候特征及成因分析

利用合浦县台站1971—2010年40a暴雨观测资料,分析了暴雨日数的年际变化、年代际变化和暴雨季节分布特征,分析得出,合浦县暴雨日数呈上升趋势,且上升幅度明显;暴雨主要集中分布在5-9月,以7月份出现暴雨、大暴雨及特大暴雨日数最多。合浦县特殊的地理位置和地形特点有利于暴雨天气的形成和发展,影响暴雨的最主要天气系统为锋面、高空槽、切变线、急流、热带气旋等。