Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrophotometry Of Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) Near Perihelion

We present 1- to 5-μm broadband and CVF images of comet Hale-Bopp taken 1997 February 10.5 UT, 50 days before perihelion. All the images exhibit a nonspherical coma with a bright “ridge” in the direction of the dust tail approximately 10″ from the coma. Synthetic aperture spectrophotometry implies that the optically important grains are of a radius ≤0.4 μm; smallest radius for any comet seen to date. The variation of the integrated surface brightness with radial distance from the coma (ρ) in all the images closely follows the “steady state” ρ⁻¹ model for comet dust ablation (Gehrz and Ney, 1992). The near-infrared colors taken along the dust tail are not constant implying the dust grain properties vary with coma distance. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Biotite weathering and nutrient uptake by ectomycorrhizal fungus, Suillus tomentosus, in liquid-culture experiments

Ectomycorrhiza-forming fungi (EMF) alter the nutrient-acquisition capabilities of vascular plants, and may play an important role in mineral weathering and the partitioning of products of weathering in soils under nutrient-limited conditions. In this study, we isolated the weathering function of Suillus tomentosus in liquid-cultures with biotite micas incubated at room temperature. We hypothesized that the fungus would accelerate weathering by hyphal attachment to biotite surfaces and transmission of nutrient cations via direct exchange into the fungal biomass. We combined a mass-balance approach with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to estimate weathering rates and study dissolution features on biotite surfaces. Weathering of biotite flakes was about 2-3 orders of magnitude faster in shaken liquid-cultures with fungus compared to shaken controls without fungus, but with added inorganic acids. Adding fungus in nonshaken cultures caused a higher dissolution rate than in inorganic pH controls without fungus, but it was not significantly faster than organic pH controls without fungus. The K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ from biotite were preferentially partitioned into fungal biomass in the shaken cultures, while in the nonshaken cultures, K⁺ and Mg²⁺ was lost from biomass and Fe²⁺ bioaccumulated much less. Fungal hyphae attached to biotite surfaces, but no significant surface changes were detected by SEM. When cultures were shaken, the AFM images of basal planes appeared to be rougher and had abundant dissolution channels, but such channel development was minor in nonshaken conditions. Even under shaken conditions the channels only accounted for only 1/100 of the total dissolution rate of 2.7 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol of biotite m⁻² s⁻¹. The results suggest that fungal weathering predominantly occurred not by attachment and direct transfer of nutrients via hyphae, but because of the acidification of the bulk liquid by organic acids, fungal respiration (CO₂), and complexation of cations which accelerated dissolution of biotite. Results further suggest that both carbohydrate source (abundant here) and a host with which nutrients are exchanged (missing here) may be required for EMF to exert an important weathering effect in soils. Unsaturated conditions and physical dispersal of nutrient-rich minerals in soils may also confer a benefit for hyphal growth and attachment, and promote the attachment-mediated weathering which has been observed elsewhere on soil mineral surfaces.     

Racism and Intolerance in Eastern Australia: a geographic perspective

Racism has become a fact of life in Australia over the past decade or so, yet there are relatively few studies of its nature or extent, and still fewer on its geography. Using a social constructivist approach, this study draws on a survey of 5056 respondents to investigate attitudes to racism and cultural diversity in New South Wales and Queensland, and of perceptions of out-groups as instances of ‘strangers in our midst’. On racism, results show the presence of a continuum of attitudes ranging from generally tolerant to generally intolerant, a presence which cuts across compositional (social or aspatial) characteristics to emphasise the existence of a distinctive geography, an everywhere different nature to racist and non-racist attitudes which transcends urban–rural and traditional social layers. On the other hand, perceptions of out-groups are not uniformly correlated with presence or absence of cultural diversity. In many cases, the ability to make judgements about significant ‘others’ or out-groups has been shown to relate more to abstract notions of self and national identity, reproduced in public by mainstream news media and political leaders. In particular, it may reflect an Anglo (or Anglo-Celtic) view on nationalism, which is a hallmark of the ‘new racism’: an assimilationist or ethnocultural view of Australian society which is different from the ‘civic nation’ ideal envisaged by multiculturalism. That the geography of attitudes and perceptions people have towards and about different cultural groups is so ‘everywhere different’ has important implications for attempts to address and redress issues of intolerance in Australia.     

Student Learning in an Introductory GIS Course: Using a Project‐Based Approach

Introductory courses in Geographic Information Science (GIS) expose students to the concepts and practices necessary for future academic and professional use of GIS tools. Traditional GIS courses balance lectures in the theories of GIS with pre‐built and pre‐packaged lab activities to learn the practices of GIS. This article presents a case study of an experimental introductory course in which students conducted novel, independent project‐based group research under the supervision of graduate or advanced undergraduate students enrolled in the course, culminating in a class presentation and publication quality paper. Surveys and interviews indicated that students reacted more positively to project‐based group research than to traditional activities. Students felt the projects better prepared them for ‘real world’ applications of GIS, and recommend project‐based group research in other GIS coursework. Additionally, our findings indicate that students appreciate interactions with peers of varying skill levels and experiences, as these broaden their capabilities to work with other GIS users.     

