Cenozoic fault control on ‘deep lead’ palaeoriver systems,Central Highlands,Victoria

Basaltic eruptions across the Central Highlands of Victoria have sealed in-place Early to middle Cenozoic palaeodrainage systems (also known as deep leads). The basal gravels of the deep leads have been mined extensively in the past for their rich placer-gold deposits. Detailed mapping of the distribution of all palaeorivers has been carried out using drilling results and modern aeromagnetic/radiometric surveys. The palaeochannel isopachs (including basalt and sediment) do not thicken in a modern downvalley direction. Instead, deeper depressions alternate with shallower areas. The variations in thickness, and parts of the palaeochannel courses, are controlled by a series of east-northeast-trending basement highs. The basement highs are caused by a set of east-northeast-trending (Otway Basin-style) faults visible on radar shuttle imagery in the Central Highlands. They have not previously been recognised in regional geological mapping. Most published fault trends are north – south oriented, parallel to the strike of the Palaeozoic basement rocks. Exceptions occur at Ballarat where there is an orthogonal east-northeast set mapped in underground quartz reef workings that show right-lateral strike-slip movements. The east-northeast faults show half-graben block-style rotational movement on basement, creating north- and south-facing fault scarps along the horst ridges. Where palaeochannels overlie the grabens, valleys broadened, infill thickens, and locally drainage directions may change. When the drainage cuts through the horsts, steeper incised valleys result, and this is where, in the historical past, some gold leads were ‘lost’. The initial timing of the block movement pre-dates at least the Early Oligocene to Late Miocene ages of the basal palaeovalley sediments, as shown by revised palynological dating. In places, the modern drainage divide coincides with east-northeast-trending faults. In the Ballarat area, an earlier divide accentuated by the aeromagnetic palaeodrainage mapping occurs up to 25 km south and appears to pre-date the earliest basalt flows at around 7.0 Ma. This evidence suggests the divide can change position through time by differential movements along east-northeast faults and transferral of maximum uplift to adjacent blocks.     

Neighbourhoods and health: A review of the New Zealand literature

Over the past two decades, there has been a resurgence of interest into place‐based influences on health. Researchers have identified that various characteristics of neighbourhoods exert an influence on the health outcomes and behaviours of local residents. Understanding the processes linking places to health provides considerable potential for a range of policy interventions. We review the New Zealand‐based neighbourhoods and health research. Consideration is given to the types of neighbourhood characteristics, as well the range of health outcomes that have been studied. Finally, we suggest some priorities for further research into the mechanisms underpinning neighbourhood influences on health in New Zealand.     

The place of schools in parents' community belonging

Abstract:  Schools are central community facilities in the daily lives of families with young children. The paper draws on survey and in-depth interview data to describe the role schools play in parents' sense of belonging to community. Māori and Pākehā parents indicated that schools and preschools were the most significant sites to their community belonging. They are a common meeting place, a source for community knowledge, and a point of departure for the development of parental friendship networks, and reciprocity in child care and support. Parents' perceptions of local schools in all socio-economic neighbourhoods influenced school choice and commitment to a neighbourhood. For Pacific and Asian parents schools were less significant as sites of community belonging.     

Source location using time‐reverse imaging

We present the chain of time‐reverse modeling, image space wavefield decomposition and several imaging conditions as a migration‐like algorithm called time‐reverse imaging. The algorithm locates subsurface sources in passive seismic data and diffractors in active data. We use elastic propagators to capitalize on the full waveforms available in multicomponent data, although an acoustic example is presented as well. For the elastic case, we perform wavefield decomposition in the image domain with spatial derivatives to calculate P and S potentials. To locate sources, the time axis is collapsed by extracting the zero‐lag of auto and cross‐correlations to return images in physical space. The impulse response of the algorithm is very dependent on acquisition geometry and needs to be evaluated with point sources before processing field data. Band‐limited data processed with these techniques image the radiation pattern of the source rather than just the location. We present several imaging conditions but we imagine others could be designed to investigate specific hypotheses concerning the nature of the source mechanism. We illustrate the flexible technique with synthetic 2D passive data examples and surface acquisition geometry specifically designed to investigate tremor type signals that are not easily identified or interpreted in the time domain.     

