Chasing a 'loose and baggy monster': almshouses and the geography of charity

This paper goes some way towards redressing the lack of geographical literature on charity through exploring the geography of the British domestic charitable sector. The size and geography of the third sector is outlined, followed by an analysis of how almshouses can be understood as inherently geographical and deeply embedded in local social networks of inclusion as well as exclusion.     

The potential impact of herbivores on the susceptibility of the marsh plantSagittaria lancifolia to saltwater intrusion in coastal wetlands

The objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effects of simulated herbivory on the ability of a freshwater marsh plant to recover from temporary saltwater intrusion such as can be caused by tropical storms. Sods containingSagittaria lancifolia, a dominant plant in interior coastal marshes, were manipulated in the field so as to subject plants to a pulse of 15‰ salt water for a duration of 1 wk. In addition to the exposure to salt water, some plants were also subjected to both short-term and long-term flooding treatments of 20 cm, and to simulated herbivory (clipping). Following exposure to salt water, plants were allowed to recover over the winter and were harvested the next June. Neither simulated herbivory, nor salinity, nor flooding caused any long-term effect either singly or in pairwise combinations. However, when plants were subjected to herbivory, salt water, and flooding simultaneously, reduced growth and plant death occurred. These results suggest that high levels of grazing by herbivores may increase the susceptibility of coastal marsh plants to damage from saltwater intrusion. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY073 00002     

Piloting a network of small telescopes

The Pilot Small Telescope Network (PSTN) is a state‐of the art system of easily replicable and scalable hardware, software, servers, eXtensible Markup Language (XML) protocols, and network middleware connecting and developing a pilot array of robotic telescopes to one another and the user community. The PSTN is a developmental project that will allow growing access to these telescopes, and make available data to faculty, students and others in an environment of collaboration. The underlying goal of the PSTN is to broaden the quantity and quality of astronomical education and research, particularly with a focus on traditionally underserved populations. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Review paper: Exploration geophysics for intrusion‐hosted rare metals

Igneous intrusions, notably carbonatitic–alkalic intrusions, peralkaline intrusions, and pegmatites, represent significant sources of rare‐earth metals. Geophysical exploration for and of such intrusions has met with considerable success. Examples of the application of the gravity, magnetic, and radiometric methods in the search for rare metals are presented and described. Ground gravity surveys defining small positive gravity anomalies helped outline the shape and depth of the Nechalacho (formerly Lake) deposit within the Blatchford Lake alkaline complex, Northwest Territories, and of spodumene‐rich mineralization associated with the Tanco deposit, Manitoba, within the hosting Tanco pegmatite. Based on density considerations, the bastnaesite‐bearing main ore body within the Mountain Pass carbonatite, California, should produce a gravity high similar in amplitude to those associated with the Nechalacho and Tanco deposits. Gravity also has utility in modelling hosting carbonatite intrusions, such as the Mount Weld intrusion, Western Australia, and Elk Creek intrusion, Nebraska. The magnetic method is probably the most successful geophysical technique for locating carbonatitic–alkalic host intrusions, which are typically characterized by intense positive, circular to sub‐circular, crescentic, or annular anomalies. Intrusions found by this technique include the Mount Weld carbonatite and the Misery Lake alkali complex, Quebec. Two potential carbonatitic–alkalic intrusions are proposed in the Grenville Province of Eastern Quebec, where application of an automatic technique to locate circular magnetic anomalies identified several examples. Two in particular displayed strong similarities in magnetic pattern to anomalies accompanying known carbonatitic or alkalic intrusions hosting rare‐metal mineralization and are proposed to have a similar origin. Discovery of carbonatitic–alkalic hosts of rare metals has also been achieved by the radiometric method. The Thor Lake group of rare‐earth metal deposits, which includes the Nechalacho deposit, were found by follow‐up investigations of strong equivalent thorium and uranium peaks defined by an airborne survey. Prominent linear radiometric anomalies associated with glacial till in the Canadian Shield have provided vectors based on ice flow directions to source intrusions. The Allan Lake carbonatite in the Grenville Province of Ontario is one such intrusion found by this method. Although not discovered by its radiometric characteristics, the Strange Lake alkali intrusion on the Quebec–Labrador border is associated with prominent linear thorium and uranium anomalies extending at least 50 km down ice from the intrusion. Radiometric exploration of rare metals hosted by pegmatites is evaluated through examination of radiometric signatures of peraluminous pegmatitic granites in the area of the Tanco pegmatite.     

Limestone Dissolution Processes in Beke Doline Aggtelek National Park,Hungary

Aggtelek National Park, Hungary, is a limestone karst upland characterized by karren, dolines and river caves. For a period of two years, climatic and carbonate dissolution variables were monitored at four depths in a 7·5 m shaft through the soil fill in the floor of a typical large (150 m diameter) doline. Results are compared to other monitoring stations in the shallow soils on side slopes. Runoff and groundwater flow are focused into the base of the doline soil fill, where moisture is maintained at 70–90 per cent field capacity and temperatures permit year-round production of soil CO₂. The capacity to dissolve calcite (limestone) ranges from c. 3 g m⁻² per year beneath thin soils on the driest slopes to 17–30 g m⁻² per year in the top 1–2 m of doline fill and at its base 5–7 m below. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.