Dynamics and role of the Durban cyclonic eddy in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight ecosystem

The semi-permanent Durban Eddy is a mesoscale, lee-trapped, cold-core cyclonic circulation that occurs off the east coast of South Africa between Durban in the north and Sezela, some 70 km to the south. When present, strong north-eastward countercurrents reaching 100 cm s^–1 are found inshore. It is hypothesised that the cyclone is driven by the strong south-westward flowing Agulhas Current offshore of the regressing shelf edge near Durban. Analysis of ADCP data and satellite imagery shows the eddy to be present off Durban approximately 55% of the time, with an average lifespan of 8.6 days, and inter-eddy periods of 4 to 8 days. After spin-up the eddy breaks loose from its lee position and propagates downstream on the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current. The eddy is highly variable in occurrence, strength and downstream propagation speeds. There is no detectable seasonal cycle in eddy occurrence, with the Natal Pulse causing more variability than any seasonal signal. A thermistor array deployed in the eddy centre, together with ship CTD data, indicates upward doming of the thermal structure in the eddy core associated with cooler water and nutrients being moved higher in the water column, stimulating primary production. Together with the use of satellite imagery, our findings indicate a second mechanism of upwelling, viz. divergent upwelling in the northern limb of the eddy. Satellite-tracked surface drifters released in the eddy demonstrated the potential for nutrient-rich eddy water to be transported northwards along the inshore regions of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight, thus contributing to the functioning of the bight ecosystem, as well as southwards along the KZN and Transkei coasts – both by the eddy migrating downstream and by eddy water being recirculated into the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current itself.     

Sharks caught in the KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme,South Africa. 14. The smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus)

The current study provides long-term catch-rate, biological and feeding data for smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, caught in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme. In total, 2 512 S. zygaena were caught in net installations between 1978 and 2014, and 72 S. zygaena were caught on drumlines between 2007 and 2014. There was no significant log-linear year trend in the net catch rate over time (slope = 0.0054, t = 1.808, p = 0.07). However, there was a significant temporal increase in mean size of the captured sharks (slope = 0.0012, t = 3.502, p < 0.001). A quasi-Poisson generalised additive mixed model showed that increasing latitude, winter months, colder sea temperatures and the deployment of drumlines all had a significant positive effect on the catch rate of sharks in nets. The size frequency of the catch was unimodal, with significantly more females caught in the nets and more males on the drumlines. The majority (93.1%) of all sharks caught were immature and measured between 80 and 120 cm precaudal length. Teleosts and cephalopods dominated the sharks’ diet in terms of all dietary indices. The prey species consumed indicate that immature S. zygaena are feeding primarily within the pelagic zone of shallow coastal habitats.     

Sydney's Ethnic Geography: New approaches to analysing patterns of residential concentration

Most studies of ethnic residential segregation in Australian cities have used single-measure indices of dissimilarity and segregation, which access the degree of unevenness between two maps. Segregation is a multi-dimensional concept, however, and in this paper we introduce an alternative way of measuring residential concentration which incorporates several of the key dimensions. The procedure is illustrated using birthplace and language-used-at-home data for collection districts in metropolitan Sydney in 1996. Results show no evidence of extreme spatial concentration of ethnic groups.     

Distribution surfaces in solvent extraction systems

In the solvent extraction of metals, the distribution of the metal is usually dependent on the concentrations of several different species in the two phases. Despite this fact, distribution isotherms are usually presented as plots of C_o as a function of C_aq and these are used for a McCabe-Thiele type evaluation of a number of stages and flow rates, etc., each individual isotherm being valid only for one set of initial conditions; this treatment limits the possibilities of optimizing the system. In the present paper an extension of three-dimensional plots is suggested with special reference to the Cu/LIX64N extraction system. The distribution surface is defined and the general properties of the plots are outlined.A procedure is outlined whereby the surface can be represented on a two dimensional plot and a theoretical model for the surface can be superimposed.The paper also shows how distribution ratios (D values) are related to the surface.     

Diet and gill morphology of the East Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus wongratanai off KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Stomach content analyses and measurements of gillraker morphology were used to assess the diet and feeding ecology of the East Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus wongratanai and provide data for comparisons with other small pelagic fishes off South Africa. Samples were collected by jigging from a kayak off Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), over the period July 2013–May 2014. In total, 66 stomachs (containing 4 407 prey items) and 66 gill arches were examined. Stomach content analyses indicated that East Coast redeye round herring, at the time of sampling, fed on large (1 500–2 500?µm) particles, with ～2 500?µm particles making the greatest contribution to dietary carbon. The species feeds on larger particles than do anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and sardine Sardinops sagax, but on particles of a similar size to those consumed by West Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi. There were significant differences in mean gillraker gaps between East Coast redeye round herring and both sardine and anchovy, but not between East Coast and West Coast redeye round herring. The differences in gillraker gaps between East Coast redeye round herring, sardine and anchovy are indicative of resource partitioning through differential feeding, based on zooplankton size. The data suggest that there is no resource partitioning between East and West coast redeye round herring, indicating that competition is likely to occur between them. However, such competition is minimised by limited spatial overlap between these two species.