'This is like my comfort zone': Senses of place and belonging within Oruāmo/Beachhaven, New Zealand

Abstract:  This paper examines the culturally specific experiences of belonging within Oruāmo/Beachhaven, a suburb in North Shore City. In-depth interviews with 32 caregivers of young children expose the fact that the ethnic groups represented – Māori, Samoan and Pākehā– vary in their uses and understandings of, as well as feelings for, residential neighbourhood. Examination of the themes of natural environment, social relations, continuity of residence, facilities, organisations and place transformation reveal that, while representatives of all groups had views on these matters, there was a variable degree of engagement with and priority afforded to these concerns.     

Geophysical Surveys in the Jebel Hamrat Fidan,Jordan

The Jebel (Jebel is mountain in Arabic) Hamrat Fidan marks the “gateway” to the Feinan district of southern Jordan—one of the largest sources of copper during the prehistoric and Early Bronze Ages in the eastern Mediterranean. Preliminary excavations and surveys at sites along the Wadi Fidan have revealed a long history of settled occupation extending from the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic (ca. 6,500 B.C.) to early medieval times. Because of this long history of occupation, and the fact that this area was a regional center for the production of copper, the study of this area is important for understanding early metallurgy, craft specialization, and social evolution. During the summer of 1997, geophysical investigations at a series of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites identified specific areas within Wadi Fidan for future intensive excavations. Three geophysical techniques (electromagnetic induction, ground‐penetrating radar, and magnetometry) were used to help locate buried architectural and industrial features remaining from early mining and metallurgical operations, including copper ore bodies or voids. Geophysics was not used at the actual mining sites because of scheduling constraints; however, geophysics did delineate buried stone walls at three distinct Wadi Fidan sites. Magnetometry and ground penetrating radar provided little useful information. Buried stone walls were apparently “masked” by numerous magnetic stones on the ground surface making magnetometry useless. Reflections from known strata demonstrated that radar penetrated the ground adequately; however, known shallowly buried walls were not recognizable. Electromagnetic induction produced maps of linear and rectilinear features that suggested spatial distribution of widespread buried stone walls suitable for future excavation. A significant and unexpected finding was that electromagnetic induction proved capable of delineating buried stone walls. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Geophysical diffraction tomography: New views on the shiqmim prehistoric subterranean village site (israel)

Shiqmim is a late prehistoric farming village in the Beersheva river valley in Israel's northern Negev desert dating to the late 5th-early 4th millennia B. C. Along with surface architecture, archaeologists discovered a sequence of large subterranean rooms interconnected by narrow tunnels. This discovery, found in the northern Negev, as well as similar subterranean features and dating back to the same period, has created considerable controversy as to the functions of this innovative architecture. To a large extent, this controversy results from conflicting hypotheses based on the small sample of subterranean Negev architectures. A fundamental task in the resolution of these problems is the location and investigation of similar features within this region. This is not a simple task because these subterranean features can be as much as 7 m deep in hard-packed soil and are usually completely filled with fine sediment as a result of depositional forces acting over the 6 millennium since their abandonment. To help quantify the spatial extent of subterranean features at Shiqmim and identify particularly promising locations for excavation, an emerging geophysical method, known as geophysical diffraction tomography, was applied. This method is based on the propagation of acoustic waves and employs the mathematical concepts of optical holography to reconstruct quantitative, high-resolution images of the subsurface environment. Two geophysical imaging field studies were performed at Shiqmim, and the results of these studies indicate that subterranean architecture is much more pervasive at this site than previously thought. The new geophysical studies help answer social questions and highlight the contribution of geoarchaeology to anthropological reconstructions of the past. This article discusses geophysical diffraction tomography and the first attempt to apply it in an archaeological context. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.